“What do you mean you’ll think about it? I thought we already closed the deal the last time we talked? Why did you change your mind?”

            Chanyeol wanted to scream at the real estate agent of the abandoned establishment that he wants to buy. But he calmed himself because the man is just doing his job and somehow he understands him.

            “What have we agreed on is that within this week, you can pay for the half of the price of this place, Chanyeol. You even called me up to confirm that the other night. And now, you changed your mind again.”

            “I just had a little problem. But I can make sure that I can give you the money. Just give me enough time.”

            “I’m willing to give you that, if this establishment is mine. But it’s not. The owner wants to sell this place immediately because they will move to US next week. They wanted the money as soon as possible. And someone else is willing to give that money anytime.”

            “But, Joonho …”

            Joonho just sighed. “I don’t really understand you, Chanyeol. Your family is rich so why do you need to establish your own business?”

            He just frowned. “My family has nothing to do with this.”

            “All right, all right. I won’t meddle with your personal life.” He read the message on his phone. “My client doesn’t want to wait any longer, Chanyeol.”

            “Can you please talk to them, Joonho? I have the money, it’s just that…”

            “You don’t really have it.”

            He just crossed his arms and looked at the entire place. It’s the perfect place to put up his restaurant. The place is very accessible and the price is really cheap because the owner is planning to leave immediately.

            If it wasn’t for that man, I should have this establishment now.

             “Okay, okay…” Joonho sighed for the nth time that day. “You are my wife’s friend and my son’s godfather so I’ll consider you, Chanyeol.”

            “Really?”

            “But I can’t give you that much time, Chanyeol. My hands are tied, you know.”

            “Yes, yes! I’ll give the money next week.”

            “Earlier, please. So that my client won’t notice that I’m doing someone a favor. If not, then I have no choice but to give the offer to Mr. Wu.”

            “Mr. Wu?” He doesn’t like the sound of that name. “Who’s Mr. Wu?”

            “The owner of Wu Corporation. They’ll be having an expansion of their business that’s why they are interested in this establishment. And they’re willing to double the price just to get this as soon as possible, Chanyeol. So if I were you, if you really want this place then you should get this immediately.”

            But the name that he said really caught his attention. “This Mr. Wu that you are talking about, what else do you know about him?”

            Joonho looked at him and gave him a knowing smile. “You’re also interested in him, huh. All of the single men and women are interested in the sole heir of the Wu’s. Well, for one, he is still single. At least, that’s what he wants to let everyone know.”

            “Meaning?” He is not interested in that guy. All that he wants is to know more about him. The man that jeopardized all of his plans.

            “With all that money, not to mention that look… In fact, even without money, it’s impossible that he still don’t have a girlfriend. Or a boyfriend, who knows.”

            “You know, Joonho. You can have a future to become a reporter. If you’re sick of being a real estate agent, just be a reporter or something.”

            He laughed. “I’m not sick of my job so don’t worry, but I have to go now. I need your decision next week. I’m really sorry, Chanyeol. But that’s the only thing that I can offer to you.”         

            “Don’t worry. It’s okay for me. Wait, I have a last question.”

            “What is it?”

            “What’s the name of that Mr. Wu guy?”

            “Wu Yifan.” Joonho answered.

            “As in Kris Wu?”

            “Yes.”

-----------------------------

            “Sir, where are you going?”   

            Chanyeol looked at the woman in reception. “I’m here to see Mr. Wu.”

            “Do you have an appointment with him, Sir? Mr. Wu doesn’t want to be disturbed right now.”

            He doesn’t want to be disturbed? Kiss my ! That man ruined his life so he has the right to mess that guy’s life too. He lost a huge sum of money that he can use to have his own life so he won’t let it pass. He demands a payment. And what he needs is that Mr. Wu to leave his establishment alone.

            “I don’t need an appointment with him.”

            “But, Sir–”

            “I’m his fiancé. If you don’t believe me then give him a call.”

            He didn’t wait for the woman to call that guy. With that look of surprise on her face, he’s sure that it will take her forty thousand years to understand what Chanyeol had just said.

            He smirked while walking towards the elevator. He easily knew where Kris is. When he called the Wu Corporation earlier, his secretary said that Kris is in the office right now.

            “I wouldn’t marry that creep!” he said to himself while waiting for the elevator.

            “Uh, excuse me?” He looked at a middle-aged woman. “Hi, I’m Choi Sunyoung of DCM Models.”

