Why? Why did it have to be that place, that tea saloon? Hyoyeon haven't noticed first, but now, memories were coming back to her by waves. She has came here for her very last date with Junsu... Besides, it was not quite a date. They both barely had spoke to each other and she had to summoned her tears many times... That remembrance was hard. She still could feel the weight on the stomach when you feel everything is going to be over soon, when you know you're running to an end with your boyfriend... It didn't hurt like it hurt right then but it was not very pleasant for sure. She was very tensed from the meeting and very tensed from the place of the meeting as well. Let's hope that would be going on well at least!

Nervously squeezing the handles of her bag in her two hands, she followed the waiter dressed in butler to the table where Madame Kim and her son were expecting her. She was not late at all but it looked like that family liked to be here before the guest. She didn't know whether that was a good thing or not. After all, she didn't really know them. She has just met Madame Kim a few minutes... Maybe she was a domestic tyrant in reality. She gulped... It was not a good idea to think such a thing now. Not at all. She could have done it, she would have slapped herself for thinking so roughly instead of trying to get relaxed by pleasant thoughts. The butler stopped at a large table in the back of the tea saloon and introduced her to Madame Kim. Quickly, she saw the elegant lady getting up, dressed in a white cream woman suit which was very smart and she felt ridiculous in her other black dress, with a white scarf and a black cardigan.

"Come on Kim Hyoyeon-sshi, have a sit, don't be shy." The Madame told her after they both bowed politely at each other.

She tried to smile warmly but was sure her nervousness could be seen through that weak shaking smile she made. As Hyoyeon sat on the comfortable sofa in front of the table, she noticed that Madame Kim was on her own. No trace of the Kim son named Yu Kwon. Where that guy could be? It was to meet her that she has came here, fronting these harsh memories from the past... Maybe he was sick...

"You may wonder where my son is... Don't. He has received a call. I think that's from his grand father if I can judge by his serious tone when he hung up. He will be there with us very soon..."

Great! If the old man always watched his grandson so closely, it would be a quite hard job to make believe they were a couple. They would have to play that role all the time. She had little acting skills but... One can't be playing all day long, it comes a moment when being natural is needed. By their sides, the waiter was waiting for their orders. Tthe truth was that Hyoyeon was so nervous that she wasn't hungry or thirsty at all but in order to show that she was good-mannered, she stretched her hand to the menue...

"We are going to have two earl gray teas with cream, please... And those delicious French bakeries I like so much. Thank you very much, Seon Min."

Hyoyeon but the menue back and smile at the waiter, saying thank you. So... She was that kind of woman? Always deciding for the others what was good for them. There really was matters to be nervous. After all, they were total strangers. It was crazy to accept to do such a job for the sake of strangers... She knew it but she needed money quickly and that was the better way... The other would be to get e, which was not at all something she was willing to do even if she knew some would. She had some friends who did it in order to pay back limitless credit cards which were not limitless at all, in reality. Now, they owed to their banks as much money as one would need to live comfortabely for ten years. Thankfully, she had never fell into such a trap and all that she owed was the money for her rent... And this Madame was the solution, indeed. She knew it but couldn't help being afraid. She thought it was nothing special, quite a normal thing to be afraid.

 

"But why didn't you tell me anything? I'm your best friend, Yu Kwonnie!"

"Lizzy, I just couldn't... She's not from our world so I though grandpa would be mad at me. I'm sorry..."

To lie to the one he was considering like some kind of little sister was not an easy task. Until then, he had always told her everything. Absolutely everything. It was easy to understand that she was feeling hurt to discover he had a girlfriend and just didn't tell her. Yu Kwon wished he could tell her the truth but there was no use. He knew that Park Soo Young, nicknamed Lizzy - her name when she was going to visit her family in the United States - was a very nice girl but she was the kind who never could keep the secrets for her. He had always forgave her for telling things some didn't need to know about him, because she was cute, lost, on his own and he was taking care of her just like a real little sister but this time, it was too important. The thing which was about to be played was his own future, his destiny. Lying to her was no choice.

"When will I meet that girl? I have to check out whether she's a good fit for you or not..."

How could he know? He hasn't even met her at all! Maybe she was a very plain girl from the suburbs who didn't know how to behave. Well, this he guessed was a no-no. His mother was not the kind to accept some plain bad-mannered girl to act like a part of the family wannebe for money. But she could be good mannered, and still plain. His mother was also the kind to think a cute girl didn't matter. It was elegance the most important. But for a twenty-three years old Yu Kwon, cute girls were important. He liked them much. He liked them too much. Good job, Lizzy! Now he was nervous.

"You will meet her very soon, I promise. Don't worry about it... If mom agreed, she's fitting."

