Chapter 53

After watching Jin Hyun-tae drive away, Annie finally turned to go back into the house, feeling a bit lost. She couldn't quite understand why she suddenly felt the urge to say those words as he was leaving.

Fortunately, she changed her mind at the crucial moment; otherwise, she might have really said what she truly wanted to say.

Oh, if that had happened, she would have been even more embarrassed.

After all, she and Jin Hyun-tae were in an 'employment' relationship, not anything more. What right did she have to tell him not to interact with other girls?

Thankfully, she was quick-witted enough to avoid that. Otherwise, it would have been quite awkward.

Lowering her head, she saw a stack of newspapers by the door and smiled to herself.

Clearly, the young girl who seemed to have some thoughts about her had been affected by her presence. This was a good start.

Annie bent down to pick up the newspapers and then turned to carry Coco back into the house.

At that moment, Jin Hyun-tae was driving his used pickup truck out of the community, heading to the school.

Suddenly, he saw something that made him brake and stop the car.

He noticed a young girl standing by the roadside, with a bicycle lying on its side. Clearly, her bicycle had broken down.

This girl was none other than Demi, the daughter of his neighbor Mr. Nate, who delivered the newspapers to him every day.

Although Jin Hyun-tae didn't interact with Demi much, he remembered that she had introduced herself as a student at 'St. Monica High School,' though she was in the junior high section.

Since she was his neighbor's daughter, the newspaper delivery girl, and a junior at the same school, Jin Hyun-tae couldn't just pretend he hadn't seen her.

So, when he saw that Demi's bicycle was broken and she was standing helplessly by the roadside, he stopped his car, rolled down the window, leaned out, and waved at her.

"Hey, Demi! Come on, get in my car. I'm heading to the school to register today."

Demi, who had been standing there helplessly, looked up and saw Jin Hyun-tae waving at her.

To be honest, since she saw Annie at Jin Hyun-tae's house the previous morning, she hadn't been feeling very good.

She had been inexplicably gloomy and kept thinking that Jin Hyun-tae was a 'womanizer.'

She had even decided that she would pretend not to know him anymore and act as if he wasn't her neighbor.

But when she saw Jin Hyun-tae, her resolve crumbled, and she couldn't control her feet.

Jin Hyun-tae got out of the car, walked over to Demi's broken bicycle, and saw that it was indeed broken.

He bent down to pick it up, slung it over his shoulder, and said to Demi, who was looking at him with a complex expression, "Let's go to school together. It's getting late, and if we don't hurry, we might be late. There's no place to fix bicycles here, so let's put it in the back of my truck and go to school first."

Demi nodded silently and followed Jin Hyun-tae to the truck, opened the door, and sat in the passenger seat.

Jin Hyun-tae put Demi's broken bicycle in the back of the truck and then got back in the driver's seat.

Demi looked straight ahead, pretending not to look at Jin Hyun-tae, but she kept sneaking glances at him with her peripheral vision.

"From now on, we'll be schoolmates, and I'll be your senior. Ha-ha, we'll have plenty of opportunities to go to school together."

As schoolmates and neighbors in the same community, Jin Hyun-tae felt it was necessary to be friendly with Demi.

Sigh!

Demi's heart softened, and she couldn't hold back anymore.

Girls generally have no resistance to handsome guys.

So, it was only natural that Demi couldn't resist Jin Hyun-tae, who was tall, handsome, and had a foreign charm.

"Really? We'll be in the same school? So, you're going back to school?" Demi's tone wasn't exactly warm, but it wasn't cold either, giving Jin Hyun-tae a sense of distance.

Jin Hyun-tae was a bit puzzled by Demi's attitude.

Wasn't this girl usually enthusiastic and outgoing?

Why did she seem so distant now?

What Jin Hyun-tae didn't know was that Annie had shattered the young girl's fragile heart.

So, it was strange that Demi would be in a good mood.

Demi was feeling very conflicted. She had wanted to hate Jin Hyun-tae, but she couldn't when she saw him. Besides, she didn't have the right to hate him; she wasn't anyone special to him.

But she still felt very uncomfortable, very uncomfortable!

