CHAPTER 4. DOUBLE SURPRISE.

Ha Ni and her parents flew to Seoul 2 days before her classes in the university started. Her parents already arranged her papers in the university weeks ahead and all she had to do was to come to class. It was already almost dusk when they reached Seoul, and the whole family then proceeded to the family friend’s house. After a one-hour drive from the airport, they reached a suburb neighborhood of elegant-looking houses. Mr. Oh stopped the car by the gates of a tall house .

“Here we are.” Mr. Oh announced proudly.

Ha Ni looked amazed at the house. She did not imagine she’d be staying in a house as huge as that. Their own house in Jeju was not as big, but it had a very cozy feel to it. Her dad got out of the car and pressed the doorbell. A voice sounded and invited them in. The gates opened for them and his father drove them inside.

Passing by a pretty garden,  Ha Ni's parents walked towards the foyer of the house, while Ha Ni stayed standing by the car, still looking up and down the place.

“Oh Gi Dong!” An elderly man came out of the door and gave Mr. Oh a hug. He then turned to Min Young and bowed to her. “Min Young, nice to see you again. Welcome to our home. Geum Hee has been jumping around excitedly since this afternoon.”

“Don’t be exaggerating, yeobo.” A pretty woman came out of the door and bowed to the guests. “I am just excited to have a girl in the house. It’s boring being the only woman here.”

The couples laughed loudly and almost forgot about girl by the car. Ha Ni decided to walk up the short lawn to join her parents. Her eyes suddenly focused on the elderly man standing next to his father. Ha Ni’s eyes bulged, then blinked twice as fast as usual, hoping that she was just imagining things.

Standing with her parents was CEO Baek! Ajhussi!

“Ha Ni yah, come here. We will introduce you to Baek Soo Chang and his wife, Geum Hee,” Her mother called excitedly. Min Young put her arm around Ha Ni’s shoulders. “This is our only daughter, Oh Ha Ni."

CEO Baek’s eyes twinkled but he did not say anything about meeting Ha Ni many weeks ago. His wife suddenly pulled Ha Ni into a hug. “Ha Ni yah, welcome to our house. I am so happy to have met you at last. Your parents told me so much about you when they went here two weeks ago.”

Ha Ni was still speechless, she almost forgot her manners. She then came back to her senses, broke free from Min Young’s hug and bowed. “Thank you so much for welcoming us here, Mr. and Mrs. Baek.” Ha Ni did not dare look at CEO Baek directly. She was just thankful that the old chairman did not mention anything about their prior meetings.

CEO Baek cleared his throat. “Hmmm… let’s get inside the house. You must all be hungry from the trip. Come on, my wife prepared so much for you.” He then pulled the guests into his beautiful house.

********************

Ha Ni remained silent during the course of the dinner, carefully not to say anything to give her away. CEO Baek was enjoying himself immensely at the situation. It was mostly the parents who kept on talking, reminiscing past memories, but never touching the topic of the toy company. They were really good at evading the sensitive topic in front of Ha Ni.

 “Our daughter changed her plans to take up interior design to management. We never expected it to happen.” Min Young declared halfway through dessert that they took in the living room.

Mr. Oh nodded in agreement. “It really came as a surprise. You know, our daughter never had any interest in business. She was all about fashion and styling things. We just hope she will enjoy her studies.”

“Well, Ha Ni looks like an intelligent student. I am sure she wouldn’t have any problem. Right, Ha Ni yah?” CEO Baek said. He was highly amused with their set-up, especially when Mr. Oh told him about their plan to let Ha Ni live in their house for a year while studying.

Ha Ni almost choked when CEO Baek spoke to her. “Yes. I will study hard.”

“Yeobo, don’t scare Ha Ni. She has not even started her first class yet.” Geum Hee seemed to be really fond of Ha Ni in such a short period of time. She smiled at her and said, “A smart girl with a very pretty face.”

The couples laughed again. Ha Ni just bowed slightly, with a half-hearted smile on her lips. She wanted to become invisible. She still was not able to digest everything that was happening. I never imagined that Appa will choose CEO Baek’s house. They are bestfriends, afterall. Aish, idiot!

