"Yisu Cho," said Director Cheon. He stood next to the passenger's side of the car, gazing down through the open window with one hand flat on the roof. "You can go back to the office. I'll drive."
The man named Yisu Cho paused, as if this were an unexpected request. But only for a moment. In the next instant, his seatbelt was off and he already had one leg out of the car, briskly vacating the driver's seat so that Taejin Cheon could take his place.
From her position behind Director Cheon, Ari peeped curiously at Yisu Cho. He didn't appear before her often, but from the few occasions that she'd seen him, he seemed to be some sort of secretary or assistant to the director.
She privately thought he was quite handsome. She didn't typically like close-shaven hair, and he wasn't built as hulkingly as Taejin Cheon, but she found something about his lovely eyes and his mild manner oddly compelling. He served without being slavish, and he did everything with a brusque efficiency that spoke of a sharp mind. She was also intrigued by the way he never made eye contact with her even when she was standing right in front of him; it made her feel important, somehow, like he couldn't presume to look directly at her eyes not because he thought lowly of himself, but because he thought highly of her. It made her feel kind of like the donna of a mafia gang. Which she supposed that Director Cheon's group sort-of was.
Straightening up, Director Cheon reached down to open the passenger door for her, gesturing for her to get in with a tilt of his head.
"Thank you," Ari said, padding over.
As she shuffled into the car, she almost bumped her head because she was still trying to read Yisu Cho's forehead tattoo out of the corner of her eye. Fortunately, Director Cheon's hand shot out at the last moment to block the impact, a large, warm barrier between her head and the frame of the car.
In the half-second before she glanced away, deeming it wiser to actually see where she was going, Ari thought she saw a shift in Yisu Cho's perennially placid face, his eyes shooting to meet hers as if in surprise. But by the time she was sat down safely and could glance back at him again, he had returned to looking calmly down at his feet, like it had never happened.
Well, it probably had nothing to do with her. Maybe he'd seen a moth or something.
Turning away, Ari smiled up gratefully at Taejin Cheon, who was now closing the door beside her. "Director Cheon's reflexes never fail to impress," she commented, tongue in cheek.
"Hmm," he replied. He gave her a sidelong look. "Please put on your seatbelt."
A man who avoided superfluous words, as usual.
Ari obediently pulled on her seatbelt as Taejin Cheon came around to the driver's side. He glanced over at her, and then at Yisu Cho on the other side. "Take care of things while I'm gone."
Yisu Cho bowed and stepped away from the car. "Yes, president."
Apparently satisfied, Taejin Cheon pulled away and out onto the street that would take them away from Grimm Plastic Surgery Tower. Without wearing a seatbelt, Ari couldn't help but note a little grumpily.
As the car approached the first red light, he suddenly said, "There's a bag in the backseat."
Ari, ever quick on the uptake, waited for the car to come to a stop to turn around in her seat. Seeing two plastic bags in the backseat, she wriggled forward over the central console, the seatbelt twisting around her skirt and legs, to snatch them up. He hadn't made clear which he wanted, so she just pulled the both of them towards her and squirmed backwards, back into her seat.
She looked to Director Cheon, wondering what he wanted with what looked like bags full of drinks and prepackaged food in the midst of driving.
"They're for you," he said. His eyes, which had been glancing at the rearview mirror, returned back to the road. "You should at least eat something during the drive over."
"Oh!" Ari was stunned. No, but was Director Cheon originally such a considerate person? Moreover... she glanced around at the pristine leather seats and floor mats. "But this car looks expensive. Is it really okay?"
"It's fine."
Wow, Ari thought. And then, again for emphasis: Wow. She had misjudged him completely.
Ari had thought that Taejin Cheon was the kind of man who would sooner beat someone half to death for leaving a crumb in his car than care if the person next to him starved to death. As for his attitude towards women outside of a professional setting, she'd assumed that would likely fall somewhere between completely apathetic and coldly dismissive. But he'd opened the car door for her, protected her head when she'd been about to hit it, and even thoughtfully asked his assistant to prepare food for her.
Ari, being the type of girl who could probably be convinced to pardon her own murderer if bribed with delicious enough food, found her opinion of Taejin Cheon rocketing up.
"You're the best, Director Cheon," she said, tilting her head to give him a tiny, but sincere, smile. "Thank you!"
• • • •
"Uh, this..." she trailed off, staring dumbly ahead.
"How can you not have eaten yet?" the man behind her chided. "It's already this late. You can't have been planning to skip dinner altogether?"
Ari pouted. Did she really have to be scolded as soon as she walked in the house? Why was everyone so bothered about her eating or not? She was perfectly healthy!
