Chapter 5

That moment continued to play over in my head. Even after he’d left. The rest of the party had gone by in a blur. After everyone left, I’d gone upstairs, changed into leggings and an oversized shirt-bedtime was this single time I didn’t wear designer clothes- and crawled into bed. I stared at the ceiling in complete confusion.

“I fell in love with you then.”

Tao spoke without doubt. He spoke as if it were still true. I knew that it couldn’t be.

“Tao.” I sighed slightly and turned to face him. I took his warm hand in both of mine and waited for him to look me in the eyes. “I’m not that same little girl who ran away from the stress at home. I’ve grown up. I have responsibilities. I’ve changed. I can’t return to being the little girl hiding under the slide. You’re not going to be able to be the boy who finds me and saves me from those stresses.”

“But I can be! I want to be!” He looked sad. He had the same broken-hearted expression he did when we were children. The same expression he had when I told him I was leaving for America again.

At that time he had taken my hand and told me we could run away. I told him we couldn’t. We were too young. I think it was at that point that I started changing. The next time I came to visit my father I started participating in his work. I had my first modeling job then.

“No, Tao. You can’t. I’m sorry.” I looked over at where Kris and the others were standing. “Tao, I think you better get going. The boys are getting restless.”

I stood up and let go of his hands. He let them fall into his lap, where his eyes also had dropped to. He looked like he was ready to cry. Then again, I understood that. I just crushed his hopes for this marriage.

“Come here.” I motioned for him to stand up, which he did obediently. Due to the heels I was wearing and the fact his head was dropped, I had to bend down slightly to look at his eyes. “Can I have a hug before you go?”

He was exactly like a little kid at this point. He perked right up and nodded, but said nothing. His eyes still had a hint of sadness. We were technically friends as a child and this made our relationship less awkward. I mean, he did pretty much save me from hiding under a slide for the rest of my life. He was my savior.

I smiled at the thought and wrapped my arms around his neck. His arms automatically surrounded me. He squeezed slightly and I could feel his muscled through his jacket that remained around me. I felt just as at home as I did wearing his jacket. I could stay in this position forever if I had the chance.

“We never got the chance to dance,” I whispered, pulling back slightly and looking at him. The sadness in his eyes was gone. Again, just like a child.

“Next time.” He gave me a smile and squeezed me once more before letting go. I took his jacket off my shoulders and handed it back to him. “No. You keep it. It’s cold out.” He put it around my shoulders once again and patted my shoulders gently.

I smiled and took a step forward and placed my hands on his shoulder. He looked down at me with a confused look. Suddenly, I stood on my tip-toes and kissed him on the cheek. I heard “hooting” coming from the three guys. Cameras started flashing and I knew what was going to replace the headline about my brother picking me up from the airport.

I returned my heels to the ground and smiled at him. He was blushing. Tough, wushu-ninja Huang Zitao was blushing. Fangirls were going to go crazy with this. I’m sure that my homicide was going to be plotted as soon as these photos were released. Gotta love crazy fans, right?

“Go! I’ll see you later!” I turned him toward the three men who were nudging each other, which wasn’t hard due to his completely shocked state, and pushed him gently. “Goodbye, Husband.” I said in English with a small laugh. This really was going to be fun.

I woke up to the sun in my eyes. I looked over and saw where I hung the jacket last night and smiled, squinting in the bright sunlight that seemed to be shining directly on the jacket. I rolled out of bed and slipped on my slippers that were set up nicely next to my bed. I yawned and stretched before standing up and walking to my closet.

Before I even made it to the door, I spun around and headed to the other side of the room, where the bathroom was. I needed a shower. I had a slight headache from the champagne last night. I had more than I usually did due to the fact I was meeting a significantly greater amount of people. I got in a quick shower then got ready for the day.

According to the weather it was going to be chilly but not freezing so I decided on a skirt outfit. I chose out a long sleeve, black and white, striped shirt for the top; a high-waist black skirt; black tights; black thigh-high socks; a black knit scarf; a black beanie; and a plain brown belt around my waist. My shoes were a pair of black, tie-up, leather, stiletto booties. My bag was a simple, black, over-the-shoulder. I grabbed my double ed jacket and laid it over my arm.

I walked downstairs to meet my father for breakfast. Just as I had expected, he was sitting at the table. He stood when he heard me walk into the room. The maids bowed to me and Dad looked me up and down.

“You look beautiful, as always.” I smiled and sat down. One of the maids came over and bowed to me again.

“I’ll just have some fruit, thank you.” She bowed again and walked toward the kitchen. My father shook his head at my breakfast choice and took a bite of his calorie-filled meal.

“What are your plans for today, Appa?”

“Work. What about you?” I knew that he already knew what I was doing. The look on his face gave that away. I knew that he was just waiting for me to mention Zelo so that he could ask what I thought about the two of them.

“I’m meeting Junhong to go over the script.” A mischievous smile crossed his face.

“Speaking of him, what do you think about the boys?”

“I know Tao and Zelo is a good kid. Both will be a pleasure to work with.”

“Wait, you know Zitao?” The shock on his face actually surprised me. “That explains the kiss.” He spoke under his breath but I still heard him.

“Already read about it?” I started to smile, more to myself.

“How do you know him?” He put down his fork. My father only put down his fork when he was getting serious during a meal.

“Do you remember that time when we went to China when I was younger? I ran away several times.” He nodded so I continued. “Tao was the one I was going to meet. The first time he was the one that found me in the park.”