            He bowed. “Hello. I’m Park Chanyeol.”

            “Are you a model?”

            “No.”

            “Why? You’re fit to be a model. You’re tall and you’re handsome. And our company is currently looking for some new models.” She handed him her calling card. “Give me a call when you are interested, okay?”

            He read the card. “You’re scouting models for this company?”

            “Yes, so don’t worry. We’ll take care of our new models. If you want to be an actor, I can recommend you to other best talent agencies in the industry.”

            “Ah, no thanks. But I’m still thinking of your offer earlier. By the way, do you know where is the office of Mr. Wu?”

            “In the highest floor of this building. Are you his relative?”

            “No.” The elevator door opened and he went in. “I’m his fiancé.”

            He saw how the woman’s eyes widened before the elevator doors closed. With the reactions that he saw from the people here when he told them that he is Kris’ fiancé, he is certain that the man doesn’t have any lover.

            When the elevator reached the highest floor, he doesn’t need to look around because there’s only one door and he’s sure that it’s Kris’office. The whole floor was his alone.

            He heard a faint conversation inside the office and the door is slightly opened. He almost barged inside when he saw Kris talking with a woman. They are facing a glass window where the entire Seoul can be seen. It looks like they are having a serious conversation so he decided to just stay outside. He’ll find a good timing to enter the room so he will have a dramatic entrance.

            “What are you saying Kris?”

            “You know what I meant, Mei Fen. I’m asking you to marry me.”

            Marry? He was proposing to her? He thought that Kris doesn’t have a lover. And the woman was no other than the silent, sophisticated and the most sought-after actress in Asia at the moment. All of the society pages of magazines and newspapers in this country have her face plastered to it. And when she is questioned about her love life, she is mum about it. So these two has a secret relationship. He can’t really blame the woman because having the whole world know their relationship is not good for her career. Yep, that’s just how the show business works.

            He stared at them. For the second time, he just have his eyes on Kris. I don’t really understand why Mei Fen should keep his relationship with Kris a secret. This Kris guy is good-looking I might say, it’s just that he’s difficult to get along with.

            “Kris, we already talked about this. I can’t accept your offer. At least not now.”

            “Why not?”

            “I have so many plans with my life. I just want to reach my goals first.”

            The guy doesn’t answer. He just stared at the beautiful view of Seoul on his window. Chanyeol smiled. How much can he get if he decided to expose their secret to the media?

            The elusive bachelor and the mysterious actress, the caption would say. Engaged?

            He suddenly remembered his family. What were they thinking when they decided to force him into marriage with a man that has a lover? Are they that eager to get rid of him?

            “Kris, just give me a little more time, okay?” She hold Kris’ arm. “I have an offer from Miramax International. And I don’t want to lose the opportunity to work in Hollywood. And I really want this. Please, just let me work on this one and we could talk about our wedding.”

            “I might not be there for you anymore when you come back, Mei Fen.”

            “What are you talking about, Kris? I’ll be gone in a few months. Unless, you decided to replace me. I trust you. so please, trust me in this. Just this one time, Kris. And then I’ll give up my acting career entirely.” Kris just looked at her quietly. “Kris– ”

            Mei Fen’s phone rang. She answered the call while looking at Kris.

            Chanyeol doesn’t know if he’ll laugh or feel sorry for the guy. It’s really obvious that the woman’s priority is her career.

            Okay, I’ll just feel sorry for you then.

            “Kris, that was my agent. He called me for my press conference. I have to go.”

            And she handed him the little box just like that and headed for the door where he was standing. He tried to hide but they saw him.

            “Who are you and what are you doing here?”

            He noticed that Kris finally looked at him. He’s caught anyway. Oh, well. “I just wanted to talk to Mr. Wu.”

            “He’s busy.”

            The nerve of this witch. The old saying is really true, “looks can really be deceiving.”

            “You two are done talking, right? And you have an appointment. Please go because you might be late.” He sassed.

            That’s it and the woman decided to leave him alone. She doesn’t look like she’s willing to give up her career for his boyfriend.

            “I already sent you to jail, right? Why are you still wandering here in my office?”

            Kris is standing and walked towards him. He still had the face of an angel. But he looks like an evil guy now that he can’t see any emotion on Kris’ eyes. His marriage proposal just got rejected by that heartless woman and it’s really bruising his ego as a man. Chanyeol will be considerate for a while.

