The following day at the office, Sora was having a meeting with the design team for the stage planning at the upcoming event. She asked them to come up with a few ideas of the concepts and designs they think may be suitable for the performance during the time of the event. Once they have a few prepared, she can submit it to the president of JSE for approval.
After she dismissed the meeting, Melissa came into her office with a black folder. “Here you go Sora,” Melissa said as she handed the folder to Sora. “This is the agreement contract for JSE. Please kindly have a look to see if there is anything that you would like to amend.” Sora opened the folder and read the content and conditions written inside. “It seems fine to me,” she replied and closes the folder. “You can send it over to JSE this aft—” Just before Sora can finish her sentence, her phone suddenly rang. RING! RING! RING! She looked at her phone screen and the caller ID showed “Mr. Arrogant”. She gave Park Jungsu’s number the name soon after he stole her contact back at the café. “Sora, are you not going to pick up your phone?” Melissa asked since she noticed how Sora was a bit hesitant to answer the call. Sora let out a sigh before answering. “Yes, President Park? How may I help you?” she asked while leaning back on her chair. “Good morning to you too Miss Kang Sora-ssi. Is that how you greet all your business affiliates?” Park Jungsu commented sarcastically. “Will you stop calling me ‘Kang Sora-ssi’? ‘Miss Kang’ will do just fine, thank you very much,” Sora replied without even sparing a single bit of politeness. “Wae? Why can’t I call you ‘Kang Sora-ssi’? And is this a way to treat the people you work with? If you don’t remember, I haven’t signed the agreement contract yet. So if you’re going to be like this with that attitude, I can still withdraw my decision right now, you know?” Park Jungsu reminded Sora as he figured that he’s got the upper hand right now. For him, it didn’t matter anymore whether his company takes advantage of this opportunity at the event or not. In fact, he took more interest and pleasure into playing cat-and-mouse with Sora. “Aish! Now he’s trying threaten me by an attempt to withdraw? Jjinja, this arrogant Park Jungsu! Alright Kang Sora, breathe…just breathe and endure his arrogance…”Sora consoled herself in her mind. “President Park, please kindly forgive me for my sudden rudeness just a moment ago. May I ask why you are calling?” she said over the phone. “I was calling to see if you have the agreement contract ready for me to sign,” said Park Jungsu. “…And you have to do that personally yourself? Couldn’t you have your secretary to that for you instead?” asked Sora. At that moment, Park Jungsu was left speechless and didn’t know what to say. He knew that he could have gotten Miranda to do the calling on his behalf, but he didn’t know why he took upon this task himself. “She’s right! Why did I call her personally?” he wondered to himself. Then there was a moment of silence over the phone where Sora was waiting for Park Jungsu on the other end to say something. “Alright, what is he doing? How long is he going to keep this up?” Sora thought to herself until she decided to break the ice. “Well President Park, if there’s nothing left to discuss then I think we should end this call. Unlike yourself, I’ve got other work to do and I don’t really have all day just listening to thin air over the phone! Unless you have something else to discuss, please let me know now. If not, then I’ll have my secretary bring over the agreement contract this afternoon.” “I want you to bring it here personally,” Park Jungsu demanded instantly. “Excuse me?” Sora said with a confused look on her face. “I said I want you to personally bring the contract here for me to sign. We can also discuss a bit about the stage performance at the event,” repeated Park Jungsu. “Aish!!! This guy is really getting on my nerves! He’s totally pushing the limits here!”Sora said to herself in her mind. Then she sighed and said, “Look, I’m a really busy person and I really don’t have the time to—” “Either you bring it here now or I won’t sign it. I’ll be waiting at the café where we were at last time,” said Park Jungsu as he ended the call right after cutting her off. “Yeopsaeo? Yeop—yeopsaeo! Yah! Park Jungsu! Aish!!! This guy!” Sora yelled over the phone. She then looked at her phone and saw the called has ended already. “Is…everything alright, Sora?” Melissa asked as she noticed the raging look on Sora’s face. Sora quickly laid her head on her desk and murmured, “Why me? Of all people that I come across, why do I have to come across this arrogant guy? Wae?” Sora mumbled to herself and made some howling sound like an abandoned puppy being left on the rainy streets. “Sora, are you okay?” Melissa asked Sora again. As she approached Sora, trying to console her by extending her hand out – Sora quickly sat back up, giving Melissa a good fright. Melissa shrieked, “Omo! You scared me!” as she placed her hand on her chest. It took her a few seconds to calm herself from Sora’s sudden movement. Then she asked, “Should I bring the contract over to JSE this afternoon?” Sora lets out another sigh and then said, “Ani, he wants me to personally bring it to him at the café now. So I’ll send it over myself.” “Oh? He wants you to bring it over to him personally? Why?” Melissa wondered the same question as Sora. “Exactly! I don’t even know either! All I know is that ever since coming across this person, he’s always trying to make my life difficult, that’s what!” Sora vented as she reluctantly gathers her things before heading out to the café. “Sora, do you need me to come with you?” offered Melissa. “It’s alright, you have many tasks on hand already. I think I can manage to handle Mr. Arrogant on my own. Let’s just see what he’s demanding next!” replied Sora. “Yes, a