The waiter almost jumped at the young lady’s sudden intrusion, “Madam—please…”

“No need, she’s my cousin. I’ll handle this.” Teddy gave out a sigh and looked at Chaerin. “You can go back to your work now.” The waiter didn’t even hesitate to doubt his boss and immediately left. At the sound of the door closing, Chaerin walked and seated herself on the couch in front of her cousin, she crossed her legs. “Chae—please tell me that this is all a dream and you’re not here.” It’s not that he doesn’t like his youngest cousin; it’s just that she’s a pain in the sometimes. And not just ordinary pain, it’s the kind of whip that goes through the flesh and hit your bones.

Chaerin gave Teddy a very sweet cat-like smile and said, “No, oppa. You’re earning bucks, I’m right here and you’re waiter almost peed on his pants.” She said it in pure Korean this time. Teddy grunted, the last time Lee Chaerin left her New York abode, she went to her other cousin Gummy who is living somewhere in Australia. The first week was fine, but the second-week was—well, bad.

Chaerin’s parents almost declared martial law to the entire family when they found out that their only daughter was gone. Yep, they found that out exactly two weeks after she left home. Chaerin’s parents are the first branch of the family, meaning… Oh well, they just earn the major bucks.

“So, Korea is your current hang out, isn’t it? What is your plan?” Teddy asked. She laughed. “Hey, I’m not that naughty to have this place as my playground.” Sometimes, in their bad mood swings, she is the kitten that brighten everybodies’ day. And they couldn’t even get it why she could do it so effortlessly.

Actually, everybody adored Princess Chae. She’s smart, and all the good adjectives that you could think of but she can be as naughty and bad as a queen. Teddy was no exception, being an only kid as well, he loved Chae like a real younger sibling. It’s just everybody spoiled her that sometimes, nobody really knows what’s running inside her mind.

He observed her face carefully. She no longer was the little girl he used to play with. She was almost eleven years younger. She used to wear pretty sundresses, floral skirts, pastels, light make-up and her hair was in its natural brown beauty. But two years ago, everything changed.

Lee Chaerin preferred black more over rainbow colors, she did her eyeliner much thinker and longer, she dyed her hair into fair blonde and the fact that Teddy and his other cousins couldn’t still accept was Chaerin said goodbye to her first love—the stage. Actually, Teddy, Dongwook, and Jiyeon, are all in love with music. Chae was born like them—they were born to perform, not to be behind desks like their parents.

“Look Chae—”

“Can you call me CL? I think it’s much shorter. And it’s about time that you guys give me a nickname.” He chuckled. He never thought of that. Yes, all of them had a nickname, Teddy for him, Gummy for Jiyeon and Se7en for Dongwook. 

“Fine. Now CL, I hope you told your parents this time about you leaving New York. I don’t want to freak my costumers out there when your bodyguards start to ruin my place looking for you.” He scolded. “Actually, I told them. They think I’m in Hawaii. And did I mention that I’ll be staying here for a few months?” She asked. “Okay?” he raised a brow on her demands. “What is the proposal exactly?”

“I need money—and a roof.” She explained simply. “Typically, I’m broke because I can’t use my credit cards or my parents would know where I am. And I got no where to go since I don’t really want to crash in your place knowing boys habit inside their cribs.” Teddy stretched his limbs and raised his brows, boy oh boy, she knew boys.  “And what would I get from this deal, cousin?” Chaerin smiled. “Words spoken like a businessman. Touché.”

“Name your price then—”

Teddy looks at her with his eyes slightly glaring “You know, Chae, I already have everything—so it’s up to you to think of what to give me. And make sure I appreciate it. But how about this…” He stood up and looked down at her. Oh no, she’s not liking that look. “You get your up back on that stage and do what you were born to do.”

CL looked like she saw dirty socks inside her fridge—no. Just no. “NO.” Gone was the little kitty look, the jaguar is out. “No—I’m not going to do that. Ever.” Teddy just scoffed. “And why is that?”

Lee Chaerin looked hurt—as if she’s hesitating to tell him anything. “It’s just—I’m no good. I look humiliating.” No. Damn, she doesn’t know how good she is. Teddy thought. Hong Jun sits himself back on his chair and decided. If he can’t make Lee Chaerin back on that stage he’ll just have to make her make herself love the stage again. He just have a feeling that CL never did hate the stage at all. Someone just made her think that. Whoever he is or she is, she or he succeeded.

“Okay—if you’re not singing—then you dance?” He asked her. CL just shrugged and mentions a yeah or something like that. “I can dance—I think. Wait—are you in human trafficking or something illegal—like ion and stuff?” She asked him with her spoiled slash cheerleader slash brat tone. “No. But I’m forcing you to go to YGSA.”

“YGSA?”

“YG School of the Arts. YG is the name of the CEO. My Alma Mater.” Teddy walked out from his table and went over to seat on the couch opposite CL.  “What is the proposal exactly? And why don’t you just stop moving? You’re giving me a headache.” She returned his previous question. “I’ll give you your demands, including a decent penthouse and a reasonable allowance as long as you enroll to YGSA and major in dance or performing arts.”

“No—” CL stood up. “No in what?”