Then a small boy came downstairs, rubbing his eyes. He looked like he just woke up. Geum Hee immediately stood up to meet him. “How are you feeling, Eun Jo? Is your head still hurting?” she asked her son worriedly.

The boy shook his head. “No, omma. It disappeared in my sleep.”

“That’s good then. Now come here and I will introduce you to our guests.” Geum Hee gently grabbed her son and pushed him towards the living room where they were already finishing their desserts.

“This is Eun Jo, my 12-year old,” she said proudly after introducing the guests to her son. She then made her son sit down and offered her a plate of pudding. Eun Jo bowed politely to the guests then looked hard at Ha Ni.

“Ha Ni noona looks pretty. Right, Eun Jo?” CEO Baek teased.

Eun Jo smiled. “Ha Ni noona is pretty. I am glad to have a pretty noona around the house.”

Ha Ni beamed at the boy. Surely he isn’t the one I am going to marry, right?

“She’s a good student, too. You can ask her to teach you sometimes when she is not busy at the university.” Geum Hee was really happy to have Ha Ni in their house.

BEEP! BEEP!

Eun Jo almost ran to the door. “It must be hyung!”

Mama Baek frowned. “That boy, I told him to come home early today.”

********************

Baek Seung Jo had a bad day at school because of an argument with one of the sunbaes in the debate team. He went clubbing after to cool down, forgetting about his mother’s request to come home early to meet the guests from Jejudo. His mood did not improve in the club either. One of his former flings who got drunk made a scene, accusing him of ignoring all her calls. Well, the poor girl was telling the truth.

Seung Jo left the club in a worse mood. He arrived by their house and noticed an unfamiliar car parked near the garden. He instantly forgot about his bad day. Shoot! The visitors! Omma would nag me for hours because of this. 

Seung Jo was welcomed by his brother at the door.

“Hyung, you are late again!” Eun Jo was not able to keep his laugh. “Omma is mad.”

“I know. But you are going to help me, right?” Seung Jo said and smiled at his younger brother. He messed Eun Jo’s hair and pulled him into the house.

********************

It was the second time that day that Ha Ni’s eyes almost fell out of their sockets.

The tall guy that entered the living room was the same pretty boy jerk she encountered in CEO Baek’s building lobby!

 

Fate is really playing with me today. She thought, annoyance overriding her initial shock.

“Baek Seung Jo! I told you not to be late today. The Oh family has already finished eating dinner.” His mother looked really disappointed with Seung Jo. CEO Baek just remained silent throughout his wife’s nagging.

Seung Jo gave a peck on her mother’s cheek and bowed to the Oh family. “I am very sorry for coming late. I really wanted to get home early to welcome you but something came up. I am Baek Seung Jo.”

Mr. Oh shook his head, “No problem. Boys your age are quite busy.”

“Geum Hee, you did well. Both of your sons are good-looking.” Min Young was clearly admiring Seung Jo’s fine appearance and respectful manners despite being late.

Seung Jo bowed again. “Thank you, ma'am.”

Geum Hee laughed. “That’s right, Min Young. We are both lucky to have beautiful kids.” Then she turned back to her eldest son. “Seung Jo yah, this is Ha Ni, their only daughter. She will be staying with us while she studies in the university.”

Ha Ni, who stayed rooted at her place, managed to bow and smile at him fakely. Meanwhile, Seung Jo looked at Ha Ni curiously. He did not say anything, and he did not even smile back. He just kept looking at her, sizing her up.

Ha Ni’s smile faded.

Yah! What are you doing? It is rude to stare! Hani thought furiously.

********************

A/N: I updated earlier than I intended to. I hope you will like it. BTW, is it dragging a bit? You can tell me if it is, so I can change the pace of the story.

PS: I edited the chapters to tie some loose ends and cover possible loopholes. I also changed the names of the parents to fit into the PK names more. Thank you for reading. Chapter 5 soon.