whole stack of documents to clear off. Just make sure you take care of yourself on your way there Sora, okay?” said Melissa. Sora smiled and nodded at Melissa as she made her way out of Sora’s office. Then Sora called Victor on her phone, “Oppa, I need to head out now, can you drive me? ...Alright, I’ll see you downstairs then. Bye.” *** When Sora arrived downstairs at the lobby, Victor was already waiting inside his car. As soon as he saw Sora approaching from afar with a handful of documents in her hands -- he got out and opened the door for her. “Gomawo, oppa!” Sora thanked Victor for opening the door for her as she sat herself inside the car. While on their way to the café, Sora was busy going through her documents and planner. “You’re quite bust these days, aren’t you?” Victor asked Sora as he glanced over to Sora, who was sitting next to him busying away. Sora lowers the documents on her lap as she shuts her eyes and sighed. “Yes, all thanks to that Mr. Arrogant. I would have had more time for other things, but no...Mr. Arrogant just have to make everything harder than it already is. You see this agreement contract, oppa?” Sora waved the black folder and said, “Someone else could have just send this over, but no… instead he wants me to send it over to him when he could have gotten someone else to do it!” she explained to Victor. “Can’t you refuse to do it?” Victor asked as glanced at Sora again. “Well I could, but then that would cause the company a great deal of trouble. So I’m forced to go along with it,” replied Sora as she began to go through the documents again. “Ah…So in that case, you’ll just have to bear with it for a bit,” Victor said with a chuckle and then he quickly changed his voice into a calm yet serious tone, “Let’s me know if he goes too far. I’ll give him a good lesson.” Sora laughed at what Victor just said and asked, “Oppa! And what lesson would that be?” “Interrogation and Provocation,” Victor replied with a wink. “Maybe, you should consider teaching him some driving etiquette! Did you know that he’s the reason why I can’t drive myself!” said Sora as she began to feel the rage waiting to come out. “So you’re saying he’s the owner of that Aston Martin? The reckless driver you were talking about before?” asked Victor. “Yes! I could have kept my car, but no…because of him, I got scold by my father and I even lost my freedom to drive! To make things worse, I only got the car for a few months and it’s already been confiscated by my father!” Victor chuckled and said, “But by his looks, he doesn’t seem to be the reckless driver type. Instead, that person who you gave your contact to outside his office seems more like one.” “Oppa! Why are you helping him? Whose side are you on anyways? Don’t you know the saying ‘Don’t judge a book by its cover’? And you think Donghae-ssi looks like a reckless driver?” Sora asked Victor as she crossed her arms. “What…? I’m just saying based on my experience on dealing with different people,” Victor said as he pulled into the café’s driveway. “Here you are.” Sora looked around and asked, “We’re here already?” as she gathered her things together and sighed. “Alright, I guess I’ll see you in a bit, oppa.” Victor nodded and said to Sora as she opened the door, “Oh, Sora-ssi,” – she looked at him, “Fighting!” Sora laughed and said, “Oppa, don’t do that again, it doesn’t suit your image.” “I was just being supportive,” he said with a smile. Sora kept on smiling as she closes the door and then waved Victor goodbye before heading inside the café. At that time, Park Jungsu was already waiting inside the café. He was seated at a table where he’s facing the café entrance– that way he can have a clear view of who’s entering into the café. There he was, watching Sora getting out of the car and waving happily to the man who drove her here. He didn’t know why, but having witness that scene made him feel a bit uncomfortable and irritated. As soon as Sora entered the café, she spotted Park Jungsu’s table right away. She headed towards his table while her smile gradually fades away. “Good afternoon President Park,” greeted Sora as she takes the seat opposite of Park Jungsu. “You always get your man to drive you everywhere? Don’t you have your own car?” replied Park Jungsu without even returning her greeting. “Excuse me?” said Sora with a sullen voice as she crossed her arms and leaned back on her seat. She pondered to herself, “What is seriously wrong with him? Earlier, he was complaining about not giving him proper greeting and now that I greeted him – he doesn’t even greet me himself! What a hypocrite!” Then Sora replied, “Don’t even get me started on my car! I had one if it weren’t for someone who drives recklessly on the streets of Seoul!” She gave Park Jungsu a glaring look as if he had murdered her whole family. Park Jungsu saw how she was looking at him and can feel the strong intensity of her glare. He then asked, “Why are you looking at me like that?” “Don’t act like you don’t know,” she said. “I really don’t know what you’re talking about,” he replied in a calm voice as he played with the glass of water in front him. “You drive an Aston Martin, don’t you?” she asked him as if she was an officer taking in a suspect questioning. “I do, but what does it have to do with me asking you if you get your boyfriend driving you around?” Park Junsu answered, but wondered what it has to do with him driving his car. “Because of you, my father confiscated my car and now I can’t even drive on my own!” Sora ranted until she realized what Park Jungsu had said in the latter part of his sentence. “Wait! What do you mean my ‘boyfriend’?” she asked, wanting to clarify what he was trying to say. At that moment, Victor came into the café with what looks like a black folder in his hand. He quickly spotted where Sora and Park Jungsu were sitting and walked towards