"That's exactly what I'm worried of. She's fitting your mother standards."

"Stop worrying about that, you little beetle. She's fitting mine, first."

Oh, so she's fitting his standard. In Lizzy's mind, a quick portray of the girl appeared. Long legs, big s, short silky hair, good manners and y but yet smart clothes. That was pretty... strange. She couldn't wait to meet her. Yu Kwon was checking out his whole appearance in the mirrors of the desert male restroom.... Soon he would meet her, too. That girl she didn't know anything about who was going to be his girlfriend for the next weeks if not months to come. Was he insane to accept to play such a game for the sake of an enterprise?

"What's her name?" Lizzy asked, still on the phone.

"Sorry..."

"You were not listening? Men really can't listening a whole conversation, aish... Your girlfriend. What's her name?"

What did his mother say? Damn, he couldn't remember! The surname was Kim, like him, for sure, but the first name... Like his, it was not a very common name and he never had met anyone else which name was the same than that girl. But why couldn't he remember? At the end of the line, he could feel Lizzy's impatience growing. There was nothing normal about a boy not knowing what is his girlfriend name... Especially when he probably would propose her very soon...

"Still not listening?"

"I am listening. I can't tell you what's her name, sorry, Lizzy. That's a secret... I know you are able to make searches on the internet about her. I want it to remain a surprise for grandpa, OK?"

"Yeah, yeah, OK... But that's so dull!"

Yu Kwon took a glimpse at his watch and startled when he saw what time it was. The girl was here since ten minutes and he hasn't appeared yet. He had to hurry up or his mother would lecture him for hours on the way back home. Unwillingly, he explained Lizzy, trying to sound cheerful, that his sweet girlfriend had been waiting for too long and he had to join her now. When she hung up, he realized he was really nervous to meet that girl. Maybe he should had selected her instead... Fact that his mother has chose the candidate didn't reassure him. Sighing, he made up his mind and finally got out of the restroom.

Walking like feline steps, he crossed the tea saloon, trying his best not to show how tensed he was. It was not to meet that girl, it was to discover her which made him feel his heart beating so fast. He tried hard to focus on his mother as he walked and not to look at the back dress sitting in front of her. He wanted to see how she was once he had her right in front of his eyes, once he could watch her carefully from head to toe and check out what kind of girl it could be.

Everything could have worked out fine if only he had focused on his steps instead... Yu Kwon did not see the waiter coming his way and they both bumped into each other, cream from a cheesecake crashing against his white shirt. If there was something he hated, that was sugary things. Just to smell it made him sick. And now he had a white sugary something spread all over this clothes, the fragrance of it rising to his nose dangerously. As an impulsive person, instead of bowing in apologies, he grabbed the waiter by the collar, frowning.

"You!!! Look what you have done to my shirt. It's ruined now, moron!!!"

"I'm... I'm sorry, Kim Yu Kwon-sshi. I'm going to wipe it off..."

"Don't even touch me. What I hate more than sugary is men trying to touch me. Get the hell on and never show yourself in front of me again, got it? And come and bring a towel for me. Right now!"

"Ye... Ye... Yes, Kim Yu Kwon-sshi... But... Please let me go off, first..."

From her place, Hyoyeon couldn't help but swearing names at Taeyeon in her minds. She had not seen his face closely yet and already felt that was going to be very hard. He was what she had feared, the cold jerk from dramas thinking everyone was at his feet and treating others like inferiors. She was not sure she wanted to act deeply in love with such a boy... She swallowed hardly, and throat dry.

Yu Kwon has let the waiter go. The whole tea saloon had been looking at them. Now it was too late, he was feeling ashamed of his behavior. That was always like this. He did something on an impulse and once done, he felt guilty for having doing it. His mother's eyes were dark, though she tried to keep her composure. The lecture would last eternally after the appointement, this he knew. He was supposed to become the CEO of the Kim empire and this kind of behavior was not helping him to get the place.

And because he was thinking about that, torturing himself with guilt and his stomach twisted because of his mother's glance on him, he made his second mistake in a very less time. He fell head over heels when stumbling against a piece of plate which has been broken during his sad encounter with the waiter. After he had shown this girl his worst face, now he was making a fool of himself. What would she think about it? She would never accept to act like lover with such a stupid jerk...

Yu Kwon rose his head and the first thin he saw were legs. Beautiful legs. Not that long but the skin looked soft, the calves were lovely shaped and the bottom of the thighs were generously proportionned. The he saw a flat stomach, a firm rounded chest, a white neck, long soft blonde hair and... a very pretty face, typically Korean but with something exotic at the same time. So... She was the girl? Not plain at all... For now, she was fitting his standard for sure, even if he liked short hair girls better. It was hard to believe his mother had took note of his own taste, too.

