• Teach Me How To Smile
    ……………………………………..
    Chapter 1 : Meeting the Prince


    “I’m a normal girl.”

    Okay, so being the daughter of the International gang leader is not that normal but I’m still human. Part of it.

    “Yang! Wake up!” my brother banged the door so hard that the door could break down any moment now. He unlocked my door and stomped towards my direction. I pulled myself up from the bed and answered with a lazy voice, “What? It’s 7 in the morning and it’s Sunday. Let me rest, will you?” As I was about to cover myself with my blanket, he put both of his hands on my shoulder and shook me, hard. “Don’t fall back asleep now. We have an emergency!”

    “Dad’s in the hospital!? But, he’d never been sent to the hospital before!” I screamed until my throat hurts. My brother, Nerio, covered his ears with his hands and started to pull me off my bed, hurrying me to get ready to go to the hospital. I quickly pushed him out of my room so that I can get ready. I wore a plain white shirt and black pants with a checkered black and white scarf. By the time I went downstairs, I noticed that my mother was not there. Maybe she’s already gone to the hospital. My brother honked his car and I quickly locked the house and got myself into the car.

    Everything that happened today is weird. First of all, my father had never been sent to a hospital. Secondly, mother will always wake me up to tell where she’d been off to, even when she’s just going to go to the shop near our house. And thirdly, Nerio had never been home before in the early morning. He’s always at his girlfriend’s house. I mean, he is a ladies man after all.

    Nerio drove really fast to the hospital. It was 7.30 a.m. by the time we arrived. Nerio had a panicked face as he hit the elevator’s button for a few times. I held his hand to calm him down and he patted my head, smiling. “Okay, Dad’s room number is 291. Let’s ask the nurse at the counter.” We walked toward the counter and I can see that the nurse is smiling shyly when she saw my brother. I don’t blame her. Nerio is pretty good looking. Usually, Nerio would be flirting with the nurse but he seems different today. He didn’t even wink at her.

    I gave a knock at the door and we entered the room. The room was crowded with Dad’s friends and apprentices. Since Dad is the International gangster leader, most of the visitors were well, international people. Mother greeted us in and we saw Dad on the bed. He wasn’t that badly injured though. Nerio and I heaved a sigh of relief. Mother was making tea for the visitors. As expected of mother, she’s a nice and kind type of woman. I wonder how she got married to Dad. Nerio went to speak to Dad but I only stood by the door. Beside the bed stood three of Dad’s most trustworthy followers. Their children were there too. Their children are pretty much my childhood friends. We’re really close. I have to admit that we’re even closer than I am to my cousins.

    There’s Kenji from Japan. His father is the leader of a famous Yakuza gang in Japan. Luca on the other hand is the son of the most powerful mafia in Italy. Lastly, there’s Alex. He’s Chinese. His father is the leader of the most well-known loan sharks in Malaysia. Including me, there’s the whole group. Okay, so it seems that I grew up with boys but I’m not a tomboy. I’m girly in my own way. Kenji’s hair colour is always changing and today he dyed his hair dark red. They were all talking to each other but when they saw me at the door, they practically ran to me. “Are you alright? Are you hurt?” All kinds of questions were thrown at me. “Don’t worry. I’m fine. What happened?”

    As Luca was about to answer my question, Dad cut him off. “Since everyone’s here, I have an announcement to make. As you all see, I’m not in good shape right now. I’m growing old.” Kenji’s dad cut him off and said, “Don’t be ridiculous, you’re not that old!” Dad just shook his head and continued, “I’ve written a will and I had given it to my wife. If anything happens, please see my wife.” Mother gave a kind smile and bowed. “So, regarding this matter. I want my son to be my successor, naturally.” Nerio had a stricken face as if he had been hit by lightning. I knew that he didn’t like the idea. Everyone had tea and some biscuits. The other visitors bowed to my dad and left except for dad’s trustworthy followers, their sons and us, of course.