their table. Park Jungsu saw Victor heading towards their direction and said, “That man there,” as he jerked his head up to signal her to turn around. By the time Sora turned around, Victor was already at their table and he said, “Sora-ssi, you left this in my car.” He handed the black folder to Sora. It turned out that Sora left the agreement contract in Victor’s car when she hurriedly got out of the vehicle. “Omo, the agreement contract!” said Sora when she opened the folder. She then turned to Victor and said, “Gomawo oppa!” The word “oppa” echoed inside Park Jungsu’s head and made him even more uncomfortable than he already is after seeing what happened a moment ago before Sora entered into the café. He couldn’t stand the scene and blurted out, “If you both don’t mind, can you save all your chitchat after our meeting?” Victor turned to Park Jungsu and gave him an apologetic nod. Then he turned back to Sora and said, “I’ll be on my way then. Call me when you’re done with your meeting and I’ll come pick you up.” “Aras—” before Sora can answer, Park Jungsu quickly interrupted and said “I’ll drive her back to her office.” Sora and Victor both looked surprised by Park Jungsu’s sudden offer. Sora instantly asked, “What are you talking about? I don’t need you to—” “I’ll send her back myself since we don’t not know how long we’re going to discuss this for,” Park Jungsu told Victor. Victor looked at Sora to see if that’s the arrangement. However, Sora was too preoccupied by Park Jungsu’s arrogant behaviour and said, “Yah! Who do you think you are? Who said that I’ll let you drive me?” Just then, Victor received a message on his phone. After reading the message, he said to Sora, “Mianhe Sora, I need to help the chairman take care of something and I don’t know how long it’ll take.” Then Victor turned to Park Jungsu and said, “Please kindly drive her back safely when the meeting is done,” as he thanked Park Jungsu with another nod and made his way out of the café. Sora stood up and called out to Victor, “Wait! Oppa! Oppa! Aish…” Then she quickly turned back to Park Jungsu and gave him another glare. Sora snorted as she sat back down while crossing her arms and still glaring away at him. “Seems like your boyfriend trusts you a lot with another man, or maybe simply he just doesn’t care,” Park Jungsu teased Sora as he takes a sip of his water with one corner of his mouth elevated making what looks like a smirk. Sora sneered at him and said, “My oppa is a very busy man, unlike somebody!” “What are you trying to imply? That I’m not a busy man?” asked Park Jungsu as he sat up straight looking at Sora. “If you’re busy, then you could have asked one of your staff to come pick up the contract from us, or I could have sent one of my staff over to your company. But no…President Park here has so much time on his hand that he can relaxingly sit in a café waiting for someone who is extremely busy to bring over the agreement contract,” Sora said sarcastically. “Did you know that I had to cancel—” Park Jungsu paused. He looked at Sora and sighed. What Sora didn’t know was that he cancelled all his appointments just to make time for this meeting. Sora sneered again and said, “Don’t tell me that you actually cancel all your appointments just so that we can have this meeting.” Sora looked at him, but Park Jungsu already turned away his head – avoiding her gaze. Sora sighed and said, “Well? Are you just going to sit there all day? Or are you going to sign this agreement contract?” She placed her Mont Blanc fountain pen on the black folder and pushed it towards Park Jungsu. “Just to let you know that I had to delay my other work and schedule just to have this meeting with you. So would you please kindly sign that contract and let’s move on.” Park Jungsu looked at the agreement contract in front of him and then stared at Sora. “What if I refuse to sign it?” he asked with a smirk. Clearly he was at it again, taking the pleasure from tampering around with her again. However, Sora wasn’t going to let his arrogant ways continue. It was time for her to take a chance to see if she can turn the tables around and so she said to him, “I’ve had enough of this. If you’re not going to sign it, then that’s fine by me. Call me when you’re ready to sign it.” When she tried to take the pen and the black folder back, she immediately stopped as she unexpectedly felt a warm soft hand holding on hers – stopping her from taking the contract away. “I’ll sign it now,” said Park Jungsu as his smirk vanished after he saw how Sora reacted. Sora quickly withdrew her hand and said, “Yah! If you’re going to sign, then just sign already! No need to be all touchy and stuff!” “How adorable…” Park Jungsu thought to himself as opened the agreement contract. “Can’t you see that I’m signing it already?” “Better make it quick! Totally unbelievable! First, telling me to personally bring the contract here and then wasting time asking me all these weird questions. And who said that Victor oppa is my boyfriend?” Sora mumbled to herself as she watched Park Jungsu signing the pages in the contract. However, Park Jungsu seemed to have picked up the last phrase in her sentence, to which he stopped signing on the very last page of the contract. He looked up at her and said, “You mean that person is not your boyfriend?” Sora snorted and said, “That’s really none of your business, President Park.” “If you want me to sign the last page, then you have to answer my question first,” said Park Jungsu, trying to bribe Sora for an answer as he puts down the pen and crossed his arms. “Why are you so meddlesome in other people’s businesses? And why are you so concerned about whether Victor is my boyfriend or not?” “So is he or is he not?” Park Jungsu persistently asked, determined to get an answer from Sora. “No, he’s not! Alright? Geez! He works for my father and is