The room remained silent for what might have been a whole five minutes. Kim Dalbong kept quiet as he waited for Sehun's answer.

"Have you made up your mind, Mr Oh?" he asked. 

Sehun who was just getting out of the shock, finally blurted out, "I'm sorry if this sounds rude, but this is not a prank, right?"

The older man laughed and shook his head. "Do I look like a prankster to you?"

"Uh... no, sir,"he replied quickly.

Namjoo who had been sitting next to him suddenly got up. "I've had enough of this, it's clear that he doesn't want to, father. There's no need to force the poor guy. Let's stop this nonsense."

The man turned to her. "Sit down, Namjoo,"he said in a firm tone. "Father, please..."she tried to coax him, "I can do this, but not now."

"You said the same thing five years ago and I gave you time. Now it's my turn. Sit down, let him speak."

With a huff, Namjoo sat down and sighed.

"I've made up my mind,"Sehun spoke up, shocking the other two. That was unexpected. Namjoo narrowed her eyes, waiting for his answer. Her father's eagle eyes turned to Sehun.

"So, what will be your answer?"

Glancing at Namjoo, Sehun started, "Mr Kim, I'm honoured to be chosen as one of your daughter's potential suitors. I accept your proposal gladly."

Upon hearing his answer, a smile cracked on Kim Dalbong's face. Namjoo gritted her teeth. Her head was starting to ache.

She grabbed her purse and got out of her seat. "I have to excuse myself first, see you for dinner later. Father." She stopped for a second and turned, looking Sehun in the eyes, "I will never accept you." 

With that, she turned to leave, disappearing so quickly that by the time Sehun blinked the door had been shut.

Kim Dalbong sighed, and then smiled again. "Sorry if my daughter had offended you. Don't take it personal. I just want you to get to know each other for now. If both of you click, we can proceed to the next stage,"he said casually. His expression seemed calm but there was a masked uneasiness layered underneath.

"I see."

Sehun wanted to ask if there was a time limit for that but it seemed like an unnecessary question. Even if there was, that would probably work against him. So, he blurted, "where do I start, if I may ask?"

"I'll give you her number. After that, it's up to you." Mr Kim's hand was already busy scrawling something on a notepad. Then, he gave the piece of paper to Sehun.

"Thank you, sir,"he said and excused himself.

***

That night as he lied in bed, Sehun held up a piece of paper to the light. Debating to himself, if what he did was the right thing or not.

Honestly, he was at first disappointed that the meeting had nothing to do with his work. But as he sat in Mr Kim's office earlier that day, pondering on the offer, he realised that it might serve as a good opportunity for him to get close to the man who was holding the one of the firm's biggest positions 

Even if he failed to marry the rich man's daughter, this arrangement would lead him somewhere. Hopefully closer to his goal.

At the same time, he was confused as to whether he should pursue the relationship for the sake of the relationship itself.

Namjoo, even if she seemed to despise him during their second meeting today, had actually been amiable to him the previous week. Even though they had been friendly, it was too early to conclude whether they had a chemistry or if it was just them being nice to strangers. She was pretty too, to top it off.

At the back of his head, there was a voice telling Sehun to go ahead and give the relationship a try, despite the unconventional circumstances and Namjoo's uninhibited rejection.

He waved the paper back and forth, burning the image of the squiggly handwriting in his mind. At this rate, he was going to have the numbers etched into his memory in no time.

Deciding that it was best to act now, Sehun typed a message. 

'Hello. I'm Oh Sehun. Nice to meet you. Let's be good to each other.' Send.

After a few minutes, he received a reply. Curious and somehow excited, he opened the message.

'Hi, Oh Sehun. Please don't message or call me again. I don't want anything to do with you. Thank you.'

Somehow, the cold response should be expected given the way Namjoo behaved today. However, all of that did not dampen his spirits. He scratched his head, thinking.

Suddenly getting an idea, Sehun got off the bed and sat by his desk. Punching in the numbers as he waited for the other person to answer.

After several seconds, someone picked up. "Hello?"

"It's me."

There were indiscernible sounds coming from the other side. "Why are you calling at this hour? I'm already asleep. What's so i