Mark’s house was located a few tube stops away from Gureum. Youngsoon, Irene and Yoongi were the last ones to arrive as they had work that day. When Mark opened the door to welcome her in with a warm hug, Youngsoon caught the faint scent of soju from his breath. She was not sure when the party had started, however it was already in full swing.

“Unnie you’re finally here!” Joy squealed, skipping over and handing her a bottle of beer.

“So this is the famed sister. Pleasure to meet you, I’m Jackson Wang, the most awesome, fantabulous, handsome and—”

“Idiotic fool that you can ignore,” a girl interrupted. “I’m Jamie. We work in the Seoul branch of the TF Group.”

The girl called Jamie had striking purple hair, nose piercing and tattoos peppered over her skin. From purely appearance, she was the antithesis of Youngsoon and had a slightly daunting aura to her. The vibe she gave off was one to not be messed with.

“Pleasure to meet you. I’m Youngsoon,” Youngsoon replied with her default smile. “My brother is in your care.”

“Damn she’s so polite, isn’t she Wendy?” Jamie turned towards another girl before glancing at Mark. “You should learn from her.”

“You should.” Wendy nodded while resting her chin on Jamie’s shoulder. “Looking at Youngsoon you can tell that she’s a responsible girl and will get stuff done as manager. You? You look like you’re ready to ditch an important company meeting at any given moment because you don’t feel like it.”

“Is this how you talk to your boss?” Mark pouted. “Sis, my own employees are bullying me.”

Snuggling close to Youngsoon, Mark whined like a child, earning eye rolls from the said ‘bullies’. Irene giggled softly and Yoongi let out an ungraceful snort. Youngsoon patted Mark on his head while her eyes wandered around the living room that was scattered with plates of food and bottles of drinks. Sitting by the dining table was Jinyoung, engaged in a casual conversation with another unfamiliar male. Their conversation came to an end however when Jinyoung locked gazes with Youngsoon and he instinctively welcomed her with a wide grin.

“Wait, isn’t that the barista from the famous coffee place in Hongdae?” Irene gasped while pointing at the male with Jinyoung. “He went viral on social media last year.”

“The one and only,” Mark chirped, suddenly returning to his cheerful state. “I poached Yugyeom from there. Aren’t I good?”

Hearing his name being mentioned, Yugyeom looked up and Irene sauntered towards him with Yoongi in tow. Both of them eager to ask questions to a relatively established barista in hopes of exchanging ideas and opinions on the coffee and tea drinking customs of the contemporary South Korean market.

“Also Wendy here was formerly in the marketing team of the Starbucks Seoul branch,” Mark continued. “I met her a few years ago at a coffee convention in LA. When the plans for TF Group Seoul branch was settled, the first thing I thought was contact her and have her switch teams and as you can see, it was a success. Come on, praise me.”

To Mark’s dismay, no one really bothered to respond and Wendy’s attention was taken by Jinyoung instead who had decided to join the conversation.

“Were you part of the team that launched the Starbucks and BTS collaboration?”

“Ah yes.” Wendy nodded shyly. “My team was behind that.”

“It was a very good strategic move.” Jinyoung smiled. “Especially since each location had a different dessert and drink that was made in collaboration with BTS, so avid fans were motivated to visit all the various locations and post it online to show off.”

“Yes but you could have done more with it,” Jackson butted in, pulling Wendy and Jinyoung to settle down on the sofa so he could give his speech comfortably. “You should have made it more interactive. We’re in the age of social media now so it’s not enough to just have this stuff in-store and post photos of the pretty cakes online. The smart move to maximise this marketing campaign would have been to launch a sort of treasure hunt or exploration venture. Have the customers not just want but need to visit all the locations and eat all the cakes.”

“So give it a value as a collectible?” Jinyoung mused. “Interesting. Since it is not limited to one location and there is a strong fanbase that is guaranteed to buy the goods, then might as well turn it into a sort of challenge.”

“So make it into something like Pokemon Go?” Wendy added in interest. “I see, that would have definitely pushed it to the next level and we could have partnered with a tech company to launch an app just for that and turn it into a game and thus more revenue.”

“And there wouldn’t be a need to put too much in marketing the app itself. BTS fans would naturally push it and spread it online. With the cards played right, it could have become the next viral thing.”

“Well it’s all in the past now,” Wendy hummed. “Damn, why didn’t I think of that?”

The three of them dived deep into a conversation about the use of social media as key marketing channel in the digital age and Jinyoung was able to offer much insight in terms of other digital channels due to his background in the electronics company and his IT knowledge.

“Yikes, their conversation is becoming too work oriented for me,” Jamie grumbled.

“I know right,” Joy corroborated. “Tonight it’s about having fun!”

Hooking arms together, the two girls proceeded to find entertainment elsewhere. Mark meanwhile had a contemplative look, taken in by how well Jinyoung was mingling with his employees and the interesting ideas he had to offer.

“Looks like he’s having fun,” Youngsoon hummed.

Even though Youngsoon had not specifically mentioned Jinyoung’s name, Mark knew who she was talking about and nodded in agreement.

“I might seriously offer him a position in the company,” Mark mumbled to himself while nudging Youngsoon. “What do you think?”

Youngsoon’s eyes travelled back and forth between Mark and Jinyoung. She was not sure whether she had a right to comment or was the right person to ask such question. After all the decision ultimately falls on Jinyoung.

“Even though she’s your sister, she’s still a competitor,” Yugyeom mused, having ditched Irene and Yoongi who had been pulled into a drinking game with Jamie and Joy. “You shouldn’t be asking her that. What if you give her ideas and she ends up keeping Jinyoung for herself?”

“For Gureum,” Youngsoon corrected. “Either way, Jinyoung should be the one deciding.”

“Riiight.” Yugyeom nodded while extending his hand towards Youngsoon. “Nice to meet you. I didn’t have the chance to talk to you earlier since everyone else was hogging your attention. I’ve actually visited Gureum a couple of times and really enjoyed my time there.”

“I’m glad to hear that. If you have any feedback do let me know. We always strive to improve ourselves,” Youngsoon replied, shaking his hand. “But I suppose our pâtissier and tea expert have already drilled you with questions.”

“They definitely know what they want and will do their utmost to get it. Especially that pâtissier. He may look small but he’s damn mighty,” Yugyeom chuckled.

Youngsoon’s eyes glided quickly towards the two Gureum employees as the default smile graced her face.

“Ah that smile,” Yugyeom commented. “That smile matched with that modernised hanbok uniform is really a killer combination.”

“Okay that’s enough flirting with my sister,” Mark interjected, pushing Yugyeom’s face away with one hand. “She’s off limits. Keep your pheromones for the customers.”

Taking in a deep breath, Youngsoon gave Mark a scolding glare but was distracted by how red Yugyeom’s face had turned. The confident persona he was previously portraying had disappeared, replaced instead by an embarrassed boy who was caught in the act by his teacher. This somehow made him look rather endearing and earned a soft chuckle from Youngsoon.

Ignoring Yugyeom’s glowing face, Mark tugged Youngso