Chapter Five

Mira was up early the next morning—much earlier than Jongin, as expected. Right now, the time was barely past nine am, a reasonable time for anyone to be awake; at least, it was in Mira’s mind. “Mom, where did you put Jongin’s jacket? I’m going to return it to him,” she asked as she looked around for it, checking in the closets.  She turned around and the jacket was placed into her arms by her father.

“You know your mother would never permit you to go over there,” he said, crossing his arms over his chest, giving her a curious look.

“Ahh…you’re right,” Mira replied, looking over the jacket and scribbled something on the tag that her father didn’t catch.

“Go quietly and quickly, I’ll cover for you as long as I can,” Jihoon said, rushing her to put her shoes on before seeing her out the door. “Here’s some money, stop by the market to pick something up.”

She shoved the money in her pocket; it was clear her father as going to use it as an excuse and it wouldn’t make sense for her to be gone and come back empty handed. The air was cold as she pulled her own jacket tighter around her, Jongin’s jacket over her arm as she walked briskly down the street. The early morning air was colder than normal, but it did rain heavily for a majority of the night. The streets and sidewalks were still wet.

Once she came to the park she stopped. Many thoughts came rushing back; about her, about her parents, about Jongin. Many minutes passed before she started walking again in the direction of his house. This was a big step for the girl, and much more of a step for her father who had been Jongin’s father’s rival for a long time. In fact, it was hard for Mira’s parents to understand and accept the fact that Jongin had saved their daughter’s life, practically.  

Needless to say, Mira was extremely nervous. Jongin’s mother wasn’t the nicest to her, and neither really was his father or the youngest daughter, but the nicest of all of them to her was Kim Haemi, the eldest sister. Haemi never had any bad feelings towards the younger girl and never treated her as anything less than a person. Mira hoped and prayed that it was her who answered the door—it would at least make things a lot easier.

But a lump formed in Mira’s throat as she stepped up to the door. Her shaky hand which was balled in a loose fist rose to knock on the door. She took a deep shaky breath and waited for whoever was to answer the door. The one who opened the heavy wooden door was none other than Kim Jihwan, Jongin’s father.

“Han Mira, what a surprise,” he said pleasantly, “what brings you here?”

She greeted him politely before continuing, “I found this in a nearby café yesterday and figured I should return it to Jongin, it looks pretty expensive,” she said, “is he here?”

“Are you sure that it’s his? I don’t remember him wearing it out yesterday,” Jihwan replied. Mira wanted to panic, could he see right through her?

“I’m pretty sure it’s his, his name is written on the tag,” she returned, ping the jacket to show it to the elder man. She watched his eyes curiously, noting that they widened a bit. Did she successfully trick him? He stood back up straight after inspecting the tag and invited her in. Mira’s heart pounded against her chest. She was being invited into Kim Jihwan’s household, a family that didn’t have a good view of her by their own will. Nervously, she stepped inside and slipped her shoes off before looking around. It looked eerily familiar to her house—the build was the same, but the décor varied greatly.

“Take a seat, I’ll get Jongin,” Jihwan said with a smile before disappearing from the room. Mira didn’t look, but she could hear a different set of footsteps walk in calmly, but walk out not very calmly. It was Jongin’s mom, Hyeri. When she noticed the dark haired female that wasn’t her daughter on the couch in their main room she panicked, knowing exactly who it was and ran to find her husband.

“Jihwan!” she called quietly, causing the male to turn around halfway up the stairs. “Han Mira is in there on our couch. Han Mira! Who invited her in?” Mira sighed, she could hear Mrs. Kim clear as day but kept to herself.

“She was kind enough to return Jongin’s raincoat, I figure the least I can do is invite her in for a cup of tea. If you don’t like it, you don’t have to attend, but you could at least treat her like a person and not like a plague,” Jihwan replied to his wife before continuing up the stairs.

“You’ve been influenced too much by your daughter,” she spoke through gritted teeth and did her best to avoid the room Mira was in as she headed upstairs as well.

Kim Jihwan knocked on Jongin’s door before opening it. The boy was still asleep in his bed while Baekhyun was on the couch, watching the TV on mute as he waited for the other boy to wake. Jihwan greeted Baekhyun with a smile. “Late night?” he asked.

