GENESIS OF MY NEMESIS

Chapter 10

I sighed when I entered our shared bedroom. Ana was seated on her bed, swiping videos on TikTok. Earlier on today, Ariana had been feeling down with a cold and I had to go through the whole day switching clothes and attending all her classes. I scoffed unbelievably at how naïve I had been and how Mom had manipulated me. It was all her idea because she didn’t want her favorite daughter to miss a class.

Anger bubbled inside of me, and I tried to suppress it. I can't believe I spent the whole day pretending to be Ariana and all for what? so she could go get herself all dolled up?

Now that I look more carefully, I can see that she’s in black cargo pants: something she hadn’t bothered to add to her wardrobe previously.

One thing was clear to me, Ariana was just a selfish brat with whom I unfortunately share the same face. Sadly, I as an elder sister was willing to stick my neck at a guillotine for her.

I ignored her as best as I could and slipped my cover over my head. I had my "date" with Jeongguk to think about. Yeah, he’d asked me out today for our 100^th day anniversary. For a moment, I was tempted to ask Ana to do my makeup or just wing it. Somehow, I shoved down that thought and found myself thinking about the water bottle saga yesterday. Ultimately, I had ended up drinking from the bottle and had everyone staring at us the rest of the day. Jeongguk liked all the attention though and had even gone as far as eating from my plate to emphasize his “status”.

Suddenly, I heard the bathroom door open and close and guessed that Ana was taking her majestic bath. I got out of the covers and took a beeline for the closet. Honestly, I didn’t bother to look in my section, I went straight for Ana’s. I pulled out a rusty rose Swiss ruffled dress with a high thigh slit. The dress was so beautiful, and it made me feel special somehow. Before I could change my mind, I heard the open and I quickly threw the dress in a box in my corner of the closet. Ariana gave me a side glance, one that made me feel scrutinized. I cleared my throat, and she raised a brow.

‘You okay Ri?’, she asked, and I nodded.

“I could use your help curling my hair”, I said in an unsure tone.

She immediately grabbed me and pulled me to the dresser. She worked for 30minutes max and then she turned me into a runway model, literally. We then covered up the style in a bonnet to maintain the curls. Silently, we both crawled back into our beds and didn’t even say goodnight.

I was currently fretting as I paced in front of the mirror. Honestly, the outfit was great and no one was home at the moment. Ana and Mom suddenly had an emergency they wouldn’t tell me about. They’d just grabbed a brown envelope and left the house in a hurry. My nerves hadn’t really allowed me to worry about that though, especially since they always leave me out.

I tried a simple white eyeliner and put on some pink lip gloss on my shaky lips. To be honest, I didn't know what to expect seeing as this was a very random date, we hadn’t really planned anything for this unlike our previous dates. I gulped when I saw a car pull in and God, he looked very dashing when he stepped out. Like a 90’s chivalrous man.

Jeong Gyu picked me up and we headed for the venue, not that I knew he owned a car. I'd thought that the most he owned was that expensive looking black motorcycle, especially I later came to find out the mini-SUV he’d driven to the warehouse was not his.

Apparently, I was wrong again, he was also rich judging by the expensive shirt and jewelry he had on.

"Did I tell you? "

"hmm? ", I was distracted from my inner thoughts

"you look beautiful Ariadne. I almost couldn't take my eyes off you when you walked to the door".

My face heated up and I quickly turned to face the window because I didn't want him to see me blush. It was just too embarrassing.

"Woah.... Are you blushing? he teased

"Hmm? No.... I don't blush", I responded quickly.

As it was, that was a pathetic excuse. An unbelievable one. I laughed inwardly at myself. After driving for about ten minutes, the car stopped in a familiar driveway, and I stepped out of the car. The house was 18th century style. It was simple and yet alluring in a way that I couldn't describe. One thing was certain though, Jeongguk and his family moved into Erica’s house.

I jumped in surprise when I felt Jeongguk slip his hand around my waist. He smiled at me as he guided me into the house. Two minutes later, I realized what Jeongguk meant he said a date… Gulping, I looked around the table as I sat in between Jeongguk, two mature unfamiliar people I assumed were his parents and a semi-familiar girl known affectionately as Eonjin.

There were simple introductions from his parents who were very polite and friendly. I was still confused though why Jeongguk felt the need to invite her to our date night, but I didn’t complain.

"Hello, I'm Mrs. Kim, this is my husband, nice to meet you Ariadne "

"nice to meet you Mr. and Mrs. Kim ", I said while bowing slightly.

"I think you've met Eon Jin", she said

I nodded a yes at her and she smiled," I guess there's no need for an introduction then"

I nodded again with a smile even though I was dying to ask them why they didn’t kick her out already. That girl can suck up a lively atmosphere dry with her cold demeanor. A phone chimed and I stole a glance at Mr. Kim’s face. He suddenly looked disappointed. Mrs. Kim slipped a hand over his in a move of reassurance and he smiled a little. Eonjin was busy typing on her phone and Jeong Gyu had a deep frown on his face. To be honest, I'd never seen him frown like that, but I didn’t pry. I also slipped a hand over his, just like Mrs. Kim had done moments ago.

"Here, let's eat before everything turns cold ", Mrs. Kim said as she tried to lighten the mood. I smiled at her and thankfully accepted the plate she offered. As we ate, we also made small talk. They were curious about me, my family and future. I felt so welcome, and for a moment, I wanted my family to be like this.

“Guk said so many good things about you. He was even anxious about what to wear tonight and he wouldn’t stop glancing at his phone all day”, Mrs. Kim teased with a knowing smile.

 Jeongguk stole a glance at me when I smiled at his mom. I felt like an official girlfriend being scrutinized by your lover’s parents, and somehow, I love it. The attention and genuine curiosity.

Eonjin rolled her eyes, and I couldn’t help but smirk at that. Mr. Kim took a sip of champagne and sat in silence for a second.

“Now, what baffles me….”, he paused dramatically, “is how Guk managed to score such a beauty”.

“Dad, come on!”, he groaned in disbelief.

I laughed at that, feeling appreciated and praised for once. Jeongguk pulled me in until our noses touched. I pinched his thighs shyly and he licked his lips.

“Oh God, not here. Not in front of his parents, please”, I closed my eyes and begged silently as he leaned in further. Our lips were almost touching, and I didn’t have the heart to neither pull away or push him away.

The front door suddenly opened, footsteps got closer and Jeongguk immediately pulled away. Everyone at the table turned with disbelief to look at the newcomer whose sweet cologne drifted throughout the room like a seductive spell.