Author's Note: So the last couple of days have been kind of stressful. First my car decided to quit with me in it! I was under an overpass and it freaked me out since I don't like bridges. Luckily I didn't have a ticket waiting on me when I went back and got it. I was so frustrated that I danced the anger out with Bangtan Boys, Super Junior, Seventeen and many other artists. It's a great workout too.
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"I see you're actually doing some work."
Jimin looked up from the budget spread out before her. She'd been out of the office for the last few days attending meetings with Woo Bin and his father. She was still amazed at the backing she got from the largest construction company in asia. Woo Bin had been her biggest supporter in college. He was the reason she had gotten the best job possible when she had graduated. Now he was helping her again.
Kim Won stood before the desk. He wasn't there as a friend. He was there as Kim Win, CEO of Jeguk Group. His mouth was set in a thin line that made him look older than his thirty-two years. His hands were shoved in his pockets. If he was in a good mood they'd be hanging at his sides.
"I would ask how you got past my secretary, but I have a good idea. Sit down and I'll order coffee," she said as she stood.
Won had a bad habit of pressing his lips together when he wanted to explode. He was doing that right now. Something had happened for him to bypass protocol and come straight to her. He'd always been bold in that aspect.
Jimin took the folder with her and sat across from him. Asking him what was wrong would only end in an explosion. It was better to let him come out with it naturally. So she continued reading over the budget and making adjustments before Woo Bin and Eri arrived to go to brunch.
Since Woo Bin's legitimacy had been called into question a couple of years ago, Eri had stepped up to take his position. In those few weeks, she had learned quite a bit about business. Woo Bin asked her to go over his notes and books quite regularly.
The coffee arrived and Jimin waved her secretary away. Won looked down at the blueberry muffin that accompanied his Americano and laughed. He looked up at Jimin to see her writing in the folder. She knew how to butter him up.
"I should never have told you what I like with my coffee," he muttered as he reached for the amazing smelling bread.
"Maybe next time you won't show up looking like someone shot your cat," she replied. She never looked up from her work. "Who ticked you off?"
"You did." He waited for her to look nervous but it never crossed her face. "Why did you fire my liaison I sent over? We're supposed to work together on this, not make each other mad."
Finally Jimin looked up at him. "Did it not cross your mind that your employee quit because I refused to let him take shortcuts on the new hotel in China? He wanted to use materials that were clearly and scientifically proven to be weaker than what we'd been using. Yes, they are cheaper but they're not structurally sound. I wasn't going to take the chance in a lawsuit. This company has enough of those."
She flipped her folder around and handed it to him. "If you don't believe me, look at this. He documented everything, including structural integrity."
Won sighed as he read the meticulously planned proposal. He he'd never seen such blatant disregard for research. Just because it was cheapest didn't mean it was the best route. He couldn't believe his man had tried to get away with it. Now he understood why he hadn't been able to contact her. She had been trying to put out the fires that had been started by this one mistake.
"Should I fire him?" he asked.
"That's up to you. He's been with the company twenty years. He may try to take people with him," she answered as she took the folder from him and closed it.
"Let him try. With all this information no one would hire him." He took a few moments to drink his coffee. "What are you doing tonight?"
"Having dinner with Kyung Ran and Young Do. Why?"
"I wanted you to meet my wife." He frowned when she laughed. "What?"
"Nothing. The thought of you married is entertaining."
"You make me hate you sometimes." He turned when there was a knock at the door. "Are you expecting someone?"
"I have a brunch meeting," she checked her watch, "right now. I'm sure they wouldn't mind if you tagged along."
Won wasn't too sure as Jimin opened the door. He was shocked at the couple that walked through the door. He had only met them once before. Why were they coming here?
"Are we late?" the man asked, checking his watch.
Jimin shook her head. "Nope. I was just talking to Won Oppa. Oppa," she turned back to Won, "this is Song Woo Bin and his wife Eri. Woo Bin-ah, this is Won Oppa."
Woo Bin pouted a little. "Why did you only call him Oppa?"
"I've known him longer. Plus you said we should drop formalities." Jimin looked at the woman as she signed then laughed. "Youre right. He does whine too much."
The younger man ignored them then looked down at Won. "Would you like to join us? We're just going to talk about the same boring business and politics."
Won looked to Jimin for confirmation. She had already asked him if he would like to join them, but he hadn't thought her serious. Now he had an invitation from the strongest power couple in Korea.
The other woman started to sign again. "We have to pick our kids up after lunch so we need to get going," Woo Bin said.
"Oppa, if you're not going, you should leave," Jimin said as she grabbed her coat.
"I'm available until one."
That was all they needed to hear as they left the office. Jimin and Won followed the married couple. It was obvious in the way they walked that they were completely in love. Woo Bin rarely left her side when they were together. Eri was rarely in the public so seeing how Woo Bin treated her was amazing. And it got Won to thinking.
"Why haven't you gotten married, Jimin?" he asked as they turned left on the sidewalk outside.
"I haven't found anyone worth marrying. Some are too intimidated," she answered. "I'm a very intelligent, hardworking and high ranking woman. It seems every guy I go out with only wants to get married and have kids. I'm not at that stage just yet."
"You should have married me when you had the chance."
She laughed at him, smile widening her face even in the cold. "Then I would have had to listen to you complain about your father and your brother. I actually like Tan so I don't want to listen to that."
"Tan likes you. I never understood why."
"You don't have to. I like you and that's all that matters. Even if you did pick on me in high school."
"You never understood that I actually liked you."
