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“Pretty nice, right?”
It was the building Seok-hyun had introduced as his company on the way to the airport. The building, characterized by a large, dramatically slanted protruding roof, felt incredibly imposing up close. It seemed more suited for an art gallery or a museum than a corporate office, but a large, modern fashion editorial was displayed on the building in front of them. *VONA, The Connection of Fashion.* The company name and slogan written on one side caught her eye.
“A fashion company?”
“We don’t have our own brand yet, so I should probably call it a fashion platform.”
Explaining that she might not know it since it was a Korean company, Seok-hyun took out his phone and showed her the app. Hee-jin felt a bit dazed as the main screen flicked through trendy fashion pictorials.
The Gio Group, famous for logistics and distribution, didn't have an image of running such a sensory fashion business. Was this a new venture started to keep up with the times? As she was thinking this, Seok-hyun led her inside.
“These edit shops are the offline stores we just launched. We designed a space where consumers want to linger, using products from the brands listed on our platform.”
There were several stores on the first floor, and they were crowded, perhaps because it was the weekend. Rather than simply displaying clothes, each store was decorated like a different room. The configurations varied—clothing rooms, bedrooms, living rooms, and so on. Some were even designed as studio apartments.
“We create the most popular combinations through a customer-tailored curating system.”
Seok-hyun explained in considerable detail, but it was difficult for Hee-jin to fully grasp. Still, the scene unfolding before her eyes told her how successful this business was. Moreover, the pride etched on Go Seok-hyun's face—that was an expression that could never come from someone who simply inherited a family business. It was undoubtedly a business he had built from the ground up, piece by piece.
“I thought you joined the Gio Group, but you started your own company?”
“Yeah. Once I had the table all set, Grandfather tried to slide his spoon in and join the meal.”
From the Gio Group's perspective, it was a very appetizing prey. For a company already set in its ways, the cost of acquiring a startup is cheaper and more efficient than the time and risk involved in venturing into a new field.
However, Seok-hyun added that he had refused. The moment VONA was swallowed by the Gio Group, it was certain to lose its own color. He couldn't hand over the symbol of freedom and the source of power he had fought so hard to achieve for a mere few pennies.
“That's impressive. I can't even imagine how hard it must have been to become this successful.”
“I learned it from you, Noona.”
“From me?”
“That instead of blaming the tools or the environment, I should polish myself more. That I shouldn't give up until I succeed. You're the one who taught me all of that.”
“…….”
She only remembered him pestering her to play whenever he saw her at the music camp, but it seemed Go Seok-hyun had etched the image of her practicing diligently into his mind. Thinking that her actions had influenced Go Seok-hyun's life made Hee-jin feel strange.
“President.”
Just then, a familiar voice caught her attention. A heavy soprano. High yet powerful and deep, it inspired trust, but it also carried a sense of stubbornness. Since she had heard it just yesterday, she could recognize who it was without even looking. Hee-jin turned toward the voice and looked at Hong Yuna, inwardly admiring her.
The intense cherry-red suit stood out sharply even in a space filled with all kinds of fashion. The relaxed silhouette of the wide pants flowing down the leg line from the waist, tightly cinched with a belt, created a formal yet sophisticated atmosphere. Perhaps because she worked at a fashion company, her sense of style seemed different from that of an ordinary person.
“We meet again, Ms. Yoo Hee-jin?”
The beaming smile was overflowing with composure, unlike yesterday. However, the way she immediately turned back to Go Seok-hyun, as if she had no intention of listening to Hee-jin's answer, still radiated wariness.
“At 11 o'clock, regarding the marketing meeting….”
Hee-jin didn't pay much mind and walked further into the store. Since they seemed to be talking about work, she intended to step aside for a moment.
Seok-hyun knew Hee-jin was leaving his side, but he didn't intentionally stop her. It felt good that she wanted to look around more of what he had achieved. Today, Hee-jin was wearing one of the outfits he had sent her. A simple round-neck black dress. How did she think of wearing a blazer over it? It was as if she had grasped exactly the intention and image he had in mind when choosing the clothes.
