1.

The Im Family sat down and ate dinner together. Butlers and maids surround them while eating, watching them and waiting for their orders. Mr. Im’s three daughters chat with each other, namely Yuri (the eldest), Yoona (the middle child) and SeoHyun (the youngest). Then, Yoona announced something to her family.

“Omma, I’m taking a leave for about 3 weeks. I’m going to Paris.” She said.

Her parents stop and stare at her. Yoona was serious about this.

“Are you sure? Why will you go to such place?” Mrs. Im asked her.

Yoona smiled and said “I will take a rest. And when I come back, I promise you, omma, I will come back with more ideas, fresh from France.”

Mr. and Mrs. Im thought about it for some time. After eating dinner, the siblings took their rest in the living room. SeoHyun was filing her nails just like any other girl at her age would do.

“Why would you go to Paris, Yoona?” Yuri asked, breaking her silence off.

Hugging her pillow, Yoona answered “There are a lot of reasons, unnie. I just hope I’ll be allowed to go. Plus, I’m already old enough to travel alone.”

“Oh well.” Yuri said with a sigh.

Then, Mr. and Mrs. Im came out of their bedroom and went to their daughters.

“Alright. You can go to Paris, Yoona. Just please be safe. And don’t copy designs, it’s a crime.” Mrs. Im told Yoona.

Yoona stood up, still hugging her pillow, smiling like a child. She ran to her mother and hugged her. She hugged her Dad as well. Yoona already graduated as a fashion designer and has a stable job in her mother’s fashion line. However, her parents still has their eyes on her. This is how the Im Family is. They always remain connected to each other.

This is so tiring.

She looked at the sun setting around Seoul. Her office was made of wide glass windows, making her see Seoul very well. She placed her pencil down and drank a cup of coffee. She stretched her arms. She is tired from making designs for the Seoul Fashion Week. Graduated from ESMOD, Yoona is proud of her talent - an unstoppable skill in fashion designing. Yoona is blessed with a good family. Her parents are both industrious just to meet the needs of their daughters. Although Mr. Im was disappointed for not having a son, he still loves his daughters equally. Yoona smiled as she looked at the picture frame on the side of her table. She is also blessed with a good job, a luxurious car and an apartment. She's lucky enough. Very lucky than other girls at her age. But her life got dry. Although it was perfect, but her life got boring. Yoona knew she wanted something else. Something new. She stood up and looked at the view down the bulding. Kids were running around. Then, she noticed a lot of couples passing by the street. There, she knew what she wanted.

She wants to fall in love again.

It has been 5 years since she broke up with her first love. While in ESMOD, she focused on her studies and forgot about her past. She forgot about love. Love makes the world go round, they say. Yoona missed the feeling of getting gifts from a man, receiving calls from a man, being kissed by a man and stuff like that.

She went back to her apartment and saw an airplane ticket lying on her bed.

"Oh yeah. I booked a flight for Paris.", she said to herself while staring at the ticket.

She always wanted to go to Paris. She loves seeing pictures of the Eiffel Tower and people eating baguettes. Not just that, she wants to broaden her mind for her career. She wants to know more about fashion since Paris is the home of elegant fashion designers who made history. Booking a flight for Paris was not her intention. She just booked it out of boredom. She wanted something else. She wants to find peace. She wants to breath from all the pressure her mother is giving to her. There were things she wanted to ignore in Korea. She sat on the bed and picked the ticket up.

Paris. Here we go.

On the other hand, a man just booked a flight for Paris. The same flight as Yoona's. He is Lee Donghae, the successor of the Lee Group. The current leader/ CEO of the group died. That was his father. He wore black that day. It was the 4th week of mourning. He flashed back to when his father promised him that he would take care of him until his last breath.

He played with paper planes. Mr. Lee accompanied his cheerful son in his playtime. He smiled, seeing Donghae play cheerfully. Donghae ran to him. He hugged him.

"Daddy! That was fun.", Donghae said.

Mr. Lee laughed and said, "Donghae, what will you do in the future?"

"Be a great person just like you. And when you get older, I'll take care of you."

"Donghae-ah, I promise you that as long as I'm alive, I will take care of you until my last breath."

He blinked his eyes. He realized that his father's promise was unfinished. His heart ached as he remembered his father's last words.

