Mira has organized a Ladies' Night for her friends and Suhee.
Also, a tall dark and handsome businessman could be seen in Mira's future...
"Okay, I'm ready. What do you think?" Suhee announced, emerging from the bedroom wearing a cocktail dress that complemented her figure.
It was simple white with silver accents, backless, and ended at her knees. The bottom part was a square skirt in a few flowing layers. It was cinched at the waist with a glittery silver strip, and the top was a halter type, crossing over her chest with more glittering silver and clipped together at the back of her neck.
Her hair was loosely curled at the ends and casually pinned at the back so all of her hair hung over her left shoulder, which showed all of her back. She had her face made up minimally with neutral tones and a light pink blush adorned her cheeks. To top off the look, she had a long silver envelope style clutch and a pair of one inch open toed silver heels.
Zen – who was in the kitchen at that moment – turned around in response to her inquiry. Upon taking in the sight of his girlfriend before him, a light blush appeared on his cheeks and his eyes widened with surprise.
"Wow…I'm speechless. You look breathtakingly beautiful in that, princess…" he uttered as his gaze softened with adoration and love.
Unfortunately it was only there for a second, as it was quickly replaced with slight confusion and disappointment.
"…But I thought we agreed that tonight was movie night, not dress up date night…" – he paused and smiled as a thought came to him – "…Though…if you want I can go throw on something just for you…"
"Hyun…" Suhee said with a pout as she crossed the living room and approached her now fully confused boyfriend. "Don't tell me you forgot…I made sure to put it on our calendar."
At the mention of the word "calendar", Zen's expression changed from confusion to realization, as he remembered why his girlfriend was dressed up for that night.
"Oh! Yes, that's right! You're going out with Mira and her friends for a Ladies' Night thing."
She nodded in reply, and that's when he got a worried look on his face.
"You…You're not going to a club, are you?"
Suhee was a little ashamed to give him her reply, but she had to tell him the truth. "Yes…we are…Mira said it's the only way she'll feel better after breaking up with her boyfriend, and her friends suggested that it's the best place to 'nab hot guys'…"
He became a little more concerned with this answer. "And you're not planning on doing that…right?"
"Of course not! Not when I already have you." She smiled at him to reassure him and he smiled back, but his expression still showed hints of uneasiness. "Look, I only agreed to go because Mira's my sister and while she comforted me, I feel it's only right to comfort her. Besides, I just volunteered to be the designated driver and responsible chaperone. No guys. No drinks. You can trust me."
"I know I can trust you. But still…I can't trust any of those sleezeballs prowling out there tonight waiting in the shadows to pounce at my princess." Zen was determined now. "Give me a minute to go and get changed and I'll tag along…"
He was making a move to leave and do so, but a gentle hand placed on his chest stopped him in his tracks. He turned his attention back to Suhee and she said, "I think it's called 'Ladies' Night' for a reason Hyun…"
He opened his mouth to protest once more, but at that moment a car horn was heard from outside and he gave up, letting out a defeated sigh.
"Alright. Let me at least escort my lady to the car."
He then offered his arm with a soft smile and she took it, allowing him to guide her out the door, up the stairs to the right, and down the path to the car that was waiting for her. It was just Mira in the driver's seat at the moment, as Suhee was the closest to her place.
"Hey sis! You ready for a night of fun?" she gave her bubbly greeting after she had rolled down her window.
Suhee gazed up at Hyun, meeting his somewhat uncertain gaze with her expectant one. He released her arm and cupped her face with his warm slender hands.
"Suhee. There's no doubt in my mind that I trust you…but before you go, there's one thing I want you to be sure of…"
He then pulled her into a deep and very passionate kiss, which took both females by surprise.
When he pulled away, he continued in a low, almost growling voice, "You're mine, so you better come back to me safely!"
"O-Of course!" Suhee agreed, still a bit lightheaded from the sudden kiss.
"And Mira, you'll make sure that happens, right?" He turned to the woman in the car.
"Yup! I always look out for my family!" Mira gave him a confident thumbs up.
"I leave her in your hands then…"
Last minute embraces and expressions of love were shared before led her to the passenger's side and watched as they drove away into the night.
…
"Mira, you seem so…aloof tonight." Suhee commented as she brought her sister's recent behavior to light.
The other two women sitting at the table with them agreed, and one of them suggested, "You need to relax girl. No man's gonna approach a lady as stressed as you right now."
"You're right Rei. I need to calm down." Mira said in response, taking in deep breaths and shaking away her tension.
"Is everything okay?" the other woman asked apprehensively.
"I can't shake the feeling that we're being watched, Naye." Mira announced as she then turned to her sister. "And I believe that your boyfriend might have something to do with it…"
Suhee flinched ever so slightly and asked, "…What makes you think that?"
"Well, as we were driving away, I noticed him rushing back to his apartment in my rear-view mirror. Do you have any idea as to what he might be planning…?"
Suhee was about to answer, when Rei interjected by saying, "Found him!"
"He's over at the bar, stealing glances at us between gazes at his phone." Naye added.
The ladies waited until he was looking at his phone and took a quick peek at him. He was tall and thin, and could've been well built, but they couldn't tell because of the slightly baggy red shirt, dark grey hoodie, and leather jacket he wore. To complete his somewhat casual edgy look, he wore slim dark blue pants and leather boots, along with a dark blue beanie pulled slightly over his fluffy short black hair.
"He's really cute." Naye complemented.
"Which one of us do you think he's checking out though?" Rei asked curiously.
"I have my suspicions…" Mira answered with arms crossed and narrowed eyes targeted directly at her sister, who had been silently texting on her phone this whole time. "That guy over there is Zen…Am I right, Suhee?"
