Dear readers, I noticed that many of you have ideas and suggestions for the plot development and characters. So I decided to offer you an opportunity to contribute to the story. I'm starting a contest for the best line (it can be a regular sentence or a line for a dialogue). Don't be shy, be wild and creative, anything goes. One favor please - no changing the story line or coming up with new characters. Although many of you have great ideas, it is not possible to make any major changes to the plot. I will try my best to see what fits the story and include it in the future chapters, announcing the winner or winners. Hopefully, it will make the reading more fun. So don't forget to comment.
The shopping trip with Eun Soo was uneventful. Choi Young kept his head low and rushed her out of the store after they picked the essentials of a few shirts, jeans, slacks, sportswear and shoes. She was a bit surprised at his strange behavior, because he usually seemed to really enjoy anything they did together out of the house. She even reminded him about "dating and shopping" conversation, but Choi Young told her he had plans with Hee Jun. That was very weird. It is not that she wanted him all to herself all the time. She was actually happy he has made a friend, although Hee Jun may not have been the smartest guy around, but he seemed to genuinely like Choi Young and did not care much for his eccentricities, which made him a good companion for a man from another time.
"Young-ha, is everything all right? I wanted to get you more things."
"I have everything I need. Please." He lowered his eyes.
Eun Soo felt really stupid. Of course, how embarrassing it might have been for a man to have her dress him up and give him spending money. She was very insensitive. For a Goryeo general with such pride that must have been extremely hurtful.
"How about after you get a job, you will take me shopping?" she asked softly, trying to look at his eyes, hoping to read his thoughts.
"Can't think of a better way to spend my money," he snuck in a quick kiss and smiled. Choi Young was becoming a smooth operator in the ways of modern affection. Eun Soo caught some interested looks from the salesgirls and blushed. "Choi Young, remember, no kissing in public," she whispered.
"I was not kissing you. It was just a quick touch of my lips."
"Who are you and what did you do with the a man who first came into my house?"
"It is not my fault. You turned me into this," and against her 'affection regulations', he pulled her for a hug, making the sales women swoon. As they exited the store, Eun Soo heard the girls talking: "She got herself a hot one." "I know, she sure is lucky."
"Stranger, suddenly I don't feel like letting you out of my sight," her secret hot lover has been discovered by others and now he will be going around in the broad day light with his buddy, while all the women drool over him.
"Why?" Choi Young was as naive as ever, and Eun Soo breathed a sigh of relief – this man would not know what he is, unless somebody will tell him. And even then, he will probably shrug it off and laugh, at least she hoped. This was the first time she had to worry about having a man who was so attractive that others might turn heads. "Well, I'm off to work. You guys have a good time together."
"See you later at home." And he waved, smiling.
The agency was pretty well known and Hee Jun felt extremely proud at having been the one to help Choi Young be discovered by a representative of such a respectable company. Choi Young did not want Eun Soo to know about the huge problem he caused at the store, so they kept it a secret.
"Noona will be so proud of you when she finds out you landed a good job all by yourself!" Hee Jun was cheering him on.
"I am only going there because this is what is needed to apologize. I will look for a job I find suitable on my own."
Choi Young was dressed in his suit, his hair neatly pulled back, looking sharp, he entered a very tall building through the revolving glass doors, which made him claustrophobic and extremely uncomfortable, but he held it in. The large foyer was brightly lit and as soon as they came in, a man in a uniform approached them, "How may I help you, gentlemen?"
"We are here to meet Mr. Do Jin, he is expecting us. Just let him know we are from the store, from yesterday."
"Sure, please wait here." Choi Young looked around, always assessing how safe the environment was. He never completely stopped worrying about the assassin. He liked that there were no large objects to hide behind and that everything was see through because of the glass. His hand found a sword safely lodged under his coat. He will not loose it, ever.
"Don't be nervous, let's just hear him out. He said he would not press charges, as long as we come in," blabbered Hee Jun, as they were escorted to the elevator.