“For Kai, not so much for me,” Baekhyun laughed. “Are you kicking me out?” he joked.

“Actually, Jongin has a visitor. She’s downstairs and I was going to make some tea. You’re welcome to join us if you’d like,” Jihwan said as he moved over to Jongin’s bed, tearing the covers away from the male. Baekhyun’s eyes widened. He feared it was Mira, and she would totally blow Jongin’s cover. Regardless of who it was, they were already in the house so Baekhyun tried to put his worries at ease.

“Kim Jongin. You have a visitor, so get up and make yourself presentable.”

“A visitor you say?” Haemi commented, standing in the doorway of her brother’s room. “And who might this visitor for Jongin be?”

“Han Mira,” Jihwan replied. Haemi’s eyes widened and Kai’s eyes shot open.

“What?!” Kai called, forcing himself to sit up. His eyes held dark bags and his hair was more than a mess. 

“Han Mira? What business does she have here?” Haemi inquired with a smile, her eyes motioning for Kai to get up and clean up. The young boy pushed past his father and sister and crossed the hall into the bathroom. Baekhyun on the other hand looked perfect. It was as if he had just gotten out of the shower. His hair was perfect, his face looked clean, and his smile was bright.

“She apparently found Jongin’s raincoat at a café, which you failed to mention that he went to,” Jihwan stated, eyeing Haemi suspiciously.

Haemi’s heart jumped before she played along. “I didn’t think it was important, we went out for lunch together,” she said.

“So he knew that you were following him?”

“News flash, dad; Jongin isn’t stupid. He always knows exactly who is following him and when. So yes, he knew I was following him, and we went out to lunch. I guess I didn’t see him leave his jacket there. Anyway, that was nice of Mira to pick it up and return it,” she said, fabricating a story on the spot to match to Mira’s to the best of her ability. It was a risky move since she didn’t know what Mira had told Jihwan, but he seemed to buy it.

Kai entered the room again, his hair combed, teeth brushed with a fresh pair of pants on. “Clean shirt, clean shirt, clean shirt,” he repeated, searching the floor, picking up shirt after shirt to smell it. “Dirty, dirty… oh my god…” the last garment he pulled to his nose was in desperate need of washing. 

“Here,” Baekhyun called, pulling a folded shirt off the table to the side of the couch and threw it into Kai’s chest. He quickly pulled it on and all four of them proceeded to head downstairs.

“Sorry about the wait, Jongin was still asleep,” Haemi said with a laugh as she met eyes with Mira. The younger female smiled in returned and assured it was alright before her eyes met with Kai’s that were more than nervous about being caught.  “Anyway, she returned this to you,” Haemi said, taking the jacket from the back of the couch to hand it to Kai, inspecting it on the way there. “Your name is on the tag on a piece of tape, clever girl,” she whispered to her brother so that their father couldn’t hear.  

Kai smirked to himself before turning to put the jacket back into the closet, peeling the piece of tape off in the process.  “Shall I make fresh tea, then?” Jihwan asked before heading into the kitchen. He was going to make some whether he was the only one who wanted it or not. “Maybe you should introduce your friend to Mira, Jongin,” he added, gaining his son’s attention.

“Right,” he replied and the three children took seats in the main room with Mira. While she sat in the middle, Haemi sat on her right while Kai stood to her left with Baekhyun. “Mira, this is Byun Baekhyun; Baekhyun, this is Han Mira,” he introduced. Baekhyun’s smile was devious as he looked at her before bowing and she did so as well before he sat down in the chair to the right of the couch, Kai taking a seat next to Mira.  

“So, Mira, does your father have any tricks up his sleeves for me to deal with?” Jihwan asked jokingly from the kitchen.

“In all honesty, I know almost nothing about the company or what he does, so I couldn’t really tell you,” she replied with a laugh, Haemi laughing as well knowing that Mira was bluffing. She wasn’t stupid, and even if Haemi’s father was joking around, Mira wasn’t about to play along with it. The less she acted like she knew, the better—that way no one would interrogate her while she was being ‘held hostage’ in the Kim household.  “But if anyone is interested to know, I got accepted to Emory University,” she said with a smile.

The sound of shattering porcelain echoed through the kitchen and the main room and everyone was silent. “Oops,” Jihwan faked, knowing that no one had seen him drop the cup. “That’s great, I’m sure your parents are really proud of you.”

