Someone to Love

Twenty-Four

Lucas
"So, what do you do?" She said as we waited for our food.
I took her to this Korean restaurant called Jungkok, it has good reviews and for me, the food taste is just close to home. Plus, the ambiance is nice, and Ara and I have not seen each other for a month.
"What, are we finally calling this as our official first date?"
"Oh, I thought we were already a thing." She said as she drank water.
"What?" I said
"Well, we have reached the sending of selfies level, I assumed we're already a thing. Sorry." She said
I blinked.
Okay, there is this gala in the hospital that would be happening in three weeks and we are supposed to invite a beneficiary or whatever and I thought that Ara would be the perfect one and plus, I get to see her in a dress and probably have nice champagne with her.
"Well-"
"I'm kidding. I don't want to impose." She said
"You're not imposing but it's good to hear that you're already expressing interest." I said
"I just feel that the timing is great." She said
We were both tired, but then we were not making a lot of effort and strain in talking to each other. It's like we're conversing so naturally and it just comes out of us.
"So, what's your childhood like?" She asked
"Oh, well I don't know if you know but I came from a comfortable family and money isn't really a problem with us."
"You basically got whatever you want?"
"That and take into consideration that I am the firstborn of a Korean household, probably destined to be the family company's president."
"Ugh, so like, no spontaneous trips to Switzerland?"
"Switzerland? Ara, my parents are rich but not that lavish-"
"Oh my god, don't tell me you haven't been to Switzerland? That's like every rich person's haven wherein they can hide their money." She said
I smiled.
"미안해 (mi-an-hae: sorry), I haven't been to Switzerland."
Ara made a face.
"So, let me guess, you haven't been kidnapped before?"
I stopped chewing my food.
"Excuse me?" I said
"You haven't been kidnapped before?" She said as she pointed her chopsticks at me.
"Uh, I wouldn't be here if I was-"
"Then what the hell am I doing here?"
"You have been kidnapped before?"
She rolled her eyes.
"It's like every rich kid's experience. Plus, I come from a very influential family and we are pretty well known, we may or may not have offended a lot of people with what we are doing." She said
"What's it like?"
"Which one, the first one? Well, it was-"
"Wait, the first one? You have been abducted more than once?"
"Oh my god, are you really assuming that I only have been abducted once? Lucas, I am more than ordinary, if you're gonna be my boyfriend, I think you should already know that I am way beyond ordinary." She said
"So, if not once, then how many?"
"Thrice." She said as if I just asked her how many times she had been to London.
"Three times?! Seriously?"
"Yeah, okay. The first one, I was genuinely scared, I mean, it wasn't like those kidnapping scenes in the movies-"
"How did it go?"
She frowned.
"Oh my god, I forgot how it went. It must be repressed or something. I think my father was offered $1 million dollars as ransom. And seriously, I am more than that and I could easily spend that in say, an hour. I didn't last long on that kidnapping." She said
"Are you being serious?"
"Yeah, I am. I'm here sitting like an idiot because I can't believe you haven't been kidnapped ever."
"How did you manage to get kidnapped thrice?"
"I always sneak past by my guard."
"You have a-"
"No, I don't. Okay, you have to understand that I was the second child of a business mogul. Technically, I didn't matter until my brother died."
"Oof, I'm guessing your childhood wasn't that great."
"Oh, it wasn't if you think that my parents didn't want me, but I get to spend a lot of money and be in places that most people just dream of going."
"Okay, I have an idea. I will name countries and you tell me what's your favorite thing about it."
"Deal. That sounds fun!"
"Okay, Kenya."
She smiled.
"The elephants in the Amboseli National Park and the Flamingoes in Lake Nakuru. Have you been to Kenya or Africa?" She said
"Oh, no. I can't be exposed under the sun for too long."
"What, you get crispy?"
"Nah, I am a man of skin care. I invest a lot on skin care, it's what gives me my youthful glow. Look closely, you'd think I always have eight hours of sleep."
She looked at me closely as if looking for any signs of fine lines.
"There isn't any line in there." I said
"Are you sure? I mean, I'm seeing crow's feet forming-"
"Seriously?!" I said, touching the side of my eyes.
"Oh god, I'm dating a man of vanity."
I rolled my eyes and shook my head.
"Okay, next. Finland."
"Santa Claus Village. It gave me the sense of Christmas I never got at home."
"I haven't been in Finland."
I spent most of the time telling countries and well, she had visited all of the places that I have mentioned. I wonder where she got the time to do it.
"Wow, you had a lot of time in your life." I said
"Well, no. I did most of it as a coping mechanism when my brother died. I spent a maximum of three days at one country."
"You spent a lot of time in Korea." I said
"Because finally, I went outside of the US with someone." She said
Finally, a waiter passed by our table and Ara called him out.
"Hi, can we get the cheque please." She said
"Yes, of course."
She looked at me.
"I'm paying." She said as she got her credit card from her bag.
"Uh-uh! I took us here and I shoul-"
"No, this is only a few dollars and-"
"On the next date, maybe. But not this one." I said as the waiter arrived and I grabbed the cheque.
"Come on, Lucas. Let me share-"
"No, maybe when we visit Finland." I said
She smiled.
