and so we meet again // saeron & youngbin

Being a chaebol has its own ups and downs. Even though Ong Youngbin was fine with his status most of the time, today was a rare exception.
He had an awfully long day at work, mind filled with questions and heart filled with undying worry for the new musical the Ong Cultural Centre wanted to launch. The composer who was supposed to take on the show didn’t sign the contract in the end even though everyone was almost completely sure that he would accept OCC’s offer since the pay would have been generous and the conditions were unquestionably pleasant. The composer’s unexpected decision called for an emergency meeting followed by countless phone calls to find a new one. They needed someone whose schedule wouldn’t be packed, who would give his or her name for a Beauty and the Beast-inspired musical, and who would be an ideal candidate for the company. Despite the fact that Youngbin looked at newbies and professionals as equal competitors in the world of entertainment, he needed someone whose name the audience would know this time.
After many failed attempts and dead-ends, a relatively young composer who was said to be a newfound prodigy had decided to sign the contract with Youngbin’s company, saving him and the team that was responsible for the musical from another stressful day.
Needless to say, he was already weary by the time he finished work, and the only thing that kept him from forgetting about one of his friend’s birthday party was all thanks to his assistant. If it hadn’t been for her, he would have gone home and probably fell straight into his bed. Yet, knowing that he was invited to attend his friend’s birthday party (and he didn’t have the heart to skip it), he tried his best to finish preparing for the event in time.
His mind was still occupied with thoughts revolving around the new musical when he showed up at the birthday party held in his friend’s – Hyunggu’s – house. Though it was more like a mansion considering that Hyunggu’s family was the most significant shareholder of the Lotte chain while Hyunggu’s father was also a member of the democratic party. That’s how they met; Youngbin’s father was in the same party, thus they attended pretty much the same political parties. Hyunggu was a lively guy who talked a bit too much for Youngbin’s introvert liking, yet he would have never missed his birthday party for the world.
“Happy birthday, mate!” Youngbin cheered on his friend the moment they met, handling over his present. Hyunggu didn’t care about his present at all, the huge grin on his face was all thanks to his friend’s attendance.
“Thank you, Youngbin! I’m so glad you could make it,” he laughed whole-heartedly as he received his present, both of them knowing that Youngbin was the type to bury himself into work and leaving little to no room for socializing.
Youngbin was about to open his mouth to add something when a stranger came up to Hyunggu, saying that his family wants to see him. The birthday boy excused himself, and left Youngbin alone in the crowd of the rich. He didn’t hate parties like this in general, yet he didn’t particularly like them either. He was always a closed-off person who didn’t enjoy leaving his little shell.
However, while his eyes were roaming around the ball room looking for a familiar face, he noticed a petite woman standing by the refreshments section. Her goddess-like features and womanly curves drew attention from all corners of the room even though she didn’t seem to care about all the undesired attention. Saeron was probably the most down-to-earth girl Youngbin had ever met and her beauty wasn’t the only outstanding thing about her; her diligence and intelligence was much more significant in Youngbin’s eyes. He knew her ever since his friend married Saeron, and they talked here and there since then. Saeron was a nice girl, but meant nothing more than that to him.
“It’s good to see you, Saeron-ah!” He gave her a subtle smile when he approached her, towering over the petite female. “How are you doing? How’s work going?” he inquired gently, trying to suppress his fatigue by being the one to initiate a conversation.
He was genuinely curious about her answer, knowing that she would answer him as politely and as kindly as she had always done. He knew that her presence would be exceptionally pleasant after such a tiring day.

Kwon Saeron was one of a kind. She grew up amongst politicians thanks to her own parents who were in the job as well and it was never really a life assurance if you’re the (only) daughter of the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Defense. She had her fair share of childhood hardships, she didn’t have friends outside of the political circle because she was homeschooled, guards escorted her parents, thus her too, and she also experienced some lunatics attempting to attack the president as the best friend of the president’s son. They practically spent their childhood together, hanging out at each other’s houses. Myungdae was her rock, her husband and her best friend.
People always thought that life was easy, full of opportunities in the upper circles, but on the contrary, it was the hardest. Saeron realized at a very young age that she had to work twice as much and harder than anyone else to achieve her dreams she pursued since she was a kid. Travelling abroad with her mother made her fall in love with different cultures and languages, her mother’s commitment to her job inspired her to be a better person and help those who were helpless. The eight-year-old Saeron knew she wanted to follow in her mother’s footsteps after they came home from Russia where the little girl spent the time of her life watching the Secretary of State work, and of course, the beautiful porcelain doll the country’s foreign minister gifted her made an impact as well.
