— RESTAURANT.

@MARK TUAN Patiently she waited for his response, curious as to how he was going to reply to her - or if he was going to reply at all. He didn't seem all that interested in the entire dinner party, but she knew she couldn't blame him. He probably had other things to do and well, being in a place where you hardly knew anyone can be quite overwhelming, at least, to her. When he opened his mouth to speak – she was quick to turn her wondering eyes upon his figure once more, yet the moment he started conversing with her; the smile that once lit her lips had suddenly faded into the blank expression she now held on her features. No… this wasn’t possible.

It couldn’t have been him – could it?

With the way he was casually speaking to her, she couldn’t determine if he was trying to play it off, if he had forgotten what she sounded like, or if he was possibly a different man from the one that had been on her line the last few weeks. She was commonly precise about these types of situations – not the whole, coming across one of her customers and being accurate on who they were, but, when it came down to her assumptions, she was nine out of ten correct in most cases. But with the way he was acting, it had thrown her off and left her in a daze. She stood there rigid for the first few seconds, trying her best to plan out how she was going to slowly excuse herself from the conversation due to how heated her face was starting to become. Maybe… she could ask a few more questions in order to figure it out, or see his reaction to the things she would say. But even that small part of her that was telling her to do it, didn’t make the cut.

“I think tonight is starting to get pretty interesting.”

She softly murmured the last words, her fingers running through her hair as she gently bit down on her bottom lip out of habit. If he was the man from the phone, how crazy was that! To come face to face with someone you had promised to commit all these ual acts with was so… surreal.

“Excuse me; I have to go to the restroom.” Hyosung had finally spoken up, deciding that she didn’t have the courage to confront him. She didn’t want to make a fool out of herself either. Turning around hastily, she made her way through the crowd in hopes of not catching the attention of her father. Her mind was clouded with many thoughts, explicit images, words spoken between him and her – making her body blaze due to the many sets of emotions running through her core. Hurriedly making her way towards the empty hall, she leaned against the walls that had nothing but shadows of items reflecting upon it due to how dimmed the lights were. Was she… Reaching for her “work” phone, she had gazed down at the numbers saved in it, cursing the heavens that she wasn’t gifted with their real names – just like they weren’t given her real name. Maybe she was freaking out for no reason, it couldn’t possibly be him. But the urge to just dial his number and make sure she wasn’t driving herself mad was temptation itself…

@JEON HYOSUNG After being introduced, Mark found himself getting lost in his thoughts again. Anyways, it didn't take much effort - usually all he had to do was smile and pretend to nod along.

The older man chuckled and said something, and upon seeing the amused expressions on his parents, Mark followed along and put on a grin. A few more exchanges followed, then his parents moved to one side, their attention diverted by the man as they continued to talk. Seeing this, Mark felt at ease and was about to leave and return to the room, when the woman spoke to him.

Oh right, he had forgotten about h - wait.

Mark Tuan knew this voice all too well.

A shiver running down his spine, he took a good look at the female, scanning her from head to toe. Her in a place like this, her as a college professor? Mark shook his head. He couldn't imagine it. No, it must be a coincidence - after all, there are almost ten million people living in Seoul alone; it surely must not be uncommon for two people to have similar voices. Regaining his posture, he recalled what she had asked him and replied.

"Yes, the experience has been truly wonderful and enlightening so far. It has only fostered my passion in the field of medicine. And no need to worry - at five years old, I wanted to become a construction worker." Mark chuckled, recalling the thought. "Thank you for asking; I am enjoying myself tonight, and I hope you will, too." Of course, the first part was a lie - hell, he was bored out of his mind.

@MARK TUAN When the professor finally turned away for a split second, Hyosung’s father turned to her and smiled, nodding his head in approval of not only the event, but the man she had introduce him to. She could see the look in her father’s eyes as well, letting her know that the word “business” would come up sooner or later. As much as she loved him, there were times where he just didn’t know how to stop himself. Shaking her head at the thought, when she heard the professor introduce her and her father to his son – she was quick to bow her head out of respect, followed by a small tap on her hand by her father.

“Would you look at that, you have a son that’s visually gifted and talented!” Her father chuckled softly as he bowed his head as well, impressed at hearing “Seoul Hospital”. She already knew what was going to leave his lips. “You know, I was telling Hyo to pursue that dreams of hers of being in the medical field, but you know how stubborn kids can be.” Her father had thought he whispered this to the professor, but he was just as loud as he started when they first came here.

