Evenstar

53. Aimer la Vie

"Harabeoji!" Cheul-Soo knocked urgently on Kyubok's door early the following morning. He received a call from the Korean ambassador to France and there was little time to waste.

Kyubok opened the door, still in his sleeping clothes. "What's the matter, Cheul-Soo?"

"The French President would like to see you this morning, Harabeoji. The Korean ambassador will be picking you and Si-Woo up by 7 AM. Please get ready." Cheul-Soo was almost breathless. They were given short notice and it was already 6:30 AM.

"What in heaven's name... why would he want to see me?" Kyubok suddenly felt his anxiety rising to new levels. What was going on?

"You treated the Korean ambassador at the UN demonstration. I guess it helped him a lot. Please get ready now, there's not much time left, Harabeoji. I'll ask Dae Eun to come with you." He was needed at the summit and would take Eunji and Jung-Hwa with him instead.

Cheul-Soo knocked on Dae Eun's door and found she was already awake. She was surprised when he told him and immediately got ready. They didn't even have time for breakfast. After she had showered she put on the light brown dress that Taehyung had bought for her and she stopped by his room. He was still asleep. She sat beside him and kissed his head, wishing she could get a hug before leaving. She would just message him later.

*****

Taehyung's alarm rang at 8 AM. He was due at Celine by 10 for the French Vogue interview. Hedi had already sent him pictures of engagement rings and he also wanted to discuss those with him. When he stepped out of his room he found his manager having breakfast.

"Good morning, Taehyung-ah. We're by ourselves today."

Taehyung checked his phone and found Dae Eun's message.

"Really? The French President?"

"Yes, Kyubok must be really something."

"Yes, hyung, he is." Taehyung could attest to how good a healer Kyubok Harabeoji was. It had only been a few days but the color of his bruises was already fading. At this rate his parents wouldn't be alarmed even if they saw his new injuries when he got home.

Taehyung asked his manager to make arrangements for their flight back to Korea. He wanted to charter a private plane so that everyone would be comfortable.

An hour later the driver and staff from French Vogue arrived to fetch them and Taehyung was glad to see Hedi at the Celine head office when he arrived. An interpreter was also present. After the interview, Hedi led him to his office to break some news.

"Taehyung, Bernard would like to offer you and Dae Eun a proposal." Bernard had been immensely touched by their story and couldn't stop thinking about them.

Taehyung was surprised. Hedi said that Bernard was ready to discuss this with him now in a video call. Taehyung looked at his manager and said okay. Hedi's office had a large screen set up for such conferences, and in a moment Bernard appeared on the screen. He was at his office at LVMH.

"It's good to see you again, Taehyung."

"Hello, Sir. I can't thank you enough for our dinner. We really enjoyed ourselves and Dae Eun is feeling like herself again."

"I'm glad to hear that, Taehyung. Please send her my regards. I'd like to propose something to you and Dae Eun."

"Go ahead, Sir. I'm listening."

"As you know, I am getting on in the years and I've been working on a legacy to leave to each of the fashion houses of LVMH before I retire. I have been working with Dior on a unique fragrance that can be worn by both men and women. This fragrance reflects my concern about our changing environment, our disappearing forests and flora. It combines the scent of mountain water, woodlands and wild flowers. I would like to ask you and Dae Eun to be the ambassadors of this fragrance. It will be called Aimer la Vie. To Love Life. It will be my message for people to love the life of the planet we live in and to care for it so that it, and we with it, will continue to thrive."