Chapter 10: Meeting in Jeju
As Sora and Melissa were waiting for Victor to come around to pick them up, a voice from behind asked “Done with your meeting already Miss Kang?”
Sora turned around and found Donghae standing behind them.
“Have you forgotten about me already? We just met this morning,” Donghae said with a smile.
“No, I remember you. Donghae-ssi right?” Sora replied with a smile. “The friend of that arro…I mean President Park, am I correct?” Sora was refraining from calling Park Jungsu an arrogant guy in front of his friend.
“Yes, that’s me!” Donghae said excitedly and then shyly smile as he continued “I thought you would have really forgotten about me.” He chuckled while lightly scratching his right temple.
Sora giggled by the way Donghae was behaving cutely. Donghae looked at Sora, feeling even shyer than before.
“Donghae-ssi, are you alright? Are you feeling hot?” asked Sora.
“Hot? Wae?” Donghae wondered and started to feel his face with his hands.
“Is it the weather? Your face is a bit red. You shouldn’t wear dark colours during hot weathers, they attract more heat.” Sora told Donghae as she fanned him with her hand.
“I’m alright, Sora-ssi. Can I call you Sora-ssi?” asked Donghae.
Sora stopped her fanning and chuckled. “I guess we can drop a bit of the formality here, Donghae-ssi.”
“Jjinja (Really)?” asked Donghae.
Sora couldn’t help but break out a small laugh as she nodded in reply.
Just then, a car was pulling up to the roundabout and inside was Victor.
Victor saw the group was happily conversing. He took a closer look and saw Donghae talking with Sora. He parked up next to them and got out of the car. “Sorry I’m late, Sora-ssi. I got caught up in traffic,” he explained. Then he turned and looked at Donghae with a stern face.
Sora saw how Victor was looking at Donghae and then said, “Oppa, this is Donghae-ssi. He’s a friend of mine.” She then turned to Donghae and continued, “Donghae-ssi, this is Victor, he is my….”
“It is nice meeting you Mr. Donghae,” Victor greeted Donghae, but not a single smile was given during his greeting. “Sora-ssi, I believe we’re going to be late for your next appointment. Please go inside the car,” Victor told Sora as he opened the passenger door for Melissa and her.
Donghae gave Victor with a discontent look and said sarcastically, “Nice to meet you too.”
Sora looked at the time on her watch and Victor was right. So, she and Melissa quickly entered the car. When she got in, she turned down the window and said, “Mianhe Donghae-ssi, I have another urgent appointment I have to attend to. It was nice meeting you,” she then handed him her business card. “If you have any events you would like to do, you can call me.”
Donghae took the business card with content and asked, “Can I call you even if it’s not for business?”
Sora smiled back at Donghae and said, “Goodbye Donghae-ssi.” She waved at him while closing the window.
Donghae chuckled and waved goodbye. Then Victor took down his sunglasses and said, “Mr. Donghae.” He walked up to Donghae’s side and quietly said, “Next time, don’t let me see you near Sora. It’s best if you stay away from her and find someone else instead. I hope I made myself clear.” He then puts his sunglasses back on and got into the car.
What Victor just said left Donghae confused and annoyed as he watches them drive off. “What is wrong with that guy? Who does he think he is to say that to me?”Donghae thought to himself.
While in the car…
“Oppa, why were you being rude back there with Donghae-ssi?” Sora was meaning to ask when she saw him giving Donghae a serious look.
“Was I?” replied Victor.
“You were. Why did you give him that look?” Sora argued as she looked to the rear view mirror to catch Victor’s gaze.
Victor glanced at the mirror and saw Sora giving him a good stare. “I give everyone that look, so I don’t see anything wrong with that.”
“No, you don’t. You only give that look to the guys around me,” Sora argued as she looked outside. “Why are you being like this, oppa? You weren’t like this before.”
Victor let out a sigh and said, “This isn’t the first time I’ve seen him. A few days ago, I saw him following our car back to the company building. That time, I already felt that there was something strange about him. He told the security guard that he needed to take a phone call and thus stopped outside the company building. But now, just seeing him again and not to mention talking to you – makes me find him more suspicious.”
“Really? But Donghae-ssi doesn’t look like that kind of person,” Sora told Victor.
“Never judge a book by its cover. Just to be safe, it’s best to distance yourself away from him,” said Victor.
