— MUSEUM.

@JEON HYOSUNG Evident shock and loss of words were two ailments that never affected Kim Jongin. In fact, the coolness, or as some would say lack of emotion, was a trademark of his identity while on the job. Whatever bumps in the road, he was always able to talk or act himself out of. Nothing positive or negative ever seemed to greatly him, but then and there, there was absolutely no way for even him to completely conceal his surprise. He must have looked like an idiot for a few seconds, standing there blankly after shaking the man’s hand, all the small talk and introductions simply flowing through one ear and out the other like water through a net. The initially suave smile on his lips now felt so uncomfortable and he didn’t even realize the fact that she had basically stood him up on the handshake, not even realizing the reason behind his client’s nervous laughter. By the time he had recovered his usual unfaltering and unflawed mask, Jongin had lost his entire train of thought, his head focused on a plethora of things, from how he had left her, the day of the accident, his life since, and her presence in general. Anything and everything /but/ the contract he had come to the institution for.

Well, it wasn’t like he exactly needed a formal, third-party introduction to the female anyways. Or did he? Now that he really thought about it, he couldn’t even quantify the amount of time that had passed since he had last seen her. In that period, he himself had changed so much, both externally and internally. He wouldn’t be surprised if the once so familiar female in front of him had undergone a similar change as well. Reluctantly he had to admit whatever visible changes that occurred were obviously further beneficent. But again, that was beside the point, for all he knew, they could be just as much as strangers as they were forced to act like now. He wasn’t quite yet sure whether that would prove to be a comfort or a fatal flaw. Nine times out of ten, he hated encountering people from his past as more often than not, as he only disappointed them with how much the events of that one day had changed him in terms of life aspirations, mentality, and demeanor. But then again this wasn’t just some anybody standing before him. This was Jeon Hyosung and he couldn’t decide whether to be relieved or fearful.

Having lost where this conversation with his client had gone while he was lost in his thoughts, Jongin simply flashed a gleaming smile, nodding along to whatever the man, her father, had just said. By the time he had tuned in again, her father was already hinting at discussion about the actual contract. All the while, he couldn’t help himself but to steal the occasional glance over at her – it was clear to him of all people that this situation between the three of them was really putting her at capacity. Hell, it becoming unbearable for him as well. Perhaps he could at least remove her father from this messy equation then deal with whatever would ensue afterwards.
“That all sounds well and done, Mr. Jeon. I assure you I’ll try my best to leave this evening with something favorable for the both of us. Now could I possibly get a more in depth tour of this place?”

He stole another glance at her, internally sighing a bit with an indescribable combination of emotions and having to purposefully tear his gaze away before addressing her father further. Then he looked around the lavish hall to at least seem decently interested and engaged in what he was supposed to be doing before slightly raising an eyebrow, shifting his gaze purposefully between her father and her.

“Perhaps… your daughter would be interested in doing the honors?”

@KIM JONGIN Just like how he knew she would do, and later scolded her about getting on his “nerves” with the way she was behaving, the longer Hyosung found herself waiting beside her father, the sassier and infuriating she had became to him, and anyone else that looked at the two of them as if they were misplaced. It was laughable! How could the owner and the co-manager be lost in a place the both of them knew inside and out? The thought alone had caused her to roll her eyes and disregard the looks she got from both men and women whenever they walked by her and her father. Impatient she was, and impatient she will always be whenever it came to business meetings. If it wasn’t for her father dragging her to this meeting, she would have been at home painting or watching the latest movies on Netflix… Oh how she missed her—

“Mr. Jeon? Hopefully I didn't keep you waiting for too long.”

Now, her father was the first one to laugh out in relief and turn around and shake his partner’s hand. Hyosung, however, was already stuck in place from the memories rushing through her mind and her soul all at once. His voice was the first thing that gave him away… She didn’t need to know his name to identify that it was HIM, the man that she promised herself she would never think about again. How could this be it? He was the business man her father was supposed to work with? She could feel going dry, soon followed by her tongue sweeping along her lips to moisten them as she tried to keep her cool. She didn’t want to ruin this for her father, but at the same time, was this young man even dependable? Didn’t he leave her like the others who promised to always stay close to her? Though she was still battling her own demons at that very moment, she knew how important this meeting was to her father. And she cared about his feelings, and his business, but…

‘Kim Jongin. Jongin…’

