It was distinctly chilly outside. The winter was all but upon the populace of the city. The warmth of the summer was but a distant dream as people were beginning to reluctantly don their thicker jackets. Choi Young Do was dressed appropriately in a light but warm trench coat over his customary tailored dark wool suit. But the chill of apprehension laid siege to his heart as he sat gloomily in the darkened interior of his sedan. His mind was unrestful as always, whenever he had to spend time to his father. His father had sent a curt message to him that very morning, demanding his presence at a party thrown by a fellow businessman that evening. Choi Young Do had not received an invite himself but had a bad feeling that Chairman Choi had a plan up his sleeve that he was getting snared into. Setting aside his displeasure, he had dug into the background of the host of the said party and had found that one nugget of information, which had only made him more uneasy.

As David pulled up to the palatial house, nestled in a plot of five acre of prime property near Incheon, Choi Young Do set his jaws in a grim look of determination and stepped out to walk to the ‘battlefield’ of the evening. He was a clever man and he knew that he needed all his wits about him to fight for his life. His nemesis was his own father, which made it more unpleasant but his bigger concern was that Chairman Choi was also his boss, which made it all the more risky. He had to save his life, his freedom and his business. And he had to do it all under the cover of familial congeniality. He couldn’t think of a more unfair or desperate battleground than the one he was walking into. He felt warmer, though he was not sure if it was from the rush of adrenalin or because of the air conditioning, as he handed his outer jacket to a smartly attired attendant before he stepped into the huge foyer, already humming with softly spoken words of hardened businessmen.

Chairman Choi was apparently waiting for Choi Young Do’s arrival, for no sooner than he had barely had a chance to plaster his well-practiced smile on his handsome face that he saw him approach him purposefully. The smile faltered for a nanosecond and he was glad that his father was not near enough to hear his sharply indrawn breath.

“You are late. We should had ridden together like I had told you.” Chairman Choi bit out upon reaching his son’s side, whom he had not seen for a couple of months.

“This was extremely short notice. I couldn’t reschedule my meetings. Anyway, I am here.” Choi Young Do said in a restrained voice.

Chairman Choi his heels, his eyes stern and cold, merely tossing over his shoulder an equally dry and terse instruction, “Follow me and for heaven’s sake, don’t screw this up. This is important for me."

Choi Young Do knew a battle cry when he heard one and this was it. It came from his mind and echoed in his heart. As he reluctantly started to follow his father’s retreating back, his peripheral vision caught a profile on the other side of the room that stopped him momentarily. A familiar form, now more familiar than ever, sheathed in a dark wine colored silk dress that reached her mid-shin with a waterfall of dark hair that reached her mid-back, stood talking to a septuagenarian businessman. And his seasoned warrior’s heart was distracted like a lovelorn teenager’s. She was back in the business networking circuit! Choi Young Do did not know who to save first, himself or his heart.

Chairman Choi decided that difficult question for him as he called out to his son with a barely controlled, irritated voice from where he was standing with two distinguished looking gentlemen, who were looking at Choi Young Do with polite smiles. Choi Young Do mentally shook himself awake to the perils at hand and strode up to the group. The mandatory formal introductions were made and the small talk began. But it was clear almost immediately that the host of the evening and his father were really there to assess Choi Young Do. Their questions were polite but probing. Chairman Choi was playing the broker, filling in whenever Choi Young Do’s intentionally concise answers left voids in the conversation. Now that Choi Young Do was pretty certain of why he was brought to that party, he was merely waiting for the next act to begin.

And much to his mixed feeling of relief and apprehension, the other shoe dropped pretty soon. She was the host’s daughter. Pretty, elegantly dressed, sporting a smile that bore the hallmarks of a Swiss finishing school, oozing the kind of easy confidence that only generational wealth can bring forth, all of 23 years, freshly minted from a prestigious US college, she joined the group with her mother in tow. The elders introduced the two younger people and found reasons to be elsewhere almost immediately afterwards, leaving the younger pair alone. Chairman Choi sent a pointed look at Choi Young Do as he departed his side.

The set up was awkward but not at all unusual. Choi Young Do had little option but to play along for the time being. He wanted to see if his ‘play date’, Daisy, was on the same page as he.

“So, now that you are back in the country, what do you intend to do? Study? Join the business?” Choi Young Do said to break the ice rather than out of genuine curiosity.

