DTL Prologue

A pair of feet in men’s formal shoes were lightly shaking on top of a wide desk. The shoes didn’t have a speck of dust on them. Section Chief Han’s voice wavered as he gazed at them.

“According to the weather report, there is a chance that the precipitation will reach seventy percent… and…”

SeonJae was leaning back in his chair with his hands clasped on top of his sturdy abdomen. His fingers were tapping against the back of his hand.

The fifth button of his perfectly fitted shirt had a short thread sticking out. He frowned when he discovered it.

Scissors. Where were the scissors?

“For the past five years, when has the Seoul weekly weather report stated that there’s a high chance of having a sunny day?”

Section Chief Han, who was already showing gray hairs on his temples, closed his mouth.

SeonJae stretched out his hand and pulled open the second drawer of his desk. He began rummaging through the drawer for something useful. Expensive fountain pens and ballpoint pens were neatly organized inside. He managed to easily find a pair of office scissors, but the blades were too thick to effectively cut the loose thread. He shut the drawer with a thud.

“The most important aspect of an outdoor wedding is the weather. Because of all the unknown variables, we’ve even avoided having it at the hotel garden, but now you’re telling me that you still want to move ahead knowing that it’s going to rain?”

Underneath his perfectly styled hair, his brow furrowed even deeper. The ends of his symmetric lips slowly went up and formed his characteristic hateful smile.

“Are you joking?”

He asked as he wondered whether he should call his secretary to get him some appropriate scissors or whether he should go up to his penthouse suite and grab another shirt.

“We’ve poured millions of dollars into the interior decoration of the event hall. At times like these, we need to take advantage of that. YoungJin agreed when they signed the contract during the first negotiations, but now you’re saying we can’t change it. Does that make sense to you?”

As expected, there was no one here who could do their jobs properly.

If he went back to his penthouse for another shirt, he’d have to pick another pair of shoes, pants, and a belt that matched it. He looked up at his large computer monitor and checked the time. The one thing he hated more than having a messy appearance was not being on time. He also did not want his father, President Min, to nitpick his work performance.

“That is… After the bride’s side personally met with the florist, they insisted that they wanted an outdoor wedding even if there’s a high chance of rain, so the hotel has been put in a difficult position…”

“Who met who?”

SeonJae’s dark brows rose. The bridge of his tall nose slightly crinkled.

“They said that the bride, the daughter of the YoungJin Group, met directly with the florist, Lee YeonJung-ssi. She’s the one in charge of the flowers decorating the interior hall and the bouquet…”

Suddenly, SeonJae lifted his hand and stopped Section Chief Han from continuing.

“Wait a minute. So are you telling me that the only freelancer not affiliated with the hotel has met with my $200,000 client and spoiled everything?”

He finally took down his long legs from his desk as he scoffed. His glaring eyes were filled with a hint of annoyance and anger. Section Chief Han attempted to make a justification and opened his mouth.

“Rather than saying she’s an unaffiliated freelancer… She’s a florist that the bride’s side had specifically asked for, so there was nothing we could do. 6 months ago, you personally authorized this condition, so we broke the usual rule that this hotel does not associate with outside freelancers and drew up a special contract, sir.”

SeonJae’s symmetrical lips tilted unpleasantly.

“So are you saying it’s my fault for approving it?”

“Not at all, but since the clients are saying it’s okay, there’s nothing we can do on our side…”

Before Section Chief Han could finish his sentence, SeonJae got up from his seat. The wheeled desk chair that had been flown in from Sweden hit the wall with a tap before it swiveled away. He glanced down at his wristwatch. Five-fifteen. He needed to straighten this out before his appointment at six-thirty.

“Where is she right now?”

“Pardon?”

“That florist. The woman named HyunJung or YeonJung or whatever.”

SeonJae looked in the mirror as he put on the suit jacket that had been hanging on a coat rack. Section Chief Han quickly answered.

“I heard that she’s usually in her workspace around dinnertime. I’ll give your driver the address. If you plan on meeting her, should I call ahead and let her know you’re coming?”

“No, leave it alone. If we let her know ahead of time, it might make the situation a lot more awkward. Just give me her business card.”

Because he was currently pressed for time, he wanted to drive there himself. It was better if he went there personally to clean up this mess before coming back for his next appointment.

SeonJae fixed his tie. How should he crush this freelancer who made a mess of someone else’s business?

He exited his office in hurried steps. Section Chief Han, who was in charge of overseeing the general day-to-day tasks of the event planning department, hesitated as he wondered whether he should follow him or not. While he was waiting for the elevator, SeonJae opened his mouth.

“Section Chief Han, you should stay back and prepare for the meeting at dinnertime.”

“Don’t worry, sir. I’ve already warned all the employees.”

“Of course you did. You wouldn’t want to disappoint me a second time. I’ll leave it in your hands.”

The doors opened. After throwing out those bone-chilling words, SeonJae entered the elevator. He turned around and looked at Section Chief Han, who nodded. SeonJae’s expression was as blank and as cold as always.

When the doors closed and his icy face disappeared, Section Chief Han loosened his necktie and let out a deep sigh.

Four years ago, when the young twenty-eight-year-old took over all managerial duties, Section Chief Han never expected his life to become as difficult as it was now.

As the illegitimate child of the SeonJin Group, people expected Min SeonJae to be a young rookie, but he had ended up becoming a tyrant like no other. He was arrogant and cheeky. On top of that, the crazy bastard had mysophobia and OCD. He also had a foul mouth. He had a television-worthy, sleek physique that was always admired by the new female employees. However, his snake tongue would leave many in tears.

He would often tell people that they should read the client manual whenever they got the chance to look in the mirror. If a restaurant got his order wrong, he would ask the manager whether he was smart enough to work here, and that he should just resign. However, his words weren’t just sarcasm. He would actually have the manager fired.

He was ruthless when it came to work, and he would get nasty. When he was put in charge of the failing Rael hotel that was in danger of being sold off, he managed to rebrand it and brought forth a 300% spike in revenue within a year and a half. If it weren’t for this and the fact the Rael Hotel stocks were at an all-time high, the stockholders would have run him out of power a long time ago.

“Crazy bastard.”

Section Chief Han recalled the way SeonJae’s eyes had narrowed as he asked him to prepare for the dinner ‘meeting’ and couldn’t help the curse that left his lips. According to that man’s schedule, the only appointment he had tonight was dinner with his father, the president of the SeonJin Group. While President Min was the only person to whom the tyrant Min SeonJae would lower his head, the spite within his eyes could be seen very clearly to those watching from the sidelines.

‘……Ah, now that I think about it…’

He had been so nervous that he had forgotten to tell him one important detail. Section Chief Han quickly reached into his pocket and pulled out his cellphone. However, instead of pressing the button, he hesitated. He could clearly imagine Min SeonJae gripping his steering wheel as his brow went up.

‘I would have found out when I met her anyway. You’re just annoying me at this point, and it’s tiresome.’

Section Chief Han put his phone back inside his pocket. If he didn’t want to put himself in an even more precarious situation, he needed to make sure the meeting with President Min went off without a hitch.