Mira could sense it; there was something about Jihwan’s congratulations that wasn’t right. He wasn’t genuine about it at all. She wanted to get a better look at him. “Would you like some help cleaning that up?” she asked and stood from the couch to enter the kitchen. She squatted down next to Kai’s father and began gathering shards of porcelain in her hands. “I heard you graduated from Emory just like my father, Mr. Kim. I’ll finally get to see the place where you both learned all of your business knowledge,” she smiled.

“Emory is far away and I know how your mother feels about you leaving, but I’m sure she’s still very proud,” he replied, his words seeming a little more genuine this time.

“She is, her daughter is just as smart as her husband, just the way they both wanted it,” Mira said, dumping the porcelain in the trash.

“Thank you for helping me clean up,” Jihwan said.

“It was no problem,” she replied before heading back to the room with everyone else and resumed her seat.

“Wow, Emory University in America! I’ve only heard stories about America, but it’s supposed to be really nice, and Emory is such a prestigious school! Congratulations!” Haemi said with a big grin on her face. Haemi was the same she always had been towards Mira. She treated Mira like she wasn’t a part of a rival company, like she was just a normal human being that she had made friends with in school or on the streets, perhaps in a store or something.

There was short conversation among the group before Kim Jihwan entered with tea and the conversation continued for a while, Kai’s dad jumping in here and there. But soon enough it was time for Mira to leave. She needed time to go to the market to pick something—anything—up to make her father’s story legit. Kai, Haemi and Baekhyun all walked her out the front door and out of sight of Jihwan.

“Really smooth the way you got that jacket back,” Haemi commented, “I could tell he was suspicious for a little, but you managed to snake your way around him, good job,” she commended, causing Kai to smile at her.

“You’ve got some smarts and some moves, Han Mira,” he joked, leaning against the house as he crossed his arms, that signature smirk formed on his lips.

“How else was I supposed to know when Haemi would be following you,” she winked in return, “It would be hard to plan.”

“This girl!” Haemi commented, shaking her head as she averted her gaze.

“Well, it was good to see you two with somewhat ease,” Mira said, addressing Kai and Haemi. “And nice to meet you, Baekhyun,” she said.

“The pleasure is mine,” he replied with a wink of his own as he shoved his hands in his pockets. 

Haemi and Baekhyun turned to head back into the house, but Kai just watched as they walked away, leaving Mira and Kai to themselves. Once Kai heard the door closed, he pushed himself off the wall and towards her. His mocha eyes stared at hers, but her eyes were avoiding his, tracing his muscles through his shirt, and it was pretty obvious to Kai. “You know, I personally think my eyes are much nicer to look at,” he teased, causing her eyes to shoot up to his. A soft blush covered Mira’s face.

She sighed and looked away for a moment before reconnecting their gaze. “Thank you… for everything lately, not just yesterday. But you did practically save my life, and I’m forever in your debt,” she stated. He was right; his eyes were so warm and welcoming as they looked at her, taking her beauty in.

He gave her a soft smile, “Don’t mention it,” he said, reaching forward to twist a curl of her hair around his finger.

“Are you flirting with me?” she asked jokingly.

He laughed gently before wrapping his strong slender hand around the back of her head and softly pulled her against his chest. “Punk,” he muttered, hugging her gently. He could feel her arms wrap around his slender waist as her head rested against his collar. “Maybe I am, maybe I’m not,” he replied to her question cryptically.  

“The only punk is you, avoiding directly answering the question,” she teased, her grip around him tightening before she let go, pulling away from him.

“I’ve found a way you can repay me for saving your life,” he said.

“Oh? And what’s that?” she asked, curious to what he could have possibly come up with.

“Your debt will be forgiven if you kiss my cheek,” he bargained with a wink. A soft blush rose to Mira’s cheeks again. A kiss on the cheek for her life?

She scoffed, causing Kai to shake his head with a smile and turn away.

“Hey, Jongin,” she called, causing him to turn around.

She grabbed his strong biceps and pulled herself towards him, planting her soft lips against his cheek. She pulled away and looked into his deep brown eyes, “Punk,” she muttered with a giggle before turning away, leaving her scent to encase him and, for a moment, paralyze him as he watched her walk away, into the thick midmorning mist.