She didn't believe him. He could tell by the look on her face. He laughed as she ran ahead with her hands in her pockets. She looked like a penguin with her black coat and white scarf. He couldn't help the laughter that bubbled up. This was the Jimin he knew. She was always goofing off with a huge smile on her face regardless of the situation.
"Does she always act like that?" Woo Bin asked. He was smiling like an idiot as he watched the younger woman.
"She has since I've known her. And that's been around twenty-five years. She's always loved to have fun. But how did you meet her?" It had been bothering Won since the couple had walked through the door.
"I met Jimin during our freshman year at Shinhwa University. I wanted to know how such a common person made the grades to get into the school. She proved it by beating me at being first in our class. That started an interesting friendship that I still haven't quite figured out. She acted like this on a class trip too. I was really concerned that she was losing her mind."
"She can't lose what she didn't have."
They followed the goofy woman a little farther down the sidewalk before turning into a restaurant. Jimin was already talking to the hostess as they caught up to her. The two women smiled at each other before Jimin followed the other woman.
"Hyung!" Won turned around as he heard his brother's voice. Tan came over from another table. He saw that he was with Chan Young, Bo Na and Eun Sang. "What are you doing here?"
"I'm having a brunch meeting. What about you?" he asked.
"We're eating before class. Why is Noona here?"
"I asked her to join me because I wasn't comfortable meeting a man and his wife alone. I'll talk to you at home tonight. I've got to go." He left his brother and slid into a chair beside Jimin a few tables away. "Tan wants to know why you're here. I didn't tell him youre in charge of Zeus, but it won't be too much longer until they find out."
Jimin smiled. "Thanks. This won't take too long. We just need to discuss who's going to be in charge of the supplies. Woo Bin-ah has been helping me reshape the budget for the overseas venture as well as fix the one your guy messed up."
Woo Bin narrowed his eyes on Won. "Your guy is the one who messed up that budget? It took me two days to research everything. You should be happy we figured it out before we started building, and that Jimin is your friend. She wanted to talk to you about it before I came after you. Someone could have seriously been hurt if I had authorized those materials to be used."
Won waved his hand to dismiss the argument. It was going to take them all day if they discussed everything again.
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Young Do walked around the strip after class. He'd had all morning classes and had decided that he was going to start his free afternoon with some food. He didn't know where he wanted to go though, and that was a problem his stomach was fighting with him about.
There was a little restaurant that didn't get much fanfare because it wasn't one of the ritziest ones out there. He headed in that direction and got to the window. Glancing in, he saw Kim Won with Song Woo Bin and a woman. At a closer look, he saw Jimin sitting beside him. He wasn't sure why they were together but it looked like they were in a deep discussion.
He waited long enough for Jimin to see him. She smiled and he felt his heart pick up a little. It hadn't done that since Cha eun Sang, and he had been certain it would never again. Especially not with someone he had known all his life.
He watched her say something before pushing her chair out and slipping behind Won. The older men looked up at him, one with a smile and the other with a grim expression. Won would never change.
Jimin stepped out into the cold putting on her coat. She walked straight up to him and grabbed him by the hand. He had no idea where they were going but knew he'd better go where she told him. She had a nasty temper when she was aggravated. Even though it didn't look like she had been mad while eating with Won, it could all change in a heartbeat.
She led him to a supermarket and gave him the task of pushing the cart around the store. She didn't say anything to him as she walked up and down the aisles searching for the items they would need for dinner that night. He had forgotten how many times he had gone with her when she had stayed with him while his parents went out. They had wandered the supermarket then too.
"Do you still like Japanese stir fry Korean style?" she asked.
He laughed slightly as she remembered something even he had forgotten about. She had made him stir fry that he had had in Japan when he had been six, but instead of using Japanese ingredients, she had used a mixture of that and Korean dishes. It had been his favorite meal that he'd asked for it every time his parents went out.
"I haven't had it in a while," he answered.
"Good. We can actually make it for your mother. We need the soy sauce and sesame oil. Do you know where that is?"
"I'm sure I can find it."
He wandered off with mixed emotions. He hadn't seen her in a while and she was coming over to his house to have dinner with his mother. He wasn't quite sure if he was okay with that but his mother had asked Jimin over. It had been Jimin's idea to make dinner since his mother was working late. He had never cooked a full dinner before so he was kind of nervous.
Jimin popped up out of nowhere as he was deciding which brand of soy sauce to buy. She dumped some meat and veggies in the basket then took off again. He had forgotten how fast she was when she was working on something. Watching her dart off reminded him that he was supposed to be watching her since he hadn't seen her in some time.
She returned once again but remained after dumping her armload. She ventured ahead of him and went around the corner. He followed her casually, wondering what she could be looking at. He found her in the sweets aisle looking over the different chocolates.
"I thought we could make chocolate fondue for dessert. I already have a fondue fountain. Woo Bin Oppa bought it for me after I graduated from college. I've used it three or four times," she said as she pulled four packs of white chocolate off the rack.
"Mom can't eat citrus fruits," he said as he surveyed the food in the cart.
"Those are for me. I was going to use them when I went home. I got strawberries, bananas, pretzels, and a couple of other things that go well with chocolate." She wrinkled her nose at him. "Who eats oranges with white chocolate?"
Laughing outright at the absurdity of his remark, he followed her to the checkout. When they had paid for everything, they stepped into the cold afternoon air and hailed a cab. With Jimin sitting beside him there was no way he could avoid her.
"What have you been up to these last few years?" he asked.
"School and work mainly. I got a really good job with an associate of Song Construction after an internship and I've been going ever since," she replied.
It was a really vague answer but then again she was really vague at times. He figured it'd be best to wait until he was with his mother to ask any more questions. She wouldn't decline them then because an older adult was asking her.
