Foreign Skies

Butterflies

"Ri Jeong Hyeok. It was a pleasure to meet you, Miss Yoon."

---

The door opened with a click. Seri dropped her purse and key on the bedside table and hurriedly rushed to pick up her phone. There was five missed calls from Secretary Kim and dozens of messages. Clearly there was some kind of trouble in Seoul that needs the CEO to be fixed, Seri thought. Shaking her head, she dialed Secretary Kim's number, preparing to scold him for disturbing her trip-

He picked up at the first ring. Seri was so shocked she forgot what she had planned to say. "Daepyeonim," he choked out, out of breath.

"What is it?" Seri asked, anger turned into worry. Secretary Kim was rarely in a panic; Seri braced herself for what he was about to say.

"It's over... Swarovski is backing away from our deal in partnering for next season's jewelry. We've tried compromising with them, but..." Secretary Kim was on the verge of breaking into tears.

"What?" Seri screamed. "There's no way they're backing away; we've talked about this since last year. Did you do anything stupid?"

"No! All I did was email them the designs of all the earrings and necklaces we have for our partnership, and all of a sudden, they replied that they're not interested in collaborating anymore."

Seri took in a deep breath. Everything seemed to be spinning. She closed and opened her eyes, controlling her emotions. "Okay. We can find someone else. Let's see if Tiffany is interested."

Secretary Kim stammered. "But... Swarovski has offered a condition to keep the partnership..."

Seri was no longer dizzy. "Why haven't you told me this in the beginning?" Seri yelled. "What is it?"

Secretary Kim audibly gulped. "Here's what they said in the email: 'Our CEO, Miss Seo Dan, will be in Seoul next week, for one week only. Please note that if Seri's Choice is interested in partnering, please notify Miss Yoon to discuss with her in person next week. Late appointments will not be entertained.' But you'll be in London until two weeks later. Will you make it, daepyeonim?"

Seri's heart burned with hope. She knew she could manage to meet Seo Dan if she left right after the launch. "I think I'm able to meet her, Secretary Kim. The launching is a week away, I can come back right after it. Don't worry too much." The call ended.

---

It was late. There wasn't much people on the streets, Seri could see from her windows. She pulled on a pair of jeans and a plain white T-shirt, got in a lift and went down to the ground floor.

There was a bar farthest to the entrance and exit of the hotel. Seri slipped in and sat on a high stool.

"One beer, please." She muttered to the bartender.

"Coming right up."

Seri dropped her head onto the counter. It was a long day, but she had a lot on her mind. She met an extraordinarily handsome guy named Ri Jeong Hyeok. The launching was a week away. She is going to be partnering with Swarovski soon. This was too much information to handle in one day, Seri thought, giving herself a metaphorical pat on the shoulder.

The chair beside her scraped the floor noisily. Seri quickly straightened herself, knowing a stranger is now present. Her long chestnut brown hair draped on the right side of her cheek, covering her eyes like a curtain, blocking the view of the stranger completely.

"A martini, thank you."

The voice was strangely familiar to Seri. Oh god, is that Ri Jeong Hyeok? Seri thought, panicking for the millionth time today. She checked her outfit and god, it wasn't anything she'd wear if she knew he was going to be here tonight.

The bartender slipped her beer across the table. She muttered a quiet "thank you" and sipped her drink. Her hair fell behind her shoulders as she guzzled the alcohol down.

Settling her glass down again, she saw Ri Jeong Hyeok gazing at her. "Miss Yoon? We've met again."

Seri's heartbeat jumped as she locked eyes with him. He wasn't wearing a shirt or a blazer anymore, but instead, he had a tight sweater hugging his lean chest and shoulders; Seri wondered how anyone could be this handsome.

"It's good to see you! Call me Seri instead." But... what if he isn't that excited to see me? Seri thought, worried about her own eagerness.

He smiled, dimples showing again (Seri swooned). "It's good to see you too. Call me Jeong Hyeok." He flashed a grin; the butterflies in Seri's stomach was turning into pigeons.

The bartender slipped Jeong Hyeok's martini to him. Jeong Hyeok sipped it slowly, his gaze still on Seri. He sensed that something was bothering her. "What's wrong? Is everything okay?"

Seri looked up at him, eyes anxious. "I'm not sure where to start. It's a long story."

Jeong Hyeok turned to face her directly. His smile seemed to hug Seri, making her feel at ease. "You can tell me anything you want."

Seri took a deep breath. "My trip is cut short. I'm going back home one week earlier."

---

author's note: i love ri jeong hyeok so much