Her determination paid off with time as she became her mother’s deputy in the office, but speaking more than eight languages was pretty awesome too. (Especially if she had a fight - on rare occasions - with Myungdae, she could tell him off using another language.) It was a job she did with love, no matter how hard it was sometimes and on early mornings, after long nights of working, she wanted nothing more than to just sleep until she got tired of it, she wouldn’t have changed it for the world.
Standing alone at a party she didn’t feel like attending to frustrated her, although she tried to be understanding as Myungdae’s job wasn’t easy as well, assisting his father, going from meetings to meetings all day long. He deserved to relax and spend time with his friends, but it didn’t feel good that he left her alone the second they arrived. If she didn’t come along, their “friends” would never let them hear the end of it, they were the golden couple, escorting each other everywhere was a must. It was enough that she had to deal with the recent gossips and nagging as she got sick. Why did everyone think that if a woman felt nauseous, vomited and acted really moody, then she must have been pregnant? This mindset was so stupid and irritating. She was fed up with people trying to not-so-subtly looking at her body to see whether she gained some weight around her abdomen or not. Today, the first day back in the office after taking some time off to rest, was just too stressful and hectic, her brother even dared to back out of this party in the last minute, so she had no companion at the moment. She hoped her dear husband would get bored of his friends soon to come back to her.
The first genuine smile appeared on her face when Youngbin walked to her and started a conversation. Out of Myungdae’s friends, the ceo of OCC was the one she liked the most, they weren’t close, but they always had nice and refreshing chats here and there, they were quite similar in some ways. She enjoyed their small talks about life, work and other topics that would occasionally come up.
“Oh, hi, Youngbin-ah! It’s good to see you again too!” She reciprocated his smile, shoulders already relaxing as it was him who found her and not someone nosy. It was also relieving that she didn’t have stand alone like a perfect statue while everyone was watching her, but pretended otherwise.
“I’m good, I just got back to work today, because I was sick, so it was a busy day.” She answered honestly, knowing that he would receive it genuinely. “It’s fine though, we’re preparing to welcome China’s representative. How about you? Any new musical you’re working on?” She had the fortune to visit the theater a couple times before with Myungdae as Youngin invited them, it was always a joy to spend a night there watching quality contents.

When it came to chaebols, it was extremely rare to find someone who was genuine until the very end. More often than not, people played roles to deceive their rivals, to deceive the public and maybe even to deceive their own family.
Ong Youngbin knew it all too well; he learned the hard way when his best friend from high school turned out to be only a fake who wanted to get closer to the boy, merely to assist his father and his company. His move shouldn’t have come as a surprise, yet Youngbin was the type to trust someone with all his heart or not at all; there was no in between. So when his childish naivety failed him, he felt like he was suddenly left alone in the darkness after being shown how light could exist even in the darkest places. After the realization, he was never the same; he closed off people to minimize the chances of being hurt, just to find himself in a similar situation years down the road. However, that time, it wasn’t the girl’s fault that they drifted apart, it was his father’s fault only.
Some wanted to get closer to his family, no matter what it would have taken them. The Ongs were well-known amongst the rich; Ong Youngkyun was a member of the democratic party, plus he was the head of the Ong Cosmetics which was a fairly new brand compared to Nivea and Avon, yet the chain was growing more and more each day. In the last few years, Youngkyun had managed to sign contracts all over Asia, America and even Europe. Needless to say, his business was going well. Youngbin’s mother was Yook Eunji who was the daughter of the chairman of Samsung Electronics, thus her wealth made the majority of chaebols envy her life even though it wasn’t glamorous at all. Despite what the media said, Youngkyun and Eunji were far from an ideal couple, their marriage was no more than an arranged one – a beneficial deal between two very powerful families.
Through all the years behind him, Youngbin had seen enough of the jealous, envious and outright evil kind of chaebols; the ones who were moved by money and reputation instead of success and humanity. However, Saeron was never one of them; he could tell from the moment they met that she was real with all her flaws and insecurities. She may have been quite reserved, yet he knew from first-hand experience that reserved people usually meant no harm.
