and so it's a holiday // saeron & youngbin

Youngbin was kept busy with the preparations for the charity event. The more time passed, the closer the date was, and he was even busier than before because he had to take care of the event on top of his usual work. Sometimes he was literally going through piles of files that included marketing reports, surveys and contracts, and it took him hours to get through all of it. As the CEO and the head of the organization team, he had to supervise the whole process, he had to make all the decisions and he had to agree (or disagree for that matter) in every single detail. It was tiring, he had to admit, yet he knew that it would be worth it in the end. Plus, the fact that he could do something for the less fortunate made everything valuable. He didn’t have children, he didn’t have his own family to take care of, so he spent it on others who needed it just as much. He was aware that his parents were in a very good financial condition, so he did what he could for the people who were more in need of assistance than he was, and since it was something regarding the younger generation, to be precise the future generation, he couldn’t not do it in the end. The artists were contacted, the catering was in process and the gifts were already chosen. Everything was going smoothly, so he definitely had a reason to take a little break amidst all the hustle-bustle with the charity event.
That’s the reason he didn’t say no to the invitation of his wealthy friends who were thinking of spending some time in Jeju, just the circle of friends with their significant other, letting off some steam away from the cameras, away from the gossip and away from the unwanted spotlight. Even though Youngbin still had some work to do, so he couldn’t join them from the very beginning, he was still offered a private flight by Myungdae, an airplane waiting for him at the Incheon Airport, ready to take off to Jeju. He had done all the security check just like others, but he was immediately navigated to a different gate when he was over the formal part of the airport check-in. He didn’t have to wait that much though, so he couldn’t even read through the Forbes magazine he had with himself for the trip. He would have time anyway on the plane, he thought as he made his way to the said vehicle.
When he got to the passenger area though, he caught sight of a familiar figure sitting in a nearby seat, looking just as amazed to see him here than he was to see her on the plane.
“Saeron, what a surprise!” Youngbin commented with a tiny smile as he took a few steps closer to the female. It was obvious from his choice of words that he hadn’t expected to see her because Myungdae hadn’t told him beforehand, but it shouldn’t have come as a surprise because Saeron could have had a different schedule than the rest of their friends. “Do you mind if I join you?” he asked thoughtfully before he would pack his suitcase above their head and before he would get too comfortable in the seat across Saeron’s.

Saeron was supposed to go to the airport from home as she took a day off just to get ready comfortably at home without having to hurry in elegant clothes that were often uncomfortable, but work can’t wait, can it? Not when others’ lives were on the line daily and doing a familiar job to her mother, it was her task to try to protect them, thus so called “day-offs” never really existed in her world. Luckily she was able to pack up her bag before she had to rush in because of a last minute call, and Saeron herself didn’t know how she managed that, but she caught the plane on time despite all the circumstances trying to make it impossible for her.
She was about to sink into the world of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice for the hundredth time already when someone else walked in, making her change her mind immediately. It was rude to read in company as she deemed it.
“Youngbin-ah, what a surprise indeed!” Everything was written on the woman’s face as she looked up at the familiar figure standing over her, but it didn’t mean it was a bad surprise, not at all! Although she wondered what was her dear husband’s reason to keep quiet about the passenger about to join her when she has just got off the phone with Myungdae, who chatted about everything other than this small fact. Not that Saeron was bothered to fly with Youngbin, if anything she was glad she was joined by a pleasant company because Jeju might not have been so far away, but her old books she had read many times before obviously couldn’t make a conversation with her and sometimes a good, mature talk was better than tiring her eyes out after an already exhausting day at the office. But she knew Myungdae well enough to know that he didn’t say a word about Youngbin intentionally, and he was going to get a good scolding for it for sure! She didn’t need him to play the matchmaker just because he thought she had a great chemistry with Youngbin. They were just friends and business partners, that’s all. Myungdae seemed to think otherwise though. “Of course! Make yourself comfortable,” she pointed to the seat across her with a wide smile on her face, putting the book in her lap away. “I didn’t know you were coming to this trip! Does it mean that the preparations for the charity event are going well? I know you have been very busy lately with all that,” she inquired, being genuinely curious about his answer. She wished she could have helped him more with this project, but she barely managed to get away from her own work for these few days Myungdae has insisted she spent with them. A part of her didn’t want to go just to put on another show for everybody to believe what a perfect couple they were, but she really felt it in her bones that she badly needed to catch her breath before she officially drowned in all the work that seemed to double recently.

