Chapter 16
“They said the planes couldn't take off because of bad weather.”
Jaekyung turned toward the back seat.
Yugam was calmly looking over his work as though nothing had happened.
That can't be right.
Chief Kwon's phone was turned off.
Is he really not coming?
Jaekyung checked the airport website.
Flights from both Gimpo and Incheon had indeed been canceled because of heavy rain.
The thought of spending the night alone with Yugam immediately made her head spin.
We can't finish the entire schedule today. Should I say something came up in Seoul and leave tonight? What if Chief Kwon can't come tomorrow either?
Haa.
If heaven wasn't going to help her, she had no choice but to protect herself.
Jaekyung nervously played with her phone.
Ding.
[Teacher Kim Juyoung's father has passed away.]
Jaekyung's expression fell.
Teacher Kim's father had died.
She remembered Juyoung happily telling her not long ago that she might become a permanent teacher.
Juyoung had always encouraged Jaekyung whenever things were difficult.
Jaekyung immediately sent her a message of condolence.
Then she looked toward Yugam.
“Chairman, I need to return to Seoul tonight, even if it's late.”
“What happened?”
“My closest teacher friend lost her father.”
Jaekyung held up her phone.
“You saw the obituary message, right?”
“All flights are canceled today.”
Outside the window, the sun had already disappeared.
Beneath a sky covered in dark clouds, raindrops were being whipped around like spray by the increasingly violent wind.
“...”
Yugam looked back at his schedule.
“Go to the tangerine farm.”
Jaekyung stared at him.
“I think adding Korean-style desserts made with citrus and traditional tea etiquette would work well.”
“A tangerine farm in this rain?”
“Then we'll go to the hotel and rest.”
He looked at her.
“We can move tomorrow.”
Jaekyung hesitated.
Then she sighed.
“I'll... drive.”
Ignoring Jaekyung's desperate worries and determination, Yugam remained in the back seat, focused entirely on his schedule.
[Saegyul Farm]
Jaekyung checked the wooden sign and entered a wide parking lot.
After passing the direct sales shop and café, she eventually found the entrance to the huge farm surrounded by black volcanic stone walls.
The place looked larger than thirty thousand square meters.
Jaekyung looked around.
“There aren't any tangerines.”
“It's April.”
Yugam walked ahead.
“If we go farther in, there should still be Hallabong or something similar.”
Fresh light-green leaves were sprouting from the citrus trees.
Tiny white flower buds no larger than fingernails clung to the branches like drops of dew.
An older farm owner wearing a raincoat came rushing out when he saw Yugam.
“Young Master! How long has it been?”
The man's face brightened.
“You look healthier. And who's the young lady beside you?”
He smiled warmly.
“You two look wonderful together.”
Jaekyung quickly bowed.
“Hello. I'm Seo Jaekyung, his accompanying secretary.”
“Ah, his secretary.”
The owner laughed.
“You looked so good together that I thought you were his girlfriend. Sorry about that, Young Master.”
He soon returned carrying a basket filled with tangerines harvested in February, along with Cheonhyehyang and Hallabong picked from the greenhouse.
“Thank you. We'll enjoy them.”
“Take plenty when you leave too.”
The owner looked at Jaekyung.
“All the fruit sent to the Young Master's house comes from my farm.”
“Oh... I've tried it before. It was really delicious.”
Back then, Jaekyung had eaten whatever Yugam handed her without thinking.
If she had known it would lead to him dragging her all the way here, she might have refused no matter how good the fruit tasted.
The owner encouraged them to take their time looking around.
He watched Yugam and Jaekyung with a pleased smile.
“Secretary Seo. Come here.”
Holding an umbrella, Yugam led Jaekyung into the citrus orchard.
“We'll have the students start by planting a citrus sapling.”
He gestured toward the rows of trees.
“They'll learn how it begins.”
His explanation continued.
“The flowers bloom, small fruits appear, and then they'll return in winter to harvest the tangerines.”
Winter...
By then, Jaekyung probably wouldn't be here anymore.
“The students will like it.”
“This is your tree.”
Yugam handed her a small tag.
“Remember it.”
Jaekyung knew she wouldn't return.
Still, putting a marker on one tree didn't seem so bad.
She hung a tag marked with the letter J on a young tree.
Strangely, having something that was hers made her feel secure.
She suddenly understood why Yugam had insisted on coming even in the rain.
“Chairman, it's raining harder.”
Jaekyung looked up.
“We should go inside.”
They escaped the heavy rain and entered a large building filled with a traditional tea café and shops.
One section displayed citrus-themed shirts, hats, and mascot dolls.
“This one looks like Secretary Seo.”
Jaekyung turned.
Yugam was holding a round, chubby orange keychain with an angry expression.
“How does that look like me? I don't see it.”
“The face.”
Yugam looked at the mascot.
“It looks exactly like you when you're angry.”
“What?”
“I'll take two.”
Yugam paid before Jaekyung could react.
Then he held one out to her.
“This one is yours.”
It was a smiling citrus mascot.
“The angry tangerine that looks exactly like Secretary Seo is mine.”
Yugam lifted the other keychain.
“And the one that looks like me goes to you.”
You're the one who's always angry.
The smiling mascot looked nothing like him.
It was ridiculous.
“I don't need it...”
“It's a good-luck charm.”
Before she could refuse, Yugam pushed the keychain into the pocket of her jacket and walked away.
