Evey and Luhan arrived at Seoul and were picked up by Luhan’s driver.  They were heading to his luxury penthouse apartment where they will stay until Evey finds a place for herself.  How did these two become a couple?  

Flashback

Evey is working at the newly opened noodle shop in Shibuya Prefecture, one evening the crowd fell in silence, Luhan walks in with his fitted gray suit, wine colored bow tie, and blondish brown hair.  His baby face always made him look innocent and forever an eighteen year old, but the way he stood, lifted his head high, always stoic and demanded respect, negated the thought of him not being of high rank and importance.  The crowd began to whisper, Evey notices how quiet it got and she opens the door exiting the kitchen and sees him for the first time since she was in Seoul, at Jongin's estate, the day the will was read.  Luhan greeted her with a bow, "It's been a while, Evey-ssi.  Miss me?"

Evey’s face turns red.  Of all the people from Seoul, this man was in front of her in Tokyo.  She is aware of the customers and her employees staring at them curiously.  Some knew Luhan’s credentials, the president of the new high class S Mall in the city; others thought he was a student from the prep academy down the street.  Evey grabs Luhan’s hand and brings him to her office.  They stand in awkward silence for a while, Evey feels him stare at her, up and down, smiling kindly, but also a little creepily. 

This was a surprise, his visit, what brought him to her noodle shop?  Finally Luhan says something.  “I saw you for the first time two years ago, you were standing across the street from Kiyo’s shop, you were carrying flowers, and the wind…”  Evey turns around, anticipating his next words.  Her heart beating fast, and she didn’t know why.  The only person who made her heart beat that fast was Jongin.  “…the wind almost caused your skirt to lift up.”  Evey’s heart beat quickly paced back to a normal rate.  Of course, this is Luhan.  The playboy from Seoul Academy with many admirers, fan girls and fan boys alike. 

She lets out a sigh, “Luhan, this is not a game.  I am not like the other girls you chased around…”

“I never chased girls, they chased me.” He replies, matter-of-factly. 

“Luhan, I think you should leave.  Good luck in all your endeavors, here and in Seoul and wherever your parents send you.”  She gets up and opens the door.  Saying no to a man like him is easy when your heart belongs to someone named Kim Jongin.

“You are mistaken, you misjudge me, I am different.  I am not that guy.  Give me a chance.”  Luhan pleads.  He never pleads, he orders, he gets what he wants with a snap of his fingers.

“A chance, for what?  Luhan, I am nothing like the girl you should be with, I…” before she could continue, Luhan makes the distance between them shorter.  Only inches away Evey stares right into his deer-like eyes, is it sincerity that she sees.  Evey thinks to herself, “I can’t let him pull me in.”  Jongin did the same, but his eyes weren’t soft like Luhan’s.  Jongin’s stare pierced through you, shocking you, moved you, shaking and screaming, leaving you numb whereas Luhan’s stare…it mingled, it remained quietly, still like moonlight, it hovered, leaving you warm, Evey finally breathed out. 

“Just give me a chance,” Luhan repeated.  He pouts, he was trying not to, but it shows.  Luhan takes out a white IPhone 5 from his pocket, gives it to Evey and says he’d call her later tonight, right before she leaves from work.  Evey doesn’t even ask how he knew when she leaves from work, Luhan smirks, a similar smirk that Jongin makes.  “I can’t wait to begin our adventure.”  He winks, leaving a stunned Evey. 

Everything inside her was mixed up.  She loved Jongin, always have, it never wavered, even in another country, Jongin still impacted her thoughts and heart.  But when Luhan left, she felt saddened.  She missed him.  What is this feeling?  How could she?  He surprisingly came into her life and walked away confidently that she’d follow through with his “chance” to woo her.  She thought that running away from Seoul would allow her to keep her sanity, keep herself in check knowing that the man she loves was unattainable.  And then this man enters making an unexpected request, wanting her to enter his world, a world she fantasized of sharing with Jongin. 

. . . . . 

There first date was magical.  To be wooed by a man of Luhan’s status was something of dreams, and Korean dramas.  First, they went ice skating at a park filled with children and laughing families.  He kept her close so she wouldn’t fall.  He never made advancements though, never made her feel uncomfortable, always assured her that he wouldn’t force her to do anything she didn’t want, and promised her that the day would get better and better, and it did.  They took a helicopter ride that allowed her to see all of Tokyo.  He rented out an amusement park just for them, and for his mall employees and families.  He said it was a waste if it was just the two of them.  But he insisted that the others not ride the same rides he and Evey rode because they were on a date after all.  They were sitting in the large teacups when Evey began feeling something stirring inside her.  At first, she approached the date with suspicion.  Was Luhan aware of her shares of K Con?  Prior to the date, she called Lawyer Suroo and he assured that no one knew about her still having the shares.  Everyone thought that it already belonged to Jongin.  Then why is this man sitting and smiling in front of her?  Why is this man showering her with attention and affection after years of zero advancement?  The teacups circled and circled, Luhan swayed and his hair blew beautifully, he was mesmerizing, she’d admit that. 

