‘Wait, if Lee Seohee is her cousin oppa……’
Lee Seohee, Lee Taeseo. If they were both Lee surname with the generational character ‘Seo,’ the two were paternal cousins—meaning the son of the father’s male sibling.
The founder of L Group, who had passed away long ago, had two sons. Among them, the eldest son was Lee Seohee’s father, L Group’s Chairman Lee Jinhyuk. The second son was Chairman Lee Jinseok of S Group, a company ranked within the top 10 in business rankings.
“Then S Group is……?”
“My father’s company.”
Watching his friend casually say such tremendous things in less than 30 minutes, his brain was on the verge of overload.
“……I don’t have money. My family doesn’t have money either.”
“What are you suddenly talking about?”
“If someone around you suddenly says ‘I’m actually a third-generation chaebol,’ 99.9% of the time they’re a scammer……”
At those words, Taeseo burst out laughing. Then she found a photo in her phone album and handed it to Hyowoo.
“Here, proof that I’m not scamming you.”
It was a photo of her with Lee Seohee, taken while eating at a restaurant. Anyone could see the two looked as close as affectionate siblings.
“I took this when I went to London last year and had lunch with oppa.”
When Taeseo said if he really couldn’t believe it she’d let him make a phone call, Hyowoo said it was fine and returned the phone.
“He’s a decent person, right?”
“……Usually people wouldn’t cheaply summarize Premier League star player Dominant Alpha chaebol heir Lee Seohee as just ‘a decent person.’ Miss Lee Taeseo of S Group……”
“Why does that sound sarcastic?”
“It’s not sarcasm, I’m just too flustered……”
“Why are you even flustered over something like this?”
“This is a normal reaction……”
When he asked why she hadn’t told him until now, the answer came back asking why he hadn’t asked.
“Honestly, I didn’t want to let people around me know. If this kind of talk gets into other people’s ears, it only creates troublesome and difficult situations.”
“I guess that’s true.”
When he nodded slightly as if in agreement, Taeseo rested her chin on the table and smiled softly.
“So, what? Do I look different now that you know I’m from that family?”
At her playful tone, Hyowoo finally relaxed his half-dazed expression and laughed along.
“Of course not. It’s just a bit absurd.”
“Honestly, if oppa had asked me to introduce someone else, I would have refused to the end. It’s because it’s you that I’m asking you to meet him.”
Before he could ask why, Taeseo said, ‘Because you’re also a decent person.’
“I can trust you. I really think you’re a good person.”
At the praise from his usually blunt friend who even felt cold, he didn’t know what to do and needlessly averted his gaze. Seeing that, Taeseo made a gentle expression.
“You’re both decent people, so meet him once.”
Unlike his best friend who said he wouldn’t regret it, Hyowoo had an ominous feeling that he’d accepted a request he couldn’t handle.
* * *
Haah…….
Standing in front of the luxury hotel that he felt he’d never have occasion to visit in his lifetime, Hyowoo let out a long sigh.
A few days ago, a message arrived from Taeseo asking what food he especially liked. It was to decide on the blind date location. Though he didn’t eat much, he didn’t have any foods he disliked, so when he answered to decide on her own, she had reserved this hotel’s Korean restaurant.
The chandelier and Christmas decorations in the lobby visible beyond the glass door were beautiful like works of art.
‘I really don’t think this is a place for someone like me to come……’
Overwhelmed by the endless luxury, Hyowoo hesitated for a long time at the entrance. Places like this that only rich people would frequent made him uncomfortable. He’d heard the reserved restaurant was also extremely expensive. He felt slightly resentful toward his friend for why she’d reserved such a place, but there were circumstances for this.
‘I wondered why he suddenly came to Korea during the season, so there was a family event.’
This evening there was a wedding for Lee Seohee’s aunt, the youngest sibling of the L Group chairman and CEO of this hotel.
After attending his aunt’s wedding, he had to return to England on an early morning flight tomorrow for the weekend game. Due to the short visit of less than 24 hours, he was staying at this hotel rather than his father’s home. Considering his schedule and movements, having the blind date inside the hotel was a rational choice.
‘Just the L Group founder’s youngest daughter’s wedding alone is newsworthy, but with Lee Seohee entering the country too, it’s chaos outside……’
Currently, the hotel surroundings were crowded with reporters and Lee Seohee’s fans. The interior wasn’t very crowded since entry was restricted for safety reasons, but quite a few reporters could be seen waiting in the lobby.
The feeling of coming to a place he shouldn’t have come to meet someone he shouldn’t meet. His heart trembled with excessive tension.