            “I’m here to talk and not to argue with you, Mr. Wu.” The guy just crossed his arms and leaned on the doorframe. And for a moment there, his gesture made Chanyeol uneasy. He also leaned on the other side of the doorframe to let him know that he is not intimidated to him.

            “What do you want to talk about?” Kris asked. “I’m sure that we don’t have anything else to talk about since that day when I sent you to jail.”

            “Yes and because of that, you owe me something.”

            “I owe you something?”

            “You sent me to jail without any logical reason. You know that I didn’t do anything.”

            “You planned on robbing me.”

            “I didn’t plan that!” He counted from one to ten. He’s heartbroken, Chanyeol. Just let him be. When he calmed down, he talked again. “Pay for the money that I’ve lost.”

            Even his smile is full of bitterness.

            The smile of heartbroken people, I get it.

            “Are you still dreaming, Mister? Is your time in jail not enough for you to realize that I am not paying you any money?”

            I don’t care if he’s heartbroken. “You know, you are really annoying. I said that I am not a criminal. If you don’t want to believe me, fine. Just pay for my money that I’ve lost because of your meddling with my business. But I don’t want cash right now. What I want is for you to leave Baltimore’s Place alone. You are rich so you can buy any abandoned establishments that you want, so leave Baltimore’s Place with me, okay?”

            “And why would I do that?”

            “Because… because…” Darn it! He can’t think of any reason. “Because if you won’t, I’ll tell the media that Mei Fen rejected your marriage proposal.”

            He almost ran when he saw Kris’ face darkened. What he said was wrong, he’s sure of it. But he doesn’t have any plans on giving up.

            “You won’t say anything to anyone, especially the media.” His voice is full of threat. “The moment they learn about this, you’ll pay for it. And believe me, you wouldn’t want what I’ll do to you if you decided to disobey me.”

            “D-don’t threaten me. Do you think I’m scared?”

            He stilled when Kris looked at him straight in the eye. “You’re not scared?” he whispered. “Do you want to know how I scare people off?” He placed his hand near Chanyeol’s head. “I can show it to you.”

            Damn it! Why is he scared of him? Does that mean that he’s really guilty? But he didn’t do anything wrong.

            “Leave Baltimore’s Place and I’ll leave you alone.”

            “Shut up and I’ll let you live.”

            “You–”

            “Don’t push your luck too much, Mister. I tell you, you wouldn’t like the consequences.”

            “So, you finally meet each other. This is nice. Now we can prepare for your wedding.”

            Both he and Kris looked at the man. He doesn’t know the old man but the person next to him that looks at them intently, he really knew her. Mei Fen. So she hasn’t left yet.

            The old man walked towards them. And he saw the resemblance between him and Kris. So he must be Kris’ father.

            “Do you think it’s too soon for the wedding, Dad?”

            “Yifan, son. We already talked about this. I said that if you weren’t able to introduce me a man or a woman that you will marry within five years, I’ll push through with the plans that I have made with my friend in college. And anyway, three years have passed since we talked about it so–”

            “Wait, you are Mr. Wu Shenli?” He piped. “My father’s friend in college and–”

            “Yes, son. We’ve been talking about this for years. You and my son are both single and we’re not getting any younger, so why not marry each other instead? My son is a good man. And I know, according to your father, you’re the best son any father could ever ask for.”

            He paused. His father said those words?

            “If you don’t want to get married at the moment, it’s okay. It’s better to know each other first.”

            “We’ve known each other for quite some time, Dad. We didn’t tell you about this because we wanted to surprise you.” He wasn’t able to say anything when Kris wrapped his arm around his waist. “We’re getting married as soon as possible, now that you already know about our relationship.”

            “Oh great! I’ll call up Hyun Sung.”

            He was going to call up his father! Oh, no! He’s ready to stop Mr. Wu when he saw Mei Fen. She heard everything. And if he’s not mistaken, Kris intentionally said those words to get back at her. He did that because she rejected Kris’ marriage proposal. Some men can really be an sometimes.

            Oh, well. If Kris used him, he will also take advantage of the situation.

            “I want Baltimore’s Place, or I’ll make sure that you will make a fool out of yourself in front of that woman and your family.”

-----------------------------

Double update for today! Yehet! It's 12 am at my place and I'm really sleepy so forgive me if there's any grammatical errors in this chapter. I'll make sure to check and edit this tomorrow. Thank you so much for the subscribers of this story! *throws hearts at you* :)