As if he was reading her thoughts, Luhan looked right at her, “I know you don’t have much under your name, well, with the noodle shop being a success, you’ve made a name for yourself, Evey.”  He was nervous, Evey could tell.  He was screaming his words, and he looked so cute because his Korean pronunciation still contained a bit of his Chinese accent.  Luhan was adopted by Jongin’s aunt and uncle when he was 3 years old.  They lived in Beijing until he was 13 and began studying at Seoul Prep.  He is fluent in both Mandarin and Korean, and his Korean was utterly adorable.  Finally he signaled to the controller for the teacups to stop, and as the speed descended, his words became audible.  “I mean to say, you are not an heiress, you don’t have a huge trust fund like most of my friends and I do, I mean, um, you…” He was struggling with the words he wanted to say, the intention he wanted to make.  Luhan did not want to come across arrogant and snobbish with the girl he sincerely had feelings for.

“Just spit it out, Luhan.” Evey demanded, impatiently.

He began to stutter a bit, “First of all, I am not a stalker, OK?”

Evey smiled at his cuteness and nodded stating she understood.  He continued, “Back in Seoul I watched you.  I watched you stare at Jongin in class.  You’d stare at him quickly, endearingly, then turned away upset at yourself for doing so.  I saw you working at the VVIP lounge, working hard, diligently, always giving your all with your hair tied in a bun that always threatened to fall.  I watched you spill your hot drink on your hand because of Jongin’s carelessness.  And how you bowed excessively despite it not being your fault.  I am sorry for throwing the paper towels on your neck.  I hated myself for that.  I was a coward for not protecting you while having these feelings brewing inside me since the day I saw you at the noodle shop with flour in your hair, wearing a pink boat neck tee and ribbons of noodles stuck to your clothes.”  He kept talking, talking about his first encounters with Evey, his second encounter, third encounter, his reactions to Jongin’s gaze towards her, his feelings, his daydreams with her in it, his regrets.  Luhan, embarrassed, got up from the teacup and walked away from Evey to catch his breath and calm his heart. 

Evey followed, like a magnet, there was a need to stand next to him, and she needed to react, to respond to this confession, but didn’t know how.  Evey was standing behind Luhan, his lean back facing hers, his shoulders eye level to her.  He was standing proud, trying to be in control, but his heart and mind was screaming at him.  Confess.  Confess.  Claim her as yours.  Your cousin had his chance, it’s your turn now.  After a long silence, he spoke, “I know you aren’t supposed to be the kind of girl I should be falling for.  My parents would go crazy knowing I am into a girl like you.”

“What kind of girl am I, Luhan?” Evey knew the answer, but wanted to hear it from his mouth.

“No family, no name, no status, no rank.”  Luhan did not want to say it, he replayed it over and over in his head before the date, this conversation about this very thing.  “I am to wed a girl similar to Jongin’s fiancée.  Of good standard and upbringing.  If I don’t marry the girl of their choosing, my inheritance is taken away.”

“Luhan, you shouldn’t defy your parents.  You were groomed to be…”

“The VP of K Con,” he interrupted.  “Why couldn’t you be president?  Why couldn’t you be a part of my future?  I would tell myself, that even though your sights were on Jongin, Jongin had Uee, and I would be there for you, to help you get over him, especially since you’d be working closely together.  I would be able to see you, comfort you, and to help you stand amongst the heartless people within and around the company.  And maybe, just maybe, you and I could have had something…you, in the discerning eyes of my parents, would have then been fit to be my bride.  It would have worked out OK.  But you left; you walked away from it all.  You left behind the rank, the name, the status, the luxuries and respect that came with being Co-President of K Conglomerate.  You left me, and my chance to…”  Before he could finish, he felt warm arms wrapping around his waist.  He felt Evey’s chest against his back, her head leaning on his back, and her arms grew tighter.  And if he listend carefully he could hear, and feel, her heart racing. Luhan grew stiff, his heartbeat quickly ascended.

“I don’t want any of it Evey, if I can’t have you.”  Luhan finally admitted.

“You will defy your parents, leave your rank, your money, your certain future, your cousin, for me?”  She sounded astonished.

Luhan turned to face her, she remained wrapped around his waist, he smiled knowing she wasn’t letting go and was being as sincere as he was at this moment.  He lifted her chin to face him, “you’re worth it.  Fate brought me to you.  I will defy my parents, but I will not defy fate.”

“You really believe in fate, knowing that my feelings for you could be fleeting the moment I see Jongin?”  She was being blunt with him, not hiding her feelings for his cousin in front of a man who just confessed his love to her. 

“Jongin is my best friend, and he doesn’t even know that the girl I love loves him.  It’s complicated isn’t it?”  He placed Evey’s face between his hands and looked right at her, she didn’t waver, she stared right back at him, wanting an answer from him.  “Things in my life was always easy, perhaps this is God’s funny way of teaching me that it’s not always the case.  I don’t want to live my life with regrets.  I need to see this through, you can deny me, but you need to honestly give me a chance to show you that I am worthy of your love too.”

Evey grabbed Luhan’s collar desperately, it was like she was possessed, at this moment Jongin was pushed back to the crevices of her heart and mind.  The beautiful man in front of her was all she saw, for the first time in a very long time, Luhan’s stunning features, bold words, and lips put her in a trance.  Luhan liked the way she looked at him, misty eyed, she was feeling a pull too.  He bit the bottom of his lips, and that was enough of a signal for Evey to pull him towards her for a deep kiss.  Luhan opened his eyes slightly, he dreamt of this, Evey kissing him, eyelashes fluttering against her latte skin as she closed her eyes tightly and deepened their kiss.  At that moment he knew, he would win all of this girl’s heart, or die trying.