Hearing about her day made Youngbin a bit tense because he had heard the news (and all the unnecessary gossip concerning her sickness) but he didn’t know what was the truth and what was a complete lie. Though he didn’t have to know everything himself, he just wanted to make sure that she was feeling well again.
“Are you okay now? Have you already recovered?” he inquired out of sheer friendliness, knowing that Saeron was the type to get back to work even though she wasn’t feeling well. Those who wanted to prove themselves that they can do more (or do differently) than their peers always had to work twice as hard to be accepted and to be respected. No time for anything else but work. This was one of the mutual traits between Youngbin and Saeron.
The woman’s question wasn’t something he didn’t prepare for, but out of all days, today was the day he didn’t really want to answer. However, Saeron’s pure curiosity held him back from not responding anything at all.
“Yes, we are working hard on a new musical. We’ve had to find a new composer because the one that was supposed to work with us decided to back out of the project in the end. Today was busy for me as well for that reason,” Youngbin added with a weary smile playing on his chapped lips.
He loved his job with all his heart, he really did. After all, his goal was still the same: he wanted to do something different than his own father. His heart never yearned for the life of a businessman, attending meetings here and there, catching flights and having endless schedules. His heart yearned for something creative, something that would give the chance for others to learn about arts and to create arts. Consequently, his decision to build a cultural centre wasn’t unseen. No matter how many times his father protested at first, he proved that something so mundane and not-so-business-like could actually be successful; the concert hall, the theatre and the exhibition hall were all making generous profit.
“If you have time, you are always welcome to come and see the musical when it comes out,” Youngbin suggested. “Of course, with Myungdae,” he added before anyone could think that he had other intentions than inviting a friend to see what was on at the musical hall.
Youngbin was a man who didn’t like to get caught up in misunderstandings, so it was better to stop the fire that had just started rather than dealing with it when it’s already burning.

Saeron was used to nosy questions regarding her state, they were coated as genuine worry and interest, but she could see through them; everyone wanted a piece of her life so they could pass it on. It was sad that some people only cared about others’ life when they must have had troubles themselves to deal with. Usually, she pretended she didn’t hear the nasty gossips about them and with time, she learned to shut them out. However, she was too caught up in the aftermath of her latest sickness as it gave Myungdae the perfect idea to make their marriage look like more steady in the eyes of the public. She knew that she couldn’t always tell the truth but lying that she had a miscarriage when in reality, she had never been pregnant, was too much. Of course, her husband gave her time to think about this, because he wanted her to be fully in this little project of convincing everyone they lived a married life; she was grateful for that. The problem was that she had her own principles, but Myungdae was rather persuasive with his detailed reasons and her head was just a mess; she didn’t know what she should do. People already talked about her being pregnant and a part of her didn’t want them to be right in any way, so they could get cocky afterwards. She felt like drowning in these past few days as she had no one to talk to about this situation other than the two men in her life who fully supported this ridiculous idea. How could they not when Myungdae and her brother had mutual opinions on things most of the time?
It was different with Youngbin. She could feel how honest his question was and she was sure even if he heard the gossips, he didn’t ask just to get information out of her. He was a better person than that.
“Yes, I’m much better now, thank you. I still had a little fever last night, but everything was good today.” She nodded, and it was the truth. She felt exhausted despite today being a very short day compared to her other work days, but at least she didn’t have any symptoms like diarrhea and nausea.
Hearing about his eventful day made her to relate to the feeling, because she could fully understand how tiring a busy day could be. Even though it wasn’t evident by his appearance, but if someone looked closer, they could see how worn out he was. She respected that he still came to celebrate his friend’s birthday despite that.
“Ah, it’s such a shame that he did this with you, people really should think before they accept something they don’t even want to, we would avoid so many troubles this way. But I hope you could find someone just as good as the previous composer was.” Saeron shook her head, sometimes she couldn’t understand people’s motives. If a composer said he was going to participate in the new musical, then he should have stuck to his word, because this created a problem to everyone else working hard on that project, especially the CEO, who was expected to solve the issue as soon as possible. She had her fair share of co-workers behaving like that and she still had nightmares of having to work with them again.
A wide smile stretched over her face after hearing Youngbin’s offer, well, she had no reason to say no to him. Of course with Myungdae! Saeron almost laughed out loud bitterly at the quick addition, though she understood the man’s motives. They literally never hung out without each other, only if Myungdae had a boys night with his friends once in a blue moon. It was a convenient situation for her, because this way, no one dared to approach her with more than friendly purposes. She had enough of men for a lifetime.