“But oppa, aren’t you being a little too suspicious?” asked Sora.
“Find me suspicious or not. My responsibility is to protect the Chairman and his family, and that includes you Sora-ssi,” said Victor. He thought to himself, “I don’t want to see you get hurt.”
“There you go again with that agent tone of voice. I still don’t think Donghae is what you think him to be. At least, he doesn’t have that type of attitude like that Mr. Arrogant!”
“Who? ‘Mr. Arrogant’?” asked Victor as he stopped the car for the red lights.
“That stupid Park Jungsu…” Sora said with her arms crossed.
“Who’s that?” Victor asked Sora.
Melissa then budded in and said, “He’s the President and CEO of JSE, the person Sora met with for this morning’s meeting.”
“Oppa! It was that same guy who we saw at the department store a few days ago.” Sora told Victor, trying to refresh his memory.
“Ah… That guy who you were trying to fight over the jacket with?” asked Victor with a chuckle.
“Yes, that guy! Aish…If it weren’t for Director Choi’s project, I wouldn’t even bother with him,” Sora explained as she got more bothered by the thought of Park Jungsu.
Then, Melissa suddenly asked, “Sora, you mean this wasn’t the first time you’ve met President Park?”
Sora looked at Melissa and replied, “Unfortunately, no Melissa, it’s not the first time. Both times, he’s being such an arrogant person!”
“But I find him quite good looking. Kind of cute, if I may say,” Melissa said with a smile.
“WHAT? Good looking and cute? Melissa! Do you need new prescription glasses? He’s far from what you just said. With that attitude of his, no girl can stand him. Ugh…” said Sora.
“Well, from what I heard – there’s actually quite a lot women who are interested in him,” said Melissa. Melissa has a habit of doing a bit of background research on everyone she meets.
“Well, then those women should get their eyes checked!”
Victor couldn’t help but shake his head with a smile as he listens to how Sora is reacting.
Finally they have arrived at the helicopter location. Victor opened the door for Sora and Melissa.
“Hope you both have a pleasant flight” Victor said to both Sora and Melissa.
“Oh, oppa, you’re not coming with us?” asked Sora.
“Ani, I have some matters to take care of for the Chairman. But, I’ll be in Jeju later today. So just have a safe flight,” replied Victor.
“Arasso. But what is it that my father always asks you to do for him?” Sora asked curiously.
Victor giving Sora his signature look and said, “It’s confidential, but you’ll know soon when the time comes.” Victor looked at the helicopter and said, “Ppalli. Or else you’re going to be late for the conference.”
Sora and Melissa got into the helicopter and were about to take off. As the helicopter left the ground, Victor stands still and watches the helicopter depart. Soon after the helicopter left, he got into the car and took out his mobile phone to make a phone call. “Do you have all the information I requested? Good, so all the profiles should be up to date then? Alright, make sure you filter out the ones that need to be filtered out. Once they’re ready, I will pass them onto the Chairman.”
While on the helicopter…
“Melissa, do you find Victor a bit different from before?” asked Sora.
Melissa looked at Sora and asked, “Wae? Wasn’t he always like this?”
Sora turned to Melissa and said, “I mean like behaviour-wise. It’s like ever since he came back from his short leave, he became more reserved.”
“Now that you mentioned it, Victor does seem a little less open then before. He didn’t have such stern face in the past, right? Maybe something is troubling him,” suggested Melissa.
“You think? Should I talk to him about it?” Sora asked Melissa whether she should have a little chat with Victor.
“Aren’t you caring a little too much for Victor? He’s a grown man, I think he should be able to solve whatever is troubling him,” Melissa told Sora as she organized the documents they needed for the conference.
“But Victor is like a chin oppa to me. As you know, I’m the only child in my family and Victor has always been around when he came to work for my father. He was always there to comfort me like a big brother when I’m upset. And if he’s upset over something, I wish I can do the same for him like a little sister caring for her brother,” explained Sora.
“Well, if that’s the case – I guess you can try to talk to him. But don’t force it if he doesn’t want to. Some guys don’t like to have these kinds of talks,” Melissa explained to Sora. Melissa has a few experiences in dealing with men from her past relationships.
Sora nodded to Melissa’s advice.
