DTL Ch 1 part 1

Screech. A black sedan suddenly stopped in the narrow alleyway. SeonJae hurriedly got out of the car.

Damn it. Even though he used the GPS to get here, the alleyways were like a maze, so it took him longer than he’d expected.

‘Damn it to hell.’

He looked up at the two-story building. It was a surprise to him that a neighborhood like this existed in the heart of Seoul, and the state of this rundown building was also a sight to see. He wanted to bulldoze this building and replace it with a high-rise made of glass.

He pushed open the shoddy gate and entered the property. This damned building didn’t even have a doorbell. He banged on the door, but there was no response. 

He was making a ruckus, so they must have heard him. SeonJae frowned and continued to pound on the door so hard that it almost shattered from the force. Feeling the sweat forming on his neck, SeonJae was instantly unhappy. He pulled out his handkerchief and wiped his forehead.

‘What the heck? Is she not home?’

He was told that she would definitely be in the workspace. He began to curse under his breath. Feeling that Section Chief Han dropped the ball once again, SeonJae angrily wondered whether he had made all this effort to come here for nothing. With his cellphone in one hand, SeonJae pulled out his wallet and took out the business card he was given.

Florist Lee YeonJung.

The card didn’t have any pattern or design. The background was white with only a pink flower petal in one corner. Staring at the three-character name, SeonJae slowly crumpled the card in his clenched fist.

‘Is this a joke?’

Why didn’t he notice it before? Underneath the name and address, the most important part of a business card was missing. Instead of a phone number, there was an email address. Because he didn’t know her phone number, he couldn’t even call her right now.

His wristwatch told him it was now five-forty-five. Even if he left now, it would be difficult for him to get back to the hotel in time. Once he crossed over the Seongsudaegyo Bridge, it would only take him twenty minutes by car, but because it was currently rush hour, the traffic would slow him down. 

Click-.

SeonJae had his hands on his hips as he let out a sigh when the door opened. A woman in haphazardly worn shoes was holding onto the doorknob. When she saw him, she jumped back and collapsed in shock as if she’d seen a ghost.

“Haa…”

SeonJae’s eyes narrowed.

The woman looked as if she’d just turned twenty-five. Her straight, brown hair reached below her shoulders. She had braided it and placed it behind her ear. Her fresh face didn’t seem touched by plastic surgery, and it was quite pretty. However, she was obviously very timid, and her body was very slender. The only thing worth seeing was her thighs that had been exposed as her skirt rode up her legs. However, he took away some points because she had covered them in coffee colored stockings despite the warm weather.

Lee YeonJung-ssi?”

SeonJae frowned at her. She seemed too shocked to speak.

‘She was inside this whole time and didn’t open the door?’

Seeing the terror in her eyes from suddenly meeting a total stranger, SeonJae couldn’t help but feel a spurt of joy. Instead of helping her up, he reached into his wallet and held out his business card to her. Placed between two fingers, the business card bobbed in the air.

“My name is Min SeonJae. I’m in charge of the Rael Hoz. I came here to discuss the YoungJin group wedding that will take place the day after tomorrow. I was pounding on the door for a long time. Did you not hear me?”

He heard something rustling behind her. A creature burst out of the benches and chairs circling the workspace. It quickly hid behind the sofa and began to glare at him. SeonJae’s brows went up. He felt goosebumps rising on his skin at the black cat’s wary glare.

“……”

Embarrassment flashed across Lee YeonJung’s face as she received his business card with both hands.

‘It’s only obvious that she’d feel that way. A representative from the hotel personally came to such a shabby place as this. Now you should realize what a grave mistake you’ve made, you dreadful kid. I don’t know how well you did in New York, but how dare you meddle in my business? But where did she learn her manners? Why isn’t she greeting someone she met for the very first time?’

He swallowed back these words and tried to give her a smile.

“I’d like to speak with you.”

Still collapsed on the ground, the woman repeatedly stared at the business card and then at his face. Then her lips began to move as if she were murmuring something as she moved her pale hand. SeonJae tilted his head.

‘What is it now?’

His eyes narrowed as his brow twitched. The woman stared at him for a while before slowly moving her lips.