Taejin Cheon, more like Tattletale Cheon, Ari thought petulantly. She took away one point from his newly risen rating in her heart.
"Anyway, come and sit. Eat before you do anything else."
That was a lot of food. Could she really fit in another meal after snacking in the car ride over? Was she that much of a glutton?
The answer: yes.
Yes she was. Anyway, everyone knew that snacks went into a separate stomach.
Ari pouted some more, mostly for show, and sat at the head of the dining table, the only place that had been set. Her mouth watered at the feast that was spread out in front of her. It smelled amazing.
"Boss, are you---" Ari started to say; then, seeing his unhappy face, she glanced around to see if anyone else was there and amended, "Oppa, are you gonna eat with me?"
He smiled gently and sat down at the right side of the table, within arm's distance but not so close as to be crowding. "No, I already ate."
"And---?"
"He did too."
"Then," Ari stared out at the mountain of food, now feeling a bit daunted. "Am I supposed to eat all this by myself?"
"Just have as much as you want; I'll deal with the leftovers." Which meant he was going to ask one of his housekeepers to throw it all out.
Well, the food was already all cooked and sitting in front of her, so it was meaningless to get worked up about waste at this point. Ari picked up her chopsticks and started to pile food onto her plate, eager to enjoy a Michelin-star chef's cooking.
A few bites in, though, and she couldn't help but say, "Oppa, can't you look somewhere else?"
He was watching her eat with his chin resting on his hand, smiling like a doting older brother. "But it makes me happy to see you eat so well."
"I know, but I can't eat when you're watching me like that."
He sighed, as if giving in to a truly herculean request, and leaned back in his seat to instead stare out the window. Outside it was already dark. From so high up, the only thing that could be seen from the window was the distant glitter of the city and the dark hulking figures of other high-rises, dotted by pinpricks of lit windows.
Content, Ari tucked back into her meal. In fact, despite her worries about waste, she really loved being able to taste all sorts of different dishes during the same meal. And he knew that, of course, which is why the table had so many plates, but never two of the same dish; he also knew exactly what foods she liked, which was why she could stuff her face without worrying that she'd find oysters in the soup or blue cheese in the salad.
It seemed there was very little that he didn't know about her. In fact, there was very little that he didn't know point blank; it seemed to be his job to know everything about everyone.
He waited patiently for Ari to finish her current bite to say, "I've been meaning to ask---how's school? Has it been difficult to work and study at the same time?"
"It's mostly been fine," she said, thinking about it. "The only hard part is when I get home late and I have to do a load of homework."
His eyes flew to hers, troubled. Sounding mildly shocked, he asked, "Your school gives homework?"
Ari, taking a sip of water, choked and began coughing.
Uh, maybe he didn't know everything, then.
She didn't know whether she should be amused or offended. Did he look down on J High so much that he legitimately thought they didn't give homework? Yeah, it was vocational, and it wasn't as if Ari took any particular pride in her school, but it was still a high school...
"Sorry, sorry," he said in a fluster, hurriedly reaching out to pat her back as she coughed. "That was my bad. Take deep breaths."
"Eugene-oppa!" Ari complained, finally catching her breath. "We have a lot of homework, okay? And we have tests, too!"
"Yes, yes," Eugene soothed, still rubbing her back comfortingly with his other hand. "Oppa was wrong. Here, wipe your mouth."
Ari took the handkerchief he was holding out and dabbed water from her mouth and chin. When she sent him a grumpy look, Eugene raised a hand in surrender, smiling sheepishly.
Hmph. She'd forgive him for the sake of the delicious beef wellington that was waiting to go into her mouth.
She returned to her meal, Eugene hovering worriedly beside her. Whatever questions he'd had before, he seemed to be too afraid to ask in case she choked again.
Ari took pity on him. "What is Yuseong-oppa doing right now?"
"I told him to take a bath since you were on your way," Eugene said, checking his wristwatch. "He should be down soon."
"Okay." She paused to vacuum up some black bean noodles, and continued, "I'm doing okay in school. I'm second place in our department---I guess there's not all that much competition, though."
"I suppose you could have fought that friend of yours for first place if you weren't so busy with work."
How had he known that Jay was first?
Well, Eugene was Eugene after all. With his personality and information network, it wasn't really surprising he'd look into her school a bit. Even though he somehow didn't know they gave out homework, despite all that.
What had he even thought Jay was first of, then?