The helicopter finally arrived in Jeju Island. As it began to descend, Sora looked at the view of Jeju with fascination. She hasn’t been to Jeju for a long time and coming here reminded her of the times she and her family came for vacation when she was still young.
“Still so beautiful,” Sora murmured to herself.
The helicopter finally landed. When Sora got out of the helicopter, she stretched out her arms. They hired a taxi to bring them to the resort where her company will be having its conference and dinner.
While on the way, Sora asked Melissa, “Melissa, my gown has been delivered to the resort already right?”
“Yup! All our things have been delivered there already,” replied Melissa.
When they arrived at the resort, they were greeted by the resort staff. Sora got out and took in a deep breath of the wonderful scent of Jeju.
“Mmm…I feel like I’m on vacation,” said Sora.
“Do you now?” a man asked from behind.
Sora turned around and said, “Appa! You’re here already?” as Sora ran up to her father while wrapping her arms around his.
Her father laughed and said, “Well, who was the one who said before that they should keep the formalities during working hours.”
“Arasso, Mr. Chairman,” Sora pouted at her father.
“I’m just kidding Sora-ah. So how is my princess doing today?” her father asked as they walked inside the resort lobby.
“Aish…don’t even remind me of this morning. I had to deal with a very difficult person with a major attitude problem.”
Her father stopped walking and asked “Oh, now who’s this person that is making my Sora-ah upset?”
“Aish…I don’t want to talk about him. But appa, why are we having the conference here? Couldn’t we stay in Seoul instead?” Sora asked her father.
Her father smiled and said, “Well, I thought Jeju would be a nice setting to have our conference. Besides, didn’t Miss Kim tell you about the company dinner tonight? Make sure you dress up nicely. I want to show a few old friends of mine what a lovely and beautiful daughter I have.”
Sora smiled shyly and said, “Appa, you’re making me blush.”
Her father placed his hand on Sora’s as he looked at his daughter with content and said, “Sora-ah, I’m very happy to have a daughter like you. That is aside from your reckless driving behaviour, your mother and I love you very very much. In our eyes, you are the most wonderful and a beautiful daughter any parents can ask for.”
“Appa… Why are you being so emotional again?” Sora asked her father as she saw a bit of tears forming at the corner of his eyes.
Her father gasped to stop his teary eyes and said, “Arasso, your mother will be joining us at the company dinner tonight. Go on and put away your belongings in your room and I will see you at the conference in a few minutes.” He padded her hand and signaled her to head to her room.
The conference lasted for about two and a half hours where they discussed about the company’s current position in the industry and what will be the company’s future prospects and goals they aim to achieve in the coming years.
After the conference, Sora headed back to her room and freshened herself up before going down for the company dinner. She came out of the bathroom with a bath robe and took out her gown from the closet. She laid it on her bed and looked at it while drying her hair. It was a simple strapless slim-cut red silk dress and she had a pair of Swarovski earrings and necklace to go with the dress.
Sora then wore the dress along with the accessories and did up her hair. The dress revealed the nice curve-lines to her body and it displayed her beautiful long legs on the side. She didn’t need much makeup as her skin was naturally glowing – she only needed to put on a bit of eye-liner and light pink lip-gloss to make her look stunningly beautiful.
She headed down to the company dinner. When she entered the great hall where the company’s dinner was held, everyone’s eyes were drawn to her direction. Sora looked around trying to find her parents.
“Wow! Sora, you look so beautiful in that dress,” said Melissa as she walked up to Sora.
“Thanks Melissa, you look wonderful yourself too,” replied Sora. “Have you seen my parents by any chance?”
“Oh, Mr. Chairman and your mother are over there. They’re talking to some of your father’s old friends,” answered Melissa as she escorted Sora over.
She walked up to her parents and greeted them, “Good evening appa, omma.”
Her father turned around and said, “Oh Sora-ah, you look gorgeous!”
“Yeobo, of course she looks gorgeous, she’s our daughter,” said Sora’s mother.
“Come Sora-ah, let me introduce you to some of your father’s old friends,” said her father as he placed her hand around his arm and lead her over. “My friends let me introduce to you all, my daughter, Kang Sora.”
Sora bowed when the chairman’s friends turned around. Suddenly, she heard a familiar voice that said, “Ah, Miss Kang Sora-ssi. We meet again.”
