4 August 2011

The slow jazz number playing this time around was pretty alluring, so alluring that it was putting the female companion to sleep. Well who wouldn’t be? Together with the non-stop chatter of her date for the past fifteen minutes, even Jung Yunho will find himself snoozing right in front of his untouched steak. Yunho reluctantly shifted in his seat to face the bartender who was hard at work polishing the glasses with a white cloth and arranging it neatly on the shelf. His other friend was humming a little tune as he prepared Yunho’s drink. He tore his gaze off from the bartender’s hand which was holding a bottle of Evan Williams when his phone beeped. He fumbled for it from his pocket and at the same time, he tilted his head to the left again, to where he had been watching the bored female companion listening to the non-stop rambling. Their eyes caught from across the room and she held his gaze for a nano second before averting her attention back to her date.

“Who’s that?” a voice asked from behind him and Yunho jumped in his seat.

“Gosh nuna..seriously…” Yunho muttered under his breath as he checked his phone. Same usual email about work. That can wait. He slipped his phone back and saw that his own companion was waiting expectantly for an answer, now that she was happily settling down with a strawberry vodka in front of her. It was no surprise since she was a regular here. This was one of her frequent hangouts if she were to meet clients at the Hyatt Hotel.

“What?” Yunho asked irritably as he sipped his drink. Elder sister Jung Hyo-joo raised her perfectly arch eyebrows at him and Yunho immediately placed down his glass and shook his head. He knew better than to be brash towards her or else he will face her wrath. “I don’t know her” he said in a small voice. Hyo-joo tittered softly as she flipped her gorgeous waves over her shoulder. Yunho peered closely at her hair. Because of the limited lighting of the pub, it was kind of hard to distinguish whether his sister had changed her hair color again.

“What are you looking at?” Hyo-joo scolded him under her breath. She fiddled with the iPad she had took out from her Versace Jeans Women’s Mini blue bag and the light coming from the device gave a distinguish glow on her face, highlighting the features that can send any men into a trance. Even the bartenders on duty had stopped their work and were staring at her in awe. Yunho rolled his eyes as he focused on his drink, knowing well that Hyo-joo was enjoying being in the spotlight whilst she scrolled through her appointment lists, muttering to herself and forgetting that this was supposed to be a brother and sister night, and nothing to do with work at all. She had been the one who initiated that the both of them should get together after Yunho was done with the conference at Japan and he had agreed. They had been too busy with their work lately and he could not remember the last time he and Hyo-joo sat down and have a meal together. Let alone having a simple short conversation.

Yunho took another sip of his drink, his eyes still on his sister who was typing furiously on her phone this time. The iPad was put aside but Yunho knows that it will be taken out again in a short while. He could not understand it though. Both the phone and iPad had almost the same function except the latter was just bigger in size enabling the user to have an easy read.

“So nuna…” Yunho started and she nodded absently at him. “Yeah, what?” she mumbled, her eyes still on the mobile device. “Hey, any tips on how to handle an annoying client nicely?” she suddenly asked before Yunho got a chance to speak.

“Well…” Yunho started out slowly when a man appeared by their side, informing them that their table is ready.

“Ah finally!” Hyo-joo cheered, tossing her phone into her bag and beamed at him. “I’m starving!” She slipped off the bar stool and slipped her arm around Yunho’s as they followed the man to their reserved table.

“I know you’re peeved” Hyo-joo spoke up and Yunho looked at her in surprise. “Excuse me?” he asked her, knowing well what she was saying. But he just wants her to admit her mistake. He love doing that to her. Giving her the guilt trip.

His sister rolled her eyes when they sat at their table. “I’m sorry if I’ve been a little…busy and haven’t got the time to go out with you or the rest. Work is just crazy hectic with the new branch opening and Hyori keeps getting on my nerves with her constant demands. You know how she is right? If things don’t go her way, I have to face her wrath. But I promise, I’ll make it up to you and the rest one day. I promise!” she said in a firm tone.

Yunho leaned back on the chair and fiddled with the fork. “Hmm, I don’t know. You said that the last time….” he said slowly, giving her a knowing glance. It’s true. This was not the first time Hyo-joo had made a promise but ended up breaking it. He understands it was not easy running your own business and he admired his sister’s strong determination to make it work despite the many bumps and failures.

Hyo-joo sighed and slumped in her seat. “Believe me; if I could take a week off, no, if I could take just a day or two off, I would be glad to do it. But—“

Yunho wagged his finger at her. “Now, now, stop putting the blame on yourself. And don’t worry too much about it. We all understand the situation you’re in. I don’t want this matter to add on to your stress” he assured her with a soft smile.

“Cheongmal?” Hyo-joo asked, raising her eyebrows in surprise. She looked a little hopeful but Yunho spotted the sadness cast in her dark chocolate eyes. “Sohee doesn’t look thrill when I got home last night. You should have seen her this morning during breakfast” she mumbled.

Yunho shook his head with a displeased look. It was expected, coming from Sohee, their younger sister. She was ever the drama queen and was always making a scene when things do not go her way. “Don’t mind her. She’ll get over it sooner or later” he told Hyo-joo. He motioned to the menu on the table. “So are we going to brood here all night or are we going to eat something before our stomach starts to sing?”