Chapter 16 - Unexpectedly

Jiyong's Apartment, Seoul Galleria Forest - 9:15AM

“I’m Choi Seunghyun, Jiyong’s friend,” he announced. He offered his hand to the petite woman in front of him. “Nice to meet you Taeyeon.”

“Nice to meet you too Seunghyun,” replied Taeyeon, accepting his handshake and bowing slightly. His fingers were long and slender with a warm palm - it looked like a work of art.

“So…” Seunghyun started, staring at the dazed woman. “May I come in?”

She turned around to find the owner of the apartment still seated on the sofa watching the two.

“Yeah, come in hyung,” answered Jiyong. He strolled over to the coffee table and Taeyeon followed after him. “What's the deal? You don't usually come to visit me.”

“I heard from your secretary that you were taking the day off today because you were sick. I thought it was something serious considering you don't usually take days off,” explained Seunghyun, taking off his large grey jacket. He hung it across the back of the black armchair off to the side of Jiyong before seating himself in it. “I thought I’d take care of you but it seems you already have company.”

“Of course,” grinned Jiyong smugly. “I’m quite a popular man with the ladies as I’m sure you must know. I don’t really need male company to take care of me.”

Seunghyun laughed at the bold remark. “You’re popular amongst female folk, but not for good reasons my friend,” retorted Seunghyun. He turned to face Taeyeon who was currently standing behind Jiyong, fiddling with her fingers as if she was unsure of what she should do. He gave her a comforting smile. “Can I get some water please Taeyeon?”

“Sure,” she said, scampering away to the kitchen to fulfil the request.

Seunghyun leaned in towards Jiyong and whispered, “So she’s the one you’ve been telling me about? The woman you’re going to marry in five months?”

“Yeah, she’s my girlfriend,” replied Jiyong, following the quiet tone.

“Doesn’t that make her your fiance if you’re planning to get married?” inquired Seunghyun, noticing the odd inconsistency.

Jiyong thought for a while. It was true - his mother had asked him to marry Taeyeon to test if their relationship was authentic or not, and if he would go through with it. That would make her his fiance right? For some reason though, he could feel deep down that the term was not suitable for them - it felt a bit too intimate, a bit too real. But for now he would have to play along.

“I guess so,” laughed Jiyong nervously, turning around to look at the blonde woman rinsing a glass in the sink. “She’s my fiance.”

“Well, it’s about time I got to meet her,” laughed Seunghyun. “I can’t believe you haven’t introduced her to everyone yet.”

Jiyong grumbled at the man’s enthusiasm. “I plan to do so next month, at the Jeju hotel opening party. I told the boys in advance to leave their calendar open,” informed Jiyong, leaning back into his seat. Taeyeon returned to the living room and placed a tray with two glasses of water on the clear coffee table.

“Drink,” she commanded, holding up one of the glasses to Jiyong. He simply nodded and accepted the cool glass of water. “You need to keep drink more if you want to lose your cold.”

“Thanks for the water,” Seunghyun said, taking his own glass as he watched over the two amusingly. “You two do look rather cute together.”

“Oh…” commented Taeyeon shyly, now aware of the careful observation by Jiyong’s friend. “Thank you.”

“We are very close,” stated Jiyong, placing the glass down and placing his other hand around Taeyeon’s waist to pull her closer to him. “Aren’t we, honey?” He felt a small pinch on his upper thigh and gave a small glare towards the small woman beside him, before facing Seunghyun again with a wide smile.

“Of course, honey,” replied Taeyeon, gritting her teeth as she bared telling the lies.

“I can’t wait till everyone gets to meet her next month,” Jiyong said as he ignored the pain from his legs caused by Taeyeon. Instead he decided to snuggle even closer to her. “I can’t wait until they meet the love of my life.”

“Well, that’ll be interesting,” mused Seunghyun. “They’ll be surprised to find out that you have a serious girlfriend. Heck, when you first told me I didn’t even think she existed.”

“Wait,” stopped Taeyeon, shocked. “Why not?”

