We're here again today for another new character, another new story, and another new world. I hope you will stay by me and support me throughout the story, whether it be good or bad. Please know that I, the author, was inspired by the drama The Heirs (L.O.V.E.D it by the way! ^^). Now I'll stop my blabbering and present to you...

Love and War

~~~

"Bora-yah, umma* had become worse. We have to find more work to keep us all alive."

"But I'm already working two jobs."

"I am too, but we have to do whatever we can to help her."

~~~

"Umma, please hang in there. Please don't drop out," I said softly, observing her through the tinted window. "Woohyun oppa* and I will work harder okay? We'll make sure you get better."

I knew I was trying to convince myself more than I was trying to convince her. It would be difficult but I had to do it even if the responsibility weighs me down, even if I feel like I want to run away from it all. I couldn't leave her like this. She had to get better.

~~~

The very next day, Woohyun oppa sent me out of the house to find another job. Searching the streets of Seoul, I looked into stores that peaked my interest first. Book stores, cafés, music stores, electronic stores. I applied to all of them and hoped I would get hired somewhere.

Sighing, I went to the nearest convenient store and bought a cup of instant ramen noodles. I noticed that a handsome guy around my age was staring at me, but I decided to ignore him and keep moving. I couldn't let others distract me now.

After preparing the ramen, I let it cool for a little bit on the stand that was by the window. I smiled and was glad I was at least fortunate enough to afford a cup of ramen. I picked up the bowl and quickly turned around, which was a big mistake. Right behind me was that strange guy and I had just dumped a bowl of hot ramen on him. He yelped from the heat and I panicked as I saw how big of a mess I caused. A man was suffering from the spill, his white shirt was stained, and the store owner would see a big puddle of broth on their floor

I mentally slapped myself and immediately apologized. "I'm very sorry sir. I-I didn't know you were behind me. I-"

"Just be quiet for now," he cut me off and I was a bit surprised of his rudeness. I reached out to help him, but he blocked my hand away. "If you want to help, then get me something to wipe this off. You already ruined my one of a kind, custom-made, Ralph Lauren shirt! I don't need you to touch something else and ruin that too!" he yelled angrily at me.

I could understand his anger and rudeness, but does he have to be that rude?

"If you want my help, then you can ask nicely instead of yelling in my face and insulting me."

He scoffed at me and scanned me from head to toe. "Of course you would be one of those sassy commoners," he said with disgust, "You people never learn when to give up and bow down to more important figures."

"Excuse me?" This guy just didn't know when to stop.

"You heard me."

I laughed sarcastically. "Why did I even bother to stay here and help you? I'm done with your attitude. Fix your own problem!" I exclaimed. Turning around, I started to walk out of the store until a hand wrapped itself around my wrist and pulled me back.

"Where do you think you're going?" The guy gritted through his teeth. I was flustered by our close proximity and squirmed to get out. He smirked and continued. "You need to repay me for ruining my wonderful shirt. You didn't even help clean up."

"Fine I'll repay every bit of money you spent on it."

"Um, no. Did you not hear me earlier?" He asked, tilting his head to the side. "I said it was one of a kind. There's only one shirt like this and I'm wearing it." He pointed to the stain. "Fix it," he demanded.

I wanted about to respond when someone came in and grabbed our attention.

"Minho-ssi, we must leave now or your father will be very angry."

Minho got the angry expression wiped off of his face and walked over to the mister who was dressed in a nice business suit.

"Secretary Choi, you have great timing. Can you get me a new shirt prepared. I'll be out in the car in a few seconds."

He nodded and went outside. Minho turned around and sneered at me. "You got lucky this time," he said in a low voice.

I smiled at him with false sweetness and waved. "Bye."

He gave me one last look and then left.

~~~

"Bora-yah, I have a surprise for you."

"What is it?" I asked excitedly, "Is it about mom? Has she made progress?"

Woohyun gave me a sad smile. "No, it isn't about her, but it comes fairly close."

I tilted my head to the side. What can come close to having mom get better?

"I asked around and did some paperwork today. With your handsome brother's hard work," He paused for a dramatic effect. "I managed to get you into Seoul National University!"

"What?!" I yelled, so excited yet so confused. How could I have made it into SNU? "Oppa," I hesitated. "How will I be able to attend SNU and care for mother?"

"You're not. You're going to attend SNU and not worry about working three jobs to care for umma. In fact, you have a limit of working one job only." He smiled at me and put both hands on my shoulders. "You're a very intelligent girl, Bora. I don't want you to waste your youth caring for mom. You should at least experience what life is like with other people."

I smiled so brightly and threw myself into oppa's arms. My brother was someone who would sacrifice so much for me. Woohyun was willing to take some of the burden off of my shoulders. Oppa was truly a loving brother and I loved him so much.

"Thank you so much,  Woohyun," I cried, "How will I ever repay you?"

He hugged me back and rested his chin on the top of my head. "You can repay me by doing well in school. Arrasso*?"