Choi Young had to close his eyes, as the glass elevator moved silently and fast to the top floor and he saw little human figures disappearing rapidly underneath the translucent floor. It was a bit too much for him and he even did not push Hee Jun's hand that attached to his arm. As they exited, Choi Young licked his dry lips and Hee Jun looked at him with concern, "Dude, you are pale. Are you all right?"
"I do not like this thing to be made out of glass."
"Are you afraid of heights?"
"Watch it!" Choi Young glared at him, making Hee Jun shut up right away in order to avoid beating.
"Welcome, I'm so glad you came."
"I am sorry for yesterday's misunderstanding. My friend said you wanted to see me. What can I do to fix things?" Choi Young went straight to the point.
"A small favor. I would like you to give me some of your time. I believe you have a bright future in front of you and that you are very talented. You will have to allow me to do a test shoot."
"A shoot?" Choi Young's eyes opened alert and he immediately searched for archers, grabbing his sword, ready to stand in defense. "Sir, I do not wish to spill any blood. I understand I offended and injured you, but shooting is not an answer. I was hoping we can talk about appropriate compensation."
"Don't worry, no blood will be spilled, unless you want to do a performance."
"No," denied Choi Young, feeling exposed and uncertain about how to deal with a possibility of attack, which seemed imminent.
"As far as compensation goes, you won't be disappointment. I took the liberty of picking up the items you chose at the store yesterday, please accept this present as sign of good will," he pointed to large shopping bags. Hee Jun rushed to see and gasped, screaming, "Dude, he got us all the stuff. Dude, wow, dude!" He seemed to have lost as it is limited ability to produce any coherent speech, flapping his arms, hugging the fat bags and smiling like he just met Santa Claus.
Choi Young in contrast, frowned, pulling his brows together and let out a frustrated grunt, "Sir, I'm the one who injured you, receiving gifts from you means you want something from me. Am I correct?"
"Not only are you good looking and quite agile, you are also astute and direct. I already like you!" he said ignoring Choi Young's refusal to accept the gift. "I paid with the company account; it is just business, don't worry you will not be personally indebted to me." Do Jin approached, looking over him from head to toe and walked around the tall warrior, who turned, as the agent stood behind his back. "How tall are you sir?"
Nobody ever asked him that question before, but now it was a second day in a row when his size and measurements were of importance. Luckily, Hee Jun interjected, reciting the specs. The man nodded, quite satisfied. He pressed some kind of button and a woman appeared with a professional camera, accompanied by two men, also carrying filming equipment. They immediately started setting up, while Choi Young watched cautiously, not knowing where this was going. He recalled from a few occasions he saw similar boxes, which shot light at him, and cringed at the memory of his eyes hurting.
"What is that?" he pointed to the photographers.
"Just a trial shoot. I need to see how photogenic you are."
"What is he talking about? Is it what he calls a shoot?" he addressed Hee Jun, in a very low tone, turning away from the agent. The guy was now his link to the modern world, the only person whom he trusted to tell him honestly whether this "shoot" may harm him. He hated being so clueless, but he had to look strong. He has dealt with many difficult situations before. He will come out of this alive and be more prepared next time. He turned facing the cameras, steeling himself for a battle, not requiring his physical prowess, but rather the strength of his will.
"They will take your pictures to see how good you look on camera. I think he might offer you a deal."
"A deal?" But he did not have much time to figure things out.
"Mr.? I did not catch your name," Do Jin turned, waiting for an answer.
"Choi Young."
"Interesting. A historical reference. We don't want people getting confused though. We need something young and sexy. Bo Ra-shi, please bring us a list of available pseudonyms." A woman responded right away, exiting the room, while the men continued snapping pictures, as Choi Young averted his eyes and kept his head down. "Jee Hun, I don't like it. I thought we are just going to apologize and leave," he seemed almost pitiful under this spotlight. He looked so uncomfortable in his own skin, and his friend felt sorry for Choi Young. It was his chance to shine and protect the man who could probably squash everybody in the room with a few moves, but apparently was lost in the position of a model.