After briefly considering whether to just turn around and leave, Hyowoo steeled himself.
‘I can’t cancel the appointment now. If I just stay here like this, I’ll only become more intimidated, so let’s go quickly.’
After taking a deep breath, Hyowoo crossed the lobby with quick steps and headed for the elevator. He pressed the button for the 27th floor where the restaurant was located and checked the time.
‘It’s only 12:11 now……’
The blind date time was 1 PM.
The reason Taeseo reserved this place wasn’t only because of Lee Seohee’s schedule. Hyowoo was severely directionally challenged with a hopeless sense of direction. He’d get lost even on roads he’d been to several times, and would even lose his way in the neighborhood he’d lived in for over 5 years.
It seemed she’d decided on a famous hotel as the meeting place so that even if he wandered on an unfamiliar road, he could find it quickly.
“It’s right there as soon as you exit the subway station.”
Remembering his friend who’d teased him to use the newfangled thing called a map app if he was really worried, Hyowoo let out a small sigh.
Besides being directionally challenged, Hyowoo had another chronic problem. Namely, ‘Worrying is also fate. Worrying is my life.’ He was the type to agonize alone and think deeply about everything, so he had many unnecessary worries.
Even though it was a famous hotel, worry came first just because it was his first time there.
What if his cell phone broke down? What if he took the wrong subway? What if he went to the wrong hotel? All kinds of thoughts endlessly circled in his head.
Unable to overcome that worry, he’d left home too early and ended up arriving way before the appointment time.
‘There’s over 40 minutes left, what should I do while waiting……’
It was when he was taking out his cell phone from his pocket, thinking he should look at Lee Seohee’s profile one more time. Suddenly, his own appearance reflected in the elevator mirror caught his eye.
It was a safe outfit matching a navy knit and black pants under an ivory long coat. He’d seriously worried about what to wear given who the other party was, but ended up choosing clothes he usually wore well. It was just a blind date, so he dressed neatly as usual in case he made a fool of himself by making a fuss alone.
Moreover, Lee Seohee’s airport fashion during his morning arrival had been casual attire. Then wouldn’t he also come to the meeting place in comfortable clothes?
‘It’s not like worrying about it will make much difference to my appearance anyway……’
In fact, Hyowoo was wearing several layers of clothing under his knit and pants. He was very sensitive to cold, but also wanted to hide his excessively thin body as much as possible.
While checking his clothes and fixing his windswept bangs with his hand, the elevator arrived at its destination, the 27th floor.
Which way is the restaurant? As he got off the elevator and looked around, a staff member from the information desk approached.
“Hello. Are you visiting the lounge?”
“No. I’m trying to go to a restaurant called ‘Heyum.'”
“Heyum is fully booked today, do you have a reservation?”
“Yes.”
“Thank you. Then I’ll guide you right away.”
Before he could say that wasn’t necessary and to just tell him the location, the staff member started walking ahead saying ‘This way.’ Unable to help it, he quietly followed behind the staff member and soon the restaurant entrance came into view. Rather than a Korean restaurant, it had the atmosphere of a high-end Western restaurant.
The staff member who finished guiding him left a greeting to have a pleasant time and disappeared back the way they came.
‘I guess because it’s a hotel. Everyone is incredibly kind.’
Right in front of the restaurant, a lounge was prepared where people could sit and wait. Though he took a seat in the corner thinking he should wait here until the appointment time, Hyowoo stood up before even 10 seconds had passed. There was something he had to do before meeting Lee Seohee.
It was something difficult to do in the lounge with people’s eyes watching. He looked around searching for a restroom, but coincidentally couldn’t find one, so Hyowoo had no choice but to enter the restaurant.
“Welcome.”
A staff member in an elegant uniform smiled and greeted him first.
“Excuse me, I arrived earlier than my reservation time, may I use the restroom?”
“Of course. First, could you tell me what time your reservation is for?”
“It should be reserved under ‘Lee Taeseo’ at 1 o’clock.”
When he gave Taeseo’s name, the staff member’s hand that had been touching the tablet paused for a moment. It seemed they knew who Taeseo was and who was expected to come as her party.
He worried about what to do if they said he had to wait outside if he wasn’t the person who made the reservation, but the staff member soon confirmed the reservation and kindly told him the restroom location.
After giving thanks, he moved in the direction indicated. Fortunately, the restroom that could only fit one person at a time was empty.
He locked the restroom door and took out a small plastic case from his coat pocket. It was a small portable thermometer he carried around just in case.
He removed the protective cap and measured his temperature with an anxious heart.