I nodded and we both ended up laughing.

~~~

"Hello Father," I greeted and bowed.

"Sit." He gestured to the couch and waited for me until continuing. "Lee Minho, I have checked on how you've been doing in SNU. Do you know what I found?"

I stayed silent, not wanting to give him the wrong answer.

"I found out that you didn't choose any business classes! You instead choose to study about the creative arts, materials that will be useless to you. On top of that, you're failing or close to failing all of the classes! I sent you to SNU for a reason and that reason is to prepare you to take over Lee Corporations. I let you have some freedom for a year, but you can't manage to do the right thing! Starting this year, I've changed all of your classes and your major. So do not disappoint me like you have been, Minho. You are the heir to Lee Corporations, not a foolish commoner. Fix this, Minho."

What if I don't want to fix it? What if I don't want to inherit Lee Corporations? What if I want to run away from this family? What will you do then?

After scolding, my father sent me out of his study and I went back to my room. Laying on my bed, I sighed and stared at ceiling until someone knocked at my door.

"Minho-yah! Minho, open this door for your umma!"

I looked over at the door but didn't even attempt to get up. "What do you need umma?"

"We have to talk about the other heiress. You know Sooyoung is still a good option. She pretty and smart. How about Lee Chaerin or Kwon Yuri?"

"Umma, I don't want to talk about any of them so please be quiet and leave. We'll do this another day."

There was a pause before she gave up. "Fine, we'll discuss this with your dad later."

I closed my eyes and smiled, pleased at myself for evading the topic of arranged marriages.

Sometimes I wish I could run away from it all.

~~~

Our two main characters are oblivious to each other until they cross paths again in 10...

The autumn leaves are sprinkled and spread out on the campus of Seoul National University. Many students are excited as they find and prepare themselves for a new fall semester.

At around 9:02 A.M., a black sedan pulls up to the main entrance of the university. The car door is opened and our awaited character steps out. He stands tall and confident in a white dress shirt, black slacks, navy blue blazer, and sunglasses.

The girls stare in awe and automatically fix any imperfections they think they have. The guys look at Minho, envious of the luxury he has. While Lee Minho may think he's superior, the other 5 percent around him think he's silly. Who dresses that nice just to attend classes at SNU?

...9...

Jung Bora walks towards the main entrance looking down at her notebook, not aware of everyone else. She didn't look up until she kept repeatedly hearing remarks about someone.

"Who is he?"

"I don't know all I know is that he's so ing hot."

"Yah babo*! He's Lee Minho from Lee Corporations. Don't you pay attention?"

...8... 7...

Minho... why did that name sound so familiar?

Bora followed everyone's stare to the one person who she accidentally spilled ramen on. Her eyes widened and she immediately began to walk faster, determined not to get noticed by him. Luck was on her side when she managed to get past him and into the building. But this would not be the last time she'll be seeing Lee Minho.

...6...

Bora managed to snag a map of SNU and tried to study it while finding her way to her first class. She went around in circles and was so confused on where her class was. She would already be late to her first class on the first day? Tsk tsk tsk. Bora cursed under her breath but kept trying.

"Do you need any help?"

Bora whipped around to face a young and cute girl about her age. Her voice and smile had kindness etched into them.

"Um, y-yes I need help... a lot of help," Bora replied.

The girl gave her a light laugh. "What's your first class? Actually, let me see your schedule."

Bora dug through her backpack until she found the piece of paper that had all of her classes and times printed out. She handed the girl her paper.

"Ah, you have English Composition too! Great!" She looked up from the paper with a broad smile. Taking Bora's wrist, she dragged Bora to the classroom. "I have English Comp. too. We can sit together okay? Oh, and my name is Soyou."

...5 ...4 ...

"I'm Bora."

Soyou lightly pushed her inside the classroom. Bora looked backed, confuses. Her friend gave her an encouraging smile and assured her she'll be back before class starts.

"Don't worry okay? Just save me a seat beside you."

... 3... and 2...

Bora nodded and found two empty seats in the center of the room. Climbing up the steps, she set her stuff down and saved a seat for her new friend.

While Bora was busy, Lee Minho had just made his entrance into the classroom. Almost everyone greeted him. He knew many of the students because some of them were chaebols* like he was. There were the twins from Hyundai and the cocky bastard son from LG. Minho knew them but I never said he like all of them.

... 1 ...

Bora sat up in her seat and observed the classroom and students. In her point of view, most of them look wealthy and were well-dress like how Soyou was. She briefly scanned everyone until her eyes met with the one person who she thought would never see again.

Minho kept up his confident attitude while everyone else was flocking around him. He looked around the room to see if he could recognize any more chaebols. As if his eyes were playing tricks on him, he locked eyes with the one girl who looked so familiar. But it couldn't be? ...Could it?

... And finally in 0 ...

Minho quickly made his way up the stairs to my desk and put his hands in front of me to stop me from doing anything else. I looked up at him, waiting for him to talk first. "Are you really...?" Minho faltered.