“Thank you, I’d love to come! I’m sure Myungdae will have some free time as well, he’d never say no to an offer like this,” Saeron explained. “What is the musical about?” She inquired curiously. Musicals were her thing, even just talking about them always managed to make her enthusiastic. If she didn’t love her job so much, she probably have tried out acting herself already.
“Well well well. Look what we have here!” Myungdae suddenly appeared beside them with a glass of wine in his hand. “Hey, buddy, glad you could come,” he grinned and shook hands with Youngbin. “Hey, love,” he turned to Saeron and pressed a kiss to her cheek even though they came together, he liked to call her sweet nicknames and show his affection off with people around too. They were best friends after all and Myungdae couldn’t have been prouder to have a woman like Saeron as his wife. If he couldn’t marry her brother, she was the next best choice and would have been his first choice if he wasn’t gay.
Saeron only smiled discreetly at him, she was used to his antics by now and let him do whatever he wanted as long as it didn’t make her uncomfortable. She wasn’t one to display her affection much, but it didn’t mean it wasn’t there. They could see it in the soft look in her eyes.  

Youngbin was more than aware how two-faced most chaebols were.
In a way, everyone tried to hide a part of themselves, it was only natural, especially considering that rumours spread twice as fast when the rich were involved. The media was already waiting for them to slip, to make a mistake, to say something inappropriate; they were like hyenas waiting for their prey. He also had to keep most of his feelings to himself, and restrain himself in situations that could put him in an even worse situation. He always acted before he thought, he always took the consequences into consideration, so that he wouldn’t have to go through what he had gone through once. He should have foreseen that he would lose her, he should have expected his father to make a move. Yet, he was young, foolish and madly in love. He couldn’t care about anything else besides her. That’s why he fell the hardest. To love is to lose, and to risk something for love is to give up a part of yourself; you get hurt either way.
Youngbin knew most people hid what they had really wanted to say, yet Saeron was like a breath of fresh air. He knew that she spoke the truth when he asked her about her well-being. Of course, he couldn’t always tell if she was being honest or not (who could in the world of cheaters, liars, traitors and mere souls who wanted to be left alone with their own problems?), but why would she have told a fib about her sickness? It must have been difficult enough to bear all the nasty gossip.
“I’m glad to hear that.” He bobbed his head, acknowledging that she was finally doing okay. She looked okay, so he believed her.
Listening to Saeron’s slightly frustrated words almost made him smile because she was being empathetic – something that she had done exceptionally well as if she had been born like that. The petite female was always good at considering how others must have felt around her, maybe that’s why she was successful dealing with foreign policy. It wasn’t an easy field, it required just as much mannerism as patience, but she seemed to have it all.
“We managed to find someone in the end. He hasn’t worked on a lot of projects before, but I think he’s talented, and we decided to give him a chance,” Youngbin explained after letting out a sigh, not sure if they had made the right choice. However, it was always the same; ever since Youngbin was a CEO, he had to take risks, he had to make decisions that were uncertain. Though the years behind him had also taught him that a man couldn’t learn from his mistakes if he didn’t fail at all.
“It’s a modern interpretation of the classic fairy tale, the Beauty and the Beast. Here, the girl is metaphorically the beast because she’s a selfish chaebol who’s willing to do everything to get what she wants. The boy isn’t rich, but he gets all sorts of jobs because of his features. As expected, it’s going to turn into a romance between the boy and the girl,” Youngbin summoned the story as curtly as possible because he didn’t want to give away any spoilers, but it was the basic she needed to know to decide if she wants to see the musical or not. “If you are interested, let me know, and I’ll arrange the tickets for you two.”
Youngbin was so immersed into talking with Saeron that he almost forgot about the fact that she was with Myungdae. Even though he knew that the two could barely be seen without each other, he was a tad bit surprised when Myungdae showed up. However, a moment later, he was back to his old self and shook hands with his friend.
“Glad to see you, too.” He nodded, a genuine smile appearing on his lips. Though he couldn’t help but look away for a moment when Myungdae kissed Saeron on the cheek because the affectionate gesture triggered painful memories in him; the pang in his chest wasn’t unbearable but it was very much noticeable. He needed a quick moment to get himself back on track, and broach up a topic that he had been meaning to talk about with them.
