forced to be ' zhang hao au

028

"damn, this place is nice.." hyejin blurts out, the sound of her heels clicking onto the marble floor as she looks around the fancy restaurant.

"shin hyejin, since when do you say curse words?" her father suddenly asked, his face slightly worried as he pulls the seat for his wife, allowing her to sit.

"not to be ungrateful or anything but, you guys don't really know anything about me." hyejin replied, giving a lighthearted smile so she wouldn't create any unnecessary tension. her mom looked at her with an upset expression before placing her hand on her daughters.

"how was the exam, hyejin? did my daughter do well?" she smiled. hyejin looked back at her mother feeling a heavy sensation in her heart. she wasn't confident about the decisions she had made in the exam but she didn't want to worry her parents.

"yes, i did." she awkwardly chuckled.

"welcome, here's the menu." a familiar voice said, placing the sheet of paper onto their table. hyejin looks over at the server, her eyes widened. "matthew? you work here??" she yelled, gaining looks from everyone around her. hyejin quickly covers her mouth.

"you know this guy?" her father asks, examining the shocked looking individual. he was still trying to smile in this situation.

"oh no, i don't. i just read his name tag. my bad for yelling, seok matthew sir." hyejin quickly said, her shitty lies were unbeatable.

"okay.." her mother replied, reaching her hand out to check the menu as hyejin awkwardly grinned at her.

"please let me know when you're done deciding." the waiter stated, bowing and smiling as he walked off.

"yo this is wild.." hyejin thought to herself, pulling her phone out.

YO REI, YOUR FUTURE BOYFIE WORKS AT A RESTAURANT??
7:03 pm

which one
7:05 pm

fym which one????? its matthew bro?? the mf that smiles 24/7??
7:05 pm

yo send me a pic...
7:06 pm

"hyejin, why're you smiling at your phone? do you have a boyfriend?" her mother asks with a sweet expression, her fathers eyes immediately shifting to his daughter.

"even so,  you're not allowed to have one. considering you're already engaged to zhang hao." her father adds, the atmosphere suddenly got heavier.

"yeah yeah whatever, my opinion doesn't matter in this household." hyejin scoffs, gaining the utmost attention of her parents. they thought she was being extremely disrespectful.

"shin hyejin, we have done nothing but provide for you all our lives. we brought you up to this point, so you have no right to talk with such an attitude." her father yelled in a low tone, not wanting to disturb the other customers since they were at a fancy place.

hyejins eyes shifted to her mother as she crossed her arms in silence. "you're seriously not gonna say anything?" she clicked her tongue as she got up from her seat, "i need some fresh air." hyejin added before walking off outside.

she stood outside of the expensive building. the trees were slightly rattling due to the gentle wind.  the atmosphere was beautiful outside, it actually calmed her down a little. the restaurant had a huge outdoor spot with tables, swings, etc so there were plenty of people.

hyejin sighed before strolling around the area. it was slightly difficult to walk in heels but, she had gotten a little used to it by now. she was startled by the sudden cold touch on her shoulder, causing her to turn around in fear.

"oh my god matthew, you scared me." she slightly jumped, placing her palm on her chest to feel her heart beating.

"haha, sorry." he giggled, "you kinda freaked me out too when you yelled my name out. but you look upset hyejin, what's the matter?"

"oh yeah, sorry about that." she smiled, "i guess my parents are always on my back, so i left so i wouldn't have to deal with it any longer." 

"been there, done that. it's gonna be okay, parents will always have a problem with their teenage children." matthew replied, patting her on the back.

she felt a lot better until the realization hit her. "wait, why are you out working right now? aren't you supposed to be celebrating with your family right now?" hyejin asked in confusion.

"oh right. my family is all the way back in canada right now. they'll be visiting soon so, its okay." he cheerfully replied. anyone could tell his smile was forced, it worried hyejin.

"you're gonna see them soon bro, don't sweat it." hyejin said in a soft tone, wrapping her arm around his shoulder for comfort. they were around the same height considering hyejin was wearing heels so, it wasn't difficult to hug.

"you should probably go back. your parents might be worried." matthew suggested.

"nah, they don't give a shit." she crossed her arms. suddenly, there was screaming and chanting amongst the crowd of tables. hyejin looked behind her to see the commotion.

"IS THAT PSY? WHAT THE HELL??" she covered her ears as she yelled, unable to hear matthew due to the loudness. "YEAH HES PERFORMING HERE TODAY" matthew yelled back. they both looked at each other as a crowd of people started pushing through to see the artist. hyejin tried to get out, but she tripped because of her heels. luckily matthew was beside her, helping her keep steady as he pulled them both out of there and into a quiet place.

"oh my god, i hate crowds so much." she said, trying to catch her breath.

"i didn't expect this many people to show up. boss said there would be maximum 100." matthew said, crouching down onto the grass beside one of the trees to rest. "but hey i saw one of our classmates there with his parents." he added.

"our classmate? who." hyejin asked, her full attention on matthew now. she was excited since she wanted to hang with more people.

"it was zhang hao! he looks so cool dude." he replied.

"oh."

hyejin could feel her insides turning. why is he here out of all places? she was convinced he was stalking her at this point.

"what? are you guys like exes or something?" matthew asked.

"pfft exes? he wishes." hyejin scoffed, raising her chin in embarrassment. can he read minds or something?

"i can tell you guys have some sort of history but imma leave that for next time. i need to go back to work but the crowd is so big, i don't think i can handle that many customers." matthew groans in frustration.

"then don't. pretend you hit your head on a tree and passed out, easy way out seok matthew. use your brain, my friend." hyejin confidently said.

"you know what? maybe you're right. there's this pretty garden spot at the back of the restaurant, let's go hang out there." he suggests, hyejin immediately agreeing.

"okay let's go." matthew grabs onto her wrist as he pulls her through the crowd and then into the quiet area.