Main Characters in the Story:

*Kim So Hyun as "Athena" Myung-hee Park

*Tom Hiddleston as Himself

Minor Character in the Story:

*Robert Downey, Jr. as Himself

*Cha Seung-Won as Park Woo-bin {Myung-hee's father}

*Woo Hee-Jin as Park Eun-hye {Myung-hee's mother}

Chapter XVI: I Cannot Believe This.

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"I cannot believe this." I grumble. I have been ranting to myself since I got home from the mall half an hour ago. I can't yell at my parents, and I can't yell at Marilyn. I might as well yell at my room.

"I cannot believe I seriously agreed to this. What in the world was I thinking? I don't belong with that crowd. Do I look like I should be dining with celebrities? No! I don't!

Once I am done removing the outfits from their plastic bags, I lay out the combinations and stare at them. They are three of the simplest and nicest outfits I could afford. I stay a foot or so away from them so my post-shower hair can't drip water on them.

Five minutes pass, and I'm still staring at them. Great. How do girls do this? How the hell do I choose one? Do I flip a coin or something? I want to call Marilyn for help, but I didn't even tell her about tonight. It's bad enough that I am going through with the dinner. The last thing I need is for people to know about it.

"Yeon-in? {Sweetheart?}"

Especially my eomeoni. "O ani-yo! {Oh No!}" I whisper. I panic when my eomeoni starts knocking on my bedroom door. I grab the folded comforter from beside my pillow. I unravel it and spread it out over the outfits. I go to door and open it for my eomeoni. "Ye? {Yeah?}" I say to her.

"Yeobo, nega pil-yolohaneun geos-eul jeonghwaghi balgyeonhaessda. {Sweetheart, I found exactly what you need.}"

I wonder what it is. "Ige mwoya? {What is it?}"

"Naneun dangsin-ui bang-eseo jag-eob hal su-issneun wanbyeoghan sae chaegsang-eul balgyeonhaessda. {I found a perfect, brand-new desk for you to work on in your room.} Dangsin-i joh-ahaneun saegkkal jung hanaida. {It's even in one of your favorite colors.}"

"Hwaiteu? {White?}"

She gives me a confused look. "Naneun nega palansaeg-eul joh-ahandago saeng-gag haess-eo? {I thought you liked blue?}"

I shake my head no. "Hwaiteu. Hangsang huinsaeg. {White. Always white.}"

She looks surprised for a moment. Was she not expecting that answer?"

"Naega palansaeg-eul joh-ahandaneun saeng-gag-eul han geos-eun mueos-ibnikka? {What gave you the idea that I liked blue?}"

"Molla. {No idea.}" She says, though the sounds like she is in a completely different world. But seconds later, she comes right back to the present with an enthusiastic smile on her face. "Johguna! geulsse, naneun geudeul-i geugeos-eul gajigo issdago hwagsinhanda. {Alright! Well, I'm sure they have it in while.} Uliga eodie neoh-eoyahandago saeng-gaghani? {Where do you think we should put it?}" She pushes the door open and moves right past me.

Eom-ma-ya! Igeos-eun il-eonaji anhseubnida. {Oh my God! This isn't happening.}

My eomeoni walks around the room, making motions with her hands that I am assuming is part of her mental diagram. "Eojjeomyeon ulineun geugeos-eul guseog-e neoh-eul su issseubnida. geugeo gwiyeoulgeoya. {Maybe we could put it in the corner. That would be cute.}"

"Eomma, na- {Mom, I-}"

"Or, you know what? We'll get you a brand-new bed. One that's high up. The way we can create a persona little office for you just underneath. We'll get you pens, pencil, some drawing supplies since you told me you like to draw,"

"Eomma-"

"Ulineun eeokeon-eul chag-yong hal su iss-eumeulo jilsighaji masibsio. {We can put in an air conditioner so you don't suffocate.} Xbox neun eotteohseubnikka? Neo ajigdo bidio geim-eul joh-ahaji, geuleohji? {And how an Xbox? You still like video games, right?} Neoneun eolyeoss-eul ttae geudeul-e daehae michyeossda- {You used to be crazy about them as a child-}"

"Eomma!" I snapped.