“I’m actually glad that you are also here, Myungdae, because I’ve wanted to ask you two if you would like to join OCC for a charity event. I’ve been contacted by the Yonsei Sarang Hospital’s Children Care Department who wanted a place for a charity concert to raise money for the children, and we’ve decided to help them make their idea come true. We are currently looking for sponsors and volunteers, so if any of you feel like joining, please let me know,” Youngbin finally said what had been on his mind for a while, curious to see the others’ reactions. Though he was almost sure that neither of them would disapprove of the idea.

 Saeron was glad to hear Youngbin’s answer. She nodded with a smile to acknowledge it, she understood how much troubles could a new, inexperienced worker cause, but she wasn’t like the rest of the people always quick to judge if someone did something wrong at the Assembly. She was new once, as everyone else also had to be a beginner at some point of their careers. She didn’t understand why did they preach to the students to study and do nothing else, get into good universities and get a diploma, if they weren’t willing to provide enough opportunities for them to start working? Unfortunately, majority of the places and bosses only hired a person if they had good experience, but if they didn’t have a chance, how could they ever get experiences? However, she was happy to see that more and more companies advertised the jobs for beginners, and if she had to make a decision at the office, she didn’t outright reject people who didn’t have former fancy workplaces listed in their reference just because they were new. If they were the most suitable one for the job, then they got it. Period.
“Oh, that sounds really interesting!” Saeron had to hold herself back from grinning enthusiastically. Even though there were no cameras around and this wasn’t a government event, she had to act carefully, not letting her inner teenage girl - who didn’t get a chance to life the normal life of teens - to breach to the surface. Beauty and the Beast was one of her favourite stories she grew up on, she couldn’t tell how many times she saw it in the TV or watched a theater play of it. The modern interpretation didn’t sound far-fetched, so she had high hopes. “Of course, I’m interested! If Myungdae is not, well then, I’m sure my brother or my mother would love to come with me.” She was certain Myungdae would come with her, but she wanted to prepare Youngbin for every possibility, because both of them knew that going alone wasn’t an option in their malevolent world. People would see more into the things than they really were, just a good friend visiting another. “I cannot wait to see the result of your people’s hard work. They never fail to amaze me.”
As Myungdae appeared, more people in the room started looking at them, but they stayed unbothered, Saeron placed a hand on her husband’s shoulder as he hugged her petite body with one arm, palm gently put on her waist. He often did this to show off his beautiful wife, but also it was a knee-jerk reaction to protect her by keeping her close. He wanted to make sure that Saeron knew he was always there for her even if he had to work a lot and probably travelled abroad more than the people at the Secretary of State’s office. His biggest fear was to lose her, and he once almost did; it was a terrifying situation he would never wish to someone, not even to his greatest enemies.
On top of that, he was a bit still under the effect of seeing her nearly die, so he wanted to feel he wasn’t just dreaming and the woman was actually there beside him, alive and well.
The couple looked at each other after hearing Youngbin’s offer, big smiles forming on their faces. They would never turn down a charity event, especially not one for children.
“I’d be honoured to take a part in this!” Myungdae shared what was on Saeron’s mind too. “Though I’m afraid I can only be a sponsor of this event as I have big projects coming up and trips I have to accompany my father to, but I’m happy to help as much as I can! How about you, love?” He curiously turned towards Saeron who was delighted by this chance. She adored children completely, so she was quick to decide too, she didn’t even need to think about it.
“This is great news, Youngbin-ah! I’m glad that you asked us to join, I would really love to help with everything! I’m sure we can figure something out, I’ll let my assistant know to arrange my schedule, so I could volunteer too.” She beamed, eyes shining with pure happiness. She always liked to help people, and it was a huge plus that she could do that with Ong Youngbin. They never worked together, but she knew how hard-working he was, so she had no doubt that it wouldn’t be a trouble to help him out. She was already looking forward to it. “If you need anything, just let me know. I’m happy to help! I could even give my porcelain dolls for them! You could also talk to your father to support this,” she turned to Myungdae, brain already creating ideas after ideas. “I think the president wouldn’t want to miss out on an opportunity like this.”
Myungdae chuckled. “Thanks, pal, now she won’t rest until you accomplish all of her plans,” his teasing words were full of love. “But if I think of it, that’s more of your problem now. Are you sure that you know what did you just sign up for?”
