The title of a weekly magazine attracted her eyes. With a frowned, Jennie took out the magazine from its shelf. She opened the main page anxiously.
KIM JISOO'S BABY SECRET, 'Rumors say the most eligible bachelor in this country, KIM JISOO, had found his future wife. Some witnesses said they had a romantic dinner at the Italian Restaurant, Ruffino Restaurante three days ago. They were chatting happily the whole night with sparkling love between the lovebirds. Kim, looked like a changed man when he appeared with his mystery girlfriend. The 26-year-old was in jailed for 14 days back in March after being found guilty of using drug, drunk and sexual harassment at the Sherwood Seoul Hotel. However, the assault seemed to have no proves. An amazing fact wrapped media attention when Kim Jisoo had been spending more than three hours in a baby shop. Around the same time, it was revealed that his mystery girlfriend was pregnant. Their close friend exposed that the wedding bell of the lovebirds seemed unavoidable. As we know, Kim had been dating many famous girls in the past including Hong Soojoo, the famous model who lives in New York. Therefore, media was furious about the girl whom Kim had celebrated his birthday romantically with.'
"What the crap!" Jennie said harshly, putting back the magazine on its shelf. She hoped Jisoo could manage the media and protect her from their attention. She wondered what he's going to say in a press conference today.
Irene turned her eyes from the magazine on her hand to Jennie. She looked at her best friend, who was being grumpy to herself in the last two days, 'Jennie is in her bad mood again.' She said to herself. They had been walking from one mall to other malls since this morning until they stopped at a book store. She peeked at the title of that magazine curiously, KIM JISOO'S BABY SECRET. She sighed. She didn't understand what was going on between the two of them. Jennie hated him so much and accepted him only for the sake of the baby's life. Irene heard several times how Jennie cursed him and his baby in one day outing with her, but she frowned when Jennie bought a little light blue onesie along with a pair of small tiny socks in blue when they were at the mall. She shook her head secretly, 'Maybe her cold heart had started to love her baby and forgive its father.' She told herself certainly.
"Damn!" Irene was startled from her thought. Jennie cursed again, 'What was wrong with her today?'
"Jennie, are you feeling alright? Why don't we have a cup of coffee?"
"I don't drink coffee anymore. I'm pregnant, remember?"
"Oh yes, but we can still go to the café and order something to drink. Come on, I'm so thirsty."
Jennie looked at her and smiled, "Ok." Entering the café, they chose a table at the back. Jennie ordered a chicken sandwich and apple pie. Irene frowned. They just had their lunch two hours ago. Irene grinned.
"What?" Jennie said.
"Oh nothing."
"Do you want some cake? They looked delicious."
"God, no."Irene said, quickly "This is fine, Jennie." Jennie looked doubtful.
"Are you sure?"
"My stomach will explode if I eat again." Irene replied, lifting her cup of coffee in salute.
Jennie laughed, "I know you are really strict on your diet. Look at me. I have already liked a sack of potatoes." Then, she laughed again, looking at her body. Irene looked at her blankly, and then grinned.
"Don't tell me you are a happy mother-to-be now." Jennie blushed prettily.
"I don't know, Irene. I have such an odd feeling lately. Sometimes I'm so frustrated, but sometimes my mood is mild. My mother said it might be because of my unstable hormones during this pregnancy."
Irene put down her empty cup, "Yeah." She said with a smile, as she looked at Jennie's order coming to their table. She looked at the heaping dishes of food and gave a delicate shuddered, "So, do you want something to talk about?"
Jennie lifted her face from her sandwich plate, "Trouble." She said, shortly
"What do you mean? What kind of trouble?"
Jennie sighed. She sipped her drink, "I think I can't put myself to hate him anymore."
"Who?"
"Of course KIM JISOO, silly!" Jennie snapped at her, playfully.
Irene poured some coffee into her cup, "Don't tell me you have fallen for him."
"Of course not. I just can't build the feeling of hate to him anymore. He is so nice to me even though I tried to hurt his feelings several times. Why didn't he fight back? Why did he treat me so nicely? Oh, I'm dead." Jennie mumbled.
Irene scrutinized her troubled face, "Don't forget he's a playboy. He has been dating many girls before you. He surely knows how to conquer your heart. Jennie, you have to be careful. Don't let him hurt you again. Remember, you have Jong-in Oppa waiting for you at Sydney."
"You are right." Jennie said, softly. There was a moment of silence, "You know what, Irene. Three days ago, we almost kissed. He took me to a romantic dinner at Italian restaurant. We chatted lightly. I don't know what's wrong with me that night. I felt warmed near him, looking at his smiled and hearing his little jokes. Maybe my baby attached me to its father because we have been visiting a doctor before. I don't know. I scolded myself a whole night after he took me home. I'm scared, Irene. I have to build my wall against him." Irene blew out her breath.