like a chin oppa to me. Honestly, what’s wrong with you?” she replied, feeling annoyed. “Jjinja?” asked Park Jungsu, who was still a bit wary about Sora’s answer. Sora gave him a serious look and said in a stern voice, “Will you sign the last page already, President Park?” Somehow, there was a sudden happy feeling arising inside of Park Jungsu that brought a happy grin to his face while he signs the last page of the agreement contract. “Here you go, all signed and complete!” said Park Jungsu as he closes the black folder and hands both the pen and the contract back to Sora. Sora saw the sudden happiness on Park Jungsu’s face and asked, “Why are you so happy after what I just said?” Park Jungsu looked up with surprise and said, “Huh? It’s nothing in particular.” Then he thought to himself, “She’s right. Why am I suddenly so happy to know that he’s not her boyfriend? It’s not like I have feelings for her.” Sora still oblivious about why Park Jungsu reacted so happily and started to wonder about the reason behind it until a thought came to her mind. She gasped and her jaw dropped as she stared at Park Jungsu in disbelief. “Omo! No way! It couldn’t be that you like…” Sora interjected as her eyes widened. Her words in a way also got Park Jungsu’s heart racing as his eyes widened along with hers. There they were – both staring at each other with their eyes wide opened as they remained seated in the café. At the moment, Park Jungsu was very anxious as to what Sora was about to say next and he clenched his fists together while he waited for her to finish off her sentence. It was two days ago that Park Jungsu and Sora had their meeting together in regards to Director Choi’s charity event. However, no agreement was made that time since Sora was in no way impressed by Park Jungsu’s arrogant attitude and had walked out of the meeting.
*** In the morning, Park Jungsu was getting ready for work. As he was buttoning up his shirt and straightening his tie in front of the mirror, he suddenly saw the Armani jacket hanging behind him from the reflection of the mirror. That again, got him flashing his memory back to the time at the department store. “Aish! Because of her, I didn’t even wear that jacket even once!” Park Jungsu vented to himself. Then he quickly grabbed his blazer and stormed out of his home to work. Meanwhile, that same morning – Sora was at a meeting with representatives from SME. “Sorry Miss Kang, as much as we like to take part in the charity event – we’re currently unable to schedule any of our idols for that time. We actually have a SM Town world tour then and all the tickets have been sold out already, so it’s quite difficult for us to back out at this time. So, we really hope you can understand,” the SME representatives explained to Sora near the end of their meeting. “No worries, I understand that it is difficult to schedule idols for this event on such short notice. However, thank you for your time and hope your SM Town world tour goes well,” said Sora as she stood up and shook hands with the SME representatives. As Sora and Melissa got out of the SME building, Melissa started to panic and said, “Sora, what are we going to do? The event date is drawing near and we still haven’t found anyone who can perform at the time of the event. Ottoke?” “Would you calm down Melissa? We’ll figure something out,” replied Sora. “How can I calm down Sora?” Melissa asked as she started to pace back and forth until she suddenly stopped and said “Wait Sora! Why don’t we contact JS—.” “Absolutely NO WAY! I’m definitely not going to work with that arrogant guy!” refused Sora as she quickly shuts down the idea. “Sora, this is no time to mix personal matters with business,” Melissa reminded Sora while holding Sora by her arms. “Can’t you just put aside your personal differences and just do it for the sake of the event? I mean think about it, this is for a good cause. It’s a charity event, helping those in need. What if we don’t raise enough money? Think of all those poor souls who need …” “Aish…arasso arasso…” Sora looked at Melissa with a defeat look and let out a long sigh. She thought about what Melissa just said and agrees that she shouldn’t let her negative perception of Park Jungsu to get in the way of business – not to mention this business is for a charitable cause. Finally, Sora agreed to arrange another meeting with JSE and said, “This will be the one and only time I’ll work with him! I am only going along with this for the sake of our company and for those in need. Okay?” Melissa quickly clapped her hands in joy as Sora agreed to contact JSE. “You’ve made the right choice Sora! You just have to be rational and endure his arrogance for a bit…” “Melissa! Just contact JSE and arrange for another meeting with them. He better not test my patience,” Sora advised Melissa. *** Back at Park Jungsu’s office, he was sitting at his desk going through the different concepts for one of his idol group’s upcoming music video. After going through another few concepts, his eyes got a bit tired and he placed the templates down on his desk. He closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of this nose to relief a bit of his eye strain. Then his eyes helplessly and unconsciously glanced over to his office phone. He was staring at it for a few seconds until he decided to call his secretary. “Miranda, were there any calls this morning? Like any upcoming meetings?” Park Jungsu asked over the phone. “No President, no one called today,” replied Miranda. Then she asked, “Are you waiting for a call from another company, sir?” It took Park Jungsu a few seconds to reply, “No, I was just wondering. Never mind, please continue with your work.” Then he ended the call. A moment later, Donghae suddenly barged into his office and excitedly said, “Morning hyung!” Park Jungsu stared at Donghae and said, “Next time, you