Serendipity - A Chance Encounter

Seo Joon became close with Nathan Yun back in Junior High School when the latter transferred to their school. That"s when he first met Samantha too. When Seo Joon and Nathan graduated, although they didn"t take the same course, they used to study in the same university and began to hang out with Alexander Li. The trio was inseparable until Nathan went overseas to study.

When Samantha started her undergrad course, Nathan Yun began showing his romantic side to her. They dated when Samantha turned 20 and Nathan broke up with her a few months before she graduated her degree. Weeks, after she graduated, was when Nathan left the country.

After 3 years, the three friends are together once again. They have just finished their lunch and are now enjoying their beverage.

"You"re staying here for good, right?", Seo Joon asked Nathan before he took a sip from his cola.

"Hmmm.. I guess.", Nathan answered while he played with the fork on his hand.

"Do you plan to get my sister back?" Seo Joon probed as he glanced at Alexander who just s.h.i.+fted his gaze to Nathan, waiting for his answer.

"You want the truth?" Nathan looked at Seo Joon in the eye, when he saw his friend nod, he continued, "Honestly, it"s one of the reasons why I came back. I planned to court her again but... that seems to be difficult to do now.", Nathan said and then he downed the last of his red wine.

Then he s.h.i.+fted his gaze to Alexander, "I thought you would take advantage of the fact that I wasn"t around and make your move but you"re just simply running a business with her. I thought you were smart, Alex."

Seo Joon"s eyes grew wide upon hearing Nathan"s words. He knew that Alexander liked his sister?

Alexander Li met Nathan"s eyes and then he grinned, "I am smart. I"m not making advances because I knew she would never come to me.", he swirled his finger around the rim of his empty teacup. "I"m happy with just being around her. Doesn"t matter if she likes me that way or not."

Seo Joon scoffed, "You"re both idiots. I don"t know what you see in my sister. Tch."

The restaurant was packed with customers, all the tables are occupied and a line was already forming outside of this famous restaurant.

"Adandan, come over and help us here.", said the owner of the restaurant as she called her child over.

A cute lady in a blue and white jumper begrudgingly walked towards her mother, "But mom, I"m busy." , she said as she tapped her cellphone.

"Busy of what? Just put your phone down for a second and hand this bill over to that table. Go on, I need all the help we can get."

Reluctantly, Adandan took the bill from her mother and walked towards the table. "Here"s your bill, sirs."

Seo Joon looked at the lady and smiled at her, she was pleasing to the eyes. "Thanks. Here, keep the change.", he said after he placed a few notes inside.

Adandan received the bill folder and gave him a brief and very fake smile before she turned around and left.

The three friends were puzzled by her indifference.

-

When Seo Joon, Alexander, and Nathan were walking out of the restaurant, a waitress who was taking orders from another table caught Seo Joon"s attention. She looked familiar and subconsciously Seo Joon muttered, "Nancy?".

"Joon, what are you doing? Let"s go.", Nathan called him and Seo Joon snapped out of the distraction then he followed his friends outside.

----

Meanwhile, Samantha and Hannah have just finished their lunch and are now roaming around to shop. They also did their nails and have had ma.s.sages. Hannah had already picked her gown from a luxury boutique. Samantha, on the other hand, is looking for a suit for Daniel. She wanted him to dress up with something that would match the gown that she chose for herself.

Hannah accompanied Samantha visiting store after store until they found a promising one. Samantha had been staring at 2 tuxedos that caught her attention but she had a hard time deciding which one would look good on Daniel. Though of course, he would look good in anything, she wanted to pick the best one.

"What are you thinking about, S?", asked Hannah.

"This is my first time buying men"s clothes. I"m not sure how to decide.", Samantha pondered while she crossed her arms.

"It"s not that hard... both look nice, just pick one. Like this.", Hannah pointed at the suit on the left near her.

"I don"t know... I feel like this one on the right would look better."

While the two friends were talking, a man in a fancy brown suit not far from them heard what they were discussing. He was on his phone checking the stock market online when he noticed the two. He walked over and tapped Samantha"s shoulder. "Hi... sorry to interrupt, I couldn"t help but overhear you, ladies, earlier. You seem to have a hard time choosing which to buy?", he said with a gentle smile.

Samantha looked at Hannah, and Hannah looked at the guy as if she was criticizing his looks. The man in a brown suit was tall, handsome and looked stylish, probably he knows a lot about suits; maybe he can help them?

Hannah nodded, "Uhh... yeah, my friend here wants to buy a tux for her boyfriend but we don"t know which one is better?".

"Ah... I see, well I don"t mind helping. I"m still waiting for mine anyways. So, what"s the occasion?".

This time, Samantha answered, "It"s a corporate event. A formal one, company anniversary.".

The man nodded and pointed to the tux on the left, "Look at this part, these are lapels. This particular type is peaked, they are more noticeable and are more dramatic. People usually wear these kinds of tuxes for special occasions, although a lot of shorter men would prefer to wear this because they give the impression of height.", he pointed to the ones he is wearing, "Unlike mine, these ones are notched which are the most common and are typical for everyday suits.".

"Oh... I didn"t notice it before but there really is a difference between this one and the one that you"re wearing.", Hannah eyed the left tux.

"What about this? I like this the most. But still, I have no clue.", Samantha said as she pointed to the one on the right.

The man smiled and said, "You have good taste. This tux has shawl collars, another type of lapel. They are most often worn on black-tie or gala events. They are somewhat more relaxed compared to other types but are considered the most elegant out of these tuxes.".

As soon as he finished speaking, a staff called him, "Mr. Yoo, we"re ready for you. Please come over."

"I"ll be off then, good luck, ladies.", he said before he left.

"That guy... was such a hunk, wasn"t he?", Hannah said as she looked at the man"s back. But Samantha didn"t even pay attention.

"Okay, I"ve decided to get this one.", Samantha said as she instructed the saleslady to pack the tuxedo with shawl collars.

Just as they were paying, Daniel Cho arrived at the shop and came over to them. "So, have you finished your shopping?", he said as soon as Samantha noticed him.

"Hi... Yeah, they"re packing it now. We"re just waiting for it.", Samantha leaned when Daniel placed an arm on her waist.

"h.e.l.lo, Mr. Cho.", Hannah greeted.

"I hope you"re doing well, Ms. Chu, also you can call me Daniel, no need to be formal."

"Only if you call me Hannah, then.", Hannah and Samantha smiled.

"Okay, Hannah." Daniel chuckled.

"Ma"am, here"s your tux. Thank you for your purchase. Please come again.", said the saleslady while handing her a garment bag.

When they were about to leave, the man in a brown suit from earlier appeared from a room at the corner of the shop.

"Daniel." he said when he met Daniel"s eyes, "It"s been a long time."