Work Text:
The server caught his attention the moment she stepped into their private dining room.
She was quite tall for a woman, her hair tied up in a neat bun at the base of her nape. He noted that it was a hairstyle other servers sported, nothing remarkable about it.
The way it accentuated the lovely line of her neck, however, inexplicably absorbed him. As did her graceful and efficient movements as she went about setting up their drinks and cold appetizers.
The uniform she wore highlighted the beauty of her physique, slim and statuesque, but it was the arresting aura of gentleness and serenity she exuded which elevated her presence in his mind. She was also the perfect height to fit under and next to him.
The smooth, fair skin on display, prim as they were, fascinated him. He wanted to slide his hands up that silky thigh and under her skirt. To feel whether she was as soft as she looked.
That explicit thought broke the daze he was under, just as the servers were finished with their task for the moment and was leaving the room. He stared after her back, but his bewilderment with his own thoughts left him unsettled.
His father demanded his attention soon afters, and he was forced to engage in yet another round of pointless social niceties with their dining companions.
When the servers came in with their food, he spared a glance at her name tag, glad to have a name to go with the person who demanded so much of his attention in just a short period of time. He replayed the name in his mind, liking the sounds of it.
His eyes seemed to have acquired a life of their own, tracking each and every move she made during the short minutes the servers were in their private room.
As the evening progressed, his stares became more and more brazen, shocking even himself. His father had looked at him in puzzlement but made no comments.
Their companions, however, were not as subtle, with their host offering to arrange something for him with the woman of his choice.
Inwardly, he seethed at the crudeness of the offer - however, it did give him an idea to work with - but outwardly, putting on his most charmingly polite smile, said smoothly, “Thank you very much for your offer, Chairman Han. I apologise for the staring, that was impolite of me. I can see now where Chairman Han’s well-deserved reputation as an excellent host comes from.”
The men laughed and he joined in with a chuckle or two, inwardly cringing all the time. He continued when the mirths died down, “It would seem this region’s reputation for pretty women was not an exaggeration either. I sincerely thank Chairman Han for your kind offer, but I prefer to arrange for my entertainment myself.”
The man acquiesced readily, “Fine, fine. I know how some of you young people are nowadays. Don’t hesitate to let me know if you need any help, however. Our city is new territory for you, after all.”
He nodded in acceptance, “Thank you, Chairman Han.” Yes, he got his meaning loud and clear. It was time to change the topic to something less incendiary. For him, at least.
“Chairman Han, I read with concern the investigations into one of your subsidiary companies,” he said.
His father sent him a warning glance which he ignored, but as always, his father was quick to step in, “Chairman Han, I know you already have the best around, but if you need any further assistance, we would be happy to send our legal team over.”
These old men and their outdated ways. However, if he had perfected nothing, it was disarming suaveness. “I am sure our team can learn a lot from yours, Chairman Han. Oh, and congratulations on the new contract with the Chinese, Chairman Han! What a coup! This calls for a celebratory drink,” he smiled conciliatorily, standing up with his wine glass.
The older man appeared mollified by his diversion, and picked up his wine glass. Everyone else did the same. He gave a congratulatory cheer in the older man’s direction. Only after the man took a sip did he turn to the side to down his own wine, sitting down afters. The merry mood returned.
An approving look was thrown his way by his father but once again, his eyes automatically swiveled towards the door as it opened and the servers came in with their desserts.
He unabashedly stared at her as she served the others. While her colleagues had stolen glances at him as they went about their tasks, not once did she even spare a quick look at him.
He was ambivalent about this slight. As someone used to passers by or acquaintances giving him second looks, to be so ignored was upsetting, but also highly intriguing.
It could not be because she was totally oblivious to his stares. He was being so amateurish about it that everyone in the room knew he had been ogling.
Was she trying to play hard to get?
He had never participated in, nor had any interest, in the dating and sexual distractions his peers seemed to enjoy indulging in, but he had been propositioned often enough. He knew many found him attractive and charismatic, and he had frequently utilised that advantage to manipulate people and situations for his benefit.
More crucially, he had heard and observed sufficiently to note the types of strategies employed by women and men in their ridiculous games.
Or perhaps her interests laid elsewhere?
