.
‘Guys, hold on. Isn’t this a public place?’ When Eun Hyung pulled the quarreling two apart, Ban Yeo Ryung fetched a deep sigh. It was such a usual scene that Woo Jooin and Yoo Chun Young, in the meantime, browsed the menu to decide what they wanted to drink.
“I, um… is iced Americano available?” asked Jooin, waving his hand.
“Yeah, it’s a regular menu.”
“Yoo Chun Young wants citrus tea served with ice.”
“Oh, me too,’ I said, stretching out my hand.
Without writing down any memos, Ban Yeo Ryung just nodded and left as if she remembered everything that we ordered. Watching the back of her getting far away from us, I suddenly envied how smart she was. ‘Oh, lord. If I had her brain, I wouldn’t be studying during the break, but do some part-time gigs.’ Then I came across the folded paper I shoved it in my pocket. ‘Oh, I totally forgot about it.’ Furrowing as much as I could, I took out the paper from my pocket.
“What is it? Why are you having that face?” asked Eun Jiho.
“What’s wrong, Donnie?”
Eun Hyung, aside from me, also flung the question with a concerned gaze. I quietly opened the folded paper in front of them. They also frowned their faces at last. The one who first began to murmur was Jooin.
“Oh, this… the career survey.”
“They will decide which we’ll take between liberal arts and natural sciences based on this survey,” I said gloomily then buried my head onto the chest.
The kids seemed to look at each other. The air around us then soon calmed down. In the meanwhile, Eun Hyung asked me with a glance.
“Why? Isn’t there anything you want to do?”
“So to speak, an heiress of a conglomerate?”
My remark brought a heavy silence to the table.
I added, “To make my dream come true… mom & dad, go for it!”
Jooin was the one who first burst into laughter. He was now deadly laughing while grabbing his tummy across from me. I dropped those words as a joke, so when I shrugged my shoulders, Eun Hyung also giggled after him. ‘Well, isn’t that a joke everyone makes? My dream is to be the heir of a conglomerate…something like that…’ That was when I tried to just smile, rambling those thoughts. I heard an unexpectedly serious voice aside from me.
“No, the number of brothers and sisters also matters as an heir.”
“…”
I turned my head with a stiffened face. Eun Jiho, who looked unusually solemn, came into my sight. His black eyes under his silver hair revealed a sign of seriousness. ‘Oh, I forgot…’ I muttered to myself. This group had not just one but two people who were handsome, smart, good fighters, and even the heirs of the richest conglomerate families. Oh, this god damn web novel…
Eun Jiho continued solemnly, “Get it? If someone lets you be the heiress, you must always take the number of your brother and sisters seriously and decide whether you’ll take that position or not. If you’re the only child? You’re dead meat. Hey, look at Yoo Chun Young.”
The target of the conversation suddenly changed to Yoo Chun Young, so I opened my eyes a little wider. On the other hand, Yoo Chun Young, who was listening to us while resting his chin on his palm, narrowly opened his blue eyes with a bitter look on his face. When Eun Jiho kept on his words, I grimaced immediately. OMG.
“Look at his face with no tension. If you want to be an heiress, you should be the youngest.”
Yoo Chun Young then replied with a furrow, “Why are you picking a fight?”
“Well, you look so laid back right now, aren’t you? So, what matters is that whether you have other brothers and sisters…”
Listening to Eun Jiho speaking incoherently, I turned my head as it seemed to be just empty. ‘That’s what you think after you become an heir first.’ In the meantime, Ban Yeo Ryung served us what we had ordered. She then sat down next to me.
Directing her eyes on Eun Jiho, she asked, “What’s wrong with him?”
“No idea. What’s going on with him today? He’s being a little weird.”
As soon as I replied, Jooin, on the other side of the table, giggled again. ‘Does he know something?’ That was when I opened my eyes roundly. Eun Jiho’s voice began to volume down and sunk into the ground eventually. Covering his face with both hands, he then heaved a deep sigh. ‘Seriously, what’s wrong with him?’ I wondered.
