First he turned to D.O.-shi and held his hand out. D.O.-shi handed his money reluctantly and then smiling more than before he turned back to me. That smirk irritated the heck out of me and it was no surprise when he started talking.

“Kari-shi so nice of you to make it. We were just talking about you two. It’s really funny actually. So all the guys were wondering if you were going to come and I think D.O here said that he thought you decided not to show.” He paused to take a breath and I was anticipating a blow. But what would he say was the question. I could tell that he knew that I was figuring out his plan and smirked once more before talking again.

“Of course, I cleared up that misunderstanding. I mean this is like the jackpot for you right? One you get to simply be in my presence and then you also get to dine with me. This is the opportunity of a life time for you. That is why I was 100% confident in making a bet that you would show up no matter what. Since you helped me win money I guess I can repay you with my presence.” Uh. This is not what I need right now. Let’s just stay calm. Don’t let him get to you. Remember, deep breathing. In and out. I closed my eyes and even then I could feel the satisfaction Kai was having at that moment. I was breathing slowly in and out. I started counting in my head. 1, 2, 3, 4… But he started talking again.

“Do you need some time to calm yourself. It’s okay. I understand. I have that effect on people.” 5,6, 7…

“Wow! This long. You must really like me.” 8…9…

“Yah, beet… are you done yet? I’m really hungry.” And 10. That was it. I tried to calm down but this guy really pushed my buttons. I was definitely going to exact my revenge very soon. For now I just completely ignored him and turned to the rest of the group. Most of them were giggling and whispering to each other and the second they say me looking they stopped. It was as if they were watching a gladiator battle and I was the opponent waiting to charge. Only I didn’t.

“I’m sorry for making you all wait so long. It took longer than expected. Let’s go out. It will be our treat today to make up for our tardiness.” I smiled and everyone else clapped. Except Hye Mi. She just looked at me shocked. I made eye contact with her and her eyes said everything. She pulled me close and whisper yelled in my ear,

“What are you doing? What do you mean our treat? You know that we can’t afford to feed this many people. And they’re idols. They are used to expensive food. Not ramen and milk.” I replied as well trying to make it fast so that we could leave.

“Not anymore. That’s why I said I have a lot to tell you. I’ll tell you everything on the way there but for now just trust me.” Once again, a huge smile plastered to my face I turned to everyone and said

“Let’s go.” And one by one they filled out. Kai walked by with a  perplexed look and that gave me so much satisfaction. I had silenced the man who had snarky comments at everything I said. Chanyeol-shi smiled at me and him and Hye Mi bumped into each other on the way out. He chuckled and she shot him an angry glare. He walked out still smiling and she followed still angry. Weird. I shut off the lights and pulled Hye Mi behind. As we made out way through the building and outside, I caught her up on everything. She didn’t ask many questions because she understood everything I was telling her. Her father left her too, so she could relate. That was how, even though my mom was a foreigner, Ajhumma and her had become such good friends. By the time we got to the restaurant of their choice, she was completely up to speed and ready to help.

I think many of the people from SM must have come to that restaurant regularly because the waitress calmly led us to one of the back rooms and handed each of us menus. She didn’t say anything and left and came back soon after with water and took our orders. The table was lively and it was a pleasant lunch. It was obvious that everyone in EXO was really friendly and playful. Even Kai seemed normal with everyone around him. Every now and then he glanced over at me but didn’t say anything. After the meal was done, I stood up to get everyone’s attention. They all turned and looked at me and I was really nervous. Would they buy my explanation? Hye Mi, already a big help, had given me the idea for the change in name while we were walking.

“I just wanted to say it was really nice meeting all of you today and getting to spend time with you. Every one of you is so nice in their own special ways.” I looked at Kai and saw him actually smile. Why? He reached for a glass of water and began sipping it.

“Anyways. I just wanted to tell you a little about myself. You all can call me Kari but just to note, my Korean name is Lee Ka Eul. Most of you don’t know but my mom was from England so that was the name I used over there. Now I’d like to formally introduce myself.” I saw that Kai was getting ready to take a long drink of his water and I hurried up.

“Hello. My name is Lee Ka Eul and I am your new secretary and events coordinator starting today. Please take care of me.” Coughing… that was the first thing I heard and I knew my plan had worked. I looked over at Kai and he was coughing on his water. My news must have shocked him and the water had probably gone down the wrong way. After a few more seconds of coughing he looked at me. I smirked and winked at his shocked expression. This was going to be fun.  

Goodnight all my readers and subscribers. Questions to ponder for today are…

Do you think EXO believed her story about her name? What are some funny things Kari might do to Kai now that she is going to be so involved in his life?