On top of that, she had wrapped a light-colored scarf around her neck; no matter how she thought about it, that scarf felt like it was intended to hide the marks he had left. On Hee-jin's white, fair skin, the traces of where he had bitten her still remained vivid. The marks, which had been reddish-purple at first—perhaps bruised—were slowly turning green. Seok-hyun quite liked that color.
“You have a meeting with the influencers participating in the live broadcast, President.”
At Yuna's voice, which intentionally called out 'President' loudly, Seok-hyun turned his head. Contrary to the powerful voice emphasizing work, Yuna's eyes wavered anxiously. The news that Go Seok-hyun had appeared with Yoo Hee-jin had spread through the offline headquarters in an instant. Unfortunately, because it was a seasonal event period, many employees were working overtime.
“Did you see? The President came with some woman! They say the vibe is like a couple?”
The moment she heard that, Yuna almost forgot she was at work. If her rationality had snapped just a little more, she would have screamed at the employee spouting such nonsense that Yoo Hee-jin was not his girlfriend.
Instead, she hurried downstairs. Go Seok-hyun, who was leading Yoo Hee-jin around and introducing her to each store, looked truly happy. The way he wanted to show off and be recognized for what he had achieved. It was a point that showed how much he valued Yoo Hee-jin and treated her as an important person.
Furthermore, Yoo Hee-jin was wearing a black dress with a blazer that mixed beige and gold colors; even from a distance, it was exactly the kind of attire Go Seok-hyun liked. It was laughable to feel her desperately trying to please Go Seok-hyun. It was understandable that she would lose her mind with such a young and brilliant man sponsoring her. Yuna bolstered her pride by belittling Yoo Hee-jin however she could.
“It's an important meeting. Why don't you attend with me?”
This time, she intentionally used informal speech to bring up the meeting to catch Seok-hyun's attention, but the response was disappointing.
“I'm still on vacation. I'll review it after you submit the report when it's over.”
Even though he gave her a smile of trust, saying he believed she would handle it well, it didn't make her feel any better. Yuna forced herself to swallow her disappointment and nodded.
✾ ✾ ✾
Hee-jin slowly looked around the store configured as a living room. Even though she heard the brands were all different, perhaps because they were tied together with a single concept, it felt like one cohesive set. It was a space that stimulated the desire to just have everything as she looked at the items one by one.
As she toured the stores, each with a different concept, admiration naturally escaped her. Even Hee-jin, who had little material desire and thought a home was just a place to sleep, had a shopping cart full of items in the borrowed tablet PC. The AI MD assigned to her quickly grasped her taste and recommended various things.
“Amazing.”
Born with a silver spoon in his mouth, Go Seok-hyun's starting line was indeed different from that of ordinary people. A life with the right to fail. Because of that, he could challenge himself to his heart's content, but conversely, there was no reason to shoulder risks when a comfortable path was available.
Nevertheless, Go Seok-hyun did not shy away from challenges and achieved such brilliant success. Regardless of age or background, that was something to be respected from person to person.
“Was there something you wanted to buy?”
“Ah.”
Before she knew it, Go Seok-hyun's voice was heard right next to her. He casually tapped the screen of the tablet PC Hee-jin was holding, checked the shopping cart, and beamed.
“Is this your taste?”
It was merely a virtual shopping cart, but for some reason, Hee-jin felt as if her diary had been discovered, and her face flushed.
“Okay. Let's buy it all just like this.”
“What? Wait, wait a second.”
When Seok-hyun, accessing administrator privileges, approved the bulk purchase, a shocked Hee-jin grabbed his arm to stop him.
“I put them in there not because I intended to buy everything… no, more than that, why are you the one buying them?”
Since the purchase was completed in an instant, a prompt appeared asking to enter the shipping address. Hee-jin was so flustered she didn't know what to do. Even when she told him to cancel, Seok-hyun didn't even pretend to listen.
“Since the address hasn't been decided yet, we'll have to put it on hold for now. Do you want to move into the officetel where I live? I think there might be a vacant unit.”
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