[CONTENTID1]A DAY OUT[/CONTENTID1]

[CONTENTID2]

“And you have a car,” Jaehwa stated more than asked as we walked out to the school’s parking area. I nodded and unlocked my Porsche Boxster. It was a beautiful white convertible that had everyone I passed drooling. I didn’t blame them, either. “And the school is allowing you to keep it here. Huh.”

“Pays to be me,” I joked, albeit slightly bitterly. Jaehwa got into my car and I got in the driver’s side, plugging the keys in the ignition and starting the engine. I put an arm over her head restraint and looked over my shoulder as I reversed out of my parking space. “You ready?”

“I don’t exactly know what for,” she answered truthfully. I grinned and stepped on the gas, sending us shooting forward. I swerved around the fountain and exited through the gates, narrowly avoiding a severe scraping of my car since I gave the guards little time to open the gates. We’d reached the main road when Jaehwa turned to me. “So where exactly are we going?”

“I don’t know,” I replied with a shrug, one hand resting on the wheel and the other one over my door. I glanced at her and nodded at the glove compartment in front of her. “Yo, get my sunglasses out of there please.” The sun was beaming down on us and the air was warm, though not enough to make you sweat. She did as I asked and passed me my sunglasses. “Thanks. But yeah, I’ve only been back for, like, six months but I’ve been too busy getting expelled from schools to tour the city.”

“You lived in America for five years, right?” she asked, putting on the extra pair of Ray Bans that she found in the glove compartment. I nodded. “Did you miss Seoul while you were away?”

I pursed my lips in thought and turned the AC on. “Hmm…kinda, yeah. I did a lot at the beginning but Malibu had a lot to offer, so I got over my homesickness and enjoyed myself. What I missed more were the people I left behind.”

“Family?”

I nodded, “And friends. I had a best friend and I missed him the most. One of my father’s maids, Shinhye, too. My brother, my mother…” I cleared my throat and blinked quickly. “I stopped hearing from all of them, one at a time. Jinyoung, my best friend, was understandable because his family sent him away to a private school, then to a boarding one.”

“The maid?”

“She quit as soon as I returned,” I said bitterly. “Because of my father. She only stuck it out long enough to say goodbye to me. My brother and I…we’re not on good terms now and my mother…” I laughed hollowly, shaking my head. “Well, she’s dead.”

I glanced at her. Jaehwa’s usually cold expression morphed into one of sympathy. I usually hated being pitied, as any normal person would, but the look on her face was so genuine that I had to let it slip. “I’m sorry.”

“You’re not the one who killed her,” I muttered, looking back at the road ahead.

“So that’s why you hate your father so much,” Jaehwa concluded correctly. "He was behind it?" I nodded stiffly. She nodded back, her lips pursed, before leaning forward. "Typical." She played around before finally choosing a radio station, raising the volume up a little. “Guess most of us rich kids have daddy or mommy issues, huh?”

I clucked my tongue, “Guess so.” I changed the radio station, deciding I didn’t like the song as much as I used to. “So, you and JB. Are you close?”

“As close as opposite twins can be,” she shrugged in response. She turned to me, a slightly disapproving look on her face. “Why, interested?” I scoffed, hoping my cheeks didn’t turn red. “Most girls are.”

I looked at her, “Well, can you blame them? He’s a hot guy…and he seems funny.” At that, she smiled.

“He’s an idiot,” she said fondly. Then, she shot me a look. “Don’t hit on him. You might be my first — and only — friend at school but…well, actually, that’s exactly why I don’t want you to hit on him. I’d rather keep my family and social life apart.”

“Friend, huh?” I smirked at her and she rolled her eyes, though I saw the slight tinting of her cheeks under her sunglasses. “Besides…that might be a problem considering we’re gonna need your brother to get into MEGA High School.” Her eyes bulged out.

“Mwo?”

“See, my brother goes to that school, too,” I divulged, a wistful smile on my face. “I need JB to get into the school and talk to him. It’ll also get us into trouble, a plus.”

“I thought you and your brother weren’t close?”

I nodded, “We’re not. We fell out because of my father.” I gave her a brief and slightly less pain-inducing version of my story. By the end of it, her eyes were hard and her jaw was set. “So, yeah. I want him to hear me out but he won’t.”

“I’ll get Jaebum oppa to help,” she promised me, reaching over and squeezing my arm. I smiled thankfully before setting my eyes back on the road. “So, who exactly is your brother?”

“What? Ah, Oh Sehun,” I told her absentmindedly as I indicted right and turned at the roundabout. I felt her punch my arm and gasped in pain, shooting her daggers. “What the—”

“Oh Sehun is your brother?” she asked. I continued to scowl but nodded. Then, she threw her head back and let out a hearty laugh. “Oh, wow. This is great, I can’t believe I didn’t put it together. ‘Oh’ isn’t a very common last name…and you have similarities.”

