1.

‘What do you mean, you could not purchase the remaining asset? I specifically asked for the competition to be cleared. We need absolute monopoly in this field, nothing else will do.’

The young man sitting behind the chairman desk looked up from both the tablet and two smart phones that he was simultaneously tending to. His facial expression was one of a father reprimanding his child – not really angry, more like… disappointed. However, that same expression kept his personal assistant Do Kyungsoo constantly alert during the day and made for very vivid nightmares at night. Saying that the young aid was stressed out of his mind would be, in this situation, a big understatement.

As a chairman of such a big company, not everything could always go according to plan, of course, but damn if the CEO would not voice out his displeasure at the news. In most cases, he was an amicable enough man and just employer. When something went wrong, however – and in his opinion could have otherwise been prevented – Suho would turn into a compulsive –obsessive mess of a boss.

‘It was not a rhetorical question. I am waiting for your answer.’ He gave Kyungsoo one more piercing look, before turning his attention back to the electronic devices, scrolling down the news feed and reading emails at the speed three times faster than he did a minute ago, clearly trying to make up for the time wasted by his employee.

‘The owner refuses to sell the business or take EXO Textiles as their umbrella company. There is nothing we can do, I’m afraid, unless we take up a more persuasive approach.’

‘What does that mean?’ This time Suho did not even bother looking up, although Kyungsoo had no doubt the CEO was listening intently. He was great at multitasking, after all.

‘I was under the impression that Red Velvet Industries did not feel that they were treated seriously enough with a visit from a low ranked employee. In addition, they seem to be well aware of our takeover in the field and how important their cooperation is to us, therefore they are able to make certain demands, however unreasonable they might sound.’ Kyungsoo desperately intended for his voice to remain cautious and composed, but instead, it came out more like a high- pitched plea.

‘Your recommendation?’

‘It wouldn’t hurt if you…’ He cleared his throat. ‘You should visit personally, sir.’

The sharp look that Suho sent his way made Kyungsoo think about changing jobs for the third time just that morning alone. Where did he leave his Valium, again?

xxx

Suho hated inefficiency the most. Fourth generation chaebol, at the age of 27 he was considered an all-around perfect heir to the textile empire that his great grandfather fostered from scratch some 60 years ago. At present, Suho was the executive director and second chair behind his father. He paid no heed to things that could not either further his career or develop him as a businessman. He had no time for hobbies and considered them a complete waste of time. The only activities other than work that he involved himself in were tennis three times a week and meeting his two friends whom he could not seem to shake off, no matter how harsh or stuck-up he tried to be.

Still displeased at his employee’s hopelessness and the idea of having to do something so simple and mundane himself, he instructed his driver to take him to RVI’s Gangnam-located building. As he sat at the back seat of his company’s Lexus, he was contemplating the strategy for the meeting. He was sure of success, it was just a matter of how to tempt the much smaller company into giving in and selling out.

Irene Bae, the young founder and only CEO of Red Velvet Industries was doing quite well for herself, from what his file on her told him. Four years into entering the field, the company finally caught a big break a started making money for the owner, its primary source of income being import of Japanese and Thai construction materials, from rare wood to ceramics. Although not even close to what EXOTex was dealing with, it had quickly become an unwanted thorn in Suho’s side. He had succeeded in buying out everything but that one stubborn unit, who clearly refused to be intimidated.

While Suho was absolutely realistic about his chances of seducing or charm the young woman, he was pretty certain he could be intimidating. If Kyungsoo did not manage to achieve their goal with generous offers, Suho would have to up the game. Everyone could be bought, after all. It was all just a matter of appropriate price.

His driver left him right at the company’s door and Suho was almost disappointed at the lack of glamour surrounding it, because he himself was accustomed to being surrounded by more luxury. The building in front of him wasn’t even the size of half of EXOTex’s warehouse.

Entering brought even bigger surprise, with a small reception counter in the middle of the hall and a very informal atmosphere that Suho was allergic to since birth. He briefly wondered how anyone could even function in such a space, never mind making business deals. When the receptionist turned to him with a smile, he stiffened even more. What a waste of effort that she could be putting into her work.