Saeron gracefully rolled her eyes at her husband, she wasn’t really annoyed, Myungdae meant well, and he always teased everybody. Even his own father, the president himself!

Ong Youngbin wasn’t a man who took his job and his status for granted; he took everything seriously as if it had been his last day, as if he would never have the same opportunities as he had on the very same day. That’s why he wasn’t particularly shaken up when the previous composer decided not to sign the contract in the end; he knew he was supposed to take risks, he knew it wasn’t always sure that their first choice would be their final one. Being the CEO of a cultural centre had many challenges that no one could foresee, yet that’s exactly why he enjoyed his job so much. Besides the obvious fact that he could provide a place for arts, for every newfound prodigy and hidden talent. This was the very same reason he decided to contact Kwon Minhyuk who was said to be an exceptionally good pianist and composer, one of the bests his age, still a university student yet already a legend. He had been playing the piano ever since he was 4 and he was invited to all kinds of music shows from a very young age; he was called the Korean Beethoven as his fingers were quick and his sense of rhythm was excellent, not to mention his composing skills. It was as if he had been gifted with something inhumane; he worked quickly and without mistakes.
Youngbin trusted him despite the fact that he was still so young, and he didn’t have a lot of experience with musicals. Given the fact that Youngbin was a chaebol and he didn’t have to earn his superior’s trust, only his father’s business side, he didn’t know how these youngsters must have felt. For that reason, he wanted to give Minhyuk a chance, he wanted to see what he could do, and he was willing to take the risk with him.
“Thank you. I’m sure everything will work out in the end.” Youngbin nodded and let a little smile escape his lips. He was proud of the people who worked for him; of course not everything went smoothly and not everyone was willing to sacrifice as much for their job as others but they were hard-working and didn’t let him down a lot of times. Their goal was the same as his and the mutual enthusiasm helped to create the right teamwork dynamics they needed.
Their conversation took a different turn when Myungdae showed up, and Youngbin had to admit that sometimes it was heartwrenching to look at the seemingly perfect couple; their history was one of a kind, and even though the public kept a very close eye on them, they didn’t falter, they stood strong despite the hardships. In a way, Youngbin was glad that he didn’t have a woman in his complicated life, especially not someone who wasn’t a part of his world. He had burned himself once, he didn’t want to make the same mistake again.
“Thank you so much, the both of you. I’ll let Saeron know about the details as the project progresses, and then you can decide if you can take part in it,” he explained to Myungdae, and then he turned to Saeron. “I’m really glad you would like to join. You can volunteer in whichever field you would like to. I’ll keep you updated,” he promised with a determined expression, knowing that Saeron would make a great volunteer. He himself didn’t know all the concrete details for the time being but one thing was for sure, they needed more helping hands for the project.
He couldn’t help a little smile forming on his lips when Myungdae asked him the rather trivial question. Youngbin wasn’t one to back away easily, especially not because someone seemed so enthusiastic about his project. Saeron’s willingness to help could actually come in handy.
“I know exactly what I’ve signed up for,” he reassured both Myungdae and Saeron, however he had to ask the same question from the woman. “Do you know, Saeron? Have you ever taken part in something like this?” he inquired as he raised an eyebrow in question, any piece of information regarding the woman’s previous volunteering experience could actually assist him in choosing the right task for her.

 Saeron’s day just got better. She didn’t think that the night would hold such a surprise - because to her, it was a huge thing - when they took off right after work, only having an hour to prepare for the party, which was not much in their situation. They only had time to change clothes and they had to get going right away, because Myungdae didn’t want to be late from his precious friend’s birthday party. Saeron understood that, but still, people must have understood if they were a little late, they had one of the strictest schedules out of the guests, and even if they haven’t understand it, sure wouldn’t have said a word to the president’s son in person.
So Youngbin’s presence was a surprise in itself as she didn’t know the man would be there. She was truly grateful to him for showing up and making the languid party bearable with their ongoing conversation; of course she couldn’t say these words out loud to him, they weren’t close after all.
But his offer was on a whole new level. To Saeron, children almost always came first in every situation, she always dreamed of having kids in the future, but she gave up on those dreams a long time ago due to certain circumstances. She was so glad that she chose to accompany Myungdae, because if she didn’t claim she was feeling well enough to attend, maybe she would have never heard of this great opportunity.
