김범수; Appear

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South Korea, Seoul | Present

Setting – The Westin Chosun; Jinae’s Hotel Room | 11:00 AM

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The sunrays peeking through the blinds cast light on my face, and I swayed from side to side in my enormous queen sized bed, attempting to avoid the bright light.  My head hit the edge of the bed and I came face to face with the clock.  11:00 AM sharp.  I groaned and immediately closed my eyes.  All of a sudden, I sat up, my heart palpitating. 

“11:00 AM?  Oh my gosh, I’m going to be late!” I shouted.

I looked to my left and saw a sticky note that Jinyoung Oppa left.

I’m sorry, but I won’t be able to help you get ready!  Appa, Umma and I have something really important to do today; and I trust that you’ll be able to make the necessary preparations by yourself.  Don’t forget to take your time with hair and makeup, and make sure to wear the new dress and heels that we bought yesterday.  The address of the hotel is 602-4 Yeoksam Dong, Kangnam Gu; be punctual and please arrive before 12:00PM.  I know you won’t disappoint me, show him all your charms!

- Matchmaker Oppa, Jinyoung.

“Gosh, he’s starting to sound more like an Unni than an Oppa,” I groaned. 

I reluctantly got up, and then ran to the washroom to wash my face, brush my teeth, and comb my hair.  I must have forgotten to set the alarm and overslept.  I quickly darted towards the vanity to apply light makeup and set my hair, while spraying perfume at the same time.  After that, I put on my outfit and accessories; grabbed my purse and headed downstairs, waiting at the entrance for my designated taxi driver. 

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Johann Pachelbel; Canon in D Major (Piano Version)

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South Korea, Seoul | Present

Setting – Ritz Carlton Seoul; Restaurant | 12:14 PM

Outfit

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I sat up, back straight and head up high, with perfect posture.  I smoothed my suit out, then, adjusted my bowtie.  I glanced down at my new watch for the fifth time, and the time read 12:14 PM.  I couldn’t believe it.  If it weren’t for Sandeul and this watch, I would be out of here already.  Not only did she fail to arrive first, she’s even making me wait for her.  Does she even know who I am?  Oh wait… Sandeul said she didn’t.  Still, I never wait for anyone; and this is basic courtesy for blind dates.  If she doesn’t come in one minute, I’m leaving.  Looking at my watch again, I started to countdown. 

Instantly, there was a loud bang outside the closed doors.  The waiters looked at me and I nodded, signaling them to open the doors. 

Outside stood a girl with long, straight black hair.  She was slightly bent over, trying to catch her breath.  As soon as she looked up, we made eye contact.  She promptly fixed her posture and smoothed out her dress and hair.  She began making her way to the table, very slowly.  I watched her wobble from side to side, having difficulty walking straight with her heels.  I stifled a cough to keep from laughing; seriously, if a girl can’t walk properly in heels, she shouldn’t wear them.  When she finally approached the table, she stood absentmindedly in front of the chair, was she expecting me to tuck her in? 

I looked across the table and our eyes met again.  He looked around the same age as me, with his black hair swept gently in front of his eyes.  He was quite handsome, but didn’t look friendly at all; he seemed too distant.  Everything about him looked expensive, he must be from a wealthy family.  I stood in front of the chair, expecting him to tuck me in like a gentleman.  I mean, that’s what Jinyoung Oppa did for me.  To my surprise, he remained in his seat and gave me a quizzical look.  I blushed when I realized how stupid I looked and sat down.  A waiter came and handed me the menu. 

“Thank you,” I murmured, while scanning the menu. 

Damn, the entire menu was in French.  I have no prior French knowledge, heck, I don’t even know how to say hello in French.  How embarrassing; I mentally slapped myself.  He cleared his throat and finally spoke. 

“What are you going to order?” he said, expressionless. 

“I’m not sure yet, how about you?” I queried. 

“Sais-tu quel bête tu sembles en ce moment?” he said. 

Did he just speak to me in French?  I didn’t understand what he was saying at all. 

“Umm, yes I’ll get that too.” I responded quietly.  He started laughing and I laughed as well… I guess we’re getting along.

I almost died from laughter when she responded.  Obviously, she had no idea what I just said.  I simply asked her if she knew how stupid she looked right now.  I lifted my hand in the air and placed an order of steak for the two of us.  As we were waiting for the food, I looked her down, from head to toe.  She was fidgeting around in her seat, continuously tugging at her dress.  From first glance, I could tell that she usually didn’t wear this type of clothing.  She didn’t even know how to speak French, perhaps she’s from an impoverished family, hoping to marry the prince of South Korea so that she’ll be able to pay off her debts and fulfill her goal of becoming rich?  Shortly after, the food arrived.  I’ll have to see the way she eats, and then I’ll come to my conclusion.

He kept giving me skeptical glances, so I just stared out the window and sipped my water.  When the food arrived, I felt as if all my worries had faded away.  I skipped breakfast again, leaving me malnourished!  Just as I was about to dive into my steak like yesterday, I remembered Oppa had told me to eat like a lady, so I picked up the knife and fork.  However, I cut hefty chunks of steak; so I could eat more at a time. 

