Chaeri walked out of the shower in a fresh pair of pajamas, her damp hair wrapped in a towel.

 

 

Her phone started to ring just as she was about to begin blow-drying her hair. She swiped the screen to the right and was greeted by her parents' smiling faces through FaceTime.

 

 

A soft smile appeared on her face as they chimed, "Good evening, princess."

 

 

"Hey ma, hey pa," she greeted.

 

 

"How was your scrimmage tonight?" her dad asked. "Sorry we couldn't make it; your mom and I had to make a sudden trip to Singapore to resolve some issues."

 

 

She smiled reassuringly at them. "It went well; we won 3-0. Don't worry about it. Chanhee was there, but just make sure you guys are there for the charity match in the middle of the season." 

 

 

"Honey, will you be back for the weekend, or do you need to stay at the school for work again?" her mom asked.

 

 

She bit her bottom lip as she let out a deep sigh. "I don't think I'll be able to make it this weekend because of a sudden—predicament." she explained.

 

 

Her mom's eyebrows furrowed in worry but she decided not to question further. "Take care of yourself, princess."

 

 

"Is Gong ahjumma enough? Should we send another caretaker for you?" her father fussed.

 

 

She shook her head with a chuckle. "Ma, pa, it's alright. I'm fine, don't worry about me. I'm a big girl now, okay?"

 

 

"You'll always be our little princess," her dad firmly stated. 

 

 

"Right, well, I have to go eat dinner," she brought up just as a knock on her door was heard. "Bye ma, bye pa," she quickly bid goodbye and hung up.

 

 

Chunji poked his head into the room, despite technically not being allowed to trespass into her hallway due to security reasons. "Was that auntie and uncle?" 

 

 

"Yeah," she nonchalantly answered as she pushed herself up off the bed and headed towards the door.

 

 

"Did they call you little princess again?" he chuckled.

 

 

"Yeah," she repeated with a roll of her eyes.

 

 

He affectionately ruffled her hair with a smile plastered on his face as the two headed down the stairs. "You are our little princess though," he confirmed.

 

 

Just as he said that, L.Joe came out of his room to join them for dinner. "Little princess? Nice."

 

 

"Don't mock me, Byunghun," she calmly warned.

 

 

"Umbridge alert," he whispered to himself but flashed her a grin to save himself.

 

 

As the three of them sat down at the dining table, Chunji made obvious suspicious looks between L.Joe and Chaeri. 

 

 

"So, what is this I hear about 5 dates?" he brought up nonchalantly.

 

 

Chaeri whipped her head to the side to glare at L.Joe. "They're not dates," she pouted.

 

 

Chunji laughed to himself at Chaeri's childish behavior that she only showed to a select few. Unknowingly, L.Joe had become one of those select few in such a short amount of time. 

 

 

"Since when did you two become so close?"

 

 

"We're not close!" she retorted.

 

 

L.Joe feigned offense and dramatically gasped. "How could you say that?"

 

 

Chaeri ignored him and diverted her full attention to the food being brought out. Being stuck in a house with both of the Lee cousins was going to serve as a bigger test against her patience than expected. "I knew I should have eaten in the dining hall tonight," she muttered. 

 

 

<><><>

At the break of dawn on Saturday morning, Chaeri was stirred from her sleep by her alarm clock. As she fumbled to turn it off, it gave her brain time to fully awaken to comprehend the reason why she was up so early. "Ah, right," she thought, "Lee Byunghun."

 

 

Sitting up, her eyes traveled to the box set atop her desk. Inside it was a yellow halter top sundress given to her the night before by L.Joe along with instructions to wear it on their "date". She was piqued by his meticulousness shown through his dictation of her outfit and learned that, when it comes to the Lee cousins, it's best to just go with the flow. She didn't even question why he chose her outfit for her or where he was taking here for that matter. She was supposed to be the one taking him somewhere, not the other way around, but she didn't mind as long as it got rid of one of the 'dates'.

 

 

After an hour of getting ready, she headed downstairs to find L.Joe waiting for her.

 

 

He was dressed in khaki pants and a neatly-tucked-in, blue, button-down shirt. He looked up from his watch once he heard her coming down the stairs and she could have sworn she saw his lips raise into a smile. 

 

 

"You clean up nicely," she commented in greeting.

 

 

L.Joe smirked before holding out his arm. "Ready?"

 

 

She unwillingly hooked her arm with his as they made their way out of the dorm where a sleek black car was waiting in the front.

 

 

After an hour long car ride, they reached their destination: a country club. 

 

 

Chaeri raised her eyebrows but didn't say anything. She obediently tailed L.Joe as he maneuvered his way around the property. Staff bowed to the both of them as they passed until they reached the back of the clubhouse where the garden was. Chaeri sighed when she realized where L.Joe had just brought her to.

 

 

"A brunch garden party, really?" 

 

 

"I had to bring a girl," he shrugged, linking their arms once again. 

 

 

"Lee Byunghun," a man called, catching the teens' attention.

 

 

"Father," he acknowledged with a slight nod.

 

 

Chaeri straightened up, unhooking her arm and bowing 90 degrees. "Good morning, Mr.Lee," she politely greeted.

 

 

Lee Byungho was well known in the business world for being quiet and emotionless; just his gaze alone was enough to submit anyone to his will. Despite being the president of Lotte, due to his influence, he was viewed as an equal to the CEO in terms of status. He was the younger brother, thus automatically inheriting the position of president. However, he was respected by people of all ranks and statuses; he was just that kind of person who demanded admiration. 

