Song for the chapter: A Thousand Miles by Vanessa Carlton
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"Hi honey, are you about to head out?" That's my mom. She always make sure that she catch me right before I leave my apartment. I am an only child and after I moved here to South Korea last year, we sort of had this routine where she checks up on me while she and my dad are about to have dinner. They live in New York where my dad, or my step-dad rather, manages his chain of luxury boutique hotels from the headquarters there and where my mom helps my dad in managing the hotels.
"Hey mom! Yup I'm about to head out. Is daddy there?" I answered as I was getting ready to leave my apartment. I live in an apartment complex that is only a 15-minute walk from Serenity Hotel Seoul.
"Hi sweetheart, daddy's here. Do you need anything?" And that is my step-dad Robert Dawson. He's actually a great dad and he's been my rock. I would've taken his name, but I love my late father so much that out of respect, I kept his last name.
"Uhmm, I'm scheduled to meet with the developers for the site in Jeju Island next week. Are you sure you don't want to be here for it?"
Because of my young age, people, especially investors, developers, and anyone in between, do not necessarily trust me or my judgment and the building of Serenity Hotel Jeju is such a huge deal in getting our brand in one of the top destinations in Asia. Although my dad has been training me since I was 16, I don't really have an actual work experience outside of that. Usually my dad and mom are front and center in overseeing the development of the new hotel but he asked me to oversee it on his behalf since I'm here anyway.
"I'm sure you'll do great sweetheart. I really trust in you. Remember when you recommended that we pursue the site in Venice despite the obvious hesitation of the board and how our Venice branch is now one of our top earners? Not only that, but the fact that the hotel is so in demand even members of the Royal family have been opting to stay there."
I did an independent feasibility study on building a branch in Venice when we were vacationing there when I was 18. I didn't expect that the location of the hotel and the exclusivity that it provided would be a huge hit that it actually put Serenity Hotels in the map of Europe allowing us easy entry in other top European destinations. My parents were really proud of me but I still think it was a lucky break and not so much as having the business intuition.
I took a deep sigh before answering, "Okay dad, if you're really sure about it. Anyway, I'm gonna head out now. There's this big account coming in the hotel. Some company wants to book the suites for two months."
"Alright honey. Take care and we love you!"
I can't help but smile and respond that I love them both; they are everything to me. Anyway, I checked my watch and I really need to rush now. I dropped by Starbucks on the way to the hotel to get my caffeine fix.
When I entered the coffee shop, some crew greeted me as I'm a regular here. I waved back and proceeded to fall in line. In front of me is a young man I think around my age wearing a hoodie matching with sunglasses and face mask, which is weird but hey to each his own.
"Your total sir is 6,200 won." The cashier told the man in front of me when the person started patting his pockets and hoodie I guess looking for cash.
"I'm sorry, I think I forgot to bring cash with me.." The young man trailed off embarrassingly as the cashier only looked at here blankly. Seeing that he is in a dilemma, I didn't hesitate to offer and pay for his drinks. What is $6 compared to having your caffeine fix.
"Minah-ssi, I'll just pay for his drinks." I said as I extended my card to her and then looked up to the still unrecognizable man and smiled.
"Uhhmmmm, thank you so much. I don't know how can I repay you." The man said quietly as I just shake my head no.
"Aniyeyo, it's okay. Just pay it forward if you can." I told him as his order was finally called. He hesitated leaving before turning to me saying thank you one last time.
Staff greeted me as soon as I entered the hotel. "Annyeonghasaeyo, Kim sajangnim." Serenity Hotel Seoul was only built about two years ago. When I decided to move to Korea, my dad thought that it would be a good opportunity for me to oversee the growth of the new branch. I don't really have an actual position in the management and I am not quite a general manager although I help in overseeing the hotel operations. I actually have an operations manager and resident manager that helps in overseeing the day to day operation of the hotel. What they do is consult me with big accounts and important changes in the management such as the company booking that I've mentioned before.
As I settled in my office, Choi bujangnim, the resident manager, hurriedly entered.
"Good morning, Anna-ssi." Although I am technically their boss, I asked them to be comfortable with me and to just call me Anna but Choi bujangnim insists to at least address me in the appropriate manner and I just let her be; it's so much better than continuously be addressed as sajangnim.
"Oh Choi bujangnim, is that the company request?" I said as I looked at the folder that she was carrying as she took a seat.
"Yes Anna-ssi. They are requesting to book the entire 7th floor and has requested for additional security and privacy for that floor. The company is actually JYP Entertainment and I've checked around and I found out that their company dormitory is being renovated."