"Jennie, just one sentence for you, don't fall into his trap."
~
Jisoo, wearing a dark blue suit, entered the conference room at the 30th floor of Kim Corporation building. As he promised, he would give his statement regarding the rumored of his mystery girlfriend and his baby secret.
"Good morning, Mr. Kim." One reporter greeted him. The other reporters immediately stopped their chit chat and sat down at their seats, taking their notes and tapes.
Jisoo took the center seat and smiled brightly, "Good morning everyone. As I promise, I will answer all your questions. Please proceed." He said, calmly
"Mr. Kim, you seems to make a lot of changes to yourself including your life style. Could you explain why?"
Jisoo cleared his throat, "It's a little bit private for me to answer that." He gave a little bit of sighed, "My lifestyle had changed quite a bit since I moved on with my new life after the incident on March."
"Is it true that you bought a penthouse in Hyatt Apartment and is staying there now?"
"Yes."
"Are you planning to get married soon as you have already moved from your parent's house?"
Jisoo needed time to think carefully. He took his glass and sipped a little bit of mineral water, "I can't answer it if it will be published openly." There were sounds of disappointment of the reporters.
"Mr. Kim, do you admit that you have been in a relationship with a specific girl at the moment?" Jisoo nodded, "Yes."
"Who is she? Is there anything to do with your shopping at the baby shop a few days ago?"
Jisoo looked at the anxious faces of the reporters. He had to think something to protect his relationship with Jennie as he promised her on their marriage agreement. He cleared his throat and said seriously, "I will answer all your questions regarding my girlfriend openly as you keep it off the records. The reasoned why I'm asking you this is...I'm afraid." He paused for a while, and some reporters smiled at him thinking that he was telling a joke, "I'm afraid that your news and investigation spoiling my efforts to court her. She is a hard, strong but striking woman." He pause, recalling his stubborn yet, stunning wife and he couldn't help to smiled shyly, "I hope all of you helped me to make her as my wife. As long as you don't bug into our life then everything would be ok. I appreciated it if all of you could respect my privacy life. In return, I promised, if I could make her as my wife I will give all the details for your front pages." He said in steady tones.
"Of course, Mr. Kim." One reporter said, and was followed by the others. Jisoo sighed in relief and smiled brightly. "Thank you for your understanding."
"Mr. Kim, as we promised to keep it off the records, how important is your girlfriend to you?"
"She is the important person in my life right now; especially she is carrying my child. There are some wonderful things that I feel when I'm with her." Jisoo mumbled,.
"What did your parent say? Is there anything to consider for your future wife, as you are the only heir of the Kim fortune? What's her background?"
"There is nothing special about her family background. I don't care. My parents supported me with my own choice. I believe that love is beyond everything in this world."
The female reporter moved forward and asked him, "Could you be happy if you had nothing?" Jisoo was startled. Why they had always related him with his father's fortune? He cleared his throat, "If I'm not supposed to have any money or other luxury things but I could be together with her then the answer is I WILL." He said, firmly.
"You sound so much in love, Mr. Kim."
Jisoo smiled in embarrassment. His face gradually turned red, "That's enough questions for me and thank you for your coming today." Jisoo got up from his seat and bowed to the reporters.
"Thank you, Mr. Kim and we wished you the best. We will be waiting for your promises." Jisoo smiled and left the conference room. He sighed in relief secretly, 'Thank god I'm out of here.' He muttered under his breath.
~
Stepping her long beautiful legs on Seoul International Airport, a stunning young lady put her Christian Diors sunglasses on. She looked around, trying to find familiar places after leaving Seoul for almost 7 months. Hong Soojoo definitely WASN'T a happy woman. She had a bright career in modeling, earned a lot of money and become famous in her early 20's. With her stunning beauty, she had a long queue of men asking her for date. However, she had lost her happiness a long time ago when one person made her cry endlessly every night. KIM JISOO! She frowned, held her Louis Vuitton handbag tightly and walked to the arrival gate.