 

 

"Miss Park, it's been a while," he returned her greeting. "Is Byunghun causing the student council trouble at school?"

 

 

"Not at all!" she denied with a smile. 

 

 

"Then, enjoy yourselves," he wished before walking off. 

 

 

Chaeri hadn't noticed that she'd been reducing her breathing and let out a long sigh. 

 

 

"Thanks," L.Joe voiced his gratitude as he lead her by the arm towards a table. 

 

 

She shook her head, "It was nothing."

 

 

They spent the rest of the party eating and putting forth fake politeness to everyone who came by to try to wiggle their way into the top two conglomerates' favor. After a while of the same formalities being repeated while they sat, L.Joe suggested they leave. Chaeri was more than happy to oblige, and they left immediately after bidding Mr.Lee adieu. 

 

 

"That was a drag, wasn't it? Sorry," apologized L.Joe once they were in the car. 

 

 

"It's okay, I totally understand. I had fun!" Chaeri grinned.

 

 

He rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I totally believe you." 

 

 

She blushed, turning her head away to hide her embarrassment. 

 

 

"Well, since we're already out, how about we go somewhere you've probably never been in your life?" L.Joe suggested as he made a sharp right turn. 

 

 

Her eyes widened, holding onto the passenger arm rest in alarm. "Wait, what?"

 

 

L.Joe sped through the streets in the outskirts of Seoul with the windows down and the wind blowing through his hair while Chaeri held on for dear life, praying that she actually makes it alive to their destination, unless L.Joe was trying to get them to heaven. L.Joe laughed as he glanced at the frightened president, increasing the pressure on the gas pedal, emitting a scream from her. 

 

 

"Slow down!" she yelled with her eyes tightly shut. "This is so illegal! We're going to die!"

 

 

"Learn to loosen up, Park Chaeri!" he shouted back.

 

 

Suddenly, the car came to a skidding stop. Chaeri was forward but was pulled backwards by her seatbelt. She fumbled with her seatbelt, clicking it off and clambering out of the car. Her knees buckled underneath her as she fell to the ground breathing heavily.

 

 

L.Joe appeared out of the car with a slight chuckle at the defeated image of the once-intimidating president. "You okay?"

 

 

After catching her breath, she sarcastically replied, "Oh, yeah, I'm 101% fine."

 

 

She slowly raised herself from the ground to assess her surroundings. They stood in front of the entrance to a forest. "I've been hiking before," she pointed out. 

 

 

He ignored her statement and went ahead. "Just trust me," he assured.

 

 

Reluctantly, she followed behind him. She kept a safe distance between them because what if he wanted to murder her and he chose the forest as his body dump location? Better to be safe than sorry. 

 

 

There was no clearly marked path and she began to worry after some time if he actually knew where to go. Her suspicions grew when she took her eyes off of his back for a second to glance at a passing bird but he disappeared behind a wall of greenery. She nibbled on her bottom lip, debating whether or not she should continue following him. If she wanted to run, now would be the perfect time. However, being the nice person she is, she ignored all of her distrust and wiggled through the bushes.

 

 

Boy, was she glad that she chose the right decision.

 

 

Upon emerging from the foliage, she was greeted by L.Joe sitting on a rock with his legs dangling above a pond in the middle of all of the trees. 

 

 

"Come," he beckoned, patting the rock next to him, "I won't push you in again. I promise."

 

 

Chaeri couldn't help but allow a large smile to spread across her face as she hurried over and plopped down next to him. "How did you find this place?" she questioned, marveling at the beautiful nature surrounding them. The trees were all sorts of green, the wild flowers were in full bloom, and the animals scrambled about doing their own thing. She felt her busy life come to a standstill in that place and all of her worries disappeared. 

 

 

"My birth mom used to take me here a lot," he confessed.

 

 

She tilted her head in confusion. 

 

 

"My father's wife isn't my mother, nor will she ever be considered my mother; I was born out of wedlock."

 

 

Not knowing what to do at the sudden revelation, all she could do was muster up a nod and proceeded to focus intently on her legs swinging back and forth above the water. 

 

 

He cleared his throat in an attempt to break the awkward silence. "Now it's your turn to confess something about yourself," he mentioned. "Isn't getting to know one another the point of a date?"

 

 

She laughed, shaking her head. "It's not a date!" she reiterrated. 

 

 

"Moving on," he urged.

 

 

"Okay, well, this isn't my first date," she revealed, earning a flash of surprise across his face.

 

 

"It's not? You? The ever-so-prim-and-proper Park Chaeri?"

 

 

"Just because I'm the student body president doesn't mean that I'm uptight," she defended.

 

 

He raised his eyebrow in dubiety. "Who was the poor boy?"

 

 

At the question, she fell silent. 

 

 

Noticing her discomfort, he turned away, pretending to look at his watch. "Never mind that; it's getting pretty late. We should go now if we want to make it back to campus on time," he mentioned, standing up and offering his hand for her to grab.

 

 

She awkwardly coughed before taking his hand and standing up. 

 

 

As they headed back to the car, she maintained the same safe distance as before. Once they exited the forest, she decided to break the silence. "You better not break the speeding law this time," she warned.

 

 

He mischievously smiled as he held open the door for her. 

 

 

When they were both situated inside, he made sure her seatbelt was on and that the passenger door was locked.

 

 

"Oh, trust me. I'm an excellent driver."

 

 

«»«»«»

Author's Note

Hey guys!

Volleyball conditioning in the winter is torture.
School is torture.

Remember kids, always drive safely!
Don't follow Byunghun's example; he's a mess.
Thanks for reading!

Love,
Minnie