Chapter 34: The Interview (I)

Before six in the evening came, Yanmei had already received a call from Anton saying that he was waiting outside the building. She gave a scoff as she was not done with her work, but knowing how impatient he was, she rushed to clean her desk and immediately left her office.

From the earlier flower incident, news spread like wildfire about Yanmei being the boss's girlfriend. Yanmei thought it was unnecessary to announce it to the entire office, but since it had come to this, she had no choice but to go along with it.

Everywhere she went that afternoon, she felt eyes either looking fiercely at her or were admiring her.

For those who fancied the boss, they were obviously unaware that Anton was not into women, and thus; they were jealous of Yanmei. Mostly, however, were excited about their president, considering Yanmei was the very first announced girlfriend of Anton Yeong.

Seeing Yeona was still busy at her desk, Yanmei gave her a sorry face, saying, "Yeona, I wish I could stay longer but Yeong - I mean Mr. Yeong is already downstairs -"

"Ms. Yanmei, it's okay. You are always working hard," said Yeona before lowering her voice. "It's not good to keep the boss waiting."

She rolled her eyes and said, "Tell me about it… Bye, Yeona."

"Wait! Ms. Yanmei!" Yeona called out to her, seeing Yanmei carrying only her bag.

Yanmei turned to her and asked, "Yes?"

"You will not bring any of the flowers to your house? You don't want to upset the boss," Yeona said again in the lowest tone, but clear enough to be heard.

Yanmei's mouth turned into a circle. She realized that Yeona was right. She shook her head, recognizing her inexperienced self when it came to relationships, but also giving a moment to correct herself in silence, 'Wait! What am I thinking? This is not even a real relationship.'

Still, she grabbed the tulips, and head for the ground floor.

Anton was busy on his laptop at the backseat while waiting for Yanmei. As soon as he noticed her walking outside the office building, he felt proud of seeing her carrying the bouquet of tulips.

A grin appeared on his face, but the moment his driver opened the door for her, his face quickly turned neutral.

Getting comfortable at her seat, she said, "The flowers are beautiful - "

"You are welcome. I hope that they served their purpose," he plainly said.

While holding the flowers in her hand, she turned to him, asking, "What are their purpose?"

"Are you still upset about this morning? Well, seeing you bring the flowers, I hope that you have already forgotten it," said Anton without looking at her. He merely resumed the work he was absorbed with since earlier.

Before Yanmei could react, Minsuh, Anton's driver, announced that they were leaving.

Yanmei observed further her new boyfriend and recognized how Anton was very insensitive. She told herself, 'I have much work to do with my girlfriend.'

Seeing that they were going in another direction, Yanmei asked, "Where are we going?"

Anton cleared his throat before saying, "We are going to my parents' house. My father wants to meet you."

Yanmei gulped, worried that it will be an interview she was not prepared for. "Ah... We have already met. You know during your birthday dinner?"

"That was different. My father wants to speak to you properly… about our relationship," said Anton before finally closing his laptop and focusing his attention to Yanmei. "Don't worry. Just act like your normal self, except that we are a couple now."

It was because Minsuh was driving them that Anton leaned over to Yanmei. With his lips inches away from her, he said, " Just say that I asked you to be my girlfriend while I slept overnight at your apartment."

"And if they should ever ask about marriage, say we are planning one next year."

Yanmei's eyes grew wide hearing his words. She immediately leaned back and said, "Already? Don't you think that is too fast?!"

Anton looked at her intensely and said, "Trust me. It will keep them off our backs!"

Yanmei was nervous as they drove to the Yeongs' mansion. They did not even get a chance to know each other well, and here she was, meeting Yeong's parents after having supposedly established their relationship.

She thought of every possible question that they might be asking and consulted with Anton. As they were talking, they remained whispering to each other so as not to be found out by the driver.

Yanmei: "What if they ask about how you confessed your feelings for me? What will I say?"

Yeong: "I would probably say… Yanmei, you are the lesser evil amongst the women in Korea and so I am asking you to be my girlfriend."

Yanmei: "Pfftt! What? That's very comforting. So if I am a lesser evil, I can only imagine the other women!"

Anton just shook his head and said, "Trust me… That will work."

It did not take long for them to arrive and as soon as Yanmei got out of the car, carrying her tulips, Yeong Soon nearly cried.

She had been waiting for them outside the driveway for minutes and seeing Yanmei, she gave her a hug before saying, "Oh, this is really not like Anton to give flowers, Yanmei… You are truly special."

Yanmei faked a smile and kissed Yeong Soon in the cheek after giving her greetings.

Anton helped store Yanmei's flowers before having dinner while Yeong Soon brought Yanmei to the dining area.

Anton's father, Yeong Jae-won was already waiting for them and he pleasantly hugged Yanmei, saying, "Finally… It had to take Andy to bring a daughter-in-law into our lives."

Yanmei nearly choked at the words daughter-in-law. She knew they were really serious about hooking up their son.

They quickly got prepared for dinner and soon began the series of interviews towards Yanmei.

"So Yanmei, what is it about Anton that you like?" Jae-won asked.

She beamed at Jae-won and turned to her so-called boyfriend. He was focused on eating his meal, not lending her any hand. Her smile instantly disappeared that she said, "He does not necessarily fake it to please me - I mean… What I see is what I get."

Anton's Parents could not help but agree.

"What else, Yanmei? What else do you like about Anton?" It was Mommy Soon's turn to ask.

She pursed her lips, digging through her earlier ideas and eventually said, "Well… He is handsome… and very fit!"

He turned to Anton and studied him for a bit. Their eyes were fixed at each other when she added, "He is firm with his decisions about work… a very reliable person in that aspect… He is... He is actually caring without him realizing it."

Suddenly, Yanmei giggled and said, "He unconsciously humors me with his unconventional approach!"

They all laughed and after a few seconds, Jae-won asked, "So how did my son asked you out?"

Yanmei felt her heart raced. She knew the question would come up. She did not like Anton's answer so she came up with her own. She said, "Ahh... he said, you are the apple of my eye, so will you be my girlfriend?"

Anton's parent's chuckled but eventually, Yeong Soon said, "That was a funny Joke Yanmei, but seriously, how did Anton ask you out?"

Yanmei nearly gave a frown, seeing their reaction. She looked at Anton and remembered his words. She reluctantly said, "Well... his words were... Yanmei, you are the lesser evil amongst the women in Korea and so I am asking you to be my girlfriend."

Anton's parent's laughed and Yeong Soon especially was teary-eyed hearing her response. She said, "That definitely sounds like Anton. Haha! I can definitely imagine my son giving out those words!"

Yanmei, "!!!"