Oh, the young girl, who was just beginning to experience the pangs of love, didn't understand what she was going through.

Demi also remembered that Jin Hyun-tae had mentioned that he had dropped out of school and had a baby to take care of. How could he suddenly be going back to school?

Although it was a good thing, what about the baby?

Oh, that little one named Coco was such a cute baby.

Thinking about this, Demi suppressed her resentment towards Jin Hyun-tae and asked about Coco, "What about Coco when you go to school?"

In Demi's view, if Jin Hyun-tae, a single father, wanted to go back to school, he needed to take care of his daughter, Coco.

Otherwise, continuing his studies would be unrealistic.

Of course, Demi's question was also motivated by curiosity about how Jin Hyun-tae would handle the situation and a desire to learn more about Annie.

Demi had seen Annie the previous morning and needed to get some answers from Jin Hyun-tae about who that woman was.

She couldn't ask directly, so she had to use a roundabout approach to achieve her goal.

It's worth noting that girls can be incredibly clever when it comes to certain matters.

Jin Hyun-tae didn't notice Demi's ulterior motives and thought she was just concerned about who would take care of Coco. So, he replied while driving, "The publishing company found someone to take care of Coco. I think you've met her; she's a young and pretty lady."

Oh!

Demi's eyes sparkled, and she finally understood.

So, that woman was just a nanny, hired to take care of Coco so that Jin Hyun-tae could focus on his studies.

Hmph!

That woman was so arrogant, acting like she was the mistress of the house, making Demi feel gloomy all day and misjudge Jin Hyun-tae.

Learning the truth about Annie from Jin Hyun-tae, Demi now thoroughly hated her.

"She's a full-time nanny and will stay at my place to take care of Coco at night. The publishing company has been very helpful with this, but she's still on a trial period," Jin Hyun-tae said, unaware of the implications.

Ha-ha!

Trial period!

So, that woman named Annie was still on a trial period!

When Demi learned from Jin Hyun-tae that Annie was still on a trial period, her mood improved significantly.

At the same time, some mischievous thoughts began to form in her mind.

Meanwhile, Annie, who was at home, had no idea that she now had an 'enemy' who was already resentful of her.

With the truth revealed and her heart at ease, Demi's face regained its vitality, and she no longer looked so cold.

"Congratulations on being able to start school again. I feel honored to have you as my senior."

"I'm honored to be your schoolmate."

Thus, they chatted as they drove to the school.

After parking the truck in the parking lot, Jin Hyun-tae and Demi walked through the school gates together.

At the entrance, Demi said goodbye to Jin Hyun-tae and made plans to go home together after school.

Considering that Demi's bicycle was broken, Jin Hyun-tae didn't refuse and agreed to wait for her at the gate after school.

Seeing Jin Hyun-tae agree, Demi happily went to the junior high building, while Jin Hyun-tae headed to the high school building.

It was 7:15 AM, and many students were arriving at the school, some driving, some on bicycles, and some walking.

Jin Hyun-tae noticed that most of the students who drove to school had modest cars, mostly used ones.

He realized that Dave's advice to buy a used car was wise. Otherwise, driving his Audi to school, even though it wasn't a luxury car, would have made him stand out.

Jin Hyun-tae didn't want to draw attention to himself; he wanted to have a low-key school life.

He had no interest in showing off, embarrassing rich kids, or standing out in any way, let alone trying to date girls at school.

After all, a 36-year-old soul in a teenager's body couldn't really relate to the interests of teenagers. The generation gap was too wide.

Entering the high school building, Jin Hyun-tae saw a sea of students, boys and girls, forming small groups.

It wasn't time for class yet, so the students were chatting with friends about last night's TV shows, where they had gone out, what was on sale at the department store, and the latest gossip about who was dating or breaking up.

Remembering the principal's advice, Jin Hyun-tae knew he needed to find his teacher, Ms. Linda. After asking a few students, he arrived at the teachers' office.

The door was open, and Jin Hyun-tae could see a few middle-aged teachers preparing for class.

Knock, knock!

He knocked on the door and said, "Is Ms. Linda here? I'm William Jin, the new student starting today..."