‘Welcome to Red Velvet Industries, how may I help you?’ He handed out his name card.

‘I’m here to see the CEO.’

‘Did you make an appointment?’

‘I did not but I refuse to leave until I see her.’ The girl looked at him perplexed, but seeing how he had no intention of backing down any time soon, she glanced at his name card again and finally made a decision.

‘Very well, let me see what I can do for you, sir. Please, take a seat.’ She gestured towards the set of sofas situated in the far corner of the small lobby, but her words fell on deaf ears.

‘I’d rather not. Call her immediately.’ Came a direct order.

When Seulgi decided to help out her best friend by taking up the client managing position in the newly-founded company, she had already known her wild temper would be the main obstacle when dealing with… well, people in general. It was always an exercise in patience when guests like this one appeared in front of her. She tried her best to form a kind smile on her face – when all she really wanted to do at that very moment was to bash his head in – and nodded. To her defence, he did not pay attention to her lack of pleasantries anyway.

‘Certainly. Please sit down.’

‘No.’ That settled it, since she was in no position to argue with the CEO of EXOTex, no matter how much she wanted to.

Seulgi called Irene and briefly explained the situation. She slightly cringed at her friend’s instruction to first let him wait for 20 minutes – she knew she would spend them with the young man hovering over her desk - and she was not disappointed: he tapped his foot, asked for the time every 30 seconds and complained about the CEO not having time to see him, despite his lack of prior appointment. By the time she received a signal from Irene to let him in, she was prepared to lose her job and freedom for that one moment of satisfaction coming from punching him in the nose.

Unaware of how close he had been to finding himself on the floor, Suho unceremoniously entered the only office on the left. The room was simply, but tastefully decorated. He found the owner seated behind a massive wooden desk across from the door. She rose from her chair upon seeing him.

The picture he had been given did not do Irene Bae justice. She was petite, yes, and he could easily tower over her should he choose to, but her face, although nothing but kind, meant pure business. She was not of great beauty, definitely not anyone Suho would turn his head for twice; but then again, he would probably not turn his head for any other woman either, as they usually only wasted his time. When Irene left her desk, he noticed that her already poor height had been greatly aided by a rather high pair of heels. Since he had no knowledge of female attire, he did not bother contemplating it anymore. She looked neat, that much he realised, but the deceitful shoes bothered him for some reason. He scoffed inside. Women lie, he finally decided.

He handed his name card once again, without a word. She took it, looking at it intently.

‘Kim. Jun. Myeon.’ She accentuated every syllable carefully, looking back at him. Suho stiffened – the card he had handed her clearly listed Suho as his official name.

Only people who knew him from before university times would know his real name, which meant the girl dag deep. There was no special reason behind Suho changing his name, other than perhaps it was easier to pronounce for all the foreigners that he encountered during his studies abroad and later by the investors that he had to constantly deal with. It had driven him crazy to have his birth name mispronounced and he had soon come to hate it. And nything that displeased Suho had to go.

‘You’ve done your homework.’ He observed humourlessly.

‘Haven’t you?’ She questioned back, raising her eyebrow. Only then did the young CEO realise that what he initially took for a bland, sober expression was in fact well hidden sarcasm. She was laughing at him, he could now see the mirth in her eyes, they were literally sparkling.

‘Are you laughing at me?’ Not one for long introductions, he accused straight-forwardly. She sat down at the long table near the window, gesturing for him to do the same. He was not used to taking orders or to other people not answering him – shocked beyond words, he sat down automatically nonethless.

‘Nice to meet you, too. I was wondering when I should be expecting your visit.’

‘You rejected all our offers.’

‘They weren’t very generous. I know we can do so much better.’

The freely given smirk was back. Not by any means malicious – Irene Bae was a woman who took pleasure in laughing both at others and with others, whenever the opportunity arose. But Kim Junmyeon did not know that. He was as stiff and full of himself as everyone described him to be. As she herself remembered him to have always been.

