Mari hadn’t even realized she was still twisted at an awkward angle from looking back until her neck cramped and she groaned, looking at the illuminated buildings of Seoul that sparkled under the sunlight. The beauty of it all made her forget about the uncomfortable throbbing in her ankle.

“Are you okay, Miss?”

She whipped her head towards Yui seated in the front seat, her lips pursed ever with a scrutinizing gaze. “I’m fine, thank you.”

“Must be the heels,” she looked down at Mari’s feet before nodding to herself, “Don’t worry. Just a few more hours and you can go back to being barefoot.”

“Can’t wait. So uh, where are we going?”

It just occurred to her that they left the airport around ten minutes ago, a fleet of uniformed cars headed towards the same direction. It was as if everyone knew what was happening better than she did.

“You were supposed to meet Sir Park today at eighteen hundred hours but his secretary called to say he had an emergency board meeting in Busan. He won’t be home in a few days and they’ve sent their apologies to your shared penthouse. Sir Park and his whole family wishes you to be comfortably accustomed to your new place and they requested that you don’t hesitate the least bit if you want to redecorate.”

“Sorry, did you just say shared penthouse?”

“I believe I did, Miss.”

“Yui, I know we’ve been betrothed for years, but I’ve never met him. Does Mother and Father even know I’m living with him this early on?”

“It was the Chairman who suggested you share a house as soon as possible. He believes it’s the fastest and easiest way to get used to each other and make your marriage as believable to the media.”

“Believable?” she echoed, “It’s not like it’s a fake marriage but… I-I don’t know. I was expecting we could go out on dates first. Living together seems like a step too far.”

“You can arrange that with Sir Park. I don’t doubt he will take you on a date someday. I understand living with a stranger can be highly uncomfortable, but I’ll just be a floor below you along with the rest of your assistance team. We’ll always be there if you need us, Miss.”

Mari reckoned she needed help with the language barrier.

“Do you speak Korean?”

“I’m afraid not, Miss. I’m sorry.”

Mari rubbed her temples, eyes closed followed by a groan. “Is there anyone here who speaks both Japanese and Korean?”

“If I remember correctly, some of Sir Park’s security and management team have basic conversational knowledge.”

“That’s not going to be of any use,” she mumbled, “I’ll be all alone with my fiance for who knows how long.”

“You don’t sound happy about that. You looked so excited just a while ago.”

“I am happy, I really am,” she admitted, “I just can’t help but feel lost. I’m so used to just working and studying from home and it’s like my whole world just turned upside down. Mother and Father have prepared me for this, but I’m not really prepared. Not even a little bit!”

It was a few minutes before Yui spoke again.

“I studied Korean as soon as I heard about your engagement. It’s not perfect and there’s still more to learn, but I’ll see to it that I hire a translator or at least get you a portable translating device as soon as possible.”

Mari sighed in defeat, “Don’t bother. I’ll study it myself.”

“Understood, Miss.”

***

Mari didn’t really know what to expect, but the shock of her current state didn’t waver off one bit. Exactly five days ago, she arrived at Seoul International Airport and was escorted to this five star hotel called the Miracle Empire; Yeonghwa Group’s most famous and luxurious vacation site. The building was at least forty floors high and Mari nearly hyperventilated at the crowds of people waiting for her at the concierge, a stiff looking woman who probably had way too much cheek fillers handing her her keycard and welcoming her in very broken Japanese.

In front of her was the entire hotel staff of the Miracle Empire bowed down while peering at her under their lashes curiously at the same time, and from behind her stood at least fifteen people from her assistance team. She felt that no side was more comfortable than the other so she bolted out of the scene, head ducked down and teeth gnawing on her lips as her team hurriedly followed her to the elevators.

To no one’s surprise, Mari had the whole penthouse to herself. True to her word, Yui and the rest of their team did have permanent residence and complete access to all the amenities the hotel offered, something she was yet to find out about.

She wasn’t ready, though, and aside from the usual knocking from Yui three times a day at exactly six am, one pm, and seven pm to serve her meals, she was left alone in her own thoughts. Her penthouse was definitely smaller than her former house, but big enough that she didn’t feel claustrophobic.

She was thankful enough she wasn’t scared of heights at all because the view her new home offered was breathtaking.

Seoul was already magical enough from the photos she saw, but seeing it with her own eyes and hearing all the distant chatter and familiar car horns faintly from the world below was a sensation that helped cure her homesickness.

There were days she would just lie in front of the floor to ceiling glass windows, sometimes fogging up the glass and drawing hearts and flowers absentmindedly with the tip of her finger. She would write her own name but replaced her family name with Park instead, her mind immediately picturing big, round eyes and large, awkward ears.

