Daniel Cho carried Samantha in his arms and headed towards Suite 1808 while she was in and out of consciousness. Her arms were hooked around his neck and she laid her head on his shoulder. She was so close to him that he could feel her hot breath on his neck. It tickled him but he tried so hard not to be bothered while ignoring his body's reaction.
He adjusted her in his arms and she stirred a little, her lips unintentionally grazing the skin on his neck. The sudden contact made him freeze, his steps halting on the spot. He audibly swallowed and tightened his hold on her.
'It was none of my business yet here I am,' he thought, closing his eyes for a brief second.
"Boss? Is everything okay?" Assistant Ahn probed.
Ignoring his assistant, Daniel cleared his throat and continued to walk towards the suite. He entered the room and laid Samantha on the bed gently. He straightened himself afterward but her arms still remained locked around his neck, preventing him from backing away. He turned to look at her only to find their noses were just a couple of inches away.
Their closeness allowed him to study her sleeping face and he noticed her eyebrows were knitted as if she was troubled by something. She slightly trembled, biting her bottom lip, and a tear fell from her left eye.
Seeing her like this, he didn't know why but he suddenly felt an ache in his heart. His instincts told him to protect this delicate creature. Unknowingly, he had inched closer as if he was about to kiss the corner of her eye where the tear just fell.
"Boss? The hotel staff—" Assistant Ahn entered the bedroom and he choked on his words when he saw the scene at the bed. He hurriedly turned and left.
Daniel snapped out of his daze and his eyes widened, realizing what he was about to do. 'I must really be insane! Was I just about to kiss this woman?' He cleared his throat as he forcefully unhooked her arms from him and left the room in a hurry.
As per his request, a female hotel staff cleaned Samantha and changed her into a robe. The staff left as soon as she finished and Daniel returned to the bedroom to check on Samantha.
He stood by the bed briefly and just when he was about to leave, he noticed a shiny piece on her neck. That's when he realized why she looked familiar. She was the woman he saw in the elevator last week—the one who accused him of being a pervert. He scoffed as he scanned her features. "Interesting," he smirked.
…
It was already past midnight when Daniel left the hotel and his assistant drove him home. A few minutes into the ride, he asked, "What happened to that scumbag?"
"Mr. Andrew Park has already been dealt with."
Daniel's men roughed him up a bit and sent him to the hospital. He was going to deliver him to jail but decided against it as he planned to call Andrew Park's cousin.
"Good. Have someone watch him for a while, he might do something stupid again." Daniel whipped out his phone and called someone who answered after three rings.
"President Cho… What a pleasant surprise." Damien's voice sounded light. Damien Park aka Resort King was the Chairman and CEO of Crown Resort Group, owning hotel and resort chains across the states and overseas—including Crown Hotel, the hotel that Daniel just left a few minutes ago. Damien was marked as the fourth richest man in the world and one of the youngest billionaires in his generation.
"Chairman Park, I'm sorry to call you this late. I hope I'm not disturbing you at this hour."
"You are. But I'll let it slide." Damien chuckled.
"My apologies. I called to ask for a favor."
There were glasses clinking and techno music on the other end of the line. Then a sound of a door swinging was heard and the music faded into the background. "This is something I don't hear everyday. Daniel Cho actually asking for a favor. Is Antarctica melting?"
"Mm. You should be honored," Daniel responded with an amused tone and the other chuckled.
"I'm all ears. To what do I owe the pleasure?" Damien Park listened as Daniel told him what happened in the Crown Hotel earlier where someone from the Park Family was involved. "That bastard," he commented. "I'm ashamed that he's a relative of ours. He should be thankful that he's not in the same city as I am. Anyway, thanks for handling it discreetly. I'll note his misconduct. What favor did you want to ask?"
"The security footage…" Daniel's voice trailed off but Damien already understood what he wanted.
"Don't worry. I'll take care of it. I have to keep it in the archives but it won't be easily accessible. Rest assured, this won't go out to the press."
"Thanks. I owe you one." Daniel ended the phone call and he felt slightly better after the reassurance. His mind wandered back to the woman whom he left in Suite 1808.
...
The next morning…
Samantha woke up with a throbbing headache, realizing that she wasn't in her bed and was wearing a hotel bathrobe. She saw some faint bruises on her arms, and then she suddenly recalled what happened last night—Andrew had taken advantage of her and almost succeeded. After realizing that nothing extreme happened to her, she breathed a sigh of relief.
She could have taken care of herself if only she wasn't that drunk. Regret washed her entire body and she loathed what happened, swearing that she would never drink again. Or at least, she wouldn't get drunk again.
Getting out of bed, vague images from last night flashed in her mind. She recalled seeing some man while Andrew tried to get his way with her but she could hardly remember that man's face. Her headache became unbearable and she squeezed her eyes, trying to relieve the pain but failing.
