37 Can you come out for a little while? (1/2)
”Bed!”
Ji-Eun allowed herself to fall face first onto the giant, family-sized mattress. She laid there unmoving for a few seconds before rolling over to catch her breath.
'Finally, the end of another tiring day...' She leisurely began to remove her shoes and the dress shirt she had on, not minding the open door of her bedroom. 'Nobody's here anyway.'
She laid there listlessly as she recalled what happened earlier.
After the stressful wedding dress shopping, Chung Ji-Eun and Oh Jaehyun joined the Songs for dinner at the private dining area at The Regal Hotel. Song Su-Won had noticed then that she spoke little during dinner, but didn't give it much thought given that the topic of their conversation had been all about fashion and some of the social gatherings that they all have attended this past year. It seemed that the Madam understood that in this particular area, Ji-Eun might not be as immersed as other socialites were. Not that she's disinterested, she was only trying to avoid being pretentious.
While Chung Ji-Eun is a true heir to her family's entire business empire, she didn't often appear at fashionable gatherings or galas to really be considered a socialite. Her appearance at a party, as one might say, was akin to winning the lottery twice in a day. Simply said, a very rare occurrence.
Song Hyun-Shik and Oh Jaehyun, on the other hand, were always the ones sent to represent their own camps at parties and other social gatherings. Song Hun-Shik, being the heir to Song Corp. And Oh Jaehyun, being the authoritative face of the Chung Group. Even without his actual boss at the scene, he could be seen together with President Chung Luo-Yong and the ever solemn Secretary Lee.
Grabbing the opportunity, Song Su-Won suggested that maybe this time around, Ji-Eun would consider going to more social gatherings as the head lady of both the Song and the Chung families.
”You have to make more appearances, dear,” the Madam had said lightly. ”The people in my circle have all expressed their interest in you, you know!”
Ji-Eun could tell at a glance that 'Auntie Su-Won' had clearly enjoyed herself today and had been very vocal about it. She praised Ji-Eun profusely, saying, ”Imagine if people see you the way we all saw you today! The dresses looked very pretty on their own, but you actually brought out the elegance in them.”
Embarrassed, Ji-Eun could only nod and smile at her appreciation.
Song Hyun-Shik had been pretty quiet earlier too, but Ji-Eun didn't mind as much because she had her hands full with his mother. She remembered him teasing his own mother about being such a fan girl, to which his mother had replied, ”Why? What's so wrong about appreciating my daughter-in-law? At least one of us actually does it!”
As she had hit him where it hurt, Hyun-Shik could only sigh and let his mother continue.
He had asked her if she would like to go back to the mansion tonight, but she said she had a lot work left to finish, so he didn't push further. Instead, he walked her up to her suite in the hotel.
”Did you have fun today?” He asked as soon as the elevator doors closed. He pressed a button and inserted a key card, so that the elevator would go straight up to Ji-Eun's personal floor.
”I did,” Ji-Eun let out a breath. ”But I didn't think it would be that tiring.”
Oh Jaehyun smiled at her reflection, but said nothing in return.
A quick walk through the empty hallway and soon they were right in front of her suite.
”I really do have some work left to do,” Ji-Eun stretched. ”But I'm too tired.”
”Leave it for tomorrow,” Jaehyun opened the door for her and gestured for her to go inside. ”I'm not going to stay because if I do, you're not going to rest, so...”
He gave her a gentle shove, ”Go inside.”
Ji-Eun turned to face him. ”Thanks for today. I really appreciate you staying.”
”Well, someone's got to take care of you,” he shrugged and waved to her goodbye. ”I'll see you tomorrow.”