Business Partners | A Novel ❖

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The first few minutes Seonghwa spent in China, were in a rage.

Claiming he was busy and had a meeting to attend to, Seonghwa's boss had given him an envelope and a key, and left him on his own in a foreign country that he'd never been to in his life.

It was a miracle that he even made it to the hotel by himself. It had been a while since he'd studied Mandarin at university, and suddenly he was regretting not keeping it up since. It wasn't that he wasn't fluent - perhaps just... rusty?

Although he wanted nothing more than to just collapse onto the bed and sleep for no less than forty hours straight, his first business meeting was within the hour, and his presence was not optional.

The meeting was at a posh restaurant on the rooftop of a building not too far from the hotel called the Middle Sky Tower, and to say it was bougie would be an understatement.

Men in suits that appeared probably ten times the price of his own were holding champagne flutes and conversing politely, and there were even a few women present in evening gowns that glittered iridescently under the soft lighting.

By the time the meeting started, Seonghwa felt extremely overwhelmed with the number of faces in front of him. He couldn't seem to remember any of their names, especially since the majority were Japanese, Chinese and American names, and he had lived in Korea his entire life.

What was more, there was a certain amount of eloquence required in the form of polite chat that wasn't too uselessly casual, and not too serious either. And although it certainly wasn't Seonghwa's first time at a business dinner, he absolutely felt out of his element, interacting in a language that was not his own, over matters that he'd only just learned about on the plane trip over.

Caught up talking to an American-Chinese woman in the most ridiculously glittery ball gown he'd ever seen, Seonghwa spied his boss across the room glance over and meet his eyes.

Unsurprisingly, Mr. Kang looked well within his element, incredibly put together and professional with a champagne flute in his hand and his other in his pocket. His eyes flicked back to the men he was with, taking his hand from his pocket to shake theirs, before heading in his direction.

And Seonghwa suddenly felt panic rise within him - performance anxiety. The need to appear competent and prove himself was almost suffocating, and paired with his intense frustration that he still harboured from being dragged across the sea with less than eighteen hours notice, Seonghwa was saltily nervous, to say the least.

Mr. Kang walked over, bowing politely to the lady with a grand smile upon his lips. 'Mz. Everly. Enchanted to meet you once more,' he said smoothly, taking her wrist gently in his and kissing the back of her hand. His Chinese was so fluent that Seonghwa had to stop himself from letting his jaw hang open.

'Oh please, Mr. Kang. I've insisted you call me Charlene.'

Seonghwa could immediately tell that this woman wanted far more than his boss' business proposals.

'I trust my partner has been keeping you adequately entertained,' Mr. Kang said, dazzling her with a smile that filled those dark, yet calculated eyes. Seonghwa couldn't help but feel that he seemed almost dangerous in this field... The kind of man that everyone seemed to want to befriend, and no one wanted to contest...