Chapter 4 - Dinner

Dolce Vita Seoul Hotel Lobby - 1.14PM

“Are you free tonight for dinner?” asked Jiyong eagerly, a gleam of hopefulness brushing his brown eyes.

Taeyeon froze at the sudden invite, nervous about the prospect of having dinner with the handsome man. “I’m free tonight…” Taeyeon whispered in response. She could feel her heart pounding against her chest, and a hot flush filled her face. She was excited about this man - there was no doubt about it.

Jiyong broke out a smile in return, glad that things may go according to his quickly concocted plan. “Do you have time now? We can quickly discuss what we are doing in the evening,” elaborated Jiyong. Taeyeon nodded meekly and he led her back to his office.

They entered his office and Taeyeon couldn’t help but be amazed. The size of the office was about the same as her apartment, including all three bedrooms. The wealthy truly lived on another level she thought. The white walled office composed of two sections. The first was a seating area for guests, with a see through coffee table littered with folders on top of it, surrounded with black leather armchairs. The second section was beyond the seating area and contained a white oak office desk and an imposing black leather chair. A modern computer system was placed on the workspace, and a flatscreen television was hanged onto the right wall, most likely for conference calls. A potted plant was affixed the top right corner of the room, its green hue a large contrast to the black and white room. Black wooden bookshelves were arranged around the sides of the room, filled to the brim with stacks of paperwork and books. One thing Taeyeon noticed was a distinct lack of colour about the room and personal belongings. There wasn’t any photos or memorabilia around the room which she found odd.

Jiyong took the seat at the head of the glass coffee table and sat the fidgety Taeyeon in the armchair to the right of him.

“You said you owe me for helping you out last time right?” started Jiyong.

Taeyeon motioned ‘yes’ with her head, confused about the odd question.

“Tonight I need you to pretend to be my girlfriend and attend a dinner tonight my parents,” elaborated Jiyong, watching her carefully to see her response.

Taeyeon’s pupils contracted and her lips turned a pale white as they pursed together. She jumped out of seat and shrieked, “A pretend girlfriend?!” Her slender hands were balled up as red fists of anger.

“Calm down calm down!” Jiyong reassured, placing his hands in front of him defensively. “Let me explain first okay?” Jiyong brang his hands to her arms and guided her back into the chair.

“My parents want me to marry to guarantee the future of the hotel company,” Jiyong revealed. “They will marry me off in an arranged marriage if I fail to bring them a woman of my own.”

Taeyeon softened as she heard about his circumstances. She hated the idea of an arranged marriage. To her marriage was the lifelong partnership of two people, the apex of a relationship and most importantly the love the two people would have for each other for eternity. Her hands returned to her lap and rested on her skirt as she played with her fingers.

“I need you to come with me tonight to be my girlfriend so they will get off my back,” Jiyong continued. “I don’t want to be married. and certainly not an arranged one.” he stated.

“Why should I help you with this lie?” asked Taeyeon. She wondered the reason behind his actions. Obviously in her ideal world marriage would involve two people in love, but this was standard fare for the upper class right? “Why don’t you want to be married?”

Jiyong paused. Should he open up to this stranger he questioned to himself. He certainly was not comfortable telling his inner fears to any random person, but she was the key to his freedom and it could convince her to help him.  

“My parents, they had an arranged marriage in the same fashion,” Jiyong began apprehensively. “My mother was the daughter of a high ranking government official and my father needed a bill to be passed for the hotel business to expand. It was a matter of money, and they’ve had this loveless marriage for 27 years. My mother is a huge socialite and my father in recent years has wanted to enter politics, so they stay together only because of the image they want to portray.”

Taeyeon closed her eyes as she took in his words. She couldn’t picture living such an empty life. She loved the idea of romance and love. Over the years she had her fair share of boyfriends, but perhaps her romanticized views of relationships had caused her to expect too much.

