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Chapter 26

After I hung up, I sat crouched, lost in thought. It wouldn’t be worth asking him, right? Just like JiKyung said, there is no way Lee JiHan likes me. How could he possibly like someone like me? What do I have? I hugged my knees and nodded to myself. There’s nothing to ask. And nothing to expect.

The moment I came to that conclusion, Lee JiHan opened my door and entered my room.

“Who were you talking to for so long?” he asked me as if offended.

I stared at my toes trying to avoid his gaze. “I was talking to JiKyung.”

“At seven in the morning?” JiHan reprimanded sharply.

“There’s a time difference so...but what are you doing up so early? Did you need me for something?” I asked JiHan, suddenly intrigued.

“To see you.”

“What?”

“I came to check if you were still in the room. That’s what I meant.”

Imprisonment. I curled up into a ball as fear overtook me. JiHan grabbed my arms and unraveled me, then turned me to face him. I froze, suddenly facing him with my arms wide open. He shoved the teddy bear into my arms. Then like last night, rewrapped my arms around the teddy bear.

“Starting now, this is the position you are required to be in, in this room.”

I looked up at him with the bear in my arms. Lee JiHan was about to leave the room with his arms crossed but he stopped. He turned in the middle of the room and looked at the canopy, my face, the pajamas I was wearing, and the teddy bear in my arms. With a pleased expression, he nodded his head in approval.

“Now it looks like a room a girl is living in.”

You mean it looks like a room a princess is living in. Where did he get this idea about girls? In a fairy tale?

I was muttering to myself when Lee JiHan walked to the closet.

“I bought that for you to hug, so keep hugging it. Don’t stick it in the closet, and don’t throw it around anywhere else.”

He opened the closet door and looked through the new clothes like he was counting to see if any had gone missing. After looking at each piece, he took out a dress and held it up for me to see.

“You will wear this today.” Lee JiHan placed the dress in front of me.

“Am I going somewhere today?”

I thought the point of imprisonment was that I was banned from leaving. He nodded at my question. Then he checked the time and opened his mouth to speak.

“First, you have a skincare appointment at 10:00am for two hours, then lunch, then at 2:00pm you will head over to the hair salon.”

“Huh? Why am I going to these places all of a sudden?”

“Because your blind date is at 4:00pm. You should get ready,” JiHan said all too casually.

“My what?” I asked mistrusting my ears.

With a strict expression, JiHan articulated four words. “Blind. Date. Four. PM.”

“Why am I going on a blind date?”

“You have to go, it’s your date.”

“What?! I never agreed to this!” I retorted jumping up and down.

Lee JiHan’s expression didn’t change one bit as he pushed me back down onto the bed. “We have a lot to do today, so first, get some sleep and in an hour come out to eat breakfast.”

After saying only what he needed to say, he left the room without giving me a chance to respond.

***

Lee JiHan

After the skincare and hair appointment, we arrived at the cafe for the blind date at 3:50pm. Her date, JungHoon, had not arrived yet, so I sat Na AhJung down and pulled an empty chair up next to her. All morning, AhJung had looked like she’d been chewing glass and even now in her seat, her expression remained the same.

“What’s your problem?” I asked annoyed. “I made you up from head to toe, I find a man for you, and he’s not just any man either. He may not be up to my brother’s standards but he’s the most successful out of everyone I know. He doesn’t have as much gold in his fortune as I do, but he has a good amount. Shouldn’t you be cheering right now instead of wearing that expression?”

AhJung sighed at my criticism. “I’ve told you a million times,” she said. “I never asked you for this. A blind date is for someone who does not have a fiancé. So why am I being forced to go on one?”

“And I told you a million times, you will never marry my brother. So I will find the person you are meant to marry.”

AhJung closed her eyes, bit her lip, and hit her chest in exasperation. Exasperated myself, I drank a glass of ice water that the waiter had put down in front of us. If I could tell her that my brother was gay, this marriage would end cleanly and easily. But I wasn’t able to do that.

“Don’t just say you don’t want to and that you can’t. Just give it a chance and meet a couple of guys.” Thinking that this was the best solution, I handed the menu Na AhJung. “Pick a drink.”

She didn’t even look at the menu, just hung her head and scowled. This girl. Fighting off a scowl myself, I heard a voice in front of me.

“You’re here already?”

Turning my head, I found JungHoon standing there.

“Yeah, it’s been a while.” With my eyes still on JungHoon, I poked AhJung in the ribs with my elbow. “Say hello. This is Hyun JungHoon. My friend.”

Na AhJung lifted her head and made eye contact with JungHoon. He sat down across the table and greeted her.

“Hi. My name is Hyung JungHoon.”

“Hi...” AhJung tipped her head in greeting without energy. I kicked her in the knee from under the table. She turned her head and glared at me. I threatened her with my eyes.

“If you’re not even going to try, I’m not going through with the fair play deal. Do you want to see what dirty play looks like?” I hissed.

AhJung looked scared at the prospect and shook her head.

“Then get your act together. Just believe that this man is your golden ax, and you have to make this golden ax fall into your lake to live a full and happy life. Go through this date with that kind of mindset.”

AhJung turned her head toward JungHoon at my persistent commentary. With a forced cheerful voice, she raised her hand and replied.

“I, Na AhJung, will do my best!”

***

While I ordered the coffee and stopped by the bathroom, AhJung did not run away and stayed in her seat with JungHoon. With her shoulders tense and her hands gripping tightly onto her drink, she chewed nervously on the tip of her straw. As I approached them from behind, I heard JungHoon speak.

