After class that day, Eun Shin stormed away from school, ignoring Jae Vin. She walked into her car without a glance behind her. Seung Jee was able to head home safely. When Jae Vin realized that Eun Shin had left school, he stayed at the school gates with a smirk.
"Such a joke…" he mumbled to himself. One of his friends reached his hand over Jae Vin's shoulder.
"Hey, do you have any more of that stuff?" he asked. Jae Vin nodded toward his friends, still smirking.
"Yeah, let's go to my place," he answered. His group of friends smiled eagerly and nodded. They all followed Jae Vin to his house. Seok Jun reached the school gates just in time to see Jae Vin and his pack peel off, loud and smug like always. He shook his head and started toward the car waiting for him.
That's when she appeared, stepping into his path like she wasn't watching. But she was.
Min Ying bumped into him with just the right amount of surprise.
"Oh—I'm so sorry," she said quickly and lightly, eyes wide, like she hadn't timed it down to the second. Seok Jun paused, studied her.
"You're okay," he replied, stepping back. Min Ying flushed, maybe for real this time. Or maybe not. She bowed again, low and delicately, then turned on her heel and ran off. He watched her for a moment, then smiled to himself.
"Interesting," he muttered before slipping into the back seat of the black car that had been idling curbside. Seok Jun could have joined Jae Vin's crew, but he never indulged in whatever they were planning on doing.
Once the boys reached Jae Vin's home and headed to the side house, the party started. Jae Vin tossed the bag on the table and slouched onto the couch. While the others partied, Jae Vin stared anxiously at his phone. The boys were riding high on whatever Jae Vin brought out—buzzed, loose, and careless. One of the boys, Gom Taek Il, smirked.
"My dad said I'd better get into a good university like Harvard, or he'll cut my allowance. You better put in a word at Hex for me, sunbae," Taek Il laughed. The other boys laughed along too. Jae Vin laughed with them, but his smile didn't reach his eyes. They weren't here for him as his friend. Just the money. A servant knocked on the door. Jae Vin got up to open the door.
"Madam wants you to arrange a meeting with the Park family. She said it needs to be perfect, no mistakes," the servant passed a message. Jae Vin nodded.
"Okay. Okay. Just go," he snapped, slamming the door hard behind him. He groaned as he walked to the couch and slumped. The boys were too high and laughing in their own world.
"Come on. Take a hit with us!" another boy, Kim Goo Yun, said to Jae Vin. He shrugged Goo Yun's hand off and pulled out his phone.
"She's not answering. I need to fix this before tomorrow," Jae Vin stated. Goo Yun smirked.
"You haven't even done it yet? Still playing innocent?" he chuckled. The other boys started giggling.
"She's all sweet and proper—just pretending, though. I don't know why you're dating her. You should be with someone who's outgoing like Rena!"
"Yeah! Rena is pretty hot, too!"
"But I think Eun Shin is better. She doesn't show it, but underneath…" Taek Il added. The boys smiled at each other, thinking. Jae Vin glared at them.
"Didn't know you cared so much about my girlfriend. Should I be jealous?" Jae Vin snapped. The boys laughed it off.
"Come on! You know that's not true. You're only with her because of your parents. If it weren't for her father, you would be dating other women," Taek Il said as he patted Jae Vin's shoulder while Jae Vin checked his phone. His fingers tapped against his thigh. One knee bounced. Still no reply. She's really not going to say anything to me? Eun Shin's silence was unraveling him. Jae Vin slapped his hand away and stood.
"Party's over at six. Don't make me say it twice. I'm heading inside…" he stormed out of the side house. Taek Il smirked and rolled his eyes.
"What a typical arrogant rich kid," he commented as Jae Vin closed the doors.
The boys packed up and left the side house before six. Jae Vin stayed behind, holed up in his room, trying to reach Eun Shin. She didn't respond.
Frustrated, he slammed his phone against the side table and groaned.
"What the fuck… this is so infuriating," he muttered, raking a hand through his hair. Her silence was unsettling him more and more.
Meanwhile, Eun Shin sat through her tutoring class, focused. Her phone was on silent, tucked away. By the time the session ended—just before ten—she checked her screen. She saw multiple text messages from Jae Vin.
What was that about?
Why did you leave without saying anything?
Hello?
Hello?
My parents want to have dinner with ur family
Eun Shin groaned at the last message. She knew that his family had wanted this for a long time. She decided not to respond yet, and she headed home. Once she was home, she glanced at the dining table, where her father, Yung Ji, sat down, piling up his paperwork. He stopped and turned to look at Eun Shin while adjusting his glasses.
"You're back?" he asked. Eun Shin smiled brightly as she took her shoes off and placed them on the shoe rack.
"I'm back," Eun Shin answered. Yung Ji smiled warmly and pulled out a chair for her.
"Come, sit. How's school?" he asked softly. Eun Shin sat down and smiled brightly.
"It's the same. Nothing new… It's just that. There's a transfer student. He is very nice and considerate," she answered. Yung Ji gazed at her smile and smiled with her.
"That's good. Did you befriend him?" he asked. She nodded.
"Yep. He's very sweet. He knew that I liked this matcha drink!" she showed Yung Ji the drink, placing it on her cheek with a big smile. He laughed.
"Wow, my girl. It sounds like he has a crush on you," he replied. Eun Shin's smile started to fade.
"I don't know… Abeoji, I'm still dating Jae Vin," she stated. Yung Ji sighed heavily at those words. He chuckled nervously.