Suhee looked up and put her phone on the table with a sigh.
"Yes…He is good at being inconspicuous. Even I almost didn't know it was him." She explained truthfully before defending him. "But please don't be mad. He already got an earful from me, and he's keeping his distance, plus his intentions are-."
"Okay, that's enough." Mira interrupted. "I'll let it slide this time…" – she then turned to face the bar and raised her voice – "But next time I may not be so forgiving!"
All who were sitting at the bar looked over at her confused, except for the man revealed as Zen. He jumped a little and then sheepishly smiled, giving them a little wave.
"That's Suhee's boyfriend…?" Naye asked first, looking slightly confused.
"He seems a little…different from how you described him, Mira." Rei added.
"Oh. That's because he's 'in costume'." Suhee replied while turning on her phone searching through her photos. "This is what he really looks like…"
She showed them the picture she chose, and the two ladies had to take a double take, because at that moment it was revealed to them who he truly was.
"Mira…You didn't tell us that it was the Zen you were describing!" Naye argued, upset.
"I felt that was something you didn't really need to know." She replied flippantly. "Besides, you would've ended up treating Suhee differently, wouldn't you…?"
"You'd be right about that…" Rei said, and Naye agreed before the two apologized to Suhee.
She accepted it, and offered to introduce him formally, to which the two agreed eagerly.
…
"I can't believe your boyfriend crashed our Ladies' Night!" Mira complained as she and Suhee took a seat at a rather crowded terrace café. "Tonight was supposed to be about me, not him!" – she paused and then a thought came to mind, making her more annoyed – "He didn't follow us here too, did he…?"
"No." her sister answered while showing her phone's recent message. "Look, he just sent me a selfie showing that he just got home."
Mira glared at the picture and then calmed down, gazing out at the night lights of the city. Suhee followed suit, her gaze softening at the sight before her.
"It's really pretty..."
"Yeah…I come here whenever I'm stressed. The view and the freshly brewed coffee always calm me down."
"So…I guess you come here a lot then."
Mira chuckled. "Yes. I suppose so."
Suhee then looked away and happened to notice someone, waving at them with a small kind smile. Mira caught this happening, and whipped her head around to find that person and grumbled as he approached, not wanting to interact with him.
"Jumin Han…" she uttered, forcefully polite. "What brings you up here tonight?"
"I've been quite curious about this café for some time, and hearing that it's best to come in the evening, I've decided to do so…" he replied before taking a look around. "Unfortunately it looks like the place is full, so I may have to come another time."
Suhee heard this, and glanced at the empty chair between them. Mira immediately grabbed her attention by nudging her leg and then gave her answer by shaking her head slowly. Suhee shot her a pleading look and her sister added crossed arms to her body language, signifying that she definitely didn't want his company. Suhee gave a pout, but then smirked before shifting to the empty seat and turning to the businessman.
Ignoring her sister's explicit hand gestures she said to him, "Would you like to join us Jumin?"
"It that is alright with you ladies." He stated, and took a seat before anything else could be said or done.
Mira could only glare at her sister silently while he called over one of the waiters and ordered a cup of coffee. When he was done, he turned his attention back to the two sisters and noticing their outfits, he commented with, "You two seem a little overdressed for just having an evening cup of coffee…"
"Look who's talking, monkey suit…" Mira uttered softly under her breath.
Suhee kicked her gently and cleared her throat before replying with, "We were just at a club with a couple of Mira's friends for a Ladies' Night."
Jumin reacted with a mildly surprised expression. "I never took you to be the clubbing type, Ms. Yun."
"Oh. I'm not really. I was just the designated driver tonight."
"No doubt Zen followed you there to keep an eye on you too…"
Suhee let out an embarrassed laugh. "You know him so well…" – she paused and something came to mind – "We missed Jaehee tonight. You haven't been overworking her lately, have you?"
"On the contrary she's been quite stubborn, insisting on continuing her café project instead of the next cat project I have planned." Jumin explained, quite annoyed with the situation. "And on top of that she's thought of Luciel of all people to head the cat project. Who would give her that idea?"
More embarrassed laughs from Suhee came afterward.
"At any rate, I came here to get my mind off of all those things." The raven haired man continued with a sigh before turning his attention to the view. "This place is quite charming, and the view is splendid."
"It's Mira's favorite place to come to." Suhee piped up against her sister's wishes, earning a glare from her.
"Is it now?" His attention was focused on the older sister now. "I thank you then, for sharing your favorite place with me as well."
Mira could only stare at Jumin and his ever so small but grateful smile, at a loss for words at his sudden change in demeanor. By this time he had finished his coffee and left his payment for his and their orders on the table before wishing them goodnight and leaving. Mira watched him blankly all the while and when she turned back to her sister, she found her grinning knowingly from ear to ear.
"Is someone developing feelings for Jumin Han?" Suhee asked while resting her chin in her hands with admiration. "I could help you curry his favor and give you some pointers…"
"No way!" Mira exclaimed, her face going beet red. "I'm quite happy being single! I might just stay single forever in fact!"
"But you're face says it all."
"NOPE!" Mira was firm in her decision as she got up and walked away, her sister tailing not too far behind.
…
"We were very satisfied with how you handled your interview with Zen, Ms. Yun. Therefore, we've considered you to head another interview which will be our main article this time. Are you interested?"
Mira was beaming, happy that she was chosen for such a big job. "Yes sir! Very much so!"
"Good then. We'll need you to interview Mr. Han head of C&R, as well as his son, Jumin Han about possible plans of marriage engagements for both. You start tomorrow and we expect a successful story in a week."
'Oh goodie…' Mira thought, now grumbling inwardly at her sudden misfortune.
