He motioned to his new ally, Jiwoon. “Pst! Jiwoon! There they are!” Yoochun pointed to the couple as he hid behind a corner.

“OMG! That’s him?!” Jiwoon asked in amazement. “He’s so... so PRETTY!”

His partner nudged him. “You’re supposed to dislike him, but yeah, I agree. He is kind of attractive.” After realizing what he had just said, he shuddered. No, he was straight. Straight as a rainbow.



“Pistachio, your favorite. I remembered.”

“And yours too.”

He smiled and handed her an ice cream cone.

“We were so alike back then.”

“Maybe we still are,” she commented, with hope in her voice. They their frozen treats as they sat on a park bench, staring out at the scenery.

“I hope so... but Tae Hee, I don’t think we’ll ever be able to find out.”

“Why?”

“I think... this will be the last time I come back. I want to bring my parents over to the states and stay there. Korea just doesn’t seem like home to me anymore.”

“But... Korea IS your home!”

She didn’t know why, but she felt so hurt. Just like last time, he had told her the news AFTER he made the decision and couldn’t back down. Back then, he had told her he was leaving temporarily for Stanford, some medical school in the U.S. Now? He was telling her he was leaving PERMANATELY.

“Not anymore.”

“THEN WHY’D YOU EVEN COME BACK IN THE FIRST PLACE?” she sniffled.

“I wanted to bring you along---but I guess, now, it’s a goodbye.” He threw his unfinished ice cream cone in the trash. “Even though you love it a lot, and it hurts to part with it, you’ll have to say goodbye one day. Might as well make it today... like with the ice cream. You have to accept it; it’s inedible now. You can’t like dig through the trash to retrieve it. Once it’s done, it’s done. I just never thought it’d happen so soon.”

She stared at the dessert in the trash. As if she was about to dig through the garbage, she rolled her sleeves---and bent over the trashcan. “You’re wrong. I CAN dig through the trash. I CAN revive it.”

She held up the cone triumphantly. Lee Teuk smacked the object out of her hands, and it landed with a splat on the ground. “That’s just sick. Don’t be so desperate, Tae Hee.“

He turned away from her. She tugged at his shirt. “Don’t go.”



“Don’t go,” she begged.

“WHAT?” Jiwoon whispered loudly. “This can not be happening. We’re losing to a pretty boy!”

“And I thought she loved me,” Yoochun pouted. “Er, I mean, us. She loved us.”

“Go little kids. Don’t forget, shoot the guy, not the girl.” Jiwoon patted a few boys on their backs, not much older than 7, and pushed them forward.


“SHOOT THEM!! SHOOT THEM!!” the little boys shouted, shooting their water guns at Lee Teuk. “YEAH! WE GOT THEM!” They jumped about excitedly.

“HAHAHAHA!” Tae Hee laughed at her friend. “LOSER! You’re soaked, and I’m not! HAHAHAHA!”

“Oh really?” He ran towards her and hugged her.

She shrieked in laughter. “YOU’RE GETTING ME WET! HAHAHAHA!”

The little kids, not able to shoot Lee Teuk without getting Tae Hee, shrugged and shot their water guns at both of them. After several minutes, they ran out of ammunition. Looking at each other, one asked, “Now what?”

“I don’t know,” another replied. “Let’s refill!”

They ran off, eager to load up.

“Should we wait for them?” he asked.

She smiled devilishly. “Let’s get our own water guns!”


Yoochun and Jiwoon smacked their foreheads. Plan A had failed. Time for Plan B. Wait, what WAS Plan B?


She skipped about. “That was fun!”

He nodded his head in concord. “It’s 5 ‘o’ clock. Want to go grab a bite?”

Although her stomach growled in agreement, she paled. “Oh shoot…”

“Hm? Anything wrong?”

She began panicking, more like hyperventilating. “Going… to be… late… OMG… going to be… late… GOING TO BE LATE!”

Lee Teuk patted her back. “Calm down. Calm down. You’ll be fine.”

She paced about in circles. “Oppa, can you take me home? I totally forgot about the press conference. I’m so screwed.”

They were having such a great time… and her stupid family business just HAD to ruin it. “Sure.”


*****

They stood outside her front door, staring at each other---not knowing what to do.

Might as well break the ice. “Teukie, um, I’m kind of partner-less because usually I go with Jaejoong, but now that Jaejoong’s my brother, it doesn’t work out anymore. So he’s probably going with Sung Hee or Ri In. And I’m probably going to be alone, and that’s like so lame. And so…” she rambled on.

“So?”

“Want to go to the press conference with me? As my partner?” she mumbled quickly.

“Sure.”

