☁️☁️

"thank you for stopping by, mr. jeon." said the principal, smiling ear to ear.

"it was our pleasure." jimin replied.

i nodded and smiled, both of us went away and left for the company.

as we walked, jimin just couldn't stop smiling. what is he even thinking? i looked at him weirdly.

"mr. jeon, how could you make a decision like that on your own? tonight's dinner meeting had been scheduled over a week ago." jimin stated his point.

"isn't it the job of a secretary to adjust schedules as needed?" i mocked him, playfully.

"anyway, the principal asked so earnestly that i attend that i felt compelled to agree." i added.

"he asked you to attend if you were available. i didn't realize that was such an earnest request." it's his turns to mock me back.

he sighed and added, "how am i supposed to cancel a dinner meeting that was scheduled a week prior on such short notice?"

"haven't i told you? you have a very convincing way of speaking. you're the nation's second most convincing speaker, so i'm sure you'll figure it out." i praise him.

he blushed but eventually asked, "if i'm second, who is first?"

"me." i said casually.

annoyed can be written on all over his face. nothing can compare to myself.

"of course. then why don't you cancel the dinner meeting personally. you're the type that wouldn't even go to the restroom if the schedule didn't allow for it. what's gotten into you since yesterday?" jimin's words seem to go into the right ear and out on the left.

because i saw something that make the curiosity out of me, making me stop abruptly until jimin nearly bumped onto my back.

"why did you stop so abruptly like that? i almost bumped into you." he said.

i just stay silent as i watched the scene in front of me, which also make jimin to do the same.

i saw chaeyoung with another man. another handsome man. and they seemed close too. so, is that doo-jool?

"jimin, what do you think of doo-jool?" i asked him sunddenly.

"what? what are you saying?"

"forget it. just make sure you reschedule the dinner meeting." i said.

"sure, sure. you're the one who signs my paycheck, so who am i to say no?" jimin laughed to his own statement.

"for two people planning to get married, you seemed very awkward with her." he added.

"she's very shy." i answered, though i know she wasn't that shy.

"it seems to me like it's all one-sided from your end."

"she said she would take responsibility for me. care to retract your statement." i challenged him.

"ha, she's peculiar. but, she is beautiful." said jimin.

oh, who's beautiful?

i glared at him, making him looked the other way and walked ahead of me.

-

☁️☁️

it's lunch our. and here we are, ji-hyo and i are meeting as planned.

the thing is, it is actually as awkward as meeting her uncle.

how should i start?

maybe start with a playful laugh.

"uh, ji-hyo. did your uncle say anything out of ordinary yesterday?" i asked, breaking the silence.

"no, he's a busy man." she said firmly.

"o-oh, really?"

"he also doesn't do things he hasn't planned for ahead of time. he's meticulous and doesn't do anything spontaneously." said ji-hyo.

ah..he's not spontaneous?

then, was that night planned?

i just don't get it. was he planning a reproduction project or something like an insect?

i was in a deep thought before ji-hyo called me, "miss park."

"huh?"

"can i tell you something?" she asked.

"sure.."

"yesterday..at the hospital.." why am i so nervous? moreover, she's asking specifically about yesterday.

my heart is beating so fast.

"the woman that gave birth to my siblings is not my real mom." she complete her sentence.

"o-oh?" i thought she wanted to ask about me.

"ah, well. that doesn't mean i have a mean stepmom like from cinderella or anything. so you don't need to worry." she said, opening a story.

"i see." phew. i really thought she's going to talk about me. haha.

"my mom and dad married at the age of twenty and had me at twenty-one. according to my dad, their love was like fireworks." she begins.

"like fireworks?" i asked, blankly.

"yes, and their love burned even brighter because my grandfather disapproved."

"but then why?" i asked curiously.

"my mom got sick and passed away when i was six. i don't really remember my mom's face much. she was sick in bed for most of my life, so i don't have a lot of memories of her either." she said.

"i was eighty percent raised by my uncle. my dad..ah, my dad is jeon ji-hyun. have you heard of him by any chance?" she asked me.

jeon ji-hyun?

"hmm..i'm not sure. is he famous?" i asked her back.

"ah, so you haven't heard of him. the art of the month magazine featured him several times. my dad's a painter. he's famous for his woman paintings, the director of jeon gallery." she told me.

i suddenly remember something.

"did he paint the woman at three o'clock?" i asked, need a confirmation.

"yes, that's right. that's my father's artwork." she nodded.

the artist is ji-hyo's father? jennie is a huge fan of his.

i still remember she said that jeon ji-hyun's paintings are the best and i will scold her when she decided to buy more prints of his paintings.

now that i think about it, i think i read in a magazine that jennie gave me. that ji-hyo's father was getting married to a curator twelve years younger than him.

"my stepmom was a curator at jeon gallery." she said.

i was right.

"since my dad's young, i never thought he'd live as a widower for the rest of his life. but i was a bit shocked when i heard her age." she added.

if the woman is twelve years younger than her father, that mean she and ji-hyo are only eight years apart.

"yes, i can see how that would've come as a shocked to you." i said that to her.

"but that doesn't mean we're on bad terms or anything. it's just that sometimes she feels more like a sister than a mom." ji-hyo said. declaring that everything is fine.

"that's good to hear. what about your father? are you not on good terms with him?" i decided to ask since we're already in this topic.

"what? no, he and i are on good terms."

really but she said she was raised by her uncle.

"but you just said you were eighty percent raised by your uncle.." i remember her saying that.

"ah, my words are misleading. my dad's a bit spontaneous and does what he wants. he wouldn't have been good at caring for an infant. when i was young, my grandfather and grandmother were both still busy then. if it wasn't for my uncle, i would've been raised by a nanny. my uncle is eight years younger than my dad, but he has a different sense of responsibility. i think my dad's influence was pretty big in my uncle becoming the meticulous planner that he is." the story is so long, but i am interested enough to hear since she is my student.

so that means he's thirty.

"i see."

"anyway, that's what i wanted to tell you. it's not something i need to hide or anything. but it's not something i wanted to bring up to my friends." she's true, but why is she telling me this?

"then what made you want to tell me?" i asked.

"i figured we could swap secrets." she said.

huh?

"i'm happy i have someone i can talk to about my troubles and concerns, and you have someone that will keep the secrets that you want to keep hidden." she added.

really? that was so nice of her. should i tell her my secret too? that secret?

"ji-hyo..i don't know how to tell you..but yesterday.." i started, a little hesitant.

before i could finish my words, she said, "i don't care."

"what?"

"it's your life, miss park. i'm not fragile due to the household that i grew up in. and i'm not so immature to judge you in any way." she added. ji-hyo is such a good student.

this is embarrassing. how could this kid be so mature than me?

"thank you." i said to her.

"no problem. in return, can i come talk to you about my problems?" she must be so comfortable with me. there's no reason for me to say no.

"of course."

"thanks, miss park. i'll head out now."

"okay, thanks for coming to talk to me." i said as i look at her slowly walked towards the door and left.

sharing secrets.

what a mature kid. i couldn't tell if i was the teacher or she was just now.

ah, i'm so tired. i flopped my upper body on the table.

does she take after her uncle?

forget the staff dinner. i just want to go home.