The look on her face could elucidate it all, but it was another humorous expression she had portrayed numerous of times before.

“Father, could you not do this?” Hyosung mumbled softly as she gently nudged his side, her eyes soon meeting the professor’s and the woman beside him expression; which to her surprise, seemed as if they were highly entertained by her father. Now that would have been the first time in a long time.

“I’m just saying honey; you know how I can be.”

“Excuse him, but it’s an honor to meet you all.” Was the first thing she said when she was able to speak again, bowing yet again to both the adults, and now, the professor’s son. When her father had started to engage into another conversation with the older male, Hyosung took it upon herself to finally look the younger stranger up and down; mentally agreeing to what her father had said about him earlier, and pleased with his choice of style from head to toe.

He indeed was attractive; there was no doubt about it.

“I’ve heard all about you from your father, Mr. Tuan. I take it that Seoul Hospital is everything you hoped for it to be? I remember wanting to get into it, but I was five at the time, so please excuse my father on that one.” It was hard conversing with people she hadn’t met before, or would never see again. But since everyone was bonding, she took it as another opportunity for her to do the same. “Are you enjoying yourself tonight?”

@JEON HYOSUNG Scanning his surroundings only to hear the sounds of light chatter and polite laughter and to see all the vaguely-familiar faces of his father's friends and coworkers, the brown-haired male let out a sigh, loosened his tie a little, and looked down at the wine glass in his hand, swirling it lightly.

It was safe to say that Mark Tuan did not want to be here.

And it wasn't necessarily because he disliked his father - they did indeed have a fine father-son relationship - but rather because these parties and celebrations were pointless and more grand than necessary, in his opinion. It was as if the man simply wanted to show off to everyone he knew - Hey, I received a promotion because I'm just that great and that intelligent - and even that, Mark could be okay with, but his father always insisted on his son attending these social events. He barely even knew half the people in attendance, and had better things to do than shake hands and smile at strangers, presidential election-style.

At least this time, his father agreed to let him bring a guest, and he had asked his girlfriend, who immediately agreed. However, she had a prescheduled event right before, and would be a little late.

"Mark!" His father's voice cut through the air, and he rolled his eyes as he turned to walk over to where his parents were.

"What is it?" He asked, a hint of exasperation in his voice. His gaze following the direction his parents were looking at, he met the eyes of a woman in a white blouse and black skirt and an older man, who was most likely her father.

"Mark, I'd like to introduce you to Miss Jeon Hyosung and her father. Miss Jeon is one of my fellow professors at the university, and she teaches art," his father told him before turning back to face the two guests with a smile, "and this is my son, Mark. He's currently completing his first year of residency at Seoul Hospital."

The male immediately bowed to the two, not speaking a word, and smiled politely, though uninterested.

@MARK TUAN Smoothing out her black skirt, along with her white, sleeveless blouse, Hyosung reapplied her red lipstick as her driver made his way towards one of Seoul’s Top Restaurants. The man hosting the party told her she could bring whoever she wished to bring, though of course, someone who would be respectful during the event. Since Hyosung and the professor who was having the party knew each other for quite awhile, the young female decided to bring her father in hopes for the two of them, the professor and her daddy – to get to know one another since she had found the professor and his friends that she did meet, motivating and remarkable. She also knew her daddy needed friends, positive and lovely friends – to be more exact. When they pulled up at the restaurant, she was the first one to step out of the car, eager to meet and congratulate the professor herself since he did deserve his promotion. She had one day hoped to be at his level, successful, and happy wit a family to call her own. Linking her arms with her father, her pink heels had made a small sound with every step that she took, smiling and bowing her head at some of the coworkers she saw at her work place.
With her fingers brushing a few strands of hair behind her ear, she immediately smiled instinctively when she saw the professor with an older woman – whom she assumed to be his wife. Waving her hand at the cheery figures, she tugged on her father’s arm to lead him into the right direction. “Mr. Tuan, it’s good to see you again. I would love to say congrats to the promotion and introduce you to my father, Mr. Jeon.” Hyosung spoke to him respectfully, bowing her head before she put the attention on her father. She watched as the two of them greeted one another, causing her to beam at this. Tonight didn't seem like it could go wrong. The atmosphere was nice, her father was enjoying himself, and she was... at peace.