Her heart would stutter and skip a beat at the thought that there really was no going back to her old life now. She was actually getting married, and the penthouse she lived in was a place she’d spend the rest of her life in with her husband.

Mari was aware that there were four bedrooms in the house and figured the others were guestrooms and they had their personal rooms since they were strangers after all, but the image of the master bedroom was enough to make her body flush in warmth.

She knew her room right away by seeing all her stuff already organized, her closet upgraded and her study filled with business plans and files of both her company and Park Chanyeol’s that were sent by her parents. His room, on the other hand, was just across from hers. She didn’t know if he had lived here for some time now since the place was spotless the day she came in, or maybe he was just rarely home for work and he was just tidy.

Not that she meant to, but curiosity got the best of her and she sniffed his satin pillow sheets, her questions answered when she smelled nothing but expensive laundry detergent and perfume. She found his room enticing however, something she believed said a lot about someone she hadn’t even met.

The walls were plain white and the beams black, his sheets the same dark color with a few silver highlights to his blanket, while an enlarged golden family crest sat above his bed. His study was empty save for a few pens and files she couldn’t read. The master bedroom, however, a place she believed they’d share someday if they finally got to know each other, was twice the size of both their rooms. There was a king sized bed smack in the middle of it, the mattress bouncy and soft and the room painted a maroon red that set the atmosphere. The sheets and blankets were also red, while the pillows on the right side of the bed were white and black on the left side.

Mari remembered running out of the room with her heart pounding out of her chest.

Desperate to keep her thoughts off her hopefully kind husband (she had no doubt he was), Mari dived right back into work. Five days went by in a blur as she remained bent over her study, prescription glasses perched on her nose and lips silently mouthing the few Korean sentences she had perfected. Half of the business files in her desk had also been cleared and signed off, her emails answered and a new business plan proposal for their newest collaboration project with the Yeonghwa Group almost twenty percent done.

She didn’t know whether she was a fast learner or simply had too much time on her hands.

Whatever it was, Mari was thankful she could watch a bunch of Korean commercials and understand a majority of what they were saying. She kept a small notebook with her at all times so she could write the new words down and imprint it in her brain right away.

Mari had also managed to pull up some files and more business related sales status of the Yeonghwa Group from Yui. She studied their sales and methods carefully, impressed that even though they started out to only cater the luxurious and socialite classes of society, things have changed since Chanyeol became CEO.

He started to release a variety of lines that were cost-effective, environment-friendly, and she was more surprised upon finding out that Chanyeol spent the most time on hands-on research on perfumery. His first perfume line Vanilla Kiss was a hit. It had reached top in all perfume sales within just two weeks of its release with only three scents at that time. The perfume was famous both among men and women as men found it a luxurious yet affordable gift to their partners, and Mari scrolled through her tablet with a small smile at the amount of videos and blogs that popped out, all praising the wonderful line. The line was also hypoallergenic, something she found extremely thoughtful as she actually had perfume allergy and couldn’t use it most of the time.

She knew it obviously wasn’t for her, but she believed there was nothing wrong in leaning back on her seat as a dreamy sigh left her lips.

The ringing of a bell pulled her out of her thoughts and she frowned, glancing at the nearly ancient wristwatch that was passed down from generation to generation. It was seven pm already and she hopped out of her seat and went out of her room, curious as to what Yui brought her for her dinner.

One of many things that made Yui the greatest assistant was the fact she always knew what Mari’s taste buds would like.

“Yui-oh,” she paused, blinking as she was greeted by the sight of someone who was definitely not Yui. Last time she checked, Yui didn’t have hair the shade of a metallic auburn and broad shoulders outlined perfectly in a well-tailored suit that blocked her view of the hallway. Mari couldn’t help but ogle at his features, especially with the way his hazel eyes danced with amusement; something that seemed so familiar and so welcoming that her shoulders relaxed with a bow. “Good evening! I’m Fujiwara Mariko, the uh… CEO of Fujiwara Group. I’m pleased to meet you…?”

She stopped herself from saying red-haired man with a beautiful smile and kept shut instead.

“Likewise,” he answered in Japanese. Mari looked back up at him with a small smile, not expecting that his voice would actually be soft and warm. “I’m Sir Park’s head security, Byun Baekhyun. I came here to tell you the CEO has arrived back home safely and would like to have dinner with you tonight.”

“A dinner? Oh, okay, I’m uh… I’ll just call Yui or the concierge to prepare us some food—”

“There’ll be no need for that, Miss. Everything’s already been arranged by Sir Park himself. He assigned me here to get you ready.”

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