Business & Pleasure

The driver pulled up in front of the Business & Pleasure, Inc. building and hurried around to the side of that sleek black car to open the door for CEO Kwon Jiyong to exit. Jiyong stepped out of the car and onto the sunlight sidewalk, where he was then greeted by the building attendant, who bowed a full ninety degrees while opening the front door.

Jiyong rarely acknowledged the people who held his doors open. He saw these employees – the driver, the doorman – as lacking influence and ambition; however, although he didn’t pay much personal attention to them, he rewarded their efficiency with significant monetary compensation. Efficiency, even amongst those who just opened doors, was something Jiyong believed to be the backbone of any good business.

The company had been in business long enough to weed out the inefficient workers, leaving only those who excelled in their jobs on the payroll… with the exception of one position: CEO Kwon Jiyong’s personal secretary. Every new secretary that the Human Resources department hired lasted less than a week before Jiyong fired her. His last secretary couldn’t make his coffee the way he liked it. The secretary before her couldn’t type fast enough. One was even fired because she had a habit of biting her nails.

This had become somewhat of a running joke amongst the employees in the company, who spent their free time betting on how long each new secretary would last. When they lined up in the lobby and waited to greet their CEO that Monday morning, they whispered about the girl beginning work that day. Rumors circulated that she had some personal connection to Jiyong, and everyone was abuzz with gossip; however, this rampant conversation ceased the moment Jiyong entered the lobby. They silently bowed as Jiyong walked past them to the elevator, held that bow until the elevator doors closed, and then returned to their respective departments.

As Jiyong rode the elevator up to the top floor, his thoughts were on the new secretary, too. His best friend from college, Choi Seunghyun, had called him last week and told him how his younger sister, Dara, had just returned to Seoul after attending school in the States. He asked Jiyong to find a place in the company for Dara as a favor to him. Jiyong wanted to say no. The secretary job was the only open position, and because Dara had no experience with secretarial work, he doubted that she would last longer than the experienced ones he had fired in the past. But he owed Seunghyun. When Jiyong was young, he had a nervous stutter whenever he was around attractive women. By the time he was in college, he just avoided talking to women entirely. But when Seunghyun found out, he introduced Jiyong to a speech therapist who helped him overcome his embarrassing stutter. This was the turning point in Jiyong’s life, allowing him to be the confident man he was today.

Knowing that his employees liked to gossip about his secretaries, Jiyong told Seunghyun to have Dara come in at six that morning, before the other employees arrived. Jiyong glanced at his watch now. It was nearly eight o’clock. Dara should have been at her desk for two hours by now. This past Friday, before he left for the weekend, he had placed his appointment book and client list on her desk. He hoped that when she came in this morning, she had spent these first two hours familiarizing herself with his appointment schedule and memorizing the names and details of his clients. He hadn’t provided instructions to do this; he was testing her on whether or not she could infer what to do.

His former secretary, just after he fired her, had said that no one would ever be able to make him happy because, in her words, he didn’t want a secretary; he wanted a mindreader. But he didn’t see his expectations in this way. If he was a new employee, hired to serve another, and he arrived at his desk early on his first day to find two important documents left there, he would spend what time he had to learn those documents backwards and forwards. He would probably even seek out more information to learn everything he could about the person he was working for, that way he would know how to best fulfill his duties.

The elevator doors opened to the small lobby area just outside his office. It was a well-lit space, with much sunlight shining through the windows that lined the far wall. In the center of the space was a large cherry wood desk where his secretary should have been sitting, but no one was there. Jiyong shook his head. Whichever employee had bet that Dara would last only a few hours before being fired was about to make a lot of money, Jiyong thought.

But when he turned to walk to his office, which had open glass doors that faced the lobby area, he could see a young woman standing inside with her back to him. She was wearing a light cream-colored sweater jacket over a cute white dress that ruffled out just above her knees. He stared at her knee-high stockings, thinking that she looked more like a schoolgirl than a secretary.