"Yu Kwon, please get up... Stop acting so foolishly..."

His mother's voice torn him off his contemplation. For a second, he had thought their both glances were sinking into each other but in fact, he surely had imagined it. As dignified as he could, he lept on his feet. Now he was close and standing on his feet, Hyoyeon noticed he was smaller than she had thought but yet he remained a lot much taller than she was. She got up too and they both bowed, introducing themselves. Hum... His features were nice, that already was a good thing. But what she feared the most was his character. For now it has not been that brillant nor impressive.

Her name was Hyoyeon... Yu Kwon knew he would not forget from now on. A beautiful name for a beautiful girl... who was obviously thinking he was a jerk, a spoiled brat with no respect. He had to correct that wrong image though sometimes he could be like that. Just a little. And sometimes only. He sat next to his mother... The tea she had ordered for him was cold... English tea? She knew he disliked it so much but always ordered the same for him. She may looked nice and soft but she was sometimes very harrassing in her own kind of way. Yet, he tried to smile and to show a better image of him to the girl who was going to act like his fiancee for a little while. No doubt he would not have to make a lot of efforts to look in love with her. She was really pretty...

Another waiter brought a towel to Yu Kwon and he thanked him warmly, as if he was a complete other person. It was not his fault if the smell of sugary drove him crazy, just like blood for sharks... but in the other way. What was the most important now, was that Hyoyeon accepted to act like his girlfriend. And just by the paniced look in her eyes, he could tell this was not going to be that easy... She was clutching at her spoon as if it was a raft and she was drifting away in the sea. Without any further thought, he stretched his arm on the table and took her hand, making her let go of her spoon in a start. She looked at him in surprise...

"Don't be so nervous... I know I didn't show the best sides of me but I'm not a monster, I swear..." Yu Kwon unfolded her hand and held it firmly but yet gently into his. "You've got beautiful hands and fingers. Soft skin..."

"Thank you..." She replied, not sure of how she should be behaving in front of that charming turnaround of characters.

"I think that would be nicer with a pretty manucure." Madame Kim added. "If you take on the job, Hyoyeon-sshi, I will have many beauty appointments for you. You have to be more perfect than you are for the first meeting for my stepfather."

Alright... Now, she was really, really nervous. She could feel her heart racing. The son could be nice with efforts, the Madame offers always looked good for her but somehow she still was not too sure. To act all the time like this, she didn't know if she had to shoulders for it. That job, she knew, was asking way too many efforts. As gently as she could, she slipped her hand off Yu Kwon's and put it on her laps under the table.

"If you don't mind... I would like to retire for a few minutes to think a little further about your offer, Madame Kim. May I go to the ladies room?"

"Of course, you can, sweet child..."

"Thank you." She said, bowing over the table.

As she walked through the tea saloon, Yu Kwon couldn't take his eyes off her. Nice way to walk... Nice bottom. Very nice girl... What a pity that she looked so less enthusiastic!

"You liked her, right, Yu Kwon?"

"Yes, ommeoni. You chose her well. Very well..."

She could have done it without waking up any suspicions, Madame Kim would have smiled evilish. Her plan was perfect until now. Let's hope for that girl to accept and soon, her son would be reigning over the Kim Enterprise. She was ready at any sacrifice to make him the respected CEO of the empire. Him. Not the other Kim. She would never let that woman win.

 

Confused, Hyoyeon looked at her reflection in the mirror. She was pale and looked lost. It seemed to her like there was more than just pleasing the old grand father with all that business. So much more. And she was less and less sure to be the girl of the situation. Family stakes never been her forte. Other's family stake all the more. She splashed herself with cold water and nervously handed to her phone to call Taeyeon and tell her she just couldn't do it. But her phone was nowhere to reach. She had let it along with her bag on the couch. The only one who could take such a decision... That was her and no one else.

A few minutes latter, she came back. She tried to walk in a more confident way and it looked like it was working out fine. She sat back in front of Madame Kim and Yu Kwon and smiled in a way she hoped was warm.

"I think I... can take the job... When should I begin?"

How did she make up her mind? Playing am stram gram... How silly. It was her future and this of many others. Now she had said yes, she was even more scared about what would happen next. Madame Kim looked very pleased. Yu Kwon, with an apparently brand new white shirt, smiled widely at her. And she knew she would regret it so much...

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I know that update had took time to get posted. Sorry, I was always having a problem and the piece I wrote were always deleted by accident! ><

Hope it was worth the wait despite this and you liked it anyway! Don't forget to comment to show your support! Love ya! ♥