Kapitel 23: An Old Agreement

Min-soo spent three days in San Francisco. One of those days was spent at the bank with Si-hyuk, after his bank account was frozen due to a suspiciously large transaction from a foreign account.

The bank suspected there might be something illegal behind this out of the norm half a million dollars and so had frozen his account and asked Si-hyuk to come in to their local branch and explain himself.

A panicked and slightly annoyed Bang Si-hyuk called the slumbering Min-soo early on the second morning of his stay in San Francisco. Groggily answering the phone, Min-soo was fully awake after Si-hyuk's shout.

"CEO Lee! I really must thank you. Due to your large transaction, my account is frozen. Fortunately, the FBI haven't coming knocking yet. Can you come with me to explain to the bank, why there is such a random and large amount of money that has come through from a foreign account? Thank you." Si-hyuk hung up before Min-soo could even reply.

Min-soo laughed in embarrassment. He should have seen it coming. Seeing that it was already 8am, Min-soo went through his morning routine quickly and headed downstairs to grab some breakfast.

Min-soo had told Si-hyuk where he was staying and before too long, he received a text from Si-hyuk saying he was waiting for him in the lobby. Having finished his breakfast, Min-soo headed down and spent the rest of the day at bank, explaining that it was a gift from him. To help his friend with relocating and that Min-soo and Si-hyuk were now in a business relationship.

At first, the bank was sceptical, until they ran his identification and upon seeing who he was, they immediately waved it through. It appeared, Antares Group was well known across the business world, even in America.

In fact, before too long, the manager of the branch came down and offered her greetings and chatted about everything and anything. He could tell she wanted to become acquainted with him, or at the very least the vast amounts of money his family had.

Min-soo went through the motions and before too long bid them good day and left with Si-hyuk.

Si-hyuk reminded Min-soo that he should be able to leave for Korea in about a months time and once again thanked him for his time, before taking off.

The next couple of days went by very quickly, Min-soo checked out the sights of San Francisco and even spent a few hours on Alcatraz. He quickly became bored with being a lone tourist and decided to head back to Los Angeles.

Arriving back in Los Angeles, Min-soo once again checked into the Shangri-La. He then decided to give Jung-kook a text.

"Hey, it's Min-soo, I was wondering how things are going on your end?"

Just as he put his phone down, he received a reply.

"Ah, hyung, are you back in LA? Everything is going well here. Parents are pretty happy. But my family is going to stay here in LA though. So, it will just be me. Hehe."

"Okay, so long as everything is fine on your end. Just let me know when you want to leave." Min-soo texted back.

"Will do. Thanks, hyung."

Just as Min-soo was wondering whether to stay in LA for a few days or not, he received a call.

Checking the caller ID, he was a little surprised to see it was from his Grandfather and he hurriedly answered it.

"Min-soo, did Jin-young or Si-hyuk cause you any problems?" his Grandfather asked in his characteristically booming voice. He appeared to be in a good mood.

"Ah, morning Grandfather, yes, I managed to convince Bang Si-hyuk to come back to Korea and work with me. As for Park Jin-young, he still has his reservations and I believe that perhaps in the future we can work something out together."

Min-soo could picture his Grandfather nodding in approval from the occasional grunts of agreement. A little apprehensive as to the reason why his Grandfather called him, he decided to ask.

"So, Grandfather why did you call me now?"

"Haha, can't I call my precious Grandson? Is it such an abnormality to want to speak to my grandson? Your idiot father doesn't want to talk to me, now you don't either?"

"No, no, no. Of course, you can call me whenever." Min-soo hurriedly denied.

His Grandfather only laughed before his tone turned serious.

"Min-soo. I know this might be a little sudden, but, it pertains to your future. You see, I once made a promise, with an old army friend of mine, who unfortunately passed away some years back. Uh, so you see, the thing is… well you have a fiancée. We decided to draw up a betrothal agreement, where we would have one of our grandchildren marry the other. Well, the girl turns eighteen in two weeks and upon both parties turning eighteen, the agreement activates."

Min-soo could not help but interrupt at this point.

"Wait. Wait. Grandfather why are you only telling me this now?"

"Haha, well I sort of forgot. I was only given a call last night by my old buddies wife and she was asking about the agreement and only then did I remember it. However, she has always treated it as nothing more than the words of a couple of drunk idiots. So, she was just sounding us out. After all, we now live in the 21st century and these sorts of things are not the norm. Plus, the both of you are fully functional individuals and should make these decisions yourselves. So, we both decided to pull back from the agreement and instead we just want you to meet. If things work out, good, if not, then that's okay too."

"So… is this a marriage interview then?" Min-soo asked in a deadpan tone.

"Hm, that's probably what this is. So, how about coming back a little earlier, we arranged for you to meet each other next week."

"Alright, I will meet her. But that's all, okay?"

"Good. Good. Your Mother and Grandmother have been nagging me the past two years to find you a nice girl. But little old me, totally forgot about this. Uh, anyways, well enjoy your trip. Remember to come back as soon as possible. However, regardless of the situation, you will be attending her birthday party in my stead. Don't worry, your Grandmother will be there too."

"Okay. See you soon, Gramps, take care."

"Very well. Take care Min-soo."

Min-soo sighed and lay spreadeagled across the bed. What a strange situation to find himself in. Fortunately, he was not being forced to marry the unknown lady and all he had to do was just meet her and attend her party. But that was normal course for the 'elite'.

Feeling like it was best to return to Korea as soon as possible, Min-soo stayed the night at LA before flying back to Korea on a midday flight. He made sure to give Hyun-woo a call and let him know he was on his way back, so he could be picked up from the airport. Other than that, as quickly as he arrived, he left Los Angeles.