001

THIS IS HOW WE START

 

            The shouts of the men in black can still be heard from behind Lee Sungyeol as he runs as fast as his long legs could. He looks behind him and a squeal uncontrollably makes its way out of his mouth as he sees the men running after him starting to catch up with his long strides. Sure, Sungyeol is tall and thin, making it easy for him to run away as fast as he can, but the men in black are short and thin, making it easy for them to run as well.

 

“Leave me alone! I’ll find you myself when I have the money!” Sungyeol yells at them, as if this would stop the men from running after him.

 

Sungyeol clicks his tongue and faces forward to continue running but when he looks ahead of him, he sees a low wall, separating the field that he is running on from the road. Not having enough time to change his route or stop, Sungyeol quickly jumps over the low wall and lands on the road on his feet. He is about to sigh a sigh of relief for being safe but he is startled by the sound of a car’s horn. He looks to his left and sees the SUV coming his way, he screams but fortunately, the car stops before hitting him. Sungyeol looks at the one-inch distance between the car’s bumper and his leg and hears the men in black yelling behind him. Without thinking, Sungyeol lies on the road, pretending to faint. The man driving the car immediately goes out of the car and checks on Sungyeol.

 

“Sir? Sir?! Are you alright? Sir, wake up!” Sungyeol hears the man say as he tries to shake Sungyeol awake.

 

Sungyeol can hear the men in black approaching, so he stubbornly keeps his eyes close.

 

“. Woohyun hyung, I’ll call you back later. I ran over someone…” he hears the stranger say.

 

“What? No! He looks alright, hyung. I’ll just bring him to a hospital or something. He might’ve been shocked. I’ll hang up now,” the man says, arising Sungyeol’s curiosity.

 

Sungyeol decides to open his eyes a little to take a peek at the man who saved him from the men who were running after him. The first thing that he sees when he opens his eyes are the red and plump lips of the man, then he sees the man’s perfect nose before seeing the man’s raven eyes that are staring at him worriedly.

 

“Are you awake? Sir, are you alright?” the man asks, trying to move Sungyeol into a sitting position.

 

Knowing that the men are still lurking around the area, Sungyeol pretends to faint again, landing in the arms of the man. As the man carries him bridal style towards his car, Sungyeol can smell the expensive perfume on the man’s expensive looking tux and when he is inside the car, he feels the soft cushion of the expensive car.

 

It looks like this accident just gave him a way to make some money!

 

 

~ O ~

 

“Until when is he going to be unconscious?” asks the man who brought Sungyeol to the hospital.

 

The doctor looks at Sungyeol with a smile.

 

“Aside from a few bruises and scratches, there are no critical injuries and no broken bones or sprain. The patient must’ve been shocked that’s why he fainted. Aside from that, there is nothing to worry. He might wake up within an hour,” the doctor says.

 

The man sighs in relief and checks his watch. He needs to attend an important meeting in fifteen minutes.

 

“I’m afraid that I wouldn’t be able to wait for him until we wakes up…please, just give him this when he wakes up,” the mans says, handing the doctor his calling card.

 

“Yes, I understand. I will give it to him, sir.”

 

“Thank you. I’ll take my leave now,” the man says, bowing to the doctor before walking out of the emergency room in a hurry.

 

The doctor makes a few notes on Sungyeol’s patient record before giving the man’s calling card to one of the attending nurses.

 

“Give this to the patient when he’s awake.”

 

“Yes, doctor,” the nurse says.

 

The nurse goes to Sungyeol’s bed, reading the calling card, when another nurse walks over to her.

 

“Ya, who was that handsome man? That’s his calling card, right?!” the other nurse says, nudging the other who is holding the golden calling card.

 

“Kim Myungsoo, director of Woollim Hotels and Resorts?!” the nurse gasps.

 

“Omo, that man must’ve been rich. He really looks like the director of the hotel! Even his calling card is shiny! Do you think it’s really made of gold?”

 

Hearing this, Sungyeol immediately opens his eyes and looks at the card in the nurse’s hand.

 

“Ya, that’s mine!” Sungyeol says, sitting up and snatching the card from the nurse’s hands to inspect it himself.

 

“Oh, Mr. Lee, you’re awake! How are you feeling?” the nurses asks.

 

Sungyeol stops reading the name card and remembers that he should be a patient who had been run over by an SUV. He should be a little weak, so he looks back at the nurses, pretending to be in pain.