Daisy, fresh faced true to her name, smiled sweetly but her eyes didn’t. “Isn’t that a redundant question? I will do what my parents tell me. Right now, they want me to get married. So, I am planning my wedding.”

Choi Young Do was taken aback by the strangely forthright answer. He tried to gauge if she was flirting with him. He asked rather anxiously, “Wedding? With whom?”

Daisy didn’t lose her smile or composure. She answered in the same calm vein, “Doesn’t matter. Whomever they choose. I have little say in that matter. So, I am focusing on the other stuff. Right now, I am really debating on choosing a designer for the wedding dress. I am thinking that I will have two or three wedding dresses made, all by different designers. So that I can change my mind at the very last moment yet have a spectacular dress. That would send the page 3 people on a tizzy.” She giggled, seemingly at her own cleverness.

Choi Young Do didn’t know whether to roll his eyes at her or to pity her. He could see that she was a fellow pragmatist, who knew how to survive in the elite world of wealthy Koreans. She knew she didn’t have much choice, when it came to choosing her spouse, so she was amusing herself with the frills that her wealthy background afforded her. She was so young and so fresh ‘out of the school room’ that Choi Young Do wanted to see if he could light a fire of rebellion in her heart. Not because he liked her but because he was an anarchist at heart and nothing gave him more pleasure than to cause consternation to the so called doyens of the Korean business world.

“Well, you can always express your opinion. After all, it’s your life. Nobody can make you do something you don’t want to do.” Choi Young Do felt like an older brother rather than a suitor as he finished speaking.

Daisy looked up to meet Choi Young Do’s eyes. She seemed curious and surprised. Just when Choi Young Do thought that he had managed to get her to think about resistance, he saw the fear and uncertainty lurk behind those eyes. Choi Young Do wanted to reach out and touch that young girl, to assure her that she could fight the familial pressure that was the legacy of her privileged birth. But she was a lost cause. He knew the bitterness that curved her pretty lips into a ghost of a smile and the frigidity that iced her eyes, within a few seconds.

“Really? And to what end? It is an unfair fight. The dice was loaded from the start. I know no other life than this. Why rock the boat? I will never win and my wounds may never heal. It is better to just accept the fate that I have been dealt. Confrontations drain the life out of you. They say that known enemies are better than perfect strangers. I am fine knowing where I stand vis-a-vis my family and my world. I know these rules. I can live my life according to these rules. All I have to do is find my happiness elsewhere. I love to travel. You travel a lot, don’t you? You have beautiful properties all over the world. That would suit me perfectly. You don’t even have accompany me.”

Choi Young Do’s eyes widened as he realized the casually spoken words directly referred to the marital arrangement that the elders had put together. Daisy, the barely out of school miss, obviously knew the end game and was not shy to show her hand. The kid gloves came off in a flash and Choi Young Do’s eyes took on the look of steel, hard and sharp.

“So, you get to travel. What do I get?” Choi Young Do asked as he grabbed a glass of whiskey from a passing waiter’s salver.

Daisy was becoming more comfortable with Choi Young Do as the pretense was falling off. She pursed her lips and seemed to consider her answer.

“As far as I know, a 36 floor tall commercial building in downtown Seoul, a convention center in Busan and a chain of cafes in China. The last one is just taking off, so it is full of potential.” Daisy smiled like she had just rattled of the menu in a restaurant like a hostess, basking in the glow of the chef’s accomplishment.

Choi Young Do was decidedly irritated now. Since she did not take his bait to rebel, he found no reason to treat her with care. In fact he was beginning to clearly dislike her. Something in her was very familiar and mildly disgusting to his mind. He wanted to wipe that cool and sweet smile from her face. He wanted to see if the finishing school alumnus would falter, when it came to the nitty-gritty of the marital arrangement.

“That is a given in an arranged marriage. That is what your father and your family will bring to the table. What do you bring?” Choi Young Do irreverently pointed his index finger at her to emphasize his question.

Daisy smiled genuinely, seemingly glad that Choi Young Do was asking her about her accomplishments. Her eyes twinkled mischievously. She lowered her voice as if she was about to share a secret.

“Do you know how many mentions I have got in the society pages since I have turned 18? Thirty six times! I was featured three times as the best dressed woman socialite under 21. So, you can imagine the PR skills I have got. I always know the