"What!?" Kiko screeched in bewilderment, spewing out the bubble tea she'd just had a swig of. Almost choking on the drink, she bent over with her hands against a store's window and coughed profusely.   

"Ugh, drink slowly, Kii!" Violet warned gently as she patted her best friend's back.

"Gee, honey," Kiko said, as soon as her airway was cleared. Still half-bent over, she frowned at Violet. "And you just had to drop the bomb right after I took a sip of my drink?" 

It was Monday, early afternoon, and Kiko had a day off. They had just finished their lunch at a cafe on the ground floor of Landmark Atrium, one of the most luxurious shopping malls in the city. They were heading to a store of a famous fancy brand to buy some nice, warm scarves for Amah Ning.

Kiko straightened her back and wiped her lips with the back of her hand. "Let's rewind for a bit," she said, "so he asked you out for dinner and you said yes? Just like that?" 

Violet nodded and Kiko's jaw dropped faster than a boulder thrown off a two-story building. 

"What's that look for!?" Violet hissed. Her forehead rumpled. "I didn't tell you a pig just flew over your head! I said I'm going out with him for dinner! Why does that surprise you so much? He saved me! It's only right to thank him properly!" 

Kiko didn't reply. Instead, she narrowed her eyes and leaned closer towards Violet, scrutinizing her face. Violet instinctively stepped backward, feeling uneasy. After a few moments, Kiko let out a small gasp. "You like him!" she blurted.

"Shh! Lower your voice!" Violet shushed, quickly pulling her best friend to a quiet corner by some tables. She felt a blush creeping up her cheeks. 

"Sweet kittens in a wicker basket!  You didn't deny it, so it's true!" Kiko squealed. Grinning widely, she gave Violet a playful shove on her shoulder. 

"I-is it that obvious?" Violet puzzled as she bit her lower lip.

"Puh-lease... How long have I known you for?" Kiko laughed, looking at her best friend whose creamy cheeks and ears had turned a darker shade of raspberry, making her look even more adorable. "Well, I approve!"

"Really...?"

"Yep!" Kiko nodded. "I'm getting a good vibe from him." She then declared, puffing out her chest and thumping on it smugly, "And since this is the first time you've liked someone since...well, since ever, I'll help you! Trust me, you'll win his heart for good!"

Violet's mouth curved into a sweet gigantic smile. "Thanks, Kii, you're the best!" she said as she hugged and kissed her best friend's cheek.

"Uhm, there's just... this one thing that you need to know..." Kiko bit her lip nervously. "Remember the yellow cashmere cardigan that you liked so much?"

Violet squinted her eyes. "Don't tell me..." she said suspiciously.

Her suspicion was confirmed when Kiko gave her a guilty look, clasping her palms together in apology. "I borrowed it when I slept at your place a while ago and accidentally poured some wine on it during a class get-together, and when I tried to wash it in the washing machine, it shrunk, and now it looks like a piece of clothing for an eight-year-old, I'm sorry!" she confessed, uttering everything in one fell swoop.

Violet gasped. "Unbelievable! I've been looking for it for months, and you kept saying I must have misplaced it!" Throwing her hands up in the air in frustration, she cried out, "Why did you even bother confessing? Why not just let me continue to believe it?"

Kiko grimaced. "Well, I've been feeling guilty, knowing how much you liked that sweater... I was going to replace it with the exact same one if it weren't a Dior's limited edition..." Seeing her best friend's pouty face, she quickly put on a puppy dog expression. "Remember how happy you were just five minutes ago? You even kissed me and said I'm the best. Can we please go back there? Please? I'm sorry... okay? You know how much I love you, right?"

"Shameless!" Violet huffed. Her lips crinkled, but looking at Kiko's exaggerated sheepish expression, she couldn't help but chuckle inwardly. She raised her chin, trying her best to sound as serious as possible, saying, "But! Since I'm in a good mood today... I shall forgive you."

Kiko pounced. "Whoa, thank you, thank you, the Magnanimous Miss Lee! Your benevolence is astounding. May you be blessed with...the heart of a particularly handsome Superintendent, who goes by the name of Kai Wu." Dramatically endowing Violet with blessings, Kiko put her arm around her best friend's shoulder. Together, they resumed walking toward their initial destination—the luxurious brand boutique at the end of the passage.

Violet laughed at her best friend's antics.

"Well, my beloved miss Kano... do you know whom else you should be blessing? Today, we'd be able to shop to our heart's content by courtesy of the generous heart of... the one and only Mr. Jared Lee!" Violet giggled and told Kiko about the black credit card that her brother had given her a few days ago.