Sora looked up and to her surprise – it was Director Choi who was standing before her. Her jaw slightly dropped by the mere coincidence that Director Choi was one of her father’s old friends.
Sora bowed again and said, “Director Choi, how are you? What a surprise to see you here and please call me Sora.”
Director Choi laughed and said, “It’s nice to see you too Sora-ssi.” He then turned to Sora’s father and said, “Chairman Kang, you have really beautiful daughter. Much more beautiful than the first time I’ve seen her.”
“Oh? You’ve met my daughter before?” asked Sora’s father.
“Yes, my company needed to hold a charity event next month and your daughter is in charge of the project. Did she not tell you?” replied Director Choi.
“Is that so?” her father looked at Sora. “I hope she’s not causing too much trouble then. My daughter still has a lot to learn. Please look after her for me while she’s on the job, my friend.”
“I’m sure your daughter will do fine. Am I right, Sora-ssi?” said Director Choi with a happy smile. “Oh! By the way, how’s the preparation going for the music performance? Did you manage to find someone to perform at the event yet?” asked Director Choi.
Sora’s heart began to race a bit. She then puts on a big smile and said, “It’s…It’s going well. We’re currently in the process of scheduling an idol group to perform on that day.”
“Oh, is that so? So you’ve managed to find an agency willing to schedule their idols to perform at the event. Then that’s wonderful and I thought you it would be difficult,” Director Choi said happily.
However, Sora on the other hand wasn’t all so happy. She just lied to Director Choi about scheduling an idol group. They weren’t even close to coming into agreement with any agency. The only one she’s met so far was JSE, which she totally walked out on because she wasn’t happy with Park Jungsu’s arrogant attitude.
“Chairman Kang, see? Your daughter’s more than capable,” Director Choi told Sora’s father. “Ah, since you’re here Sora-ssi. Why don’t I introduce my son to you? He actually came back yesterday from America.” He ordered one his male secretary to go fetch his son.
Then a man wearing a silver grey suit came up and said, “Abeoji.”
Standing in front of them was a fine looking young man standing tall.
“Ah Minho, there you are. Everyone let me introduce to you all – this is my son, Choi Minho,” said Director Choi.
Minho bowed and greeted everyone, but the only person that left him dumbfound was Sora who caught his eyes with her beauty. He then proactively extends his hand out to Sora and said, “Hi there, I’m Choi Minho and your name is?”
Sora shook his hand with a smile and said, “Sora, Kang Sora.”
His eyes were glued onto Sora. “It’s nice to meet you, Miss Kang Sora. You look very beautiful,” complimented Minho as he still held onto Sora’s hand.
Sora chuckled, “Please call me Sora-ssi. Is this how you often greet everyone you meet, Mr. Minho-ssi?” as she looked onto their hands.
Minho looked at his hand and finally noticed that he still hasn’t let go of Sora’s hand. He quickly apologized, “Mianhe,” as he loosened his hand. Then he began to stutter, “Pardon me, I don’t want to hold…I mean, I didn’t mean to hold your hand for such long time.”
“Well, aren’t you both getting nicely acquainted,” said Director Choi with a smile while looking at Sora’s parents.
“They sure are,” said her father while he gave Director Choi a wink.
Then Director Choi informed Sora, “Sora-ssi, since my son Minho here is back in Korea – he will be helping me with some of my businesses. I’ve decided to assign him to take charge of the charity event next month on my behalf. So, if there are any updates or concerns regarding the event, please don’t hesitate to let him know.”
“That’s great! Let the young generation take over,” said Sora’s father. Then her father looked at her, “Sora-ah, work hard with Minho-ssi alright?”
“Appa!” Sora said to her father quietly. She looked at Director Choi and then over to Minho.
“I look forward to working with you, Sora-ssi,” said Minho.
“Yeah, me too.” replied Sora with a forced smile. At that moment, she didn’t know whether it’s a good thing or a bad thing to be working with Director Choi’s son. Somehow, she could sense that her parents are somewhat enjoying this arrangement.
Later that night in Jeju, in one of the private room in the business lounge...
“Mr. Chairman, here are the profiles you requested. These people are among the top choices for the selection,” reported Victor.
Chairman Kang goes through the different profiles until he came across one that got him smiling. “Well done, Victor. I think this one will make a great choice.” He handed Victor the profile.