 

“Ah, my back is hurting a little, ah, it hurts…” Sungyeol says, pretending to massage his shoulder.

 

“May I use the restroom, first?” he continues, looking at the nurses with his twinkling eyes.

 

The nurses smile at him and nods.

 

“Do you want us to help you or bring over a wheelchair?” one of them asks.

 

“Ah, you’re so nice but it’s fine~ there are other patients that you must attend to after all,” Sungyeol says, smiling a little.

 

The nurses nod and walk away to leave Sungyeol alone and attend to other patients in the emergency room. Sungyeol looks around and pretends to limp as he makes his way to the restroom. He hurriedly goes to the restroom and into a cubicle before pulling the golden calling card out of his pocket. He looks at it with a wide grin on his face and starts plotting in his mind.

 

“This is the director of the Woollim Hotel here in Jeju. That hotel is really big and expensive! I can get a lot of compensation from him! About ₩ 2,000,000? No, if I would get compensation, might as well demand something much bigger? ₩ 2,000,000 and a job? Ah, Lee Sungyeol, your luck really doesn’t run out! This isn’t an accident! This feels like winning pot luck!” Sungyeol excitedly says, kissing the calling card.

 

But his excitement dwindles a little when he remembers his father.

 

“Appa, I promise I will pay your debt soon so you can stop hiding in a foreign land like a criminal…” Sungyeol mumbles.

 

He sighs out one more time before skipping out of the cubicle and back to the emergency room to collect his things. But before he enters, he hears a familiar voice shouting inside the emergency room.

 

“There is a Lee Sungyeol who was brought here, right? Where is the boy?! Where is that boy?!”

 

Sungyeol flinches, knowing that the one who is shouting is the loan shark himself. He sighs and tries to take a look inside the emergency room. The loan shark didn’t come alone. He has his men with him. Surely, Sungyeol cannot take them down all at the same time.

 

“Bring out that boy or we’re going to trash this place!” the loan shark shouts.

 

Sungyeol gasps and quickly moves away from the emergency room to keep himself from being captured by the loan shark and his men. But as he walks through the hallway, he sees that there are also men in black at the end of the hallway, waiting and looking around among the people in the hospital.

 

“Aish, can’t my luck last a little longer?!” Sungyeol says to himself.

 

When one of the men on the other side of the hallway looks over in his direction, he hurriedly re-enters the bathroom and goes to the farthest cubicle. He sees that it is the janitor’s closet and an idea immediately enters his mind.

 

 

            Opening the door a little, Sungyeol looks around the hallway to check if any of the loan shark’s men are lurking about. When the cost is clear, Sungyeol goes out of the rest room, pulling the mop along behind him. He is wearing the janitor’s uniform over his clothes and luckily, the uniform comes with a hat, making it easier for him to conceal his face. He looks down as he pretends to mop the floors until he reaches the lobby. Looking around, he sees none of the men in black, so he leans the mop on a wall and removes his hat, ready to bolt out of the hospital’s entrance.

 

But on his way there, he sees the loan shark himself entering, so he turns around and pretends to cry over a patient who is being wheeled inside the hospital in order to blend in and conceal his true identity.

 

“It’s okay, don’t worry! She’s going to be alright,” Sungyeol cries, leaning on the shoulder of the relative of the patient on the bed.

 

The relative looks at him with a confused frown on his face, probably wondering who the hell is this weird boy who is crying with him as his aunt is being wheeled in. Sungyeol hides his face on the man’s shoulder when he sees the men in black coming their way.

 

When the men disappear, Sungyeol continues to run around the hospital, looking for the back entrance of the hospital. He is getting breathless and desperate. He needs to find the exit so that that loan shark won’t catch him. If he is caught, he’s surely going to be dead meat. Sungyeol hears a siren and sure enough, when he looks to his right, he sees the open door of the hospital’s back entrance. If he runs out and passes by the main entrance where the men are surely posted already, he’s surely going to be caught but if he rides the ambulance, he would be out of here in no time.

 

With this in mind, Sungyeol stands at the back of the ambulance as it closes he clings onto the door handles to keep himself from falling. He sees the loan shark and the men in black panting in front of the hospital’s main entrance, probably tired from looking all over the facility for Sungyeol.

 

“I’m sorry, but I’m going ahead of you! Bye!” Sungyeol shouts, waving one hand at them as the ambulance speeds away with him.