    Nerio stood in a corner. He was being unusually quiet today. As my dad chat away with his friends, Kenji, Luca, Alex and I talked about Alex’s new girlfriend. “You little player!” Luca punched him lightly on the shoulder. Alex replied, “I’m not dating anyone else. So, I’m not a player you idiot!” Kenji, Luca and Alex are all older than me. Kenji is 2 years older, Luca is 3 years older and Alex is 1 year older than me. We treat each other as siblings. Luca caught me looking at my brother and he asked me, “Something bothering you, Yang?” I was caught off guard so I just shook my head. “Tell us! Tell us!” Kenji and Alex started to chant away. Luca, being the eldest, hit them. In a hushed tone, he asked me, “Is it a secret?” I can feel that their eyes are all focused on me.

    Before I could tell them, Nerio raised his head up and talked to my dad. Disagreements could be heard from Kenji, Luca and Alex’s fathers. “You don’t understand! I don’t want to be you!” Dad was really disappointed with Nerio. He hit his bed, hard and said, “You’re my son and you’re going to be my successor, like it or not! You don’t expect your sister to take over, do you?” The whole room was quiet. Mother tried to calm him down but dad refused to keep quiet. “Where are you going!?” Nerio turned around. “Sorry Dad but I just can’t. Sorry Yang…” He left the room and I’ve never seen him since…

    …

    A week had passed since Nerio’s disappearance. Kenji, Alex and Luca always hang out at my house since then. “We’ve got an order from your dad, Yang. He wanted us to protect you and your mother.” I gave them a puzzled look. “But, it had always been just me and my mother at home. Why the sudden change?” They looked at each other and Luca told me,” Well, since your brother disappeared, your dad wants you to be his successor.” I sprayed the milk that I was drinking at Kenji’s face, shocked. Alex laughed so hard at Kenji, who’s purple hair (that day) had turn into a weird colour because of the milk. Kenji went to the kitchen sink to wash his hair. “My hair!” he went about, searching for a towel. I passed him a towel on his way to the toilet. Apparently, he had always brought his precious things (hair gels and such) with him everywhere. I waved my hand at Luca to continue. He took a deep breath and said, “He has special plans for you.” I looked at him with a puzzled look but he just shook his head. “You can hear from him later.”

    The door opened and my mother came in. “Oh, hello.” She greeted everyone. “You look really young, auntie!” As always, Alex gave her a compliment. “Have you had breakfast?” my mother asked them. Without any shame, Kenji could be heard from the toilet, answering “Not yet, but we had milk!” My mother gave a kind smile and began to cook pancakes for us. I took this chance to ask her. “Mother, did dad say anything to you? You know, about me being his successor.” She stared at the floor for a moment and said, “We’ve been talking about that dear but we’ll tell you later, okay.” This just makes it more suspicious.

    It’s 2.00 pm and we’re watching the TV in the living room. A knock came from the front door. “Mr. Big! We know you’re in there. You’re surrounded! (laughs hysterically) Our leader wish to have a duel with you!” Oh crap, how’d they knew dad lived here? Well, Dad decided for us to live separately from him since it would be dangerous if dad was to live with us. At first, I thought it was just a common thug but Kenji, Luca and Alex’s faces became serious. They look intense. Luca went to peeped through the peep hole.

    “Is it them?”, Alex asked with a low yet serious tone.

    “Looks like it.” Luca nodded.

    “Let’s get her out first.” Kenji grabbed my hand.

    I didn’t even had the chance to ask them about what was going on. We went quietly to the back door. Fortunately, mother went to the hospital to check on dad. So, it’s just us. “Yang, listen to us. Just do as you’re told. Run and never look back. Alex will go with you.” I looked at their faces who had changed from their calm and cheerful selves. I had been in this situation once but Nerio was there to protect me then. I didn’t argue with them because I knew I’ll just slow them down.

    As soon as Luca open the back door, the thugs were coming towards us. Luca and Kenji fought them, to make way for Alex and I to move. Blood splattered everywhere. Alex hugged me from the front, to protect me from getting hit. He hugged me so tight that I can feel him breathing. “He got the girl!” thugs swarmed towards Alex but Luca and Kenji managed to fight them back. “RUN!!” Luca shouted at us. Alex brought me to a busy street so that they can’t find us. We went to the park to rest. When he was sure we were not being followed, he let out a big breath and sat beside me. “I think we’ve lost them.” I’d like to help them but it was impossible because my strength is not that powerful compared to the guys. When I’m sure that Alex had calmed down, I asked him.