Victor looked at it and read the profile name, “Choi Min-ho, sir?”
Sora turned around and found Donghae standing behind them.
“Have you forgotten about me already? We just met this morning,” Donghae said with a smile.
“No, I remember you. Donghae-ssi right?” Sora replied with a smile. “The friend of that arro…I mean President Park, am I correct?” Sora was refraining from calling Park Jungsu an arrogant guy in front of his friend.
“Yes, that’s me!” Donghae said excitedly and then shyly smile as he continued “I thought you would have really forgotten about me.” He chuckled while lightly scratching his right temple.
Sora giggled by the way Donghae was behaving cutely. Donghae looked at Sora, feeling even shyer than before.
“Donghae-ssi, are you alright? Are you feeling hot?” asked Sora.
“Hot? Wae?” Donghae wondered and started to feel his face with his hands.
“Is it the weather? Your face is a bit red. You shouldn’t wear dark colours during hot weathers, they attract more heat.” Sora told Donghae as she fanned him with her hand.
“I’m alright, Sora-ssi. Can I call you Sora-ssi?” asked Donghae.
Sora stopped her fanning and chuckled. “I guess we can drop a bit of the formality here, Donghae-ssi.”
“Jjinja (Really)?” asked Donghae.
Sora couldn’t help but break out a small laugh as she nodded in reply.
Just then, a car was pulling up to the roundabout and inside was Victor.
Victor saw the group was happily conversing. He took a closer look and saw Donghae talking with Sora. He parked up next to them and got out of the car. “Sorry I’m late, Sora-ssi. I got caught up in traffic,” he explained. Then he turned and looked at Donghae with a stern face.
Sora saw how Victor was looking at Donghae and then said, “Oppa, this is Donghae-ssi. He’s a friend of mine.” She then turned to Donghae and continued, “Donghae-ssi, this is Victor, he is my….”
“It is nice meeting you Mr. Donghae,” Victor greeted Donghae, but not a single smile was given during his greeting. “Sora-ssi, I believe we’re going to be late for your next appointment. Please go inside the car,” Victor told Sora as he opened the passenger door for Melissa and her.
Donghae gave Victor with a discontent look and said sarcastically, “Nice to meet you too.”
Sora looked at the time on her watch and Victor was right. So, she and Melissa quickly entered the car. When she got in, she turned down the window and said, “Mianhe Donghae-ssi, I have another urgent appointment I have to attend to. It was nice meeting you,” she then handed him her business card. “If you have any events you would like to do, you can call me.”
Donghae took the business card with content and asked, “Can I call you even if it’s not for business?”
Sora smiled back at Donghae and said, “Goodbye Donghae-ssi.” She waved at him while closing the window.
Donghae chuckled and waved goodbye. Then Victor took down his sunglasses and said, “Mr. Donghae.” He walked up to Donghae’s side and quietly said, “Next time, don’t let me see you near Sora. It’s best if you stay away from her and find someone else instead. I hope I made myself clear.” He then puts his sunglasses back on and got into the car.
What Victor just said left Donghae confused and annoyed as he watches them drive off. “What is wrong with that guy? Who does he think he is to say that to me?”Donghae thought to himself.
While in the car…
“Oppa, why were you being rude back there with Donghae-ssi?” Sora was meaning to ask when she saw him giving Donghae a serious look.
“Was I?” replied Victor.
“You were. Why did you give him that look?” Sora argued as she looked to the rear view mirror to catch Victor’s gaze.
Victor glanced at the mirror and saw Sora giving him a good stare. “I give everyone that look, so I don’t see anything wrong with that.”
“No, you don’t. You only give that look to the guys around me,” Sora argued as she looked outside. “Why are you being like this, oppa? You weren’t like this before.”
Victor let out a sigh and said, “This isn’t the first time I’ve seen him. A few days ago, I saw him following our car back to the company building. That time, I already felt that there was something strange about him. He told the security guard that he needed to take a phone call and thus stopped outside the company building. But now, just seeing him again and not to mention talking to you – makes me find him more suspicious.”
“Really? But Donghae-ssi doesn’t look like that kind of person,” Sora told Victor.
“Never judge a book by its cover. Just to be safe, it’s best to distance yourself away from him,” said Victor.
“But oppa, aren’t you being a little too suspicious?” asked Sora.
