Chapter 7

* * *

The arranged meeting moved along at lightning speed.

The moment the proposal was accepted the date was set. It was today two days later.

“Is it even reasonable that he won’t show me a single photo? He should at least look like someone who won’t ruin my appetite when we eat face to face…”

Chae-eun muttered as she fastened a neat necklace. A small diamond clung to her skin and sparkled.

Her date had asked that she keep his identity secret. Her father the chairman had taken that request at face value and agreed.

No matter how much she asked he only told her to go and see for herself. He sounded weirdly pleased and oddly curious about the whole thing.

If this had been someone else’s arrangement she’d have refused, but it was a match her father had set up so there was no way some sketchy man would show up.

Standing at the front door Chae-eun checked her appearance one last time. She wore a mint shirt with a slightly generous cut and gray wide slacks.

She could’ve worn a skirt suit and acted a little more prim but the man’s attitude had rubbed her the wrong way so she decided to tone it down.

She’d never even dated anyone before so she never imagined she’d suddenly decide to get married like this.

Even with everything moving so fast she wasn’t nervous. Marriage is something everyone does so why couldn’t she do it too she thought.

“Okay, no wrinkles.”

She brushed her long waved hair back behind her shoulders while mumbling to her reflection and left the house.

* * *

She took a seat in the hotel lounge they’d agreed on and stared blankly out the window. She’d only come five minutes early but there was no sign of the other person.

“Isn’t it supposed to be good manners for the man to show up earlier?”

How would she know.

She was lost in those thoughts when someone knocked on the table like a polite tap.

Chae-eun turned her head sharply and froze, unable to hide her surprise.

“You look even prettier in person, Kang Chae-eun.”

The man smiling with an overly familiar grin was painfully recognizable.

“Cha Gye-oh… Executive Director?”

“You remember me! Wow.”

He still had his arm in a messy cast as he sat down opposite her. The sling he’d been wearing was gone so he looked relatively free but he was still a patient either way.

Chae-eun stared at him seriously for a beat before forcing herself to ask.

“You’re not… my blind date by any chance Cha Gye-oh?”

“That’s right. I asked that it be kept a secret but it seems you really weren’t told. Chairman Kang’s loyalty is incredible.”

Even his choice of words felt oddly tacky.

“By the way, is your arm okay?”

Cha Gye-oh raised his arm high and waved it around like he was showing off how well he’d healed.

“As you can see it’s fine. I might be clumsy holding a fork though. I was a bit hasty picking the date because I was worried someone would steal our pretty Chae-eun away.”

She already knew his face so she couldn’t figure out why he’d asked to keep it secret. If she’d known her blind date would be the brother of the Cha Jae-oh who’d had that messy night she’d never have come.

“Shocked aren’t you? Your face says it all.”

“A lot actually… I was really surprised.”

“So I came a bit later on purpose. I thought it would be less fun if I sat there first. You’re not disappointed because it’s me are you?”

“No! Of course not.”

She was very disappointed.

She was very flustered.

But she quickly waved her hand to deny it.

She’d come here determined to take marriage seriously. That didn’t mean she planned to become the daughter-in-law of J Electronics.

No matter how tempting the heir position seemed she couldn’t marry a filthy pervert who’d slept with her on a one night stand.

“You’re dressed really well today. Those wide cut pants are trending again you know.”

“Thank you. I was worried I might’ve dressed too comfortably.”

“They suit you, you look pretty. Skinny jeans used to be the thing but these look so much more comfortable and nicer.”

“Haha… maybe.”

Her enthusiasm drained and she could only offer robotic replies. She gulped water when he suddenly said something strange.

“Chae-eun. Do you know what would happen if a chicken wore skinny jeans?”

“Excuse me? Suddenly?”

Why would a chicken wear skinny jeans. Did skinny jeans even come in a size for chicken legs.

She stared blankly when Cha Gye-oh let out a loud noise and startled her.

“Tight-a-doodle-doo!”