    “You know, right. You guys knew all along what’s happening. Why’d you left me in the dark?”

    “We’re not suppose to tell you. Your dad doesn’t want you to freak out.” Alex brushed my messy hair from my face with his fingers.

    “I’m not going to get mad or anything. I just want answers.”

    He looked into my eyes. “Promise you won’t freak out.” I nodded.

    “The story’s like this. The reason your dad wants your brother (originally) to be his successor in the near time is because your dad apparently has a new rival. No, it’s not like he can’t take them out or anything. You know you’re dad’s strong! But, he just wanted to see how we’d do without him. You see, like he said, he’s getting older.”

    I tried to grab every word that Alex told me, slowly. I stared at the daisies which gave an unlikely glow. ‘I don’t know what I’m supposed to feel. I’m not even freaked out.” Alex patted my head and told me that everything was going to be alright. I tried to believe his words but my guts tells me the opposite.

    It was getting dark outside so Alex invited me to his house. “I hope they’re alright.” I told Alex who was leading me to his house. “Don’t worry. They can handle those thugs.” We walked silently towards his house, without saying anything to each other.

    “I’m sure it’s this way. Let’s try that road.” My jaw practically dropped on the floor. “Don’t tell me you forgot where your house is!?” Alex chuckled when he saw my serious face. “Don’t worry. Just leave it to me!” Something tells me that this it’s going to be a long way home.

    At about 7.00 p.m. , we arrived in front of Alex’s house. A very pretty girl with long brown hair opened the front door and threw herself on Alex. “Took you long enough to come home! Your friends are here! Oh baby! Are you hurt?” Alex cleared his throat and introduced me to the girl. “Yang, this is my girlfriend that I was talking about the other day.” He grinned and they went lovey dovey together. So, I climbed the stairs and went inside.

    Kenji and Luca greeted me from the living room. Cuts and bruises were visible on their faces and bodies. “Are you alright?” I asked them. “Don’t worry! We’re guys!” Kenji said. Luca did not look alright, though. Not that he’s badly hurt or something. He had a
    grim face. “Yang, he will be meeting you now.” I looked at him and he led me to the living room.

    It was an unexpected guest indeed. “Dad! You’re out of the hospital!” I exclaimed. Dad went straight to the point. Usually, he’ll joke around with me when he meets me. But today, it was different. I knew that what he’s about to tell me is something serious so I sat myself down on the sofa opposite him. Luca and Kenji stood beside me.

    “Dear, as you are well informed of, since your brother left. You will be taking over me,” dad started talking in a serious tone. Every eyes in the room focused on me and I can tell you that it was not comfortable at all! “But..but Dad. I’m not trained well like Nerio. Why me?” Dad looked on the floor and continued, “We have no other choice. We’ll be needing this one.” I gave him a puzzled look. “This one..?” Dad coughed and cleared his throat. “Yes, he’s the son of the biggest gangster leader in Korea. We’ll need them to join forces with us.” I stood up and asked him why. “Let’s just say that I just want to test you whether you can be a good leader or not. The president is a good friend of mine and he’s willing to join us if we can make his son join us too. You see, his son is a famous idol in Korea and he’s a well spoilt child. His father wants him to take over his title in the future too. So, we will be needing your help to make him into a leader and join forces with us. Please consider this dear.”

    I was speechless. Kenji saw my shocked face and ran to the kitchen to get me a glass of water. Luca patted my back and said, “Don’t worry. We’ll be there to help you out.” Kenji gave me the glass of water and I drank it quickly. “Okay, I’ll consider it but I want you to answer my questions if I agree to do it.” I said. Dad’s face went from grim to bright. “So, you’re saying you’ll do it?” I don’t have any other choice so I sighed and nodded. “Okay, fire ‘em dear!” Dad started dancing around the room. For a leader of the International Gangster Gang, he sure is a happy person.