Hmmm, so it's an entertainment company. I guess it makes sense that they are looking for temporary accommodation for their staff near their office. JYPE Building is actually just a couple of blocks from the hotel so it'll be more accessible. And this will be one of the biggest accounts of the branch considering that it just opened.
"Do you know how many guests will be staying then? Were we able to arrange the change in accommodation for the guests that was supposed to stay but will overlap during the first week? I think we can offer a complimentary one night accommodation for them for the hassle."
"Yes we were able to arrange the alternate accommodations and a complimentary stay was also offered, the guests were grateful. According to the company's initial request, 7 pax will accommodate the Arcadian Suite and then 4 pax for the Tranquil Suite." Choi bujangnim relayed.
"And they will be staying for 2 months right?" I looked up to Choi bujangnim after I skimmed through the company's request.
"Yes initially they will be staying for 2 months but they are requesting if we can hold off booking of the suites for at least another month? They said that they are not sure whether the renovations will be complete within 2 months so they may have to extend their stay."
We were silent at first as Choi bujangnim knows what it means to hold off reservation for a month without definite booking. I leaned back my head thinking whether we can afford to hold off a month of reservation. It is not a smart practice for a hotel to hold off their suites when it could possibly mean loss of profit if the rooms weren't booked. On the other hand, this is such a big account and considering the client, this would provide good pr for the hotel. I took a deep sigh. What would dad do? Can I really afford to gamble an entire month of profit? I looked back at Choi bujangnim and nodded.
"Okay, tell the client that we are willing to accommodate their requests." I look at my computer to check the hotel's schedule and confirmed the ocular of the client this afternoon. "And I can take over the ocular later this afternoon. Please tell the kitchen to prepare snacks for our clients later."
"Okay Anna-ssi, I will notify the kitchen as soon as possible. If that is all, I will leave you to your work." I nodded as I now focused on checking my emails. I have a couple of important correspondence from the developers of the Jeju Site. Gosh, this will be a long day. I just have to endure this.
I am now standing in front of the 7th floor standing tapping my foot while waiting for the representatives from JYP Entertainment to check out the suites. I mean the booking if pretty much a done deal and we are just here to discuss any specifications, or other additional requests. The ding of the elevator brought me out of my musing and I perked up ready to receive them. As the door opened and the clients stepped out, I bowed respectfully folding my hands in front.
"Good afternoon, welcome to Serenity Hotels. Kim Anna-imnida."
After the formal introduction I ushered them to Tranquil Suite. I learned that a company manager and driver plus two stylists will be staying at the Tranquil Suites.
"Now, if you don't have anymore concern, we can now proceed to the Arcadian Suite." I guided them to the other end of the floor where our biggest suite is located. "Our Arcadian Suite is the largest that we have that consists of 4 separate bedrooms with spacious living room, formal dining area, fully equipped state of the art kitchen and a private balcony. Okay please come." I motioned for them to enter the suite.
"As you can see, a storage closet is situated on the right of the entrance to accommodate additional stuff and right off is our spacious living room. It is equipped with state of the art home entertainment system and gaming consoles. The home theater system is wifi ready and has subscription to top streaming platforms such as Netflix, Hulu and more. Now, from the living area, we have our formal dining area and the fully equipped kitchen.The entrance to the private balcony is also through the formal dining.
"Meanwhile, the bedrooms are through the hallway to the right of the kitchen. The common powder room is also located here. The staircase in the hallway leads to the bedrooms. Our Arcadia Suite is the only that has two floors. If I may direct you on your left to the small hallway, this is where our three regular rooms are located. All rooms are soundproof to ensure maximum comfort and tranquility, each rooms have ensuite bath and walk-in closet. And as you've requested, we've arrange two full size beds for each room except for the master bedroom. Our master bedroom is on the other end of the floor. It is equipped with California King bed with retractable television set at the foot of the bed. An office area is also to the right size of the bedroom. The ensuite bathroom have a deep-soak bath tub unlike the other bathrooms."
"If I may direct you back to the balcony, it is connected to a private swimming pool area exclusive for the guests of Arcadia Suites. Now as mentioned before, both suites include 24/7 personal concierge services and parking spaces were also reserved for your use. I understand that you've requested additional security for this floor, let me assure you that security is of no problem. As you can observed earlier, the floor has its own private elevator that is guarded and monitored by our security 24/7. Further we employ top key card access technology to ensure safety of guests. Do you have any questions, concerns or requests, please feel free ask."
"Kim Anna-ssi, we would like to thank you for accommodating our company's requests and we are more than satisfied with the arrangement that you've prepared and I think we can finalized the bookings. And as I've coordinated with your resident manager, we would like to thank you again for accommodating our one month reservation request."