"Mr. Do Jin, may I have a word with you, please," he gave Choi Young a nod of reassurance. "My friend does not wish to be exposed to the public eye, he is shy and very private. Although he is extremely attractive, he has other talents, as you might have seen. If you are looking for a model, he will reject, but he may make a great stunt man or be of helping as a trainer. If he were to be exposed to the environment and eased into it slowly, he may be more malleable to try out more of a front stage position later on."
"I was just doing a test run. I can not lose this opportunity, believe me, in my line of work, it does not come often. He has presence, charisma, an inner confidence that makes people look at him and keeps them attracted. It is not just a handsome face, there are plenty of those. It is something in his eyes, something that speaks of wisdom or experience. His eyes are older than he looks, but it works somehow. He is not simply sexy, it is more – if you are a man, you want to be like him, and if you are a woman, you want him to love you. He has got that special something. Look," and he pointed through the glass walls of his office. People passing by would stop to check what was the commotion about and stare at the tall man by the window, awkwardly shying away from the cameras. Once he caught their eye, they would not leave. There were many spectators now and Hee Jun nodded understanding, but stood up for his Heung, "I understand perfectly, sir, but you can not force this on somebody without their consent or willingness. It goes against his personality. If you want him to work for you, you have to respect his wishes and his boundaries. He is very particular about his boundaries. Is this even legal?" He finally wondered, realizing that no contract or a job offer was presented. Although he did not know much about many things, he knew the basics and this did not seem right. The agent realized that he jumped the gun and that the young man was correct, he got overly excited about his find and did not even discuss the business end of it all.
At this point, Choi Young completely turned his back to the cameras, wondering what he was doing here and why he came in the first place. Hee Jun did mention something about a possibility of a job; and that was his plan all along, to look for a job, but it was embarrassing to have people look at him like he was a pretty woman. It was just wrong.
"Everybody thank you for your hard work. Please forward me the pics and the video within an hour. I will call you, if I need you. You may leave," the man commanded and staff filed out of the room obediently, carrying their equipment. The crowd behind the glass walls slowly dissolved and in a few minutes it became quiet again.
"Mr. Choi. I can see how disrespectful I was toward you. I assumed since you had my card that you were interested in working with the agency. I never bothered to ask, that was unacceptable. Please, accept my sincere apologies."
Choi Young turned, the General in him took over, having overcome the discomfort caused by this situation. "I accept your apology. I have no intention or interest to be doing … this thing. It is not who I am. I was simply looking for employment. I have many skills, but posing and having people admire my features are not one of them. I will take my leave. Come on Hee Jun, let's go," he spoke calmly, looking Do Jin straight in the eye. The confidence that was lost behind embarrassment, now shined through.
"Please, let me at least make you an offer. You have not heard the conditions of the contract yet."
"I already told you, I will not be a person, whose job is to look good and smile at strangers. I hate hypocrisy. I am not going to lose my principles over a few won."
"It is my loss, not yours. I have seen that you have amazing marshal arts skills. Are you comfortable with that?"
"I'm comfortable with my skills. I am the best out of everybody I know."
"Great. How would you feel about doing that and earning money."
"Would I have to kill?"
"Kill?" Do Jin did not expect that question. This handsome man had a morbid sense of humor. "Ha-ha-ha. No killing required or allowed. It is too costly to deal with litigations and we don't want anybody injured on the set. We have a young actor who would benefit from somebody like you, who can help him feel comfortable in a role of a warrior."
"A role? Am I training somebody in martial arts, who is not going to be using the skills?"
"He will, he will, just at work."
"I need to see if he is capable. Not everybody has the ability."
"He has the ability, I promise."
"When do we start?" Choi Young decided to give it a try. He proceeded to the door, ready to work. Hee Jun pulled his sleeve and whispered into his ear, " We need to negotiate the contract and make sure they treat you fairly."
A woman came in with a contract, giving it to Choi Young. He took the paper with the text, which he could not read. All of it looked completely foreign. He handed it to Hee Jun, "You check, if you think terms are acceptable."
Hee Jun readily took charge and after scanning the document for numbers with a lot of zeros, confirmed, "It is good."
"Well, then, take me to that young man who needs training. I am ready to start now," and Choi Young smiled, feeling like he can actually do something well for a change.