บท 1: What a headache...
His watch read 11:53 AM.
He wasn't really that early, but he wasn't late. All in all, he thought he was being civil enough for this meeting even though he was cutting it really close to the lunch hour.
His brows furrowed a bit at the thought of this so-called 'lunch meeting' as he walked through the double doors of the lavish hotel restaurant. If he had known early on that his parents had meant that this was a possible marriage meeting, he would have declined and gone his merry way. Instead, his parents had ordered that he attend this 'lunch meeting' in their place, conveniently forgetting about the part about the marriage thing.
"What a headache..." he had voiced out. Sighing, he pulled on the hem of his suit jacket, ran a hand through his thick dark brown hair, and continued inside.
He was dressed in a dark gray retro suit as he had thought he was meeting with his father's business partners. Nothing too flashy, nothing too shabby. He even brought some reports from his office, so he could show off and impress the elders. Imagine his surprise when he received a call from his Mother a mere hour before this arranged meeting.
"Hyun-Shik, you will be meeting with the Chung Group's daughter for lunch," his Mother chirped.
"What... what was that?"
"Your Father and I thought it best not to tell you about it until now because we knew you'd be making a heap of excuses not to go," his Mother continued. "Please give us some face and show up today. Okay, son?"
He pinched the bridge of his nose, as he had always done when he got annoyed. "You gave me no options, Mother. You know very well I hate these things. And know that I have-"
He heard his Mother sigh from the other end of the line. "It's not a thing, Hyun Shik. Please think of it as saving your family, saving our business."
"And your plan is to use me? To sell me out?"
"You know that that is not what I intended..." his Mother started. But he couldn't let her finish. He didn't want to hear her explanation as he knew very well what his family needed right now.
"I'm driving to the hotel right now," he said, effectively cutting off his Mother's speech. "Let's talk later." He then halfheartedly drove to the 5-Star hotel where he would be meeting his supposed 'marriage partner'.
As the tall, imposing man was a regular at The Regal Hotel, almost all members of the staff were familiar with him. Seeing him enter the lounge area, the hotel staff quickly approached him as he scanned the tables carefully.
"Mr. Song," the staff bowed. "Let me take you to your usual table."
"I'm supposed to be meeting someone," he shook his head.
The waiter smiled and said, "Alright. Is the reservation under your name or...?"
"Chung," he said casually. "Chung Ji-Eun, a woman."
The staff looked at him blankly for two seconds before recovering, "Ah, yes. I'll take you to them right away."
Them? He thought to himself as he followed the waitperson closely. Shouldn't I be meeting with just one person? What is 'them'?
He noticed that the waitperson in front of him kept glancing at him curiously. He wouldn't have minded the first two to three times, but as he was led away from the hotel lounge, onto the hallway leading to the VIP Lounge and Restaurant area, he couldn't help but be curious too.
"Wait," he stopped walking to address the staff in front of him. "This person I'm meeting... Is she a VIP here?"
The staff turned to him and said, "Pardon?"
"This woman, the one I'm meeting with, " he repeated. " Is she one of your regulars here? I mean, I'm also a VIP at this hotel, but from what I know, this area is closed to everybody at this time. Don't they open this area at 4:00 pm?"
"Yes, you are correct," the staff replied. "But the Lady Chung is a VVIP here."
"Lady...? VVIP?" he echoed.
"Yes, Mr. Song." The staff said lowering his head. "Lady Chung owns The Regal Hotel."
That woman owns this hotel? He wondered to himself as they had started to walk towards the VIP Lounge. No wonder my parents were insisting I meet this woman. Nearing the stained-glass double doors of the VIP Lounge, the staff suddenly stopped and turned to bow to him, " Mr. Song, I apologize if my earlier actions were a bit rude as I kept looking at you."
"Why were you looking at me?" He asked curiously.
"The Lady doesn't really meet anyone here," the staff answered. "She mostly kept to herself in her office. Some of the people who work here don't even know what she looks like."
"Hmmm..."
"And you'll be meeting with the President too, so..."
"President?" He echoed.
"President Chung of the Chung Group is in there with her," the staff then opened the double doors and ushered him inside.
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