SUBTERFUGE

Chapter 5

It was Saturday morning, Mina groaned groggily as she rolled over in her bed, reaching for her ringing phone on the bedside table.

"Hello?" Her voice was heavy with sleep.

"You lazy b-...you're still asleep?! It's pass 11!" Her best friend near shrieked.

Mina cringed, "I was asleep until someone decided now would be an excellent time to call."

"Well someone is phoning to let you know that she'll be there is 1/2 hour to pick up, so get your ass ready!"

"Whyyy?" She moaned, "I wanted to have a lazy day in!"

"Stop being such a nagging lazy ol' thing and get ready! I have a surprise for you!" Lujain tempted her.

"Fine...it better be good!" Cutting the call, Mina recalled last night, how Lujain had ditched her to go on a date with her boyfriend. Maybe her friend was trying to make up for that.

She also recalled the rest of the night before's occurrences, and her gut filled with butterflies. All the remnants of sleep left her as she leapt up for her iPad. Something in her chest swelled with joy; there was a new message notification from Jeongmin. Her hands shook as she clicked into it.

J: Good Morning!
You sleep well?

Those messages were received at 1:30 in the morning, and they followed by a few msgs at 3:00am

J: Now going work
later chat?

She couldn't contain the goofy smile that spread across her face, Jeongmin seemed really eager to chat to her. Relief was also another reason for her elation, she was terrified that perhaps he wouldn't be attracted to her or find her uninteresting, as she didn't exactly fit Korean beauty standards. Her emotions were so haphazard that she couldn't even think clearly to type a proper reply.

M: Sorry for the late reply.
Was asleep lol, and yes, I slept really well.
Hope I'm not disturbing you at work...
Let me know when you're free ;)

After sending her response, she hurriedly downloaded the dating app onto her phone; just in case he replied while she was out. Nerves shook through her entire body, this was a first for her, but she tried to compose her excited jitters.

With great effort, she crawled out of bed and dragged herself to the bathroom. After a quick shower, Mina was fully awake. She hurriedly got dressed, well once she decided on wearing a light blue shirt, open buttoned on top a white tank and a pair of faded denims. She rushed through her make-up, applying the basics of bb-cream, tinted lip balm, a hint of blush and a thin streak of eyeliner. Her hair, which she straightened the night before, got pulled back into a high ponytail.

Once she was satisfied with her appearance she headed downstairs. Her parents were in talking in hushed tones in the living room, upon hearing them Mina attempted to sneak pass. From experience, she knew the entire situation of her dad being home at this time and their whispered discussion only meant trouble.

"Mina! Where are you going?!" Her try at tiptoeing pass the living room entrance failed. She sighed, turning on her heel to look at her mother who had called out to her.

"Lujain called me, she said it was something important." She bounced on her feet, agitated to get out of her current situation.

"She can wait," her father was stern, "we have something much more important to talk to you about."

Mina's gut fell, what could it be? She silently prayed for Lujain to come soon and save her.

"We talked about it, and we feel it's time you meet someone. You are of marriageable age."