 

“Ya! Lee Sungyeol! Come back here! Come back! We’re going to catch you!”

 

Sungyeol smiles teasingly at them before giving them a flying kiss as the ambulance gets further and further. Sungyeol lets out a sigh of relief as the men disappears from his sight. For now, he is safe.

 

 

~ O ~

 

            Kim Myungsoo sighs in relief when his staff tells him that everything is ready for the arrival of the Chinese investors.

 

“I trust that the pension house has already been cleaned and stock with food?” Myungsoo asks.

 

“Yes, director Kim. The chefs are already preparing for tonight’s dinner with the finest ingredients on the island. The maids also picked fresh fruits from the pension’s orchard. Everything is completely set, director Kim,” Myungsoo’s staff says, bowing his head a little.

 

“Okay, thank you so much for your hard work. Please double check everything one last time and report back to me after. You may take your leave,” Myungsoo says.

 

“Yes, director Kim.”

 

The staff bows before walking out of Myungsoo’s office. Myungsoo leans back on his chair and loosens up his tie around his neck. He suddenly remembers the boy that he ran over a while ago, so he immediately takes out his phone.

 

“Jeju Hospital, how may we help you?”

 

“Yes, this is Kim Myungsoo. Did the patient that I brought wake up already?” Myungsoo says, not remembering the name of the patient.

 

“Ah, yes, sir. He is awake but he suddenly disappeared without saying anything. He also left his belongings,” the person on the other line says.

 

“Oh…alright, if he returns, inform me,” Myungsoo says.

 

~ O ~

 

“Dongwoo hyung, did appa give you a call?” Sungyeol asks as he sits on the grass, eating ramyun with his best friend.

 

“Not yet. But, Sungyeol-ah, what are you going to do now?! What are you going to do to get your belongings back from the hospital?” Dongwoo asks, slurping the soup from the noodles’ cup.

 

“I won’t get it back. It’s too risky because the loan shark is probably guarding the hospital in case I return. I don’t have anything valuable in that bag, anyway,” Sungyeol says.

 

He devours the last of his ramyun but his stomach growls again.

 

“Ah, hyung, I’m still hungry from all that running. Can you please, please, buy me more ramyun?” Sungyeol says, pouting at his hyung to charm him.

 

“Aish, you brat. I don’t have money anymore! Even if you pout and bat your pretty eyelashes at me, Yeollie~” Dongwoo says, ruffling Sungyeol’s hair.

 

Sungyeol pouts and feels around in his pocket for money but instead of fishing out money, he fishes out the golden business card of Kim Myungsoo, the director of Woollim Hotels and Resorts. He lets out a squeal and hugs Dongwoo who almost chokes on his ramyun.

 

“What the hell, Sungyeol-ah?!” Dongwoo coughs out.

 

“Hyung, do you see this golden card?” Sungyeol asks, smiling cheekily at Dongwoo.

 

“Yes, is that a no limit credit card?!” Dongwoo asks, getting excited.

 

“Unfortunately, no! But, it’s the calling card of the director of the biggest hotel and resort here in Jeju! He was the one who ran over me and brought me to the hospital! I can contact him and ask for a big compensation! Dongwoo hyung, I’m thinking of asking ₩ 2,000,000 for compensation! Is that okay or is it too little?” Sungyeol says, mouth moving so fast in excitement that Dongwoo barely caught every word.

 

“₩ 2,000,000? Are you crazy?! For a compensation of ₩ 2,000,000, aren’t you too healthy?” Dongwoo asks Sungyeol, looking at him as if he lost his mind.

 

Sungyeol sits up straight and looks at his hyung with his big owl eyes.

 

“Should I hit myself a few times, hyung?” Sungyeol asks, looking genuinely confused.

 

“No, no! You should at least ask for compensation of mental disturbance!” Dongwoo says, mischievously wiggling his brows at Sungyeol who smiled a wide gummy smile back at him.

 

 

~ O ~

 

            Myungsoo massages his temples with one hand as his staff continues to explain the situation to him.

 

“I’m so sorry, director Kim, I overlooked that they are Chinese and that they cannot understand us. I’m so sorry. There are no available fluent Chinese speakers who we can hire within 3 hours,” the staff says, bowing his head at Myungsoo.

