EPISODE 1
It was October 31st, 10:30 PM, in the Caribbean Lounge of the outdoor pool of Keukdong Hotel.
The soft lights played upon the surface of the pool. On a stage to one side, a well-known jazz singer was singing Ella Fitzgerald's “Misty” with a rather gloomy voice, and various public figures (including a few celebrities) were chatting in groups in front of the cocktail bar.
On the second floor, which offered a perfect view of the stage and the pool, there was a space made for perfect privacy, cut off from the outside world. It was a prestigious venue only the VVIPs could book; and today, the party of Lee Youngjun, Vice-Chairman of Yooil Group, occupied it. The group was one of the ten great corporations in Korea, and had never dipped below 5th place in the domestic corporation rankings in the past five years.
Lee Youngjun had been managing the corporation secretly for the past seven years in lieu of Chairman Lee, a long-time invalid. Youngjun was a man of exceptional abilities, and those who considered God fair would have had a hard time reconciling the existence of this 33-year-old man.
Youngjun, stretched out on a high-quality Italian leather sofa, had a body with perfect proportions. He'd come right after taking care of some business and was still dressed in a black suit, but not even the suit's dry and formal design could hide his long, slender limbs or his taut, sexy body. He had the aura of a glossy jaguar reclining on marble; his entire body emitted a wild and sensual air.
But it wasn't just his body that was beautiful. Under eyebrows delicate and dark, as if drawn meticulously with a slender brush, rested profound, dark eyes, a perfectly neat and pointed nose, and manly lips that were thick and strong. It was as if his features had been sculpted by an artist.
As you may expect, there was more. There would have been less cause for jealousy if it was just his looks that were amazing, but Lee Youngjun was a man of formidable talent.
He excelled in his studies, in sports, in music; while in school, he skipped as many grades as was legally permitted and studied abroad in America, after which he began to take lessons as the heir of Yooil Group.
He then volunteered to work an overseas post for two years, after which he came back, took the reins, and undertook a huge structural overhaul in the corporation. After much hard work, the group had changed. Unlike his father, who’d grown the group's size without much enthusiasm, he made aggressive and rash decisions that led to stellar growth for the company.
He was a gift from the heavens. The sort of masterpiece God must have pulled three all-nighters to create, subsisting on high-caffeine energy drinks and pulling out all the stops. That was the man who lay on the sofa, Lee Youngjun.
“Youngjun, why are you so quiet today? Is something the matter?”
He had as many friends as his status was high, and he was practically surrounded by people all week long. Those who’d come to the private party today were his business associates and beauties from various walks of life. Oh Ji-ran, who’d been seeing him regularly for about a month, squealed at him with a miffed expression.
“Youngjun! I’m asking you a question. Why are you so quiet today?”
The youngest son of the owner of the Keukdong Hotel chain rushed to intervene.
“Now, who’ll teach our Ji-ran some tact?”
“What? What did you just say? Rude!”
“If he's quiet, you should just think to yourself, ‘Oh, he must have something on his mind today,’ and just shut up and drink. When will you ever learn to be tactful?”
“What's going on? What happened? Hm?”
Ji-ran plunked down with a cute expression at Youngjun’s feet, and her revealing single-piece dress showed her huge, bouncy breasts. The men around her all began to focus.
Youngjun, however, seemed disinterested in anyone around him, including her. He was still wrapped in serious thought. It had already been two and a half hours.
He was very out of character tonight, and his usual jolly and confident manner was nowhere to be seen. The others had noticed that something was amiss a long time ago and kept to themselves, but Ji-ran wasn't the type to notice.
“Youngjun.”
At that moment, Youngjun opened his lips for the first time in two and a half hours.
“Huh? What was that, Youngjun?”
“Why...”
“I can’t hear you.”
Ji-ran stuck her nose right in Youngjun's face, and he scowled.
“What? Get out of my face.”
Shocked by his cold words, Ji-ran fell off the sofa right onto her bottom.
“Y-Youngjun?”
“This is driving me crazy.”
Youngjun got up, tearing at his hair, and mumbled like a man distraught.
“Secretary Kim...”
Even death row inmates request retrials, but for Lee Youngjun, there was no such thing as granting a second chance, not in his work or his private life. A death sentence was just that, a death sentence, and merited no further thought.
As one would expect, not many executives could work with him for long. After he became vice-chairman, the only ones who remained by his side were the management specialist Park Yoo-sik and Youngjun’s own personal secretary, Kim Miso.
But that Secretary Kim...
Judging from his dark mien that had lasted all day, something monumental was afoot. The party had gone completely silent, and a tension hung in the air. The others stared at Youngjun, expecting him to enter into a shocking tale, and swallowed.
But the serious words that came out of his mouth were not shocking, unexpected, or otherwise. It was a simple question directed at nobody in particular.
“What's wrong with...Secretary Kim?”
What in the world?
Those seated around him could not hide their disappointment.
***
I’m going to quit.
Alright, if you wish.