“Find me suspicious or not. My responsibility is to protect the Chairman and his family, and that includes you Sora-ssi,” said Victor. He thought to himself, “I don’t want to see you get hurt.”
“There you go again with that agent tone of voice. I still don’t think Donghae is what you think him to be. At least, he doesn’t have that type of attitude like that Mr. Arrogant!”
“Who? ‘Mr. Arrogant’?” asked Victor as he stopped the car for the red lights.
“That stupid Park Jungsu…” Sora said with her arms crossed.
“Who’s that?” Victor asked Sora.
Melissa then budded in and said, “He’s the President and CEO of JSE, the person Sora met with for this morning’s meeting.”
“Oppa! It was that same guy who we saw at the department store a few days ago.” Sora told Victor, trying to refresh his memory.
“Ah… That guy who you were trying to fight over the jacket with?” asked Victor with a chuckle.
“Yes, that guy! Aish…If it weren’t for Director Choi’s project, I wouldn’t even bother with him,” Sora explained as she got more bothered by the thought of Park Jungsu.
Then, Melissa suddenly asked, “Sora, you mean this wasn’t the first time you’ve met President Park?”
Sora looked at Melissa and replied, “Unfortunately, no Melissa, it’s not the first time. Both times, he’s being such an arrogant person!”
“But I find him quite good looking. Kind of cute, if I may say,” Melissa said with a smile.
“WHAT? Good looking and cute? Melissa! Do you need new prescription glasses? He’s far from what you just said. With that attitude of his, no girl can stand him. Ugh…” said Sora.
“Well, from what I heard – there’s actually quite a lot women who are interested in him,” said Melissa. Melissa has a habit of doing a bit of background research on everyone she meets.
“Well, then those women should get their eyes checked!”
Victor couldn’t help but shake his head with a smile as he listens to how Sora is reacting.
Finally they have arrived at the helicopter location. Victor opened the door for Sora and Melissa.
“Hope you both have a pleasant flight” Victor said to both Sora and Melissa.
“Oh, oppa, you’re not coming with us?” asked Sora.
“Ani, I have some matters to take care of for the Chairman. But, I’ll be in Jeju later today. So just have a safe flight,” replied Victor.
“Arasso. But what is it that my father always asks you to do for him?” Sora asked curiously.
Victor giving Sora his signature look and said, “It’s confidential, but you’ll know soon when the time comes.” Victor looked at the helicopter and said, “Ppalli. Or else you’re going to be late for the conference.”
Sora and Melissa got into the helicopter and were about to take off. As the helicopter left the ground, Victor stands still and watches the helicopter depart. Soon after the helicopter left, he got into the car and took out his mobile phone to make a phone call. “Do you have all the information I requested? Good, so all the profiles should be up to date then? Alright, make sure you filter out the ones that need to be filtered out. Once they’re ready, I will pass them onto the Chairman.”
While on the helicopter…
“Melissa, do you find Victor a bit different from before?” asked Sora.
Melissa looked at Sora and asked, “Wae? Wasn’t he always like this?”
Sora turned to Melissa and said, “I mean like behaviour-wise. It’s like ever since he came back from his short leave, he became more reserved.”
“Now that you mentioned it, Victor does seem a little less open then before. He didn’t have such stern face in the past, right? Maybe something is troubling him,” suggested Melissa.
“You think? Should I talk to him about it?” Sora asked Melissa whether she should have a little chat with Victor.
“Aren’t you caring a little too much for Victor? He’s a grown man, I think he should be able to solve whatever is troubling him,” Melissa told Sora as she organized the documents they needed for the conference.
“But Victor is like a chin oppa to me. As you know, I’m the only child in my family and Victor has always been around when he came to work for my father. He was always there to comfort me like a big brother when I’m upset. And if he’s upset over something, I wish I can do the same for him like a little sister caring for her brother,” explained Sora.
“Well, if that’s the case – I guess you can try to talk to him. But don’t force it if he doesn’t want to. Some guys don’t like to have these kinds of talks,” Melissa explained to Sora. Melissa has a few experiences in dealing with men from her past relationships.
Sora nodded to Melissa’s advice.
The helicopter finally arrived in Jeju Island. As it began to descend, Sora looked at the view of Jeju with fascination. She hasn’t been to Jeju for a long time and coming here reminded her of the times she and her family came for vacation when she was still young.
