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[One, two, three. Mic testing.]
Shortly after, the gentleman introduced himself as Walter Pembroke. Standing with a rigid, straight back, Walter's jet-black tuxedo created a stark contrast with his snow-white hair, which looked like freshly spun silk.
For the past forty years, he had been the instructor of cotillion classes for the children of the upper class in the heart of New York. The manners, etiquette, and social dancing he taught differed little in content from what the children of 19th-century aristocrats learned before their debut in society.
The 21st-century New York elite educated their children thoroughly in the etiquette and customs of a bygone era—traditions buried with the millennium—as if they intended to debut their children into 19th-century European society.
[I have taught ballroom dancing and etiquette to the parents of the ladies and gentlemen gathered here today.]
He scanned the hall, tilting his chin up with a proud smile.
[Rebecca Green, mother of Miss Reed; Lorraine Collins, mother of Miss Cabot. And, let's see... Andre de Lafayette, father of Mr. Lafayette, and Jerard Hamilton, father of Mr. Hamilton. Every time I see my former students, familiar faces, sitting up there in the mezzanine rather than in your seats, it brings back a flood of memories.]
Walter raised his arm and pointed toward Hunter.
[Before we begin the lesson, a word of advice. When a lady enters a room or arrives at a table, it is good manners for the gentleman to rise from his seat, as Mr. Hamilton has done, and wait until the lady is seated.]
He then pointed to an assistant instructor sitting in a chair.
[Ladies, sit upright with your backs straight. Like Miss Megan Fairchild here, keep your knees together down to the ankles and cross your ankles. Under no circumstances should you sit without keeping your knees pressed together. Always be mindful so that proper posture becomes second nature.]
Jiyu imitated Megan's elegant posture, bringing her knees together and crossing her ankles.
[Now it is time to introduce yourselves and exchange greetings with the person sitting next to you. In the past, etiquette dictated that the lady introduce herself first, followed by the gentleman. However, in modern society, the order no longer matters. But in our cotillion class, we follow traditional etiquette. When greeting, maintain brief eye contact and shake hands. Grip the hand with a strength that is neither too firm nor too weak. Now, look here and follow along with the person next to you.]
After exchanging introductions with Megan, Walter gave the children time to greet those beside them.
Jiyu squeezed her eyes shut and opened them again. It would have been better if she were sitting next to someone she didn't know.
As she hesitantly tried to turn toward Hunter, Rex tapped her on the shoulder.
[Do it with me first.]
If she greeted Rex first, Hunter, who was at the end, would be left alone without a partner. Would that be okay? As Jiyu hesitated to look back, Rex pushed forward without giving her a moment's peace.
[Don't look elsewhere! Introduce yourself, quickly.]
[Uh... my name is Olivia Parker. Nice to meet you.]
Jiyu mumbled, biting her lip. It was incredibly awkward to exchange greetings as if they were meeting for the first time when they already knew each other well.
Yet, for some reason, Rex seemed overly excited.
[Hi, my name is Alexander blah blah blah de Lafayette. Nice to meet you.]
He smiled mischievously and took her hand.
[You're supposed to look into the eyes when shaking hands, Liv. Didn't you hear Mr. Pembroke?]
When Jiyu quickly looked up, Rex asked with a playful expression.
[Want me to show you how my eye color changes?]
When they were children, he had once tricked her, claiming that if she crossed her eyes, the colors of both eyes would change, promising to reveal the secret of his odd-eyes. Rex was the only person she knew with odd-eyes, so although she was a bit suspicious, she had believed him. When she told Hunter about it a few days later, he had simply read his book and then burst into laughter, clutching his stomach, saying that Jewel Parker had finally become a fool.
Suddenly, Rex crossed his eyes and made a ridiculous face. Caught off guard, Jiyu burst into laughter. Then, Hunter's hand suddenly shot in and snatched her hand away from Rex's grasp.
[My turn.]
