SUMMER STARTS

10 years ago in UCLA….

Joo was failing miserably.  She wasn’t afraid that her mother would kill her – her mother would just most probably donate to the college and she’d get by.  She was more afraid of her Appa finding out.

Her Appa. 

Well, he was really not her biological father.  He was her stepfather – he was husband number 3 – her mother’s longest marriage to date – 8 years.  He came into her life when she was 5.  A talented chemist – her stepfather Professor Im partnered with his best friend to found Life Pharmaceuticals.  He was sweet and kind to a lonely little girl whose own mother ignored her. She also has a step sister – Yoona who was almost the same age as her.  Her mother and stepfather had divorced when she was 13 – her mother’s scandal with a Chinese actor had everyone in Asia buzzing.  It was a quiet divorce – with her stepfather only asking for control over his shares in Life Pharmaceuticals.

  “You’re thinking about your grades again?” Taeyeon nudges her. “You’re in the hottest night club in LA and you’re thinking about your grades? Tell your mother to give a scholarship or something.”

“She probably would but I’m afraid Appa would be disappointed.  Yoona is a full scholar in SNU.” Joo sighs before sinking lower into the chaise lounge.

“Are you jealous of her?” Taeyeon asks.

“Of course I am – she’s with Appa while I’m not.  She gets to ride the bus to school and have every kind of friend. But I don’t hate her – she’s good to me.” Joo drinks her beer. “She and Appa are the only real family I have.”

“But you can’t be with them right?” Taeyeon persists.

“No I can’t – I don’t want my mother’s eyes to even glance at them.” Joo looks at her friend and smiles bitterly.  “Everything I do, every friend I make – she knows about and makes it her business. Sometimes I try to see things her way – I am her only child – she can’t have anymore.  She’s called The Heiress.  My family’s fortune is vast – beyond Korea and all of that I’ll have someday.” Joo shuddered.

“It’s not a bad thing.” A male voice butted in.  Kim Jaejoong slid next to Joo and finished off the beer.  Tiffany, another friend of Joo, sat across them. She and Jaejoong had just finished dancing to 5 fast paced songs and they were both slightly out of breath.

Joo silently looks at them.  Jaejoong was her ex-stepbrother – husband number 2’s son.  His father was into shipping and steel.  Even after they divorced, Joo knew that her mother was agreeable to Joo marrying Jaejoong.  It made her skin crawl.  Jaejoong and his father were also in agreement. She wanted to avoid him as much as she could but he also studied in UCLA and always checked up on her. 

Her friend Tiffany was in love with Jaejoong – he knew that and played her constantly.  Tiffany was his unofficial spy when it came to Joo’s activities.  But Joo didn’t have the heart to tell Tiffany about Jaejoong’s intentions – she wouldn’t have believed it anyway.  Jaejoong was two faced that way.

“How about finding a tutor for you?” Tiffany suggests.  “I work at Student Affairs I can ask around.”

“Do you really need to pass all of those subjects?” Jaejoong asks Joo.

“Yes, I do – I can’t cruise around in college like some people.” Joo looks away.

“Hey – I was born into my family’s wealth like you were born into yours. University is just waiting time before we take our place.” He replied smugly.

Joo had to resist the urge to curl her lip and throw the beer bottle at him. He was a hypocrite – even when she was young he made it infinitely clear to everyone that Joo was his. He was jealous of everything and everyone she even glanced at.  That made him the most perfect guard dog in her mother’s eyes.