‘Would…you…like…to…come…in…side…?’

It definitely sounded like that’s what she was saying. No, it looked like that’s what she was saying. He felt a bead of sweat travel down his back.

‘What the heck? No way… Is she mute?’

The way the woman’s lips moved was evidence enough. A frustrated sigh burst out of SeonJae’s lips. He swept a hand through his perfectly styled hair.

Damn it.

No one told him this piece of information. If he had known, he wouldn’t have wasted all this time.

6 months ago, when Section Chief Han had handed him the report, it didn’t mention anything about this. It merely stated that she had graduated from the Moscow Flower School with excellent standing before studying under a famous floral designer in New York. However, he never expected his up-and-coming floral designer to be a mute.

‘All right, it is what it is. But can she still hear what I’m saying?’

SeonJae chewed his lips before he slowly shouted out his next words.

“…Outside… Let’s go outside… I’d like to talk over there.”

The woman stared piercingly at his lips. Then she nodded as if she had understood him. Her perfect, white teeth flashed as she gave him a smile. Her expression reminded him of a chipmunk’s as she brushed past him. He caught a whiff of the scent of flowers in her hair. He wondered if she had sprayed perfume. Once outside, the woman gestured to him with her hands. She used her thumb to point behind her. She was telling him to follow her.

Damn it. This was not off to a great start.

Because of this impromptu meeting with this handicapped woman, SeonJae felt that his whole day had been ruined. He pulled out a handkerchief from his back pocket and wiped his forehead.

Once they walked into the back yard, he could see a table that seemed to have been constructed from a single slab of wood. The legs of the table were firmly embedded in the ground, and an acacia tree was hanging over the sitting area. The whole space emitted the aroma of flowers.

Tap, tap.

The woman sat down on a bench and tapped the table with her fingers. She was telling him to come here. After checking the bench for any dust or stains, SeonJae sat down and faced her.

“Can you hear me?”

The woman smiled at him as she shook her head.

‘If she can’t hear me, how is she responding to my questions?’

He glared at her in disbelief. The woman reached into her shoulder bag and pulled out a mini-tablet and a bluetooth keyboard. Her pale, slender fingers began to tap on the keys.

‘I am deaf. Nice to meet you, Min SeonJae-ssi.’

Ignoring her greeting, SeonJae asked another question.

“Are you completely deaf? Then how can you understand what I’m saying?”

She focused her eyes on him. Her busy fingers began to type on the keyboard. Her pale, long fingers caught his eyes.

‘I’m getting the gist of it by reading your lips. Because your pronunciation is so accurate, I can understand you just fine, Min SeonJae-ssi. But you do speak a bit fast. If you could slow down a bit, it’ll be easier for me to understand you.’

There were a lot of things he had wanted to say, but they were all forgotten in an instant.

The gears in his head began to turn. He had never met a deaf person before.

Why didn’t that damned Han SungTae inform him about such an important detail? Was he trying to mess with him?

Huu. Watching him sigh in frustration, YeonJung began to speak with her hands once again.

‘If you have something you’d like to tell me, could you make it quick? I apologize, but I’m a bit busy at the moment.’

Her slightly pale eyes blinked. Her eyelashes were long.

SeonJae finally looked down at his wristwatch. He was also busy.

Six-oh-five. Because of a certain someone, he was late. He felt the anger boil up inside. A hoarse voice left his lips.

“Regarding the event that will take place the day after tomorrow. The wedding.”

The woman nodded. The woman’s lips remained stubbornly closed, and she continued to stare at him in silence.

“I don’t understand why you’re so insistent on an outdoor wedding when it’s obvious that it’s going to rain. Are you on a mission to ruin someone’s life? I believe I have a lot more experience when it comes to weddings than you, Lee YeonJung-ssi. What bride wants to enter her own wedding as she is drenched in rain?”

He deliberately began to speak informally. She couldn’t hear him anyway, so there was no need to be polite. No, even if she weren’t deaf, he was going to speak down to her no matter what.

‘Have you ever been married?’

SeonJae frowned at the unexpected question.

‘What the… What is this woman trying to say?’