"It is our pleasure seosangnim. Also, breakfast can be delivered in the suites directly or the guests can just contact the personal concierge for any food request. The guests will also have access to our other facilities. Thank you for choosing Serenity Hotels. We can proceed to my office for light snacks and to sign the contracts." Whew. I let our a subtle sigh of relief as I was able to close this deal despite the company's request.
~SweetSerenity~SweetSerenity~SweetSerenity~SweetSerenity~SweetSerenity~SweetSerenity~
After a quick rest at the dorm, I finally went to the company for our afternoon meeting. I felt so out of it earlier due to a lack of sleep that I embarrassingly forgot to bring any money or my cellphone. I was surprised when that girl offered to pay for my drinks suddenly, that I feared that he recognized who I was. But she just gave me a small smile and focused back to the cashier.
I started to feel so much better after I took a sip of my coffee and finally thought back to what happened earlier, who is that girl? She's actually really pretty once I think back to it. I guess she's one of the yuppies that work at one of the various offices in the area as she was in an office attire.
"Hyung!" I turned around and saw Yugeom waving his hand excitedly and I instinctively smiled at our maknae. "Hyung, the meeting's about to start."
"Yugeom ah!" I ran and ruffled his hair as I got near. "Eiii hyung, hajima!" I just laughed at his annoyed expression and just pulled him inside for the meeting.
"Oh Mark, wasseo?." JB remarked when he saw Yugeom and I entering the room. I nodded in acknowledgement and immediately took my seat next to Jackson. "What's up Jackson?" I said while high-fiving him. "Do you know why we're here?"
"Hyung, naneun molla." Jackson was also confused as to why we were called.
"Hey, Jinyoung do you know why we're here?" I diverted my focus to Jinyoung who was actually spacing out.
"Ne hyung, I think this is about the renovations for our dorm building." Oh right the renovations. I completely forgot about that. Maybe this is about our temporary accommodation while they finish the renovations. Just then, our manager Seung Hoon hyung entered.
"Okay guys, settle down. As you all know, our dorm building will be renovated to upgrade safety standards and additional facilities. As you are all preparing for your comeback, PD-nim and the rest of the top management has decided to arrange your temporary accommodations near here so that it'll be accessible when you practice. The company has booked our accommodations at Serenity Hotel Seoul a couple of blocks from here. You seven will be sharing a suite with four bedrooms including a master bedroom so it's up to you who gets what room." At the mention of the suite, everyone of us cheered loudly especially Jackson.
"Oh my god HYUNG!! A hotel suite. Serenity Hotel is that new building right of Starbucks right?" Manager hyung just nodded chuckling at Jackson's enthusiasm. "YASSS. I call dibs to the master bedroom."
"Yah Jackson, you cannot just have the master suite." JB reacted quickly. Haha they are all fighting for the master bedroom but I am just happy that we get to stay in a nice place. I think I've heard of Serenity Hotel before. I think I heard it from Tammy but anyway, I am just excited.
"JB Hyung is right I suggest we play kai-bai-bo to settle this." Bambam suggested and everyone agreed to settle the arrangements that way. As we play kai-bai-bo, it's now down between JB, Yugeom and I. "Kai-bai-bo, yaaaaaaay!!!" I won. I beat JB and Yugeom's rock with paper and I did my happy dance. "I get the master bedroom. I get the master bedroom."
"Araseo, araseo. You win." JB conceded and that is how we settled the sleeping arrangements. JB and Yugeom will share one room, Jinyoung and Youngjae the other one, and lastly Jackson and Bambam."
"Okay guys. Now that that's settled, check in will be the day after tomorrow so make sure you pack all the important items that you will need, the rest of the stuff will go to storage."
Surprisingly, I can't wait for us to move to the hotel. A fresh change will be nice.
~SweetSerenity~SweetSerenity~SweetSerenity~SweetSerenity~SweetSerenity~SweetSerenity~
So that was the first chapter of Sweet Serenity. This is actually my first time writing a fanfic. I recently got hooked with GOT7 and I've read countless fanfics here on Wattpad that it inspired me to write one. However, full disclosure, I am neither Korean nor American so please please bear with me. I apologize for any typo or grammatical error. I am actually looking for a beta right now so if there's anyone interested, don't hesitate to hit me up. I'll be posting the second chapter in awhile just so we can establish the setting before our main characters cross paths with each other, which will happen next chapter. Please don't hesitate to comment and provide critique on my writing.
xoxo alilesixteen