The name had continued to play itself inside of her mind as if she was going insane. When her father had lightly elbowed her on “accident” she grunted and huffed a bit, knowing that she had no choice but to mask the pain, anger, and denial running through her core. Turning around slowly and forcing a weak smile, she kept her hands by her side – her glare piercing straight through the man that held his hand out to shake both her, and her father’s. She was positive her father had got done shaking his hand, and when he looked up at his daughter – she crossed her arms and cleared , showing how she felt about the entire situation. With a nervous laugh escaping his lips, it was obvious that there was some tension on her side – but her father was a bit clueless as to why.
The first few minutes of the conversations had started out with the casuals “how do you do” and “this is my daughter”. Her gaze had dropped towards the floor as she chewed at her bottom lip, not knowing how to control herself and to stop herself from rising up her hand to slap him, push him, hug him, take his hand and ask him why… When those thoughts had started to invade her brain, she did her best to look elsewhere, knowing that her mood was decreasing the longer she stood there. She had zoned out to what else her father had been saying, her eyes occasionally glancing over to the man that was supposed to be a stranger to her now; a man that had grew up, and carried himself well.

@JEON HYOSUNG Don't get him wrong, Jongin could easily name ten other jobs he'd rather be doing than what he was currently doing. It turned out he was pretty good at this investment thing, even if it made no moral sense to him; the concept of him being able to wield his will over the businesses that other people based their entire lives in building was just flat out strange to him. But since when did he ever live for morals and justice in the first place? Right now this job of his racked in the income and kept his head busy, especially with the abnormally large number of cases he was accepting, and that was all he could ask for. Fixing the cuffs on his fitted, black blazer, he made his way through the marble floored, grand lobby of the museum, not being able to resist the urge to look around a bit, as there was plenty for the eyes to feast on in this place. It was funny to him in a sense - that even art was becoming a business now. What the hell was he supposed to invest in? Hope that the figures in the paintings on the wall didn't walk off?

Briefly checking his phone, Jongin paused before taking a turn into one of the exhibit halls. Mr. Jeon was the man he was supposed to see this evening, although how he was supposed to find the head curator in this place was beyond him. He was told to meet the man in the modern art wing, and although that's where he had found his way into, there were plenty of other men clad in suits as well, any one of which looked just as much of a Mr. Jeon as the next one did. Stopping by one of the security guards, Jongin had his client pointed out to him. He glanced over at who the guard had indicated, quickly discerning the man's back silhouette and also taking note of a young woman standing next to him, although he could see neither's face from where he currently was. Jongin nodded a quick thanks to the guard before beginning to take long, swift steps toward the identified figure. Approaching from behind, he plastered on a pleasant enough smile before clearing his throat quietly and preparing a hand for the man - and perhaps the woman too - to shake.

"Mr. Jeon? Hopefully I didn't keep you waiting for too long. Kim Jongin."

@KIM JONGIN With her cherry lips pursing together at the painting before her, Hyosung took a moment and looked down at the notepad in her hold before she started writing down a few things, while repeating the process of analyzing, picking out the things that caught her eyes – before writing them down again. It had been awhile since her father opened up a few of the local museums, along with just stores and bookstores in general. The museum that she was currently in didn’t have much hope from her father, but the artwork that many young artists were sending in had taken her by surprise, and pleased her – along with her stubborn old man. It of course made her smile, since she even saw a few of her students submitting in their paintings and sculptures to be put up – making her feel a little more confident in what she had doubts when it came to majoring in, and what she was teaching others. Obviously she was doing something right at this point. With her fingers running through her shoulder length hair, she her heels and strutted her way towards where her father was standing; viewing, and probably thinking of a new depiction for the place.

“It’ll pay off.”

Had been his favorite thing to say to her, no matter what the situation was, or if it related to his saying or not... With her nails raking along the red, sleeveless hugging dress that stopped at her thighs, she patiently tapped her black stilettos and looked for this “partner” that would help her father’s business out. She heard quite a few rumors escalating around the building about the male her father was meeting with, but none of them seemed hopeful or interesting enough for her to stay and listen to. She needed to see what the buzz was all about herself. “Don’t forget to play nice, Hyo.”
Her father mumbled as he took sight of his daughter’s piercing gaze, knowing that she was probably already thinking ahead of the situation. “Since when do I not play nice, father? You can’t just give away your personal belongings without trusting the person, right?” With her gaze dropping from the arm that was slightly nudging her side, she occupied her time by greeting a few others that walked by – bowing and telling them where certain rooms were at whenever they asked or looked confused. Where was he anyway? If he already had the “blessings” of her father, she knew that there must have been something promising about him.