In his dark bedroom, Youngjun tossed and turned in his bed. He blinked and checked the clock.
Oct. 25th, 02:30 AM.
He did not require much sleep at all, but he couldn’t figure out why he was having so much trouble falling asleep tonight.
He hated questions he could not answer; while he focused his thoughts on finding the answer, time continued to tick tock on by.
8 AM.
When he worked at home, Youngjun used his study as his office. All kinds of books filled the various bookcases, which surrounded the room. The books that the overflowing bookcases could not stomach were piled up like small hills here and there, and on the long, crowded desk rested various office machinery, a laptop, and cables so tightly placed that there was virtually no free space.
“I don't think this can continue. Shouldn’t we expand the study?”
Miso took a look around and sighed. Youngjun continued staring at his laptop screen and replied in an unconcerned manner,
“Should we?”
“I think just moving the grand piano in the next room to the living room and removing that wall should do the trick.”
“That’s a great idea. Why don’t you try and get it done?”
“When should I do it?”
“Not sure. Maybe toward the end of November?”
“Ah...”
Her reply was not forthcoming.
Youngjun looked up at Miso, uncharacteristically hesitant.
“What's wrong?”
“By then, I’ll probably be...”
Youngjun stroked his chin and leaned back on his leather swivel chair. The chair creaked noisily. Miso shuddered and quickly took out her pocket notebook, scribbling down something.
It was as it always was. They’d been working as a pair for nine years, after all. Youngjun had a feeling he could guess what Miso had written down. Probably something along the lines of “replace study swivel chair.”
Sure enough, she began to speak exactly as expected.
“We should replace the furniture in this study while we’re at it. As soon as we find a new secretary...”
“Do you really mean that?”
Youngjun gazed up at her, chin resting on hands locked together. He looked even more attractive than usual. Perhaps it was his face, paler than normal. His eyes seemed to hold more depth.
“I said, do you mean that?”
“Of course I do.”
Her reply, light as could be, seemed to have stumped him. He stared at her blankly and asked in a serious tone,
“Commuting to work so early is tough, isn't it? Would you like me to buy you a car?”
Miso's eyes, always smiling, narrowed a little bit more as her smile grew wider.
“You already bought me one earlier this year.”
“Did I?”
“Yes. I sold it off for some tteokbokki.”
“What do you mean?”
“It's a long story. I had personal reasons to sell it off.”
“Hmm.”
“I should have informed you right away. I'm sorry. I didn't think you’d care too much.”
Youngjun sat silently for a while with a dissatisfied expression, then shook his head benevolently.
“It’s alright. That’s just a trifling matter. I’ll just buy you another, then. I don’t care about the price, so pick one out that you like.”
“Gosh, that isn’t necessary. And I’m not quitting because the commute is tough. You know I'm a morning person.”
“Then what’s the problem?”
Youngjun must have concluded something right after asking the question; he broke into a chuckle and added,
“Oh, I get it.”
Miso gazed at him with wide eyes. Youngjun said with a serious look on his face, his voice full of confidence, “I didn’t sleep with her.”
“What?”
“I didn't sleep with the woman I met the day before last.”
“Whaaat?”
“Don’t be a child, now. I can’t believe you got jealous.”
Miso was so surprised, she gave a large pfft and involuntarily spewed air and saliva into the air. Youngjun scowled.
“That’s disgusting. What are you doing?”
“I'm sorry. I’ll wipe that off.”
Youngjun stopped Miso as she reached for a handkerchief to wipe the laptop cover with, and said roughly, “Throw it away.”
“Alright.”
“Anyhow, no more silly thoughts. How about we watch a movie together tomorrow? We’ll rent out an entire screen. It’s been a while since we did that.”
She was still smiling, but also firm.
“Assistant Manager Park said she’ll put out an ad in the morning. We’ll do our best to pick out the best applicants. All you need to do is perform the final interviews.”
Youngjun seemed perplexed as he stared at Miso. After what seemed like a long while, he spoke again.
“Is it that scandal from last month? I already explained that, didn’t I? I swear on my mother’s grave. I didn’t sleep with her.”
“Vice-Chairman. How many times must I tell you this? I don't mind at all. You could sleep with every woman you meet all the way till morning and I would not mind.”
Youngjun's smooth face wrinkled up like paper at these words.
“How dare you.”
“Just stop waking me at 3 AM to ask me to drive for you, please. Anyhow, that’s not the reason.”
“Is it because I’ve kept you working overtime and weekends since last month? It’s not the first time you worked yourself to the bone like that. Why the sudden amateur act? Ah, are you on your period, perhaps?”
Something bulged out toward Miso's left temple, belying her smile. He’d never seen that happen before.
“Oh my, how strange. I’m feeling some illogical urges right now. Ho ho ho. Anyhow, I’ll make sure the interviews are scheduled so as to be as convenient for you as possible.”
Youngjun was quiet for a moment. Soon afterward, his face grew cold and hard.
“Whatever. I won't stop you if you must leave.”
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