She looks at me immediately. I finally have her attention.

"Naneun jigeum bappeuda. Uli, amado, nado molla, najung-e hal su iss-eulkka? {I am kind of busy with something right now. Can we, maybe, I don't know, do this later?}"

She's speechless. Either that, or she didn't exactly plan on me kicking her out. "O! Eo, al-ass-eo. Hwagsilhan. Gyesoghagoissneun jung-i ya, jagiya. Naneun banghaehalyeogohaji anh-assda. {Oh! Uh, okay. Sure. Continue what you were doing, sweetheart. I didn't mean to interrupt.}" She smiles half-heartedly and hurries out the door.

I shut the door behind her and let out a long-held sigh. "Eosaeghan {Awkward.}" I go to my bed and pull back the comforter, revealing the outfits once again.

It takes way too long, but I finally decided on which one to wear. The woman in H&M said that the white blouse was called a "ruffled top shoulder" along with a peach colored plain skirt as its pairing. Anyway, it was a bit plain and sort of cute, so I bought with a pair of Pastel Pink Lace-Up Pump Heeled Shoes that are two inches (The only heel I can manage), silver heart earrings and a thin chain bracelet. Even though I am not fond of brightly colored girly clothes like most females love, there are some clothes that are very good for my taste I had to admit.

I quickly pull the brush through my hair one last time. My hair is now completely dried, and as full as ever. I study it in the mirror. Hm… nae meolileuljaleuljido moleunda. jigeum-eun neomu manh-eun jag-eob-ibnida. {Hm… I think I might cut my hair. It's way too much work at this point.} I dig through my drawer and pull out a pair of purple scissors. I take a handful of hair just as much as I want to cut off, and bring it right between the two long blades.

I prepare to snap the scissor shut when I look at myself in the mirror again. After some rational thoughts about this, I decided I will do it tomorrow because short hair just wouldn't look good with this outfit. I remove the scissors and place them back in the drawer. Naeil. Myeonghwaghi. {Tomorrow. Definitely.}

I go to my little night table and open the drawer. I take out the velvet box, open it and remove the Infinity ring. I know it doesn't really go well with the outfit, but I just don't give a damn.

As soon as I finish putting the last of my jewelry, my phone starts vibrating on my bed. I plop down next to it and look at the screen, It's an unknown number, but I have an idea who it might be as I answer the call. "Hello?"

"Do as I say, or I will shoot your boyfriend right now."

I froze in horror, my heartbeat speeding up. I feel myself begin to panic again.

"Myung-hee? Myung-hee." Robert's voice comes onto the phone. "I think I might've killed her. Myung-hee, I was kidding."

My cheeks burn with rage and embarrassment. Why should I hold back? "Robert, that was not funny! What the hell is your problem?! Do you know how convincing that sounded?! Neo nappeun nom-iya, {You no good bastard,} you scared the hell out of me!" I quietly panted. I forced all that out in a single breath.

I hear him laughing hysterically on the other end of the call. I cannot believe he actually finds that funny.

"You're such an asshole. You know that?" I say angrily.

The laughing calms down, and his amused and exhausted voice comes back on. "I may not understand your Korean profanity, but for that I will apologize. I seriously did not think you would react like that."

"Robert, why did you call? Or did you just feel like you're giving me a heart attack?"

"I'm almost at your home. I'm just dropping someone off somewhere right now. Be ready because we're running a little late."

"Alright. Honk when you are outside." I hang up and toss my phone back onto the bed.

I take out of the shoe box, rip off the tags, and slip my feet into them. Perfect fit. I check my recently-manicured pastel pink nails. My mother let me use her credit card, and I never had a manicure before. Any girl would have taken advantage, too.

