Reference of the restaurant room: Minhyun had already booked a reservation, they were immediately brought to a private room. Due to the ancient Korean theme, all guests had to take their shoes off before entering the room. In the middle of the room was a table with colorful cushions to subst.i.tute for chairs. The sweet sound of the gayageum played in the background and beautiful paintings and decorations laid on the walls.
"So pretty," Eunha cooed. She quickly took of her shoes before skipping around to look at all the beautiful art.
Yoona quickly followed her friend. She loved paintings.
Minhyun and Lucas, as the stoic beings they were, chose to sit down at the table. The two eyed each other to see what spot the other would chose. Although their language was silent, there was no doubt there was a certain girl they both wanted to be near.
They sat diagonally from each other.
Since the two girls wouldn"t sit down, annoyance began to take over Lucas"s face. "Eunha. Didn"t you say you were hungry? Sit down."
As if on queue, the sound of Eunha"s rumbling stomach echoed through the air. She let out a shy smile. "True."
Eunha then grabbed Yoona"s arm before whispering in her friend"s ear. "Where should I sit. This is very important."
Was it important? Yoona didn"t understand where her friend was coming from. If they were a big group sure, the seats would be important because it would either block or help you to get involved in certain conversations. However, they were only a group of four. Did it even matter?
Eunha thought for a moment, trying to find the best seat for her to fully maximize Minhyun"s conversations with Yoona. She needed to make the right choice.
Finally, she skipped to the seat beside of Lucas, right in front of Minhyun. She thought that it would be best to allow her friend to sit beside her childhood friend.
To make sure that her choices were right, she snuck slight glances at the CEO. There was no change in his expression but she could see his eyes twinkling slightly.
Yes. Score.
The waiter who was standing near the corner, waiting for the customers to sit down, walked over to take their order. He bowed his head slightly, welcoming them, before asking what they would want for drinks.
Since there were already drink menus placed on the table, Yoona picked one up to read her options. Her eyes opened in shock once she saw the price tags of each drink. The cheapest drink here cost about the same as a middle-tier drink at Bianchi! How crazy was that.
She looked at Minhyun with horror.
He ignored her gaze and began to speak to the waiter. While he was ordering, Yoona recognized the drink he was getting for the four of them. She quickly looked down at the menu to see that it was the most expensive drink on the menu.
Due to her shock, she couldn"t even speak. How rich had Minhyun become? From what she remembered, Minhyun was the son of a family friend of the household her mother used to work at.
He must be loaded to the core.
Lucas sat there quietly. His eyes were narrowed, aiming straight at Minhyun. He couldn"t understand the reasons for his actions. Why was this childhood friend spending so much money on Yoona and them?
He immediately put his guards up. He had to be the rational one out of the friends. After all, he felt as if he had to keep both girls safe. Not that he"d admit it anyways.
Eunha wasn"t fazed by the hefty purchase, in fact, she was more excited than anything. She could tell that Minhyun was rich beyond imagination. It was nice to see him care for Yoona"s friends. He automatically gained a point in her mind.
"Wow, I"ve never tasted something so luxurious. I am so pumped," Eunha squealed once the waiter exited the room.
Yoona"s mind was so focused on Minhyun that she subconsciously blocked out her friend"s words. She gulped. "Minhyun…"
Minhyun knew what she was going to say.
"It"s my treat."
Failing to rebel against his strong gaze, she weakly nodded. She too, was excited to drink this expensive substance as well but she just felt bad. She knew Minhyun had an overflowing bank of money, but she felt like all this cash spent on her was a waste.
Eunha examined the expression on her friend"s face. The thing about Yoona was that she didn"t like accepting money unless she"d worked for it. Minhyun was going to have a hard time spoiling her.
Eunha shook her head. She had to say something. "Yoona, Yoona, Yoona. Don"t think of him spending cash too deeply. Just think of it like this. You are an important person to him, therefore it makes him happy to spend money on you. He is returning the favor in his own way. Kind of like tips. If you reject his offer, you"re just being mean."
She sent a wink to Minhyun. "She"s a bit stubborn so it"s going to be hard but i"ll try my best to help you."
Minhyun nodded, a slight smile appearing on his lips. "Thank you."
Yoona looked at her two friends before letting out a sigh. It was true that she was stubborn, especially when it came to money. She couldn"t help but feel bad. It was ingrained in her brain due to her poor childhood. However, after hearing Eunha"s words, her heart began to slightly melt at the idea. Perhaps, she was being too uptight.
"I"ll try," Yoona said with a tight smile. "But no promises."
"Good," Minhyun replied.
There was a pause afterwards.
Using the conversation"s end to his advantage, Lucas figured that this timing was perfect to finally question Minhyun"s ident.i.ty.
"So," Lucas began. He placed his arm behind of him, leaning his weight against it. "We know you are Yoona"s childhood friend but who exactly are you? What is your ident.i.ty?"
Eunha almost shrieked. She was curious too but Lucas was too forward! He was ruining everything she was trying to build!
Minhyun re-positioned the watch on his wrist. He didn"t mind, in fact, he preferred straight forwardness compared to small talk.
"To introduce myself in depth. My name is Chae Minhyun. I am twenty-four years old and hold a business degree from Harvard. I am also the CEO of a conglomerate called the MH company."
All three blinked.
And blinked once more.
They couldn"t believe his words. First off, not everyone could get a Harvard degree, that itself was an amazing feat. It was one of the top business school in the world. Secondly, MH was one of the biggest global brands to exist. They were involved in many sectors and was a giant in the business world.
Yoona has learned about MH in cla.s.s. She"d seen the billions they made every year in her economics cla.s.s. He couldn"t possibly be the CEO. That was crazy.
Yet, due to the seriousness in his face, she knew he wasn"t joking.
"Oh. My. G.o.d," Eunha began, letting out a large huff after each word. "This cannot be real."
Even Lucas, who rarely showed emotions suddenly dropped his jaw.
Minhyun chuckled after seeing their reactions. His eyes trailed to Yoona who was too shocked to speak.
"If you have suspicions feel free to search me on the internet. There are plenty of articles and newsletters with my face," he added. There was a tinge of playfulness in his voice.
Eunha couldn"t help but cough out a laugh. He was making it seem like being one of the richest men in the world wasn"t a big deal.
Yoona gathered all her thoughts and let out a deep breath. "I-I believe you. That explains the large tip, pricey bracelet, and the large estate we used to play at. It"s just crazy for me to find out that you were the MH CEO all this time."
He nodded. "It can be quite overwhelming. This is why I didn"t introduce myself when we first met. I didn"t want to add more stress to your life."
Yoona gulped. "Stress?"
He let out a sad smile. Flashes of the video playing through his mind. "There are some things I need to explain to explain to you Yoona. Let"s see, where do I begin?"