“I don’t want to live like that. I don’t want to be another tool they use to further their status. I don’t want to be married,” finished Jiyong. He rose out of his chair and took Taeyeon’s hands into his own whilst kneeling down.

“You said you owe me right? Please help me with this,” Jiyong pleaded, his amber eyes staring directly into Taeyeon’s.

Her face reddened upon feeling his hands wrapping around her own. Anyone could have mistaken the scene for a romantic one if they did not know of the circumstances. She sighed in defeat. “Why have you chosen me?” she questioned. “I’m sure you can charm any woman in Seoul and have them to be your real girlfriend for the night.”

Relief filled Jiyong’s face at the question - she was clearly warming up to his idea. After all she did not remove her hands from his grasp. “I don’t want to be in a relationship nor do I like hurting woman’s feelings,” Jiyong said. “Sure I play with them, but I don’t make promises I can’t keep. It would be easier with you since I can be honest with you and tell you what we’re getting into. Hopefully if she sees I have you in my life she’ll let go of the idea of marrying me off.”

Taeyeon nodded solemnly - it was a reasonable request to just have dinner with him for one night. She sighed as she slowly accepted his idea. “Fine I’ll go along with you tonight to your dinner. Is there anything else I need to know? Maybe you want to bring a little girl along to act as your fake daughter too,” Taeyeon sarcastically remarked.

Jiyong chuckled at her remark. “The dinner is at my parent’s house in Gangnam-gu at 6PM. I’ll pick you up,” Jiyong said. “Make sure to dress well, my parents can be quite snobby.”

Taeyeon nodded numbly. Maybe it was better this way - it hasn’t been long since her breakup and she hasn’t really had any time to herself yet, for the better or worse. Despite her parents encouragement to quickly settle down she didn’t feel ready to put herself out there again. She could at least have some fun tonight on this pretend date and possibly get over her hump in life, plus the man before her was certainly cute. It was only one night she would have to spend with him, how bad could it be?

“Don’t worry, after this I won’t ask anything else from you,” promised Jiyong. “In fact, afterwards if you would like I could set you up with one my friends. I know a lot of good young men.”

“I don’t think I want to date someone who’s similar to you,” joked Taeyeon. “One arrogant jerk is enough for me to deal with thanks.”

Jiyong laughed. “I can promise you these guys are the best,” reassured Jiyong. “Just don’t tell them I said that because they would laugh at me.” Jiyong sheepishly scratched his head in embarrassment, and light laughter filled the wide office.

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Apartment complex, Seodaemun-gu - 5.12PM

Taeyeon looked at herself in the mirror once again, afraid she hadn’t put enough effort. Tiffany was unfortunately working tonight and would not be able to attend to her clothing as she usually would. She pulled the neck of her long red dress. The dress consisted of a flowery design embroidered into the fabric, and the open back showing her smooth pale skin was the highlight. A pair of white earrings resembling a snowflake adorned her ears as she played with her clothes.  

Jiyong would be arriving any minute now, he had mentioned that he would come by at 5.15. She wasn’t sure if he was the punctual type or late type of person, and had decided to get ready early - at 3.00PM to be exact.  

A ring suddenly went off from her phone.

“Hello?” said Taeyeon, who rushed to her bedside table to pick up her phone.

“It’s Jiyong. I’m just outside your apartment complex. Come outside,” Jiyong informed her.

“Okay I’ll be right down,” confirmed Taeyeon, taking deep breaths in attempts to calm herself. Taeyeon could feel the heavy beat of heart, almost as if it was trying to burst through her chest. She repeated the fact it was only a pretend relationship tonight, but why did her heart continue to churn so furiously?

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Jiyong gulped as his eyes met the beautiful woman exiting the building. Her blonde hair was pulled into a small bun and a small white cardigan covered her slender arms. The long red dress covered her legs and the way she glided across the pavement oozed elegance. The low light of the early evening gave her an ethereal appearance, her eyes twinkling with excitement and nervousness.

“H-Hello,” greeted Taeyeon