“Still so beautiful,” Sora murmured to herself.
The helicopter finally landed. When Sora got out of the helicopter, she stretched out her arms. They hired a taxi to bring them to the resort where her company will be having its conference and dinner.
While on the way, Sora asked Melissa, “Melissa, my gown has been delivered to the resort already right?”
“Yup! All our things have been delivered there already,” replied Melissa.
When they arrived at the resort, they were greeted by the resort staff. Sora got out and took in a deep breath of the wonderful scent of Jeju.
“Mmm…I feel like I’m on vacation,” said Sora.
“Do you now?” a man asked from behind.
Sora turned around and said, “Appa! You’re here already?” as Sora ran up to her father while wrapping her arms around his.
Her father laughed and said, “Well, who was the one who said before that they should keep the formalities during working hours.”
“Arasso, Mr. Chairman,” Sora pouted at her father.
“I’m just kidding Sora-ah. So how is my princess doing today?” her father asked as they walked inside the resort lobby.
“Aish…don’t even remind me of this morning. I had to deal with a very difficult person with a major attitude problem.”
Her father stopped walking and asked “Oh, now who’s this person that is making my Sora-ah upset?”
“Aish…I don’t want to talk about him. But appa, why are we having the conference here? Couldn’t we stay in Seoul instead?” Sora asked her father.
Her father smiled and said, “Well, I thought Jeju would be a nice setting to have our conference. Besides, didn’t Miss Kim tell you about the company dinner tonight? Make sure you dress up nicely. I want to show a few old friends of mine what a lovely and beautiful daughter I have.”
Sora smiled shyly and said, “Appa, you’re making me blush.”
Her father placed his hand on Sora’s as he looked at his daughter with content and said, “Sora-ah, I’m very happy to have a daughter like you. That is aside from your reckless driving behaviour, your mother and I love you very very much. In our eyes, you are the most wonderful and a beautiful daughter any parents can ask for.”
“Appa… Why are you being so emotional again?” Sora asked her father as she saw a bit of tears forming at the corner of his eyes.
Her father gasped to stop his teary eyes and said, “Arasso, your mother will be joining us at the company dinner tonight. Go on and put away your belongings in your room and I will see you at the conference in a few minutes.” He padded her hand and signaled her to head to her room.
The conference lasted for about two and a half hours where they discussed about the company’s current position in the industry and what will be the company’s future prospects and goals they aim to achieve in the coming years.
After the conference, Sora headed back to her room and freshened herself up before going down for the company dinner. She came out of the bathroom with a bath robe and took out her gown from the closet. She laid it on her bed and looked at it while drying her hair. It was a simple strapless slim-cut red silk dress and she had a pair of Swarovski earrings and necklace to go with the dress.
Sora then wore the dress along with the accessories and did up her hair. The dress revealed the nice curve-lines to her body and it displayed her beautiful long legs on the side. She didn’t need much makeup as her skin was naturally glowing – she only needed to put on a bit of eye-liner and light pink lip-gloss to make her look stunningly beautiful.
She headed down to the company dinner. When she entered the great hall where the company’s dinner was held, everyone’s eyes were drawn to her direction. Sora looked around trying to find her parents.
“Wow! Sora, you look so beautiful in that dress,” said Melissa as she walked up to Sora.
“Thanks Melissa, you look wonderful yourself too,” replied Sora. “Have you seen my parents by any chance?”
“Oh, Mr. Chairman and your mother are over there. They’re talking to some of your father’s old friends,” answered Melissa as she escorted Sora over.
She walked up to her parents and greeted them, “Good evening appa, omma.”
Her father turned around and said, “Oh Sora-ah, you look gorgeous!”
“Yeobo, of course she looks gorgeous, she’s our daughter,” said Sora’s mother.
“Come Sora-ah, let me introduce you to some of your father’s old friends,” said her father as he placed her hand around his arm and lead her over. “My friends let me introduce to you all, my daughter, Kang Sora.”
Sora bowed when the chairman’s friends turned around. Suddenly, she heard a familiar voice that said, “Ah, Miss Kang Sora-ssi. We meet again.”
Sora looked up and to her surprise – it was Director Choi who was standing before her. Her jaw slightly dropped by the mere coincidence that Director Choi was one of her father’s old friends.