"Why are you dating him? Because of your mother? If so, just drop it. He's not worth it. I've heard rumors about him and his family. They don't sound like good people," he assured her. Eun Shin smiled at her father's thoughtfulness, but the weight of her mother's expectations also made her stressed and sad. Eun Shin's mother, Park Lim Rin, walked in and glared at Eun Shin. She stormed over to Eun Shin.
"Why didn't you tell me that the Lee family has been asking to have dinner with us?" Lim Rin asked angrily without any composure. Eun Shin gulped and covered her head. Yung Ji could see the stress inside Eun Shin's eyes. He looked up at his wife.
"Dear, I've been busy. I don't have time for these dinners with some strangers," he defended. Lim Rin then looked at him irritably.
"You don't? You're sitting here chit-chatting with your daughter. How can you not have time for them? They don't have time, either. They're running a big company. And strangers? Jae Vin is her boyfriend. She should be grateful that a rich kid like him even likes her," she snapped. Eun Shin bit her lips and closed her eyes.
"Ma… I'm busy with tutoring-"
"Quit those tutoring sessions. You don't need them. Reply to them and say yes. We will have dinner this Saturday with them," she interrupted. Yung Ji slammed his hand on the table. Eun Shin jolted and looked at her father. Lim Rin glared at him.
"Don't you dare tell our daughter to forget about her studies. If she doesn't study, then how is she going to go to a good university? Life is already hard for many others. Our daughter needs to support for herself, but that starts when her parents support her," Yung Ji firmly stated. Lim Rin's hands were trembling, tears were ready to fall.
"You never cared about me, do you?" she asked daringly. Yung Ji simmered down and sighed heavily.
"Honey, that's not-"
"Just because you have earned a status through your success and I haven't, you want to rip that opportunity from me!" she shouted. Then she turned around and stormed out of the house. Yung Ji groaned in frustration. Eun Shin stared at her father's inner turmoil. She reached out a hand and held his hand.
"Abeoji…"
"Eunnie, you should eat and rest. Jim Yae, serve her the food," he commanded softly. The maidservant, Jim Yae, nodded as she reached out a hand to Eun Shin. Eun Shin nodded and followed Jim Yae.
After dinner, Eun Shin showered and lay down on her bed. She pulled out her phone and looked at Jae Vin's messages again. She sighed, tapping out a response.
Saturday. You choose the place…
Then she locked her phone and placed it down beside her. She turned to the lamp table and stared at the matcha drink that Seung Jee had given her. A comfort that wasn't her mother and her current boyfriend. Seung Jee's warm thoughtfulness.
"I'm going to make sure that I escape this relationship somehow…" she promised herself before she closed her eyes and slept. Her phone lit up a minute later.
Love 💗
Are you asleep? Can I come over?
NEXT DAY
Eun Shin woke up and ate her breakfast before leaving for school. At the school gates, Jae Vin stood there, frustrated. He glared at Eun Shin as she walked closer. She looked at him with a displeased face. She stopped in front of him as he took a minute to calm down. Students were walking past them, staring at them. The golden couple. She sighed heavily as she waited for him to speak.
"Why didn't you respond last night?" he asked. Eun Shin groaned.
"I did. I told you Satur-"
"No. I asked if you were asleep…" he interrupted. She glared at him, understanding his intentions.
"I was asleep. Why did you have to ask?" she snapped back, her frustration simmering. She was not going to allow him to control her any longer. She couldn't afford to lose her control. Jae Vin smirked as he leaned closer to her face.
"You know how important it is for your father to show up this time, don't you?" he asked, as if she would disappoint him. His teeth were seething as he looked at her like he was superior because this would shape how good of a son he was for his family. She scoffed as she couldn't break a smile. She stormed inside the school building. Eun Shin sat down on her seat and slumped her head on the desk. Seung Jee was on his way. He had his gym clothes on his hands, ready to put them in his locker. As he opened his locker–
CLICK. POP!
Everyone turned to look and started laughing. Eun Shin quickly turned and saw Seung Jee, splattered with blue paint. His school clothes and his gym clothes. Seung Jee trembled as he realized that he had no clothes to change into anymore. Eun Shin ran to him and looked at him, trying to calm him down. He was ventilating rapidly, eyes wandering hastily back and forth.
"Seung Jee… it's okay…" she reassured. Seung Jee couldn't stop and panicked even more. The laughter around him grew louder than Eun Shin's reassurance. The only words he heard through the laughter were You're an embarrassment. He couldn't shake himself out of his trauma.
Jae Vin walked by and laughed at the door as he walked to his classroom. He mouthed his words.
"Loser!"
The school kids surrounded the class to watch and laughed at Seung Jee. Seok Jun saw and quickly ran to his classroom before returning. He walked up to Eun Shin and Seung Jee.
"Use my clothes," Seok Jun helped. Seung Jee finally snapped when he realized that Eun Shin was still there. She looked at him worriedly and then at Seok Jun. She grabbed the clothes and handed them to Seung Jee.
"Take it," she reminded him. Seung Jee hesitantly nodded as his trembling hands grabbed the clothes. Seok Jun sighed, irritation bubbling beneath the surface as his thoughts turned to Jae Vin. Why does he enjoy making other people's lives harder around him?
"Class is about to start…" he said. Eun Shin could careless about that. She pulled Seung Jee out of the classroom as the teacher walked in.