should consider knocking before you come in.” “Mianhe hyung! I’m just too happy!” Donghae apologized as he began to smile shyly. He tried to keep calm by hiding his smile behind his hand. Park Jungsu raised an eyebrow and asked, “Wae-o? Why are you so happy?” Donghae didn’t answer his hyung. Instead, he took out what looked like a business card and began to play with it in his hand while he kept smiling. Park Jungsu saw the card Donghae was holding and asked, “What’s that?” “Oh?” Donghae held the card up and said, “This? This is Sora-ssi’s contact.” “You just met her once and you are already calling her ‘Sora-ssi’?” complained Park Jungsu as he felt a bit annoyed. Somehow, it felt like somebody was messing around with his favourite toy. “Three times hyung! Three times including that morning when I saw her here in your office,” Donghae reciprocated as he held out three fingers to emphasize the number of times. To hide his feeling of annoyance, Park Jungsu began to flip through the concept templates again and pretended to be uninterested. Yet, he continued to ask, “How did you get her contact? Did you ask her for it?” Donghae smiled and said, “Ani, she gave it to me and told me to call her anytime if I needed help.” Park Jungsu paused right after what Donghae just said. He slowly put the templates back on his desk and asked, “Did she now?” At that moment, he reminisced back to the time of their meeting and was thinking to himself, “She didn’t even give me her business card when we had that business meeting.” Donghae noticed his hyung went absent-minded and quickly waved his hand in front of his hyung’s face. “Hyung…hyung! Are you alright?” he asked Park Jungsu. Finally, he reacted with a surprise from Donghae’s calling and managed to bring himself back to reality. “Yes?” “Hyung, are you really busy lately? I mean, you’ve been occasionally drifting away in your own thoughts a lot lately. Is everything okay?” Donghae asked his hyung. “Huh? In my own thoughts?” responded Park Jungsu. It didn’t occur to him that he’s been thinking a lot of things lately until Donghae brought it up. The thoughts weren’t even work related, but were thoughts about Sora instead. He then questioned himself, “What is wrong on with me? Why am I always thinking about that person who always gets on my nerves? First, she almost got me into an accident and then she tries to take my jacket at the department store. Not to mention that just recently at the meeting, she just walked out on me. How can she walk out on me when I am the President and CEO of JSE? She even gave Donghae her contact when he’s not even affiliated with her in terms of business when I am. I didn’t even get a business card! ” “Hyung!” Donghae shouted out to Park Jungsu and got his hyung’s attention. “What is it?” asked Park Jungsu. “You’re at it again! Maybe you should take a few days off. You know, just to get away from it all,” suggested Donghae. “Donghae-ah, you know that whenever I take days off, I’ll just end up staying at home staring at four white walls. So it’s be better if I just work, at least it’s more productive,” said Park Jungsu. “Well, you don’t seem very productive to me lately when you’re constantly drifting away,” reminded Donghae. “Yah! Can’t you see all these things on my desk? I have a lot of work to do,” said Park Jungsu. Donghae looked at the different piles of documents and templates on his hyung’s desk and said, “Hyung, usually you’re quite efficient, but look now – you’ve been staring at that same concept template this whole time and you didn’t even look at the other ones. As well as these,” as he grabs a few documents on Park Jungsu’s desk to see. “…These are just simple documents that you could have signed in a few minutes and you have a whole stack of them just lying there.” Park Jungsu quickly grabs his documents back and said, “If you didn’t come here, I would have signed them already.” “Sure thing hyung, sure thing,” said Donghae as he leaned back on his chair. “Hyung, let’s go grab something to eat. I’m hungry.” “You just said yourself that I have a stack of documents to clear and you think that I have time to go—” before Park Jungsu could finish his sentence, his office phone began to ring. He picked it up and it was Miranda on the other side. “President, I have just received a call from Miss Kim of KS Productions and they said that they would like to arrange another appointment with us to discuss about the event. Would you like to have another meeting with them?” reported Miranda. Somehow, this news brought a smile to Park Jungsu’s face. “So, she finally decided to call,” he thought to himself. “Very well then – go ahead and arrange a time for the meeting,” instructed Park Jungsu and ended the call. “Donghae, let’s head out for lunch!” he said excitedly. “Oh? But I thought you said you’re busy,” said Donghae. “These can wait. Aja! Let’s go!” urged Park Jungsu as he got up and puts his blazer on. Donghae was surprised by his hyung’s sudden change in attitude, but still got up from his seat and follow Park Jungsu out while shaking his head with a smile. *** On the day of their second scheduled meeting, they decided to have their meeting outside the office and had it at a nearby café. Both Sora and Melissa were sitting down already as they arrived a bit early. Sora had ordered herself a hot cup of Americano as she’s flipping through a magazine while waiting. “Sora, just remember to control yourself when President Park comes. He’s the one who can help us right now. So please bear with it for this time,” Melissa reminded Sora. “Arasso! Geez Melissa, you’re nagging like an ahjumma! Don’t worry, I know where my priority lies,” said Sora as she took another sip of her Americano. A few more minutes passed. Sora looked at her watch and Park Jungsu was late. “Aish…how can he be a president when he’s not even punctual? Even