Thankful for the new set of clothes at the foot of the bed and a couple of aspirin at the nightstand, she changed into it and took the medicine. "Whoever you are, I want to thank you for a thousand lifetimes," she muttered.
Samantha did not have her purse with her as her best friend took it last night. So when she arrived at the front desk, she asked the receptionist to connect her call to a private phone number—her best friend Hannah. Samantha kept their conversation short on the phone and asked the other to pick her up at the hotel.
While Samantha waited, she asked the receptionist who booked the room she was staying at and how much her bill was so that she could pay it off, but the receptionist told her that she wasn't allowed to divulge information and that everything was taken care of. Not wanting to push it, Samantha could only thank her.
Hannah arrived and Samantha immediately jumped inside the car. "I know you have a lot of questions, Han, but I'm seriously starving and nauseous so can you please—"
"Oh my god, of course!" Without delay, Hannah drove them to her house and made her best friend some breakfast.
While Hannah was busy, Samantha checked her phone and saw dozens of missed calls and messages from Andrew and her brother Seo Joon. She decided to call her brother who answered on the first ring.
"Samantha Bella Kim, you seem to have had a wild party last night. Where are you? Are you okay?" He sounded upset.
"I'm at Hannah's and yes, I'm swell. Why?" Samantha answered nonchalantly, unsure of what to say to her brother.
"Really? I just saw the news about Andrew. Were you with him last night?"
'Ugh, yeah! I'm pretty sure he tried to force himself on me.' Samantha didn't know how much her brother knew and she wasn't aware of what news he was talking about so all she could do was probe, "Why? What happened?"
"He's—hang on." Seo Joon's secretary interrupted the conversation and Samantha waited for him to come back. "I have to go, Sammy. I have a meeting in five. I'll talk to you later."
"Sure, okay."
"Are you sure you're okay?"
"Yes, Joon... I'm fine. Don't worry about me."
"Okay, laters, Dopey," he said before ending the call.
A smile formed on her face hearing the endearment that her brother calls her from time to time. When they were kids, she liked Dopey from Snow White and the Seven Dwarves and her brother thought that the dwarf was very cute, clumsy, and adorable—kinda just like her, which prompted him to start calling her that name.
"Hannah..." Samantha said when her best friend came to join her at the table with her breakfast.
"Where were you last night? After you left for the restroom, you never came back. I got so worried about you but CJ said you left with Andrew… So I thought… Ugh, I'm such a bad friend!" Hannah sighed, looking defeated. Samantha hadn't told her anything yet but she already had a feeling when she came to fetch her best friend at the hotel and sensed her mood. If anything bad had happened to Samantha, she would never forgive herself.
Samantha told Hannah everything that she could recall from last night. Hannah got so angry that she cried out several curses here and there because of what Andrew did and partly because of how guilty she was of being an irresponsible friend. "I am so sorry, S… I feel so terrible. Forgive me." Her chin trembled.
"What are you talking about? It's not your fault. You didn't do anything wrong. I'm an adult and it was my choice to drink. What happened after that…" Samantha could only sigh, she cursed Andrew in her head a thousand times.
Hannah and Samantha's phone beeped and the two received a link to a news article about Andrew Park. Apparently, he got 'mugged' yesterday and ended up in the hospital. That was probably what Seo Joon wanted to confirm with her. Samantha was baffled as to how Andrew ended up in that state because she couldn't remember a lot from last night. Damn the liquor shots.
But she honestly couldn't care less about what happened to him. "Serves him right," she muttered under her breath.
...
Cho's Estate.
"Sweetheart, the gala is a month from now. Do you want me to find you a date?" Mrs. Cho asked her son, Daniel. The two were having afternoon tea in the garden, surrounded by colorful flowers and greenery.
"I don't need a date, Mother," Daniel answered casually.
"I know... but it's a gala, Son—A social occasion. I just wish to see you with a partner. It doesn't matter if it's a man or a woman."
Daniel raised an eyebrow. "It... doesn't matter? Did you really think I was gay?"
"Well... there are rumors, Sweetie. I can't help but—" She waved her hand dismissively. "Anyway… After what happened a long time ago, I just want to see you happy again. You're not getting any younger. It's time to move on." Mrs. Cho had a worried expression written all over her face.
"I already have. A long time ago. I don't even think about it… Until you reminded me." Daniel shook his head.
"Okay, I won't talk about the past anymore. But you can't stop me from wanting to fix you with someone. You know... I happened to run into an old friend yesterday. We haven't seen each other for a long time. She has a daughter who is a few years younger than you. She's quite pretty and I hear she's very lovely."
"You really don't want to drop this, do you?" Daniel tilted his head and his mother gave him a knowing smile as she replied, "No. Will you at least think about it?"
He let out a long sigh. "Okay, fine. I'll think about it."