Bongcha's eyes widened as she took in the image -- me, walking into our house hand-in-hand with a tall, scary, intimidating-looking boy with ripped jeans and skull chains.

"Mihi ah.....wh's this?"

I swallowed and said shakily, "Um.....Bongcha.....t-this is....um....."

Junhyung walked up to her and bowed low. "Hello, Bongcha sshi. My name is Yong Junhyung. I am Mihi ah's boyfriend. Nice to meet you." My eyes widened at his manners. He was so polite!

Bongcha stared at him suspiciously. "I've heard of your name before....."

I jumped in. "Bongcha, this is my boyfriend. I really, really like him, and we're very happy together." I said quickly. "He's a very sweet boy. Really."

Bongcha hesitated, then shrugged.

"Speaking of which, Mihi ah.....you'll be having a roommate from now on. That's why I'm here."

"Who?" I asked curiously.

"Well, actually, it's my niece. Kim Aeyoung. She's the same age as you, and since my sister -- her umma -- is moving to a new job, she's being put into my care. I hope you, Aeyoung, and your -- boyfriend-- will get along well."

"We will," I promised. "Come on, oppa."

We walked into the living room to watch TV. Junhyung leaned back comfortably, and I curled up against his side. He put an arm around me, and we watched a movie.

"So, what's the relationship between you and Bongcha sshi?" He asked me.

I shrugged. "Nothing special. Umma and appa are always out working, traveling abroad. They didn't feel comfortable making me live by myself. Bongcha was my umma's good friend, so they asked her. She lives nearby, and she kind of became my caretaker. She comes every once in a while to check up on me."

"Do you think she approves of me?" He asked, resting his head on top of mine.

I smiled. "I hope so. But whether she approves of you or not, it doesn't change the way I feel about you, oppa."

He smiled at that, and bent over to kiss my lips.

We heard footsteps, and he quickly retreated and fixed his eyes on the television screen again. Bongcha appeared, gazing at us even more suspiciously (was my red face betraying us?)

"Mihi, can you come here for a moment? I want to introduce you to Aeyoung."

Junhyung stayed in the living room, and I followed behind Bongcha to our guest room. A girl was folding clothes out of a suitcase, her back towards us.

"Aeyoung! Aeyoung! This is Mihi, the girl who lives here."

Aeyoung turned around, and I bit my lip hard to keep from gasping. Aeyoung had a very pretty face, with pale skin, big eyes, and full lips. But on the left side of her face was an angry red scar that started from the base of her hairline just above her ear and twisted down across her cheekbone.

I quickly bowed, hoping I didn't seem rude. I smiled at her. "Nice to meet you, Aeyoung. My name is Mihi. I hope we become good friends."

She just glared at me.

"Aeyoung, be nice." Bongcha warned. "Mihi ah, I have to leave now. Aeyoung will also be going to the same school as you."

She left, and I stood awkwardly by the door. She just turned around and folded her clothes again.

"Um, are you hungry, Aeyoung? Do you want something to eat?"

She whipped her head around, glaring at me again. "Okay, let's get one thing straight. I'm not your friend, okay? So stop talking to me as if I am one."

I felt a bit hurt at that.

A voice said angrily behind me, "Hey! What the hell did you just say?"

We both turned around to see Junhyung, looking furious, standing slightly behind me in the hallway. "You better apologize right now." He hissed at Aeyoung.

"Why?" She shot back.

Junhyung wrapped an arm around my waist. "For being mean to my girlfriend."

She snorted. "No thanks."

"Now, listen here scarface...." He started to say angrily.

Aeyoung stood up. "I'm going out now." She said, shoving us out of the way and stomping downstairs. The front door slammed shut.

I glared at him. "Oppa, that was really mean!"

"So what?" He snapped. "She was being mean to you. She hurt your feelings. As your boyfriend, it's my right to protect you against people that do that."

I softened at his words. *He's so sweet.* "Thank you for that, oppa. But that was still really mean. You can't insult her about her scar anymore, all right?"

He hesitated, and I pouted at him. "Fine." He sighed, pinching my cheeks. "But that was because you're so aegyeo."

I beamed at him. "Thanks, oppa."

I felt a bit worried about Aeyoung. How was I going to live in the same house as her when she refused point-blank to be friends?