“It’s just I couldn’t imagine Jiyong settling down,” laughed Seunghyun. “In the past he’d always try to avoid marriage, so what’s happening now is a bit surprising. He even rejected all the woman his mother arranged for him.”

“Oh…” murmured Taeyeon dejectedly, suddenly reminded of the man’s desire to remain unmarried.

“Anyway,” started Jiyong, changing the subject. “Taeyeon here is an artist. You should have a look at her pieces sometime. I can guarantee you her pieces will be a hit for your gallery.”

“My gallery? I suppose I can have a look,” pondered Seunghyun.

“Oh! You’re the Seunghyun who owns the art gallery!” exclaimed Taeyeon in amazement as she realised who the man before her was. “We visited there a few weeks ago. There were so many fantastic paintings there and it was just so beautiful.” She wistfully stared upwards, reimagining the scenes inside her head that had vividly captured her passion.

“Yes, I guess I am that Seunghyun,” he chuckled bashfully. “You're a big fan of art aren't you Taeyeon?”

He waited for her to confirm his question, to which she nodded before he continued.

“Have you ever seen Jiyong's artwork?” he asked. “He's very talented you know, and his pieces are very interesting.”

“Hyung,” stated Jiyong sharply. The low tone carried a sense of a warning towards the older man. “I'm not interested in it anymore. Don’t talk about me like that please.”

An odd silence filled the room, as the two men waited for the other to give in.  

“Alright alright,” conceded Seunghyun finally. “Anyway, I came by to tell you about what I was going to say today at our meeting.”

“Should I be allowed to listen in on this?” interjected Taeyeon, her brows furrowed in a worried expression.

“Ah, I guess it is business,” answered Jiyong, scratching the back of his head awkwardly. “Sorry about this, but can you leave us two alone for a while?”

Taeyeon nodded in response. “It’s okay, I think I should go now. I have some things to do today as well,” she said, bowing to the two before standing up. She was about to exit for the door when she felt a small tug by her arm.

“You’ll be back later today right?” Jiyong asked, the source of the hand that was stopping her.

She gave him a perplexed look, as if she was asking why, until he continued.

“You need to take care of me remember?” Jiyong reminded, who then pouted cutely. “I am ill, and besides you would need to take your stuff back.” He pointed to the half eaten bowl of porridge before him, and the large pot left behind on the counter.

“Okay,” accepted Taeyeon quickly, who then picked up her bag and walked away towards the door to put on her shoes. She turned around to say her final farewell. “It was nice meeting you Seunghyun.”

“Likewise,” he replied as Taeyeon left the apartment. He watched Jiyong for a while, following his gaze towards the door the woman had just been. “You really like her don't you?”

“What?” exclaimed Jiyong, his focus returning to his friend. He recollected himself as he was reminded of his situation. “I mean yes. Of course I like her. She is my fiance after all.”

Seunghyun then laughed. “I know you're lying to me Jiyong. I've known you for what, fifteen years now?” he said, taking a sip of the glass of water before him.

Jiyong remained silent, affirming the truth from his statement. “How could you tell?” he whispered dejectedly.

“It's obvious,” Seunghyun remarked. “It's because you're still not over her.” He placed the glass of water back down before crossing his arms.

“There's nothing to be over hyung,” denied Jiyong, looking away from the scrutinizing gaze of the older man.

“You’re trying to push her onto me. It’s pretty clear you haven’t gotten over her,” affirmed Seunghyun. He slunk back in exasperation. “What about your dream? Why won’t you pursue it anymore?”

“It’s just a dream. It’s not meant to be fulfilled,” Jiyong replied gloomily. He then directed his eyes towards Seunghyun. “If you’re going to keep talking about this, get out.”

“Alright alright,” acknowledged Seunghyun, sighing in defeat. He then looked sharply at Jiyong. “Anyway, I came to tell you something important that I was going to bring up in our meeting today.”

“What is it?” Jiyong asked impatiently, tapping his feet.

“You know how we have a deal with the Korean tourism organisation to build a modern day inn?” started Seunghyun. “To promote a