‘I cannot agree to give more than the deal is worth. No matter-‘

‘You should have realised by now that it is not EXOTex that call the shots here.’ She interrupted him quickly, not even looking apologetic. Suho blinked – he was not used to anyone interrupting him, either. ‘I am extending my courtesy just by having you here and listening to your offers. I do not need you or your propositions. Red Velvet is doing great. If anything, you should either be trying harder to persuade me to cooperate or you just have to live with the fact you do not own the entire market. Up to you.’ She leaned back in her spacious chair, folding her arms over hair chest. Her gaze was challenging, but full of mischief.

It didn’t take a genius to figure out the man in front of her did not deal well with mischief.

Suho looked at her for a moment, assessing the situation at hand. Right from the moment he entered, he was at a sore disadvantage. His authority did not extend to here and he knew better than to make empty threats. His no nonsense attitude was met with an equally stubborn personality, which puzzled him to say the least. Even without his encouragement, women usually looked at him kinder because of his wealth and upbringing. He reminded them of their son or a man they hoped to marry in the future.

Irene did not seem to be one of them. So he had to try a different method.

‘Why did you change your name?’ He questioned innocently, purposely looking away as if he did not care. He had noticed the foreign sound of it.

‘Why did you?’ The woman clearly knew how to turn everything around, and Suho blinked again,  taken aback.

‘I did not like it.’ He eventually admitted despite himself.

‘Neither did I mine.’ Her whimsical responses were starting to really frustrate Suho. Patience was never a trait that he had in abundance. He finally took a deep breath and look her in the eye.

‘What do you want? Name the price. Clearly, the proposals we had drafted were not to your liking. How much do you need? What are the conditions? You tell me already.’ He quickly became flustered at how desperate he sounded. What’s more, it did not go past Irene as well, judging from the way her eyes started sparkling.

‘Well, as I have already mentioned, my company is self- sufficient. We do not need anything from you. Anything you can offer us, we can achieve on our own with time.’ She rose from her chair and sat next to him instead. He found it odd. ‘Let me ask you this: why do you so desperately need a small company like mine out of your way? It is unusual field of business, sure, but you own 83% of the market at the moment. We are nothing compared to your conglomerate.’

‘I need the remaining 17%.’ Suho replied, not adding anything else. EXO Textiles rose to prominence by engaging in markets with hardly any competition. The remaining companies were quickly bought out and thus Suho’s stead income was reassured. When he decided to venture into rare construction materials, it was clear to him that EXOTex would need to be their exclusive distributor in Korea. Nothing else would do.

‘Very well.’ They regarded each other for a while, neither willing to break the silence, which would be taken as a sign of weakness. Finally, Irene smiled slowly. Suho had already learnt to be wary of that smile.

‘You know, I’ve always wondered what it would be like, to have a chaebol boyfriend.’ She said casually.

‘Excuse me?’ He raised an eyebrow, surprised by her statement.

‘I don’t need anything for the company. But you could do something for me. Be my boyfriend for, say, two months, and I will sell you an appropriate amount of my shares based on your performance.’

Suho stood up immediately, taking great offence in the proposed deal.

‘You can’t be serious, this is absurd!’

‘I don’t see how it is any more absurd than entertaining a client that you are hoping to get on your side, whether by taking him around town or buying him meals in expensive restaurants. I come for an average family, my company is only now taking off and I have not even paid the mortgage issued on my flat yet. Let me taste the luxury for a while. Then you will get what you want.’ She was laughing openly. She was clearly playing with him.

He was about to reject the ridiculous demand harshly once again, but something held him back. It was true that he was used to entertaining his business partners – he called it acquisition costs, or pains if he felt particularly bitter. More than money, it cost him a lot of nerves and holding himself back from speaking his mind openly, which was something that he absolutely hated.

He could potentially make a deal with Irene – entertaining a woman should be easier. Maybe she was attracted to him after all, and merely showed it in a strange way. He looked at her again briefly, the smirk was still present on that otherwise pleasant face. He re-calculated the chances of success.

He sat back down, albeit hesitantly.

‘Do you want to marry me?’ He finally asked. The sole thought of marrying somebody – which would surely  take up a lot of his precious time – was appalling, but it seemed reasonable to assume Irene’s motivation. After all, they did all want to marry him.

But the woman just chuckled shortly.

