Soohyun couldn't believe his eyes as he lays his eyes on the red-haired woman before him. The smile on her face is both attractive but very intimidating at the same time. The woman he had openly humiliated in public is one of the world's most influential individuals in the world of business. For the first time in his life, he is speechless as words refuse to form in his once witty mind. He stood quiet for a few seconds before the fascinating woman. "Y..you're.. the,"
Without Soohyun finishing his sentence, the red-haired woman continues his stutter, "Lady, you humiliated openly in public?" The moment her words left her mouth, all eyes once again befall upon Soohyun. A spotlight, he refuses to take pride in, especially in such public display. Once again, his lips clamped shut when the lady approached him with an empty stare as if she was staring at nothing.
"You have the looks, you have the power," the lady walked in circles around Soohyun as if examining a piece of sculpture that's flawed, "I do admit, you have the brains to run a business empire, but you degradedly lack the character and attitude of a leader. Certainly, you lack the respect for your business partner when you came in through those doors, disregarding our appointment and future partnership."
"Now look here miss," Soohyun was about to say something witty, but those words sank right back down his gut.
"JiU," the red-haired woman faced Soohyun with such charisma in her wake, and despite her height difference compared to his, Soohyun was the one feeling inferior to the woman before him.
"I have an explanation," Soohyun uttered and slowly, "Look..."
Without letting him finish his sentence, JiU cuts him off, "I'm sure you do have your explanation, but I don't have the time to listen to it," JiU made eye contact with her team, and it was all it took for them to know that it was time to leave. "All the time, I had was wasted waiting for you." She turned her heels and heads for the door.
For once in his life, someone had refused him coldly, "Listen here, lady..." Soohyun tried to grab JiU's hand in an attempt to stop her from leaving the spacious meeting room. However, JiU's reaction was too quick for the male as she grabbed his hand, and in a swift motion, she brought Soohyun to his knees as she twisted his hand.
"No, you listen here, mister," JiU looked down on him after he landed on the floor with one knee, "Nobody lays a hand on me and gets away with it." She had repeated what he had said word for word earlier today when he humiliated her back at the cafe. After making her point, she lets him go.
"You're making a big mistake," Soohyun scowled as he stands and about to approach JiU.
"No.. Soohyun-ssi," JiU smirked and looked back towards the right before she left, "Choose your next words carefully, or you'll regret it."
Soohyun was about to utter a reply and advance towards the girl before Gray cuts in, "Thank you, JiU-ssi, we are so very sorry for the inconvenience."
JiU nods her head and just left the room as her team follows. The room was left in silence as everyone looked towards their boss and his best friend. "What the hell Gray? I had it," Soohyun protested.
"You didn't, bro!" Gray looked at Soohyun in annoyance as he shows his upsetting demeanor. Such look wasn't something Soohyun is familiar with, "You blew it, man! Did you went to see her again?"
"Who are you talking about?" Soohyun feigned an answer, but Gray knew better.
"Just answer the question, bro," Gray shoved his hands in his pocket as he looks at his best friend. Not only to Soohyun's driver, but Hyosung is quite famous around Soohyun's inner circle. She is known to be the source of all Soohyun's delays, and it's a warning multiple times of such a red flag, but he chooses to neglect it time and time again. Several he may have escaped unscathed, but this time, all was lost.
"Yeah, I did," his answer made Gray sighed and threw his hand up.
"You seriously can't take things seriously, can you?" Gray shakes his head and turned for the door, "And if I hadn't stopped you, you would cost us our company."
"Come on, she can't be that bad," Soohyun scoffed as he still tries to massage his wrist.
"No, she's not, she's the worst," Gray turned and looked at his friend, "She is brilliant and also known as the Huntress. Why? Rumour has it that she will always study her future partner when it comes to business, and if she finds something she doesn't like, you can be damn sure that whatever contract you thought of having is well gone away. And the last time a company tried to play games with her, well I don't need to tell you about Song Motors. What used to be one of our country's most successful automobile developer is now no more than a single rental car garage."
Two years ago, Song Motors tried to blackmail K Inc about profiting over their deal when there's nothing made. It caused quite a stir in South Korea for almost a full week until declared that Song Motors had filed in for bankruptcy. The company's stock plummetted in just one week after it declared war on K Inc. And it was made to the public how Song Motors was framing K Inc to get back at them due to JiU's disapproval of their dealership. However, too many, this wasn't just the case. Any company that goes against K Inc and tries to bring it down on false evidence might as well filed in for bankruptcy because sooner or later, their business will hit rock bottom, whether it be a national or international company.
"We can kick their ass man," Soohyun puts an arm on his best friend's shoulder, "We are the second in the world, we're bound to overtake her."
