Tricking My Cold Lover

Sitting together on their lunch table, Yeona watched as May Lin happily brought her tray. She could tell May Lin was in a good mood.     

Another one of her friends, sitting next to May Lin asked, "Did he accept it?"     

"Of course, he did!" May Lin answered, reflecting a triumphant grin.      

As they began to eat their meals, Yeona raised a question to everyone on their table, "I heard the security team coming up with a celebration. Something about someone having a birthday? Does... anyone know whose birthday it is?"     

Yeona tried not to look eager and sipped on her juice.      

The girls didn't seem to know while May Lin and her seatmate kept quiet. Next, Yoena purposely directed her probing to the May Lin, "May, would you know?"     

May Lin frowned. She scoffed and said, "I - I would not know. Who cares, right?"     

'Yeah, right.' Yeona silently said. 'You obviously cared so much, bringing in a box of wife cake all the way from Hongkong.'     

For the rest of the afternoon, Yeona was bothered about what she discovered. May Lin used to discourage her about Iseul, but apparently, she was interested in him.      

"What a schemer," she muttered to herself.      

When Chun-Ho came by Yanmei's office, bringing the boss her favorite coffee, Yeona grabbed the chance to speak to him.      

She quickly blocked his way after coming out of the room. She said, "I need to speak to you... in private."     

They both walked to the end of the office space, standing by the copy machine when Yeona asked, "How long has May Lin been talking to Iseul?"     

Chun-Ho scratched his head and said, "You mean, throwing herself at him? I don't know - I think two years now."     

"What?! How come I never noticed?!" He asked before her mouth hung open.      

"Well, every day, you arrive too early and you are always busy. You probably did not notice," said Chun-Ho. "But, don't you think... you are a year too late to get jealous?"     

Yeona scoffed. She gestured to brush the idea away with her hand and said, "I'm not jealous! Haha!"     

Chun-Ho rolled his eyes. He smirked and said, "Yeah, well. I heard those lines from the old might CEO of this company, from Ha-joon and now... You." He shrugged and said, "Words don't mean anything."     

After answering a few more questions, he left Yeona to think for herself.      

When Yeona left for the office that day, Iseul bid her goodbye from the building lobby. He said it in the most professional way. She could tell, however, he was forcing it.      

She stood in front of him for seconds, but no words came out of her mouth. She earnestly wanted to greet him with an advanced happy birthday. She had earlier confirmed with Chun-Ho that this weekend was in fact his birthday.      

Seeing Yeona just standing in front of him, Iseul asked, "What is it, Yeona?"      

"Ummm... Goodbye, Iseul," she said and turned away.      

Saturday morning came, and Yeona was filled with thoughts of Iseul. She just could not get it out of her system.     

From her apartment, Yeona decided to call the one person whom she could trust the most in this matter and was a very reliable source of information. She called her boss.      

"Ms. Yanmei, good morning," said Yeona on the phone.     

"Yes, Yeona? What is it? We are on our way to the airport as we are leaving for Taiwan. You remember, right?" Yanmei said on the other line.      

Yeona nodded. Her bosses were going away on a quick vacation, taking a yacht overnight to the seas of Taiwan. She said, "Yes - ummm."     

"What is it Yeona? We are already at the airport," said Yanmei.     

"Ms. Yanmei, where - where is Iseul celebrating his birthday?" Yeona finally said.      

For a second, Yanmei was silent. She heard Yanmei giggle before saying, "Oh... Iseul, he - he does not have a family, Yeona. We are - technically his family. On his rest days, he just stays in the mansion and... plays with the kids."     

"Yeona, he will just be at home. Maybe in the evening, the boys will have a drink or two, but since we are leaving the kids in the mansion, he'll just stay there," revealed Yanmei.      

"He is not much of a cake eater, Yeona, but he likes lemon meringue pie. You can call the manager at the Four Seasons and request the chef to whip you one. They already know you there," said Yanmei. "Good luck, Yeona."     

Yeona's face turned crimson red. She gulped, just thinking about how her boss was indirectly teasing her. She said, "I - I just wanted to greet him with a happy birthday."     

"Right!" Said Yanmei. "Buy him a - a watch. Oh, wear that pink floral dress you wore on my last baby shower. You looked really pretty in it."     

"I will call Chun-Ho and help you get in the house without him knowing! Let my little sweethearts help you with a surprise, okay?! Good luck again, Yeona."     

"Don't forget to wear a push-up bra!" Added Yanmei before putting down the phone.      

In the afternoon of that day, Iseul awoke from his rest. He knew the little Yeong princesses would already awaken from their afternoon nap, and he promised to make a little camp for them.      

It was because they were practically serving the Yeongs round the clock; they had their own rooms at the Yeongs' estate.      

He proceeded to the gardens where he would set-up the tent. Much to his surprise, a table was set-up in the garden, along with some snacks, balloons, and... party hats.      

Yeong Soon was there, munching on the food with the little girls doing the same.      

He expected Ha-joon to be around in the evening, but he and Lian were already present. What surprised him the most, however, was Yeona.     

Yeona was there, helping arrange the food. She was dressed in the same pink floral dress that he recalled she wore a few months back.      

Iseu could not help but appreciate how Yeona looked lovely in her dress. It was a simple capped dress that slightly plunged down her chest and its skirt flowed freely up to three inches above her knee.      

The best part of the dress was how it made her skin glow and look even brighter than it already was.      

"Look! Uncle Iseul!" Exclaimed Nari.      

Everyone turned to him and one by one they looked at Yeona. Only then did Yeona fixed herself and said, "Ummm... Happy Birthday?"     

Yeona carelessly picked out the lemon meringue pie and sang, "Happy Birthday to you. Happy birthday to you."     

Everyone else sang with her, including Yeong Soon and the little Yeong princesses.      

"Happy Birthday, uncle!" Said Chan-Mi.     

"Happy Birthday, Iseul!" Echoed the rest of the crowd; Yeong Soon, Ha-joon, Lian, Chun-Ho, the caregivers, and the maids who were there to help set-up the intimate gathering.      

He saw Yeona walked carefully towards him, carrying the lemon meringue pie in her hands. It had a candle at the center of the pastry and his name molded in fondant letters.      

Yeona, on the other hand, was feeling uneasy. Never has she been so nervous as of recently. To kill the silence between them, she spoke, "Happy Birthday again. Hope you like lemon meringue pie. It's - It's so much better than a wife cake."     

Iseul wanted to laugh, but he held it together, faking a cough. He put his hand on his waist and studied the pastry. He sighed and said, "I don't know... the wife cake is a good Traditional Chinese cake."     

When he saw her paled, he quickly took back his words and said, "I was kidding. I - I like this pie very much. Especially since you gave it to me."     

Feeling her face burning, Yeona looked down for a second before saying, "Iseul, I sincerely ask for an apology for what I said about you last year. I hope you can forgive me... wholeheartedly."     

"Can we start fresh?" Her face turned fragile before appealing, "Please?"