Chapter 1
I'll Make You Love Me-hiatus-Breakfast with my parents has been quiet every morning for a while now, with the conversations mainly going between the two of them. I don’t talk much. I contribute here and there when asked, but it’s kept to a minimum. Today’s topic was some business partner of my dad’s and his family. I picked up a piece of my toast and observe it before putting it in my mouth and savoring the sweet jam flavor.
"Hye Jung-ah!"
I jumped slightly at the sound of my name, swallowing my food, and put my fork down at the stare of my mum, “Yes, omma?”
“Hye Jung, sweetie, have you been paying attention?” my mum asked, her fork in her hand, pointed at her food.
“No...”
She sighed, “Well, we were talking about how you, um, don’t really have a, um, boyfriend... we... uh...”
"We have arranged for you to marry our business partner's son." Dad finished for her.
“Yeobo!” my mum squealed.
“What? If she wasn’t paying attention in the first place, then there’s no reason to go soft on her,” he reasoned.
My mum grunted and looked at me, “Sweetie, please try to under-”
“That’s it?” I cut her off, earning a weird look from her. “Who is it?”
“Lee Jun Ho. The son of Mr. Lee from Lee Group,” my dad replied.
I nodded my head as I recalled who he was. Dad continued, staring at my face as he spoke, “If you were paying attention to the conversation at all, you would have noticed that they want to merge with our company. And, since you’re not dating anyone at the moment, or so I hope, we thought it would be a great opportunity to get you two together. You don’t seem mad about this.”
“Why would I be mad? Haven’t we been close to them for a while now?” I shrugged.
My mum seemed to relax a little bit, but still seemed a little uptight, “We thought that you would object and would want to choose your own partner. Afterall, marriage and love are very sensitive matters these days.”
“I’m okay with it,” I stated, picking my fork back up and finishing the rest of my breakfast.
My parents continued to brief me on the marriage and my husband-to-be. Apparently he's been studying in America for a few years and he's a year older than me. Just like Dae Hyun oppa. I wipe away the tears that were on the verge of pouring from my eyes. Luckily my parents didn't notice it.
"Sweetie, we've arrange a lunch meeting at Yong Su San for the both of you. Its this Saturday. We want you make a conversation with him, okay?"
I simply nodded."May I be excuse?"
"Sure." My parents gave me an understanding look.
I got up from the dining table and walked back upstairs to my room. Thinking back, marriage is not a simple matter. Deep down, I know my parents still have a lot to tell me about him but I think its better if I get to know about him by myself.
Lee Junho, the son of Lee Jae Hyun. Who are you? From what my parents said, it seems that you're friendly and nice. Is that true? I sat infront of my mirror as these thoughts ran through my mind. I will be meeting a stranger with only this information and people would expect me to be scared, pressured. But I'm not sure what I'm feeling inside, whether its happiness, nervousness or whatsoever. I just have this unsettling feeling in the pit of my stomach.
I took in a deep breath. Here goes nothing.
[Junho's POV]
“Morning Junho.” My parents greeted me as they noticed me entering the dining room. I settled down on a seat next to my mum and across from my dad.
“Morning omma, appa.” I said leaning to my side to give my mum a kiss on the cheek.
She handed me a plate of pancakes,”Here have some breakfast.”
“Could you pass me the syrup, appa?”
“Here you go.”
“Kamsahamnida.” I poured some onto my stack of pancakes and started to dig in.
In the midst of eating, I noticed my parents were exchanging weird glances among themselves. I swallowed the food in my mouth and cleared my throat. They were a bit alarmed.
“Is there something you guys do that I didn’t know of?” I questioned.
"Well, we have a surprise for you." My mum beamed.
I nodded,”Go on.”
“You’re getting married!” My mum squealed.”But you don’t get married straight away, no no, you and your bride-to-be will get to know each other first. Then, we’ll go with the flow.”
My mum was fanning herself with her hands.”Woah, we finally did it.” My dad reached for her hand and gave it a squeeze.
“Can you at least tell me who she is? You need to relax omma.” I chuckled.
“Sorry son. Yeobo, you tell him?” She looked back at my dad.
“The girl you’re marrying is Kim Hye Jung from KHS Group. She’s the only daughter of the Kim family.”
My mum continued,”She’s really one of a kind girl. Well-mannered and a real beauty just like her mother. You’ll like her.” My parents gave each other a knowing look.
“How do you know I’ll like her? What if she’s not my type?” I wiggled my eyebrows at them.
That earned me a slap on the arm from my mum.
“Omma! That hurts. I was just kidding.” I rubbed my arm.
“That’s for being so cheeky.”
I made the cutest face at her,”That’s because I’m your son.”
"Gosh, so full of yourself."
"You raised him like that." My dad interfered our little feud.
"Yeobo, he's your-"
"Appa, you lov-"
"Junho-yah, shut your-"
"Appa, omma's threat-"
"Yeobo, don't list-"
"Appa!!!"
"Now now, stop it you two." My mum and I went silent.
"Back to your marriage, we've arrange a lunch meeting for the both of you on Saturday at Yong Su San. I want you to be at your best that day."
"For the both of us? You're not coming with me?" I asked, shocked.
"Son, you're old enough to go out meeting people without us."
"But-"
"No buts. You'll do just fine, my son." My dad patted me on the shoulder.
"Fine then." I sulked.
"And you're too old to be sulking like a kid." My mum pinched my cheeks.
"Ouch omma!" I rubbed on my throbbing cheeks. "Okay, okay, I'll go alone. Happy?"
"Very." My mum grinned. "We've got to go now or we're gonna be late, yeobo. Do you need the driver to send you to the meeting, Junho?"
"No, its okay. I'll drive myself." With that, my parents got out of their seats and bade me farewell.
The silence engulfed me like a blanket. I wonder about the girl I'm about to get married to."Kim Hye Jung.. Kim Hye Jung.." That name keeps repeating itself in my mind. She seems like the perfect girl. I can't wait for this Saturday.
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