The maid came out with my food and I nodded to her. She bowed and walked away. I continued.

“I hadn’t remembered it until last night. I would’ve met him before now if I’d known that.” I was about to say that he was the one who saved me but I decided to leave that part out.

That time was tough on Dad. His one and only daughter had run away in a foreign country because she was too stressed by his work. He had almost quit the entertainment industry then but I convinced him not to.

A loud yawn came from behind me and I felt someone lean against my shoulders. I looked over my shoulder and saw Jason leaning against me. His hair was a rat’s nest and he was in loose plaid pajama pants and slippers.

“Did you forget something?” I asked, laughing an airy laugh.

“Your laugh is the only sound I need to hear.” He wrapped his bare arms around my neck, his eyes closed. “I love you, Little Sis.” His English made me smile.

I took out my phone and opened the camera. Dad was watching us with a proud smile. I looked over at my brother to make sure he was still in his half asleep state before I took a picture of the two of us. Luckily, I had my sound on. As soon as the camera snapped, my brother shot up to a standing position and looked down at himself.

“Grace!” He tried to cover himself but it didn’t seem to work. I picked up a piece of fruit with my fork and held it out to him. He suddenly stopped trying to cover his perfectly toned body and ate the food directly off the fork. He closed his eyes again, this time as if he had just taken a bite out of heaven. There were two things in this entire world that my brother loved more than himself: me and food.

He slowly opened his eyes and swallowed the piece of fruit. Finally, he looked at me, fully aware. “Where are you headed off to?”

“I’m meeting Zelo to go over the script.”

Jason raised an eyebrow at me then nodded approvingly. “Kiss one boy one night and go on a date with another the next afternoon. I taught you well, Sis.” He chuckled and sat down next to me, starting to pick at my fruit. I put a grape in my mouth and slowly chewed.

The breakfast went on like it used to. We spent the time talking about my time in America, how long I planned on staying, how my mom was doing. The only other conversation that was different was what my brother asked me when I stood up and started to put on my coat. I asked a maid to get the car ready then turned to my brother to give him a kiss on the cheek.

“Do you think you might really fall for Tao?” He asked when my lips met his cheek. Most people would have frozen in that situation-I almost did-but I was used to questions like this. I had been getting questions like this since I was just a child.

I shrugged it off and put my bag on my shoulder and took my phone off the table. I blew Dad a kiss and started for the door. “I love you two.” I called over my shoulder as I left the dining room.

Once in the backseat of the warm Lincoln, I sighed. What if I really did fall for Tao? I couldn’t. I was going to be returning to America as soon as I was finished with the shows. That’s where my life was. That’s where Kim was. That’s where my mom was. As if on cue, my phone rang in my hand.

I look down at my mom’s face covered I always had the same number when I was here but my phone changed with every visit. This time it was a Samsung Galaxy S4. I answered it and put the phone to my ear.

“Mom!” The driver jumped slightly at my excitement and I apologized quietly.

“Grace, how is Korea?” Her voice warmed my body.

“I miss you, Mom.” My mom was the greatest mom. I hated being away from her more than anything. “But I’ve met my husband and the boy I’m going to be in the drama with.”

“Oh! What are they like?” She sounded just like an excited mother.

“Well, one of them I already knew and the other seems like a good kid.” Too bad I didn’t live farther from where I was meeting Zelo, the company BAP was with. Due to the fact we never exchanged numbers or discussed where we were meeting, I decided to pick him up from TS Entertainment. “Mom, I have to go. I’m meeting with Zelo right now. I’ll call you later. I love you.”

We said our goodbyes and hung up. The driver got out and opened the door for me. I stepped out and looked at the building. I took a deep breath and put my phone in my purse, walking inside. I walked up to the receptionist desk, where a woman sat on the phone setting up a date for a meeting. I patiently waited until she hung up.

“I am so sorry for that. How may I help you?” I was looking down at my hair when she spoke.

I looked up at her, a gentle smile crossing my face. I was about to speak but she cut me off.

“Oh my god!” She said in English then returned to Korean. “You’re Lee Kyungmi!”

It had been a while since someone used my real name. I nodded to her and moved my blue eyes down the hall behind her.

“I found what I needed to. Thank you.” I bowed slightly to her and passed by the desk and down the hall, where a group of guys were walking. No, they were more than just a group of guys. They were BAP. When I got to them, they all stopped. I did the same and bowed slightly to them, looking at each and every one of them.

“Hello,” I spoke formally. “I’m Lee Grace.” I looked around the group again, noticing Zelo was missing. I listened through their introductions then their leader spoke.

“You’re going to be in that drama with Zelo, aren’t you?” Bang Yongguk spoke. I nodded to him and looked around the entire hall.

“Where is he? We were supposed to meet.” I bit my lip gently and Moon Jongup elbowed Kim Himchan and whispered something in his ear, their eyes not leaving me.

“He’s still in the practice room. He told us to go ahead.” He told me where that room was and we said our goodbyes. I thanked him, said it was nice to meet all of them and that I was hoping to see them again in the future.

I made my way up to where the practice room was. I opened the door a crack and Zelo didn’t seem to notice. He was working hard at the new dance work they were learning. It looked tough but Zelo wasn’t quitting.

The determination in his face made me smile. My heart was beating faster than it normally did as I watched this boy working himself to try to get the footwork down.

There was some sort of feeling forming inside me and I wasn’t even sure of what it could have been. But I knew that I had made the right choice to choose to work with him. Now I was enthused to do so. I wanted to get to know this man even more.