Author's Note: I started watching a new drama to ease my stress at a new job. Choi Jin Hyuk was in this drama and it reminded me of his drama the Heirs. So here is that story. I was drawing a diagram to make it all make sense to me. Now it may take a few days before I can post because I'm super busy every day now so bear with me.
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"Let the planning meeting now commence. Preparations for President Kim's thirty-third birthday are starting."
Kim Won rolled his eyes at the fancy way his personal assistant made everything sound way more important than it should. Lee Hyun Joon was a crazy man with crazy ideas. He had been friends with Won since they had started the company all those years ago. Hyun Joon may be a couple of years younger, but he never treated Won like an older brother. Come to think of it, he never had called him hyung or anything like that. He was a very snarky and disrespectful young man.
Won couldn't help the smile that spread as he heard his best friend and assistant persuade the people grouped together to go all out for his birthday. If there was one thing Hyun Joon was good at, it was making sure people did what he said. He was very charismatic and no one could say no to him.
The meeting took way too long. There couldn't be that much they had to do for a simple birthday party. Like usual Hyun Joon was getting his way. He was going all out, which should be a crime because that meant they were going to be spending a lot of money on useless things.
"What about a caterer?" the party planner asked. "Do you know one that has a cheap bottom line but decent food?"
Hyun Joon nodded. "I do. She's very easy to get along with as well. I'm sure you'll want to meet her and give her a list of your favorite foods."
"That's not necessary. I trust your judgment," Won said. He closed his notebook and stood. "We will meet again this afternoon for things that are about the company."
He received a chorus of affirmations and left the room. It was lunch time and he was ready to eat. That or his stomach was ready to eat him. He hadn't had breakfast since he had been in a rush and he was paying the price for it.
Lazily he headed for the elevator. He couldn't get ready for his birthday because he was getting ready to get married. His stepmother was handling the wedding plans with his fiancé but he still had to have some input. It was his wedding after all.
He stepped off the elevator and nearly ran into a blond headed woman. She stopped in her tracks and looked up at him. Not very tall, she barely came up to his shoulders. She stepped back and bowed before stepping around him and sticking her hand in the elevator doors to keep them open. She must have a person in the building she was visiting.
Not paying any more attention, he continued on his way. He was supposed to meet Yang Da Kyung a couple of blocks away so there wasn't any need to take a car. He needed the exercise any way.
He ran into Da Kyung as soon as he walked up to the restaurant. She was coming from the opposite direction and smiled when she saw him. It wasn't full of love, but more of a fondness that he had yet to feel. They had been engaged for more than a year and had pushed the wedding back as far as they could. Her father had invested in the company and had been working well with his group. Now they were finally getting down to the nitty gritty.
They went into the restaurant and discussed only the wedding. There was no discussion of how they were feeling or how their day was going. They were strictly business. They had agreed that that was the best course of action for them. They weren't going to live together either. They would be married but separated. It was something they decided would be all right as long as they decided to stay married.
It wasn't a huge affair. They ate then said their goodbyes. It barely lasted half an hour. Won was on his way back to the office fifteen minutes before he was supposed to return. His employees were going to think something was wrong with him because he couldn't keep an ongoing conversation with his fiancé.
"Kim Won!" He turned at the sound of his name. Hyun Joon was coming towards him with the blond headed woman he had seen as he stepped off the elevator. He could see the family resemblance between them and knew instantly who she was.
"Won, this is the chef I was telling you about. Soohyun, this is Kim Won, CEO of Jeguk Group. Won, this is Lee Soohyun. She's one of the best chefs at Zeus Hotel and my sister," Hyun Joon explained.
Won looked at the woman. She inclined her head to him but didn't say anything. He could see her eyes were sharp even if she was quiet. She seemed interested in whatever her older brother was spouting as he stared at her.
"Did you hear a word I said?" the younger man demanded.
Won heard the woman snort as she smiled at her brother's outburst. So she wasn't deaf. "I heard you, Hyun Joon. You talk too much though."
Soohyun smiled and turned towards the crosswalk in front of the company. "You should hear our grandmother say the same things to him. He doesn't stop when he gets home."
Hyun Joon sputtered as he followed her with his gaze. "Oh, be quiet! Grandmother never says anything about my mouth."
"Probably because she can never get a word in edgewise."
Annoyed and slightly fuming, much to Won's amusement, the younger man looked like an indignant woman. "Where are you going?"
"Unlike you I have work to do. If you're going to bring your boss with you, come on. Otherwise, close your mouth. No one wants to look at a human fish."
Won looked down at the younger man as he turned back to him. "You don't have any meetings this afternoon until two. Would you like to see how she works? She's typically quiet unless I'm involved. We're siblings so I typically annoy her."
The head of the company was curious about what else the woman could do. If she could get Hyun Joon to shut up long enough to hear what someone else said, she was doing the best job of a little sister.
It was only a few blocks but it seemed like it would take forever. There were so many people on the streets he was wishing he had taken the car instead of walking.
