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I playfully roll my eyes. “The genius is my mom.”
“Deny it all you want, Tech Queen, but we both know the truth. Ah, here we are. The amazing Ji-Ho’s.” He slows down into a parking space and inhales deeply. “I can smell the delicious food already.”
“I know, right? My stomach is demanding I get my butt in there and feed it from that mouthwatering food, or it will claw its way out of my body and crawl over there itself.”
Colt chuckles. “You put quite the image in my head. Maybe we should get there before you star in a movie calledAttack of Willow’s Stomach.”
We laugh as we get out of the car and make our way toward the door. Colt hurries to open it for me, smiling at me. Again, it’s a genuine smile and not a fake one, even though his eyes are still a little pained. They’ll probably always carry around some pain, and I hope I can always be around to chase some of it away.
I freeze for a second when I realize what I just thought. Me, always be around Colt? How if we’ll go our separate ways after the coding competition and after he and Vanessa get back together? Again, the thought makes my stomach twist in this uncomfortable way that I feel nauseous.
“Thank you ever so kindly,” I tell him as I walk inside. “Annyeonghaseyo!” I greet the hostess.
“Annyeonghaseyo, Willow!” she returns with a wide smile. “Are you here to eat or are you just visiting?”
“My friend and I would like a table. But I want to say hi to Halmeoni and Harabeoji first.”
She nods. “Of course.”
I turn to Colt. “I want to say hi to my grandparents first.”
“Sure. Lead the way.”
As we head to the office, he says, “How do you say hello in Korean?”
“Annyeonghaseyo.”
“Annye…Uh…can you please say it a little slower?”
I try to hide a smile. He’s being quite cute…
I teach him how to say it. He nods and says, “Annyeonghaseyo.”
This time, I let the smile come out. “Perfect.”
“Sweet. Now I’m ready to meet the amazing people who helped shape you to be the wonderful person that you are.”
I stare at him. Did he just say…?
But I don’t have time to dwell on it because he says, “Has your stomach clawed its way out of your body yet? I think you put the wrong idea into my stomach’s head, and now it’s fighting its way out of mine, too.”
I giggle. The sound is so foreign that I stop in my place and cover my mouth. “No,” I whisper. “Iammy mother’s daughter.” She barely giggled when she was my age either, and then my dad made her giggle and…well, the rest is history.
“What?” Colt asks.
“You didn’t hear it, right?”
“Your cute giggle? Not going to lie, I like it a lot. I don’t think I’ve ever heard you giggle.”
My cheeks grow so hot, I think I might combust.
“And I don’t think I’ve ever seen you blush like that,” he says, his eyes softening as he studies my face.
“I…um…” I stammer. “Halmeoni and Harabeoji.” I spin around and stalk to their office, Colt following me. My cheeks still feel warm. Ugh, what’s going on? This stuff has never happened to me before.
“Annyeonghaseyo, Harabeoji,” I greet. “How are you?” I ask in English. His desk is overflowing with papers. Lately, all he’s been doing is poring over papers and documents to see if they really can expand the restaurant. Money isn’t an issue because Dad could afford whatever it takes. The question is whether it’s a smart investment.
Harabeoji starts to respond in Korean, but then he notices Colt standing behind me and he smiles. “Hello.”
