For the Love of Kimchee (Book 1)

44

Chloe

Chloe jumped as the door busted open. Daniel's little sister stood tall in the doorway.

"Aish!" Daniel turned and began yelling at his sister in Korean from his chair. At least his relationship with his sister seemed normal.

They went back and forth and after a minute Daniel just sighed and hung his head, while Ji-woo sported a wicked grin.

"I just wanted to tell you that dinner is ready." Ji-woo said and walked into the room and gestured for Chloe to follow her. Chloe gave a sheepish smile and got to her feet. It was obvious who wore the pants in their brother/sister relationship.

The young girl beamed with approval and grabbed her hand, leading Chloe out the door. Chloe turned back and could see Daniel also getting up. A scowl made its way to his face as he put back his chair.

They rounded the corner before Chloe could say anything. Chloe looked down at Ji-woo, she seemed happy and normal. Which was surprising with the way Daniel described his upbringing. Maybe his parents learned and decided to change things for their other children?

It sort of made her feel bad for Daniel. His suffered a lot at the hands of his mother's decisions. Living abroad for most of childhood, alone without family in America. While his sister lives a seemingly blessed life in Korea with her family. How did Daniel never became resentful towards his younger siblings?

She probably would have. In all honestly she probably wouldn't have wanted anything to do with the family when she came back. But knowing Daniel, he still craved those familial bonds. He was just a sap like that, Chloe smiled to herself.

Their arrival to the dining room table was met with stares from whom Chloe could only assume was Daniel's little brother.

Ji-woo took a seat next to the unnamed boy at the table.

Chloe gave a polite, 'hello' and Daniel ushered her to a seat near the end of the table and took the seat next to her.

Daniel's mother walked around ordering the help to place things down in a specific manner and occasionally stealing glances towards Chloe. Daniel placed a hand on her knee and gave a tight smile of support.

Chloe returned the gesture with a tight smile of her own. This wasn't easy for either of them at the moment. Her stomach was doing somersaults and her palms were getting sweaty. She hadn't felt the need to run like this in quite some time.

Chloe looked around the extravagant arrangement of food getting placed on the table. There were so many side dishes she could barely see the table. There was fish and various different kinds of kimchi. There were even pieces of grilled pork belly present.

Daniel's brother who barely even said 'hello' to her earlier watched her as she squirmed with anxiety.

He looked like Daniel, but also not like Daniel. He didn't have Daniel's strong jawline or broad shoulders. He looked rather typical. Normal.

Chloe squared her shoulders. She could do this. It was just dinner. She slapped on a fake smile and looked at his brother.

"I'm sorry," She positioned herself so that she was facing Daniel's brother. "I didn't happen to get your name."

His brother gave her a disinterested look for a couple of seconds then answered. "Lee Joon-ho"

Chloe nodded at the new information. Then looked away. She had no idea how to carry on this conversation with a person who clearly had no interest in her. So, she turned to Ji-woo.