Her face lit up. “REALLY? Aww… you’re the awesome-est oppa anybody could ever have!” She hugged him and was ABOUT to kiss him on the cheek when Jaejoong just HAD to swing open the door.

“YOU!” He pointed to Tae Hee angrily. “You’re LATE. You were supposed to have been here TWENTY MINUTES ago!”

“Sorry! Sorry!” She hurried into the house. “See you later, Teukie!”

As his sister disappeared from the scene, Jaejoong arched his eyebrow. “So, Teukie?”


Lee Teuk chuckled nervously. “It’s a nickname she gave me when we were six. I’d thought and hoped that she would’ve forgotten about it by now. Guess not.”

“So, Teukie, tell me about yourself.”

“Err… well… I’m currently a sophomore at Stanford, and I plan to be a doctor. A neurologist, actually. And---”

Jaejoong interrupted. “No need to speak anymore. That’s all. I’m not very fond of them anyway.” He smirked. “And just telling you, nobody gets Tae Hee without my consent.”

“Um… you DO know that Tae Hee wants to be a neurologist, right? You’re basically dissing her too…” he stated slowly.

“No. No. Don’t try to be smart with me. Goodbye now.” He slammed the door in Lee Teuk’s face.

“Interesting guy. Almost seems jealous,” Lee Teuk noted to himself as he walked away.


*****

“I don’t like this dress.” She frowned. “It’s ugly.”

“Well that’s what you get for inheriting the CEO position. I mean, you wanted it, and now you’re paying,” Jaejoong answered smoothly, making a ‘LOSER’ sign with his fingers.

Her happy expression darkened. “Who said I wanted it?” she muttered to herself.

“Well, let’s see. You never objected when we told you we wanted you to be the heiress,” he listed.

“Because you didn’t want it.”

“Huh?”

“If you didn’t want it, then it’d obviously go to me. And I couldn’t do anything about it.”

“So what he said was right?”

“What who said?”

“Your friend, Cheukie, I think.”

“Teukie, oppa,” she corrected him. “Oh, darn you, Teukie!” she cursed him under her breath.

“You hate it, don’t you? Our company, I mean. You seriously want to become a doctor, eh?”

“Yeah.” She shook her head quickly. “I mean, no. Maybe you haven’t known me long enough, but I’m a responsible kid. I’m wiling to take this position with no regrets.”


And for once, he felt guilty. It was all his fault. It was all his fault. “...Sorry. I should’ve known. I shouldn’t have had your friend, Cheukie, have to tell me.”

“Nothing to be sorry about. Lee Teuk oppa has always been a bit biased...but of course, in a good way.” She glanced at the clock. “Time to go, oppa!”



*****


“I didn’t know what to get you... so yeah. I just bought a bit of everything...” Lee Teuk said apologetically as they sat in the limo. When he arrived at her house, his arms were filled to the maximum with “lovey-duvey” stuff. Chocolates, flowers, jewelry, music... you name it.

“It’s not Valentine’s Day, you know,” Sung Hee commented sarcastically, rolling her eyes.

Coldly, Tae Hee retorted, “Well at least I got something. Don’t go around ROLLING YOUR EYES just because you’re jealous. OMG Sung Hee.” Ever since Sung Hee had confronted Jaejoong, their friendship had withered (despite the fact that Jaejoong was now her brother). And now, she hated her more than ever. How dare she make “smart” remarks about her date!

Jaejoong rubbed his temples. Why couldn’t they just shut up? What a horrible headache.

Before Sung Hee could say anymore, the vehicle came to a halt.



The two couples stepped out of the car and onto a red carpet. Cameras flashed. Reporters shouted in excitement.

“Hm…” Tae Hee thought to herself. “They’ve never made it so… grand before…” She hooked her arm around Lee Teuk’s. The paparazzi gasped.


Who is this man?

Why aren’t you with Jaejoong?

Why is Jaejoong with another girl?

If you’ve no relations anymore with Jaejoong, why are you still attending this function?

Who’s that woman with Jaejoong?

What’s your relationship with these three people?



She smiled and waved, mentally rolling her eyes. What rude questions this time.


*****

“What an… interesting crowd,” Lee Teuk stammered, still dazzled by the throng of attendees.

“Just you wait. It gets even better.” Tae Hee smiled confidently as the lights dimmed.

Her umma and appa stood on an elevated platform. “Good evening, our guests,” Mr. Kim greeted as he raised his champagne. “Tonight we have joined to celebrate a very special occasion: the official introduction of our daughter, Kim Tae Hee.” Murmurs arose. “You may be wondering, since when did KPC own a daughter? We’ve had her even before KPC got on its feet, but we had also lost her. Now, finally reunited, I would like to introduce you all to the future KPC CEO, Tae Hee.” The guests clapped. Tae Hee, followed by Jaejoong, stepped upon the stage. Lee Teuk’s face was devoid of emotions. Sung Hee watched them ascend with obvious envy. Tae Hee took a seat before the microphone. And Jaejoong flashed his killer smile at the guests.