"Wow, for real? Thanks-a-bunches, Jared Bro! May your pockets always be heavy and all your enemies step on something pointy! I shall not hold back today!" Kiko declared.

And so the two best friends continued giggling as they entered the high-end boutique.

***

At the same time, inside one of the private meeting rooms in an upscale hotel in Gangnam, Seoul...

"Hachoo!" Jared sneezed loudly. He furrowed his forehead, puzzled by the sudden, unexpected irritation tickling his nostrils. If he had to believe the old wives' tale, someone must have been talking about him behind his back!

He was in the middle of a meeting with his acquisition team. The first meeting with the delegates from the local telecommunication business that his company was taking over was scheduled for tomorrow morning, and they still had to dot the i's and cross the t's. There were twelve people in the room—all of whom were his subordinates—sitting at the long oval conference table. All were looking at him, making sure he was okay.

"Are you alright? Do you want them to set the room temperature higher?" Toby Wong, the acquisition lawyer in his team as well as his close friend, asked. 

"No, I'm fine," Jared waved him off.

At that moment, a hospitality attendant employed by the hotel entered the room to notify them about their lunch. It was ready. So, Jared put down the set of documents he was reviewing and stood up from his chair. "Let's take a break. We'll resume the meeting in an hour," he said.

The hospitality attendant led the group to an adjacent room where their lunch was served, but Jared didn't follow them.

"You're not coming? You gotta eat," Toby asked as he noticed Jared was staying behind, looking at his phone.

"Yeah, later. I need to pick this one up," Jared answered, showing his buzzing phone to Toby.

As soon as Toby was out of his sight, he picked up the phone.

"Hello."

"Jared, I just got off the phone with Madam Ling. She wants to meet us on Thursday to arrange for a day when both our families can meet to choose an auspicious date for our wedding," a woman's voice could be heard on the phone.

"Thursday isn't possible. I'm in Seoul until Friday at least."

"But honey... Madam Ling is the most sought-after matchmaker in the city. If we don't meet her this Thursday, it would be a few months of waiting again." The woman started to talk in a high-pitched voice.

"Can't she make an exception for us? Offer her more money."

"It's Madam Ling! She doesn't pick her clients based on status or wealth. If that was the case, do you think I, the heiress of Sun Enterprises, would have waited two months just to get us this appointment?"

Jared rubbed his throbbing temple as he listened to the woman whine. Claire Wang was the granddaughter of the chairman of Sun Enterprises, Lee Group's business partner in the retail industry. Their parents introduced them to each other, and they had been engaged for almost a year as a form of a business alliance for their families.

"Claire, I've told you that I'll be away for a week. We're in the middle of an important merger that's been stretched out for too long. If I don't supervise the whole process myself, it will only drag out longer," Jared said, raising his voice.

He was already in a bad mood from the onerous acquisition process that had been demanding almost all of his time and energy. The merging process between the two companies had been going on for over six months now. As the CEO of Lee Telecom Global, a subsidiary of the Lee Group, Jared had been eager to settle the deal for a while. But this little nothing company made sure the affair was drawn out as long as possible.

Not that he didn't understand the other party's reasoning. They knew they were a valuable asset in the expansion strategy of Lee Telecom Global. They were only trying to secure a better deal for themselves.

Granted, had their positions been reversed, Jared would have done the same. It was business, and profit was its common language. But he had been constantly in meetings ever since he arrived in Seoul last Saturday evening, and he was starting to feel a bit tired. Claire's whingeing on the phone definitely didn't help lift his mood.

"Don't raise your voice at me! Is that little company more important than our wedding? You'd rather delay our wedding than drag out the merging process with them?"

"Claire, please don't argue with me now. Look, I can't promise that it will all be done before Thursday, but I'll try, okay? I gotta go," Jared curtly replied and hung up the phone.

He released a deep sigh of frustration and proceeded to the floor-to-ceiling glass windows. A great view of the Namsan tower greeted him, but he couldn't appreciate it. His gaze was deep and somber. His mind wandered to the sweet and graceful face that had been keeping his thoughts occupied for the past five years... 

♡──── ❝ Author's Note ❞ ────♡

Sorry for the delay! 

Yes, Jared has his own storyline, and it's quite vital to the overall plot. Enjoy! 😊

It would mean a lot to me if you could share your thoughts about this chapter in the comment section. And please consider voting if you liked it.

Thank you so much for reading!

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