Serendipity - A Chance Encounter

"I see that you"ve made your purchase?", the man in a brown suit said when he noticed the garment bag in Samantha"s hands.

"Ah, yes. Thanks for your help earlier.", she replied with a brief smile.

Daniel looked at Samantha, "You"ve met before?".

Hannah sensed a tensed Daniel, she hurriedly explained, "Yes, we were having difficulties in choosing a tuxedo. He came over, he was very friendly."

Daniel nodded. He grabbed Samantha"s hand and glanced at the man. "Thanks for your help. We"re leaving.", he spoke before leading the women out of the shop.

Before they reached the exit, the man in the brown suit said, "Daniel. I hope we can catch up some time.".

Daniel paused but didn"t say anything. Then he left the shop with Samantha and Hannah.

When they reached the carpark, Hannah bid farewell and left the couple.

Samantha held hands with Daniel on the way to his car. He was quiet ever since they left the shop, "Are you okay?", said Samantha.

Daniel turned to Samantha when they were in front of the car, he nodded and spoke, "Yeah... Did you have fun?".

"It was tiring... Hannah probably had more fun than me.", Samantha chuckled then she hesitated before she added, "That man earlier... is he your friend?".

Daniel was silent for a few seconds before he answered, "Not anymore."

"I see... Do you wanna talk about it?"

"Not today, next time.", he patted Samantha"s head.

"Okay..", she beamed and handed the garment bag to Daniel, "Here. This is for you."

Daniel"s brows raised in surprise. "Oh... Thank you.", he smiled.

"It"s my first time buying a tux. I don"t know if you"ll like it. I bought it thinking it will pair well with my dress."

Daniel moved closer and pulled Samantha in his arms, "If it"s from you, I"ll love it. I"m sure you have a great style."

Samantha returned his embrace, "Good. Because I don"t think they accept returns.", they both chuckled.

When the couple boarded the car and Daniel started driving, Samantha noticed that Daniel was heading towards a different direction.

"Um... Are we going somewhere?"

"Yes. We"re having dinner with my family."

"WHAT??" Samantha"s eyes grew wide. "And you didn"t plan on telling me earlier?"

"Are you nervous?" Daniel glanced at Samantha.

"Are you kidding? I"m not nervous! I"m freaking out!!" Samantha clutched at her seatbelt. "W-Why are we having dinner with them?".

He shrugged, "My mother just told me last night to bring you over for dinner. It"s nothing... just a casual dinner."

"Well, sure! I"ve met your mom but... your dad..."

"Don"t worry. My parents are nice people. My brother... well, he"s... he can be energetic sometimes. Other than that, he"s good."

"Huh.", Samantha"s still worried about meeting his family.

-----

Meanwhile, at the Kim Family Estate, Seo Joon just got home from work and saw his parents in the living room watching TV.

"I"m home.", he said as soon as he stepped into the foyer.

"Oh... you"re here. How was your day sweetheart?", Mrs. Kim asked.

"It was all right.", Seo Joon slumped on the armchair. He pondered for a few minutes first before saying, "Guess who I saw at lunch today."

His parents were still watching the news on TV, Mrs. Kim replied, "Who?"

"I"m not a hundred percent sure but I think I saw Nancy at a Chinese restaurant.", he said while looking intently at his parents.

Upon hearing their son, Mr. and Mrs. Kim looked at each other for a few seconds and then s.h.i.+fted their gaze to Seo Joon, "Who?".

"Nancy Jung."

"Are you sure it was her? How?", his father asked while Mrs. Kim remained silent.

"Well, I was having lunch with Nathan and Alexander today and when we were about to leave, I saw a waitress who looked very much like her. It"s been a very long time since I have seen Nancy Jung but when I saw the woman, there was no one else that came to mind except that girl."

Mrs. Kim looked anxious as she squeezed the hem of her dress. "What if... What if Samantha sees her?".

Mr. Kim comforted his wife, "That won"t happen. Besides, we aren"t really sure if it was her. Maybe Seo Joon just made a mistake."

"Yeah, I probably did.", Seo Joon tried to calm his mother down.

"What is she even doing here? Isn"t she supposed to be miles away? I can"t let her ruin my baby. Samantha"s already doing so well. She can"t-- Sun Ho, I"m worried.", Mrs. Kim fidgeted as she clung to her husband.

"Nothing will happen. Don"t worry. Let"s forget about this, we can"t show our worries in front of Samantha or else she will notice. No one mentions anything to her and she"ll be fine.", Mr. Kim said a.s.suringly.

Mrs. Kim nodded, although she is quite shaken, she trusts her husband. Seo Joon regretted telling his parents about it a little but he thought that it was better to let them know.

Just who is this Nancy Jung that made the Kim Family worry?

----

On the other side of the city, Daniel and Samantha arrived at Cho"s villa. The couple was ushered by the housekeeper to the patio where Daniel"s parents were having an aperitif.

"Mom, Dad.", Daniel said when he saw his parents as both of them walked over to greet.

"Good, you"re both here." Mrs. Cho greeted the two.

"You met my mom already.", Daniel placed his hand on Samantha"s back.

"It"s nice to see you again, Mrs. Cho.", Samantha smiled.

"You look great, Samantha. Please call me Auntie."

Samantha nodded before Daniel continued to introduce his father, "Dad, this is Samantha, my girlfriend.", Daniel gestured for Samantha to move forward.

"It"s a pleasure to meet you, Chairman Cho.", Samantha extended her hand and Mr. Cho shook it,

"The pleasure is mine, Samantha. It"s finally nice to meet you.".

"I apologize, I didn"t bring any gifts. Daniel... he.. didn"t tell me beforehand that we"re going to have dinner here so I wasn"t able to prepare any.".

"Oh don"t worry about it. Come sit, I hope you"re not too hungry yet, the food will be served soon.", Mrs. Cho said as she pulled Samantha to sit on the sofa.

"He"s like that, you know. He likes giving people surprises.", Liam soon came to join the group.

Daniel glanced at his brother, "And this is my brother, Liam."

"Hi, It"s a pleasure. We"ve actually met already.", Liam shook hands with Samantha.

Samantha looked at Liam and a memory flashed in her eyes, that night at the bar when she fetched Hannah. Liam had helped her in the end, he even offered to bring them to the hospital but she refused. That"s when Samantha realized what Hannah said, the man in the suit was her brother-in-law. He was actually Daniel"s brother! She wondered if Liam had told Daniel about that night already.

Samantha broke out in a cold sweat and gulped, she glanced at Daniel who was taking a sip on his smoky martini before he looked at Liam, "Huh, heh... Nice to meet you.".