Instead of heading home to his penthouse in Gangnam, the young CEO drove into one of the most exclusive restaurants in the area and made his way to one of the private dinner tables. This was one of the fine-dining establishments he frequented, for it was convenient to not be followed by paparazzi and the prying eyes of the general public. He was supposed to meet his fiancée tonight, and he dwelled on what her reaction to his public announcement of their wedding would be. Preparations have been underway for almost half a year now, but it was both their decision to announce the news at the last minute.

He patiently waited while sipping on his Merlot. Just the sight of him – with his legs crossed, one arm lazily draped over the leather backrest of his seat, and one hand clutched around the wine glass – was a picture to marvel at.

With all thoughts now on work and impending deals with clients and investors, CEO Kim did not immediately notice the maître d who had walked towards his table. He was shaken out of his reverie when the man gently tapped his shoulder and bowed politely once he finally caught his attention.

“Mr. Kim. Excuse me for my insolence, but I was tasked to deliver this to you,” the maître d removed the silver cloche covering the circular tray he was carrying to reveal a small box and a piece of paper.

Seeing the all-too-familiar box on the tray, CEO Kim reached for it and thanked the maître d for his service. He had been waiting for half an hour already, but the person he was supposed to be meeting was clearly nowhere to be seen.

There was a sinking feeling in his stomach, and somehow he already had a hunch of what this was about even before he unfolded the letter. Upon reading, and re-reading the equally familiar handwriting on the piece of paper a few times, he chuckled bitterly as he shakily brought the wine glass to his lips once again.

I’m sorry, I really am. I’ve realized that there’s no way I can do this. I’m not ready. Please forgive me, Junmyeon. And please, don’t try to look for me. I’m not coming back.

Lying inside the tiny red Cartier box was the engagement band he recognized as the one he personally ordered about half a year ago, a week before he proposed.

Great. ing fantastic. The day he decided to be a wealthy arrogant show-off and declare his upcoming marriage to the entire ing country like it is a monumental moment in history, is the same day his fiancée decided to suddenly become a magician and pull off her disappearing act.

He could sense another terrible headache already on its way.

***

“Daddy, please stop pouring wine into my glass. I’m driving us home tonight since you’ve already had your fill of alcohol,” Jiwon reprimanded as she deftly snatched the bottle of Pinot Noir from her father.

Raising his hands in defeat, Yoo Hanjeong chuckled as he murmured a soft “Fine, you win.”

The old man finally relented, taking a few moments to stare at his daughter who now seem very mature and grown up in his eyes. Jiwon had always been a daddy’s girl, and he missed the days when she’d run up to him after arriving home from school and they would talk for hours, or when she’d work her charms to persuade him to take her horseback riding to their ranch, or even when she’d just sidle up to him to complain about her mother’s attempts to set her up with someone. Eight years has been a long time, and words cannot explain how happy and relieved he is that his little girl is back.

“Tell me, my princess. What have you been up to all these years?” Her mom curiously asked.

Jiwon had expected the question, and somewhere along the way she decided that she owed her parents every little detail of how her life has been away from them.

“Well, you know I took up Business Management in Boston after graduating high school here,” she said as she started fiddling with her fingers under the table.

It’s funny how it seemed like it was only yesterday when she withdrew her admission to Seoul National University and suddenly opted to study in Boston instead. Part of her reason for moving away was to learn to be more independent, but she knew the main point of it all was to escape from her mother’s clutches and her schemes to marry her off.

The night wore on with her recounting stories of her time in foreign land, and they remained quite interested in listening to her talk. She told them what she did during the weekends, from spending time in libraries to do homework and research, to de-stressing with her best friend Kyungsoo by going to Legoland on a regular basis.

After finally finishing her degree and earning a diploma, Jiwon moved to England with Kyungsoo where she pursued an MBA in Oxford, whereas the latter continued to pursue fashion design. This time around she spent her weekends working at a café situated near their apartment, and walking the neighbour’s dogs around the park every morning. Somehow she learned how to earn money for herself, which makes her feel a wee bit proud.

Her two-year MBA course passed by in a whim but after earning the degree, she still refused to come back home to South Korea to perhaps take over a position in their company. She has enjoyed the few years of freedom she has experienced, and she was not ready to return to suffocating arranged dates and talks of marriage just yet.

So for another two years, she spent her time traveling to different places, helping Kyungsoo launch his own fashion line, taking up culinary classes (which she found she enjoyed very much), and working different part-time jobs to keep her occupied.

“I’m glad that you get to experience all of these, Jiwon. I’m very proud of you, darling,” her dad said after she finished speaking, a warm smile etched on his lips as he silently admires his daughter.

“I am very proud of you too, Jiwon,” her mother gently patted her shoulder. “But wait, all these years, didn’t you get the chance to meet and date anyone? You never mentioned anything about boyfriends, darling.”

Wow. Way to ruin the mood, Mom.

Jiwon wanted to smack her own head on the table. Of course the conversation was meant to go in this direction one way or another. It’ll always come down to whether in those eight years she had any interest on anyone, enough to date them and eventually think about marriage. Apparently, an independent, unmarried Jiwon is not an interesting enough topic of discussion.

“I’ve dated a few decent guys back in university. But it’s nothing too serious, really. Everyone had other priorities and were career-oriented,” she simply shrugged, conveniently forgetting to mention that she didn’t really bother to let any of those boys get too close or attached to her.

A look of disappointment flashed in her mom’s beautiful features, and albeit briefly, Jiwon still managed to see it. She held her mother’s hand resting on top of the table and heaved a deep sigh.

“Mommy, do you really want to marry me off and give me away that badly?” Her voice sounded more tired and accusing than she meant it to be, and her mother’s eyes widened at her tone.

“Jiwon, my sweet child. I’m not doing this to give you away, no, it’s not like that, darling. But you’ll be 25 in a few months, and you don’t know how much it scares me just to think that we might lose you,” she explained slowly, as if she was talking to a little kid.

She wanted to be stubborn and argue, to say that she will not magically disappear just because some fake fortune-teller said so, but she literally had no more energy for this. For God’s sake, she just wanted to be left alone to ing decide for herself, to stop the blind dates and dinner setups and marriage interviews and matchmaking appointments and all that .

She helplessly threw a pleading look in her dad’s direction, but it seems that he too would not be able to save her.

“I’m sorry, darling. But I still want to pass on everything to you – the business, the estate, everything that is rightfully yours to inherit. How am I supposed to do t