Sora bowed again and said, “Director Choi, how are you? What a surprise to see you here and please call me Sora.”
Director Choi laughed and said, “It’s nice to see you too Sora-ssi.” He then turned to Sora’s father and said, “Chairman Kang, you have really beautiful daughter. Much more beautiful than the first time I’ve seen her.”
“Oh? You’ve met my daughter before?” asked Sora’s father.
“Yes, my company needed to hold a charity event next month and your daughter is in charge of the project. Did she not tell you?” replied Director Choi.
“Is that so?” her father looked at Sora. “I hope she’s not causing too much trouble then. My daughter still has a lot to learn. Please look after her for me while she’s on the job, my friend.”
“I’m sure your daughter will do fine. Am I right, Sora-ssi?” said Director Choi with a happy smile. “Oh! By the way, how’s the preparation going for the music performance? Did you manage to find someone to perform at the event yet?” asked Director Choi.
Sora’s heart began to race a bit. She then puts on a big smile and said, “It’s…It’s going well. We’re currently in the process of scheduling an idol group to perform on that day.”
“Oh, is that so? So you’ve managed to find an agency willing to schedule their idols to perform at the event. Then that’s wonderful and I thought you it would be difficult,” Director Choi said happily.
However, Sora on the other hand wasn’t all so happy. She just lied to Director Choi about scheduling an idol group. They weren’t even close to coming into agreement with any agency. The only one she’s met so far was JSE, which she totally walked out on because she wasn’t happy with Park Jungsu’s arrogant attitude.
“Chairman Kang, see? Your daughter’s more than capable,” Director Choi told Sora’s father. “Ah, since you’re here Sora-ssi. Why don’t I introduce my son to you? He actually came back yesterday from America.” He ordered one his male secretary to go fetch his son.
Then a man wearing a silver grey suit came up and said, “Abeoji.”
Standing in front of them was a fine looking young man standing tall.
“Ah Minho, there you are. Everyone let me introduce to you all – this is my son, Choi Minho,” said Director Choi.
Minho bowed and greeted everyone, but the only person that left him dumbfound was Sora who caught his eyes with her beauty. He then proactively extends his hand out to Sora and said, “Hi there, I’m Choi Minho and your name is?”
Sora shook his hand with a smile and said, “Sora, Kang Sora.”
His eyes were glued onto Sora. “It’s nice to meet you, Miss Kang Sora. You look very beautiful,” complimented Minho as he still held onto Sora’s hand.
Sora chuckled, “Please call me Sora-ssi. Is this how you often greet everyone you meet, Mr. Minho-ssi?” as she looked onto their hands.
Minho looked at his hand and finally noticed that he still hasn’t let go of Sora’s hand. He quickly apologized, “Mianhe,” as he loosened his hand. Then he began to stutter, “Pardon me, I don’t want to hold…I mean, I didn’t mean to hold your hand for such long time.”
“Well, aren’t you both getting nicely acquainted,” said Director Choi with a smile while looking at Sora’s parents.
“They sure are,” said her father while he gave Director Choi a wink.
Then Director Choi informed Sora, “Sora-ssi, since my son Minho here is back in Korea – he will be helping me with some of my businesses. I’ve decided to assign him to take charge of the charity event next month on my behalf. So, if there are any updates or concerns regarding the event, please don’t hesitate to let him know.”
“That’s great! Let the young generation take over,” said Sora’s father. Then her father looked at her, “Sora-ah, work hard with Minho-ssi alright?”
“Appa!” Sora said to her father quietly. She looked at Director Choi and then over to Minho.
“I look forward to working with you, Sora-ssi,” said Minho.
“Yeah, me too.” replied Sora with a forced smile. At that moment, she didn’t know whether it’s a good thing or a bad thing to be working with Director Choi’s son. Somehow, she could sense that her parents are somewhat enjoying this arrangement.
Later that night in Jeju, in one of the private room in the business lounge...
“Mr. Chairman, here are the profiles you requested. These people are among the top choices for the selection,” reported Victor.
Chairman Kang goes through the different profiles until he came across one that got him smiling. “Well done, Victor. I think this one will make a great choice.” He handed Victor the profile.
Victor looked at it and read the profile name, “Choi Min-ho, sir?”