“Wait...”
The keychain had unexpectedly taken up residence in her pocket.
It was too cute to throw away.
It's not the toy's fault.
“Secretary Seo! Why aren't you coming?”
“Yes, I'm coming.”
Jaekyung tucked the chubby little orange keychain safely back into her pocket.
It was close to midnight.
The lobby of the Rosenne Hotel was almost empty.
The sudden heavy rain and fierce winds in Jeju had ruined everything.
Water dripped from Jaekyung's hair and the ends of her clothes as she walked toward the front desk.
She was completely exhausted.
The day had been even more demanding than the school sports event.
The receptionist smiled.
“Presidential Suite, Room 901.”
Jaekyung blinked.
“What?”
She looked at the receptionist.
“We reserved two rooms.”
“One of your party canceled one of the two rooms.”
Did Chief Kwon accidentally cancel it?
Jaekyung's clothes were damp from the sudden downpour.
At this point, she only wanted to shower.
“Then another floor is fine.”
She quickly added,
“Even another building. Could you give me any available room?”
“I'm sorry, but we're fully booked.”
“Fully booked?”
Jaekyung frowned.
“I think there may have been some mistake. Let me check.”
She called Chief Kwon.
He didn't answer.
Mud and bits of branches from the palm forest still clung to the edge of the sleeve she pressed against her forehead.
After inspecting the citrus farm, they had gone running around Seongsan Ilchulbong and a lava cave.
Then Yugam had insisted they personally inspect drone filming because the students needed to learn about Jeju's volcanic terrain.
They had visited famous forests, museums, and even compared hotels where the students might stay.
Jaekyung had squeezed out every last bit of energy until she barely had enough strength to walk.
And now this enormous hotel didn't have a single room?
“Chief Kwon isn't answering.”
Jaekyung sighed.
“Do you possibly have an uncleaned room? I don't mind.”
“We have many international buyers staying here for an exhibition.”
The receptionist gave an apologetic smile.
“The VIP room you reserved has two bedrooms, so you can use them separately.”
“Haa...”
The problem had been believing Chief Kwon when he said Jeju was full of hotels and there was nothing to worry about.
Serving an extremely picky and demanding chairman constantly felt like sitting on needles.
Jaekyung had spent the entire day carefully watching Yugam's mood.
She had taken pictures and notes everywhere, working as hard as she could because she wanted to finish quickly.
Actually, the daytime suffering had been better.
No matter how many rooms the suite had, Jaekyung had absolutely no intention of going through the same door and sleeping in the same space as her ex-husband.
The memory of being pressed close to him in the gym still made cold sweat rise on her skin.
“Is there another hotel nearby?”
“The hotel grounds are quite large.”
The receptionist looked outside.
“And with this rain, you'll have to drive at least twenty minutes to reach another property.”
It was almost midnight.
Finding even a small guesthouse at this hour would take time.
And the secretary of the Uitae Foundation couldn't exactly spend the night on the stairs or in the hotel lobby.
She had sweated and been soaked by rain all day.
If she didn't shower, she would probably smell.
Would one night really be okay?
As Jaekyung desperately tried to think of another solution, a voice came from behind her.
“Is there a problem?”
She stiffened.
“Why is this taking so long?”
Yugam had finally gotten tired of watching her stall at the front desk.
“Ah... Chairman.”
Jaekyung forced herself to smile.
“There isn't a problem. I'll take you to your room.”
Telling him wouldn't help.
Getting Yugam into his room first was more important.
Jaekyung began gathering the document bags she had placed down.
They had received digital copies too, but Yugam had ordered her to collect every pamphlet.
A large hand suddenly took all the heavy bags from her.
“Chairman, I'll carry them...”
Yugam was already crossing the lobby.
Jaekyung grabbed her suitcase and followed.
Clunk.
She looked down.
One of the suitcase wheels had broken off and rolled away.
It had been damaged years ago.
She had completely forgotten she meant to repair it.
Jaekyung stuffed the wheel into her pocket and gripped the suitcase handle.
“Oh my! Oppa, is that you?”
A glamorous woman spotted Yugam and smiled brightly.
“I saw your name on the reservation list and came down.”
She wore an elegant semi-formal suit.
At a glance, Jaekyung could tell she was probably a senior executive.
Yugam glanced toward the voice.
“I heard from my mother that you came back to Korea.”
The woman beamed.
“And now I see you at our hotel.”
Choi Jiwon, an executive director of the Dawon Group's Rosenne Hotel, couldn't hide her delight at seeing Do Yugam, who was famously difficult to meet.
Jiwon had followed Yugam around since they were children.
Their families had even joked about arranging a marriage between them.
But after Chairman Do collapsed, contact with Yugam, who had been eight and a year older than her, had been cut off.
The last thing she heard was a rumor that Yugam had developed mental health problems after entering high school.
She hadn't known where he was after that.
Years later, while studying in the United States, she had accidentally encountered him on campus.
But Yugam had changed completely from the boy she remembered.
He had become cold.
Still, Jiwon understood why he didn't pay attention to her.
He had already become famous at school as the Asian prince.
Tall.
Sculpted features.
So cold that the distance itself looked sexy.
Women from all kinds of countries had fallen for him and asked him out.
Yugam rejected every one of them.
He was always accompanied by the same man.
Rumors had spread across campus.
“He's his bodyguard.”
“No, I heard they're gay and living together.”
