"Sure, let's do that. I'll come by your place on Saturday afternoon."
When Se-ri hangs up the phone, she stares at the screen for just a second too long, biting her lip thoughtfully. Hye-ji appears from around the corner, interrupting the flow of her thoughts.
"Who was that?" she asks curiously. "A lunchtime phone flirtation? Hmmmm?"
Se-ri would normally take offense at eavesdroppers, but she just sticks her tongue out at her college friend.
"It was nothing like that. It was just the Vast CEO, the one I'm interviewing this weekend."
"OMO!" gasps Hye-ji, "did you see the news? He was caught kissing some girl in his office building by Dispatches. What a player! Wait, wait, wait, Se-ri, weren't you in his building yesterday?"
"Uh...." Se-ri feels her mouth getting a bit dry.
"Did you see who the girl was?" asks Hye-ji. Se-ri breathes a sigh of relief, and internally thanks the universe that Hye-ji is too self-obsessed to make a good detective.
Her phone buzzes again, and Se-ri looks down.
"Ohhhh – is that him? Is that Ri Jeong-Hyeok?" Hye-ji tries to get a look at her phone.
"It's just his address, Hye-ji, where I'm interviewing him on Saturday."
"You're going to his house?" shrieks Hye-ji. "Wait, Se-ri-yah, this is huge. You haven't dated anyone since Alberto moved to London almost two years ago. Imagine if you dated Ri Jeong-hyeok!"
For a split second, Se-ri ponders telling Hye-ji that she is dating said CEO, but she knows that her friend might possibly expire on the spot. So she just waves her hand dismissively.
"He's not really my type, Hye-ji. I mean, his looks are definitely good, but you know that I only date guys with fish for brains. The smart ones are just too intimidated by me."
"Hmmmm...." Hye-ji says suggestively, opening the door to their office. "You admitted his looks are good, though. You don't admit that about many guys."
"Well, I'm not blind," mutters Se-ri, following her friend into the room.
***
Damn. Is the first thought that goes through Se-ri's head, when Ri Jeong-Hyeok opens his apartment door for her on Saturday afternoon.
She'd told Hye-ji that his looks were her type, but – oh God.
He's wearing just a simple white t-shirt and jeans, a sharp contrast to the designer suits she'd been seeing him in before. The half-sleeves make his smooth skin and biceps extremely obvious, the v-neck fitting him like it's been made just for him. Jeong-hyeok smiles in a friendly way when he sees her standing on the doorway, and one dimple sinks into the corner of his face.
In an attempt not to ogle him, Se-ri quickly shoves the blue gift bag she's carrying into his arms.
"Nice apartment!" she hopes her voice doesn't sound unnaturally loud. "Great location!"
"Uh, thank you," says Jeong-Hyeok, closing the door behind her. The foyer and living room of his home is airy and, unlike his monochrome office, it's full of tans and light blues, dotted here and there with dark green plants that she wonders if he cares for himself.
"You didn't have to get me a gift." He says somewhat sheepishly.
Se-ri shrugs and attempts to keep her eyes on his forehead; foreheads are not sexy, theoretically. "Well, I wasn't raised by wolves. It's the first time I've been to your house. You can open it if you want."
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Fanfiction"Jeong-Hyeok," his father says in a tired voice, "This is how it's going to be. The general shareholder meeting is in five weeks from now. If you are not firmly engaged by then - I am going to recommend that the board make someone else the Chairman...
