There Is Someone I Want You To Meet

"What took you so long?" Mrs. Kim asked the moment Mi Cha and Min-jun walked through the door.

"I was bonding with my brother," Mi Cha said pleasantly, lightening Mrs. Kim's heart.

"That's good to know. How's he doing? Were you able to discuss with Min-jung?" Mrs. Kim asked as they both sat in the living room with Min-jun standing behind Mrs. Kim.

"He's excellent, but I didn't get to meet Min-jung. She left after the wedding," Mi Cha said, not wanting to divulge too much information.

"That reminds me. Min-jun, have you been able to gather the information on Min-jung?" Mrs. Kim asked.

"Not yet, ma. I'm still on it. I'm sorry for the delay." He said.

"You don't have to apologize. I know you've been busy. Take as much time as you need," Mrs. Kim said, suddenly spotting the teddy bear Mi Cha was holding.

"Did your brother give you that, or you got it for me?" She asked Mi Cha taking the teddy bear and box of chocolate.

Min-Jun closed his eyes, hoping Mi Cha wouldn't say it was from him. Mi Cha glanced up at him and giggled inwardly when she saw the look on his face. Min-jun opened his eyes to see the chief cook coming towards them with a tray of fruits. Please don't let her say anything in front of the housekeeper. He prayed silently.

Mi Cha suspected he had gotten just her the gifts but wanted to confirm, so immediately she saw the housekeeper. She smiled, "Min-Jun got me this for Valentine. But I think I wasn't the only one who got a gift. I'm sure he got other household staff valentine's gifts too. It's a season of love after all, right, ma'am?" She asked the housekeeper as she sucked on a strawberry.

Min-jun couldn't stand the humiliation of being exposed. He quickly started coughing, hoping they would pause to give him attention.

"Go get yourself a cup of water," Mrs. Kim said as she turned to the housekeeper.

"We had no idea today was Valentine's day. None of us received any gift from him," Min-Jun heard the housekeeper say. He could listen to the voice in his head laughing at him. How was he to face Mi Cha or Mrs. Kim after now?

Mi Cha smiled at that. "Don't worry, you'll all receive a gift from me for taking good care of my mother," She said as Mrs. Kim opened the chocolate box.

"Min-jun got you this? I'm shocked," Mrs. Kim said as she took a bite from one bar of chocolate. "How come I didn't get anything from him? Or he reserves his gifts for only beautiful young ladies?" She said loud enough for him to hear her, making Mi Cha chuckle loudly. She almost felt sorry for him when she saw the strangled look on his face as he stepped out from his hiding place, but she didn't.

Mrs. Kim looked from Mi Cha to Min-Jun something was cooking up between these two. She decided it was best to sit and observe. If she couldn't enjoy romance in her own life, she could also enjoy watching it in that of her children.

**********

Min-Jung was pissed off after her conversation with the driver. She paced around her room angrily. What exactly was Ji-Tae up to? Why was he trying to ruin her relationship with Nana? Why was he trying to act like the innocent one?

To think Nana had even defended their friendship. Nana was and always has been a great friend. She was the bad one between them both. She wished she hadn't gotten involved with Ji-Tae. She wished she had overlooked her feelings for him and had gone about it all the right way. Was there even a proper way to snatch your friend's boyfriend?

From her conversation with her boss, she knew Tan was in love with Nana, but she couldn't tell yet if the feeling was mutual. She had to quit her job before her boss discovered someone else had gone for the job in her place. Everything was messed up because she had mistakenly coveted her best friend's boyfriend.

She would have to talk to Ji-Tae before taking any drastic decision. If she suspected he was planning on dumping her, there'd be hell to pay. She'll make sure he loses as much as she stood to lose.

**********

"Why are you still up? Aren't you going to work tomorrow?" Mr. Lee asked Nana when he saw she was still awake.

"I'll sleep soon." She said without looking at him.

She took out her phone and searched for whatever news she could find on Kim Tan. All she wanted was to see his face; she saved as many pictures as possible and slept off while looking at his face.

**********

Tan was woken from a deep sleep by Ji-Tae's call the following day. "Whatsup, bro?" Tan asked immediately after he answered the phone.

"I should be asking you whatsup; I didn't hear from you after the wedding nor yesterday. How did it go? She has left, I suppose?" Ji-Tae asked, waiting to get the gist from Tan.

"I can't talk about it right now," Tan said, unwilling to start his morning on a sad note.

"Ok, we will talk about it when you come over. When are you coming around?" Ji-Tae asked hopefully.

"Coming around?" Tan asked in confusion.

He was not used to Ji-Tae sounding so thoughtful, and it raised his eyebrows.

"Yes, for Christ's sake! You said you were coming around this week, remember? I told you I wanted you to meet someone, remember?" Ji-Tae asked impatiently.

"Oh! That. I'll let you know as soon as I get to the office. If that's all, can I go back to bed?" Tan asked with forced patience.

"Sure you can. Talk to you later," Ji- Tae said, dropping the call.

He was thinking up the best and most romantic way to propose to her when his phone started ringing, he checked the caller ID, and it was his mother.

"Hello, mother," He greeted politely.

"How do you do? And what are you up to?" She asked impatiently.

"How do you do?" he responded, thinking whether or not to inform her about his planned proposal. If he didn't, she would be furious to find out later. She liked being at the center of things, and it surprised him he hadn't thought of telling her until she called.

"There's someone I want you to meet today; stop over at the house on your way from work," She said, wanting to drop the call.

"I hope it's not one of those blind dates you keep arranging for me. I already told you I have a girlfriend. And as a matter of fact, I intend to propose to her by the end of this week," He said before she could drop the call.

He could tell he had surprised her because she was quiet for some seconds.

"Really? You planned on proposing without allowing me to decide if she's suitable for you?" His mother asked in a very calm voice.

"I know no lady I bring to you will ever be suitable for me unless you choose her. And I don't intend on allowing you to choose my wife," He said in an equally calm voice.

"Stop over on your way from work. We should talk about this before you do something stupid," She said as she hung up the call.

He exhaled deeply. His mom was definitely up to something.