    I stopped a bit when I saw Dad jumping, happily around the room, grabbing Luca’s hands, forcing him to dance with him. “Who were those thugs back home? And where’s mother?” Dad stopped jumping and sat back down on the sofa, beside me. He went to his serious mode. “Those, my dears are the new thugs that just got into town. I don’t know how their leader knew that you will be taking over me soon but they’re planning to eliminate you to take over my place. Surely, that will not happen. So, just to be prepared, I want to train you to be a leader from now onwards. You’ll be sent to training right away and since you’ll be going to Korea, you’ll need to learn Korean. Don’t sweat it, kid! Everything’s planned. Alex, Kenji and Luca will be your tutors. They’ll teach you how to fight and how to speak, write and read Korean. You’ll learn in no time!” I took a really deep breath. Dad continued, “You will be trained for 2 months and you’ll be sent to Korea next thing you know it! Do your best and never give up! Plus, don’t worry about your mother. She’ll be living with me at the mansion.” Dad stood up and hugged me tight. He whispered in my ears, “Thanks Yang.” For some reason, I think that this will be the last time I will be seeing Dad for a very long time. I tried to stop him but he had already left with some of his followers. We followed him to the front door. Kenji and Luca who were aware about what I must be feeling put their arms on my shoulders. “Don’t worry about your Dad. He’ll survive. Plus, did he mention that he’s going to take a vacation with your mother during your time in Korea? The whole gang’s going!” Kenji told me cheerfully. I stopped smiling. “WHAT!?” Dad opened the limousine window and shouted “I LOVE YOU! DON’T WORRY! WE’LL HAVE FUN!!” as the limousine drove away. Far enough for me not to be able to chase him. That’s my dad…

    ….


    The two months of training went by in a flash. The training took most of my energy and my tutors sure know how to push me to the limit. But, I have to admit, although the training was tough and exhausting, I had fun. Alex, Kenji and Luca are really good and fun tutors but when they’re serious, you better watch out!

    “Here’s the plane tickets, guys. We’ll be leaving tomorrow morning.” Luca said. Everyone stared at the tickets in awe. “Cool! We’re going on a trip!” Alex and Kenji jumped around. During my training, I’ve been staying at Alex’s house since his girlfriend, Olivia practically lives with him. Olivia’s a really nice person, once you know her. She had helped me a lot with my training by cooking us food. It’s good to know that there’s another girl in the house, not that I don’t trust Alex or anything.

    I went upstairs to pack my bag. A knock came from the door. “Come in.” It was Luca. He entered my room and sat on the bed. “Are you nervous?” he asked me. “A little.” I gave him a smile. He offered to help me pack but I kindly decline. He stood up and heads for the door. Without turning back, he said, “You don’t need to be nervous since we’ll be there with you.” Hearing Luca said that makes me sort of relieved.

    It was almost night time. When I went downstairs, it was havoc. Olivia was running all around the house, worrying what she’ll be needing to pack. “Yang! Oh my, oh my. Should I bring all of the kitchen utensils? The toilet paper. Did you pack it, Yang? I think I’ll pack that too.” While Olivia is running around, Alex laughed at her silly face. Kenji, who had dyed his hair apple green was watching TV in the living room. I sat next to him and we watch TV together. Luca came into the living room to make sure that everyone had finished packing and later, joined us. “Give me the remote control.” Luca commanded. Kenji sticks his tongue out and continued watching. “I want to watch this Korean show. It’s funny. Since we’re going to Korea tomorrow, might as well watch it.” They didn’t argue after that.

    The show was indeed very funny. We laughed so hard, rolling on the floor. (At least I did.) Kenji kept hitting the floor as he laughed. Luca tried to maintain his coolness but end up giving a loud snort. Suddenly, the audience from the TV show started to cheer. Four guys entered the studio but one guy caught my eyes. A tall guy with platinum blonde hair and a charming smile entered the studio. His skin seems so smooth too. The audience went wild. The MC introduced the band as Wings. We watched them introducing themselves. The leader of the band introduced himself as Young-Jae and blew a kiss to the camera. Girls in the audience screamed hysterically. “Young-Jae oppa!!” A fangirl was caught on camera, screaming his name but she quickly covered her face with the fan (which has Young-Jae’s face on it) she was holding. Next, the platinum blonde haired guy introduced himself. When he was about to say his name, Luca turned the TV off. “What gives!?” Kenji yelled. “We’ve got a big day tomorrow. Go to sleep.” Luca told him. “You too, Yang.” I turned the living room’s lights off. On the way to my bedroom, I heard Luca and Kenji talking to Alex about sleeping here tonight. That night, on my bed, somehow, I was thinking about the platinum blonde haired guy. “I never knew his name,” I whispered to myself and dozed off to sleep.


