Prom Preparations

A few weeks later, Jake stood outside Haewon's house, ready to pick her up for their prom date.

In the weeks that followed his prom proposal, he had tried not to completely ignore her at school and had given her a nod or said one or two words to her when the occasion called for it, but that was as far as the friendliness had gone between them.

They had agreed to keep the information between them and not let anyone else know who their partners were until prom night since that would attract much unnecessary attention.

His grandmother had warned him to make sure he was on his best behavior and to also give her a memorable night. One she would remember for a lifetime.

He had no idea how he was supposed to accomplish that, but he could do his best to make sure they both enjoyed the night without bantering or pissing off each other.

Ivy opened the door a couple of seconds after he rang the doorbell, "You're early," She said with a surprised smile since they still had about an hour.

"I don't like being late. I'd rather be too early than late. I hope it's not a problem?" He asked, and Ivy smiled as she opened the door wider for him to enter.

"Of course not. But I have to warn you that she's still getting ready," Ivy said as she led him into the house.

"Please sit down and make yourself comfortable," She said to Jake, whose eyes were taking everything in.

Jake returned his attention to her, "Thanks. Could you give this to her?" Jake asked as he handed Ivy the corsage he had gotten Haewon. It matched with the pocket filler of his Gucci tuxedo, which equally matched her dress since he had asked to know the color of her dress.

"You should probably give it to her yourself when she comes down. You look good, by the way," Ivy said as she looked him over.

"Thanks," Jake said, feeling uncomfortable with the perusal.

"What can I get you? There is juice, wine…"

"Nothing. I want nothing. I'm fine," Jake said, and Ivy smiled, thinking that he was nervous.

"Relax, alright?" She said as she patted his shoulder before walking away to inform Haewon and Selena that Jake had arrived.

Alone now, Jake rose as he looked around the place and took in the homely decor of the home that Haewon lived in.

The first thing he noticed upon walking into the house was that there were lots of pictures in the living room. Pictures of people he knew.

He moved closer now to take a closer look at the smiling, happy faces of all those who had betrayed, cheated, and murdered his father.

He pointed at each person in the picture, "Kim Tan, Lee Nana, Bae Min-jung, Kang Jin-A," He paused after pointing at the four of them.

Although there were many others in the picture, but these were the four who had joined hands together to send his father to his early grave.

They all looked genuinely happy, grinning from ear to ear. It made Jake's blood boil. How could they live so happily after destroying a life?

It angered him to know that Haewon, Ivy, and Selena were all directly related to these four people. He deeply wished he could hurt the girls, but his grandmother had said the best way to take revenge was to get into the family and destroy them all from within after stealing everything from them.

Their wealth, their joy, their laughter, the friendship they all shared, he was going to destroy it all! Jake promised himself.

Away from there, in Haewon's bedroom, the laptop was on a conference video call for the rest of the family to see as Selena did Haewon's makeup and got her ready for prom.

"You look like an Angel, darling," Her father said with a proud smile when Haewon rose to show off her rose colored mermaid prom dress with spaghetti straps.

"Like a mermaid, you mean?" Her mother asked, and they all laughed as they admired her outfit.

"Thanks for picking my dress, Aunt Mi Cha," Haewon said to her aunt.

"Mi Cha picked your dress? Why didn't you ask me? Am I not supposed to be your mom?" Her mother asked in disbelief.

"Don't fret, Nana. We all know when it comes to picking our clothes, our girls prefer Mi Cha's taste," Jin-A said, and Haewon bobbed her head.

"You're good in other areas, Mom. Everyone has got their fields, you know?" Haewon said with a placating smile.

"And what exactly is my area, tell me?" Nana asked, and Haewon shrugged.

"If I want to buy a house, I wouldn't call Aunt Mi Cha. I would call you," Haewon said with a sweet smile, and everyone laughed while Nana scowled.

"That's my brilliant daughter," Her father said proudly.

"Really, Tan?" Haewon's mother asked her husband with displeasure, and he kissed her.

"Eww! Please don't do that in front of us kids," Haewon said, turning away, and Tan grinned.

"That reminds me, pumpkin. The moment your prom date gets here, I have to speak with him," Tan said, and Haewon rolled her eyes.

"What for? It's not necessary, trust me," Haewon said, but her Uncle Min-jun interrupted.

"It is. We have to speak with him. We can't let just anyone take you to prom without letting them know who you are and what we could do to them if they misbehaved," Min-jun said, and Tan nodded in agreement.

"We can't let what happened to Ivy repeat itself," Tae-oh, Ivy's father, said.

"Nothing happened to me, Dad. You have to let that go," Ivy said with a roll of her eyes as she returned to the bedroom, "And he is here. Haewon's prom date," Ivy informed them.

"Good. Lena, why don't you go out there with the laptop so we can all say hello to him?" Min-Jung, Selena's mother, asked.

"You're all going to scare him! It's just a prom date. Why does he have to speak with all of you? This is going to be so awkward and embarrassing," Haewon complained.

"Haewon has a point. Perhaps Tan should speak with him over the phone," Mi Cha suggested, and Haewon looked at her with awe filled eyes.

"I love you, Aunt Mi Cha. You know I do," She said, making Mi Cha laugh.

"Alright. Let's finish here, and I can speak with him when you join him downstairs," Tan said instead, and Haewon relaxed.