[Dara]

      I huffed as I ran down the stairs early in the morning. After my fight with Jiyong yesterday, I couldn’t sleep well. When Jiyong came to pick up our-I mean, HIS-notebook last night, I had refused to see him, even with the pleading of my worried mother. Thank goodness Grandfather and Dad aren’t home to see how things got tense between Jiyong and me, or else they would definitely be scolding me for my childishness, and remind me of my place as his fiancée...things I do not want to hear. Even though I have a feeling that, among my family members, my mother is the one who disapproves of my engagement to Kwon Jiyong the most, she is still concerned about the possibility of me breaking the said engagement.

      After all, who isn’t? Not only would it bring shame and scandal to the Parks, our bond to the Kwons would turn undoubtedly ugly. Maybe, Mr Kwon would also decide to use his powers of having so many of our shares to turn against us. The thought of that made me shiver.

     I needed space and time to think to myself, or else I’m afraid I’ll do something rash that I’ll regret later, most likely calling off the engagement immediately, which will lead to another pile of unsorted chaos. However, I was a tad disappointed that Jiyong didn’t barge in my room or anything. Not that I would’ve forgave him if he did that, but it felt as if he did not care about me enough to make sure I was okay. I mean, a normal boyfriend would be pestering me non-stop until I forgave him, right? Or at least come up with some romantic idea to beg for forgiveness? But then again, what can you expect from Jiyong? He’s definitely not your typical normal boyfriend.

      And who knows if he actually wanted to be together with me, or if it was just an act for the OTHER PEOPLE?

      More of these thoughts poured in, and it was impossible for me to shoo them off. The worries and suspicion planted in me from the meeting with Wooyoung oppa and TOP yesterday came whamming back at me like a boomerang. A deep part of me knew how much they truly cared about me, and that they don’t have any reasons to lie to me. In fact, they were just trying to tell me what they think, in order to give me a heads-up in case anything happened. Their hearts are definitely in the right place, and I found it guilty for me to have doubt them. On the other hand, so many things were uncertain with Jiyong. I had been under the impression that we were both victims to this fate of our kind, but what if it had been planned all along, by Mr Kwon? And he had known? What if, once we get married, they would seize the chance to take over my company?

      Now, the possibility of it does not seem so low.

      “Morning, Dara,” Mom chirped as she gave me a kiss on the cheeks tenderly. “I made scrambled eggs.”

      “Yum.” I tried to sound as ecstatic as I am, since scrambled eggs, despite being my favorite, are not helping me out of this situation anytime soon. It had, if possible, made me feel worse. After how we had been served by world-class cooks in the Kwon summer chateau, I realized just how...simple my family was. We cook our own food, we clean our own house, we led such a normal life despite our status. But the Kwons are nothing like that. They spend their wealth on things that show off exactly how wealthy they were. If I get married, and become a Kwon, is that how I have to lead my life? That disgusts me.

      After putting bacon and buttered toast on my plate, Mom handed me the notebook that I had left downstairs for Jiyong to take away. Arching my eyebrows, I took it gingerly. So he didn’t take it home like I told him to? Fine. If that’s the way it’s going to be, who cares? I spooned in the scrambled eggs into my mouth, scowling.

      “Now, now, Dara, I don’t know what happened between you two, but he seemed genuinely anxious to know how you were. But he respected you at the end, and decided to leave you to cool off.” Mom looked at me, as if trying to read my brains and see if I was actually taking her words seriously. Which I am, half-heartedly. “With all this that has happened recently, I get that it may be a little bit awkward with Jiyong, but it seems as if he truly cares about you, just like how he did when you two played around when you were little.”

      “Mom, we hated each others’ guts,” I corrected. “Or did you forget how I would always come crying to you when I got bullied by him, over and over again?”

      “And did you forget how he would always apologize afterwards?” Mom reminded. “At times, he just wanted to play with you, Dara, since you are his only playmate, but you refused to. He had to do something to get your attention, didn’t he?” My mom laughed quietly. “So I suppose he came up with those pranks.”

      “Whatever,” I sighed, not really believing my mom’s words this time. I looked at the cover of the notebook, and found another of my golden coupons pinned on it, with a sticky note beside it. It was the Kwon devil’s handwriting.

Darong,

      Sorry for being harsh and stupid last night. I knew I was a jerk, and you have every reason to be mad at me. But I was only mad because I was worried about you, and I was worried only because I cared about you. I want you to know that.

      You don’t have to forgive me, but I’m using my second golden coupon for you to read the notebook, ok? Please?

Jiyong

      Smart of him to have thought of the golden coupons. I sighed. Those coupons are promises made by me to do whatever he asks, and I was not someone to break my promises. I flipped open the notebook to the first page, that I had written in yesterday when I got home. I had been wondering about the tug-of-war between being me, the real me,