Chapter 1

                I glanced down at the paper in my hand. This couldn’t be right… Could it? The obscure address of an up-and-coming company turning out to be Mister Kim? No. No way. I must have taken a wrong turn or something. But no, the address in my hand perfectly matched the address of the Mister Kim building. With a sigh, I slurped a bit of my cherry slushee and marched toward the building. So maybe it wasn’t the kind of company that I thought it was, but it couldn’t hurt to try, especially when the company was Mister Kim. 

            You see, Mister Kim is to novelists as the Olympics are to worldwide athletes. Getting into the company is a challenge, a dog-eat-dog competition, survival of the fittest. And once you’re in, you have to work your way to the top. But when you’re at the top, you’ve made it, in every sense of the word. There is no higher amount of success than making it into the Mister Kim Publishing Co.

            Putting on a determined and confident face, I stepped up to the front desk. The secretary sat in front of her computer, clacking away at the keys as if her life depended on it. I interrupted her fierce typing with a tiny cough, and she glared at me over the thick frames of her spectacles. “Can I help you?”

            “I was wondering, is there any way I can meet with someone who can give me information on finding an agent?” I asked as sweetly as possible.

            “Do you have an appointment?”

            “I’m afraid I don’t,” I sighed. Of course, at such a prestigious place, an appointment was necessary. “Do I need to make an appointment and come back later?”

            For a moment the woman continued messing with the computer, and then she looked up at me again. “You got lucky. I can fit you in for five minutes with Director Lee.”

            “Right now?” I asked, an incredulous smile plastering itself across my face.

            “Second floor, third door on the right.” She pointed to the elevators on the other side of the room. “Good luck, kid.”

            “Thank you!” I grinned. Slushee in hand, I turned towards the elevator…

            And ran straight into the person standing behind me, staining his crisp white shirt bright red. For a moment all I could do was stand there, mouth open, dumbfounded, until a bit of ice dripping down my wrist snapped me back to reality.

            “Oh my gosh! I’m so sorry!” I cried. “Here, let me help!” I took off my backpack and pulled out my emergency pack of tissues, handing them to the man quickly.

            “This was a new suit…” he groaned.

            “I’m so sorry!” I repeated.

            “Yeah, I got that part,” he scoffed, raising his head to meet my eyes. For a moment I froze, struck silent by the strong (and definitely aggravated) look of his catlike eyes.

            “I’ll… I’ll pay for dry cleaning,” I offered as soon as I found my voice. “How much is it?” I reached into my pack and pulled out my wallet.

            “Let’s see. This is a one-of-a-kind suit made in India specifically for me. I spent about $300,000 on just the shirt. I’d say dry cleaning is pretty expensive.”

            At his words, I felt my stomach drop. The shirt alone was $300,000? There was no way I could pay for dry cleaning! “I don’t have enough with me right now…” I mumbled. Then I was struck by an idea. I took an unused tissue and borrowed a pen from the secretary, scribbling down my phone number and address. “I’m busy right now, so call me later today and I’ll make sure to pay you!” I shoved the tissue into his hand and ran off in the direction of the elevator, praying I wasn’t too late for my meeting with the Director.

            Second floor. Third door on the right. I knocked hesitantly on the door. “Come in,” called a voice from inside. I slowly pushed the door open and stepped in, not knowing what to expect.

            What I found was a man my age, tall and dark, standing by a rather large window with his back to the door. He turned when he heard me come in, smiled, and gestured for me to sit in a rather plush leather chair. “How can I help you?”

            “I’m looking for an agent,” I explained. “I just wrote my first novel and I’m looking to get it published, so I need an agent.”

            “And your name is?”

            “Kevin Woo.”

            “Nice to meet you, Kevin. I’m Director Lee, but I suppose I’ll let you call me Kiseop,” he winked playfully.

            “It’s nice to meet you. Kiseop,” I added quickly.

Meanwhile…

The tall, lean man looked down at his shirt in aggravation. Nothing was worse than a bright red syrup stain. Nothing. And then the kid had the gall to run off like that? The man scoffed. He would teach him a lesson.

“Are you okay, President Kim?” The secretary asked, fabricated concern slathered across her features.

“Get back to work!” he snapped. The woman jumped at his loud voice and began typing as fast as she could. The man rolled his eyes and stormed off to his office, a plan of revenge already forming in his mind.

Annyeong~! :) Thank you SO much to everyone who has already subscribed to my story~~! I hope you enjoy this chapter, and you can look forward to more coming up soon! ^_^

@inspirit_kissme: I'm actually aiming for a more mature Kevin, since he is always portrayed as a playful and childish character :P I hope you like the update!

@RangerDanger1315: Kevin is definitely going to have his "cute adorable omgijustwanttosqueezeyou" moments in this story, but I want him to be more grown up. It's fun that way ^_^ I'm glad you like it!