As he neared the office door, he could see that she was looking through a file. He cleared his throat, which startled Dara so much that she jumped a bit as she turned around, sending the papers in the manila folder she had open in her hands flying into the air.

“Omo!” she exclaimed, as she quickly dropped to her knees to pick up the papers.

Jiyong kneeled to help her, if only to hurry that awkward moment along. But as they kneeled together on the floor, they both looked up at each other for a moment, their eyes meeting. G-Dragon had never seen such a beautiful face before. She wore little makeup and yet had such flawless skin. Her eyes were big and bright with long lashes, and her lips were full and shimmery. But it was the way these features came together that made him tremble. It was pure angelic symmetry.  

Dara ran her hands through her long brown hair and then shuffled the papers back into the folder before standing. “I’m so sorry, Kwon Jiyong-sajangnim. I was just…” Her words trailed off as their eyes met again. He was much more handsome than he appeared in the pictures her brother had shown her of the two of them in college. She realized now that she had yet to properly greet him. She bowed low as she introduced herself and then stood before him, waiting for him to speak.

Jiyong couldn’t speak. He felt that nervous twitch he hadn’t felt since his schooldays, and that made him even more nervous. He tried rehearsing the words he wanted to say in his head so that they would come out right when he spoke, but the fear of stuttering had taken hold and he was unable to utter a word. He had been around plenty of attractive women since he successfully worked through his stutter and didn’t understand why, after all these years, this embarrassing condition had suddenly reemerged.

Dara, quite nervous herself and intimidated by Jiyong’s silence, began to ramble. “I was putting a file together for you. I… I looked over the appointment schedule for today and noticed you have a meeting this morning with a man whose name isn’t listed on the client list. I just… I thought he was likely a potential client so I looked him up online and… here…” She hesitatingly handed him the folder. “Just some information about him and his company. I thought maybe it might be helpful.”

Jiyong took the folder from her, somewhat surprised that she had passed his test by looking over the appointment book and client list, but even more surprised that she had done this additional research. He wanted to look over her research but he couldn’t keep his eyes off her. He was perplexed by how her beauty had disarmed him to the point that he had regressed into the silent schoolboy he once was, afraid to speak lest he stutter.

Dara noticed that he hadn’t once looked down at the file she had made and assumed that he was unimpressed by her work. She wished now that she hadn’t tried so hard to make a good first impression. After all, not only was he not looking at the file, but her attempt to impress had resulted in her dropping all those papers right in front of him. If anything, she only embarrassed herself. Realizing now that she was staring at him, she quickly turned away and gestured toward the coffee pot in the lobby. “Would you like me to make you some coffee?’ she asked.

Jiyong nodded and then rushed by her to sit down at his desk. He would just have to pretend that he was too busy to talk, he thought.

Dara was about to leave but then stopped in his doorway and glanced back at him. “How do you like your coffee?” she asked.

Frustrated that he couldn’t communicate and desperate to hide his condition, he pretended that his silence was a sign of his authority and just waved her off with his hand. He rather she fear him than know that he was weak inside.

Dara turned to leave, confused as to why he was treating her this way. Had she done something wrong?

Jiyong watched her walk out, begin brewing a pot of coffee, and then sit down behind the cherry wood desk. For the next few minutes, he did his best to avoid eye contact with her, which was somewhat difficult because his office doors were open to her desk in the lobby, the two practically facing each other. But then he heard the elevator doors open and looked up to see the businessman, Yang Hyun Suk, with whom he was scheduled to meet. Jiyong quickly stood up from his desk and walked out into the lobby to personally greet Hyun Suk, grateful that his stuttering only happened around women.

“Come in, come in,” Jiyong said, ignoring Dara as he gestured Hyun Suk toward the leather seat opposite his desk. “Have a seat.” Jiyong sat behind his desk and breathed in deeply, having to have his voice back. “I think you’ll see that our company can be a great service to yours.”

“You were highly recommended,” Hyun Suk said. “But I’m not entirely clear on what you offer.”

