Start of a terrible misunderstanding

Nanako opened her eyes to utter horror , finding herself without clothes, tucked comfortably beside the naked Jin. She freaked out. But before Jin could open his eyes, she collected her scattered garments, got dressed and left the place in a hurry. No sooner than she took a few steps she could hear voices cing her way. She hid behind s structure to let them pass. Instead they stopped too and their voices grew loud and clear.

"You think it worked" Asked one voice.

"It's full proof. Brother Jin is going to be thankful to us for the rest of his life" Said another.

"What if jhe gets angry? " Was another curious voice.

"No he wouldn't. Wasn't he the one who placed the bet on the first place. " Assured another.

"Come on. Come on. Let's not waste time and go catch them in action. " Said another.

"Go.go.lets go. " The chorus faded as the crowd got going.

The words pierced Nana's heart like a sharp blade. She didn't know how to react. What a disgrace she has been. She swore in her mind to stay as far away from that bastard Jin as possible. Revenge was on her mind, but she decided to hold on to her grudge. She couldn't share it with anyone. She needed to be strong herself to get her own revenge. Fuming with rage, heart broken and shattered, she went back to the premises.

Jin on the other hand woke up with the sounds of his friends. They were pulling and pishing him demanding where Nanako was and how they spent the night together. He was lost for words as he remembered nothing from last night. Neither did he see any trace of Nana around him when he woke up. He couldn't understand what ruckus his comrades were building up. They too eventually got back to the campus. There they saw Nana happily training on the grounds. They even approached her, trying to figure out if anything did happen between them or not. But she put on a perfect act, convincing them that ahe had long returned after getting dizzy last night.

Jin was actually happy knowing he didn't do anything to violet or offend Nana in his state of intoxication. But Nana, unaware of that, keep harbouring hatred towards the one person she actually adored in the entire place. She started loosing sleep, hunger and concentration. The hatred only lead her to think of ways to get her vengeance, vent her anger. The smile she put on every day, felt like a heavy load which she no longer could carry.

Jin could not understand Nana's indifference towards his approaches. Everytime he tried talking with her she would ignore or run away. He thought she might be uninterested in him or may be too shy to respond. He decided to give her some space and try convincing her about his feelings later on. This did have adverse effect as Nana thought even more ill of him. His indifferences translated as ignorance and arrogance to her. She felt he used her to fulfil a mere bet that he had with his friends. Nana, who was the core of existence for her father, had now been reduced to a mere commodity, which was discarded after it's purpose was served. Whatever feelings she had towards Jin, evaporated in the fire of this burning vexation.

Days went by and so did their misunderstanding. It was building up like tsunami. Soon it was time for their spring break. The students got to go back home for couple of days, meet family and friends, before returning for the next season. Everybody was full of joy and enthusiastically packed their bags. Nana was finally relieved a bit and was dying to meet her father. But as soon as the nights incident and Jin's intentions flooded her mind, her joy got transferred to that of anxiety. She wondered how she was going to face her father. She had never hid anything from him before, how was she going to hide something so big and hideous now. She knew her face and mannerisms would give her away. She needed to stay composed.

On the last day before departure, Jin had made up his mind to come and confess his feeling for Nanako. He finally found her, sitting all by herself, brooding over something as her beautiful brows frowned. He came from behind and tapped her shoulder. She freaked out , startled.

"Sorry i didn't mean to scare you" Jin said.

"You? It's you again" Nana tried her best to control her anger.

"Nanako, please hear me out. Don't get me wrong. My feelings towards you are genuine. I have been harbouring it for long, and now I couldn't hold myself back anymore. I have never felt this way for anybody ever before. " He said, sitting on his knees.

His words, his face was enough to melt Nana had she not overheard his friends' hideous comments. She pushed him hard with whatever force she had, tears rolled down, indicating she still felt something towards him. But that made her ever more angry, now at her own self.

"Don't. Don't you dare try to sweet talk me. Is this part of your sick plan? Or are you trying to fulfil your old bet still? I have never met anyone with a more repelling character than you. Are you an exception or are all others in your family the same? The Eastern kidgom does indeed smell rotten " She finally was able to get all these out it did make her feel little bit better.

Jin however was taken a back when she mentioned the bet. He did feel ashamed. But he wondered how she knew about it. He didn't have any excuse to justify himself, so he admitted.

"I am sorry Nana. I don't know how you came to know about the bet, but i was ignorant. It was wrong of me. I apologize. But dont grab the entire eastern province into this. They don't share my guilt. It was my mistake. I sincerely ask for forgiveness for my offence" Jin sat with his head bowed down.

" You think. You wish. Apologize. Women have such little value in your eyes. And you dare talk about feelings. You punk, you moroon, you bastard. Don't you dare come near me ever again" She stormed out of his presence, leaving him dejected. He stayed there for few moments after she left. Tears rolled down silently. He swore to himself to make it up to her untill she truly forgave him. He decided to make it up to her whether she ever forgave him or not, whether she ever loved him back or not. The most important thing was to get back to being respected in her eyes. Hence, instead of going back to the eastern palace, he decided to follow Nanko's carriage to the eastern lands.