Dark Secrets

Chapter 23: The Way You Take Away My Breath (2 of 2)

But when I’m about to came in to the classroom, I saw Professor Lee talking with Pluto at that moment so I seized the opportunity to take my seat and pretend I’m not late.

I didn’t have time to eat breakfast or think about it earlier since I’m in a rush so I just eat whatever is on my desk that Pluto brought for me, it’s broccoli … Broccoli Cornbread.

Not that I don’t eat broccoli but I just don’t like it as my first meal.

The next day, it was only 6am when I hear my Mom’s voice outside, knocking at my door.

I opened the door but I’m still sleepy and didn’t mind what my Mom is talking about because I want to go back to bed and sleep for two more hours.

“Desa, are you listening?” Mom s***k me when I get back to bed.

“Mmm … Mom, let me sleep for 2 more hours, please?” tucking myself in the blanket and cover my head with the pillow.

“Let her sleep, Honey. Just talk to her later.” Dad said to Mom.

When I woke up at 8am as my alarm clock turned on, I could smell a delicious breakfast prepared on the table.

“Morning sweetheart.” Dad greeted me while reading a newspaper.

“Morning Dad.” I hugged him before washing my face in the sink. “Where’s Mom?” rinsing my mouth.

“Looking for a place for us to stay here in the capital.” Dad replied.

“You found a job here Dad?!!” I smiled brightly at him.

“No, I’m thinking of getting a clinic and manage it myself.” he said.

“Hmm … the rent of a commercial space here costs a lot of money also you’ll be buying equipment for the clinic as well as tools.” computing the costs in my head. “Did you take a loan, Dad?”

“No. We don’t need to, sweetheart. We’re rich now.” Dad smiled at me while maintaining his calm expression.

“What do you mean, we’re rich?” I sit beside him immediately.

“We won the lottery.” he’s pointing at the luggage beside my closet.

“Really??” I almost flew to see what’s inside the luggage. “Oh my gosh! Dad!” I opened my eyes widely at him. “How much is this??”

“₩ 741,482,863.80, that’s the net prize we took home yesterday.” Dad drinking his coffee. “We actually won $ 1,000,000.00, CAD but you know there’s a lot of deduction almost 20%, still that’s a lot of take-home money. You don’t have to work part-time, sweetheart.”

“Oh my gosh! Dad!!” I’m extremely happy that I jumped onto him like a kid. “I can’t believe this! We’re millionaires now! That’s the jackpot prize, right?” smiling widely.

“Uh-huh. But sweetheart, keep it low. We can’t tell to anyone about it, you know for safety purposes.” he sits me on the chair.

“Sorry, I’m just so overwhelmed right now.” calming myself. “Gosh, we’re rich now!” I cheered softly.

I never imagined that we’ll won a lottery in this lifetime and on top of that, the jackpot prize.

“What’s with you today?” Pluto asked me as he put my breakfast down on my desk. “You’ve been smiling like you’ve won a lottery, what happened to you?” staring at me curiously.

“How did you know?!” (Am I too obvious??) “I-I mean, I’m just happy that I’ll be living with my parents soon.”

“Ah, your Dad found a job here?” he sits beside me and lean on my desk while staring at me.

“Well, you can say that.” checking the breakfast, he brought. “Oh, wow, strawberry shortcake! I already had breakfast but I always have space for dessert. Thanks, baby.”

“Say that again.” he smiles at me charmingly.

“Say what??” digging in.

“Call me baby again.” he pats my head gently.

“I didn’t say that word.” feigning innocence as I averted his gaze.

“Yes, you did. Call me baby again, please baby.” he moves closer to me. “Baby, please. Please?”

“You heard me wrong, I didn’t say anything like that.” about to move away but he embraces me. “W-What are you doing??” looking around,

“Unless you call me baby, I won’t take my hands off you.” he also grabs my left arm and give me a shake. “Please, call me baby again.”

“Since when did you become so stubborn like this, huh?” I glanced back at him which I regretted immediately because I met his eyes.

“I’m always like this.” he turned my head to face him. “Call me baby.”

“B-Baby.” I think I’m blushing right now as I can feel a sudden rise of my temperature while looking at him in the eyes. “N-Now get your hands off me.” I pushed him away to save myself from being breathless because of the few inches space between us.

“I want to kiss you right now.” he muttered but I heard him clearly.

I bit my lower lip and tried not to think about what he just said so I put my attention back to the strawberry shortcake in front of me.

Does he really like me or he’s just playing around? He’s making me confused with the actions he shows and the words he says to me.

That same evening, I met Diso at the train station as usual and told me that he saw my Mom this morning.

“Are you looking for a place to live?” Diso asked as we get in the train. “My neighbour left his unit last Sunday, and I’m practically living alone at the 11th floor since yesterday. It’ll be great if we’ll be neighbours.” sitting beside me.

“I’m not sure with my parents, I’ll just go wherever they go.” I replied. “But how much does the rent cost at your residential area?”

“I honestly don’t know, Ace-hyung settled it. Now that you mention it, I only pay the monthly bill for electricity and water but not rent.”

“Wait … where exactly do you live at Chang-dong?” I asked curiously.

“The Unit building.” he responded without hesitation.

“That 15-storey building for rich people?!” I exclaimed.

“It is 15-storey building but my brother and I are not rich people.”

“Oh, come on! One unit in that building costs ₩ 100 million to buy and you’re saying your not rich??!” looking at him indifferently.

“I’m not. I’m just depending on my brother to support me financially.”

“Well, I’m pretty sure your family is rich and so are you because you’re one of them. As if a pilot would earn that much money.” I said.