though he probably has an upper hand in this situation, but he shouldn’t abuse it!” said Sora. Melissa looked at Sora and reminded, “Sora, remember?” Sora let out a sigh and nodded. “Arasso, I remember. Don’t worry! I was only saying,” she assured Melissa. Just then, Park Jungsu arrived and entered the cafe. He was standing by the entrance trying to look for their table. Melissa saw him and told Sora, “He’s here!” Then she got up and called out, “President Park! We’re over here,” as she signaled him while Sora remained seated. He saw them and walked over. “Mianhe, I was a bit caught up in traffic. Sorry to keep you both waiting. Did you both waited long?” he apologized and sat down. “Then you should have headed out earlier,” said Sora. Melissa looked at Sora intently with her eyes widened and lips pursed together – trying to force a smile. Park Jungsu gave Sora an irritated look and said, “Should we call off this meeting then?” Park Jungsu made himself look like he was about to get up until Melissa turned to him and said, “We didn’t wait that long President Park, please…would you like to order something to drink, a coffee perhaps?” Melissa called the waiter over to take his order. He remained seated and said, “I don’t drink coffee.” Then he turned to the waiter and ordered, “I’ll just have a chocolate smoothie, please.” His reply got Melissa curious and she asked, “Oh? You don’t? Why not?” As he was about to answer, Sora quickly blurted out, “He probably can’t take the bitter taste of it, that’s why he has to order a smoothie.” She chuckled afterwards. Park Jungsu grunted and countered, “Well Miss Kang, you seem like you know me very well to even know my taste buds. I don’t drink coffee because long term consumption of caffeine can cause cardiovascular problems like blood vessels constriction which leads to high blood pressure. Ah…now I see why you’re easily upset. You should cut down on your consumption of coffee.” He looked at Sora and smirked. This time, it was Sora’s turn to get annoyed and when she wanted to argue back – Melissa couldn’t take it anymore and wanted to put an end to their continuous bickering as she bellowed, “For God’s sake! Will you both stop it already?” Everyone in the café looked their way, including the waiter who was bringing the chocolate smoothie over. Both Sora and Park Jungsu stopped instantly and stared at Melissa. At that moment, she was the center of everyone’s attention and she realized she had just raised her voice to her superiors. Melissa smiled and apologized to everyone in the café by nodding around. She then turned to both Sora and Park Jungsu and apologized, “Mianhe, I didn’t mean to raise my voice, please kindly forgive me. Why don’t we discuss about the event as it’s the reason why we are having this meeting right now.” Park Jungsu turned around to Sora and said, “Very well then, I will schedule one of my idol groups to perform at the event, but on one condition.” Sora looked at him and saw another grin on his face. She then aksed, “And what would that be, President Park?” “As you may know, all my idols are all about image and performance. That’s why the stage’s concepts and its designs must be at its best. So, all your stage concepts and designs must be approved by me. Would that be alright, Miss Kang?” “Well, that shouldn’t be a problem right?” replied Melissa as she glanced over to Sora. “President Park, we can have our design team reporting to you.” “Actually, I was thinking that Miss Kang Sora-ssi here can do that honour. Would that be alright Miss Kang Sora-ssi?” Park Jungsu insisted as he lean back on his seat and took a sip of his chocolate smoothie. “Is he serious? How can he ask me to report to him about the stage designs and concepts? If I agree to it, then that means I’ll be giving him an opportunity to ordering me around! And did he just call me ‘Kang Sora-ssi’? Aish, this person…” Sora thought to herself and then she glanced over at Melissa. Melissa was glancing back at her and gave a Sora a look that read, “Sora, just this one time. Do it for the sake of business and the company. It’ll be over once the event is over.” Sora mumbled and decided to agree to Park Jungsu’s condition, “Alright President Park, if you are willing to schedule one of your idols to perform, then I guess I can do as much as to discussing the stage concepts and designs with you.” “Good! Then we have an agreement. I look forward to our cooperation,” said Park Jungsu as he extends his for a handshake. “Me too,” Sora reluctantly replied as she responded to the handshake. “Then I’ll sign the agreement once you have it prepared. Oh and by the way, there’s one more thing that I need,” he said. “What now?” Sora thought to herself. “Hey! What are you doing? Give it back!” Park Jungsu grabbed her phone from the table and dialed his number on it. His phone rang and then he quickly ended the call on Sora’s phone. “There we go, done! Now I have your number and you have mine. So we’ll keep in touch then.” “Yah! How can you go through other people’s phone like that! You could have just asked me for my contact rather than doing what you just did,” said Sora with irritation. “If I ask you for your contact, how would I know that you won’t give me a wrong number?” said Park Jungsu as he looked at his watch. “Anyways, I have to go now. Today’s my treat for the drinks,” he said as he placed the money on the table. “So I’ll wait for the agreement contract, as well as your concepts and designs. Have a nice day Miss Kim and you too Miss Kang Sora-ssi.” Park Jungsu made his way to the door as the valet drove up to the entrance with his car. When he got in, Sora’s eye widened and her jaw dropped. She stood up and said in disbelieve, “No way, you’ve got to be kidding me! That car! That Aston Martin is the exact same one that almost got me into an accident – the one that I got a ticket for from the police!” Sora remained dumbfound as she watches Park Jungsu drive off in his car. 