Jina's Mission to Love (2)
Jina's Mission to Love (2)
Jina's Mission to Love had begun.
Unfortunately, her two minions were nowhere to be found that morning so she was on her own in this mission.
"Mommy, let's look there!" she exclaimed, pointing at the kids' section where they were selling jackets for girls.
"Ah, you do need winter clothing," Gayoon murmured. "It's gonna start snowing in a few days."
They were already feeling the chills of winter and Jina had outgrown a lot of her clothes. Gayoon could not help but notice that Jina had grown several inches which made her reminisce about the cute little child who used to barely reach up to her waist. No doubt she would grow tall, probably almost as tall as Minho in the future. Inwardly, Gayoon was glad that her daughter was going to get his height and brains.
As long as she doesn't get his temper, she sighed.
"You want the pink one?" Gayoon asked.
"No, it's too bright," Jina scowled. "I like the blue one over there!"
"But it's too small for you," Gayoon sighed
She began to search through the aisles, looking for mufflers and other essentials Jina would need for the upcoming months. Thankfully, she had some money saved aside so she could at least buy quite a few clothing items for her daughter. It was the least she could do.
Even though Minho had set aside a monthly allowance which she could spend only for Jina's needs as per their new agreement, she did not touch a single cent of it. Minho's anger at her was justified to some extent but she still had her own pride and refused to touch his money. Instead, she secretly used that money to make trust funds for Jina's college education.
"Maybe we should look at other stores," Jina suggested. "This place doesn't have nice stuff!"
"Alright," Gayoon agreed and they left the store. They were heading for another store while Jina kept a lookout for her father.
Where is he? She wondered, scanning through the crowd. A few meters ahead, she saw that a large group of people had gathered around, watching something in excitement.
"Ahn Jaewan is coming?" one of the spectators asked eagerly.
The mention of Ahn Jaewan made Jina forget everything else. Jaewan oppa? Her Jaewan oppa?
The little girl's lips broke into a wide smile and her eyes lit up as millions of stars floated in front of her.
"Mom!" she exclaimed. "Can we go and see Jaewan oppa?"
"Uhh…"
Gayoon hesitated at Jina's request. It had been almost nine years since she had seen Jaewan and even though they were acquainted in the past, he was a famous celebrity now. She felt a little guilty for leaving him behind without saying goodbye and doubted that he would even remember her. Still, she could not help but feel nostalgic about the snarky germaphobe who always had her back.
"Come on mommy!" Jina begged. "I really wanna meet Jaewan oppa!"
She widened her eyes and pouted in acute way, knowing fully well that Gayoon would never be able to resist her. And she was right.
"Fine," Gayoon conceded. "But only from afar. The security won't let us near him."
"Yaii!" Jina jumped happily and took her mother's outstretched hand as Gayoon led her through the crowd. I'll just not get too close, Gayoon decided.
...
Woobin was holding Mona in his one arm while talking to a client on the phone using his other hand.
"Yes, Jaewan's next drama will be a full on revenge theme," he was saying on the phone. "But we'll need tough police security. Some fans stalked him to his last drama set and he wasn't pleased after one of them touched him with her hands. He had to sanitize it for hours before he was satisfied that there weren't any germs on him."
Mona suddenly began to bark loudly and straightened up, looking highly interested. She was wagging her tail rapidly and wriggled to get out of Woobin's arm.
"Mona, don't disturb me!" Woobin scolded the dog but she was being unusually agitated as she tried to free herself. Woobin was too busy with the client on the phone who was an important producer so he loosened his grip, letting Mona slip through. He was so focused on the call, that he did not notice that Mona had run away.
...
Jaewan was at the backend office, where he stood at a corner in a rigid manner. He was offered a seat on the couch by the mall's staff but he refused to go anywhere near them. What if the couch was not clean enough? Or worse, had germs and diseases?
He patiently waited for the CEO of Hwang Constructions who was scheduled to meet him in a few minutes. He took out his phone and sprayed sanitizer on it before scrolling through it to read up on articles about himself.
Other than a few baseless dating rumors, there was not a single interesting news about himself. As a celebrity, he liked to keep daily updates on what others were saying about him. Like his possessions, he liked his image clean and crisp. It was not an obsession but, in his words, a necessity.
The door opened and he looked up to see a man in his mid thirties entering the room. Jaewan immediately recognized him as Hwang Minho, the infamous CEO of Hwang Constructions who was termed as Vesudas, a mix between the volcano which destroyed Pompeii and the character of Midas.
Minho eyed the celebrity in front of him warily. He was not a fan of such endorsements but if Ahn Jaewan could bring him money, he did not mind.
"It's a pleasure to meet you," Minho said gracefully. He knew about Ahn Jaewan's aversion to handshakes and did not bother to extend his hand. Jaewan did not reply but squinted his eyes, scrutinizing Minho.
"I believe your endorsement alone would make millions of dollars worth revenue for my company," Minho went on. "However, if we see that the deal is not profitable enough then I will not hesitate to cut off ties with you. So you must have a clean image throughout the duration of our campaign."
Jaewan pursed his lips, and was resisting himself from doing something with great difficulty. Minho was a little confused by the man's attitude but acted in a professional manner.
"As you know, I'm very particular about my money and records so I expect this project to become the most profitable venture-"
"AGH! I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE!" Jaewan yelled. Minho was taken aback and was about to tell him off for his rudeness when Jaewan took out a packet of wipes from his pocket. He tore it open and began to wipe Minho's face, much to the latter's chagrin.
"What the hell are you doing?" he asked, feeling aghast.
"You had a tiny ink spot on your face," Jaewan muttered in horror as he rigorously wiped Minho's cheek.