Travelling was a part of Youngbin's work. It was nothing new, nothing extraordinary, it came with the responsibilities and the duties of a CEO. Even though he had his own company, he was the major shareholder of the Ong Cultural Centre, so that he could be more flexible with his own schedule, he was the same as if he had been working for someone, not for himself. He considered himself a hard-working and precise workforce, and he liked to do everything before the deadline. His work came with many ups and downs, many twists and turns, especially in today's society where a government could fall from one day to another. However, despite the popular belief, travelling back and forth was sometimes more tiring than working 10 hours straight in his office because at least he felt like he got somewhere and he didn't have to wait for check-ins and going through security guards.
On the other hand, it was very much different when he needed to travel for his own entertainment, for him to let off some steam. He always stayed in contacts with the managers and other shareholders, yet he liked to take his mind off work whenever he could by exploring the places he visited, reading the books he had been meaning to read and listening to classical music. These were the ways he could unwind and the pastime activities he couldn't spare time for while he was diligently working.
Even though this holiday was supposed to be different from all the ones he had been on because he had always been on his own, going to lesser known places and hidden gems around the world, not the sandy beaches of Jeju. However, he was looking forward to this holiday as well, it was truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience and as a considerate friend Myungdae was, he even secured a flight for him which he could now share with the lovely Saeron, it seemed so.
"Thank you." Youngbin nodded with a gentle smile as he put his suitcase over their heads and took a seat across Saeron's. He wasn't used to travelling with anyone, except business partners, so it was a nice change. "The preparations are going well, thank you for asking. It's been busier than ever with the marketing and sales team working diligently to make the event known across all media platforms, but I can finally say we are on the right way to organize the charity event successfully," the man concluded with slight delight because he didn't want to get too carried away. There were still parts to be taken care of, they still couldn't sit back and wait for the day to come, but everything was going well for the time being.
"How about you? How have you been? How is work?" Youngbin inquired curiously as he leaned back and made himself comfortable in his seat.

Sitting long hours on an airplane was something Saeron had gotten used to at a very young age thanks to rare family vacations and work trips with either her mom or dad (it depended on which one of them was next to watch over her, which might have sounded a bit cruel for a child but in politicians’ world it was only natural the parents couldn’t often be at the same place at the same time with the kind of work they were doing), but that didn’t mean her fear for them had disappeared. She learned how to manage it though, her stomach was no longer in knots whenever she entered a plane, but flying was never her first option. While Myungdae didn’t like to waste precious time he always used airplanes to fly even to Busan, which his wife refused to do no matter how hard the man tried to convince her that it was the safest and fastest way possible. Her fear of flights might have been just a comfortable excuse in those cases since she never really got to sit back and relax, enjoying a ride regardless where it took her, so prolonging a journey to catch her breath on a train for example was a common thing for her to do. She felt guilty about it and even though Myungdae never said anything he seemed to see through her white lies, but sometimes it was okay to be selfish for her own sake.
However, it certainly helped with Saeron’s nerves that she didn’t have to sit in utter silence during the whole flight, she got easily distracted if she could talk to a good friend (she thought of Youngbin as one of her friends at this point, which was a special thing because she didn’t have many friends, she could count them on one hand), and she knew time would pass quickly in his company so she didn’t have the chance to let her mind wander to possible outcomes if something went wrong.
Saeron was glad to hear the preparations were going well, she had no doubt Youngbin’s whole crew was working hard with someone so determined and tireless as him to lead them. Her chest swelled with pride for being able to take a part in this event and was grateful to Youngbin for providing this opportunity. It felt great to do some good in this world, especially with children involved.
“That’s wonderful! I’m sure everything will be like just as you imagined it and I can’t wait to attend all the great programs,” her smile was big and genuine, she didn’t know the final decisions on the full schedule but she saw one of the firsts drafts of it and it had looked amazing back then. She already marked the event in her calendar to make sure she was free and nothing could interfere, not even the office this time. “Busy as always, but it got even busier as Summer started, so I’m happy that I could get away for a few days on this trip. I’m not complaining though, because I love my job but this small break was very much needed,” she confessed honestly, she knew that if someone, Youngbin’s going to understand what it means to be so busy with your work that you barely have enough time for yourself. Saeron wasn’t the type to rest anyway, she could only go a few days without work related stuff, it would have been weird for her to spend more without it and she really didn’t mind it. She didn’t need the time for herself because despite the ring on her finger she didn’t have a man in her life or kids to focus on, and thoughts could be truly scary sometimes when she was left alone for too long so she liked to prevent that. She didn’t want to freak out anyone again with making a bad decision that could have easily gone fatal if Myungdae didn’t find her in time, and although seeing her therapist once a week certainly helped, work did too by distracting her.