She had to meet Jisoo and asked him why he didn't keep his promised to meet her at New York four months ago. She had been waiting at the airport worriedly without any news of him. She checked the list of passenger of Singapore Airlines and found his name there. However, Jisoo had never come to New York. When her nerved got into the peak point, she called his house and his mother told her that Jisoo had canceled his journey to America without telling her the reasoned. He also didn't attend his school and disappeared from her life completely. He didn't answer her calls and he changed his mobile number as if he wanted to hide from her. What's wrong with him? Her heart yearned for answers. After several times of making international calls to Seoul, she only got a short answer from him. Sorry, that was the only word he said to her. He dumped her. She kept asking him why he had to break up their perfect relationship. They were so good together. Was his weird acting related to the incident at Sherwood Seoul Hotel almost 7 months ago? Jisoo had never wanted to explain it to her regarding that incident. She just wondered what happened from the media. Jisoo didn't want to tell her the truth of what really happened that night. She groaned in despair. He only called her twice after that and kept saying sorry. No. She didn't want his regret; she didn't want him to say sorry all the time. She wanted their love life back. Finding an answered for his coldness and ignorance towards her brought her back here to Seoul. She had to meet him. She had to know what's wrong with him. Definitely he had a secret. She had to find it otherwise her life would be full of misery. She glanced again, at the magazine on her left hand, KIM JISOO'S BABY SECRET. She clenched her gripped on the magazine and threw it away harshly when she passed through the rubbish bin. Hong Soojoo wasn't a loser.
~
Jennie pulled out her white dress from her wardrobe closet and eyed it critically, "Oh no. It looks like an old dress." She murmured. She threw it on her bed. She looked at again, into the contents of her wardrobe. She sighed. Today was Friday. Jisoo usually visited her on Friday night after work hours. Since they had a dinner three days ago, a warmed feeling towards him had developed in her heart. Although, Irene had warned her, she couldn't help the excitement to see him again. She took out a black linen dress with tiny flowers embossed on the neckline. She frowned, held the dressed under her chin and glared at herself in the mirror, 'No.' she thought, "I looked like as I'm going to go to funeral." She murmured to herself. She tossed the dress onto the bed, where it joined a small but growing pile of discards. Jennie blew her fringe off her forehead, "What's wrong with me? I must be crazy waiting for him." She talked to herself.
Finally, she took the last dress, put a light make-up on her lovely face and was ready to meet Jisoo. By seven, Jennie went downstairs. Chaeyoung lifted her face from the textbook she was reading. She frowned. She raised her eyebrow. Her sister usually locked herself in her room during these hours avoiding Jisoo. Jennie looked different tonight. Wearing a black dress and putting on a light make-up was definitely a different Jennie. She scrutinized her sister secretly behind her book, 'What's wrong with her?' She thought to herself. However, she didn't dare to asked, as she didn't want to get her scolds. Chaeyoung shrugged. She continued to read her textbook.
After waiting impatiently for a few hours, Jennie glanced at the clock. It was 8.30pm. Jisoo usually came on time. It was already one and a half hour late, 'Did something happen to him?' Her mind wondered, 'Maybe he's busy at the office.' Jennie thought, but she forced the idea of something bad happened out of her mind. She rolled her eyes trying to concentrate on the show on TV, The Running Man. These series was one of her favorite shows. The show finished, yet he hadn't come. She was going to be impatient. Jennie looked at her sister and asked casually, "Chae, do you think it takes more than one hour from city to our suburb?" Chaeyoung frowned. She caught unaware of the answer.
"Uh, depends on the traffic. On Saturday or Sunday, it would be less than 30 minutes, but don't asked when it comes to busy hours. It could take around one hour."
Jennie's big beautiful eyes narrowed just a little, "Really?"
"If we get stuck in traffic. Why do you ask?"
"Oh, nothing. I'm just wandering." She answered, quickly. Jennie felt uneasy. Maybe if she kept busy, time would go pass more quickly. Right now, her patience had reached to the end. She stood up and walked to her room, leaving her sister with a big question in her head, but before Chaeyoung could uttered another word to her.
Jennie said to her, "If he comes, tell him I'm busy! You accompany him until he gets bored and send him home after that!" She told Chaeyoung in snappish tone.
Chaeyoung's eyebrows lifted, "Are you sure you want me to do it?" But had disappeared from her sight. Chaeyoung frowned, "What's wrong with her today? Did she take the wrong medicine?" She murmured to herself, and shook her head slightly. She glanced at the clock and asked silently.
"Where is Jisoo Oppa? He usually comes on Friday night." She got up and went outside to get some fresh air. She usually accompanied him, as Jennie didn't want to see him. She liked him as a big brother that she had never had. She could tell him her problems and got some useful feedback from him. Jisoo was someone easy to talk to. He had a lot of jokes, too. Only her stubborn sister didn't see him as the way he was. She groaned softly. How she wished Jisoo and Jennie could be together. She liked Kai too, but she felt different perspectives to both of them. Kai was too serious while Jisoo was full of surprised and jokes. Kai always treated her as a little sister who didn't know anything about adult mattered. On the other hand, Jisoo always respected her ideas, her opinions and looked at her as a responsible girl. Her relationship with Jisoo could be as friends and could be as brother and sister, but she knew her sister hated him for what he did in the past. She couldn't blame Jennie, but deep in heart, she hoped that someday Jennie would forgive him.