Shine like the Stars

01 | jisoo

I stood in front of Kim Corporation, the company my parents run. Yeah, I'm the daughter of CEOs. We've had it good, most people say.

I just hate the whole aspect of being a CEO's daughter.

There's cameras everywhere, it seems. I can't even go get a coffee without seeing a flash in the shop window. I go shopping at the mall and the next thing I know, I have to sneak out past the crowd of paparazzi blocking the front door.

Anyway. I've done enough complaining.

I walked in the building, all the secretaries greeting me immediately. I waved and muttered a "hello", making my way to the elevator. I forgot to mention that my parents called me to their office (on the top floor, nonetheless) on account that they had "important business" to talk about with me.

It was probably something like "Have you finally decided on taking over the company when we retire?"

I really hope it's not.

Sooner than I'd like it to, the elevator dings, signaling that I've arrived at my selected floor. I step out and walk the familiar path down the hall to my parents' office. I knock on the door, and hear, "Enter!"

I open the door, poking my head inside. My parents sat behind their desks, my mother's hands folded and her chin resting on top of them. My father was leaned back in his chair, one leg crossed over the other.

Then I noticed the boy.

He was handsome, his slanted eyes lined with dark eyeliner. His long dark hair was pulled away from his face, and he wore a black suit. His sitting position matched my father's: sitting back and one leg crossed over the other.

Taking in their clothing, I felt like I was underdressed in my oversized band t-shirt tucked into my denim skirt. The black platform boots I was wearing weren't helping my case.

"Ah, Jisoo! Come in, and meet Song Jihyun!" my mother called, a smile growing on her face. Immediately I became suspicious; my parents were never happy unless it was about their business.

I opened the door the rest of the way and stepped in, closing it behind me. My father's face fell momentarily when he saw how I was dressed, but then changed his expression to docile. My mother couldn't have cared less; she was beaming now.

"You called me here?" I asked. "Yes. We'd like you to meet Song Jihyun," my father said, gesturing at the boy sitting in the chair across from his desk. Said boy-- Jihyun-- stood and bowed, me bowing in return.

"It's lovely to meet you at last, Ms. Kim," Jihyun said, a small smile on his face. "I'm sorry. 'At last'?" I asked, pretty sure I had never seen this boy before. "Yes, at last. You might have heard of his father, Song Dongmin, of Song Incorporated." my father explained.

"Yes...but how does his son know of me?" I asked, still thoroughly confused. My mother sighed and gestured to the seat next to Jihyun. "You might as well take a seat, Jisoo."

Oh no.

"As you may know, our company is slowly failing. Financial reasons, of course. People aren't buying as many of our products as we'd like.

"Song Inc. is in the same boat as us, unfortunately. I was summoned to have a meeting with him and brainstorm ideas on how to get our businesses back on track.

"Every idea we had seemed to have a flaw in it somewhere. Then he suggested that we combine our companies to create Song-Kim Inc.

"With their current finances and ours, we could have enough to keep afloat and buy us some time to get new ideas rolling. So we agreed and shook on it." my father explained.

I was hoping that it wasn't what I was thinking of. "And this involves me how?" I asked, dreading the answer. "You know that answer, Jisoo," my mother said, suddenly clapping. "You're getting married to Jihyun!"

I choked.

"What?! I'm getting married?!" I asked, hitting the arm of my chair. "I don't even know the guy! And you want me to get married to save your company? I haven't even dated yet!" My father slammed his fist on his desk, Jihyun and I flinching at the loud sound.

"Kim Jisoo. You will marry Jihyun. You will combine our companies. And you will take over the company when we retire. You've grown up having everything. And you want to throw it all away because you don't know a guy? I don't think so. You can meet with Jihyun outside of our meetings if you'd like to know him better. But you're getting married to him regardless. Both of you, come back two days from now to discuss more details. You both are dismissed." my father hissed, waving his hand. Me and Jihyun scrambled up, practically running to the door.

Once we left the room, I sighed. "If it makes you feel any better, I didn't want this either. What kid would?" Jihyun said, crossing his arms. "Your dad probably gave you an option though. My opinion is just overridden by my father's." I replied. "Fair. He does seem more strict than my father." Jihyun said.

We started walking to the elevators in silence. Once we were inside, the tension between us was thick. "So. Um, would you like to get dinner? Maybe at around 8-ish?" Jihyun asked. "Sure. Might as well get to know my future husband," I muttered. "That sounds so weird. Future husband. Future wife. I'm not that big on it," Jihyun said, watching the screen in the elevator count down the floors. "That makes two of us," I replied, sighing again.

This time, slower than I would have liked, the elevator dinged and the doors opened. Neither one of us moved before he gestured me out. We stepped out and walked outside, bidding our goodbyes and walking our separate ways.

On the way back home, I stopped at the convenience store, picking up some junk food snacks I like. I was going to drown my sorrows in snacks and Netflix, and no one could stop me.

---

I was halfway through the second season of Stranger Things and my third bag of chips, curled up in front of my computer in my sweats, when my phone began buzzing. I looked at the screen, pausing the episode, and saw an unknown number. I didn't answer, assuming it was some paparazzi who had gotten a hold of my number.

I was about to resume the episode when the call flashed off and the time was shown on my phone screen. 8:15. Then it dawned on me that I was late for my dinner with Jihyun.

Oh crap.

I turned off the show and closed my chip bag and ran into the shower to start getting ready, grabbing a dress and some heels to throw on my bed.

---

I stood in front of my mirror, studying my outfit. I was wearing a black off-the-shoulder dress that came down to just above my knees and dark red heels. I had curled ny hair so it now hung in light brown rings, rings glittering on my fingers as I ran my fingers through my hair.

Good enough.

I grabbed a black handbag and my phone and left my room, quickly scaling the stairs. I had kept the poor kid waiting long enough. I opened the front door and saw Jihyun there, his fist hovering in the air. He looked me up and down and his jaw fell slightly.

"I, um, called...no one picked up and uh, so I just came over and decided to, uh, knock, and now here you are." he explained awkwardly. "Yeah, sorry about that. I thought your call was another paparazzi trying to get a hold of me." I apologized. He shook his head and said, "No, no, I understand completely. Um, should we get going?" I quickly created a contact for him ("Song Jihyun -_-") and nodded, shoving my phone in my handbag.

"Yeah, let's go. I'm kinda hungry," I said, deciding to not share the fact that I had eaten two and a half bags of chips and countless small candies prior to this. He nodded again and held out his arm. I looped my arm through his and he escorted me to where his black limo waited, idling in the driveway.