Problems

{ } Means it's a flashback. =]

[Linda's POV]

It's already midnight and she still hasn't come back yet. Oh, Cindy please come home now! Oh my gosh. I feel like it's all my fault. Oh who am I kidding? It is my fault!….I think. I should've told her, but I wasn't sure if it was true. I thought they would've changed their minds. If they thought it over thoroughly…

{ "It's best for the family, and I'm pretty sure Cindy would do it for us." I heard my dad say. "But what if she wants to find true love instead? Forcing her to do this would crush her." Aunt Gina cried. I was peeking into the dining room, where my family, excluding Cindy, sat looking serious with a discussion going on. What do they mean by forcing her and finding true love? Well, the only obvious answer is arranged marriage, but… oh no. No, no, no. They wouldn't. "Ah!" I yelped quietly. I had almost bumped into one of the two dining room doors while panicking about this problem. I wish I hadn't come down here just to get my mp3 player. I should've just sent my personal maid, Jenna, to retrieve it, but I didn't want to trouble her. "Okay, okay. Let's think about this later. Right now let's just eat." Grandma said. "The girls already ate. Hurry, the food's getting cold."

Crap. What am I suppose to do now? Should I tell Cindy? Though, they might not make her marry and I don't want to scare her either. Huh… I'll tell her later when I know for sure if they go through with it or not.}

She'll surely get even angrier if I tell her now, so later I guess. I finally saw the porch light turn on out of the corner of my eye while staring at my blank computer screen.

I know it's Cindy.

-------

I had rushed down the stairs quietly making sure no one heard me and opened the door to see her standing there with her head down, looking frustrated. She looked up at me slowly, but I didn't let her get a chance to talk. I took her wrist and pulled her upstairs to the study since it was the closest room we would reach after climbing the stairs. I gently pushed her inside and closed the door. I turned around to face her.

"I'm sorry." I said.

"It's not your fault." She said gloomily.

That's what you think. I clenched my fists and felt something sticky on my hands. I released my grip and saw that it was ice cream. I stepped closer to Cindy and wiped my hands on her shoulder and laughed. She did too.

"Eww. My hands are still sticky. Thanks a lot Cindy. You want to tell me why you're drenched in ice cream?"

"It's nothing. I just accidentally bumped into someone and made him drop his ice cream cone on me."

It was a few minutes until I spoke up again. "You know, I already talked to them about it. I figured you'd go along with it eventually, even though I don't want you to." Great. Here come the guiltiness again.

"After my walk, I decided it's the only way to please them and to not disgrace them also." She smiled a little.

I perked up. "Then, shall I tell you a little about your fiance before you meet him personally?"

I saw her thinking about it for a bit and then she clapped her hands together for a joyful mood.

"Yes. You shall."

I grinned. "Okay! His name is Jaebeom Park. He is 21 years-old and has an older brother, Junsu, who is 22 years-old. Their dad is the chairman of the Seoul International Airport, and his mom is a famous fashion designer that lives in Italy for most of the year. And he's in his junior year at Harvard University in America." I glanced at Cindy.

"Wow. No wonder why they want me to marry him."

"Yea. He has a background most families would die for to get their daughter with him. Huh. I hope you don't get killed." I gleamed.

"Very funny, Linda." She glared at me.

"Hey, I'm just trying to cheer you up. I mean, what would you do without me?"

"Oh, nothing at all! I would probably be too stupid to function in life if it wasn't for you!" She clasped her hands arond her throat as if she was dying.

"I heard hinted sarcasm."

We both laughed.

"Check on the shop tomorrow okay?" She reminded me.

"Sure thing. Now go take a shower before anyone notices."

She smiled cheerfully. "Thanks. I love you so much as a cousin."

"Your welcome, and I love you too, as a weirdo." I grinned.

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I was spacing out while listening to the heels of my slim black velvet boots clacking as I was walking down the pavement of an urban street where many stores and shops were lined up next together. And in the middle was JeLi's Coffee, which my family has been owning for twenty years. I walked up to the café and pushed the with a 'ding' coming from a silver bell overhead. Inside was a lively café that had an elegant touch to it. It's table were crowded and bustling with people. SS501's latest song "Love Like This" played softly in the background.

Several tables over, I noticed my newest teenage employee, Emi, was talking to a man about my age that looked insanely attractive. Hmmm. She seems too interested. I swiftly made my way to the table. As I was getting closer, I noticed the guy was politely trying to ignore her. Completely oblivious to his gestures, Emi continued to ramble on. I decided to walk up to her table and interrupt.

"Excuse me miss, but I've been waiting for the past 15 minutes for my double-whip, no sugar, extra cream and milk latte." I said in an indicating tone for her to get back to work.

"Yeah, yeah," Emi raised her hand dismissively, "go ask someone else. Can't you see I'm talking to a very important customer here?" She replied in a flirty tone without turning to face me.

"Emi Jung! I suggest you get back to work this instant." I replied irritatingly.

Emi's head shot up and I noticed the man's eyes were on me the whole time instead of moving them back and forth from me to Emi.

"Uh, I'm sorry . I'll get back to work." She bowed and headed behind the counter. I turned to the man and stare in bewilderment.

He was utterly handsome and cute! But I broke my gaze so I that wouldn't look like a freak.

"Um, I'm sorry for that. She's new and we didn't get to go over the rules with her yet." I tried not to look into his eyes.

"It's fine. I'm Kim Hyun Joong, and you are?" He smiled. My gosh his smile is so adorable and sexy at the same time!

"Linda Vo." I smiled back.

"Your last name doesn't sound Korean at all." He had a puzzled look.

" That's because my family is mainly Vietnamese, but I still have Korean blood in me, don't worry." I tried to keep my smile from being too flirty, but I still wanted a little hint of it.

He chuckled. "I'm glad. So you own this café?"

"Well, me and my cousin do."

"Ah. Well, I don't want to keep you from keeping your café in order. Plus, I don't want you keep standing here while talk to me." He grinned.

I laughed. "It's okay. But, yeah, I have to check on a few things. So I hope you enjoy your coffee." I started to walk away.

"Wait."

Yes! I turned around.

"Um, do you want to have dinner or lunch sometime?" I saw that his face looked a little shy. Oh my gosh!

"You mean like a date?" I blushed a little.

"Yea, a date. So would you?"

I smiled confidently. "Sure. When are you free?"

He grinned. "Tomorrow at seven?"

"Okay, I'll see you tomorrow."

"See you." I caught one last glimpse of his gorgeous face before walking away in a daze.