“Come on, speak up,” asked Ban Yeo Ryung.
“…”
“Jooin, do you know something?”
Stirring his Americano with a straw, Jooin put a swiveling smile. He then threw a naughty glance at Eun Jiho and detached his lips.
“What else could it be that even horrifies Eun Jiho like that?”
“Oh, it’s the party.”
Ban Yeo Ryung murmured in a flat tone. ‘Oh…’ nodding my head, I, at last, understood the overall situation and thought, ‘that was why he acted like a weirdo today.’ Unlike his appearance, Eun Jiho might be under an obligation to attend the so-called Vanity Fair parties mostly held at hotels. It was a usual event for heir and heiresses in web novels. Whenever the party season struck him, he distressed us by listing all kinds of diseases he knew and, in the end, murmured in a timid voice.
‘Can this be why I’m unable to attend the event?’
Jooin then always answered back politely to him, ‘In your dreams.’
Clicking my tongue, I stirred my drink. The preserved yuzu floated on the water. Honestly, I wasn’t clear why Eun Jiho loathed the party that much; however, Ban Yeo Ryung, who looked quite aware of his reaction, gently smashed… I mean, tapped his back. Well, Ban Yeo Ryung seemed to belong in a, relatively, middle-class family, but as she was the female protagonist of this novel, her relatives weren’t just average people. She, therefore, seemed to attend parties, while being fully dressed up, with Yeo Dan oppa. Then I saw Yoo Chun Young, who sat across, raising his head.
“Oh, was that party hosted by your family?”
“What do you mean?”
“Where I’m dragged today.”
“…”
Eun Jiho made a bizarre face. He then soon turned bright and replied to him.
“Uh-huh, are you coming?”
Ban Yeo Ryung, listening to their conversations, intervened with her eyes roundly open.
“Hold on, why? Yoo Chun Young, you seldom attend those events.”
Yeah, true. I looked at Yoo Chun Young in surprise. Although I didn’t want to accept that, what Eun Jiho had talked about, how significant the number of brothers and sisters of an heir or heiress was for them, seemed to make sense when comparing himself and Yoo Chun Young. It was because the life of the two boys was utterly different. Eun Hyung then made a response instead.
“Oh, that’s because Chun Young’s brothers are in Korea right now. His brother asked him a few questions and heard how frequently he unattended social events, so…”
“So that was what happened.”
When I nodded my head, Eun Hyung followed my reaction with a grin.
“He’s reserved to be dragged to the event in the evening.”
Eun Jiho then grumbled, stretching his legs, “What the heck. If your brothers are also there, you can’t be with me.”
After his words, Yoo Chun Young lifted his blue eyes from the desk. He then answered back.
“Even they aren’t there, I’m not gonna be with you.”
“Excuse me? Geez, anyway, then who should I have as a shelter–…”
Indeed, Eun Jiho didn’t look annoyed by Yoo Chun Young’s straightforward remark. He just turned around and directed his eyes on, none other than, Jooin. Receiving his look, Jooin replied with a swiveling smile.
“Have fun.”
Unfortunately, what he put out wasn’t so cordial. ‘Dang!’ Eun Jiho turned his head away from his, frowning his forehead. This time, he switched his gaze to Eun Hyung. Eun Hyung showed a face full of rich smile.
“I’m gonna be with Chun Young,” spoke Eun Hyung warmly.
“…”
Now that I got to thinking about it, the kids were treating Eun Jiho quite naughtily,’ I thought, staring at his profile face with my chin resting on my palm, ‘Or maybe he’s just a person good to quarrel with.’ That was when it happened. Eun Jiho turned around to divert his eyes onto me. ‘Eh?’ I quickly tried to defend myself by averting his gaze; however, before I was about to make that action, Eun Jiho cast the question.
“Hey, Ham Donnie. You said you want to be an heiress, huh?”
