The trial show was better than I thought. No one tripped. No one ripped anything. Nothing came undone. I was able to sit back and enjoy what the real show was supposed to look like. It was amazing and I couldn't help but praise Young-ho and Dae-jung for their excellent work. I could say the same for myself, but I feel they were the stars of the show.
"Your outfit fit her perfectly," Young-ho exclaimed. "How did you manage to get it altered in an hour?"
"You know me..." I shrugged.
"Imagine if everyone was here to see that. I'm even more proud of you than Monsieur Délon."
"I'm truly flattered, Young-ho, but I feel you and Dae-jung need to take all the credit."
"I wish we could, but there were others out there who had outfits that surpassed us both."
"No worries," Dae-jung said as he walked up to us. "When we reveal Monsieur Délon's hidden clothing line...guess who's going to be banging at our doors for investments?"
"Hopefully not Vera Wang," I muttered.
"Why not Vera Wang?"
"She scares me. Do you not know how old she is? I'd love to be dead before that age. Wedding dresses aren't my style anyway."
Dae-jung shook his head with a slight smile on his face. I was being serious. There was no way you'd catch me that old. Vera was still beautiful, but I don't think I'll still look this good when I was older. It's better to keep this face now and turn heads than be old and get odd looks for still being alive.
"All jokes aside," Young-ho said. "We've done all we can for today. The show is in less than three weeks. I believe we can do this and get the attention of Ralph Lauren."
"I truly respect him." I smiled.
"What are we doing today anyway? Monsieur Délon said we have the rest of our day off. I know we haven't had a minute off since our flight, so you can do whatever you want. Sleep, eat...tour."
"Are you saying we should tour the city?"
"No. It was a suggestion." Young-ho chuckled and shoved his hands in his pockets. "...Yes. I'm definitely saying we should tour."
Dae-jung and I laughed. Young-ho had always been the one to love France. Both of his parents were French and I'm guessing he thinks of it as his home, too. He knows more about it than the both of us combined. How he never gets lost is a wonder to me. I can barely tour Seoul and I've lived there for over four years.
"Don't we have to meet with Cesca today?" I asked and looked at my watch.
"...No. Monday," Dae-jung said. "If you want, we could always drop by Monsieur Délon's house and go see him. I'm sure his wife would love to see us again."
"That's actually not a bad idea. Let's take Nicolette."
"Whyyyyy?" Young-ho groaned. "She literally gets in the way of everything. I don't like it."
"I love Nicolette. If she didn't have a boyfriend, she'd be mine." Dae-jung smiled.
I couldn't help but laugh. Dae-jung had always been like that. I was worried he'd go overboard with that if he saw something he didn't like, but nothing has happened like that yet. Young-ho always had him under control, but this was France. Scary love could be seen as regular love to anyone here. I don't think I'd be able to stop him.
Nearly an hour later, we were in front of Monsieur Délon's home. I wanted to go back to our hotel, but they weren't having it. Nicolette had called ahead, so it was only logical we all came like she said we would. Monsieur Délon hated liars and I didn't want Nicolette to take that fall for us. Dae-jung was happy to be here, so I was only going to make sure he didn't do anything stupid. We all knew about the Délon daughters.
Young-ho pulled through the huge gates around the cul-d-sac. A valet was waiting for us to park the car for us. I sat in the car for a moment to figure out our reason for visiting. Maybe we don't need one? I was freaking out here. Nicolette knocked on the window and pointed to the house. I got out of the car, so the valet could leave. I needed to stop being so...whatever I was being.
"Monsieur Délon said they're having a late lunch, so we'll wait in the living room until they finish," she said. "Is there anything specific we're talking about today? I want to be ready."
"I don't think so. We might just talk about the mock show and meet his family." I smiled.
"Oh, this should be fairly easy."
Nicolette surprised me by hooking her arm with mine. Dae-jung looked back at us and lifted an eyebrow. I shrugged not knowing what to do. Did she like me? But Dae-jung said she had a boyfriend. Did she lie to him? Or maybe she does and she does this with all the guys she comes in contact with.
I ignored the unsettling feeling and walked up the porch steps. Young-ho knocked and the door immediately opened. Monsieur Délon's daughter, Francesca, was there with multiple books in her arms. So she loved reading? A tiny head popped out from behind the door. I'm assuming she's Francesca's little sister. Or one of them. I heard they had a big family.
Another body came into view. It was a man. He looked at all of us with the most neutral expression I'd ever seen on a man. He looked at Young-ho first and tilted his head a bit. Did he know him? Or maybe seen him before. I think this might be Francesca's brother. I never knew if Monsieur Délon had any boys. Now I know.
"...What are you all doing here?" Francesca asked. "Did Pére invite you all to mess with me?"
"Of course not, Mademoiselle." Dae-jung chuckled. "We only came to meet your family and have a friendly talk. Work isn't something we bring outside."
Francesca looked at us like she knew we were lying. She looked at me and I swear I saw her cheeks flush red. Maybe I was dreaming. Nicolette waved to her.
"Mademoiselle, it's nice to see you once again," she greeted. "How are your sisters?"
"They're fine, Nicolette. Why don't you all come in? My family is just finishing lunch. Antoine will lead you all to the living room." She smiled and looked behind her at her brother.
"Pourquoi dois-je les prendre?"
"Frère, vous voyez que je suis occupé en ce moment."
"...Bien. Seulement parce que je suis un gentleman."
I really needed to brush up on my French. I could have a good conversation, but it's not the same when natives were speaking right in front of me and I didn't understand any of it. We were led inside to a huge room I doubted was a living room on weekends. Francesca's sister who opened the door was following her brother. She hadn't said anything to us yet.
"Celia, peux-tu leur tenir compagnie jusqu'à l'arrivée de papa?" Antoine asked his sister.
"Pourquoi moi?" She seemed to disagree with what he asked her to do.
"Je devais les amener ici, pas leur tenir compagnie. De plus, vous êtes meilleur pour discuter." He smiled at her and left before she could say anything else.
Everyone found a seat and made themselves comfortable. From what I heard the girl's name was Célia. A nice name for a girl like her. She looked to be in lycée. Maybe her first or second year.
"It's nice to finally meet you all," she said. "Francesca speaks highly of you."
"Really?" I asked. "It seemed she wasn't entirely excited to see us today."
"...It might be because of the call she got some time ago. I don't think she wants to come on Monday." Célia shrugged and smiled. "I told her she could do it. I would if I had the chance."
"You have the looks for it," Nicolette agreed. "I know if you asked your father he'd gladly let you start training."
"Really?"
"Yes, chérie."
I smiled. Pretty wholesome.
"I'm Byeong-ho. Young-ho and Dae-jung are both my colleagues and friends." I pointed at both of them. "Working with your sister is a bit of an incentive for us. She seems pretty straight-forward."
"Just pretty in general," Young-ho dared to say.
"That's what I told her!" Célia exclaimed. "I don't lie very often to her, but it seems that when I tell her anything good about her appearance, she believes I'm lying."
"C'est parce que vous l'êtes." Francesca entered the room without the books she had earlier. "Monsieur Kim, it is truly a wonderful and thoughtful offer, but I couldn't possibly model for you. I don't think anyone would appreciate me being there."
"I'll do it!"
My eyes snapped to the beauty behind Francesca. Her hair was a cream color with streaks of black. Her eyes seemed to be glowing brown orbs. Her lips were pulled into a smile revealing two rows of perfect white teeth. I dared to look down and I can say she most definitely had the figure of a model.
"Never mind," Francesca said. "I'll do it. Teach me anything I need to know."