Unbetrothed: Chapter 1

Sandara Park knew the moment she saw the men in dark suits waiting next to the stretch limo parked in front of her school that they were there for her. There were a lot of wealthy students that attended Georgetown University, but not too many of them that were Korean, and she could tell with one glance at the men in the dark suits that they were from her home country. Sandara, who went by the name Dara, turned to her friend walking beside her and apologized.

“Sorry Sammi, I just remembered there’s something I have to go take care of. Can we meet later at the library instead?”

Her friend nodded. “Not a problem, Dara. Just give me a call when you’re ready and I’ll meet you then.”

Dara waited till her friend left before she walked over to the limo and the waiting bodyguards. The men bowed and one opened the back door of the limo to allow Dara to enter. Inside the car she found a man waiting for her.

“Teddy!” She smiled at her cousin as she settled into the seat. She had been expecting to see either her father or her younger brother, Thunder..

“Hey, what’s up Tokki!” Teddy reached over to give Dara a welcoming squeeze of her hand. It’s been nearly two years since he’s last seen her, which was when she was leaving to attend college here in the U.S. “Wow, you’re all grown up now, and even more beautiful than ever.”

Dara rolled her eyes at his compliment but returned his smile. “So what’s up?” she asked, cutting to the chase. "It must be something really important that grandfather would send you all the way here to see me." Teddy was practically her grandfather's right hand. He was the eldest of the grandchildren and destined to one day take control of the family business. He was not the one her grandfather would send out on an intercontinental flight unless it was really important.

Teddy reached into his coat pocket and withdrew a passport, which he handed over to Dara. “You, dear cousin, have been summoned.”

Dara stared at the passport before reaching out to take it. The fact that Teddy had her passport told her that he had already been to her apartment and met with Mrs. Kim. She was the housekeeper/cook that her grandfather had insisted she have since Dara refused to have a bodyguard with her. Mrs. Kim was her grandfather’s way to keep an eye on Dara while she was away from home, a concession she had had to agree to in order to get his approval to attend college away from Korea in the first place.

“My classes…” she began, only to be cut off.

“You’ve already been excused from this afternoon and tomorrow’s classes. You’ll be back in time for your Monday classes if all goes as planned.”

Dara blinked and frowned. “If all goes as planned? And may I ask what that plan is? Why am I being summoned back home suddenly?”

Teddy gave her a little smile and a look that told her she should know better than to ask. “We’re headed straight to the airport. I suggest you get your sleep on the plane so that you look your best when we arrive.”

“Ah, so a public appearance of some sort,” Dara mumbled, turning to look out the window at the passing scenery. It must be something important that her grandfather was summoning her to make an appearance. She made a habit of keeping up with the business and finance news from back home but she wasn’t aware of anything taking place that might be cause for a family gathering. But obviously something was going down. Teddy was too valuable to her grandfather to send out on an errand to fetch her. It meant that whatever was happening her grandfather was not taking no for an answer from Dara to not be in attendance. But what could that be? It had her intrigued.

Upon arrival at the airport Teddy quickly got the two of them cleared through customs. She was led to a gate where she saw her grandfather’s personal jet waiting. A mere fifteen minutes later she was settled into her seat, seatbelt securely fastened, cousin Teddy sitting in the seat across the aisle, and the jet roared down the runway taking her home to Seoul.

Meanwhile in a private room of a restaurant in Seoul a party was in full steam. Loud music blared, scantily dressed women danced and cavorted with each other and the men in attendance. It was a ‘by invitation only’ party, and the invitees were all young, in their twenties, and from Seoul’s wealthiest families. A bar kept the drinks flowing and a buffet table was arranged on the other end of the room. There was no special reason for the celebration other than boredom and the desire to have a good time. Amongst the revelers Kwon Jiyong stood out as the center of attention. He was the richest one there, the most popular, and the one everyone there wanted to get closer to. Jiyong was the eldest son of Kwon Nam-gi, who was the second son of Kwon Jung-ju, the current Chairman of the Kwon Financial Group.

Jiyong was sandwiched between two of his female friends on a couch, his arms flung around their shoulders, the three of them laughing as they watched the antics of some of their other friends on the dance floor. One of the girls looked down when she felt a buzzing sensation. “Ji baby, I think that’s your phone.”

Jiyong reached down and retrieved the phone from his pocket and took a look at the caller id. His lips formed a smirk as he read his father’s name, and he promptly declined the call and then turned the phone off. He didn’t need to speak with his father to know what it was he wanted. His father had called him into his office earlier in the week and had announced to him that the time had come for Jiyong to meet his betrothed. Jiyong had laughed aloud and proclaimed, once again, that he had no intention of marrying some stranger that his grandfather had picked out. He was only 24 years old and he didn’t intend to marry for at least another ten years. His father’s response had been that either Jiyong marry the young woman his grandfather picked out, or face disinheritance. It was that plain and simple. Jiyong didn’t believe his father’s threat or that his grandfather would actually disinherit him. After all he was the oldest grandchild and only grandson of Kwon Jung-ju, and he got along fairly well with his grandfather.He had no doubt he would be able to talk his grandfather into changing his mind.

“Who was it?” his female companion asked out of curiosity, seeing the smirk on Jiyong’s face as he declined the call.

“My old man.”

She raised her brows at him, a smile on her face. “Aw, you and daddy have a fight?”

“What else is new?” he sneered, as he put the phone back in his pocket. He stood then and pulled the two girls up and out toward the dance floor, pushing all thoughts of his father and the impending meeting with his supposed fiancée out of mind. “Come on ladies, time to party!”