Chapter 16: The Masquerade Ball

Jaeun was staring blankly at the food.

It’s been 4 days since L confessed to her but until now, she still couldn’t make herself believe that L was ignoring her because he was falling for her.

After L’s confession, she immediately ran out of his office and never came back. Whenever she sees him, she pretends like he’s not around. Whenever, he calls her to his office, she would ask Jungkook to just go in her place and makes a variety of stupid excuses.

Ironically, she’s doing the exact same thing that L did to her. Avoiding.

“Don’t you think it’s time for you to eat?” Haneul asked her. She has been watching her for minutes now and she’s wondering why Jaeun isn’t even touching her food.

Jaeun nodded and nonchalantly ate her food without a word.

Haneul narrowed her eyes at her friend who’s acting all strange and all. “Is there something wrong?” She asked worriedly.

Jaeun looked at her and smiled weakly, shaking her head. “Nothing.” She replied.

“Are you sick?”

Jaeun shook her head. “I guess I’m just not hungry.” She uttered as she pushed her food. “I’ll eat this later. I’m going to bed first.” She told Haneul, who just nodded while wondering what her friend’s problem is.

Jaeun walked to her bed and typed a quick message to Jin. How was the exam? After sending the text, she plopped herself into her bed and called her Mom in Busan, hoping to distract herself from thinking about L’s sudden confession.

“Jaeun! How are you, baby?” Her mom beamed.

Jaeun smiled when she heard the voice of her Mom. “I’m good, Mom. How about you and Dad?” She asked.

 “We’re good.” Her mom replied. “You should come by when you have free time. Your dad have experimented a great seafood dish.” She beamed happily and excitedly.

Jaeun chuckled. “You’re so unfair, Mom! Now, I really want to go home!” She whined as her mom burst into laughter on the other line.

“We miss you, Jaeun.” Her mom told her that made her heart soften.

The truth is, she misses her family. It’s a pity that she couldn’t go home to Busan as frequent as she wanted to because of work. She only gets to go home when it’s the holidays – which is fast approaching, by the way.

“I’m going home this coming Christmas!” Jaeun beamed.

Her mom chuckled. “Are you bringing Seokjin?” She asked with some kind of teasing in the tone of her voice.

“I wish,” she replied. “I don’t know if he’s going home this coming Christmas.”

“It’s alright. You have me and your dad and your cousins.” Her mom beamed. “I’m sure Seokjin will love to come.” She beamed.

Jaeun smiled. Of course, Jin would love to come. He loves the sea. He loves Busan. He loves her parents and their hospitality.

To be honest, Jaeun’s parents really want her to end up with Jin. He’s a fine man with an unwavering determination. He pursued Jaeun and her parents even though he knows that her parents were hard to please. He proved how much he loves their daughter and for them, it’s one criterion that could not be missed.

As parents, of course, they want the best for their daughter. And Jin, as what they think, is the best for Jaeun.

“You better go to sleep.” Her mom beamed. “You have work tomorrow, right?”

Jaeun sighed. “Good night, Mom! See you soon. I love you.” She beamed and her mom answered the same before hanging up.

Jaeun exhaled heavily and looked into the ceiling. She even tried to divert herself from thinking of him but in the end, there was no use. There was no use calling her mom. In the end, he’s still the person running inside her head.

Why did he have to confess?

Why did she have to be affected?

Why did she have to hear all those?

Hell, she didn’t knew that when someone tells you he likes you or he’s starting to fall for you, you’ll end up thinking about that certain person every second of everyday.

And it’s not a good thing that Jin is busy with his exams right now. He’s all she needs right now to get her head straight. He’s all she needs now to stop thinking about L’s confession.

--

“What are you wearing tonight?” Yoonmi asked Jaeun when she arrived in the office.

The Masquerade ball is tonight and Jaeun still hasn’t decided if she would go. Surely, it wasn’t her thing but the catch is, everyone is obliged to come to the party. Should she defy the rules and ditch the party?

“I don’t know yet.” She replied in all honesty.

Yoonmi’s eyes widened. “What?!” She asked in disbelief. “What do you mean you don’t know yet?” She continued with her shocked high-pitched-and-volume voice. “The ball is tonight!”

Jaeun sighed. “I guess I’ll just have to borrow Haneul’s dress or whatnot.” She replied.

Just then, the door opened and a delivery man came, calling out, “Ms. Kwon Jaeun? Is Ms. Kwon Jaeun here?”

Jaeun raised her brow at the man and stood up, walking to him. “That’s me.” She told him. “What do you need from me?” She asked politely.

The delivery man, then, gave her a box – a very elegant-look