My phone starts vibrating again. I pick it up, annoyed and answer it without even paying attention to who's calling. "What do you want now?" I say to Robert, but I am very much mistaken.

"Lovely to hear from you too, darling." Tom says.

I blushed from embarrassment. "Eom-ma-ya. {Oh my god.} I am so sorry, Tom. I thought you were Robert."

"Are you mad at him?"

I sigh. "He's not exactly on my list of favorite people right now. Plus, he pulled a jackass move earlier, so yeah. I'm kind of pissed off at him right now."

"What did he do that was so terrible?" he asks.

I shake my head. "Just forget about it. Not important. How is everything going over there?"

"Not bad. I've been busy with interviews for Thor 2, reading for Only Lovers Left Alive, working on Coriolanus."

"You got the part?" I say excitedly.

"Didn't I mention that?" I can hear the smile in his voice.

"Eom-ma-ya, {Oh my god,} congratulations! I'm so happy for you!" I smile so widely, he might have just feel it through the phone.

"Thank you." He replies. "Hopefully all will go well. My schedule is getting very packed nowadays."

"I can imagine. Hey… you are going to send me an exclusive clip of Thor 2, right?"

He laughs loudly. That obviously means "lol no". "I'll think about it." He replies.

"Okay." I make it clear that I know he has no intention of doing so. Then I hear a horn twice outside my house. "Alright, I have to go. I have a dinner to get to."

"Yes, Rob told me. So much for a secret relationship."

"I know. Okay, time to go. Love you."

"Love you too. Bye."

I hang up. Just as I begin to stand up, I am seated again by a slowly forming knot in my stomach. The thought of this, going out with famous people is just now getting me nervous. I am actually nervous about this. Oh, I hope this doesn't screw anything up.

I turn off my lamp and run out of my room, pulling the door shut. I rush down the steps and through the dining room. When I get to the kitchen, I try to ignore my parents as politely as possible (if that is possible).

"Cheoncheonhi hae. {Slow down.}" My abeoji says with a laugh. "Naneun dangsin dwie bul-ui gabyeoun heunjeog-eul bon geos gat-ayo. {I think I see a light trail of fire behind you.}"

"Ne. seodu leuseyo, jagiya? {Yeah. What's the rush, sweetheart?}" My eomeoni asks. "Nagalgeoya? {Are you going out?}"

"Ye, jeoneun neujge gal geos-ibnida. {Yes, and I am going to be late.}" I speed over to my parents and give them each a kiss on the cheek. "Jebal geogjeonghaji maseyo. {Please don't worry about me.} nae jeonhwagiga wanjeonhi chungjeon dwaess-eo. boan-i chungbunhan sigdang-e galgeoya. {My phone's fully charged, I am going to a restaurant with plenty of security.} Geuligo geogieiss-eul nyeoseog-eun WWE leseulleoboda deo manh-eun geun-yug-eul gajil geos-ibnida. Gwaenchanh-a annyeong! {And the guys that'll be there will have more muscle than a WWE wrestler. Okay, bye!}" I run to the door.

"Yaedeul a? Mwolagu?{Guys? What guys?}" My eomeoni says.

"Gei chingudeul, eomma! {Gay friends, mom!}" I lie on the way out. I exit the house before either of them could say anything else about the subject.

Once I'm outside, I unlock my cellphone and open the Chase app to make sure everything is set up. When my eomeoni gave me her credit card, I downloaded the app and entered the card number. I guess habits never die.

Someone or somewhere in the dark, whistles loudly. When I look up, I see Robert poking his head out of the window of a dark red Lamborghini at the end of the driveway. "Eom-ma-ya. {Oh my god.}" I stare at the car in awe as I make my way towards it. "That car." I say. "You're going to give me that car, right?"

"Uh, yeah. Sure. Right after I give you my private jet."

