Chapter 52: Little Sister

The next day, Miyeon woke up early to psyche herself up for her meeting with NingNing that afternoon. Although they haven't seen each other in nearly 11 years, they had once been 'family.' To suddenly have to reconnect with family whom one is not particularly fond of undoubtedly caused Miyeon no small amount of anxiety. So with a steaming hot cup of coffee in hand, Miyeon lay back on her two seater sofa and focused on clearing her mind of any sort of anticipation for today's reunion. 'Don't expect anything. If there's no expectation then there's no disappointment,' Miyeon reminded herself.

..................…

Big Mug, District 1

And so, at 2pm on the dot, Miyeon sat at a small table by the tall glass windows near the coffee shop entrance. She arrived 10 minutes early and ordered her go-to drink, an iced americano, while she waited for her little sister. Knowing NingNing had a habit of dolling herself up, Miyeon had been prepared to wait an extra 10 - 15 minutes past their agreed upon meeting time. However, half an hour had passed and there was still no sight of NingNing. Miyeon had finished drink and had even ordered a slice of strawberry shortcake. 'Ah. This might be the last cake I'll be eating for a while before I do the collab shoot in Japan,' she mused, savoring the fluffy sweetness of the confection.

In fact, Miyeon who sat alone at the tall wooden two seater table was unaware that she had been the subject of admiration and pity during the entire duration of her wait. 'She's been waiting there for over half an hour. Did she get stood up? Who would do such a thing!? If it were me, I would never make her wait!' thought the male server who had brought over Miyeon's strawberry cheesecake. 

After several unanswered calls and texts, Miyeon decided it's best to call it a day and drop by Shu Li's office for a quick visit. As she was debating on whether to get her best friend a drink, NingNing breezed  through the front entrance of the cafe and plopped herself on the seat across from Miyeon. Lee NingNing was a slender pretty looking girl with fair skin, large almond shaped eyes and slightly rounded face framed by shoulder length hair with caramel highlights. She stood about 163cm and wore an off shoulder navy blue mini dress paired with white stilettos. 

"Goodness. Traffic in Y City is the worst," NingNing flippantly commented.

"Hi NingNing. I didn't think you were coming. It's almost 2:45pm," Miyeon said with a neutral tone.

"Aren't you unemployed anyways?" NingNing quipped back, slightly annoyed at Miyeon's short lecture.

"Hmm.. no. I'm doing some part-time work currently and have an interview lined up as well," Miyeon responded in an even tone, her face impassively beautiful. 

"Still, you're unemployed at the moment. Part time work can hardly be considered a real job," NingNing spoke nonchalantly as she flagged a nearby server to take her order.

"Well...yes. If you are looking into semantics..though I would still classify part-tme work as a job since I also receive remuneration for my..." Miyeon tentatively spoke after some thought.

"Huh? What are you talking about. Anyways, I heard you're close with the chief designer of Le Ciel," NingNing interjected. "Drip coffee with a splash of nonfat milk and a spoon of manuka honey," NingNing spoke with a tinge of entitlement.

Miyeon waited for NingNing to finish putting in her order before smiling apologetically at the server. "We are good friends, yes." Miyeon said in response to NingNing's statement.

"Introduce me. I want to get into modeling," NingNing said in a tone that was almost akin to a command.

"...." Miyeon stayed silent and pursed her lips slightly. 'Deep breaths. She's your sister,' she reminded herself.

"What? You don't want to?" NingNing asked.

"It's not that I don't want to. People usually use a different tone when asking for a favor," Miyeon explained in a casual manner.

"Pssh come on. You owe my family for adopting you. Isn't it just right to pay back your debt?" NingNing asked arrogantly.

"...." (Miyeon)

"Where is your sense of gratitude? Do you not have it as well like you don't have parents?" (NingNing)

"NingNing!" Miyeon exclaimed with a slightly raised voice.

"What!? It's a joke! Lighten up!" NingNing said exasperatedly.

"There are certain jokes you cannot make," Miyeon sternly replied 

"Come on. Don't be so uptight. You won't be able to get a boyfriend like that. Plus, we're family anyways," NingNing said casually, completely disregarding Miyeon's feelings on the matter.

"..." 'We are only family when it's convenient for you. Otherwise we are strangers.'

"So back to the main topic, when can you introduce me to Wei Shu Li?" NingNing prodded.

"Let me speak to her first and get back to you," Miyeon answered after some thought.

"Hurry, alright? I want to make my debut this year," NingNing said with furrowed brows as if Miyeon had caused a disruption in her schedule.

"Are you thinking of pursuing modeling full time?" Miyeon inquired, attempting to get an understanding of NingNing's plans.

"Until Ah-Yu and I have a kid then I'll take a break. But I want to reach peak popularity before I'm 25. I don't want to be old and not have achieved anything," NingNing said taking a light jab at Miyeon's current unemployed state. 

Miyeon didn't bother to correct NingNing's assumptions about her. 'Well the Lee family has never been interested in my life or my achievements so clarifying things with her would just go into one ear and out the other,' Miyeon mused with a wry smile.

"Mm. Then it would be good to start soon. So you can build up your portfolio," she said instead.

"I only want to do high profile projects. I have to maintain my image as Song Yu's fiance," NingNing declared somewhat arrogantly.

"Ah, well you can discuss that with Le Ciel's hiring manager after you've met Shu Li." (Miyeon)

"Hmm I will. Anyways I gotta go, I have an appointment with Ah-Yu in a bit." (NingNing)

"Alright," Miyeon nodded and gave a polite smile.

"Oh, right. You didn't show up for auntie's birthday," NingNing mentioned as she reapplied her lipstick.

"Ah, yes. Something came up." 'Actually, I just didn't want to go. Meeting up with this family is bad for my anxiety and depression,' Miyeon thought with a discreet smile.

"Well whatever. But you need to show your face next time. After all she's 'YOUR' mom now," NingNing said with a smirk before leaving Miyeon to foot the bill.

For a split second, Miyeon stared askance at her sister's departing back before bursting into a quiet cynical laugh. 'I didn't think there was much she could do to hurt me. But I guess I was wrong. That stung,' she thought to herself as she walked over to the counter to pay the bill. Miyeon made sure to tip the server generously as an apology for her companion's rude behavior.

After the tiring encounter with her little sister, Miyeon postponed visiting Shu Li to another day and opted to send a text instead. True to her word, Miyeon didn't forget to ask her best friend if she could make time to meet with her little sister who was an aspiring model. 'It seems my life is destined to be filled with these bulldozers. They just do what they want and leave. Although, I have to admit I prefer CEO Lu's type of bulldozing more," Miyeon said, her lips curving up to a beautiful smile.

'Turns out, I was right not to expect anything,' Miyeon thought to herself.