"Maybe. Jay's pretty smart though," Ari said, nibbling on some fish. She didn't know its identity but it was very yummy. Cod, perhaps? "I did hear from our upperclassmen that classes get more work intensive in later years, so I'm not sure if I'll be able to keep up my current grades in the next two years while working at this pace. And I don't even know what university will be like..."
She sighed, tired just from thinking about it.
Eugene hummed pensively. "Does Ari like studying?"
"No," she said, not even thinking about it. Who liked studying? Honestly.
"Then there's no need to go to university, is there?" he said, as gentle as the slide of silk over skin. "I don't think you should do anything you don't want to do."
Ari stared at him. "What can I do if I don't get a university degree? Nowadays they say even garbage men have degrees."
"Well, Ari is so adorable." Eugene looked at her with great tenderness. "I'm sure anyone would be elated to be relied upon by you in the future."
Uhhhh, thought Ari.
This was... hmm... he seemed to be... Possibly she was mistaken, but...
Wasn't he telling her to just get a man?
"Oppa," Ari told him very sternly. "That's terrible advice to give to a young girl. What are you going to do if I end up following it and then I hook up with a bad man just 'cus he's rich and then I ruin my future."
Eugene's smile didn't wane. "That'll never happen with me here right next to you," he said, with absolute, rock-solid certainty. "I'm only saying that it's always an option if you ever want to stop working so hard. I hate to see you burning yourself out doing something you don't even like."
Okay.
Ari wasn't sure if this was internalized societal misogyny or if... he was implying something else? Who knew what was going on in that head of his.
She slid her eyes away from him and shoved a whole soup dumpling in her mouth. Monkey no hear, monkey no see.
"So you will definitely continue your education, then?" Eugene asked, putting his chin back into his hand. "That's also a good goal."
"Yeah," said Ari. Her cheeks were now full like a chipmunk's. "I gotta let mom and dad raise their heads in public."
"Aunty is very fortunate to have a daughter like you. I've always thought so, but there really aren't many people as good as Ari in the world."
He had, in fact, always thought so, and Ari knew it. He'd told her as much when she was 7 and he was 8 and they were holding hands on the way to the corner store because her mom had gone to give Aunty Jiwon cupping therapy for her stiff shoulders.
Eugene had been mature for his age even then, when they'd still been close neighbours. Ari's mother had always liked to leave her with him when Aunty Jiwon came for another session.
Ari gave him a big grin, happy to be praised, and then politely asked, "Then, does oppa have any idea what you want to do in the future? You're certainly going to university, but what about after that? Will you start a new company?"
"Hm... I should, right?" Eugene said, his eyes curving warmly. "But I'm not too sure yet. I think I'd like to have a family while I'm still young, so it depends on how that turns out."
? thought Ari. And then, ??
How young was 'still young'? Did he know that he was only 18? Were most 18 year olds already thinking about when they wanted to start a family?
"Woah, that's so cool," Ari said brightly, still befuddled but doing her best to hide it. "So you're already thinking about a family? As usual, oppa is really more mature than any other guy I know."
She was saying whatever came to mind that would keep things from getting awkward, but Eugene seemed legitimately pleased to hear that, judging by his expression.
But before he could say anything further, the door to the dining room burst open. A figure bound into the room and stumbled right to her side, plopping down onto the floor next to her seat. Ari felt two arms being thrown around her waist as a warm, fresh-smelling body pressed into her side.
"Hello, Yuseong-oppa," Ari said, her voice softening. She smiled down at the freckled face that blinked blankly up at her. When Yuseong offered her his book, she took it gladly into hand. "Do you want me to start reading right away, or should we let Eugene-oppa start first?"
Yuseong pointed towards his brother, specifically towards his hands.
Ari turned towards Eugene with a reproachful frown. His carpal tunnel must have flared up quite noticeably today, for Yuseong to be so willing to give way. And he hadn't said a thing!
Once again Eugene lifted his hands as if to concede defeat, with a chagrined grin at being caught. "I guess I'm first then."
"Well, hand them over!" Ari demanded, stern.
"Yes," said Eugene. As yieldingly as ever, he placed his wrists into her outstretched hands. His fingers lightly draped over the delicate skin on the inside of her own wrists. "Whatever you want."
___
[ Author's Note ]
PLS TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK IN EXCRUCIATING DETAIL :)
I've been bouncing in my seat because I was so eager to get to this guy. The big boss. The head honcho. Eugene Last-Name-Unknown himself!! Now that Ari's situation and background are more or less revealed, in the next few chapters, I'll start mixing in perspectives other than Ari's. And then we'll see all those things she hasn't been seeing---and learn exactly why this story is tagged how it is.