Chapter 5

Taeyeon rubbed his eyes as he looked at the digital clock on their nightstand. It was already 7 in the morning. He let out a yawn as he looked over to his left, he couldn’t help but smile at the sight of his wife. She had fallen asleep with her head on her desk. 

Neatly putting all of the work they did away, he carefully slipped out of the bedroom to make breakfast. The first thing he did was brew himself and his wife a nice warm cup of coffee. They both really needed it. They spent the entire night brainstorming for her presentation and a worthy mock-up of renovations. 

It wasn’t before long the rest of the family started coming downstairs. Everyone looked really tired as all of them came home late. 

Tiffany came strolling in, eyes still half-lidded from being sleepy. “Good morning Taeyeon. Sorry, I fell asleep. Thank you for putting my things away for me” she said with a yawn at the end. 

Her husband smiled and handed her a plate of pancakes, “No worries honey”

A grumble could be heard from the table, “Why are you two being so… sweet” the voice said with slight disgust. 

Tiffany couldn’t help but roll her eyes, “I can’t be thankful to my husband?” 

A scoff, “Your good for nothing husband should be thankful to you! You’re the one paying for his lifestyle” 

Taeyeon could only hold back his tongue and kept a straight face. “And I am very thankful to have a beautiful wife that takes good care of me” 

The brunette couldn’t help but blush at her husband's words. “Well, I’m thankful that you’ve been doing all the housework without any complaints. You help out a lot” 

“Well… that’s the only thing he’s good at…” piped Tiffany’s mother as she shoved a pancake into . 

Taeyeon just gave a pat on his wife’s shoulder before taking a seat beside her to have his own meal. “It’s okay, I’m used to it” he whispered into her ear. 

The family ate in silence until Tiffany’s father spoke up. “Tiffany, how’s the company going?” 

“It’s going okay,” 

“I heard from your grandmother that 11:11 is bidding for a partnership. They bought out Hotel del Luna just recently. Will you be making a proposal on behalf of the Hwang family?” He smiled devilishly. 

All her father could really think about is money signs. If not a way to show something off to his friends and family that his own daughter was able to acquire such partnership. He was a stay at home husband himself and relied on the income of his daughter. 

Taeyeon couldn’t help but ask, “Father, why do you not work for your family’s company?” 

Leo, Tiffany’s father, couldn’t help but frown at the question. Many thoughts went through his mind, replaying the events that had transpired. But he couldn’t help but keep his pride up and snap, “Mind your own business boy. I have my reasons” 

Taeyeon rolled his eyes. 

It was Tiffany’s turn to give Taeyeon a pat on the shoulder. “It’s okay, he won’t tell me either” 

“It’s a story for me to know and for me to simmer in” Tiffany’s father continued. He grumbled a few more words under his breath as he took more bites of his breakfast. 

“Anyways,” Tiffany started. “Company is doing fine since we have a few projects in the works. Taeyeon and I stayed up all ni-“ 

“You two stayed up all night doing what?!” Wailed Tiffany’s mother nearly choking on her last bite of her pancakes. “You didn’t touch my daughter right?!” 

Tiffany’s and Taeyeon’s faces grew red in embarrassment. The sight of embarrassment made Tiffany’s mom see red. “Do you want to die?!” 

“Enough mom!” Yelled Tiffany. “What Taeyeon and I do in our room is our own business. We are married for goodness sakes!”  

Tiffany’s mother’s face was dark and angry. She sent daggers towards Taeyeon. “Touch my daughter and I swear I will cut that precious thing!” 

“Elissa! Knock it off. I don’t want to hear or know anything those two are up to in their bedroom. As much as I hate the fact that Taeyeon is married to our daughter… they are still a married couple,” grumbled Leo as he set his fork and knife down. 

“We didn’t do anything mother,” Taeyeon finally said as he got up from his seat to clear the table. “I was simply helping Tiffany come up with a proposal for 11:11,” 

This quickly changed the mood at the table. Leo and Elissa’s faces were more calmer and more excited. “Really?!” Smiled Elissa happily. 

“My daughter is going to meet with 11:11?” Leo asked with eagerness in his voice. 

Tiffany could only nod her head. “Yes, however I didn’t tell grandmother about it just yet” 

Leo and Elissa looked at each other skeptically. “What do you mean you didn’t tell your grandmother?” 

The young lady sighed and looked down at her half eaten pancakes, “We all know how grandmother favors Siwon a lot more than me. Although he may bear the Choi last name, he is still a Hwang by blood. He is the oldest and a male. She’s always looking down on us-“ 

“She looks down on us because of that,” spat Elissa as she gave Taeyeon a dirty look. 

Taeyeon just kept a straight face as he started to wash the dishes. Typical attitude of Elissa. She never really had anything nice to say to him. If she needed something, that was the only time Elissa was ever nice to him. 

