I qui The loud knocking on her doors woke her up. She jolted out of the bed and went to the doors to find a sharply dressed man with a mustache outside. 

"The first competition will be happening in the grand dining room soon miss. Please get dressed and be there soon." He bowed politely, and she bowed back groggily. She could already hear the other ladies scurried about in neighboring rooms, and scratched her bedhead as she closed the doors. 

She pulled the curtains over to reveal the bright sunshine shining radiantly through the windows. From here she had a pretty nice view of the trees surrounding the mansion. And far far away she could see a small lake. She yawned and wandered into her bathroom to freshen herself.

When she was done she emerged out of the bathroom with a towel around herself. It was only when she was drying her hair that she remembered the situation. Fake vacation. Weird contest. One year. Whoever won get to be the bride of a sought-after bachelor. Or at least they thought he was sought after. She sighed heavily, not bothering to even insert her own opinions.

How foolish. Pursuing true love through a meaningless contest. How long was that kind of affection going to last? But then again, she was the one to talk. As if she was enjoying her happily ever after right now. 

For one moment, she just sat there and stared into nothingness as her mind threatened to cross that forbidden boundary to dwell on bygones. Her eyes started to sting, and she shook her head while tying her hair into a small ponytail. Great. Now she really had to get out of here before she suffocated. She thought about calling her aunts, but once again refrained herself due to the fact that it was still relatively early. Pursing her lips, she got dressed in a white tee and jeans and put on her sneakers.

What exactly was happening in the dining room anyway? Not that she cared. She thought about it and decided to ditch whatever was happening to go on a morning walk. The fresh air and beautiful scenery should refresh her mind from the confusing situation she was in. After that she would call her aunts, demanded to leave, and never see this place again. 

Sounded like a plan. 

She wandered out the doors into the hall and down the stairs with the flow of ladies excited to start their first day toward becoming the so-called true love of Oh Sehun. Whoever he was. A vision of a pair of eyes flashed through her mind, and she quickly discarded it as she reached the dining hall where everybody was heading. Where could she get breakfast? She was starving. 

"Excuse me..." She started saying to a maid in the dining room, but was cut off when a man at the head of the long table spoke.

"Good morning, ladies!" It was the man from yesterday. "Today marks your first day in this competition. And right now we will commence the first activity/contest. It's a cooking showdown!"

She wasn't listening as ladies around her groaned and chattered. She tapped the maid to get her attention again. 

"Sorry, but can you tell me where the kitchen is?" 

"Sure it's right that way." The woman pointed, her eyebrows furrowed. "But you should wait. The event will begin about now."

"Oh it's fine." She started walking before the woman could stop her. "I'm not participating."

As she walked in the direction of the kitchen, the man spoke again.

"It's simple. All the ladies just get into the kitchen where everything's prepared and cook breakfast! Me, my wife, and my son Sehun will be the judge." At the mention of the bachelor the crowd was eager. "Whoever is chosen as the winner will earn points that go towards earning the reward at the end of the week!"

The ladies began preparing themselves and brainstorming for ideas. The man went over some rules, such as no copying and such, before letting them all go into the grand kitchen with entourage following closely behind for assistance. Meanwhile, Bom reached the kitchen after some minutes, and marveled at the size of the room.

It was like something from Master Chef! All the ingredients were laid out neatly on shelves with the appliances gleaming inside containers. The design was uber modern and effortlessly sleek. There were separate corners and work stations divided for the contest, but of course she wouldn't know about that as she nonchalantly grabbed some ingredients to cook her breakfast. Her stomach was already growling.

She scanned the ingredients; all of them looked fresh. Her eyes landed on tomatoes and she reached up to grab some, only to be hit with a particular memory that was as bittersweet as it was painful.

A pair of arms s around her as she chopped the tomatoes. A smile found its way up to her lips as she turned around to stare into her fiancé handsome features.

"What are you doing?" She asked, smiling as she continued to chop the tomatoes. He rested his head on her shoulder, and sent shivers up her spine with his breath fanning her neck.

"I just can't help but think about what an amazing wife you will make, chopping tomatoes and all." He kissed her neck. She chuckled, and stopped her chopping to look at him. 

"I'm not falling for that one."

"Ah but you already have."

"You want extra soup in your serving don't you?" 

"Maybe." She snickered. They both loved food after all. 

"Didn't you say your friend was coming today?" She resumed chopping. "It's not polite to be eating more than the guest is."

"He won't care." He picked up some tomato slices and started making faces with them. "We've known each other for a long time." 

"Stop that." She giggled as she grabbed the slices from his hands. "Why haven't I heard about him if you guys are that close?"

"Just never had the chance. Besides, he has a lot of pressure on him." He whispered dramatically, and she nodded. She dumped the finely chopped tomato into her boiling pot, where her tomato soup was simmering nicely. 

"Here." She scooped some onto a spoon and fed it to him. His eyes disappeared into crescents in approval and he raised a thumbs up. At that moment the doorbell rang, and she motioned for him to open the doors. He ran out, but ran back a second later to kiss her soundly on the cheek.

Geez, this guy. She smiled affectionately.

The sound of people entering the kitchen snapped her from her trance. And she slapped herself to regain her composure. She grabbed tomatoes and basil and settled in a corner to work as ladies filled out the entire kitchen. The huge room bustled with activity as women rushed to make a delicious meal that would win the contest. Bom just leisurely cooked her own breakfast while listening to the sound of chopping and boiling water simmering on shiny stoves.

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"Good morning Sehun." His mother greeted cheerily as Sehun descended down the stairs, already looking dashing in a simple suit. "Come and chat before breakfast is served." She raised her eyebrows suggestively at him, hinting at the anticipation of who he was going to choose as the winner. Who knew, maybe the winner today would be the one. 

"I hope I won't get diarrhea." His father chuckled as his mother frowned. "Lord knows not all women can cook."

"Don't talk like that. Besides the point is to measure them by their skills, no?"

"I don't feel excited when my health is at stake." He smiled and sat down beside his father. He didn't want to dampen his parents by saying he wasn't that excited. Or maybe even at all. This whole competition thing didn't appeal to him. But of course, he didn't want to disappoint. 

And...well, he wanted to prove that he could move on like a man. That was the main reason he accepted to this setup. He was determined to go on with his life, and let what he felt fade into the past like a daydream. 

First love wasn't the last, right?

He couldn't just sit around in yearning forever; he had to go on. He wanted to find love again, and make a famil