“Uh, hi...” she said uneasily. Her confidence died away. Crickets chirped, but Tae Hee couldn’t do anything. She didn’t KNOW what to do. Thankfully, her brother took the microphone from her.

“Good evening to you all. As you all may recognize, Tae Hee was once my partner at several functions in the past. And you may all be wondering, is this ?” The cameras flashed; obviously, the reporters were loving this. “So let me answer that question. No. At that time, I had not known she was my beloved sister. She had just been a random girl who seemed to suit the position. That is all.”

“So there were no feelings whatsoever---even before you realized she was a long lost family member?” a reporter questioned.

“No, of course not. Like I said, she just seemed to fit the requirements.”

Tae Hee’s heart broke. was choked; tears were ready to fall at any moment.


She had just been a pawn in this game.

She had never been a queen.

And to think... she had actually fallen in love with him. She had actually thought he liked her. She had actually believed all the lies he fed her. So that was why he had been so impassive. He hadn’t cared, at all. This was all part of his plan. She felt like slapping him---but she couldn’t. Stay composed, she told herself.

The same reporter asked, “What about you, Miss Kim?”

“Huh?” She awoke from her daze.

“Did you develop any feelings as you dealt with Mr. Kim?”

Yes. Of course, you idiot.

“No. In fact,” she laughed, “I hated him at first. But now, he’s gotten better. Not much though, mind you.”

Beneath his false grin, Jaejoong was depressed. He knew she had hated him in the beginning, he had too. But he had thought... It hurt to find out that he had thought incorrectly.

“So how are you handling this CEO issue?”

“Actually,” she began, “I’m...”

Lee Teuk held his breath.

Tell the truth, Tae Hee, the truth.



*flashback*

“Don’t go,” she begged him.

“Why can’t I?” he retorted angrily. “I came back to find you becoming CEO of some crapped up software company. Just because you’ve got the power of a company, that doesn’t mean you can rule over me!”

“Is that what you think of me?” she asked quietly. “Do you really think I want this? Do you really think I don’t remember our promise? They were all lies.”

“...what?”

“You can’t possibly think I’m interested in power. My life goal was to help others in need. Do you really think by sitting on the highest floor of the building, I’ll be able to achieve my dream?”

“You’ll be able to donate money to the needy.”

“Money can’t buy everything. I hate it how people always think it does.”

“I still remember that pact we made. The day you left for Stanford. I remember it all so clearly.”

“Tae Hee...you’ve admitted the truth.”

He held her tightly.

*end flashback*


“I’m not quite sure. Throughout my life, I’ve been quite stupid with computers. And now I’m being asked to take care of a whole business which handles and works with ONLY computers, I’m quite scared. But I’ll try my best.”

He looked away in disappointment. So much for the truth. In all their computer classes, when they were growing up, she had always been at the top---surpassing even the computer geeks. What a liar.

The reporter turned to Jaejoong. “It’s rumored that you’re engaged, is that true?”

He had caught Jaejoong by surprise. “Oh, huh? Oh, yeah.”

“So who’s the lucky girl? And when will it happen?”

Oh crap. What had he gotten himself into? “Actually, now that we’ve found my sister... there really isn’t a need for me to get married yet. So---“ He was interrupted as Ri In stepped onto the stage. She smirked as she saw Sung Hee grow red with fury. She clung onto his arm and even kissed him on the cheek, just to tease everybody.

“Is she the one?” the reporters asked, taking pictures of the kiss.

“Yes, that’s me!” Ri In replied with a false happy tone.

“Aren’t you the daughter of Jang Co.?”

She nodded and smiled. There was no way Jaejoong could break off the engagement now.

He pulled his arm away from her. “Actually, as I was saying, the only reason why I was getting engaged was for the business. Now that I’ve found a replacement for me, I am free. So, basically, this conference tonight was held not only to acknowledge my sister, but also to formally declare that the engagement has been cancelled.” He smiled cheerfully.


“WHAT?” Ri In shrieked. “I refuse.”

“You can’t,” he replied. “I’ve already been taken by Kim Sung Hee.” He motioned for her to come up and she did.

The media ooh-ed and ahh-ed as Jaejoong and Sung Hee shared a kiss.

Ri In fumed and died. JK. She turned away, red with anger, and left the room: concluding the declaration.

Tae Hee watched them with a tugging at her cracked heart. So maybe he did like Sung Hee. Or was she just another pawn in his stupid game? At least one player, Jang Ri In, was already destroyed. Who was next?