9 First Business Trip

"Maám, would you like a drink?"

Yanee Lee looked up from the documents she had been scanning to see the smiling face of the flight attendant. A trolley of drinks was parked next to her seat and her lips stretched to return the smile.

"Apple juice, please. Thank you," she said and waited for the stewardess to hand her the cup.

She smiled and thanked the woman again before placing the cup on the tray table on her left side before she turned her attention back to the papers she was reading.

In the end, Yanee was not able to have lunch with Chummy as she would be late for her flight. She and the now irritatingly handsome potato boss who was obviously trying not to laugh at her panicked state spent the morning going over her list of questions, her itinerary and the gazillions of last-minute things she needed to remember during her three-day trip.

Yanee sighed. At least her boss was still nice even if he's a little bit annoying. Tohru James volunteered to drive her back to her apartment to get her overnight bag, and then drove her to the airport. Her flight was at two in the afternoon, and so she had plenty of time to wait as it was only a few minutes before noon when they got there.

Thus Tohru James asked her to go to lunch. Yanee was, of course, ready to decline at first, but didn't upon seeing her boss go through his phone with a serious expression, and realized his instructions were not yet over.

"Ms. Lee, your meeting with Mrs. Kang will be in the evening at the Sum Island Café," he informed her as he kept walking towards a restaurant, and Yanee was not able to do anything but trail after him as he continued to speak.

"Sum Island Café?" she asked as soon as they were seated and were given the menu.

"I will give you a map," he said as he held out his hand and Yanee didn't think twice to hand him her phone.

She watched as his long, elegant fingers caressed the gadget, and she sighed with jealously. As to whether she was jealous of his elegant fingers in spite of being a man or she's jealous of her phone which those elegant fingers touched, she wouldn't dare think about it.  

"There, I already saved it," he said casually as he handed her the phone back. "Don't worry about the language barrier, all the people you will interview can speak in English very well."

Yanee thought they had more things to discuss, but no. After saying that, the food arrived and the two of them dined in silence. She was at a loss then what to make of the situation. If she knew there was nothing else to talk about, she wouldn't have had lunch with him. He could have just sent her the map and the message about the language later. However, she had to admit that the food at this restaurant was delicious. She just decided to chalk it up to experience and thought that her boss was probably really hungry already.

"Hmmm…"

Yanee scanned the list of questions and sighed. Since she was tasked to write a romance anthology, it was only natural that most of the questions were bordering on personal. She now wondered if it's her boss who came up with the questions or he asked someone to do it.

"How did your romance start?"

The question was the first one on the list. Yanee had a great urge to cringe, but there was no helping it. She had to get used to the questions and practice not choking when asking them. She just hoped that Mrs. Kang wouldn't be offended with all these personal questions, she thought just as she flipped the page to see the interviewee's profile and her eyes widened again.

Kang Yunjae, wife of the number one man in Cube Inc., one of the leading companies for leisure and entertainment in South Korea. Their leading business revolved around sports clinics and training centers. After all, the CEO was a former swimming athlete.

Oh Dear God…

Even if she already knew this bit since Tohru James had already explained it to her, she still couldn't fully believe someone this important would be willing to discuss her love life with her, much less allow it to turn into a book.

Seriously.

But of course, since everything had already been prepared and all she had to do was do that interview and the writing itself, she couldn't complain. She was going to get sacked if she didn't take the project, so she might as well try her best to work on this one. At least, if she gave her all and even if she still failed in the end, she wouldn't have any regrets.

And the potato couldn't complain about her not doing her job or being a coward…

Yanee Lee just prayed that Kang Yunjae and the rest of the people she would meet and interview wouldn't be upset with her and cooperate well.

Soon, the one hour flight from Tokyo to Seoul landed, and Yanee who just brought a small suitcase with her didn't take long to get out of the airport after the immigration process. Upon arrival, she was planning on hailing a cab towards the hotel where her boss told her she was booked but was surprised to see someone there holding up a placard with her name.

Huh?

Upon closer look, Yanee realized that the person was from the hotel where she'd be staying at, and so she approached, meaning to ask only but was surprised further when the man recognized her.

"Ms. Yanee Lee from Niji International?" the man asked, but his expression said that he was sure it was her.

"Y-yes?" Yane swallowed hard. She was still not used to addressing herself as an employee of Niji.

"I am Song Yijin, the manager of Grand Blue Hotel," the man said as he showed her his ID. "Please follow me," he continued, and even if she was confused, Yanee just walked after him.

Yanee was totally puzzled. She's just a 'nobody assistant' out on an assignment. Why would a manager of the hotel pick her up in person?

But her confusion didn't end there. As soon as they were out of the airport, Yanee was aghast to see a limousine waiting for her.

"Please get in." The manager gestured for her to go inside, and so she did.

As soon as they were seated, Yanee's curiosity won and she couldn't help but ask.

"Mr. Song? Are you sure you picked up the right person? You did not make a mistake?"

She must have worn a funny expression on her face as the manager chuckled.

"No, Miss. We were given your photo so I am sure we picked up the correct one," he explained, and so Yanee was not able to do anything but keep quiet. 

However, she was once again perplexed when arriving at the hotel, she realized she'd been given the biggest room they had: The presidential room with all the luxury one could ever think of. Yanee was no longer able to absorb anything the manager was instructing her before leaving her in the room politely.

What's going on?