“Hm,” I mumbled, not understanding where she was coming from. “Still, you didn’t have to hit me over it.”

“That’s something you mention when you first meet someone,” she scolded lightly. “I mean, Oh Sehun is kinda a big deal in case you haven’t noticed.”

“What, interested?” I asked sarcastically. She rolled her eyes, shaking her head at me. “He’s my brother, of course he’s attractive and has many admirers. I mean, look at me.” I theatrically flicked my hair and she scoffed.

“Yeah, whatever,” she fixed her hair and repositioned my sunglasses on her face. I glanced at her, noticing the way she was biting her bottom lip. She grunted and looked at me annoyingly. “Okay, he’s hot.” I couldn't help but laugh at her. “God, you’re annoying.”

“Yeah, but I’m cute, right?” I asked, winking at her. She rolled her eyes, continuing to shake her head. I smirked and pressed my foot down on the gas, causing the car to jolt forward. Jaehwa cried out then threw her head back and laughed, holding down her hair to stop it from whipping her face. “WOO!”

“Yah, you’re totally still stuck in California,” Jaehwa giggled as she slammed my car door shut and walked over to me. I giggled along, locking the convertible over my shoulder. People stole glances at it as they walked by, whispering not-so-slyly to one another. “Aaaand people are staring.”

“How can they not when I’m such a glorious sight?” I joked and she chuckled, playfully elbowing me. We entered a café and looked around for a bit. The smell of coffee and butteries was only slightly familiar but since I hadn’t been here in over five years, the renovation was new to me. “Let’s sit outside instead.”

“Arasso,” Jaehwa shrugged. We went back outside and sat down, changing the positioning of the parasol so that it protected her from the sun. Me, however, I loved the sun. I loved to tan, something else that separated me from the average Korean. I missed Malibu a lot, I realised. “A café, huh? Wah, you’re so western.”

I snorted, “Well, duh.” My phone buzzed and I fished it out of my purse. I saw Aron’s picture on my screen and grinned. Jaehwa looked me up and down.

“Yah.” I looked up at her and she made a face of disgust. “Stop smiling like that…you’re ugly.” I chortled a laugh and flashed her my middle finger. I then swiped my thumb over my screen, answering the phone call.

I switched to English on instinct. “Duckie,” I crooned condescendingly. Since Aron’s last name was Kwak, I liked to . Kwan, quack. Get it? He hated me for it but it brought me great joy to see him get all flustered and frustrated. “How are you?”

“Go yourself, Tonic,” he grumbled and I laughed. He’d respond with his own nickname for me, Tonic, because my Korean name ended with ‘Jin’ which was a whole lot like Gin. And what did Gin go with? Bingo. 

“Love you too.”

He snorted, “Where are you, you have amazing reception right now. It’s like you’re standing right next to me.”

“Café I used to go to when I was little,” I answered dismissively, shaking my hand even though I knew he couldn’t see me. Still, he did know me well enough to guess that I was. “I’m with a friend. Remember that girl I told you about?” I’d spoken to him last night before going to sleep. 

“Ah, the one nobody likes?” he asked and I nodded, again forgetting that we were speaking on the phone. “Is she hot?” I pursed my lips, looking Jaehwa up and down. She stared back at me, brow raised.

“Very,” I replied.

I heard him cluck his tongue. “Nice! Hook me up when I come visit.”

“I’ll be right back, I’ll go order us some food and drinks,” Jaehwa told me.

“Bacon wrap and vanilla frappé, one shot of espresso,” I said in Korean and she nodded, walking back inside the café. Aron’s words finally hit me and my brows shot up, as well as my hope. I switched back to English. “Whaaat? You’re coming to visit? When?” I was unable to hide my excitement from my voice. 

“Long weekend coming up, like next month,” he answered vaguely. “I can’t actually remember. I haven’t asked the ‘rents but like that’s ever been an issue.” I snorted, fully understanding him. Aron’s parents could not care less about what he did with himself or his life as long as he stayed away from the family business. He had a trust fund at least a hundred times bigger than the president’s salary. 

In short, they didn’t think he was smart or reliable enough to take over the company so they just let him do whatever he wanted as long as he didn’t meddle with anything they didn’t think concerned him. Aron liked to act like he didn’t care but I knew he wanted to prove them wrong, to show them that he was worth more than they believed him to be.

And me? Well, I had full trust in Aron. He acted like a dumb jock a lot of the time but he was really a smart guy. He just didn’t apply himself enough because he was afraid of failing and proving his parents right.

“Well, I look forward