Wow.  How could she eat such massive pieces of steak at a time?  She sure has a good appetite, looks like she hasn’t eaten in days.  Yes, definitely a penniless girl trying to become Cinderella.  Sandeul, who have you set me up with this time?  She’s so quiet and all… definitely not my type.  Might as well break her heart now instead of dragging on this unpleasant atmosphere until the end of lunch.  I cleared my throat and spoke.

“Hey, I know we haven’t even spoken to each other enough yet; but I can tell you that this isn’t going to work.  Firstly, I noticed your amateur walk; wobbling from side to side in high heels, please don’t wear them if you can’t walk properly.  Secondly, while you were in your seat, you were fidgeting with your clothes; I can decipher that you’re wearing clothes that you’ve never dreamt of wearing before.  Moreover, you can’t even speak basic French; let alone understand it.  You eat like an animal, as if you haven’t ate for days.  Piecing all your qualities together, I’m not stupid enough to ignore the fact that you’re from a low-class family.” I smirked, speaking more intelligently than I had expected. 

She placed her knife and fork on the table, and looked at me with widened eyes.  Since she’s so reserved, she’s probably not going to stand up for herself; might as well take this further. 

“You do know that when I responded you with what I was going to order, I actually asked if you knew how stupid you looked in French right?  Perhaps after you fix all those shortcomings, we can meet again; and see if your Cinderella dream can come true.” I chuckled and looked up. 

I saw tears b in her eyes, and a sense of guilt overthrew my original thoughts.  What’s wrong with me?  I’ve made hundreds of girls cry; but I’ve never felt this way before.  Due to the guilt, I was about to leave; when she finally spoke. 

I swiftly wiped the tear that slipped out of my eye.  I was initially going to ignore him, but he was heartless.

“I was going to keep this in because of my Oppa… but what?  Yes, I don’t normally wear clothes like this.  So what? Oh, and what’s wrong with not knowing how to speak French?  I don’t come from France.  Do you expect me to know how to speak every language in this world?  For your information, there are 6,912 languages in the world.  Eating like an animal?  I normally eat like this!” I grabbed the fork and stabbed my leftover steak, biting deep into it and chewing hard. 

By now, he looked a little frightened with the way I ate. 

“Lastly, did you just assume that I come from a low-class family?  No one… and I mean, no one calls my family low-class.  Even if you were the Crown Prince of Korea, I wouldn’t want to marry you!” I shouted blatantly, emphasizing the last sentence. 

After that I stood up, grabbed my cup of water and splashed him with it.  He glared at me, while wiping the water from his eyes. 

“You thought I was just going to end it there?  Well, let me tell you, I’m different!” I shouted.  With all my force, I ripped my heels off and threw it at his head.  Then, I proceeded towards the door.

“Ouch, what the hell?  Crazy lunatic, you can’t do this to the Crown Prince of Korea!” he hollered, while clutching his head. 

“Ha, Crown Prince of Korea?  Don’t joke with me. I, Jung Jinae, am not scared of anyone.” I guffawed, walking out of the place barefoot.

“JUNG JINAE!  I won’t let this go.” I heard him shout after me.  “Well, I won’t be seeing him again, that’s for sure,” I huffed, signaling for a cab.     

Once she left, I instantly flung out my iPhone and called my head bodyguard. 

“GET HERE RIGHT NOW AND BRING ME A NEW SUIT TO CHANGE INTO!” I shouted, before hanging up. 

Who does that low-class brat think she is?  Doing this to the Crown Prince of Korea!  Girls these days certainly don’t know their status. 

“She’s lucky my bodyguards aren’t here,” I fussed, continuing to soak the water off my drenched clothing. 

I heard a knock at the door and signaled the terrified employees of the hotel to open the door. 

“Here are your new clothes, Seja.”  My head bodyguard, Jungshin handed me a clean suit. 

He was a tall guy, not much older than me, but very mature.  He always had a calm, yet cold expression on his face and spoke in a monotonous voice; I have never seen him smile before.  Although he was my head bodyguard, he did everything else for me as well. 

“Thanks,” I replied, while heading to the private room to change. 

As I was changing in the room, something caught my eye… my new watch.   I quickly took it off and inspected it carefully, horrified at what I was seeing.  It was all scratched up, the screen was cracked, and the hands of the clock were frozen. 

“Relax… Gongchan, relax…” I exhaled, but I couldn’t hold my anger in any longer. 

“JUNG JINAE!” I shouted as loud as I could.  I heard swift and quick footsteps approaching the door. 

“I’m not Jung Jinae, but is there something wrong, Seja?” Jungshin asked me, monotonously.

“As soon as we go back to the Palace, do a profile check on JUNG JINAE.” I yelled, stressing the last three words. 

“As you wish,” he replied and walked away.

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There's so much POV switching in this chapter, OTL.  It must be very confusing adjflsdf.  Just to minimize confusion, we changed the fonts when the POV of a character switches.  Gongchan's thoughts are in Georgia, and Jinae's thoughts are in Arial.  Normal conversation is also in Arial.  Hope it's not too confusing... if it is, let us know & we'll edit the entire chapter haha.