“Why does that matter?”

‘I’ve been married before, you see. Don’t you think that makes me the one who has more experience when it comes to these matters?’

‘This kid has been married before?’

The more he got to know her, the more mysterious she became. The woman in front of him could pass for a graduate school student rather than a married woman.

“I think we’re going off topic here…”

Tap, tap. The woman turned her eyes back to her tablet, and his words were lost to her. She couldn’t even hear him, so there was no use explaining it to her. SeonJae came to dislike this woman more and more.

‘Section Chief Han TaeSung already explained it to me. We discussed the kind of wedding that the bride and groom had wanted and what my position would be in this event. I showed them my portfolio and the previous weddings I’ve been involved in, and we came to an agreement. It’s not that we didn’t consider the fact that it might rain. And I’ve already suggested that we order a white waterproof tent. For the past 3 months, I’ve only focused on executing this project. The bouquet, the table centerpieces and the ceremonial flowers… I’ve already prepared all the flowers that would suit an outdoor wedding. Suddenly changing everything now is impossible for me.’

‘Oh, would you look at that.’

SeonJae crossed his arms and glared at her. His lips slowly curled up.

“So I’m asking you whether we can just move all the decorations inside. We can prepare the lighting perfectly for the sake of the event.”

The woman shook her head. Her emerald earrings were surprisingly elegant as they trembled on her ears. It was from the same brand as the one that had been dangling on the ears of the woman he’d been seeing last month. Based on that, it seemed that this woman had good taste.

The woman’s hand began to move once again. It looked like she was writing another long paragraph, but he wouldn’t know until she turned the screen to him. This was getting incredibly frustrating.

“Lee YeonJung-ssi.”

SeonJae focused on her and called her name. However, she wasn’t lying when she said that she couldn’t hear. She didn’t react at all.

He stretched out his hand and turned the tablet screen. Startled, the woman’s eyes widened before she blinked at him.

‘I’m not saying that the event hall in the Rael Hotel is not good enough. However, the concept that I prepared for this event is completely different. For example…’

The keyboard cursor blinked as it waited for the next letter. SeonJae tilted his head and looked at her.

“For example what?”

The woman stretched out her hand to take the tablet. Her hands were fair and slender, perfect for handling flowers. A bandage with a cartoon character etched on it was wound around her finger. There was also a wrist guard wound around her wrist.

The woman tried to take back her things, but it was no use. His hand tightened on the rectangular tablet. Her confused eyes held a hint of anger.

“……”

Her eyes were asking him, ‘What are you doing?’ His lips twitched with pleasure before he asked her a cruel question.

“For example what? You need to tell me in order for me to understand.”

The woman’s piercing eyes stared at him. Her hand slowly moved away. Her face gradually reddened.

She began to move her fingers in the air as her silent lips opened and closed.

SeonJae slowly shook his head as he jeered at her.

“Haha, don’t tell me… Are you using sign language on me right now? I can’t understand a single thing you’re saying. You and I are different. I’m normal. What makes you think I’ve learned how to read sign language? It’s not like I’m here to do charity work with a handicapped person.”

The woman bit her lips and burst out of her seat. Her slender shoulders shook underneath her blouse as she panted with rage.

Intoxicated by his underhanded victory, SeonJae chuckled. He’d come here to do this from the start. He’d come here to use whatever means necessary to knock down his opponent’s pride and make them kneel before him.

“In the end, it is what it is. Just do as I say. Lee YeonJung-ssi, tell the bride that you’ve changed your mind. That you’ll move all the decorations inside. Ah, if you’d like, I can just tell them myself. It doesn’t matter. Consider it my charity work for the day.”

SeonJae slowly opened his mouth. He spoke slowly so that she’d understand. He didn’t forget to flash her a victorious smile when he was finished.

He watched as the woman’s lips began to tremble. Forgetting her bag, she ran off and went back to burrow in her nest of a home.

Well, it was obvious what was going to happen next. She’d burst into tears. Just like all the other women who suffered under his biting remarks.

He glanced at his wristwatch.

6:29. If he stepped on it, he might be able to return in fifteen minutes. He stood up and began to head over to his car.