But they finally arrived at one of the most expensive hotels in Seoul and went in. Everyone was crowded in the restaurant for lunch. No matter where he walked, everyone knew Hyun Joon, so much so that they called him by his first name and with the impolite terms.
They walked into the kitchen, and Won was not surprised to see Choi Young Do washing dishes. The heir to the company had to fulfill his father's wishes before he could even think of inheriting the hotels. Even though his father was in jail, he still came every afternoon to do his job.
They rounded a huge set of metal racks and ran smack dab into the ovens and stoves. Soohyun was already working, a vegetable knife in her hands. The blade slid through the food with ease.
Won looked at the woman. Her blond hair was pulled back at the base of her neck. She was so focused that it was hard to take his eyes off her. A couple of the others came over to ask her about what she thought about their dishes. She was brutally honest. One guy looked near tears as he had to go back and start over. But through all of that, she was kind through her honesty.
"Hey, Soo Hyun, how could you say all that about me?" Hyun Joon asked as soon as he stepped up beside her.
She glanced over. "Step back. You shouldn't be that close to the dishes without a hairnet on." When he did, she continued what she was doing. "What I said was true. You talk ninety to nothing and don't let anyone else get a word in. Now I understand why Kim Won hired you, you persuasive butthead."
Won laughed at their bluntness. They argued all the time it seems. He looked around the kitchen at everyone working in sync with each other. They were all able to discuss what dishes they were making for lunch.
"Are you in charge of everyone?" he asked.
"No. I'm usually over in the desserts, but today one of our veggie peoples is out sick with the flu. I had to shift over for now. I'll go back to desserts in a bit," she answered.
"Can you discuss what kind of cake Won would like?" Hyun Joon asked.
"Are you allergic to anything?"
Won thought about it for a split second then shook his head. "No, but I don't like overly sweet things."
Soohyun thought it over as she spooned the vegetables into a bowl and shoved it down the line. She tossed her knife into a container of soapy water before leaving the station. Hyun Joon motioned for him to stay put as she walked away. She returned a few moments later with a huge book.
"We have sugarless and alternative sweeteners. If you don't like sugars, I can always make it with applesauce and it's not as sweet. As for the hors d'oeuvres, I can come up with anything. Just let me know what you'd like," she said.
Won took the huge book from her and flipped through it. Soohyun answered questions from the others as they passed her. He placed his fingers in a few places then handed it back to her. She mimicked where his fingers were and took the book back.
"Try your best to make those to the best of your abilities," he said.
"Try? Soohyunie was the top of her class in culinary school. She can recreate anything. Just ask her," Hyun Joon said.
"Oppa, shut up. Now I have work to do. I have to help make preparations for dinner." She bowed slightly then disappeared into the fray of people.
Hyun Joon looked at Won as the other man watched his sister walk away. Usually he didn't like any man looking at his sister, but in this case Won was engaged to be married. He wasn't an issue because there was no way he was going to jeopardize his company. He could look all he wanted.
"When will she have everything done?" Won asked as they headed out of the kitchen to the dining hall.
"Soohyun is very dedicated. She runs the catering service out Zeus. She is very sweet and gentle but when it comes down to work she is slightly anal. It will be ready by your company birthday party," Hyun Joon answered. "I can always give you her number and you can get in contact with her if you have any changes you want to make. She's fairly easy to get along with."
"I have no doubt about that. She can put you in your place like no one I've ever seen."
Won smiled as his assistant sputtered. "She has way too much information on me that I don't want anyone to find out."
"She is your sister."
"Half-sister actually. We have the same father but different mothers, much like you and Tan."
The CEO stopped at the crosswalk and looked at him. "Is she an illegitimate like Tan?"
Hyun Joon shook his head. "No, I am. I was born just after his marriage to Eun Soo, Soohyun's mother. My mother had been his college girlfriend until she had moved to Thailand. When I was born, she was barely making enough to support herself but she tried for a while. Unfortunately it didn't last. So she called my dad and asked if he could take me. Luckily Eun Soo was very welcoming of me. She took me in and raised me like I was hers. She didn't even change her attitude when Soohyun was born. I was treated like I was her blood son."
"Does she allow you to call her mom?"
The young man nodded. "Yeah, I have two moms and I'm okay with that."
"Is she still alive? I'd like to meet her someday."
"No, unfortunately she was killed in a car accident when Soohyun was nine. Dad raised the two of us alone. He worked hard to send Soohyun to culinary school in France, Seoul, and Tokyo. Every time she comes home, she makes a week's worth of food for us."
"For us? You still live at home?"
"Dad has early on-set dementia. His oldest friend in the world stays with him during the day. I pay him hourly plus bonuses for holidays. Then I stay home with him at night. Soohyun comes over a couple of times a month and makes sure we have what we need. It's why I work so hard and why she runs both the kitchen and catering services. We're putting movie back just in case it takes him before his time."
Won understood why Hyun Joon worked as hard as he did. He had an ailing father to support. He had to work hard to make sure the man who took him in when he didn't have to could live comfortably in his disability. It showed how decent a man he raised. To have two children who were willing to work for their parents meant they were one of the best filial families he had met. Better than him. He was going to support them as much as he could.