TOUGH ROMANCE || scoups || BOOK ONE

21

Hani

Two days later, I was still having mini heart attacks every time someone came to the door. Jeonghan had invited Sana, Mimi's caseworker, to stop by so he could introduce us. He'd just had no idea that she'd show up when I was in the middle of unloading a lifetime of baggage of Choi Seungcheol.

The introduction had been brief and awkward. Sana handed over a paper copy of the guardianship application, and I could feel her classifying me as a screaming shrew with a taste for too much wine.

On the bright side, Mimi had been mercifully polite and didn't mention how I was torturing her with vegetables in her meals.

I'd over analysed the informal meeting to the point where I was convinced I'd barely survived an interrogation and that Minatozaki Sana hated me. My new mission wasn't just to be judged an "acceptable" kinship guardian - I was going to be the best kinship guardian this continent had ever seen.

The very next day, I'd borrowed Jennie's Buick and marched into Riperia's consignment shop. Then I'd grabbed a coffee from Joshua and gone straight home to finalise the back to school shopping list.

"Guess what we're doing today." I said to Mimi as we had our lunch of sandwiches and carrot sticks on the back porch. The sun was shining, the creek burbling lazily as it flowed past the edge of grass.

"Probably something boring." Mimi predicted as she tossed another carrot stick over her shoulder into the yard.

"Back to School shopping!"

She looked at me with suspicion. "Is that a thing?"

"Of course it's a thing. You're a child. Children grow. They outgrow old stuff and need new stuff."

"You're taking me shopping. For clothes?" Mimi said slowly.

"And shoes. And school supplies. Your teacher hasn't answered my emails yet, so I got a copy of the supply list from Tara's mum." I was babbling because I was nervous. Mimi and I had yet to connect, and I was willing to attempt to buy her affection.

"Do I get to pick the clothes?"

"You're the one wearing them. I might retain veto power in case you decide to go for a fur coat or velour tracksuits. But yeah. You get to pick."

"Huh. Okay." She said.

She wasn't exactly jumping up and down and throwing her arms around me like she had in my imagination. But there was a twinkle of a smile happening at the corners of her mouth as she ate her lunch.

After lunch, I sent Mimi upstairs to get ready while I reviewed the mall research I'd printed at the library. I was only halfway through the store descriptions when there was a knock at the front door. Fearing it was another "drop-by" from Sana, I took a moment to run my fingers through my hair, check my teeth for lipstick, and close the lid on the rolltop desk so she couldn't judge my obsession with notebooks and planners.

Instead of Sana, I found the most annoying man in the world standing on the porch in jeans and a grey hoodie. It was annoying bow attractive he was, all clean face and tattooed.

"Well hello there, neighbour." He said.

"Who are you and what have you done with the angry lion?" I asked.

"Let's go." He said, hooking his thumb towards his car.

"What? Where? Why are you here?"

"Jennie said you needed a ride. I'm your ride."

I shook my head. "Oh, no. I'm not doing this with you today."

"Not playing games, Rose. Get your ass in the car."