Chapter 8: Meet My Childhood Friend

Saku went to school the next day with a smile plastered onto her face. After months of sulking over Kim Ji-Hoon and their anger-filled arguments, Saku was finally happy… and she let everyone see how ecstatic she was. Nothing seemed to bring her down as the day went by. When school finally ended, she was stopped by Goshippu, Irei, and the Baddobōizu gang (Ji-Hoon was included)…

-Saku gave her friends a broad smile

“Good afternoon you guys!”

-Irei smiled as well

“You seem to be in such a happier mood, Saku!”

-Goshippu gave Amai a weird look

“You said she was in some sort of turmoil you liar! She looks perfectly fine!”

-Amai blushed and shuffled his feet

“Well, she was before! I thought someone was following her before and when I asked I thought she was just keeping it a secret from us!”

-Saku laughed lightly

“Amai, I was serious when I said I was alright now. Truthfully I was in no danger at all.”

-Saku couldn’t help but glance at Ji-Hoon to see his reaction: Completely unresponsive… and he looked exhausted and irritated…

-Saku’s smile faltered a bit until she heard her name called from behind

“Saku-chan!”

-Saku spun around to see Nikui running up to greet her with a small bouquet of roses in his hand

-Saku let out a squeal when Nikui embraced her in a warm hug

“Nikui-kun, you came!”

“Of course I came! You wanted me to meet all of your friends, didn’t you?”

-Saku turned to face everyone and took a hold of Nikui’s hand

“This is my childhood friend Nikui. He had to leave seven years ago to learn how to run his family’s company, but now he’s back!”

-She pointed to each person before her and stated their name for Nikui

-She noticed that when she introduced Ji-Hoon, Nikui’s eyes darkened a shade

-Saku took note that Kim Ji-Hoon was eyeing Nikui… scrutinizing him with a look of… Saku couldn’t even decipher the look that was now plastered onto Ji-Hoon’s face… but she could tell that Ji-Hoon wasn’t happy

“What company are you in charge of?”

-Nikui returned Ji-Hoon’s scrutinizing glare with a cool smile

“Ahh, if it isn’t Kim Ji-Hoon… I’ve heard a lot about you… and now we finally meet.”

-Ji-Hoon’s eye twitched and he snorted

“I didn’t ask whether you heard of me or not!”

“Well, you should ask your mom what company I took charge of.”

-Sugureta whistled

“Now that’s a comeback that is stinging and true at the same time…”

-Ji-Hoon shot Sugureta a death glare before looking at Nikui

“I guess you signed a contract with my mother, huh? Well, what has been going around the business world?”

-Nikui suddenly broke out in a fit of laughter and wrapped an arm around Saku, pulling her close to him

“I’ve heard plenty about the famous Kim Ji-Hoon who was supposed to be under training to take over the biggest financial company out there in Korea… until he ran away from home in a rebellious state to never be heard of… running away from the pressures, unable to take the heat… leaving a beautiful crying fiancée behind… living on the streets, a beggar, a disappointment… all the rumors are along the lines of that… Even your mom is calling you a family disgrace!”

-An audible growl was released from the back of Ji-Hoon’s throat and it looked like he was about to take a menacing step forward when both Amai and Saku stepped in the line of fire

-Amai let out a nervous laugh

“Alright now, let’s not light any fires right now… Nikui it was very nice meeting you but we have a job to go take care of…”

-With Amai in front and Sugureta and Omoiagatta behind, Ji-Hoon stalked off

-Saku watched him go, a worried look upon her face

“What the hell?”

-Irei and Goshippu also said their farewells and promised to watch Seo-Hyun and Hyun-Woo for the night again

-When they were alone, Saku looked up at Nikui

“Why did you say all that to him, Nikui-kun? That was cruel!”

-Nikui snorted and gently pulled Saku with him as he walked

“He’s a stuck up brat… I saw Ji-Hoon once before and I didn’t like him at all…”

“You saw him before?”

“Yeah, during my training, I was to meet all my future partners. My dad and his mom worked together… and the kid didn’t even want to meet me… next thing I knew he ran away. His mother was pissed that she couldn’t pinpoint him… Lucky me I run into him here, and he’s just as I suspected. A stuck up brat who thinks he is all high and mighty.”

-Saku yanked Nikui to a stop and scolded the older male

“Kim Ji-Hoon is nothing like that! He is just under a lot of stress right now. In reality he is nice and responsible… and he isn’t a stuck up brat. Don’t talk about him like that… I’d never expect you to say things like that.”

-Nikui gave her a slight glare before pulling her along and changing the topic

“I’ve made arrangements to take you to a nice restaurant. You don’t have to work today right?”

-Saku’s frown remained in place for a while before a small smile broke out

“So you remembered?”

-Nikui smirked

“Of course I remembered… and I bought you a new dress to wear… I’ll take you home so you can change and then we’ll go…”

-Saku nodded, her previous worries pushed aside... although she still wondered how her dear friend could muster up all those cruel things to say…

“He was such a sweet boy all those years back… I guess people change over the years, I certainly have…”