Donghae. My son. I hope I'm not pressuring you. Daddy doesn't want you to suffer at all. If you don't like to handle the Lee Group, just hand it over to your cousins. Remember, I love you very much. I sacrificed many things for you. And you fulfilled your promise although I didn't complete mine. Time's up, they say. I love you, Donghae. You'll always be my son.

His true purpose for booking this flight was to get away with the tears and just be happy. After all, Mr. Lee always wanted him to be happy. He always dreamed of taking a vacation to Paris. And there he is, booking his flight.

-------

“There you go, SeoHyun.” Says Yuri.

SeoHyun bowed 90 degrees to her sister and said “Thank you for the ride, unnie.”

Yuri nodded her head and waved goodbye to her sister. SeoHyun wore a peach blouse matched with white shorts and sneakers. She’s already in her final year in university. She is often praised as the ‘goddess of the university ‘for her fashion sense and intelligence. Then, a man about her age, riding a bike, called her out. He was wearing his polo matched with black slacks. He looked like a nerd from afar. But once you look at him closely, he looks like a statue carved by angels.

“Kyuhyun!” SeoHyun called him back.

He stopped his bike and smiled “It’s nice to see you again, SeoHyun.”

SeoHyun couldn’t help but smile when she saw her best friend, KyuHyun. But then, a group of guys passed by and called KyuHyun.

“KyuHyun! Come over! We have something to tell you. Quick!” one guy said.

KyuHyun scratched his forehead and said to SeoHyun “Sorry. I gotta go. See you later.”

SeoHyun nodded her head. She just walked to the lobby when somebody bumped her. She fell down on the ground, so as her books.

“Mianhamnida. I didn’t mean to hurt you.” The guy who bumped her said.

SeoHyun looked up. A man about her age, handsome and charming appeared in her sight. He wore a simple blue tee, jeans and sneakers. He picked up SeoHyun’s books.

SeoHyun noticed his eyes, eyes that sparkled when reflected by sunlight. He reached his hand out to help SeoHyun get up. SeoHyun took his hand and stood up. He gave her the books that fell to the ground a while ago. He bowed once again and said sorry in a formal way.

“Thanks for picking these up.” SeoHyun thanked him while clutching the books.

“Miss, my name is Jung Yonghwa. I’m new here and I don’t know where the library is. Can you help me?” Yonghwa said.

Yuri parked her car near a boutique. She wanted to get new clothes. As a future CEO of the Im Corporation, she should look good always. It’s a shame for a smart and independent woman like her to dress in a bad way. She pushed the door of the boutique gently.

“Annyeonghasseyo! Welcome to Kim’s Fashion Empire.” A guy greeted her.

The guy is tall in height, dressed in formal clothes and has excellent facial features. He was standing in the counter, smiling at Yuri.

“How can I help you, miss?” he asked.

Yuri walked around and browsed through casual dresses and feminine coats. Then, she noticed that there was only one employee present.

“Excuse me, do you work alone here?” she asked the guy.

“No. It’s our lunch break, miss. They all went out and left me here. Newbie issues.” The guy answered.

Yuri felt something she never felt before. She admired his looks. Her heart was racing, pounding and beating so fast. She couldn’t explain how she felt. She looked at his nameplate and said “Choi Minho. You don’t look like a cashier to me.” Minho laughed. Yuri finds him cute when he laughs. Yuri picked up the clothes she wanted, bought it without even fitting it in. Yuri left the boutique with an unstoppable smile. But Minho noticed a bracelet on the floor.

Wednesday midnight came. Yoona dragged her luggage around the airport and sat down in the waiting area. She was so excited about stepping into the land she always dreamed of – Paris, France. She opened her book, flipped through its pages and read the first line. She was learning how to speak French, even just the tiniest part of the language.

Donghae sat four seats apart from Yoona, taking a rest. He wore his sunglasses on so that the lights won’t distract him from his nap. Suddenly, the airplane was ready. He didn’t even get to nap yet. It’s time to go to Paris.

Why hello subscribers! AFF broke down a few days ago, making me inactive. I haven't updated this story for the same reason. Sigh. I hope AFF will be okay from now on. This chapter is quite simple and kinda boring :/ But I hope you'll like the upcoming chapters, especially when Donghae and Yoona meet each other in Paris. I look forward to your comments. ~ Saranghae! ♥ ♥