The Crystal Bracelet

Best Birthday Present Ever

Sue arrived around 1pm and the entire main hall of the Villa was filled with giggles. Din stood in the doorway of his study and shook his head at the two girls. He had been on the phone most of the morning. He hadn't responded to any messages from the unknown number that contacted him, so he assumed that was why they reached out to Lily. Din was going to have Lily change her number once all this mess was settled. He knew she would argue vehemently over it but it was for her safety and he didn't compromise that. Jae was set to arrive at the Villa around 3pm, Din was supposed to pick him up but in light of what was going on he messaged Jae and asked him to take a cab. The airport wasn't far from the Villa so it wouldn't be terribly expensive or a long ride.

"So what's the latest with playboy Sun?" Sue cooed looking for some juicy gossip.

"There isn't much to tell. He and Din still argue, oh wait until I tell you about last night!" Lily sounded like a young teen as she spoke.

Lily filled Sue in on all the juicy details of the dinner with Seong and Viv. She told her about waking up in Gavin's arms. Lily also admitted quietly that she liked how strong Gavin was. Sue hit her on her arm lightly and grinned.

"When is the wedding?" Sue joked.

"Ha! We haven't had ten dates yet! You know this!" Lily rolled her eyes.

"You are never going to have these ten dates. Just give that notion up!" Sue chastised her.

"Shut up! I am sticking to this!" Lily crossed her arms in defiance.

"Ok so you had one date with Gavin and Seong at GuiZhou House. Nine more then."

"No that wasn't a date!" Lily argued.

"How the heck is that not a date! You are making my argument for me! You will never have these ten dates! So far you could literally have had three and you make some excuse as to how it's not a date!" Sue felt sorry for Master Sun now. "Poor man will never get a date with you if you don't loosen your definitions of a date!"

Lily blew out air from her cheeks in exasperation.

"Ok, so this Seong, that's the President of Sun Entertainment from tv the other day right?" Sue asked.

"Yeah."

"Is he single?" Sue looked starry eyed as she asked.

"I don't know. I didn't ask! But you are too much! Can you think of anything besides men?" Lily teased her.

"Hey he's hot! If he's single you can hook me up! I bet I get a date before you can!"

Lily huffed and rolled her eyes again.

Sue and Lily carried on their gossipy conversation while the servants worked around the home decorating for Lily's birthday party. Lily chose magenta pink flowers when the servants asked for her choice. The ribbons and décor all centered around magenta pink. There were puff pastries that were covered in powdered sugar and white lotus moon cakes already out on the dessert trays for later. Since her birthday was so close to Mid-Autumn Festival and National Holiday her father always had mooncakes delivered for her. She loved the White Lotus mooncakes and the Snow Skin mooncakes the most. They would save the Snow Skin mooncakes for the National Holiday Feast. Her brothers preferred the Red Bean mooncakes so Lily always asked for them for Din and Jae. There was a flurry of activity around the Villa preparing for Lily's birthday and National Holiday. Generally the decorations Lily chose for her birthday would stay up through the National Holiday feast. Lily got up to make some tea and was scolded by the servant standing near her. She was so used to her independence that she had forgotten what it was like to be waited on for everything. Lily apologized and sat down. She didn't want to offend the servant so she patiently waited for her tea. Servants were proud of their jobs and if you didn't let them serve you it was taken as they must have done something wrong or offended the Master in some way.

Lily was sitting on the couch in the main hall when Din came down the stairs. Lily saw him and bit her lip. Things were so tense between them because of Gavin that she was afraid to say anything in fear of starting an argument.

"Happy Birthday Lil." Din said kindly.

"Thanks Din."

"Sue." Din said without emotion.

"Brother Din." Sue didn't look up from her cell phone.

"Is everything ok with Fin?" Lily was still really concerned for him.

"Don't worry about these things today. It's your birthday." Din was dismissive about it.

"Din, I called Gavin. I hope it doesn't anger you. He said he would trace the message...."

Sue looked up at Lily in surprise.

"What are you talking about?" Sue interrupted.

"Nothing." Din said in a warning tone.

"Fin wasn't in my apartment this morning. I'm just worried." Lily tried to explain it simply.

"Din, please don't be upset that I called Gavin." Lily continued.

"I'm not." Din seemed like he truly wasn't.

Lily eyed him cautiously and was surprised to find he wasn't angry at all. Lily thought about how Gavin acted on the phone, combined with Din not being angry, and the sudden change in plans for Gou to drive her. She felt like that were something going on she wasn't aware of. Lily decided to let it be and drop the subject.

Suddenly the front door of the Villa opened and Jae walked in. Lily was so surprised she screamed and jumped up running toward him. He barely caught her without falling over.

"JAE! You're home!"

"Surprise! Happy Birthday Lil!" Jae cooed as he hugged her.

Sue looked up from her phone and saw Jae in the doorway. Her mouth dropped and she stared at the gorgeous man that just walked in the door. He was no longer the lanky, nerdy little brother to Din. Jae stood tall and looked muscular under the fitted baby blue t-shirt he was wearing. His jeans fit just right and he wore with his usual converse high tops. Jae's dark hair was styled with a few pieces of his hair hanging down over his left eye brow. Sue was instantly enamored with him.

"When did you get in?" Lily was so excited she refused to let go of him.

"I just flew in a few hours ago. Took a cab here. YOUR brother Din was supposed to come get me but he bailed on me!" Jae was teasing Din.

"Glad you are home brother. Of course you aren't grateful I paid for everything, just pissy I didn't pick you up." Din laughed as he walked over to pat his brother on the shoulder. That was about as affectionate as Din would get.

"You paid for everything?" Lily asked with a smile.

"Yeah. Surprise Lil! I knew you'd want him here. Of course he's a poor college kid who can't afford good noodles, so I had to pay for his ticket."

Jae punched his brother in the chest. "I'm not poor asshole." Din rubbed his chest in surprise from Jae's hit, it wasn't the soft weak punches from his brother that he was used to.

"Watch your mouth." Seok's booming voice was suddenly heard from across the room.

"Dad!" Jae walked over to shake his Dad's hand. Seok pulled him into an embrace and patted his back.

"I'm glad you are home son." Seok's eyes were shimmering with tears he refused to shed.

Lily hugged Jae from behind and held onto her Dad's arms too.

"I'm so happy! This is the best birthday present ever!"

Din smiled a half smile and for a moment forgot all about the issue with Fin.