“Anyways, Taeyeon and I spoke last night. We thought why don’t we beat them at their game? I will just go over there before Siwon can meet with them. I have nothing to lose right? Grandmother already hates all of us already. If I don’t get it it’ll just be a continuation of the bad treatment. If I do get it on the Hwang family’s behalf… don’t they have to give me some sort of respect?” Tiffany reasoned. 

Both parents thought for a moment. She was right. There was no harm in just beating everyone else first. With a sigh, Leo and Elissa relented. “You’re right. Is that why you and Taeyeon were up all night?” 

Tiffany nodded, “Yes, Taeyeon helped me a lot with the logistics of everything” 

Scratching his chin, Leo nodded approvingly “Well… at least we know that Taeyeon’s degree that we paid for is going through something useful” 

Taeyeon, who was watching the dishes, couldn’t help but scoff to himself. Sure his family-in-law helped pay for his business degree… but if they really wanted money back for his tuition and such… he could easily hand them a check of a few thousands to a few million dollars of reimbursement. But that would just make his game of chess not fun at all. 

“When are you going to go to 11:11?” Elissa asked batting her eyes. 

Tiffany looked at the clock on the kitchen wall before standing up abruptly. “!!” She cursed to herself. “I have to get ready now! If I want to get there early and make it to work at a reasonable time I have to go now!” She said as she frantically tried to clear her area up. 

“Dear, don’t worry about your plates. I will handle it” Taeyeon smiled as he walked over to clear her plate, cup, and utensils. 

She quickly mouthed a thank you before dashing up the stairs to get ready for work and for the biggest meeting of her life. Which left Taeyeon alone with his parent-in-laws. What joy… not. 

Picking up today’s newspaper, Leo cleared his throat. “Taeyeon, I am going out to look at some antiques. I don’t feel like driving today,” 

Taeyeon knew what Leo had really meant. Leo wanted Taeyeon to accompany him so that Taeyeon would do all the driving. Taeyeon smiled politely and nodded his head. “Sure father, I will drive you to anywhere you want to go today” 

Leo smirked, “Perfect”

XXXX

Tiffany stood in front of the beautiful building of 11:11. She couldn’t help but stare in awe at the powerhouse of a company it was. Everyone wanted to partner with 11:11 and its subsidiaries. 11:11 was such a powerful company in Seoul Hills and in their country, that a partnership with them could really advance a start up into something great. 

Taking a deep breath, Tiffany walked through the revolving doors and was welcomed into a nice modern lobby. It was elegant and beautiful. Hwang Group could not compare at all. They were still renting out an office space nearby, but it was nothing as grand and beautiful like this one. 

Walking up to the front desk, she was greeted by a young lad. Jake was the name on the lad’s name tag. 

“Hello! Welcome to 11:11, how may I assist you today?” 

“Hello, my name is Stephanie Hwang. I’m from Hwang Group. Is there a way I can meet with the chairman?” 

Instantly remembering what his boss had told him today. Jake quickly nodded his head and picked up the work phone to dial the chairman. It didn’t take long for the other end to pick up and give orders to the young attendant. 

“Mr. Kim Heechul will be delighted to see you now” Jake smiled, flashing his pearly white teeth. 

Tiffany smiled genuinely, her eyes turning into crescents as she bowed politely. “Thank you Jake. By the way, I like the accent. Where are you from?” 

Jake couldn’t help but feel slightly shy all of a sudden, “Born and raised in Brisbane, Australia. Moved here to learn more about my parent’s roots” 

“Well, welcome to Korea” Tiffany smiled before she walked towards the elevators. 

“Thank you Miss Hwang,” he bowed once more before saying, “Take the elevator to the top floor. Mr. Kim’s secretary will let you in right away” 

As Tiffany got into the elevator and hit the floor for the last floor, she felt her heart racing. Her palms were sweaty and she was getting nervous as the elevator passed each floor. She couldn’t help but gulp when the elevator came to a stop and the elevator let out a ring of arrival.

Quickly composing herself, she took a deep breath before walking out and straight for the woman sitting at the front desk. Tiffany smiled politely showing off her beautiful eye-smile, “Hello, my name is Stephanie Hwang and I am here to meet with Mr. Kim Heechul” 

The secretary smiled and ushered her to the office door. Opening the door, the secretary bowed and motioned for Tiffany to walk inside. 

“Thank you,” she said before walking into the office. 

Tiffany’s eyes couldn’t help but be in awe of the luxurious office. It was massive and quite modern. It had a seating area, a small conference area, the co-chairman’s desk, a wall of books, lots of antique looking decorations, and the view from the window was breathtaking.

The office chair spun, revealing a polite smile from Kim Heechul. Tiffany quickly bowed in politeness as she took a seat across from Heechul. 

“Hello! You must be Stephanie Hwang” Heechul smiled. 

“Yes, very pleased to meet you sir” 

“You can call me Heechul. I’m not fond of too much formalities” Heechul waved. 