"Done." She said
We were walking out of the place when Ara stopped me from walking.
"Uh, can I drive?" She said
"What?"
"I want to take you somewhere."
"Oh god. Uh-"
"Unless you have something else in store-"
"No, uh where are we going?" I said as I clutched the car keys.
"I wanna show you something." She said
"But I only drive a Ford, it's no Maserati."
"I can drive anything."
"But this is my only car."
"Dude, you trust me enough to be your girlfriend and yet you can't trust me with your car?"
I handed her the car keys.
"Thank you." She said as we entered the car.
"So, where are we going?" I said
"Home."
We were fifteen minutes into Ara's driving when I noticed that we weren't headed to my apartment.
"Ara, my apartment is just ten minutes away." I said
"Yeah, I know."
"We're already fifteen minutes into the drive."
"Because we are not going to your apartment."
I frowned.
"Where are we going then?"
"SoHo."
"Excuse me?"
"I wanna show you something!"
"That's forty-five minutes away!"
"What, momma needs you home?"
"No! I have-"
"I don't live in Southampton anymore."
"What? Since when?"
"Uh, remember when I just surprised you by showing up at your door?"
"That was about six weeks ago."
"Oh really? Then I have been living in SoHo for six weeks." She said
"And you didn't even bother telling me?!"
"Well, it just didn't seem proper telling this over text." She said
"We text almost everyday, FaceTime every two days!"
She looked at me as soon as we reached a stoplight.
"Okay, I didn't want to tell you right away. Because I really wanted to show it to you."
"Why, is it bigger than the one I have?"
"No, it has a doorman." She said
"You live in a fancy building!" I said
"Just because it has a doorman, it doesn't mean it's fancy!"
"Let me guess, it has a pool?"
"I don't know, I don't really go around-"
We reached a really tall black-marble whatever building, with rotating doors, I think the lobby is marbled too.
"Is this it?" I said
"I know, the outside doesn't really look appealing." She said
"Why?"
"It's not top of the line marble." She said
"What?" I said as we entered the parking compound.
"The marble inside my apartment is more expensive than the one outside the building."
"You do know-"
"That I'm sounding like a rich girl right now." She said
"Yeah."
"I'm kidding. But I'm not really that impressed with black marble used outside the buildings, it's just usual." She said as she opened the window to talk to the guard.
"Hello, welcome-"
"Hello, Arthur."
"Ah! Miss Hayden, is this a new car?" He said
"No, it's my boyfriend's. Please remember it." She said
Boyfriend?
"Duly noted, miss." He said
"Thank you, Arthur." She said as he pressed the button that lifts the barrier.
"So, boyfriend?" I said as we drove in.
"Yeah, he's not gonna remember it if I just told him that this is the car that the guy I'm dating is using. This is an exclusive building, Dr. Seo. You can't just simply go in." She said
"So, if I visit you using this car, I can just drive in?"
"Yeah, alongside with my name and unit number." She said
"Do we even have parking? I'm guessing most of the slots here are owned already." I said as I looked around.
"Duh!" She said as she pulled in next to a familiar looking Maserati.
"Oh, hey! I thought you got rid of that." I said
"Nah, I love that car. Let's go." She said as she opened the door and left the car.
This is like the twisted version of a first date where a girl says would you like to come in? when the guy drops her off her place. Twisted how? Well, first off, she drove us to her place, and she's the one doing the show off.
She looked at me.
"You do know that I'm just humoring you, right?" She said as we walked to the lifts.
"What, you don't really live here?"
"No, I live here. What I mean is, me sounding all show-offy. Me sounding like a demanding, high maintenance bitch." She said
I smiled.
"No, no. I've dealt with so much worse back in the day." I said
"Have you ever-"
"Yeah. Because where I grew up, if you didn't flaunt or talk about it much, then it isn't true. Being humble isn't really a thing back there." I said
"But you changed?" She asked as we entered the lifts.
"Because it doesn't work here. I can't talk about driving a red Porsche 911 when I am not seen driving that around in the US. What floor?" I said
"Thirtieth please." She said
I pressed the button with the 30 on it, I ain't stupid.
"So, you drove a Porsche?" She said
"Yeah, back when I was in Seoul. And back when I was the next CEO of S&C."
"Oh god, you do know I could have taken you right there and then if we drove here in that car." She said
I frowned.
"Okay, having sex in a moving vehicle while the vehicle is on the road is entirely unsafe and we might hit a lot of people-"
She smiled.
"And I don't have sex on the first date." She said as the elevator opened up and she left.
"I don't either." I said as I followed her.
"Maybe on the second." She said as we walked on a marble hallway.
"Seriously, is everything here marbled?!" I said, thinking out loud.
"Yeah, it's one of the things that caught my mother's eye."
"She found the marble things off too?"
"No, silly! It's why she bought the whole floor for me." She said as she swiped a card that opened her door.
"You don't even have a key. This isn't a fancy building." I said
"It's really not. Come on in. " She said
The apartment was dark when I entered.
"Would you mind hitting the lights?" I said
And then with one click, the apartment came to life.
Pinks, whites and golds came, the AC was on as if it's not cold outside, but most of all, this apartment is huge.