LOVE, LIES & SOJU! [A JEONG JAEHYUN FF]

Chapter 1- Baking Beginnings

"This is perfect!" I said, unknowingly clapping. I was completely awed by the sight in front of me—the perfect place for a perfect bakery. Situated on the busy streets of Myeong-dong, surrounded by various other street food shops, salons, shopping malls, and more this was certainly the perfect place to open a bakery. 

"Ji-Eun... please excuse us for a minute..." Hye-Jin excused herself from the owner and dragged me to a corner of the room, "... Ji-Eun, the rent is a bit high" she whispered 

"How much?"

"1.3 million won" My eyes nearly fell out of my eye sockets but I managed to keep them in place... but still... 1.3 million won??? for what???
I took another look around the place and nodded in satisfaction

"Well... this place deserves at least 1.3 million won," I said, attempting to make a puppy face. I know Hye-Jin too well. There is no way she would not fall for my puppy face-

"Nope. Don't do that. It's not going to work this time" she said sternly 

Well... that didn't work. Time for plan B.

"You know... my grandmother loved baking..." I said, blinking my eyes a few times to make it look like tears were welling up in my eyes, "... and she always wanted to open a bakery of her own... she used to tell me stories about that dream of hers... and I've always wanted to fulfill it for her-"

Hye-Jin cut me off in the middle by saying, "Ji-Eun... your grandmother died before you were born... gosh! You are such a drama queen!" I chuckled at her statement because I knew... that my plan had just worked out. 

"Fine...." she said while sounding defeated "... but remember, no extra monthly expense. We need to afford the house rent too" I nodded multiple times because I'd rather have no extra monthly expense than lose a place like this. 
We spoke to the owner, signed the lease followed by paying the deposit for the first two months. 

I was confident that the bakery would do good and even if it didn't, I knew that I could always trust Hye-Jin whenever it was about solving a problem. And she knew she could always trust me whenever it was about making a decision. In a way, we both were dependent on each other. We always have been, ever since our childhood. 

We both came to Seoul to pursue our dreams. Hye-Jin dreamt of being a successful actress and I still remember that day when she came running to my house, screaming cause she had been selected for a supporting role in an upcoming drama. That was the first time I saw her cry so much ever since she couldn't get the tickets to attend an EHYPEN concert. 

I had been planning to move to Seoul for a while now to open my bakery. My family, too were encouraging me on this. Ever since we got to know about Hye-jin's role in the drama, she would have to move to Seoul eventually so we decided to move together. And that was the best decision we both took in a while. 

"Monthly rent, renovation, buying equipment... how are you going to afford all that?" Hye-Jin asked as we walked out of the building

"Dad said he'll be sending me money for the renovation of the shop. I'll be working a part-time job to afford the equipment and other things" I said making her nod, indicating that she was satisfied by reply. 

"Oh and about the apartment-" 

"The landlord said we can move in today. He'll come to meet us at night to sign the agreement. Considering the time right now, our belongings should be there in a few-" I cut her off in the middle by saying,

"Wait wait... so the landlord let us move into the apartment without signing the agreement or anything? Doesn't he fear that we might refuse to pay or sign the agreement or something? He must be rich-"

"He is the owner of Iris&co." 

"Yes yes, he is the owner of... HE IS WHAT?!" I looked at her wide eyes, hoping that what she said was just a joke but it was not. Iris&co. ... the leading cosmetic brand in Korea right now. It has been seen as a competition by other cosmetic brands ever since it was launched back in 2017. Not only because of factors like great quality and affordable price... but also because of its famous enigmatic CEO, Jeong Jaehyun. 

As far as I have read about him, he is extremely private about his personal life. There are hardly any rumors about his personal life. The only thing that is known is that he launched Iris&co. when he was just 20 and him being incredibly handsome.
But being handsome and rich doesn't mean he can just let someone shift in an apartment owned by him without signing an agreement... or is it okay?
Maybe am just... too normal to understand the rich?

"He owns a few high-rise buildings in Gangnam and Myeongdong like the one we'll be moving into. He lives in the penthouse that is on the top of our building" I nodded at her statement. 

We spent the entire evening moving into our new apartment. It was way more than what we could ever ask for. It had a beautiful view of Myeongdong and the rooms were huge too. 
I kept down the books that were in my hand and turned around facing Hye-Jin. Upon noticing me, she too kept the vase that was in her hand, on the table and faced me. We stared at each other for a few seconds before letting out a squeal of happiness followed by jumping around and hugging each other.

"This place is so beautiful!!" we both screamed while giggling

At that moment, we were interrupted by the ring of the bell. 

"That must be Mr. Jeong"

"I'll get the door" 

I twisted open the door only to come face-to-face with a man. Around 5'9, with rimless spectacles on his nose, dark brown hair, and eyes. As far as I know... he is not that CEO.

"Good evening ma'am, I am Mr. Jeong's personal secretary, Shin Jun-Seok. I am here to discuss the agreement" He said with a straight, professional face. 

"Yes yes... I guess, your CEO is too busy to come and personally visit the people he'll be renting his property to... just rich people things" I said with a mocking smile. I turned around to walk back inside but was stopped when a voice interrupted me. 

"And I guess you like to have prejudices about people" a deep voice...deep enough to send shivers down one's spine. 
I turned around to find myself standing in front of him.
Around 5'11 with a chiseled face and a gaze so piercing that it could penetrate to the very core of one's soul leaving no room for secrets or pretense. There was a silent command in the way he was looking at me, a silent challenge to meet his gaze without faltering.
His broad shoulders spoke of strength and authority, tapering down to a lean waist that hinted at both athleticism and grace. The way he adorned himself with luxury brands was like Satan himself donning a finely tailored suit. 

"Well, I suppose assumptions are easy to make" 

"I guess stating the obvious is your specialty... anything else you want to enlighten us with? Ms. obvious" I rolled my eyes at his comment. He was getting on my nerves at this point. 

"Mr. Jeong. Uh... why don't you come inside so we can discuss the agreement?" Hye-Jin stopped us before we could kill each other. 

"Yes yes, why not? I must 'personally' visit my tenants before signing the agreement as said by Ms. Obvious" He said in a mocking way

"Did I? Must have been another tenant whispering in your ear" I replied 

"Ah, I see what you are hinting at now," He said with a wink. Yep, he was satan himself in a finely tailored suit. 

"Keep trying to read between the lines," I said with a smirk. 

Oh this is going to be so interesting.