It was the fifth and final day of their work trip in Shanghai. Gwon and Jihyo stepped inside the lift and went up to the top floor of the building; the 20th storey.
The lift door open. Jihyo exit first, with Gwon following after her. As they approached the office of 'S' company, there was a young man, dressed in suit, standing outside the office holding onto a piece of paper and two photos. He looked at the photos then back up at them.
"Mr Gwon and Ms Jihyo?" The young man asked.
"Yes." They answered at the same time. Gwon looked at the employee tag hanging around his neck. The photo of the young man's face, his name and position were all stated on the tag.
Kim Yoon
Secretary
"Please follow me." He said to them. He tapped his employee pass against the reader and then held the door open for them. "This way." He led them through the sparsely furnished office and to a room, with a name panel 'Park Su Yong' stuck to the door. He knocked on the door once, opened it and entered while Gwon and Jihyo waited outside.
"You owe me an apology if he accept this." Jihyo turned to Gwon and whispered.
Gwon smirked. He leaned towards her and whispered into her ear, "we shall see."
Minutes later, the secretary open the door and invited them in, and then left to prepare some tea for the guests. Mr Park stood up, and walked around his desk to offer them a handshake and then offered them to take a seat in the black leather armchairs around the coffee table.
As they settle down, the secretary came in, carrying a tray with a pot of tea, three tea cups and a plate of shortbread cookies. He placed it on the table before making his way out.
"Thank you for coming all the way to Shanghai." Mr Park said as he poured tea into their cups.
They smiled and took a sip each. Jihyo pulled out the proposal file and the design sketches, and spread them out on the table.
"As your company is in the IT field, I feel that an open-concept design would be a good fit." Jihyo showed him the illustrated design, and then a few more photos of the furniture that he requested. They spent the next fifteen minutes explaining the details of the design, then gave him some time to ponder over it.
Mr Park lifted his tea cup off of the saucer, drank, and placed it back. "I think," he paused, flipping through the proposal for a second time. A thoughtful expression spread across his face.
"You may choose to reject it if you feel that it isn't what you have in mind." Gwon told him. Mr Park looked at him, slightly surprise.
"Why will I reject it? I think it's perfect." He said, putting the proposal on the table. Turning to Jihyo, he gave her a satisfied smile. He went on to tell them why he was happy with the concept and that he likes it a lot. For Jihyo, it was pleasing to hear such feedback, especially when her team spent many nights coming up with the designs. She turned to look at Gwon, who immediately look away with a rather disgruntled look on his face.
She turned back to face Mr Park. "Thank you, Mr Park. You may keep this copy of the proposal. Our team of contractors will get in touch with you." He nodded with a smile, before calling his secretary in to see them out.
They make their way out of the building, walking through the revolving door to the street. As they waited by the roadside for the cab that Gwon had booked a few minutes ago, Jihyo glanced at him then turned to face the busy road.
