Jihyo inwardly did a double-take as she saw the candidate enter her room. God must have been in a good mood when he created this male specimen in front of her. Darn, she must have been too affected by Hye Jin's teasing recently about finding a guy. She tried not to let her jaw drop when Mr "Kim Kook Jong" gave her a smile that made him look even more gorgeous. Having her hand clapsed in his big, warm palm in his firm handshake sent some weird tingles up her arm. She fought not to react to this instant attraction to him. Fortunately she has had alot of practice looking nonpulssed in front of her troublemaker employees.

Jong Kook saw heated interest sparkled only briefly in her eyes before they became unreadable. Well, well. He had always been confident in his own appeal and turned the full blast of his charms on her. But Ms Song didnt seem to respond as he'd hoped. Why, women usually turn into putty when he seeks to charm them! A little while into the interview, he purposely aimed a heated look at her, resting for some time on her full, kissable pink lips and  travelling back to her big, doe-like eyes. He told himself that he just wanted to test how Ms Song would be able to handle difficult or ist clients who think that females belong in the kitchen rather than the boardroom. But maybe, just maybe, it was also because he wanted to make sure he was not dismissable in her eyes.

Jihyo was seething within. She was very much aware that the man in front of her was trying his upmost to charm (or even seduce!) her. How dare he? He is the sort who probably thinks that he can make women do whatever he wants with a snap of his fingers. Sure, he has poetic hands and long fingers that look capable of playing the piano beautifully... She shook herself mentally. That's beside the point! The crux of the matter was that she hated men with this kind of attitude, men who think they can get away with things with a sinfully attractive face and wonderful physique. She would bet a month's salary that he is just a user, a manipulator, and that half the stuff on his resume was probably fake! Just what is he trying to do? Jihyo started to wonder if this was just a ploy devised by her enemies within the company, get a guy to seduce her and eventually discredit her or derail her career in some way. It doesnt matter. Two can play this game.

Damn, but she's a tough nut to crack! Honestly Jong Kook could not recall the last time a female was immune to his charms. If anything, females would flock to his side with just a crook of his finger. He had been trying his damnest for the last 15minutes to elicit some sign of softening from her but to no avail. She would make a formidable negotiator. He was kinda enjoying this but at the same time he felt challenged. It took a while more before she seemingly responded to his attack. She revealed a shy smile and tucked her hair behind her ear self-consciously. She nodded at things which he said while toying with her pendant and checked out how his suit was molding to his body. But Jong Kook wasnt fooled, for her eyes gave her away. Her smile never reached her eyes and the look in them were cold and barely concealed her fury. Interesting. This little lioness with shealthed claws was the most intriguing women he'd ever met. He had always been an excellent judge of character and he knew that this female would never consent to be someone's mistress so as to climb up the social/career ladder, or for any other reason for that matter. A lock of her hair fell forward and he extended his hand to tuck it behind her ear. He took his time doing so, while giving her an intense look that screamed plainly 'I'm attracted to you'. He saw with smugness that something flickered in her eyes and a flush stained her cheeks before her eyes started shooting daggers at him. So she is not totally unaffected at all by his charms, despite her animosity towards him.

"Mr Kim," she breathed and stepped out from behind her desk and stepped towards him. She wanted to see just what he was up to. Damn her blush! She was shocked by his action and outraged to say the least, but she couldnt deny that she had nearly trembled at his touch. It had been so long before someone had looked at her so intently, as if he could see into the depths of her soul. So long before someone had carried out such a tender gesture. Her heart was palpitating, from anger or fatal attraction, she couldnt tell. She waited for a moment for him to make a move but when he just sat there and looked at her with those beautiful  eyes she extended her hand for a handshake, intending to end the interview and get rid of him. She had initially thought of coming up with some retaliation plan in response to his provocation; she didnt know who sent him here but she was sure that he was toying with her. He should count himself lucky that at this moment she just wanted to chase him out of her office asap; he had messed with her enough for her to feel more flustered than she would care to be.

But then his palm engulfed hers and held onto it while he slowly stood. He raised her hand slowly to his lips and gave it the softest touch. When he brought his face nearer hers, her eyes dropped involuntarily to his lips. Her lips parted and she in a tiny breadth. His lips stopped a scant whisper from hers and she lifted her eyes to his. They were watching her with alertness, in a somewhat bemused way and she transformed from being seduced to incensed in a flash. Her other hand swept towards his cheek instinctively. The last thing she expected was for him to catch it calmly before it made contact with his face.

"Why you conceited..." she spluttered. He had the cheek to her palm with his thumb and rub slow circles on it! It made her so mad that she imagined her eyes were crossed. So she stomped on his foot as hard as she could with her heels. As he doubled over with pain she reached for her phone and pressed the intercom for security. "This is Song Jihyo. Please remove this man from my room immediately!"

Jong Kook was just sitting calmly in the chair and rubbing his foot while aiming a reproachful look at her. "Mr Kim, I dont know what you are trying to achieve by coming here today but I'm warning you to never set foot into this building again or I'll..."

"That's going to be a little problematic," he replied quietly before she could issue any threat. She felt like strangling him and opened with the intention of flaying him alive just when there was a knock on her door and three men entered in. One was a bespectacled guy she had never met, the other was Uncle Park (CEO Park actually). The last was the security officer who looked like he was unsure of his purpose coming in. Jihyo was puzzled by the strange combination of people who had just appeared in her room. She stood up to greet the CEO but he gave her a brief nod before turning to the man still seated calmly in the chair, and bowed slightly. “Chairman Kim,” he greeted the younger man with a respectful air. Her mind went blank as she tried to process what Uncle Park just called the infuriating man in front of her. An incredulous expression appeared on her face and she looked slightly comical with her dropped jaw and stunned eyes. If Uncle Park referred to him as “Chairman Kim”, then he can only be…. No sh*t?! What in the world was all that about just now?

“So… how did the erm.. interview go ..”CEO Park could tell that something was amiss, as Jihyo, whom he affectionately regarded as a niece, stared at Chairman Kim with an unreadable expression. There were blotches of red on her face. Chairman Kim only gave an enigmatic smile and said, “I’ve accomplished what I set out to do”. His smile reached his eyes as he saw Jihyo clenching her fists at his reply, as if she wished to sink them into him. Oh, he was so looking forward to making her his deputy Chair, in charge of the Special Projects team that he was putting together. That’ll put her in close proximity to him, giving him ample opportunity to worm his way into her heart. Although she’ll probably prefer to stab him with a dagger right now, he chuckled to himself. He'll risk it, as she was the first girl, in a long long time, who'd made him feel something other than indifference.