The latter thought discomfited him, because while playing at hard to get was something he was certain he could push past, a sexual orientation not in his favour would be a much more difficult hurdle to overcome.
This line of thought, and the amorphous feelings which went along with it, were by themselves something he had never experienced. It was odd, unnerving. He felt out of his depth, cast adrift in hazardous waters.
He was not even certain what he was feeling or wanted, only that he could not keep his eyes off of her, and that had never happened in all his thirty years of life. Or the heat creeping along his blood as his eyes devoured the lithe form in front of him.
It was her voice, however, which shifted something in him. Her affirmative answer to an order by her supervisor as they left, soft and sedate, soothed the incessant clamouring in his mind.
The pang of an ache squeezed his chest. As she walked through the door, perhaps out of his life forever, cold shivers trickled down his spine.
Anxiety gripped him, and he stood up and excused himself. When he stepped out into the corridor, only theirs and their host’s security personnel could be seen.
He motioned to his bodyguard, and after leaving him with a few detailed instructions, left for the washroom.
As he gazed at his own reflection in the mirror while washing his hands, he could not discern any difference in how he normally looked. Yet, the realisation that something had irrevocably changed inside him could not be shaken off.
He needed to see her again, and very soon.
Unbeknownst to him then, when it came to her, his deepest desires would continue to be thwarted well into the future.
Once they had seen their hosts off, they had returned to their respective hotel suites.
He had been agitated while he waited for his bodyguard to report back to him, pacing up and down the length of the wide glass window offering a beautiful night view of Ulsan city.
When his mobile finally rang, he nearly dropped it in his excitement. The report he received, however, had him slumping into the armchair by the window, a palm against his forehead, disappointment his only companion.
He was still uncharacteristically moping when he heard the bell to his suite rang, waking him up from his reverie.
When he looked up his bodyguard was standing at attention in front of him.
After he received a more comprehensive run down of what transpired, his mind began whirling again. So, this unassuming woman was not outwardly materialistic, if she could turn down a sum of nearly two years worth of a waitress’s earnings for just a meeting with him.
He did not habour any intentions for a sexual encounter. After all, his own inexperience was giving him cold feet, even if he might be so inclined. Besides, it was the first time in his life that he was feeling physically and sexually attracted to someone. Or an approximate of such. He was not sure.
Everything was still completely novel and he recognized that time was needed to come to terms with these newly burgeoned feelings.
He had specifically emphasized to his bodyguard that the meeting he wanted with her would not include any element of the sexual, more like a date. For him to reassure the woman.
Of course, if one was not stupid, to believe in an offer of that nature - without any upfront cash or money transfer - would be foolishness to the extreme. At least he now knew that the only person to ever compel him was not a greedy fool. Or financially desperate. Nor adequately attracted to him to want to satiate any curiosity.
Well, it would seem the idiot was him, then. Still, if she was at all mercenary, it would have made his life so much easier.
He could simply whisk her away from her current life and install her at his side, likely until he lost interest, or they got married. The thought of marriage, inexplicable as it was, did not repulse him as it normally did. Not if it was with the woman who had so entranced him tonight.
Now, he was uncertain what his next steps could be. He would be leaving the city tomorrow, and even if he stayed on longer, it could not be for too long.
First things first, he needed to know who precisely this woman who captured his attention was. Besides the fact that she was a hospitality worker at the best hotel in Ulsan, and her name, he had nothing else.
Now that his initial plan to bribe her for a date had failed spectacularly, he needed information to open up alternative avenues.
His bodyguard left after receiving new orders, and when the door to his suite closed behind him, he made another call.
He had no intention of taking up Chairman Han’s idea of assistance on a very personal issue, but in acknowledgment of the fact that their family and businesses had less of a foothold and influence in this city would be to come up with strategies to work around the obstacles.
Finishing his call, he felt lighter. These new emotions were shorting his brain. What did he had to worry about? Their city or not, money talked the same wherever one was.
How difficult would it be to find out information about a waitress? In this age of social media and the internet, backed by a team of competent private investigators?
Little could he have anticipated how much he had underestimated Kang Jeo Yeon, a name which he would soon discover, did not belong to the woman who had ensnared his heart.