irresistible | kth

one

three months earlier

i had this weird superstition of always walking into a new place or situation putting my right foot before i put my left foot in. i don't know, something about your left foot bringing you bad luck.

not that it had helped me so far.

after stepping into my new house, i quickly went around to choose which one would be my new room. perks of living alone with your mother, whom tries her hardest to bribe you so that you don't turn into a rascal towards her.

not that it had worked so far.

i chose the one with the best view, even if it was the smallest one. i consider myself a realist during the day, but i've been known to turn into a full on dreamer during the night. besides, i liked to paint landscapes, so this was definitely the best way to do so.

"i hope your past two years of korean will pay off," my mother spoke as she crossed her arms over her chest. there wasn't really an english speaking school around the neighborhood, and since i didn't want to study too far from home, i'd have to make do with what i knew.

"please, i'm practically a pro, umma (mom)," i dismissed her with my hand.

"it's pronounced oh-ma, not uh-ma," she winced.

i burst out laughing. "i know, i was just joking with you. don't worry, i'll be fine. besides, i'm sure if i don't understand something i can always use google translate," i shrugged.

"oh, that ratched thing. remember when i tried to write an e-mail through that thing, and it turns out i actually cussed out the other person?" she spoke, smacking her own forehead. i nodded and chuckled.

"no google translate then, i'll bring my english-korean dictionary with me," i promised. "now shoo, i need to start putting my clothes in the drawers."

she gave me the thumbs up before walking back to what would be her room. i looked around my new space, picturing where exactly i would like the furniture to be. it would all be arriving within moments, but i wanted to go ahead and start unpacking all my clothes and displaying them neatly in my wardrobe.

i wouldn't say i gave my mom a lot of headaches. we would fight sometimes, but it would somewhat always end up being like a friendly bicker. she wasn't strict at all, maybe because she felt bad about having to raise me all by herself and making me move around so much.

my father? he was never truly around. my mom told me he was a rockstar, one she had fallen in love with almost as quickly as he had left her as soon as he found out she was pregnant with me. my mom was young, barely twenty years old, and yet she managed to have me and continue studying, getting a degree in marketing. she had worked for multiple companies in the past few years, which was why we travelled so much.

but this time, i would at least get to finish highschool in the same place without moving by the end of the semester. we would be spending the whole year in seoul, as her contract would be running for a whole year this time.

i picked up the new uniform i would have to wear. i scrunched up my nose as i analyzed it, the red tie and navy blue jacket and matching knee high skirt almost itching my skin. i was the kind of girl who liked to express myself through my clothing and not being able to do so would be something quite new.

i shook my head. get over it, stasia. at least i got to stay here for a whole year and it opened the possibility of me actually having friends, which was very hard to do before.

i finished organizing everything just as two men knocked on the door to bring in the furniture. i walked towards my mother's room, telling her i would be going out to explore the neighborhood before i grabbed my bag and left.

the whole neighborhood was known to be quite safe and full of a lot of huge, beautiful houses. i would even dare to say that ours would be the smallest, or at least one of them, and it was a four bedroom one with a nice backyard garden. still, as small as it could be in comparison to others, it was still too big for two women only.

one of the houses, probably the one that caught my attention the most due to how modern it was, was just a couple of houses away from mine. what caught my attention the most was how the fences around it had roses growing, the scent of the beautiful flowers surrounding the house. attracted to it all, i walked closer to the house and bent down to smell one of the red roses.

"yah, don't steal those!" i heard a manly voice exclaim right behind me, and i almost jumped due to how startled i was. putting my hand over my heart, i let out a deep breath before trying to find the words to reply to him.

"i promise, i wasn't trying to do that," i faced him, my eyes then slowly moving to look into his.

i had never seen such deep, chocolate eyes as the ones i looked into. they were mesmerizing, i almost could find myself hypnotized by them.

he tilted his head slightly. "you're definitely not from here."

i shrugged. "what gave it away?"

"huh, everything about you?" he responded in a slightly annoyed tone. he wasn't wrong, being american and of dutch heritage, i definitely didn't fit the korean type.

"yeah well, i just moved here. my name is anastasia," i extended my hand towards him, and then i quickly withdrew it when i remembered it wasn't exactly their habit to do so. "tanner anastasia."

"whatever. just don't mess with my mother's roses," he rolled his eyes and without another word, he pushed the gates open and walked into what i assumed to be his house.

"o...kay?" i arched an eyebrow and let out a scoff. he could be handsome, i'd give him that, but he for sure didn't have any sort of manners. "nice to meet you too!" i yelled, in clearly an ironic tone.

turning on my heels and walking away from the house, i explored the neighborhood a bit more, even managing to grab two coffees from a coffee shop before walking back home.

i sighed in relief when i realized the moving trucks were gone, meaning there would be no strangers at our place. i walked up to my mother's room, knocking and walking inside, handing her the coffee.

"oh thank you, i was in need of that," she let out a sigh. she was sitting in the middle of a mess of clothes, boxes and shoes.

"it's no problem," i shrugged as i sipped on mine.

"so, what did you think about the neighborhood?" she looked at me, waiting for my answer.

"it all seems really nice. the coffee from the small coffee shop just two streets down is clearly amazing," i pointed towards the cups. then, i remembered my other experience with the rude dude. "i also met a very rude guy."

"you did? was he good looking?" she wiggled her eyebrows.

"mom!" yes, yes he was but that's not important. "i just told you he was rude and that's all you care about?"

"i'm sorry sweetie, okay, tell me about this boy then," she rested her face on her palm. sometimes, i really thought my mom was just another seventeen year old, like me. except she was actually twenty years older.

"well, he lives in this very nice house with very nice roses all around, and--"

"wait, were these white roses? and was the house like... more like a very modern mansion? was he like, your age?" she interrupted me.

"yeah,  yeah to all of those, why?" i lifted my eyebrow.

the color drained from her face. "were you rude to him at all?"

"i... i don't know, i could have been? i'm not sure, it depends if he's easily offended or-'"

"anastasia," she looked at me seriously. "you were just rude to my bosses' son."

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author's note:
second chapter in a day, huh? let me know what you think and if i should continue this!!