‘You’re joking, right? Have you seen yourself? No, I do not want to marry you. I’m only after your money.’  The mirth was back.

Instead of feeling disturbed, the young CEO felt somewhat relieved. Money. Suho was good with money.

 ‘What are your conditions?’

‘I do not have any specific ones. For two months-‘

‘Six weeks.’ Suho interrupted in a hard voice, his mind already focused on negotiations. It strangely made Irene smile even wider.

‘-fine, for six week you will treat me like you would your girlfriend. You will buy me gifts and take me on a trip and so on. We will spend time together like every couple does. After six week is over, I will assess how good of an actor you are and sell you my shares based on what I think of you.’

‘Those conditions are unacceptable.’

‘…Of course, you can just get up and leave through that door right now.’ She pointed to the exit. ‘Bye.’

‘Wait! Wait.’ Suho raised both hands, trying to take control of the situation. He was clearly failing. ‘Fine. I suppose I can do that. But how do I know that you will sell me the shares afterwards? Also, this deal only includes the possibility of EXOTex becoming your umbrella company.’

‘I would never even consider the possibility of handing my baby over to you. I do, however, acknowledge that the merger with your company would open doors that Red Velvet did not even think of before. That’s all I can offer. Take it or leave it.’

Suho his lips, deep in thought.

‘How many percent are we talking about?’

‘As I said, it depends entirely on you. I will keep the decisive 51%, be sure of that.’

It was not as bad as Suho imagined it to be. Irene was a skilled business woman, who knew how to cover her end of the bargain. If Red Velvet could not be bought, having it close would be the next best thing. Both people acknowledged that the merger would be beneficial – and if it took a couple of expensive handbags to encourage Irene to take that next step, Suho could probably sacrifice himself.

Probably.

‘Fine, I understand. But we should write it all down first.’

‘I am certainly not drafting any contracts with you.’ She rejected quickly. He frowned. ‘Put yourself in my shoes. I told you that I would sell you shares as I deem fit. If I draw a contract now, your legal department will tear me apart later, based on how many hours we spent together or how many lunches you took me to. Let’s keep it casual. If you decide it’s too much, you can always pull out. If you last until the end, then we can talk.’

Suho hated deals that he had no control over, but he ultimately decided that it was worth giving a try. How demanding could Irene be, after all?

‘Very well.’ He stood up. ‘I suppose I can try.’

‘Great, pick me up at 7.’

‘At seven?’ He turned away from the door, looking at the girl again. The last demand took him by surprise.

‘At seven is when you’re taking me on our first date.’ Irene replied casually, innocently looking back at him as if he were the one not remembering their arrangement. Suho gritted his teeth. Damn this girl, she was already giving him a headache.

‘At seven I am still at work.’ He looked at her meaningfully, hoping that she would get the message. Seconds passed between them, the staring contest that Suho soon realised he was in no position to win. ‘I suppose I can make an exception for tonight. What would you like to eat?’

‘Surprise me.’ She smiled charmingly, but the man was already aware of the devil hidden in the petite figure and the mischievous smile. He had no idea what she found so funny about him, but she kept her amusement to herself mostly so he could not really call her out on it for the second time. Once bitten, twice shy is what they said, so he proceeded with caution.

‘I will see you at 7, then.’

Not even a minute passed after the CEO left her office, when her landline rang.

‘Did he..?’

‘Yes.’

‘Did you..?

‘Of course I did.’ Irene replied confidently, making Seulgi chuckle lowly.

‘So he is really..?’

‘He is. It’s been more than ten years and he has not changed. Now that I can laugh at it, I think he is quite cute, actually. You should have seen him. I doubt anyone has ever dared defy him in his entire life.’

‘But you’re not still in love with him, are you? You just want revenge?’

‘Of course not.’ Irene scoffed. ‘And don’t call it revenge. It makes me sound petty. Let’s just say the opportunity for a little payback arose and I am going to seize it.’ The mirth in her friend’s voice was back.

‘So you’re going to traumatise Kim Junmyeon, the ice prince.’ It was more of a statement than a question. Irene nodded, although her friend seated in the other room could not see her.

‘I am, and I am going to have fun with it.’