"Am I really the girl who spilled ramen on you? Yes, yes I am," I replied haughtily.

"What are you doing here?" he asked genuinely. "Why are you in here?"

I scoffed, "How rude! I'm here to study, obviously. And I'm also in here because I want to learn about business." So maybe I told a half lie, but I really did need to learn about business to make money and help her mom.

"No... I mean... not like that..." he stuttered through his words.

"Yah! Lee Minho, are you bullying my friend?" Soyou's voice echoed through the room and many turned their heads. She zoomed through the room and made her way up to me and Minho. "Yah, go away and leave us alone," she commanded as Soyou lightly pushed him away.

"I wasn't even doing anything!" Minho defended himself. "Soyou, stop!"

I observed the both of them with confusion. How does she know him?

"Go!" Soyou exclaimed as she successfully pushed him away. Minho looked back once, giving me a look I couldn't pinpoint. Soyou turned back around and gave me a bright smile. "Sorry about him. Hopefully he won't bother you again, Bora."

"How do you know Minho?"

"You mean him back there?" She gestured to the one person who was here two minutes ago. "Lee Minho is my twin brother. I got lucky and was born 7 minutes before he was."

"So that means-"

I was cut off by the professor shutting the door and calming the room down. "Class is starting!" his voice boomed, "Get in your seats so we can begin!" Most of the students, including me, understood what our professor said in English. Everyone scuttled around to find their desks and class began. Throughout the whole ordeal, Minho kept looking back at me and Soyou. I tried to ignore him, but Minho would look back so much that I ended up glaring at him to get him to stop.

"Miss Bora, would you like come down here and find and correct all the grammar errors?" the professor suddenly asked, forcing me to focus on him. "You too, Mr. Minho," he added.

Slowly, Minho and I stood up from our seats and made our way down to the board. We looked at each other first with hesitation.

"Well go on. You two care more about looking at each other instead of the lesson."

Listening to my professor, I picked up the pen and corrected any errors made. From the corner of my eyes, I saw Minho keep still, watching me. When I was done, I handed the pen to him and looked at my teacher. He nodded with approval and then nagged Minho to work. When we were both done, our professor nodded approvingly and sent us both back to our seating, saying, "You may have gotten that right, but don't think my class isn't important."

After English ended, Soyou walked with me to my next class and dropped me off. "Bye Bora. Don't get lost," she said with a smile. I waved goodbye and turned around, bumping into another person... again.

"Ah! Oh my gosh! Sorry," I apologized.

He narrowed his eyes and silently threatened me. "If you're sorry, then watch where you're going next time," he said coldly.

All I could do was bow my head. I guess it angered him further because he went as far as to grab my wrist and jerk me forward, closer to him. He looked down at me with a smirk. "I'll let you off this time because of your pretty face," he muttered dangerously.

"Haven't you bullied enough people by now, Woobin? I thought we've grown up but I guess it was just me who did that."

We both looked behind us, and I was relieved to see a familiar face.

Woobin glared at him and threw my hand away. He turned his back and walked away, but something told me he'll be back.

"Are you okay?"

Minho approached me and smiled, which seemed strange compared to his angry expression. "I'm not a bad guy, I promise. I was just angry the other day."

"Yeah well..." my voice faded away. "Anyway," I said quickly,  "thanks for helping me. Let's just forget each other and continue on with our lives individually."

Minho frowned. "That won't be an option. My sister has already took a liking for you, so I suspect we'll see each other more often."

I shook my head and simply turned around to take a seat. When I sat down, Minho instantly sat down on my right. And surprisingly, the guy named Woobin sat down on my left. He looked at me and smiled devilishly. "I'll sit here for today."

I stared at him, trying to figure out what game he's playing.

After class, I was dumbfounded when Woobin tapped me on the shoulder and asked me to explain her lesson really quick.

"Bwuh*?"

"Aish never mind. I'll ask you later." He quickly spotted my phone and took it out of my pocket. Pressing some buttons on mine and then taking out his phone, Woobin fingers moved fast like lighting as he typed something in on his. When he was done, he handed me my phone back and had a smug look on his face. "There. I have your number so I'll call you later for it. Don't think I like you though. I just care about my grades unlike that prick next to you."

He picked up his stuff and walked away with a smirk, leaving me and Minho staring after him.

"Yah." Minho shoved me lightly. "Get out of your trance. Let's go to our next class."

"Who said I was going to walk with you?" I said bluntly. Picking up my stuff, I left Minho and continued with school.

~~~

"Are you doing anything after school?"

"No, why?"

"Good. You should come over to my house."

"But..."

"No objections!" Soyou exclaimed. "It's a done deal. I'll meet you at the front of the campus after our last class."

I smiled at her and nodded at Soyou's authority. It looks like I'll be going to the Lee's house.

*Arrasso - Got it? Understand?

*Babo - Fool.

*Bwuh - What in a surprised manner.

*Chaebol - An heir or heiress to a company.

*Oppa - Older brother. Term used by younger sisters.

*Umma - Mom. Mommy.