 

“This is absurd! How can you overlook such things? We’re going to bring them to the pension house and give them an extravagant dinner but there’s no one who can translate?! This is unacceptable! Don’t stop looking until you find someone who can translate Chinese!” Myungsoo yells, blood boiling at the unprofessionalism of the staff.

 

“Yes, director Kim. I am so sorry.”

 

The staff hurriedly bows and walks out of Myungsoo’s office to follow the director’s order. Myungsoo sighs and runs his fingers through his hair. This is the biggest merger from China and if they didn’t get them to invest to Woollim it would really be a big lost for them.

 

Myungsoo’s grandfather is already sick and worrying about his lost grandson. If more bad news arrives to him, his health might deteriorate completely. It would be completely unacceptable for Myungsoo. No matter what happens, he should get this investment. He is pulled out of his thoughts when there is a knock on the door.

 

“Come in,” Myungsoo says.

 

His secretary comes in and gives him a messenger bag.

 

“The hospital sent this to us, director Kim,” the secretary says, bowing to Myungsoo.

 

“Thank you. You may leave,” he says, already starting to open the bag.

 

He takes out the contents and furrows his brows when various tour brochures come out of the bag.

 

“Is this boy a tourist here?” Myungsoo says to himself.

 

He digs around the bag a little more before pulling out a box containing the boy’s calling cards. Myungsoo opens it and pulls out one before returning the contents back into the bag.

 

“Lee Sungyeol, expert Jeju tour guide…” Myungsoo reads the card, seeing the picture of the boy on the lower left of the card smiling at him brightly.

 

Myungsoo scoffs a little, shaking his head before opening his laptop to continue typing his report. The phone rings and Myungsoo almost screams in frustration.

 

Can’t these people leave me alone?!

 

“What is it?” Myungsoo sternly asks.

 

“Director Kim, there is someone looking for you. He says that he needs to meet you. It’s Lee Sungyeol,” the receptionist says.

 

Myungsoo’s brows raise and he blinks. The boy must’ve known that his stuff was sent here.

 

“Okay, let him in.”

 

 

~ O ~

 

“Yes, director Kim.”

 

Sungyeol watches the receptionist put the phone receiver back in its place and expectantly stares at her.

 

“You may now go up. Director Kim’s secretary will you once you arrived to the 27^th floor,” the receptionist says.

 

“See? I told you Kim Myungsoo knows me!” Sungyeol says before turning away to go to the elevators.

 

He scoffs as he looks at the receptionist one last time. That woman asked him too many questions as if he’s going to kill Kim Myungsoo or cause a havoc in the hotel. Moreover, the way that she talked to him was really condescending and Sungyeol almost killed her.

 

“Who does she think she is? She’s just a receptionist! I am meeting with this hotel’s director! Aish, she should get fired!” Sungyeol rants as he rides up the elevator to the 27^th floor.

 

Sungyeol finds his mouth hanging open in awe at the view as the elevator goes up. It shows him the beauty of the hotel, passing through the dining floors and function rooms. Everything about this hotel is so extravagant and shiny. Surely, if any of the staff steals one golden fork, they wouldn’t even notice.

 

Rich people must have the time of their lives indulging in this kind of lifestyle. Lee Sungyeol, you’re such an unlucky .

 

Finally arriving on the 27^th floor, Sungyeol is welcomed by Kim Myungsoo’s secretary and escorted towards the director’s office. Sungyeol looks at his surroundings and he’s sure that he’s drooling because of all the expensive furniture decorating the place. The door of the director’s office is made of a fine wood with elegant carvings and gold handles. Surely, this hotel costs more than ten times of Sungyeol’s life.

 

“Director Kim, Mr. Lee Sungyeol has arrived.”

 

Hearing his name being spoken, Sungyeol straightens up and closes his mouth. He looks at the man sitting behind the large desk and surely, it’s Kim Myungsoo.

 

“Yes, thank you for escorting him here. You can now leave,” Myungsoo says.

 

“Please take a seat,” Myungsoo says when he sees Sungyeol still standing and looking so out of place in his beautiful office with his simple clothes and messy hair.

 

“Y-yes, thank you, Myungsoo-shi,” Sungyeol says, sitting down awkwardly.

 

Sungyeol is still looking around the office in awe and Myungsoo can’t help but smile fondly at the latter’s innocent face. Myungsoo catches Sungyeol’s eyes and the latter clears his throat, feeling stupid that he was caught drooling at the beauty of the office. He clears his throat and straightens up, trying to sit elegantly on the elegant chair in front of the elegant Director Kim Myungsoo. When Myungsoo blinks at his weirdness, Sungyeol gives him a stiff smile. Myungsoo clears his throat, starting to feel awkward as well.

