Cheng-Strange Girl

Mia looked mortified.

'Oh no,' she said. 'Ugh! I'll have to get new clothes.'

'Wait here,' I ordered. 'Don't go anywhere. I'll be back.'

Before Mia could say anything, I walked away towards the reception.

'Hi,' I smiled at the receptionist. 'Can I talk to the manager?'

A few minutes later, the manager came in.

'Good afternoon Mr. Park Cheng,' he greeted. 'What can I do for you?'

I leaned over.

'Manager Shim,' I said. 'I have this lady friend, who spilt wine on herself. Could you get her some clothes from the store and give her a private room to change?'

Manager Shim did not ask further questions. He knew a lot of my lady 'friends'. But guests' privacy came first. He ordered his staff to bring some clothes and book a room. I went back to the bar, where Mia was waiting.

'Follow me,' I motioned and led her to the room upstairs. A few minutes later, a staff brought in arrays of clothes to choose from.

'Choose,' I said.

'These look expensive,' she said. 'I can't take them.'

'I'll pay for it,' I said causally. Mia shook her head.

'I'm sorry,' she said. 'I can't take them. I don't like people buying expensive things unnecessarily.'

'Look if it's about money,' I said. 'Don't worry. I'll pay for it. You helped me out back there anyway. Think of it as repayment of a debt.'

'These clothes are more than 145,000 won,' she said. 'Your debt isn't worth that much. Sorry, but I can't accept this.'

With that she bowed and scurried out.

'Hey!' I called out to her. I followed her till the lobby but a bunch of fans gathered by then. They surrounded me for autographs. I tried to find her but she vanished. She was probably waiting at the car, I thought. I turned to the fans, posing for pictures and giving autographs. Finally, after they left, I headed towards the car. But Mia wasn't there. Only my chauffeur, Dong Dae-Shin was there.

'Chauffeur Dong, did that new fashion designer come here?' I asked.

'I saw her walking towards the bus,' he said. 'She probably took the bus back to the studio.'

Strange girl, I thought. I checked my watch. It was almost 5 pm. I should be heading to the dinner...