I headed for the passenger's door, and pops it open for me. At first I think the door is automatic, but then I see Robert moving back into his seat. I open the door wider and plop down on the seat. Not a bit lady-like, I know, but when was the last time I did act lady-like? I close the door. "It was my birthday, you know. I can consider it your late birthday present to me."

"When was your birthday?" he asks.

I hesitate before answering. "December thirty-first."

"Ha! Yeah, um, no. doesn't count. That was before I met you. Try again next year."

Jogeumdo. Geulsse, geuleol gachigaiss-eo. {Damn. Well, it was worth a shot.} Suddenly, I feel the need to listen to music. Unfortunately, I left my earphones at home. I look around the front seat, wondering if he might have some. "Hey, do you have any earphones I can borrow? I left mine at home."

"Uh…" He glances at the space behind our seats. "I think my son might've left his in the back. Go ahead and look if you want."

I twist around and search the back. It's too dark to see anything clearly, so I squint and stress my vision.

Finally, something blue right behind Robert's seat catches my attention. It can't be the earbud kind. They are too much big for that. I reach back and grab something cool, almost like metal. When I bring it to the front as I smile while examining them. "Wireless Beats." I say, nodding my head with approval. "Nice."

"Oh, that's his old pair. I was looking for those."

I connect them with the phone. After a few seconds, it tells me they are successfully connected. I put them on, and they fit over my ears perfectly. I open my music, click on a playlist and Tonight by Big Bang starts playing. My eyes widen. The clarity of the music is phenomenal, and they're so comfortable.

I'm lost deep in the music when I feel someone tap on the headphones. I push them back, and they fall around my neck. I look at Robert.

"I asked you if you like them." He says.

"They are amazing. How much were they?"

"Two hundred."

That's when I decided Beats will never be a possibility for me. "O. Uwa. {Oh. Wow.}"

I see him glance at me in my peripheral vision. "Keep 'em'." He says.

"What?" It surprises me how easily he can say "keep the two-hundred-dollar pair of Beats by Dre."

"Take 'em. Indio can't say anything. I bought him a new set of the same kind not too long ago."

"Why would you buy him another pair if you knew he had one already?"

"I didn't. He bought those on his own. I found out about the blue ones after he made me buy a pair of black ones."

"Did he give you a reason why, at least?"

"He didn't like the color."

Right there is where I face-palmed myself mindedly. Geuneun saegkkal-i ma-eum-e deulji anh-assseubnida. Neo nongdam ya. {He didn't like the color. You have got to be kidding me.} Geudeul-eun Beats! Saegsang-eul joibnida. geunyang ib damulgo gajyeoga! {They're Beats! Screw the color. Just shut up and take them!}

We actually ended up having a nice conversation throughout the rest of the car ride. We talked about our favorite music, stories of old memories, good movies. He forced me to choose a favorite movie. He didn't realize how hard a decision that would be when he asked. How can he make me choose one out of a million? Eventually, I gave in and said Ella Enchanted. One, it was the first thing that came into mind. Two, it was a good choice because it holds my favorite scene of all time. It was the scene where Ella sings her heart out 'somebody to love' in front of every giants including Prince Charmont and Slanen. The intensity of that moment gives me goosebumps every time I watch it.

Soon Robert is turning into the parking lot of a huge restaurant with the word "KUJAKU" on the front. He looks around for a good parking space.

"Robert… I can't afford this." I say to him. I have seen Kujaku's menus, they are expensive as hell. "I am using my mother's credit card."

"Don't worry about it. I agreed to pay for tonight."

I raise an eyebrow. "Really?"

He shrugs. "Yeah. I mean, I'm the only one besides Tom that knows your money problem."

"Well… um. Thank you."

"You're welcome." He pulls into a space only slightly wider than the car itself. He puts the car in park and turns it off. He looks at me. "Ready to do this?"

The nervous feeling overcomes me again. I take a deep, audible breath. "No… but yes. Let's go."

We open our doors and step out of the car. We both throw them closed at the same time, and we head for the entrance to the Japanese restaurant.