Rex flicked an eyebrow, his eyes gleaming meaningfully as if to say, "Look at that." Jiyu looked at Hunter with a startled expression.
He spat out the word almost as if grinding it.
[Introduction.]
She swallowed hard and cleared her throat.
[H-hi. My... my name is Olivia Jiyu Parker. Nice to... m-meet you.]
Having finished her introduction with awkward stutters, she gauged his reaction.
His deep blue eyes wavered strangely. He seemed angry, yet also confused. Then, as their eyes met, he quickly looked down, hiding his gaze.
When Hunter looked up again, his eyes were closer to a glare. He stubbornly tilted his chin up and extended his hand toward Jiyu in an arrogant posture. When she just stared at him, he clicked his tongue and snatched her hand.
[Hunter Han Hamilton.]
That was the end of the introduction.
Jiyu, hiding her eyes by glancing around to avoid his piercing gaze, fidgeted with her fingers. Hunter was gripping her hand with the same strength he used to hold a tennis racket. It tingled because the blood wasn't flowing.
[...It hurts, Hunter.]
He seemed startled for a moment, then immediately flung her hand away.
Jiyu sighed inwardly. Where on earth was the part of that behavior that suggested he liked her? She turned her head slightly toward Rex and whispered with her lips.
'You were wrong.'
Rex, with a face like an angel and eyes like a devil, simply smiled widely without saying a word.
✾ ✾ ✾
Hunter was in a foul mood. It had been irritating him for a while that Rex and Jiyu were stuck together, whispering to one another. They weren't children; what was so funny about such childish antics that they had to put their heads together and giggle?
A cloying unpleasantness bubbled in his chest. Both of them were equally grating on his nerves.
Jiyu had been like that even when they were young. Whenever Rex appeared, she would crawl out of the library where she usually hid like a mouse and linger in front of the ninja costumes she had never been interested in. She would even laugh like a fool at Rex's pathetic jokes.
That was when Hunter first saw it.
That when Jiyu laughed, a strange sinkhole formed at the corners of her mouth.
The thought that she had hidden such a thing and shown it to Rex first was utterly infuriating.
Rex, too, had tried to compete with him in every little thing since childhood.
[Hunter, you're 1/4 Korean, right? I'm 3/8 Korean. So no matter how hard you try, you'll never beat me in Korean.]
Rex, who had gotten 7 out of 10 correct on a Korean dictation test, had bragged smugly in front of Hunter, who had only gotten 5. Even Jewel Parker, who got all 10 correct, had stayed quiet.
[Liv, how much are you?]
Rex asked Jiyu. It was annoying that he alone called Jiyu by the nickname 'Liv.' Since when had they been so close?
[Huh? What?]
[How much Korean are you?]
[Ah... I'm 1/2 Korean.]
Rex's face fell as he diligently calculated it in his head. As Hunter let out a scoffing laugh, Jiyu unnecessarily intervened.
[But Rex, you're much better at speaking Korean than I am.]
[Even though you're better at reading and writing.]
[That's because I like reading books...]
Jiyu, blushing and smiling shyly, looked so insufferable.
'Why is she laughing? What's so funny about that?'
That night, Hunter couldn't sleep out of frustration. After tossing and turning all night, it was only toward dawn that he reluctantly admitted the reality that his Korean was slightly—not much, but very slightly—behind theirs.
Rex's father, Andre de Lafayette, was a linguistic genius who spoke seven languages. Having inherited a shred of those genes, Rex also had an excellent aptitude for language acquisition. Furthermore, every summer vacation, he would spend a couple of months at his maternal grandmother's house in Korea. Consequently, while he was lacking in reading and writing, he could speak Korean as freely as a native.
As for Jiyu, thanks to that fussy woman who couldn't speak English and spoke only Korean to her, she had become reasonably proficient in reading, writing, and speaking.
From then on, Hunter studied Korean day and night to catch up with the two of them. Aside from tennis, he had never worked so hard at anything. As his Korean skills improved day by day, Lauren was very pleased.
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