“That’s probably what our parents left for us and the profit that Ace-hyung earning from stocks aside from his salary as a pilot.”

“Stocks?? I’ve been hearing it a lot from the customers at Caracciolo and it seems very important for everyone.” I uttered.

“I’m not a business major but as far as I know you’ll own a portion of that company as a stockholder. Ace-hyung invested at the Nevaeh group, and as you may know they’re the strongest company here in Korea, so if I do earn my own money, I’ll definitely invest to them too, they’ll help you get rich.” he explained.

“Hmm … when is Ace-hyung coming back?” I asked him interestedly.

“Not sure, he’ll just come and go as he wishes.” he responded. “Why are you interested in investing too?”

“I can tell it to my Dad. Ace-hyung could share some word of advice.”

“Yeah, why not?” he smiles at me.

When I arrived home, Mom asked me if I agree to live at The Unit building, which somehow surprised me as I still can’t believe that we have hundreds of millions now.

“Instead of buying a unit in a building why not a house and lot?” I asked since spending a ₩ 100 million for a unit doesn’t seem practical at all and just a luxury.

“Well, I’ve been thinking about it too. We could have our own garden and I think it also worth a 2-storey house.” Mom nodded. “What do you think, Honey? Should I sign the contract tomorrow or look for house and lot in other area?”

“Anywhere is fine with me as long as you girls are happy.” Dad said.

“The reason I want to live at The Unit is because there’s a lot of commercial space around that building and the fact that it is 5 minutes away from the bank.” Mom explained her side.

“That’s true, that building is at the center of Chang-dong. Up to you, Mom, if being near to the bank makes you feel comfortable.”

“I’ll look for house and lot tomorrow that has the same accessibility.” Mom nodded. “Oh, and sweetheart, when are you going to resign from your part-time so that your dad can start looking for a space for his clinic, we need someone to be here at home.”

“I’ll talk to my manager tomorrow, and speaking of tomorrow, I’m getting paid. I’ll buy midnight snacks for us.” I said happily.

The next day, I used to Pluto coming by every morning to bring me breakfast but I never get used on his breathtaking handsomeness.

“I heard from Diso last night that your Mom is looking for a place to live, is that true?” Pluto asked as soon as he sit on my left side.

“Uh-huh. The Unit is her first choice but she’s still looking for a house and lot to buy.” I suddenly told him something I shouldn’t.

“And you’re suddenly interested in investing at our company too.” he’s looking at me thoroughly. “Did you really win the lottery?”

“No. My Dad took a loan.” I averted his stare and focus on the food he brought for me. “What’s this?”

“Quince dessert.” he rests his cheek on his fist while leaning on the desk as he keeps on watching me. “Since your parents are staying with you, I know you already had breakfast at home so I’ll just bring desserts for my baby.” he brushed my hair over my ear.

“Mmmh … this is delicious.” nodding as I savor the taste in my mouth.

“The Unit is a good place, it’s also a secured area, your family will be safe there. But if you want, I can ask for a selling property in Gangnam-gu, we could be neighbors.” he uttered while staring at me.

“Pass. We don’t have a lot of money to buy a property in Gangnam-gu although it’s the best residential area here in Seoul.” I said.

“But if you’re going to invest at the Nevaeh Group you must have at least US$100,000 to be qualified as a minor stockholder.” he added.

“Hmm … how much does it costs to be a major stockholder?”

“Not sure, probably millions or billions, even so 50% of stocks are still own by my grandfather. He maintained it that way, like my father and uncle who both own 10% each and 5% for my aunt, widow of my late uncle. In short, 75% of Nevaeh Group is family owned.”

“Wow! Do you even need an investor if you can basically stand alone on your own?” amazed by their domination.

“Probably not and that 25% of stocks we opened for public is mere charity. Helping those businessmen to prosper as our company improves from time to time.” he explained. “That’s why we never need to do marriage for business transaction because we’re one of the strongest companies in the world and not just in this country.”

“Yeah, just your aircraft business alone is known worldwide. If you marry someone who isn’t in your level she’ll be branded as Cinderella, so you should marry a princess who’s right for a prince like you.”

“Cinderella becomes a princess when she married the prince. I don’t see any difference if I marry someone poor or rich, in the end she’ll be my queen as I am her king.” he reasoned out. “Do you have plans now on marrying me, baby?” smiling at me teasingly.

“Huh?? Hahaha!” I laughed at him. “I don’t want to live in a fairy tale, baby, your world is too much for me to handle. And besides, I don’t even love you, so why would I marry you?”

“Ouch.” he looks disappointed with my statement. “Fair enough.” leans forward to whisper on my ear. “I don’t love you that much either for me to marry you.”

“At least we both agree with that mat …” I suddenly paused when I realized what he said. “W-What did you just say?”

“I thought you don’t know how to read between the lines.” he smirks at me. “I’ll leave first, finish your dessert.” stand up to leave.

“Did he just say that he lo- …” I’m still processing the words in my head although I already know the answer. “It can’t be. He’s just messing with me, right??”

I’ve been thinking about the whole day about what he whispered to my ear, even though he didn’t say it directly but that’s what he meant and he even told me to read between the lines.

“You alright, Desa?” Diso pats my head when we entered the train.

“Mmm.” I nodded at him as I take a sit on the booth.

“You’ve been spacing out since you came down at the stairs.” he said.

“Diso-sunbae, what does it mean when a guy tells you that he doesn’t love you that much for him to marry you?” I asked his opinion.

“Who told you those words?” he asked coldly.

“Ah … not me … a friend of mine, a guy told her those words.” I lied.

“That means the guy isn’t serious about your friend, tell her to keep distance from such jerk.” he explained.

-End of Chapter 23-