Serendipity - A Chance Encounter

Cho Corporation Meeting Room

The air in the room was very cold and it"s not even because of the AC. All the people in the meeting room aged by a few years because of Daniel Cho"s temper.

"Are you all tired of working for the company? It seems that you"re all willing to get fired?!"

"How many times have I told you, this isn"t going to work! I"m not paying you all just so that you can give me c.r.a.p every day!!"

"Is this what you"re only capable of?!"

Daniel yelled the entire time he spoke. His employees flinching every time he emphasizes a word.

"Answer me!!", he roared once more.

"N-No Sir." , Everyone answered in unison.

Daniel sighed heavily, "Revise this again, this will be your last chance. I"ll give you all until the end of the week. If you still don"t pull this off by then, be ready to hand in your resignations."

"Now, get out!!"

The employees stood up looking all gloomy. How does their boss have the energy to get mad all week? They felt like he has become increasingly irritable day by day. He"s still so young but why does he act like he"s in his menopausal stage? they all have the same thoughts in mind.

a.s.sistant Ahn who had gotten used to his boss" mood swings ever since Ms. Kim left, he could only sigh silently.

"Ahn."

"Yes, boss?"

"Any updates?"

Ahn already understood what his boss meant, "No, Boss. We"ve searched high and low… It"s very hard to find a person who doesn"t want to be found."

Daniel closed his eyes as he leaned on his chair. "Keep searching."

"Understood."

Daniel stood up from his chair and left the room. He headed towards the Vice-President"s office and opened the door roughly.

"Jeez! Haven"t you heard of knocking?", Liam exclaimed, shocked by his brother"s sudden appearance.

"Get up, let"s go to The Fortress."

"Ugh... Again?! But it"s noon!!"

"If you don"t get up, I"ll double your workload this month.", Daniel said before he turned around and left.

Liam hurriedly got up and reluctantly grabbed his belongings, "All right, All right! I"m coming! Tch, what kind of boss threatens an employee for not going out for a drink during the day? What an a.s.s."

"I heard you!"

Liam flinched when he heard his brother. "I swear, his devil horns must have touched the sky by now."

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In another country, far from Country K, a woman in a white jumpsuit with hot pink and black accents on the sides is currently sitting in the plane anxiously. They"re already at 11,000 feet from the ground and any minute now, the plane will slow down. Samantha checked her altimeter for the nth time out of habit. She couldn"t wait until the plane door will be opened.

Kai tapped Samantha"s shoulder, "Got my D License yesterday. You owe me a date!",

Samantha looked at Kai and gave him a smile, "I never agreed on going on a date with you!"

"Tch. Still playing hard to get?"

When they received the signal, Samantha fixed her white helmet in place and gave a thumbs up. When the plane door opened, an extremely loud sound is heard but after multiple times of experiencing this, Samantha is no longer bothered by it.

Samantha started to head towards the opening but Kai stopped her. He walked ahead of her, turned around to face her and made a heart shape with his fingers, "I love you, Kira!", Kai screamed before he jumped out of the plane and disappeared.

The rest of the team of skydivers howled and cheered for Kai"s confession.

Samantha shook her head before she followed Kai outside.

She could still remember the very first time that she skydived 3 months ago.

Back then, although Samantha was determined to experience the thrill, she got scared when she saw the edge of the door in front of her. The man in front vanished when he jumped out and Samantha"s face paled by the sight of it.

Her instructor from behind her guided her towards the door telling her how to get ready to jump. "What the?! How the h.e.l.l am I ever going to be ready to jump to my death?"

Samantha was feeling anxious but the next thing she knew, she was out of the plane and into the sky.

As soon as they jumped, everything changed. Samantha was filled with a rush of adrenaline, it was an indescribable feeling like nothing she has ever experienced before.

She was quiet for a while as her mind went blank because of the sudden change of emotion but it lasted only for a few seconds until she found herself screaming in euphoria.

"OH SWEET LADY GAGA!", she thought in her head.

The view in front of her was incredible! Samantha enjoyed a full 360 picturesque view of land and water below her. She was freefalling for about 140mph and although it"s terribly fast, all she was feeling was utter peace. The pain, worries, and heaviness of her broken heart that she felt even while she was on the plane were now completely gone, replaced by intense emotion that was beyond words. And for the first time in days after she left Country K, she felt a sense of clarity. "This is what it"s like to fly!"

Not long after, their parachute opened. They slowly descended down and she felt a bit woozy.

Now, Samantha"s a "B licensed" skydiver after completing over 50 skydives. She has probably jumped close to 60 times for the past few months. And because she"s done it a lot of times already, the rush that she experiences every time is no longer the same as the first time that she skydived. But the one thing that didn"t disappear, is the feeling of clarity.

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Kimsun Electronics

At the Vice-President"s office, Seo Joon was typing away on his keyboard when his phone prompted, *beep* "Vice-President, Ms. Chu is here to see you."

Seo Joon"s fingers stopped mid-air and he quickly arranged the files on his table. He fixed his hair and tie while he looked at his reflection from the gla.s.s window before he pressed a b.u.t.ton from the phone, "Send her in."

Hannah came inside the office wearing a cute sundress. She sauntered towards Seo Joon"s desk and placed a lunch bag in front of him.

She crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow, "I went to your house but guess what the helper told me, Young Master Seo Joon went to work."

"Tch. You nag so much. Are you my wife?", Seo Joon responded with a smirk.

Hannah composed herself and cleared her throat, "You were in a car accident. Shouldn"t you be resting?"

Seo Joon stood up from his chair, "I"m fine. Besides, it"s been three months since my surgery. I"ll go crazy if I stay cooped up inside that house."

"I"m just saying… you can"t work too hard. What if something happens to you, how will I face Samantha when she comes back?"

As soon as she said those words, she pursed her lips like she said something taboo.

"You really think she"ll be back?", Seo Joon asked while he looked away.

"Of course! I know she will. She"s just… trying to blow off some steam."

"I hope you"re right.", Seo Joon said before he turned around and picked up the lunch bag from his desk. "What"s this?"

"I made you lunch… it"s a balanced meal. You need it to recover fully."

Seo Joon chuckled and shook his head, "Now you"re like my mom."

"Oh shut up and just eat your food."

"Yes, ma"am!"

Ever since Samantha left, Hannah took care of Seo Joon while he recovers from his surgery. Their relations.h.i.+p was no longer awkward and they became even closer than before. Hannah felt that she had to help out and show Samantha that everything"s fine when she comes back.

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The Fortress

"Okay, let me get this straight.", Liam was pouring some drinks behind the bar with his sleeves pulled up. "You"ve searched from a lot of countries but haven"t found her yet. So why are you still looking for her?"

Daniel Cho looked at his brother like he was an idiot.

Liam gulped, "Can you not look at me like that? I feel like I"ll have nightmares later.", he sighed. "What I"m saying is... the more you look for her, the more you won"t find her. Maybe you should... stop-"

Daniel"s expression darkened, his brows furrowed.

"Hey! Let me finis.h.!.+ I didn"t mean you should give up... just, pause. You know? It"s kinda like how you"re searching for a pen but you can"t find it no matter how much you try but then when you stop looking for it, it suddenly shows up."

"Are you saying Samantha"s... a pen?", he asked with a hint of ridicule.

Liam rolled his eyes, "C"mon you get what I mean. You"ve already done everything. What do you have to lose?"

Daniel Cho stared at the gla.s.s of whiskey in front of him as he tapped his index finger on the bar. "What do I have to lose?"