Soulmates - The Last Line

The Auction

"Ladies and gentlemen, this is the moment you have been anticipating all evening! We'll start the auction of the most eligible bachelors and bachelorettes, who have generously agreed to join us tonight, and see which one of you is ready to take up on the challenge and outbid their opponents, in hopes of having the chance to spend one night with them. When I say one night, I mean date! We're talking about dates here. Get your minds off the gutter " said the old gentleman with the suit and chuckled nervously. Byul was standing on the sidelines in a chic black dress that was hugging her body comfortably, watching everything unfold. She was on her second glass of champagne yet the function was still as boring as ever. She had to dodge her father's attempts of presenting her to countless business partners and their know-it-all "women are housewives" sons. The room was heavy on perfume and the air was getting almost too hard to breathe. The soft music in the background which was supposed to be soothing, sounded a bit too much in combination with the numerous conversations happening at the same time. There was too much fake laughter and exchanged pleasantries. Her head was killing her, and so were her heels. Whoever invented those, needed to burn in hell for a few years, then get reborn as a pageant contestant. Just before she completely lost her mind, her phone buzzed.

"Everyone is ready, baby" the message read.

"Good, "she said to herself, "let's get this show on the road then."

"...to invite here on the stage our beautiful women first. We have a couple of daughters, generously given away by their fathers tonight. Let's make some magic happen." chuckled the old man, and moved away his mic, because it started interfering with the loudspeakers on stage. Honestly, Byul didn't know what was more entertaining - the fluffy mustache he had, which was growing in all possible directions, and was entirely too big for his face, or the suit that was obviously two sizes too small.

"Our first bachelorette tonight is the beautiful Byulie, daughter of our patron and generous benefactor Mr. Moon."

She saw her father's eyes turn to her as if to say "Do not ruin this for me" He nodded his head then turned his attention to the stage and gave the host a tight smile. Byul couldn't help but sigh deeply. This was it. She was hopeful her plan would work, because if it didn't she'd have to go on a date with one of the men here, and honestly just the thought of it was making her nauseous. She downed her drink in one go, ignoring the judgmental stares of the high-profile ladies around her, gave them a smile then headed towards the stage.

"Moon Byulie is the heir of Moon Industries. She respects her father, likes drinking wine, and will listen to you all night if you give her the chance. Pleasant to the eyes, good for the soul. How much would you give to go on a date with her? Let's start with 50 thousand. Do I hear 55,000?"

The number of plates started going up one by one. There were whispers around the room, and Byulie slowly realized she was actually quite sought after. She knew her friends would have to spend a hefty amount of money if they wanted to leave with her tonight. The numbers were going up, at this point the date with her would cost around 500,000. She was surprised there were people still raising their pads. There were all her friends, a few other women, and two gentlemen in suits. There was a third man in the back, who was just observing and not participating in the auction. He was fairly young. Probably Byulie's age. She couldn't help but think that she knew him from somewhere. Wasn't that Kim Seok-jin? The owner of Brakes and Co.? She didn't know a lot about him, but she was sure he was married. Thank God he wasn't participating. Byul knew too many men like this. Married, with a desire for a young lover on the side. Horrible really. Why were men like this?

The only person who was very insistent on having her for the night for sure was Miss Lee Hyori. She had kept an eye on Byul throughout her whole career. She looked at her and sent her a charming smile. Byul had to admit she was a beautiful woman, probably twice her age, but still - very good-looking.