“I thought this was a blind date,” he said. “I think I’ve made a mistake.”

“Sorry?” AhJung answered.

“Lee JiHan said you were someone worthwhile so I didn’t even ask for details knowing how high his standards are. But...well...” JungHoon shook his head in disbelief and drank his ice water.

“You’re right...it must be disappointing.” Na AhJung hung her head as if she wasn’t worthwhile. “I know I shouldn’t be here.”

I became angry seeing AhJung mumble self-consciously. Frowning, I swiftly approached the table.

“You didn’t make a mistake. This is a blind date and this girl is worthwhile,” I shouted at JungHoon.

AhJung stared at me with wide eyes. JungHoon cocked his head to one side in confusion.

“Did you hear something different about this girl than she told me?” JungHoon asked.

I turned my head toward Na AhJung. “What did you tell him?”

“I only introduced myself. As I am,” she answered with her head hung low. At this, JungHoon interrupted.

“33 years old and a no-name theater actress, her father a security guard. Is this the same as what you know?”

“Yes,” I replied to JungHoon. “But as you can see, she looks way younger than you. And she may not be famous, but she acts better than anyone.” I looked into JungHoon’s eyes and retorted confidently. JungHoon snorted and turned his head. “The things you mentioned may make her a little less satisfying but that doesn’t make her a bad catch,” I went on. “Despite these things, she’s a good catch, I guarantee it.”

“What’s so great about her that it surpasses all the other things I mentioned? What, is she good at night time activities?” Skeptically, JungHoon glanced at Na AhJung’s breasts. “It sure doesn’t look like it. If that’s the case, you should have told me she was looking for a sponsor, not a date.”

“Sponsor? Is that what I think it is?” Offended, I scowled at him, and JungHoon returned the scowl.

“Of course that’s what it means! Lee JiHan, I knew you didn’t date seriously and play by yourself a lot but I didn’t realize you were so dense. How could you bring a girl like that to see me? I’m the son of a corporate construction company. It would be a waste even if you brought a famous 23-year-old actress!”

Even though my head was exploding with anger, AhJung sat there listening to these words calmly. She was twiddling with a piece of tissue and sitting dejectedly.

Ah! This girl is driving me crazy! I felt like I had swallowed lighter fluid on top of my flaming rage, and so unable to fight it any longer, I yelled at AhJung.

“You just sit there as he says these things to you?”

Na AhJung looked up at me confused. “Why...it’s true...”

“Whether it’s true or not, doesn’t it hurt your pride? Are you just watching the flames from afar even when it’s about you? You should stand up and slap him across the face, or throw a glass of water!”

“I’m not that offended,” AhJung replied calmly, as if not feeling much of anything at the moment.

“It offends me, me!” I yelled.

They say the one who is thirsty digs the well. Since I was the one burning up I decided to take action. I grabbed the water cup in front of Na AhJung and threw it at JungHoon.

“What are you doing?” AhJung said in a small voice.

Ignoring her, I went over to JungHoon and grabbed his arm, dragging him out of the café.

***

I dragged JungHoon to the bathroom so AhJung couldn’t follow. In front of the sink, I let go of his arm.

“Lee JiHan! Are you crazy?” JungHoon glared at me with his drenched face.

“I’m not crazy enough to utter indecencies in front of a person I’ve just met.”

“Hey, me marrying a girl like that is crazy. Why in the world are you thinking of setting me up with a girl like that?”

My face was an inch away from JungHoon’s face as I stared him down. “You, do you even know how much that girl can make a person feel good about himself?”

JungHoon stared at me incredulously, wondering what I was jabbering about.

“For the past month, I’ve smiled because of her every day, three meals a day. Do you know how hard that is? You can’t buy laughter with money. Three times a day is standard, but there are more days that I laugh even more than that.” I looked back on my days with AhJung and became sure of this fact. “If you live with that girl, you can laugh every day of your life.”

JungHoon watched me quietly, then spoke.

“Who cares? It’s more important that she’s pretty and has a nice body.”

“That girl is pretty too!”

“What?”

“If you keep seeing her, she’s pretty! She’s prettier now than the first time I met her! She gets prettier and prettier each time I see her, there’s no limit to her beauty!”

Unable to control my anger, I spilled everything in my head without thinking. JungHoon shook his head pityingly.

“Hey, tell me the truth. You’ve never found any girl pretty in your life, but you are saying that girl over there is pretty?”

“Yes, I am! You think any old actress is pretty so you should be fawning over her right now!”

“I think your eyes are broken.” JungHoon looked me up and down, unable to believe what he was hearing.

“Her face is one thing but what are you going to do about those breasts? If I keep seeing her, do those get bigger too?”

“Forget it, you jerk! I won’t give her to you even if you want her. If I knew you were this type of person, I would never have introduced her to you.”

“So you’re saying they won’t get bigger.” JungHoon snorted sarcastically.

“I’m saying she’s too good for you.”

“Yeah right. You can ask a hundred people on the street. Ask them who’s too good for who.”

“I don’t care what a hundred people think! What I think won’t change. That girl is pretty and makes a person feel good, and is a wonderful actress. If anyone had believed in her and given her a chance, she would have been successful. That girl is a hundred,no, a thousand times too good for you. I’m going to give that girl to a man who will see her potential and support her!”

JungHoon, having heard enough, shook his head. “If she’s so great, why don’t you just live with her!”

“I’m already living with her you jerk face!” I yelled at JungHoon’s back.