"And that is the last of this week's orders. Thank you, Lord." You place the shipping label on the box and place it on the top of the others. This past week has been particularly hectic with the new promotion of the company from Glam talking about it on social media. Last weeks sales had tripled and now you have to hire three more people, now that the warehouse is set up. It is already 4 in the afternoon, luckily accepted the new job offer. As you begin packing up your bag to head home your phone starts ringing.
"Soo-Min Gho."
"Hello, Soo-Min. This is Jaehee Kang calling."
"Hey, what can I do for you?"
"I am calling on behalf of Chairman Han. Next Saturday night we are hosting a midsummer investors and interests gala starting at seven p.m, he would like to formally extend an invitation."
"Thank you for the invitation. How formal will this event be?"
"This will be a black tie event."
"That sounds very wonderful. I would love to attend. Please give the Chairman my best regards, I look forward to it."
"Yes, of course. Have a good afternoon Ms. Gho."
You hang up and throw your head back, letting out a long sigh. You are not looking forward to having to go dress shopping, you hate shopping. You go through your contacts to call Ms. Pak
I may as well just try and get this out of the way as soon as possible.
It went to voicemail.
"Hey, I am going to not be home until late I have to do some shopping for an event. I am not sure what time I will be back. Have a good night, tell Iseul I love him."
You are going to need shopping reinforcements. You drive to your best friend's house and park in the driveway. You figured you would surprise her, she hardly ever left the house. You hit speed dial 3.
"Hey! Minny! What are you up to?"
"Hey, Mina. Do you want to go shopping?"
"Ummmm… YES!"
"Good, I'm in your driveway." you see her open her bedroom curtains and give an obnoxious two handed wave.
"I will be right down."
She basically jumps into the passenger's seat, she has a very devious smile on her face.
"What are you shopping for? Did you finally get a date? Huh? Who is he?" she chirped.
"I'm not going on a date. I got invited to a gala for the C&R and I do not own anything black tie appropriate."
"Are combat boots and jeans not formal wear? Huh? You could have convinced me differently. You dress like a fancy bum" She laughed.
"Oh shut up! I like to think of it as 'hobo chic'." you squawk.
You finally get home after three hours of torture, trying on nearly forty dresses. You settled on a black, off the shoulder, sheath dress with a sweetheart neckline. The sleeves are lace and long enough to cover the scars that still haunted your arms. The back of the gown is also lace, which Mina said was "totally sexy but not scandalous." This is out of your comfort zone but, not to the point where you feel like it is something that you would never wear. You walk upstairs and crack open Iseul's door. He is already sleeping. It is late and you have a lot of work to do tomorrow. You go through your nightly routine and lay in bed, staring at the ceiling. Your mind is racing, it feels like you have a million tabs open in your brain and every single one is buffering. You look over at your clock and it is 1 a.m.
What the hell? It was 10 last time I checked.
Finally sleep claims you.
It is the day of the gala and you are filled with anxiety. You have never been to anything like this. What if you don't fit in? What if you aren't dressed up enough? Mina had come over to help you get ready so you can be out the door when the car that Director Han sent, shows up. Mina is like your own personal beauty guru. She styles your hair in a wavy half up- half down, perfectly messy bun. You do not see yourself in makeup often and can hardly recognize yourself in the mirror. She covered your eyes with soft tones of gold and black, your lips were painted burgundy which she insisted was perfect to make the green in your eyes stand out. You slip on your dress, and take a quick look in the mirror.
"Mina, how much of my tattoo is visible?" you ask her from the other room. She comes over and give you a look of childlike wonder.
"Holy shit, you're hot! Turn around. You can't really tell, I don't know why you would want to hide it in the first place?" she smiles, reassuring you. You got the back tattoo when your turned 18. The tattoo you chose was a minimalist style solar system down your spine. You were a rebellious, angsty, half adult at the time and that tattoo showed it. She helped you step into your platform pumps that made you look like an almost normal sized human.
"Hey, you are almost as tall as me now." Mina giggled.
"Listen, I don't need your sassy mouth. I'm sorry I can't be a supermodel height like you. I am perfectly happy being 5 feet tall." You laugh. You hear a car pull in front of the house.
"Well, looks like my chariot awaits." You give a hug to Mina and grab your gold clutch purse before walking out the door.
"Welcome, name please." A tall burly man asks at the door of the chalet.
"Gho, Soo-Min."
"Have a wonderful night." He crosses off your name and opens the door for you. The entrance is so extravagant. A waiter walks by offering you a glass of champagne which you gladly take off of the tray.
I'm going to need this to make it through the night.
" . It is so nice to see you. Thank you for accepting the invitation." You hear Glam's voice to the side of you. She pulls you into a hug and kisses your cheek.
Every. Fucking. Time.
"Thank you for inviting me. I have never been to such a prestigious event."
"My word, that dress is beautiful. I'm sure you will have a hard time keeping the men away tonight." she giggles, looping her arm into yours, leading you to the ballroom.
"Let's hope not" you joke back to her.
"My dear husband! Look who finally arrived, doesn't she look ravishing?" she smiles, letting go of your arm and standing next to the Chairman.
"The men won't be able to keep their hands off you." the Chairman grins at you
Pig.
"Jumin must be around here somewhere. I'm sure he would love to speak with you. He seems to be curious of you. If I see him I will let him know that you are here."
You nod and excuse yourself away from the couple.
