It was a crisp fall morning and a slight chill hung over the ever busy metropolis of Seoul. The view from the rooftop restaurant was breathtaking. But Choi Young Do had hardly any time or inclination to take in the grandeur of such a beautiful sight. His eyes were fixed on a report in his hand. He had just finished a meeting with his regional managers and was preparing for his next. He always went into a meeting prepared and was eagle eyed while reviewing reports. His underlings knew not to ever be caught napping on the job. One raised eyebrow on his impassive face could sound the death knell on an employee’s career. A sardonic smile lifted a corner of his pressed lips. Power is such an amusing thing. It buys fake smiles, a lot of sycophancy and abject fear.

It amused him but did not intoxicate him. At 27, he was known for his unusual calmness and cool business acumen. Having lived in a towering hotel for the better part of his life, after being appointed as Director of Zeuss Hotel Group,he had decided to do something different. He had branched out into the boutique hotel business and had founded a subsidiary of the parent company. He had retained both financial as well as operational control of an exclusive collection (nobody dared to refer to it as a ‘chain’) of small, luxury properties all over the world, which catered to the rich and famous guests. It had turned in a nifty profit within the first couple of years, beating all turnover forecasts. It had earned him guarded approval from his father and the right to be left mostly to his own devices.

He always wanted that. The once confrontational and hateful relationship had evolved into a stilted, ‘strictly business only’ kind of uncomfortable stretches of silence, punctuated by infrequent official meetings. His relationship with his mother was however, another story. It took him a long time to make peace with her abandonment of him. But after the tentative first meeting, Choi Young Do had found the courage and resilience to go back to the same café and talk some more. With each visit, she spoke a little bit more. His mother spoke haltingly, slowly and tearfully, laying bare her helplessness and regrets. He had listened with a tensed back and a poker face, sitting quietly and giving her undivided attention. His intent eyes were focused to pick up any clue of falsehood, any pretense or playacting. He had to be absolutely sure before he let his guard down and let her into his life again. Her honesty and his courage had borne fruit and soon he was spending his weekend evenings with her. His father knew that they had reconnected but it seemed like he conceded this one to the long estranged mother and son.

A genuine smile curved his lips as Choi Young Do realized that the weekend was only two days away. He still went to the café every weekend. If he was not in the country, he made it a point to speak to his mother over the weekend. Then he was just a boy missing his mother’s home cooked meal, listening to his mother share amusing stories of guests, the eccentricities of the regular patrons and her opinions on books she endlessly recommended for him to read. He was also the unofficial book keeper of the Secret Garden Café. He started as a waiter, quite informally, on a particularly busy weekend evening to help his mom but soon it turned out to be a regular gig. Gig it was because his mom insisted on paying him as much as she was paying the other young part-timers. Choi Young Do had protested in vain. Every weekend he would find a white envelope, stuffed with cash, in his hand before he left. Minimum wage of course and his tips. His mother had called it a rite of passage for any young person: work a part time, minimum wage job and you learn the dignity of labor. Yes, the dish washing duty at Zeuss Hotel did not have any such lofty purpose; just a way, his father had employed, to ‘tame’ him.

A look of bitterness flickered across his face and he hastily reached for the fine bone china cup that held his morning elixir. Strong, fragrant and highly caffeinated…..the best coffee in the world, at least to his mind. He took a sip and found to his distaste that it had gone quite cold. Grimacing, he set the cup down and almost from nowhere, a waiter appeared at his side and bowed deeply to him. He ordered a fre