"You don't know, do you?" Gray then gently brushed off his best friend's hand off his shoulder and looked at him, "Our company might be the second in the world, but our stock compared to theirs just last year. While we succeed a well over 150% last year, they stand undeterred with a whopping succession of 225% in that same year. You may be my best friend, bro,but if we come face to face with her, I can say you won't stand a chance." Gray left Soohyun standing after stating his point.
Soohyun was certainly pissed, but at the same time, he felt helpless, and making his best friend upset isn't making things better. "Will everyone please leave the room?" Soohyun addressed the remaining of his team in the room to which everyone responded and leaving the room hastily. Once everyone cleared, Soohyun shut himself in the meeting room. Frustrated and pissed off, he was about to lose it when his phone rang. He was about to throw a fit towards the unfortunate soul who dared to call him while he is in such a state, but all of that changed when he noticed the familiar ID. It was under the name, Father.
"Shit!" Soohyun cursed out loud and answered the phone, "Yes, father? How is my awesome dad doing?"
"Come home now," the other end of the line answered in a firm and commanding tone.
"N...neh?" Soohyun answered in a stutter, but instead of a reply, the phone died. Soohyun cursed under his breath as he exited the meeting room and called for Yoochun to be ready. But before leaving the floor, Soohyunn visits Gray's office.
"What?" Gray answered after pulling his attention away from his laptop.
"I might die soon," Soohyun says such words as it was the simplest thing to say out of the blue, but to Gray, it means a different matter.
"Well, shit, it's him again, isn't it?" Gray closed his laptop, grabbed his tux, and walks out of his office to be by Soohyun's side.
"Who else do you think would jump at the first chance to take me down?" Soohyun laid out each word as if led was pouring out from his mouth, "I'm starting to think we have a spy in this company."
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"You did what?!" Tiffany blurted out in English as she and JiU went back to their company after the encounter with the infamous Kim Soohyun.
"Yah! Can you stop screaming?" JiU rubbed her earlobes after Tiffany screamed for the nth time within the confines of JiU's luxurious car.
"I am both angry and impressed after hearing this," Tiffany leaned back on her seat with another English, "You thought of all that just to prove your point?"
"Come on," JiU shrugged and winked at her best friend after replying in English, "I would better spend time studying people and make the right calls before allowing them access to a company my father built through his blood, sweat, and tears from scratch."
Her father was indeed a hard-working man until he decided to leave everything for JiU to handle. Not only did she inherit his empire but also his wits and will when it comes to the business. She had watched her father work the moment she knew what her father's job was. Besides becoming a top student at her school, she is also a very devout daughter to her family.
"Well, umm, you have a meeting to attend to in two hours with your board of directors regarding that project in Spain," Tiffany scrolls through her tab, "Then you need to go to Busan for another meeting an hour after the Spain meeting finishes."
"Alright, let's get to work," JiU clasped her hands together as the car parked in front of the company's lobby. Waiting in the lobby are dozens of her employees, to welcome her. She entered the hall with all that's present, greeting her with a bow. Unlike other CEOs of huge international business companies, she would stop her walk and bows in return—one of the reasons why they are very respectful towards their young boss.
After the bows, JiU went upstairs into her office with a big window as wide as her room overlooking the city of Seoul, and it's a metropolitan delight. But if the temperature gets too hot for comfort, all she needs to is press a button on her desk to close the window with curtains. Her office is one to be photographed of because of it's artistic yet straightforward design as each color in the room compliments each other. Her walls, decorated with rare photographs or arts that she would purchase if it were kind enough to gain her attention. On four corners of her office are four distinctive pieces of art that are dear to her personally since each four represents her first successes in her first two years as CEO after her father. Her love for books is no hidden truth when on the right side of her office is a huge bookshelf that stands from the carpet floor up the ceiling.
As soon as she arrived, the first thing she does is fish for a book to read before settling on her seat. Before any meetings or other activities in the company, she would either use her free time to learn something or play a game on her phone. Not many people know that other than being a multi-million dollar businesswoman, she also enjoys playing games to relieve her stress of work. Underneath all that charisma as a leading woman, she is still a normal lady who loves her 'me' time.
Ten minutes into her book, Tiffany came into the office with an annoyed look on her face, "It's here again," scoffing in disgust. Seeing her best friend behaved that way, and with that sentence to follow, there is only one thing that would cause such a look on her face. "That jerk still sends stuff to you even after two years cheating on you."
"What did he send now?" JiU puts her book down with the same annoyed look on her face as he walks away from her desk to meet with Tiffany at the door.
"Now he's going a little traditional," Tiffany gestured to a few boxes of stuffed bears and pink roses, "And there's more down by the lobby."
"Send them all back," JiU snapped immediately, "Tell security that no matter what happens, they are never to receive any packages under his name." JiU finally loses a nerve after the 10th time this week, the jerk that ruined her supposedly beautiful day into a nightmare of pain and hurt, sends gifts for means of reconciliation.