Hyun-Shik parked his car somewhere along the back of the high-rise commercial building where The Little City was housed. The Little City is a very famous local cosmetics company owned by the then-model actress Song Min-Ji. It had been known that all of the girls who worked in this particular company were complete beauties with good backgrounds or expensive backing.
As there was no shortage of pretty women in this area, many would find random men just sitting by the park near the building, pretending to hang out, but were secretly checking out the ladies coming out of the building, ending their work day. But even though many men had come to try and talk to these women, most of them would not even spare the men a glance.
Why?
Probably because there was a clause in their employee contract. It said that The Little City's models, endorsers, and other members of the female workforce between the ages of twenty-one to twenty-six were forbidden to be in a relationship. They would be made to pay a huge fine, or worse, be fired from their post should they be caught violating their signed contracts. This was done to prevent undue disruption of their work and to help their careers run seamlessly. Only after they secure a ranking position or if the women get past the age limit will they be allowed to date or marry. This somehow mimicked local actresses' or artists' contracts.
Talk about being exclusive... To the company. Is that even a thing anymore? Date ban. It's really stupid... Hyun-Shik thought as he parked at the most secluded spot on the street. He glanced at his watch and saw that he still had to wait for a few more minutes. He quickly sent her a message, announcing that he was already at their usual spot and that he would wait for her.
Yuri, his girlfriend, was not only a newcomer to The Little City but was also only twenty-four years old and just a junior model at the company. So, it's safe to say that his girl cannot be seen with him or be known to have a relationship with him. Unless he wants her to get fired or something. And with the Song Corp's position right now, she had told him that it was not really the right time to announce their relationship to the world.
"Maybe we should wait for the corporation's comeback, Hyun?" He remembered her smiling at him sweetly when he had asked her whether she would like to get married before the year ended. "I'm just a new model at the company, so I can't really quit now. Also, I haven't really spent much time with your Mother and Father yet."
He sighed as he mulled over their situation.
They had met at a local gathering hosted by The Little City over a year ago. As the Song Family was still held in high regard at the time, Hyun-Shik was naturally one of the most-sought after bachelors at the gathering and he had women flock to him like he was the Pied Piper. His rugged good looks, confident demeanor, and smooth words were enough to have 90% of the gathering's female populace just melt at the sight of him.
But the only one to actually catch his interest was Yuri. Her appearance that night was enough to make him forget about the other women in the ballroom. He remembered her wearing a form-fitting mini dress, her long black hair flowing down her shoulders, and her dark-painted lips invited his ears to listen to every word she said. They hit it off right away, he remembered.
He believed at the time that he had met his muse. So, he naturally wooed her and was able to win her affection after a few months. They had not announced their relationship to anyone as Yuri requested and Hyun-Shik always felt that he could care less. He would go out on dates with her and they would spend weekends away on holiday or overseas. They would spend time at his villa and never go out until the next work day. His world had revolved around her and even when Song Corp. broke down, he felt that he could salvage anything as long as she was together with him.
It was when she accepted a contract from her present company that things started to change between them. Though they had mutually agreed that it was just right for their situation to not say anything about their being together, he felt that he had taken a backseat to her career. Also, he felt uncomfortable with the idea that maybe it was because his family's business was not doing too well that she refused his offer of marriage. At the moment, she didn't even want anybody to know that she already is in a relationship. As he had never thought about it, he was just now realizing that all he was having with her was a secret relationship.
Hyun-Shik heard a soft knock on his car window and he turned to see his girlfriend's figure outside. She wore dark glasses and had a rather large sun hat on. He quickly unlocked the door and started the engine as soon as she hopped on.
No words were said. He quickly pulled out of the space and drove away.
Only after they were a few stops away from The Little City's building did she remove her hat and glasses. Quickly fixing her hair and touching her lips, she finally turned to him to greet him.
"Hyun!" She clung to his arm and rested her head on his shoulder. "Thank you so much for picking me up. I had a really tough day at work and just had to see you! I need your arms to feel better..."
He smiled and patted her head gently, "Okay. Tell me all about it while we're eating..."