{Chapter 7}

Daniel stood there, rubbing out the bubbles of the Dalmatian print wall sticker he was applying, staring across the room at the girl pushing a chair across the living room.

“Daniel,” Jisu whispered over to his bandmate. “Why are you staring at her? You look angry.”

“Plus, if you rub that one spot any more, you’ll rub a hole straight through that wall,” Inati added with a smile.

“Huh? Oh.” Daniel came to his senses and stepped away from the wall. He and his bandmates, minus Day Day and Dari, were applying their choice decorations for Day Day’s newlywed’s house. They had gotten to the house early, telling Day Day that they were going shopping, so they had just about finished now that it was a little past noon.

They had already prepared their decorations the week before, after being contacted by the show and asked to decorate. Their one condition was that they had to be out of the house before Day Day and Livia walked in. Why Daniel thought that they would be the only ones at the place, he didn’t know, so he was surprised to find another person, a woman, already at the house, taking the bubble wrap off of newly-delivered pieces of furniture when he, Jisu, Inati and Youngwon arrived.

She greeted them, but afterwards, the respective groups went on doing their own things. Inati, being the strongest, would occasionally help the girl move the larger pieces of furniture, but she refused too much help from him. She told them her name was Nattie, and that she was Livia’s sister, which surprised Daniel. She didn’t look like Livia at all.

“If you want to talk to her, do it,” Inati told the youngest. “She’s actually very nice.”

Youngwon looked away from the sticker he was working on nearby, and up at Inati. “You talked to her?”

Inati smiled shyly. “I’ve been helping her with the furniture right? I talked to her a little bit.”

“I’m sorry,” Nattie called, making the four boys look over. “Inati? Can you…?” She gestured towards a small couch.

Inati started walking towards Nattie, but Daniel cut him off, saying, “I’ll help you.”

She looked a little taken aback at Daniel’s forwardness, but after looking at Inati one more time, she sighed and turned back to the couch. “It needs to go up against the wall,” she told Daniel quietly once he reached her.

“Okay,” Daniel said, wiping the sweat already on his hands, a product of decorating for a few hours, on his jeans.

“And we should probably pick the couch up, so we don’t scratch the floors,” Nattie said, going to one end of the couch.

Daniel followed suit and wwent to the other end of the couch and waited for her order to pick the couch up and help her get the couch to the wall.

After surveying their finished work, Daniel asked quietly, “So…what is Livia like?” He hoped to start an easy conversation without bothering her, but he also wanted to get answers to his questions.

Nattie laughed lightly and looked over at Daniel. “Afraid she’s a bad girl for Day Day?”

Daniel shifted his weight a little, embarrassed that she had caught him, but he still nodded, deciding that getting answers at the expense of his pride was better than getting none.

Nattie sighed. “She’s a good girl. Best older sister I could have asked for. She’s been through a lot…nothing horrible,” she added, seeing Daniel’s questioning look. “But she’s moved around a lot. And not just to different towns; different countries. She’s shy, so it’s difficult for her to open up sometimes. Even to my dad, it took a while for her to warm up.”

“Wait…your dad?” Daniel interrupted.

“Yeah. Livia’s my half-sister. Her dad left her and her mom when she was a baby. My dad had been friends with Livia’s mom for a while before, but after that guy left, he became more to her, and they got married, and I’m the product,” Nattie answered with a wide smile. “Even with different dads, Livia’s been a great sister. There are times when she’s kind of awkward with my dad, like father and daughter dances at weddings, or whatever, but she’s probably one of the most genuine people you’ll meet.”

Daniel nodded. He had actually got more of an answer than he had expected.

“What about Day Day?” Nattie asked suddenly, turning the questions on Daniel. “Can I trust him with my sister?”

“Definitely,” Inati answered, coming over to where the two of them were standing. “Day Day’s a great guy. Respectable, but with a distinct American flare.”

“American flare?” Nattie asked, turning to Inati suddenly. “I’ve lived in America. The typical ‘American flare’ is not what I want for Livia.”

Inati looked shocked at the sudden outburst from Nattie, and didn’t know how to respond.

“What Inati meant was that Day Day’s humor is more American than Korean. He’s sarcastic, and he uses American slang. He’s not a player. I’m from America too, trust me.”

Nattie looked over Daniel. “Yeah, I knew you were American when you walked in,” she said, making Inati chuckle behind her. She didn’t say it in a mean way; it was just a statement.

Jisu and Youngwon had finished their decorations and were now watching the interactions, looking slightly amused, but very bored.

“I…look American?” Daniel asked.

Nattie nodded confidently. “I can definitely see it now. Los Angeles, right?”

Daniel was shocked. Though most native Koreans could tell that he wasn’t from their country, it was odd to find someone who could tell him exactly where he was from. In fact, it was the first time anyone had guessed correctly the first time, before asking him themselves. “Yes…” he said quietly.

Nattie nodded again and hummed to herself. “Yeah, you look like it.”

“How can you tell?” Daniel demanded, sounding a bit too harsh. He had been teased before—and even after—about being a foreigner. If he knew what he needed to change, it could make his life a lot easier.

Nattie thought for a second, then said, “When you’ve met people from as many different cultures as I have, you learn their tendencies. You are totally American.”

Not what Daniel wanted to hear. “How can I fix it, though?” he asked, almost near begging Nattie for a solution.

Nattie looked shocked. “Why do you want to change it? It’s you… If you change, then you aren’t the you people already know you to be. Your family, your fans, your band. They like you this way. Just like Livia’s fans like her the way she is; completely not Korean.”

Inati and Daniel looked at Nattie, Daniel surprised, Inati grateful. The leader had been trying for a while to get the two Americans comfortable in their skin, and though they had gotten better, Inati hadn’t suspected that We Got Married would help both of them.

Jisu and Youngwon were no longer paying attention, as they had noticed what everyone else hadn’t: a car pulling up to the house.

“I think…” Jisu started.

“It’s time to go,” Youngwon finished, directing everyone else’s attention to the car outside.

“Oh dear,” Nattie cried. “It’s not perfect yet!” She tried pushing a few chairs into what she thought would be the perfect position, but before she could do too much, Inati grabbed her arm.

“Leave it,” he told her. “You can always fix it later.”

“There’s a back door!” Jisu cried from the kitchen.

After a few moments of scrambling, the five decorators ran out of the back of the house, almost falling over each other to get out before Day Day and Livia could come in.

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