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?” As the three of them stood in Park Jungsu’s office, the secretaries; Melissa and Miranda who were standing at the side, could sense the awkwardness filling up the room. The atmosphere was in total silence as if everything has stopped in time. There they were, Sora looking at Park Jungsu; while Park Jungsu himself and Donghae locked their eyes on Sora.
At that moment, each of them was contemplating about the situation they were in. Sora thought to herself, “This is totally not happening to me. Is God trying to play with me here? How could he be the president and CEO of JSE? The same person who I saw at the department store, the one I was fighting over the Armani jacket with. No wonder he was so cocky then when he asked if I know who he is. Of all people that I have to negotiate with for Director Choi’s event, why does it have to be him?” At the same time, Park Jungsu had his own thoughts in mind, “What is this? I can’t believe this. This woman was that crazy driver Donghae was talking about?” as he traced back his memory of that time where they were doing the car chase. “The same woman who tried to snatch my jacket back at the department store.” The thought of this got him instantly replaying the scene in his mind and to that his ears were starting to turn red again. Donghae on the other hand, was still in awe. He couldn’t believe that the beautiful lady was standing in front him and thought to himself, “Wow… so pretty and pure looking. Should I ask her for her number?” At that moment, Sora quickly told herself that no matter what, she has to do her job and that was to talk business with this guy whether she likes it or not. The worst case she thought to herself was she’s not going to get any idols from his agency and that she’ll have to look elsewhere. Worst comes to worst, if she can’t get any idols for the event, her company may potentially incur a lawsuit filed by Director Choi for breach of contract and may need her to resign. However, she knew that this event isn’t just any normal event and if offered to any agency ―they’ll agree to take part right on the spot. With that thought in mind, she finally greeted Park Jungsu as if they just met for the very first time, “Good morning! You must be President Park. I’m Kang Sora from KS Productions and that is my secretary, Melissa. It is a pleasure to meet you.” She held out her hand as she greeted Park Jungsu. However, Park Jungsu was just standing there, looking at Sora. Here, she looked at him and thought, “Well…? Are you just going to stand there and stare at me all day? What is with this guy? Does he not even know the courtesy of exchanging greetings with people?” as she waited for his response. There, Sora thought he didn’t want to shake her hand because of what happened at the department store a few days ago and that he’s a very arrogant guy. Seeing no sign of movement from him, she began to slowly withdraw her hand, which was when Park Jungsu finally extends his hand out to shake Sora’s. “Good morning Miss Kang,” reverted Park Jungsu as he shook Sora’s hand; while keeping a straight face. However, to his surprise – he couldn’t believe the size of her hand was exactly the same as his and it felt so smooth and slender. Both Park Jungsu and Sora were standing there with their hands still lightly grasping each other’s hand until Donghae budded in and extends out his hand to greet Sora, “Hello Miss Kang, I’m Lee Donghae. I’m a friend of President Park here and it’s a pleasure to meet you in person,” while his other hand brushing his hyung’s hand away from Sora’s; so that he can shake her hand. Park Jungsu was left standing on the side, looking dumbfound just by staring at the two. Sora was a bit startled by Donghae. She resonate his words and asked “Meet me in person? Do you know me from before?” as she gave Donghae a slight bow. When Donghae wanted to answer, Park Jungsu quickly interrupted and said “Shall we begin our meeting for today? I do have other appointments after this.” Right after he said that, Sora was a bit annoyed and thought, “Psh… You’re not the only one that has a busy schedule, you know?” But she had to act like it didn’t bother her for what he said just now and replied, “Of course, sorry to make you wait.” Park Jungsu then told Donghae that he’ll call him after work and that he should busy himself with other things while he goes for his meeting. Donghae held out his hand trying to call his hyung back as they headed for the door and there Donghae was; all left alone in his hyung’s office. Then Park Jungsu and Sora, along with their secretaries, headed over to the conference room. In the meeting, Sora began to explain to Park Jungsu about the event details and how it would be a good publicity and promotion for his idols. Sora’s presentation and ideas managed to gain some interests from Park Jungsu. However, that wasn’t the only thing on his mind. While Sora was giving out her presentation, he thought it was really a small world where this woman standing in front him was the exact same person who almost got him into an accident the car chase, let alone trying to snatch his jacket. As he was deep in his own train of thoughts, he unknowingly snorted and smirked at the same time; which caught Sora’s attention as she was speaking. “Is he for real?” she thought, “What is it that he find so funny? Does he think this is a joke? Oh my god! Why am I even wasting my time talking to this guy?” as she thought to herself, but asked Park Jungsu, “President Park, is there any area in my presentation that you need clarifications on?” His smirk quickly vanished as soon as he heard Sora calling. He was startled that he didn’t know what to say and all he did was remained seated in his