    …
    The next day

    “Wake up everyone!!” I could hear Luca’s voice from downstairs. It was loud and he seems to be hitting the pans with something to wake us up. Somewhere in the house, Kenji shouted, “5 more minutes!” I looked at the clock beside my bed. It’s 8.00 a.m. WHAT?? Our flight’s supposed to be at 9.00! I rushed myself to take a shower. The bathroom is outside of my room. When I was about to come out of my room, in front of my door stood a half naked, half awaked Kenji. He was only wearing a towel. “Ah, Yang. Where’s the bathroom again?” Alex saw Kenji talking to me and he quickly got the wrong idea. “Kenji you pervert! You can use the bathroom in my room.” Alex started to tease him. Kenji hit Alex hard on the head and they walked together to Alex’s bedroom, chatting away. Without any moment to lose, I took a shower and got ready.

    The last one to get ready was Kenji (of course). Even Olivia managed to get everything prepared earlier than Kenji. We waited for him in the living room and Luca started talking about our plans in Korea. “Aren’t we going to be late?” I interrupted Luca. He scratched his head, “WHERE’S KENJI!?” Kenji came down dramatically. “Kenji’s here! Haha!” He had his hair dyed light orange today. Luca pushed everyone outside of the house as Alex began locking the doors. “You are aware that it’s 8.30 a.m., right?.” Alex asked Luca but Luca didn’t answer him. He went straight to the car. “Everyone. Fasten your seatbelts. I’m driving.” The first thought that came to my mind was uh-oh.

    We managed to board the plane to Korea after all. Luca’s driving skill is remarkable. As expected of a mafia’s son. Our flight lasted for a couple of hours. We finally landed and the sight of Korea’s airport is amazing. It’s really big. “We’re breathing Korea’s air!” Alex took a deep breath. Luca didn’t even spare a minute. He continued with the plan.

    “Okay, as planned guys. We’ll be meeting him right away since his schedule is packed today. He’s an idol after all.” He said, while showing us the way. There’s a lot of people at the airport today but it’s easy to follow Luca since he’s tall and he stands out from the crowd. I have to say that he’s an appealing guy. I could hear girls giggling as he passed by.

    “Why’s there a lot of people here?” I asked them bluntly.

    “It is an airport.” Kenji said.

    Alex held Olivia’s hand to make sure that she doesn’t lose her way. They seem like a really sweet and happy couple.

    The crowd became bigger and bigger. Most of them are girls around 14 to 25 years of age. “What’s going on?” Kenji asked. Luca, the tallest among us saw what was going on. “Remember the band we saw on TV yesterday? They’re here.” Luca told us. I pushed the people aside as it is getting packed. The girls are all screaming now. Finally, I saw the band. What was it called again? Oh yeah, Winds. The platinum blonde haired guy with the rest of the band are present. Beside them stood a big man in a black suit.

    Suddenly, the big man pointed to my direction. The rest of the band followed the big man who was walking towards my direction. “Yang?” the big man asked. I greeted him in Korean. “Anyeong. I’m Yang.” The big man gave a loud laugh and said in english, “You…speak Korean?” I nodded. He pulled me towards the band members. They’re really good looking. I can feel my cheeks burning. The crowd around me screamed disapprovingly. I turned and asked the big man who he was. “I’m your dad’s friend. I’m sure he told you all about me. And about my son’s problem, that’s him.” The big man pointed to the platinum blonde haired guy. The platinum blonde haired guy suddenly pulled me into a tight hug and whispered in my ears, “I’m Lee Min Ki. My fans call me Bunny. Looks like I’ll be having fun with you from now on.” Time seems to have stop. I can see Kenji, Luca and Alex shouting something at Min Ki but I can’t seem to understand. I stood there, froze in Min Ki’s arms. The crowd went wild.


    ………………………………………………………


    Author’s Note: I hope everyone enjoyed reading. Please, don’t forget to review!! Comments are loved!! ^___^