I came home to my mom's penthouse suite. The suite is luxurious but temporary until my mom has time to find an actual house here. As soon as I walked through the door the smell of burned sugar stung my nose. I slipped off my shoes and put on the Ugg slippers my mom put by the door because she hates Korean house slippers that much.

“Hey babe. How was school today?” She called from the kitchen. I slammed my fist against the wall in the foyer. “Well, there is my answer.” I stalked into the kitchen, seething in my rage.

“ Who the hell does he think he is? Little ing . I hope you get the bubbleguts and can't wipe your ty !” I swore. My mom just raised an eyebrow and put down the pot she was trying to clean. My mom and I have an understanding, as long as my potty mouth didn't get me into trouble I could keep it.

My mom whistled low in appreciation. “ So who pissed you off this time?” She asked, leaning foreward.

“ A bully that's who.” I grabbed a bottle of water out of the sub-zero fridge and slammed the door shut.

“ His name is Choi Young- Do. He is six feet even, I mean, c'mon. I wanted to kick his sniveling little into next week, Mom.” I ranted. My mom listened attentively while drying her hands on a rag.

“ What did he do?” She asked. I explained everything using lots of colorful language and hand motions. The more I told the angrier my mom got. Mess with one Blake and you mess with all of them is our family motto.

“This little thinks he step all over my baby? Ooh if you don't beat his I will.” My mom threatened.

“Mom, the last thing we need right now is me getting kicked out of the most exclusive high school in Korea.” I reasoned

She would've said more until her phone dinged. My mom snatched her phone of the granite countertop behind her and tapped it annoyingly.

“OMO! I almost forgot. I have an investment dinner in two hours.” She groaned. I snorted on my water. “Its a family dinner so you need to come.” I spit my water all over the place. “ What?!”

The dinner was at an estate in Gangnam that was all white pillars and Grecian lines. I whistled in appreciation as my mom drove our ferrari up the long drive way. At the entrance there was a valet who took my mom's car without saying a word. Inside the house was even more elegant with lots of crystal and polished darkwoods.

“Now these people can make or break my company, sweetie. So no swearing in any language, no dancing, and no gambling. If your gonna flirt find out what family he is from at least. Oh and please don't get us kicked out.” She smiled to a server while accepting a flute of champagne.

“Don't worry about it.” I also accepted a flute of champagne but my mother snatched it right out of my hands and back onto the tray in an instant. Nothing gets past this woman I swear.

“ Dani Blake! Welcome to my humble abode.” I assume it was the hostess who glided over to greet us.

“ Ki-Ae! Long time no see! How have you been?” My mother greeted in flawless Korean.

“I have been good. Oh who is this fine young lady?” She asked looking at me.

“This is my daughter.” I saw the familiar jolt of surprise and her eyes darting quickly between my mom's face and mine looking for similarities. I couldn't blame her. I have cinnamon brown skin, brown curly hair that I straightened so that it reaches the small of my back, and hazel eyes that I inherited from my father. I'm also a good half a head taller than most of the guests here. I have my mothers's cheek bones and that pretty much covers it. I look more like my dad than my mom.

“Oh have you met my son? Kim Tan, come here.” She called over a tall slender guy that took my breath away. His body was yum but his eyes had heartbreak written in them. “Your daughter goes to Jeguk High, right? So does my son.” My eyes widened slightly as I bowed and murmured hello.

He bowed his head slightly and murmured an excuse to his mother and left.

“Madame, where is your powder room? Never mind, I'll find it.” I slipped away from my mother and Ki-Ae and followed Tan down a hallway. He disappeared around a corner. My heart jumped until I realize there is only one door around the corner. I took a deep breath and opened up the door.

I walked through the doorway into a wine cellar. There was a short staircase into the main part of the cellar. There was Tan in all of his glory sipping a glass of wine at a table in the center of the cellar. He looked up sharply at me, his sad dark eyes slightly menacing.

“Don't mind me, I just came here for the alcohol.” I said breezily. I reached for a glass and a bottle of Cabernet.

“Leave.”

“I don't want to”

“Leave.”

“No”

He glared at me but reluctantly poured me a glass. I sipped the sweet wine and set the crystal glass down.

“Your probably wondering why my Korean is so good, huh?” He just glared at me.

“I'm half korean and half African American. My mom is from here and my dad is from new york. I'm the product. In America making friends isn't so hard. In America everyone is a mix of some cultures. Here no one believes that my mom is my mom.” Tan looked up at me with a blank expression.

“Pissing off Young-Do is not gonna help you.” He finally says.

“Pissing me off isn't gonna help Young-Do, is it?” I fired back. Kim Tan cracked a crooked smile. “I survived sixteen years in the L.A. School system I think I take on a scared little boy with some serious daddy issues.” Tan chuckled

“You are certainly American, aren't you?” Kim Tan asked. His question took me by surprise.

“Yeah, so? At least in America if someone has a problem with someone then they flat out say it. None of this coquette that is so popular in Korea.” I ranted. I swallowed the last gulp of wine in frustration.

“That must be nice.” Tan said.

“What must be nice?” I asked.

“To know exactly how someone is feeling when they are feeling it.” His reply took me back a little. I looked into his eyes and saw that sadness written there so explicitly. Tan's expression was so vulnerable and so child like, I did something that shocked the both of us. I hugged him. Tan stiffened in my arms and then relaxed. He wrapped his arms around me and tucked his head against my shoulder.

I don't know how long we just stood there like that, him wrapped in my embrace. Tan shifted in my arms, his lips just a bare centimeter from mine. Our breath, scented from the Cabernet, intermingle.

My breathing got rougher when I saw the need in his eyes he didn't move and neither did I. We had our hands on Pandora's Box but couldn't find the courage to open the lid. When I heard footsteps outside the cellar door, I grabbed Tan's hand and forced him into a shadowed corner behind the staircase. I placed one hand on his mouth and the other on the wall behind him, sealing him in. The cellar door opened up and some one came down, probably to get more wine for the party upstairs, and was shut a few minutes later. I let out the breath that I didn't know I was holding and dropped my hand from Tan's mouth. We stood there awkwardly, not meeting each others eyes.

“Um, I should go.” I said awkwardly, my cheeks warming up. He nodded in agreement. I scrambled out of the corner, grabbed my clutch off the table and practically ran up the stairs. As much as I was avoiding an awkward conversation by scrambling out of the cellar, I was also escaping dangerously volatile reaction of teenage hormones.