Bar. Bar. Bar… Aha!
"Old Fashioned, please." you request, trying to make as little eye contact as possible. The bartender hands you the drink, which you gulp down like you are dying of thirst.
"Woah there. Don't over do it." A man's voice says next to you. You try and ignore him but he moves a little closer.
"You are one gorgeous woman. Tell me, is your hair naturally blonde?" He asks.
"I'm flattered really, but not interested thanks though." You turn away from him.
"Please, I am just trying to strike conversation. Things like this are so dull. I am Siu, Siu Jung."
"Soo-Min." you roll your eyes, trying not to be too impolite.
"Soo-Min, huh? What is it that brings you here?" he is too curious for your liking. You know exactly who he is. Everyone knows who he is. The Heir to a huge corporation and his father is a politician. He is a known playboy and womanizer.
"My company and the C&R just became business partners."
"Are you here in place of your boss?"
"No. I own the company. I am my boss." you snarl back.
What a fuckin dick.
"Oh my, you own a company. What kind?" He needs to stop asking questions. You catch the attention of the bartender and tap the glass, asking for another.
"Pearl Jewelry. I am sorry, if you don't mind I have to be literally anywhere else." You grab your drink and walk away, trying to find some kind of almost quiet refuge. While walking past a side study down the hall you spot Jumin through a slightly open door speaking with a few other men. You lock eyes and quickly turn around to walk back to the party. You aren't trying to avoid him but, you don't really want to talk to him either. There is a door that leads to the back of the chalet, you are almost tempted to run to it in an attempt to get away from all the noise. You open the door and a gust of fresh air hits your face, making you calm down almost immediately. There is a railing that looks out to a small pond in the back surrounded by willow trees. The night air is calm and cool, making it almost serene if it wasn't for the incessant, obnoxious laughter you could hear coming from within the building. You hear the door open behind you.
"How did I know I would find you out here. Parties aren't really your style?" Sui's voice was creeping up behind you.
"Please just leave me alone. I thought I made it clear that i'm not interested." you growl.
"I just want to get to know you. C'mon, give me a chance." he purrs. You hear the door open again but, don't bother to look.
"I know we could have some fun together. You can't say no to me." Sui whispers in your ear, grabbing your ass. You spin around and almost as if it were a reflex, send your right fist straight across his jaw. Sui falls to the ground, before getting picked up by two security guards.
"How fucking dare you!" you yell. You look up and Jumin is standing in front of the door.
"Please make sure he is not allowed back in. I will not tolerate such vile behavior." Jumin spoke, with a hatred burning in his eyes. Sui is escorted, forcefully out of the party while spewing a mixture of swears and threats. Jumin walks to your side, touching your shoulder. You roll it back, letting him know to let go.
"Are you alright?" he sounds concerned.
"I'm fine thanks. I'm just going to go home." You bark back.
"I will send a guard with you to escort you to the a car."
"No. I will be fine." you say, snapping back at him.
"I am concerned for your safety. He is a very persistent man."
"I don't want or need your concern Mr. Han. Now if you don't mind I will see myself out. I have had my fill of men who think they are the boss of me." You walk back through the party and out the front doors. The car is already waiting for you.
"Kang. Please get me Ms. Soo-Min Gho's phone number, I need to give her a call." Jumin asks. Jaehee sends the number to his phone and goes back to socializing with some of the other assistants. Jumin steps outside hoping she will actually pick up.
"Soo-Min Gho." she answered, thank god.
"Hello. This is Jumin Han calling. I just wanted to make sure you got home safely."
"Listen, thank you for the gesture but, we barely know each other. So, please do not concern yourself with my well-being. I can take care of myself without your help. I need to be going, it is late." She sounds mad.
"Yes, of course. Have a good night." Jumin hangs up and let's out a sigh.
What is this woman's issue with me? I thought I was doing a nice thing. Everyone needs help sometimes, even I can admit that.
The party finally ended and Jumin sat in his bed pondering the events that took place tonight. She had hit Sui. She hit him straight in the face, knowing who he was. Most women would have been all over him, accepting any bit of attention from that entitled prick. Not her. Why? Jumin pulls out his phone and opens the messenger to check if Luciel is on. He is. Jumin dials Luciel.
Please pick up.
"How can the Great 707, defender of justice help you?"
"Luciel, hello. I was wondering you ever finished that background check on Soo-Min Gho."
"Of course I did, Bossman. I get right down to it then. There is actually quite a lot on her. She is biracial, half Swedish, half Korean. I found her address which I can get to you if you need it. She is 24, one child, a son. She seems to be a self-made woman. I can not find any records of loans or anything like that. She has never had a business partner until the C&R got interested and she has a second degree black belt in Judo. Woah, tough chick. The rest though… the rest might be a little hard to hear."
"Please continue."
"If you say so. From what I could find on the matter, it looks like she had her child out of wedlock when she was 20, the father is in prison right now. Apparently, he abused her and attempted to kill her when she was still pregnant, hence the restraining order. It does look like his prison sentence is almost up though. Five years for domestic abuse and attempted murder, the justice system did not give him the justice he deserved. Sorry, that makes me so mad. Anywho~ Is there anything else?"
"No, thank you, Luciel. This information has been very helpful. Have a good night." Jumin's head was spinning from the conversation.
"That explains some things. No one should have to go through what she has. Maybe I need to try a different approach to friendlier terms. I can not have these meetings be so, straining."