“Ah!”

What a lunatic. The lounge filled with the chicken noise and even the barista glanced this way.

“This is so embarrassing!”

Chae-eun squeezed her eyes shut.

“It’s tight like that. Ha ha.”

“I-I see.”

Chae-eun’s eyes went empty in an instant. She just wanted to escape.

She kept repeating meaningless reactions like a bored idol tired of fame. The man across the table was a hardcore no-fun fan.

“I wondered where that chicken sound came from. Is that you living up to your name now?”

To make matters worse the other familiar voice approached.

Looking up at the spine-tinglingly familiar voice Chae-eun saw Cha Jae-oh walking over.

She turned her head away and scowled while muttering every curse she could think of inside her head then forced a smile and looked at him cheerfully.

“Oh hey what are you doing here.”

“I saw a familiar face while I was passing by. Two of them even.”

“Hello Executive Director Cha Jae-oh.”

She said his name properly for the first time. She kept from tearing her hair out and tried to act calm as she greeted him.

“What are you two doing here If it’s a meeting doesn’t it make more sense to meet with someone who already knows me.”

Cha Jae-oh looked at them with a teasing gaze and her heart pounded. She worried he’d say something embarrassing.

At that moment Cha Gye-oh cut in and raised his eyebrows.

“It’s a meeting but not that kind of meeting.”

“If it’s a meeting then what kind of meeting isn’t that kind?”

Cha Jae-oh answered with a narrow look and then suddenly sat down beside his brother.

“Hey don’t be annoying. I’m completely hooked on Kang Chae-eun right now. Can’t you see I’m wooing her?”

“Wooing?”

She felt like she might lose it. She wanted to faint. Seeing those two together made her want to gouge her eyes out.

Jae-oh’s gaze lingered on her shirt.

“Who knew you’d show up in something so decent.”

“That day the situation was a bit…”

“It was a bit of a situation wasn’t it.”

He answered with a half smile and it made Chae-eun gasp.

Cha Jae-oh didn’t mean he had a situation. He meant he had had one.

“Why do you keep trying to surprise our Chae-eun. Go away. This is a precious blind date.”

Hearing the word blind date Jae-oh glanced at his brother then tilted his head toward her.

“So you’re on a blind date together right now.”

“Yeah man. Don’t interfere and go.”

At that moment Cha Gye-oh’s phone began to ring loudly. He checked the caller and looked awkward then apologized to Chae-eun.

“It’s an urgent call I’ll be right back. And cancel that ‘don’t interfere’ thing. Hold Chae-eun here so she can’t run away.”

Cha Gye-oh half threatened his brother then rushed out clutching his phone.

The old man jokes and the crazy guy left, and the semen pervert remained. Chae-eun barely met his eyes and quietly chewed her lip. She felt like she might go mad.

“I thought this was going to be a stage for party tricks but I’m pretty surprised. It’s nice to see you here.”

Jae-oh’s low voice thudded in her chest.

“You really startled me with that chicken noise and then I was twice as shocked when Executive Director Cha Jae-oh showed up.”

“Living up to the name. They teased me as a kid calling me a chicken and I might as well have decided to become one.”

He put his elbow on the table and rubbed his chin as he muttered.

That grin of his made her heart pound. It reminded her of that night and made her anxious like he might drop a bombshell any moment.

“A blind date… Who arranged it?”

“I don’t know. I only came because my father told me to.”

“Your father?”

He asked as if he didn’t know who her father was. Chae-eun answered casually.

“Chairman Kang Il-chan. He’s my father.”

“That’s unexpected.”

“What’s unexpected about it?”

Jae-oh slowly blinked then let his hair fall back with a casual sweep. Half of it stayed casually in place and half returned to its spot in a way that looked pretty sexy.

Feeling a strange heat in her body Chae-eun swallowed.

“I thought you were the type who clawed his way up to a senior director job with favors and nights out and that you’d reached your position on sheer appetite.”

“What did you say?”