Jiyong’s POV

Jiyong could hear the glumness in his own voice, and pulled himself up. He ought to be sounding more enthusiastic at the prospect. After all getting married had been his idea.

            It had made perfect sense at the time. Chaerin  was a high-flyer, like him. She was beautiful, intelligent, and successful. Independent.  To Jiyong,  she had seemed everything he wanted in a woman. Then relationship had been mutually satisfying, with neither making any demands on the other, and Jiyong couldn’t imagine ever meeting anyone who would fit into his life with si little effort.

But that was before he had asked her to marry him and wedding fever had gripped her, transforming her in an instant from cool, competent careerwoman into a neurotic fiancée, obsessed with dresses and guess list and flowers and fuss.  It was all very alarming, and Jiyong just hoped that once the wedding was over, Chaerin would revert to normal.

“Chaeri ha set her heart on getting married at Jeju Island” he told Dara, who was obviously wondering what the rush was. “We just assumed it would be a year before we could book it, but it turns out that they’ve had a last-minute cancellation, so Chaerin jumped at the opportunity.”

That cancellation had thrown out all Jiyong’s calculations. He had planned his proposal with care, just as he planned everything. He preferred his life under strict control. He didn’t do spontaneous. So he had thought it all out, weighed up the advantages and disadvantages and prepared exactly what he would say to Chaerin. He had expected her to say yes and she had.

What hadn’t expected was her excitement. He had assumed that they could carry on much as before for a while, with Chaerin’s job in Japan and his work in Korea. There was no hurry. They could have a year or so to get used to be engaged and plan perfect wedding with precision.

But Chaerin had thrown his plan into disarray. She had thrown herself into planning the wedding with alarm enthusiasm, her ideas becoming more and more extravagant by the day, and once she had heard that the castle would be available so soon, there was NO stopping her.

Jiyong couldn’t understand it at all. He had thought that Chaerin shared his pragmatic attitude to marriage. She had certainly seemed to agree that mutual respect, admirations and attraction. It wasn’t as if she was a silly, romantic girl expecting him to start gushing about love and all that hearts and flower stuff, which just made her enthusiasm for the wedding all the more baffling. “It’s all very exciting” said Dara encouragingly.

“yes” Jiyong agreed, but he knew that he didn’t sound excited. It was all right for Dara. Her life hadn’t been thrown into disorder.

“Chaerin is coming over next week to start planning time between here and Japan, so she may need your help arranging things”.

“Of course,” said Dara “Whatever I can do to help.”

“You can sort out this honeymoon business for a start,” said Jiyong, flicking open a file, evidently having had enough personal interaction. “Chaerin’s dealing with the wedding, but she tells me it’s up to me to organize the honeymoon.”

“It’s traditional for the groom to do that,” Dara agreed, wondering a little at the undercurrent of irritation in his voice. Poor Chaerin, she wondered if his fiancée had any idea of just how unexcited Jiyong was about his wedding.

“I don’t know anything about honeymoons,” he was grumbling.

“It’s not that hard,” said Dara with just a hint of asperity. “It’s just a holiday. You’ll want a chance to relax after the wedding, so all you need to do is find somewhere romantic where you can be alone.”

Jiyong frowned. “ What do you mean by romantic?”

Dara only just stopped herself from rolling her eyes. “That depends on you, everyone’s got a different idea of what’s romantic. What does romance mean to you?

“it’s no use asking me,” he said unhelpfully “I haven’t got a clue”

Well, there was a surprise!

Dara sighed, “Just choose somewhere relaxing, in that case.”

“It’s got to be “special”.” Jiyong used his fingers to pit hooks around the world, barely able to contain his discomfort with the idea. “I can’t just book it as if it were a normal holiday. Chaerin is obviously expecting me to arrange something fabulous.”

“I expect she is.”

“I haven’t got time to research fabulous holidays,” Jiyong objected.

Hey studied Dara with critical grey eyes. When he had first arrived at GD International Dara had been assigned as his temporary assistant until he appointed a Personal Secretary of his own.

At first sight, he hadn’t been impressed. Jiyong had to admit. She was younger and infinitely more casual than any secretary he had had before, and she had no experience of working at a senior executive level. As far as Jiyong could work out, she had drifted into secretarial work and was utterly lacking in ambition. It was symptomatic of the failing firm that the best assistance they could offer their new Chief Executive was a temp whose only relevant experience was a two-week assignment in Human Resource, he had thought disapprovingly.

With that wayward brown hair and relaxed approach to the dress code, Dara always seemed faintly messy to Jiyong. Her desk was an absolute disgrace, for instance, and in spite of her temporary status she appeared to have an encyclopedic knowledge of every member staff’s social life. If Jiyong hadn’t had his hands full taking over reins of a company whose shares were plummeting in value on a daily basis, he would have insisted on a more professional Personal Secretary, but stopping the slide and turning GD International was his priority for now.

When he had the time, he would be looking to appoint someone qualified and experienced who would act as a professional PS but in the meantime, Dara had proved to be surprisingly competent. Jiyong might wish that she looked a little sleeker, a little crisper, but she was a more than adequate substitute in most things, so he had postponed the decision about replacing her for now. Her image might be unprofessional, but she got the job done, and for Jiyong that was what mattered most.

“You’re a sensible woman.” He told her. “I’m prepared to go to your recommendation.”

Dara’s POV

            “Sensible?” It wasn’t exactly a compliment to make the heart beat faster, was it? Thought Dara, disgruntled. Why couldn’t he think of her as glamorous, or y, or exciting? Anything but sensible!

            Still, it would amuse Bom, who was always telling her how very un-sensible she was when it came to men.

            Kwon Jiyong might look like the kind of man you yearned to sweep you off your feet, but a girl wanted a little romance. A man who thought sensible was a compliment and was clearly baffled by the idea of a romantic holiday wouldn’t be that much fun to be with in reality, no matter how toe-curling his mouth, or spine – shivering his hands.

            No, some men are better in your fantasies than in real life. In her fantasies, Jiyong had slowly ed her blouse and pressed her up against a door and reduced her to puddle of lust with the merest graze of his fingers. My God, but you’re beautiful! He had cried as he’d thrown her across the bed.

            Not once in her fantasies had he told her she was a sensible woman.

-------------------A/N----------------

Aigoo is this a boring chapter??? T.T Please wait for some Daragon moments neh? It will come out soon :) Hehhehehhe