“I can help with anything, really, just tell me what to do,” She could only repeat her previous words, because they were true. She didn’t think of this as work, it meant much more than that to her. “Of course I have! Believe me, I’m not new to these kind of things,” She almost said in an offended way. She knew that Youngbin didn’t mean harm with his question and was only curious, but she got used to people always trying to find a gap on her shield just to say bad things about her, and she could be really defensive sometimes for that reason. “And if I was, I would try my best to learn how things go,” She added it with a much softer tone, to reassure Youngbin of her determination. She even showed a shy smile, she didn’t want to go overboard with her maybe a little bit too firm reply.
“Yeah, man, I’m not saying this, because she is my wife, but she is really the best and always looking for foundations she could join to help people,” Myungdae joined in, and Saeron was grateful for his support. Not every could appreciate a woman’s effort if it wasn’t for them.
This was the moment that got chosen by Saeron’s work to interfere, her phone started to ring with Office constantly flashing on the scene, and no matter how hard she was against this, she couldn’t let herself to decline the call.
“Excuse me, I have to take this,” She looked at the men apologetically before walking a bit further away to take the call calmly and not interrupt the conversation between her husband and his friend.

Charity events were nothing new to Ong Youngbin. Ever since he was a child, that’s what he saw from his parents. His mother was more like the type to volunteer and donate a generous amount of money for those who were in need, his father usually used such events to build his image and make him seem like he cared for others deeply when in fact it was only a tool for him to not ruin his reputation. Youngbin knew that he was lucky that his family wasn’t short on money, and even though he was kept inside a seemingly perfect and balanced world, he could see the cruel side of the world, he could see how much people suffered outside of his safe bubble that his parents and the strict chaebol world created for him. No matter if it was homeless people, abandoned animals or the future generations, he did everything in his power to help because he could, because he wanted to. He didn’t care about his image that much, not when there were more vital problems he needed to take care of, or at least lessen the damage.
It shouldn’t have come as a surprise that Saeron had taken part in plenty of volunteer activities before because she was such a gentle soul, yet no one knew in the world of chaebols.
“I’m glad to hear that,” he bobbed his head as a sign of respect, a small sign of empathy. He should have known that she wasn’t new to charity events, yet organizing one and taking part in one wasn’t the same. He knew it; when he had first organized a charity dinner to raise money for outstandingly talented students who couldn’t afford to attend a university, it wasn’t as smooth as he had imagined. Yet, it was worth for the outcome; with the help of Hankook University and the money that had been accumulated, they had managed to give out plenty of scholarships, and give an opportunities for youngsters to make their dreams come true. One of these students had even worked for him at the OCC for his internship, and Youngbin was more than glad to see him doing so well. “I’ll contact your assistant once we start organizing the event. I’ll go over the details with my marketing team next week, and after that, we can see when we can start contacting those who may be involved such as artists, musicians, actors and actresses,” he explained because he had an image in his head how it would look like. He wanted to attract all kinds of people from all ages and all social classes. After all, art was for everyone, and everyone should have the same opportunities when it came to the redemption of the mind and the heart.
He nodded hearing Myungdae’s words because he didn’t have a reason to doubt his wife’s words; Saeron would never lie about such things. Plus, he could absolutely imagine her helping wherever and whenever she could, not just at the embassy. That’s just who she was.
“Of course,” he bobbed his head when Saeron left to pick up her phone. He knew that people like them could never rest, they couldn’t forget about their daily duties even when they were at a friend’s party, but it was what they had signed up for when they decided to obtain such jobs. “You are lucky, Myungdae,” he turned to the said young man who was really lucky to find such a woman for himself. Youngbin wasn’t jealous, he was more like bitter; he even had to let go of his previous love (whom he taught was the one for him) because of his status. Though he knew perfectly well that if it hadn’t been for his father’s disapproval and the fact that his father did everything to make the girl feel less just because she wasn’t amongst the richest, he could have made her stay. However, he knew he couldn’t ask her to stay when he practically turned her life into hell. Not on purpose, of course not, but he couldn’t help it. It didn’t work out; they came from two very different worlds with very different rules.
“I know, man. I know,” Myungdae agreed with the faintest smile, looking at the leaving figure of his wife. Though after his comment, Myungdae and Youngbin didn’t talk about Saeron anymore, and even when the female returned, they stayed at relatively neutral topics. That’s how the evening turned into night, and the birthday party turned into worn out guests leaving the mansion including Youngbin himself.
It was a long day after all, and he had work to do the day after.