Tiffany could only smile and nod her head. “I’m sorry to bother you this morning, but I wanted to meet with you myself on behalf of the Hwang Group” 

Heechul smiled, “That’s interest, I have an appointment with a Choi Siwon from Hwang group tomorrow at noon,”

Fiddling her fingers, Tiffany could feel her anxiety levels to rise. So many thoughts were going through her head. Should she just be honest or should she just lie? Taking a deep breath, she remembered her conversation with Taeyeon, which gave her a little bit more strength. 

Gulping, “I know they had made an appointment with you. However, I think my proposal plans are a lot better than what Siwon can offer you” she said with a slight hesitance. 

Heechul raised an eyebrow before leaning forward. This made Tiffany’s heart beat faster. There was no emotions on Heechul’s face until out of nowhere he flashed the biggest smile. “Lets see what you have!” 

Tiffany felt a huge weight lift off her shoulders. She began pulling out portfolios and her laptop. Once everything was set on the table, she began to go through her business pitch. Showing up potential designs. 

Heechul was extremely impressed by Tiffany. Although he knew that Taeyeon had helped her out, he was still quite impressed. The proposal and the pitches were absolutely beautiful. Tiffany really went above and beyond. 

The past couple of companies bidding for their partnership, only had idea schemes. But Tiffany really went and found pictures of Hotel del Luna and came up with mock images for possible renovations. She had multiple version to fit a theme that they were going to go for. Heechul was definitely impressed. Even though she was going to get the partnership form the very beginning, he did not think much of Tiffany’s abilities. 

Quite frankly, he was a little nervous to just let Taeyeon give the green light to his wife. But she definitely knew what she was doing. Taeyeon must be very proud of his wife. 

Leaning back on his leather chair, Kim Heechul crossed his legs, propped his elbows on his chair and clasped his hands together.  He had a smirk on his face that made Tiffany gulp in anxiousness. The poor brunette couldn’t help but to fiddle with her thumbs as she continued to wait patiently. Thoughts filled her head. 

“I like it!” Smiled Heechul quite enthusiastically, a little too enthusiastically. Had caused Tiffany to slightly jump in surprise. 

Blinking a few times, her eyes widen when she realized what he said. “Wait… really?!”

Heechul stood up and held out his hand. “11:11 with partner with the one and only Stephanie Hwang of the Hwang Group!” 

Standing up, Tiffany flashed him an eye-smile “Oh my goodness! Yes! Wow! Thank you!” She gave him a firm handshake. 

The co-chairman chuckled, “Honestly, I’ve heard great things specifically about you. The co-chairman slash owner has actually said good things about you. I was a little bit skeptical at first since you were coming from a smaller upcoming contractor business. But you’ve actually blew me away today!”

Tiffany blinked, “Wait… did you say the chairman said good things about me?!”

Heechul couldn’t help but say ‘’ in his mind. But at least he didn’t give away the chairman’s real identity. He wasn’t necessarily lying to her at all, because it was all true. 

“Yeah! Although he doesn’t want to be known, he has seen your previous work. I heard you were the one to design and oversee Cafe Zero. One of my favorite spots to go to. And let's not forget the work you did for Blanc & Eclare, now that really put your family company on the map. Great job helping Miss Jung with her flagship store” Heechul said complimenting the young brunette. 

Tiffany couldn’t help but blush in embarrassment. She couldn’t believe it, someone from such a   high social status was complimenting her on her own work. This was the first time since working for the company that she had ever been complimented. The only other person to have appreciated her hard work was none other than her husband, Taeyeon. 

“Thank you Mr. Kim! I-I am glad you found my work to be worthy of working with 11:11” 

Heechul gave her a genuine smile, “I looked into the work your cousin did. Honestly, I looked into everyone’s portfolios when they schedule an interview with me. I want to see if their vision works with the company’s brand and standards. Your stuck out the most. Even with the works of your cousin or the Park family, who has been quite prominent and sought after, yours has stood out”

The brunette’s face grew another shade redder. So much stress to come in, only for her to be highly thought of and complimented. She felt her worries slowly melt away and she felt very good. She smiled brightly. Her husband has helped her a lot, as well as supported her every decision. She felt a lot of gratitude for Taeyeon at this very moment. 

“I have a contract already prepared,” piped Heechul causing Tiffany to come back to reality. “Here is your copy, please take it with you to your family and look through it carefully. We can schedule something for a signing then”

“Yes Mr. Kim!” Smiled Tiffany as she took the folder in her hands. She gave him another brief handshake before putting all her belongings and the contract into her work bag. 

Wrapping up their meeting, Tiffany couldn’t help but let out a huge sigh of relief. This was the one thing she needed to earn some respect from her family. If it wasn’t for Taeyeon, she probably would have never came out to 11:11 all by herself. She felt grateful.