CHAPTER 4

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CEO Choi Ha Seung sat in the car with a deep frown after the show. The phone hadn't stopped ringing, he looked down at the phone and closed his eyes tight letting out a long sigh.

A lot of things were happening in succession. Running one of the biggest international music label with more that ten groups he was always swamped with work without off days or rest. Yet the jealousy and backstabbing in this industry was truly next level, which over the years had become almost vicious. There was not a moment he was not looking over his shoulders wondering who was going to harm him or the groups or his team.

Yet the Boys and girls he was responsible for and the team he had built from scratch depended on him for more reasons than one.

He was self-made, a complete workaholic and extremely diligent, but there was family. His own family. Something he wanted to run away from forever.

He shook his head trying to shake off the unpleasant thoughts.

The phone was ringing again. He knew he couldn't avoid calls forever.  

"Yes reporter Seo. How have you been? How can I help you?" Ha Seung asked in his sweetest voice possible, taking the call.

"Reporter Seo? Are you there?" There was no reply from the other end.

He looked at the Phone, it had died. Finally.

He closed his eyes again, running a hand over his face.

Secretary Lee looked at his boss through the mirror. "Shall I drive straight to the hotel or do you want to meet the boys first?" Lee asked softly.

"Take me straight to the hotel and inform the boys to meet me there in the conference room. Let's get this over with. Ask the PR manager to be there and get that damn lawyer on the phone."

"Yes Sir," Lee knew when to shut up and not ask too many questions. Over the ten years that he had been working for CEO Choi, he knew when his boss was too stressed out to talk.

He quietly made the required calls while Ha Seung looked out of the car window at the beautiful Italian sky. Looking, yet seeing nothing.

His mind going back to the girl in the make-up room.

Ha Seung wasn't supposed to be here. With a million things on his schedule, squeezing in a visit to an close friends fashion event was hardly a priority. But as Glasse Door was performing, he thought it would be a good break. At least he would get to see Italy after five years once again.

He opened the door marked Make-Up, thinking it was the boy's make-up room, but instead got confused as he saw the tall leggy models crowding in loud, noisy groups.

As he unconsciously scanned the bustling chaos in the makeup room, his gaze landed on her—and the rest of the room seemed to blur out.

She was hunched over a model, a slender figure in an simple black silk shirt, her dark hair spilling out all over her shoulders. He watched as her hands moved rapidly, tucking, pinning, and smoothing the hair strands with a calm intensity that drew his attention like a magnet.

The way she worked was different. Her focus was sharp, and there was something almost defiant in the way she glared at the model to stay still—like she wasn't the least bit intimidated by the pressure of the high-stakes event. A small smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.

But then he saw it—a sudden wince, a flash of red against her pale skin.

Before he realized it, he was crossing the room. Was he really doing this? Approaching a complete stranger in the middle of her work? He should have stopped himself, but there was something about her that made him want to act on instinct, to take just a step closer.

He placed his card with one hand and, with a gentleness he rarely showed in public, placed a small band-aid on the table next to her with the card. 

"Please call the number on the card after the show." He said quietly. "And put that band-aid on." nodding at the tiny cut she was ignoring.

He wanted to say more but he was drawing a blank.

So absolutely confused, with that, he turned and left, his heart beating a little faster than he expected. Why? Why?

As he walked away, he wondered what had gotten into him. He was usually so composed. But something told him this wouldn't be the last time they'd cross paths.


"Fate's beauty lies not just in its timing, but in its subtle insistence that some things are meant to be, even when they seem impossible. It can bring people together or tear them apart, yet always with a purpose- to make us see life not as a series of isolated events, but as a continuum of interwoven destinies, each one nudging us towards becoming the person we're meant to be."

***


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