seat; looking speechless. It took him a few seconds to answer back. “No, none whatsoever,” he replied. Followed by his reply, she then said “I suppose not either…” When he heard her reply, he thought that a person shouldn’t be like this when they are seeking help from another, to which he said “Well, there is actually one thing I wanted to ask.” Sora looked at Park Jungsu as he continued “If that event of yours will be happening in a few weeks’ time, how do you suppose any agency in the K-Pop industry to schedule their idols to perform at the event within that short period of time?” What he just said sounded like a challenge, as if he wanted to test her ability to counter and argue. “Did you know that idols need time to practice and rehearse for every performance they do? Do you know why? Because every performance they do out there reflects their images in the public eye. They practice hard to make every performance as flawless as possible to uphold their images as super idols and one wrong move may ruin their idol image that they’ve worked so hard to build. So how do you suppose agencies like my own to schedule my idols to perform at your event in this small fragment of time?” As Sora listened to Park Jungsu’s argument, she knew this was not going to be easy for her to persuade this arrogant guy sitting in front of her. However, with a clear mindset, she knows that the worst case is that she’ll have to search elsewhere for an agency that can schedule its idols for the event. So, she quickly countered “Well, if your idols cannot keep up with their performance levels just because of the time constraint, then they shouldn’t be considered as super idols then. Isn’t that how it is in the K-Pop industry, President Park? Put your blood, sweat and tears into every training, practice and performance in order to strive to be the best super idols at the top? If what you’re saying is that your idols cannot take on this event simply due to the time constraint for practice and rehearsal; then I think I should really reconsider whether or not to have your agency’s idols to perform at the event. Perhaps, it’s best for me to discuss this matter with other agencies instead then. Thank you for your time President Park and if you don’t mind, I do have other appointments to attend to. Have a pleasant day.” Sora held her head high and walked right out of the conference room while Melissa followed behind her. Park Jungsu quickly stood up and said, “That’s not ―” before he could finish his line, Sora and Melissa had made their way out already ― leaving him and Miranda in the room. “Well, it seems like Miss Kang has quite a personality, don’t you think President Park?” commented Miranda as she was looking at the doorway and then turned to Park Jungsu. Park Jungsu stood there staring at the empty doorway and knew he had said just a bit too much. *** As Sora made her way out, she thought to herself, “Seriously, what is wrong with him?” “Sora, what did you just do back there? Don’t you remember we need someone to perform at the event? How could you walk out like that?” Melissa asked Sora worriedly. “Don’t worry Melissa! Don’t you remember what kind of event this is that we are responsible for? This is actually one of the biggest and greatest opportunities for any agency to take part in. For those who have a good eye in business, they wouldn’t let this chance slip away.” Sora told Melissa with a grin. “Sora, you sound so confident,” replied Melissa who was truly amazed again by Sora’s confidence and determination. “Trust me! He’ll contact us again soon.” Sora said with full confidence. “Getting someone to perform or not is not my main concern, but whether they are popular and good enough or not for the event is what I’m worried about. You know how Director Choi is like, don’t you?” “Yeah, a very difficult man to deal with.” Sora laughed to Melissa’s remarks on Director Choi and then said, “Anyways, where’s that Victor oppa? We need to head out to catch our helicopter.” Back at Park Jungsu’s… “What is wrong with her? How can she just walk out like that? Not even the slightest respect for me. Does she not know who I am? I am the President and CEO of JSE. This is not her first time either. Aish!” vented Park Jungsu as he placed both his hands on his hip. “Sir, you mean you’ve met Miss Kang before?” asked Miranda. “Who would want to meet her when she’s like that?” Park Jungsu replied to Miranda. “Just now you sound like a man who’s quarrelling with his girlfriend,” blurted Miranda. Park Jungsu was startled and speechless from his secretary’s remark and quickly argued, “She would be the last person that I’ll consider making her as my girlfriend.” Miranda chuckled to the way her president reacted just now. Then she got up and asked “So, are we not considering working with Miss Kang and her company, sir?” “Who can work with her when she’s got an attitude like that?” he argued as he’s still a bit caught up in the situation. However, Miranda reminded Park Jungsu, “President, please understand that the event that Miss Kang and her company are preparing for is not just any normal event. It’s supposedly a grand charitable event where some of the most powerful and high status worldwide officials and businessmen will be attending. If our idols can perform there, it’ll be a good opportunity to get more worldwide exposure and draw in more endorsement contracts globally.” Park Jungsu looked at Miranda with a smirk and said “Well, from what I understand is that other agencies, they’re busy with their current schedules. However, my idols will be wrapping up some of their events soon. So, we’re the only agency that can take on this event right now. She’s bound to contact us again soon, just wait and see.” Park Jungsu stood by the window, looking out at the city view with full determination – thinking that Sora was bound to call back. |