Jiyong smiled and clasped his hands together. “We specialize in providing small companies with access to extravagance,” he said. “You want to lure potential clients with eighteen holes of golf at an exclusive resort? Our sporting department can make that happen. What about that trendy restaurant that takes reservations six months in advance? Our food and wine department can have you and your clients seated there tomorrow night.” Jiyong, feeling like his confident self again, straightened the lapels of his suit jacket and reclined somewhat in his seat.

“I see,” Hyun Suk said. “What about the State Room? I hear it’s impossible for anyone not in the top .01 income bracket to drink there.”

Jiyong nodded. “The State Room is extremely exclusive and has a 30 million won annual membership fee. But we have special access to guest membership passes that we can provide to–”

“I’m sorry to interrupt,” Hyun Suk said. “But would you mind asking your secretary to pour me a cup of that delicious coffee I smell brewing?”

Jiyong gulped, realizing the predicament he was now in. He looked toward the lobby behind Hyun Suk and saw Dara sitting at her desk. The light from the windows behind her outlined her in this whitish glow, which made her look like an angel. He quickly looked away, trying to get a hold of himself. Not knowing what else to do, he slowly reached for the phone on his desk and pressed the intercom button. He could hear it beep in the lobby and saw her looking down at her phone, but he couldn’t bring himself to talk. He stared at her now, hoping that she would just assume that she was wanted.

Fortunately, Dara looked up at him in that moment. She had been unfamiliar with the intercom system and wasn’t aware that they could talk through it. When Jiyong hadn’t said anything, she just assumed that the beep signified that he needed something and began walking over to his office.

She stood in the doorway, glancing between Hyun Suk and her boss and smiling politely.

Jiyong could feel his hands shaking. He tried to open his mouth but knew that he would stutter if he tried to speak. Seconds passed like hours in his terror.

Dara, not knowing why she was called over and feeling awkward just standing there, decided to ask what she can do. “Is there something I can get you?” she asked, looking first at Jiyong and then again at Hyun Suk.

“Some of that coffee would be nice,” Hyun Suk said.

Dara smiled and bowed.

Jiyong watched her walk into the lobby and over to the coffee pot. He thought back on what his last secretary had said to him, about how he wanted secretaries to read his mind. She had only said this because he gave little instruction, expecting secretaries to be able to think on their own. But now he was in a situation where he couldn’t give any instruction, and yet somehow, Dara was able to act as if she could in fact read his mind. She might turn out to be the best secretary he ever had, he thought, which was quite unfortunate considering that she rendered him completely speechless.

After she returned with the coffee, Jiyong and Hyuk Suk continued their meeting. They talked for the next ten or so minutes and eventually agreed on a contract of services. Jiyong shook Hyun Suk’s hand and then walked him to the elevator and bowed goodbye. When the elevator doors closed, he turned and glanced at Dara for a moment.

“Congratulations,” she said. "Should I add his name and information to the client list?"

Jiyong sighed and walked over to her desk. Ever since he began this company, he had been focused solely on business. He offered all of these services to other companies so that they could enjoy their work more, and yet, he had allowed himself none of these same pleasurable opportunities. He hadn’t even had a date in nearly three years. Perhaps this stutter came back for a reason, he thought. Perhaps it came back to remind him of the man he once was.

He reached over her desk for a piece of paper and began writing to her. She watched him curiously.

I am unable to speak around you, he wrote. I used to be like this around women but haven’t been in a long time.

Dara stood to read what he wrote and gently covered . “Oh,” she said, nearly tearful with relief as she looked up at him now. “I thought you didn’t like me.”

He tapped the pen nervously against the desk surface and then began writing again, but then quickly crossed out his attempt and looked directly at her. “I-I-I…” He cleared his throat and tried again. “I like my coffee black with one sugar,” he said, smiling now. “And I… I’d like to take you out to a nice restaurant for lunch.”

Dara’s eyes lit up as she nodded, too excited to speak.