 

“The hospital said that you left without informing them. I thought that there was something wrong with you but I see that you’re alright,” Myungsoo says, deciding to break the awkward atmosphere.

 

“Ah, yes. You see, I also came to talk to you about that…” Sungyeol says, knowing that he has to start demanding for compensation sooner or later.

 

Myungsoo leans forward to get an envelope and gives its content to Sungyeol.

 

“These are the reports from the hospital. They said that you’re completely okay and nothing serious happened,” Myungsoo says, giving Sungyeol a slight nod.

 

“…oh, really?” Sungyeol says, feeling a bead of sweat starting to trickle down his forehead.

 

Myungsoo nods with a small smile.

 

“Y-yes, I feel okay. But you see, I fainted and I’m worried—“

 

“Ah, don’t worry, Lee Sungyeol-shi, the doctor said that you fainted because not because of the accident but because of shock. No harm done to your brain,” Myungsoo says.

 

Sungyeol looks at him with wide eyes, not believing that this man is blocking all of his way to demand compensation.

 

“Oh, yes! Yes, I was really shocked! My mind is still in a mess right now and…I…I also lost my bag! Yes, I have so many precious things inside my bag!” Sungyeol says, not wanting to give up.

 

Myungsoo raises his brows. Who knew that those brochures were important to this strange boy.

 

“Here is your bag. Luckily, the hospital sent it to me,” Myungsoo smiles, giving Sungyeol’s bag to him.

 

Sungyeol wants to cry. Why is he finding it so hard to demand compensation from this man? He was that one who had been ‘ran over’ and he should at least give him something, right? But this Myungsoo looks too smart and serious to buy Sungyeol’s acting and lies.

 

“O-oh, thank you so much for keeping my bag safe…”

 

“If you’re feeling sick or something, just go visit the hospital for a check up. I will cover any injury that was caused by the accident,” Myungsoo says, smiling kindly at Sungyeol and the latter is suddenly feeling guilty that he’s trying to smooch money out of this nice man.

 

“It’s okay, I don’t need to go to the hospital. Sorry for troubling you, I know that you’re a busy man. I-I’ll be going now,” Sungyeol says.

 

Myungsoo bows at him and doesn’t say anything anymore, so Sungyeol stands up to go, but as he sees the beautiful office filled with expensive things, he’s suddenly feeling annoyed that this man won’t even give him something to make up for the ‘accident’. He stops and looks back at Myungsoo who is starting to fix his desk.

 

“E-excuse me…Kim Myungsoo-shi?” Sungyeol says.

 

Myungsoo looks up at him with a questioning expression.

 

“This is my first time having an accident like that…and I’m not too sure but shouldn’t you compensate for the Mental Stress that you caused me?” Sungyeol says, deciding to be shameless.

 

Myungsoo looks surprised at what Sungyeol said.

 

“Ah, this is also my first time being involved in an accident, so I’m not too sure either. But I should discuss this with my lawyer,” Myungsoo says.

 

Sungyeol’s eyes widen at the mention of a lawyer but he quickly recovers himself and clears his throat.

 

“Y-yes, I should also discuss this with my lawyer Jang. I’ll take my leave now,” Sungyeol says.

 

Myungsoo nods his head and continues to fix his desk. Sungyeol glares at the man before leaving. He feels so annoyed and tricked by that man.

 

“A director of such a big hotel with expensive furniture! But he can’t even give just a little to compensate the trouble he caused?! Such a stingy ! Appa’s right, the richer you are, the stingier you are!” Sungyeol bursts out as he walks to the elevator.

 

“Aish, such a cold-looking jerk!’ Sungyeol says, stopping to punch the wall but whimpering when he feels the pain from the impact.

 

Sungyeol sighs and waits for the elevator. He wasted his time to go here just to be met with that annoying Kim Myungsoo. He should’ve just used the time to earn money. The elevator dings and Sungyeol hurriedly goes in, wanting to get out of that place quickly. But even before the elevator closes, a hand stops it and the next thing Sungyeol knows is that Kim Myungsoo is pulling him out of the elevator.

 

“We need to talk, Lee Sungyeol-shi.”