“No to dance and no to performing arts.” Teddy smirked and took his phone. “So—should I just call Aunt and Uncle…”

“No, wait!” Teddy halted in mid-air. “Fine. I’ll go to this stupid YGSA whatever—but I get to choose my major.” CL sighed, hoping the deal would do. Teddy didn’t utter a word but closed his cell and put it in a back pocket. “Okay—but you get dance as a minor subject.”

“That’s freaking unfair!! What part of I don’t want to dance don’t you understand?” Princess Faith Lee is on the loose. This was the most adorable part of his cousin that Teddy adores—not. It’s just that he couldn’t keep up with her spoiled character which is rarely out by the way. Teddy Park likes following his own self and not caring for other spoiled demands, thank you very much.

In other words, all of them are spoiled.

Teddy sighed a big one, “Look C’, I’m in charge and your sorry as— would just have to accept my terms if you want to stay here in Korea protected. Do you get that, because if you don’t, you will find your little as— back in New York, tomorrow—pronto.” CL just looked at him—well, more likely glaring. “Now you’re treating me like a kid. Why can’t you say in front of me? I grew up in New York for rabbit’s sake!”

“Because you act like a kid and what does the rabbit have to do with anything?” CL shrugged  “And I’m the adult here so you follow me. Try to follow me~” The last sentence was a tune in which CL fumed. “Oh yeah? So what if your eleven years my senior?”

“That’s not the point here now, right, because you can’t win this discussion with out you agreeing to any of my terms.” Teddy leaned on the couch and CL slouched on her seat. None of them said anything for the next few minutes. The only sounds were the faint music from the club outside those four walls and CL’s nails against the glass table in front of her.

Frustrated as she is she couldn’t change any of it. She won’t have any of her planned adventure if she can’t have Teddy give her shelter—oh the well planned jaunts all gone because her supper duper nice of a dimwit of a cousin simply have a plan of his own. Great! Chae would just have to say yes but it won’t be an escapade like the way she planned it. Instead, it would be school and home. Oh posh—how bad could it be? It will be a lot better than being home schooled for two years. Right?

She could always drop—wait a minute. That’s it! Drop that stupid minor subject. She’ll be staying for only a semester anyway and she could go and visit Dongwook next. Alright Teddy-oppa, time to play it my way.

“Alright—you win. Minor dance.” She uttered. Teddy inclined his head and looked at her in that weird observing way of his. She only raised a delicate brow. He stood up and went to the door. “I just have that perfect penthouse for you, now where are your bags?”

And she was pretty sure she purposely left her bags back home.

**

“What do you mean you don’t have anything?” Teddy asked his cousin who was looking at the glass wall of her new home. Teddy was right, it was very, very decent. It was an open penthouse-slash-condominium on the third floor of a building somewhere Seoul. According to the young millionaire, the building was owned by a close friend and gave Teddy’s cousin the most appropriate one for someone who’s in Chaerin’s age.

Simple. Cool tangerine walls, white, orange furniture’s, fur rags, and “You do know how to cook, right?” Teddy asked her and received a delicate rising of a brow. Meaning—nope. “Anyways, there’s a cook book here somewhere, you can learn at least a decent noodle soup or something.”

CL dropped herself on a comfortable chair, today is really not her Saturday. She was forced to enroll on a stupid Arts School which by the way is starting school on Monday, she was dragged, literally, to this ridiculous condominium—she expected a real house—thank you very much. And what really made her mad was Teddy refusing to buy her clothes, insisting that she buy her own with the allowance that he’s going to give her.

“Oh come on, C’.” He sat in front of her, “It’s time you learn how to be responsible.” When he didn’t succeed on getting a response from her, he sighed. “Look—you purposely left your clothes back in New York, you don’t even have a phone, you come to me with these demands, and you have the right to be mad? Man, you really are my cousin.” Chaerin looked up and glared. “If you gave me my demands the way I liked it, we won’t have a problem.”

“Unlike you, I know how to play and save my money. You need to learn that. I mean, the allowance that I’m giving you is enough to feed four college students—including tuition fees. You could survive a month with that kind of money.”

“I have no problems with that kind of money, my survival instincts are pretty high you know. But how can you expect me to buy clothes, and gadgets with that?” She stood up to prove her point that she really is angry.  “That is your problem to solve, cousin. I’ll send you to school on Monday.” With that, he left her. Frustrated, tired and really feeling hopeless she looked at her new home. Hmm, it would do. She thought.

She tapped her well manicured fingers on the glass table, because literally, she only have that ‘small’ cash and her passport. And that dumb cousin of hers didn’t even offer her dinner. She let out a heavy sigh and walked to the bedroom. At least my best friend would try to understand, she thought, hoping that Jeremy could comprehend. She punched on a few numbers on the wireless phone and CL could hear the other line ring.

“Hello?” CL called as the other picked up, “Yo, J? It’s me.” She talked in pure English. “Yeah—I arrived in Korea a few hours ago—uhuh, yeah.” If Tom has Jerry, CL has the super famous Jeremy Scott. Teddy could go and eat budgeting. She laughed when her designer of a best friend mentioning something about that lousy assistant of his, “Um, J? I need a favor.”