Arranged Marriage

Nayeon’s POV

I woke up to my alarm ringing, it was 7 on a Monday morning. I hated everything about Mondays, it is the day that I am forced to go back to work, make decisions, and be the boss for everyone.

 I am Im Nayeon, the current CEO of a Multinational business called SRP industries which is headquartered in Seoul, South Korea. 

Only a few years after I became the CEO I finally had the courage to come out to my parents and tell them that I am a lesbian, they took the news pretty well. They did not force me to do anything but I always did everything that they asked for because I could never refuse my parents. 

I got up to put my shoes on and went to the gym for my daily workout, the only part of the day that I enjoyed. I could let go of all responsibilities, stress, and burdens and just focus on lifting weights. I finished working out and went back to my room to take a nice hot shower. I got out and got dressed for work. 

As a person who is around so many different people on a daily basis, I lived alone in a penthouse. I hated having anyone around in my apartment so I didn’t even allow myself to have maids, it was my only sacred personal place and I wanted it to be exclusive to me. It has its downsides,  not having maids means that I have to cook for myself all the time. I liked cooking but some days I just get very lazy. But the pros outweigh the cons and I liked my independence.

I drove to work listening to some classical music. It helped me calm my nerves and get ready for the very hectic day that I was going to have. 

Working as a CEO was very difficult for me.  I did not like to play the boss with the personnel as I didn’t feel as smart or competent as the people around me. The only reason I had the role is that my father retired and chose me as his successor. I have to work extra hard just to make sure I do not destroy what my dad had built. 

Once I entered the building, I put my boss’s mask on. To my employees, I was a cold, demanding and calculative person, but only a few people knew my true personality and I wanted to keep it that way. I walked through the department with a confident stride while the employees greeted me, and I responded with a simple head nod. After I reached my office, my secretary walked in to inform me about my schedule. I listened to her and took note of what I needed to finish before having to head out for a meeting. I was getting ready for the first meeting of the day when I got a call from my father, he does not call very often so it must have been something very important. I picked up the phone.

“Good morning dad, How are you?”

“I’m good. I am calling because I have something important that I need to talk about with you. There’s a woman we want you to know. She’s the daughter of a well-established company in Japan and I think she’ll be the perfect match for you. I’m talking about marriage, Nayeon. You will be meeting her today at 6:00 PM at the Starfire restaurant. Don’t be late, and don’t harm the reputation of our family.”

“What?! Why was I not told that you were trying to get me married and I am not free today, can you please reschedule it for another day dad, I have a packed schedule today. I don’t think I have the time for a date”. I didn’t want to get married and especially not to someone that I don’t know. My father scared me so much that I didn’t even try to oppose him.

“You don’t have to worry about that, I will have someone take care of your schedule. This is a very important date so you better not mess up”. 

“Okay dad, I will meet her. Send her details and her picture to my secretary so I at least know what I’m in for”. My only excuse failed and I don’t want to argue with him because it is pointless.

“Good, I will have my secretary forward those details. This date is not only about getting you a partner. It would be an important union that can seriously benefit SRP industries”

Before I could say anything or ask him what he was talking about he hung up. I hated it, I did not want to get married, and I did not want to go on this date but I had no choice. If my dad had decided something, there was nothing I could do to change his mind. 

I went back home to get dressed appropriately for the dinner. For some reason, I felt very nervous and didn’t know what I should wear for a date, so I picked up the phone and called my best friend, Momo. She answered relatively fast considering she usually just ignores my calls. 

“Wow! That is a first, I cannot believe you answered my call”

“Keep talking like that and I am going to hang up just as fast as I answered!”

“Sorry, please don’t hang up. I am in desperate need of your help. I need to pick a dress. I am going to meet someone important for dinner tonight and I cannot decide what I should wear.”

“Did you finally get yourself a girlfriend? I can help with that, don’t worry. I don’t want you to wear something ugly for the first date with your girlfriend”

“She is not my girlfriend! She is supposed to be the girl I will marry.”

“What?!” she screamed. 

“Yah! do not scream in my ears!”

“How are you so nonchalant about this entire situation? Your tone doesn’t show any irritation. Shouldn’t you be angry or even rant about how you didn’t want to get married? You always said that you would never get married, why the sudden change?”

“My parents set it up and I couldn’t say ‘no’ so now I have to meet her. Time is running out so are you going to be helpful or not?”

“Okay, okay. I will help you, but we are going to talk about this later.”

I tried on some dresses that I thought made me look pretty. She shot down all the proposals, they were all ‘boring’ and ‘unfashionable’ so she made me show her all the dresses in my closet. After what felt like an hour she finally found the only dress she liked. It was a floral patterned off-the-shoulder dress that ended a little above my knees. The dress was a little too short for my standards but it looked very pretty so I was happy with her choice.

She also assisted me with the makeup. With her help, I was finally ready. I looked at the clock and it was still 5:00 PM, I still had 30 minutes left, because the restaurant was 30 minutes away. I was nervous to meet this woman, though I asked my father to send me the details and her picture, his secretary only sent her details. Her name was Myoui Mina, it sounded very elegant and nice. I was both excited and nervous to meet her. I just hoped she was a nice person as I didn’t want to spend the rest of my life with someone rude and cold-hearted. 

I left for the hotel, hoping for the best. I just wanted to be my true self in front of her and see how she would react. 

Mina’s POV

My sleep got disturbed because of the sunlight, I turned around and found the girl I picked up and fucked last night. It was a boring experience, the girl couldn’t keep up with my rhythm, and it almost seemed like she was trying to achieve something more than just a one-night stand.

I am the daughter of Myuoi Isamu, the owner of Akira Motors, a well-established company in Japan. I left Japan at the alone age of 16 for South Korea. Staying away from my parents allowed me the freedom to do whatever I wanted. I am a fashion designer, so I meet a lot of people on a daily basis, most of them single women looking for stylish dresses. I end up sleeping with most of them. I owe a lot to my parents because they have always been there for me, they have been supportive no matter what I wanted to do, they never forced me to do anything nor did they ever ask anything of me. 

I still felt the hangover from last night, perhaps I exaggerated with drinks. Trying to get over it I went to a nearby restaurant to grab some spicy Kimchi stew. While I was eating I received a call from my father, we talked pretty often so it was not out of the ordinary for him to call me.

“Hi dad, how are you?”

“Hi Mina, I am good, how are you, my daughter? ”

“I am doing fine, what is with that tone? it feels like you are going to ask me to do something I don’t like. What are you planning?”

“That’s very rude of you to assume. I just wanted to talk to my daughter.”

“Oh, really?”

“I am calling you for a reason. We found a woman, I think you’ll like her. She is the current CEO of SRP industries. I arranged a date tonight between you two. It would be nice if you… consider her for marriage.”

“What?! Dad, I told you a million times I don’t want to get married. I hate the concept of marriage, I don’t need you to find me a woman.”

“Please Mina, listen. Go meet her once and try to get to know her. She is a very nice person. I won’t force you to marry her if you don’t like her, but please go on this date.. If you do like her and choose to marry her then it would be a great help to our company as well.”

“Fine, I will meet her just because you are asking me to but if I do not like her you will drop this topic immediately.”

“Of course. Thank you so much for understanding Mina, I will text you the hotel address, and be there at 6:00 PM.”

“Okay, I will let you know how it goes. Bye, take care dad!”

After I finished eating, I went to my office to figure out some designs and take care of some papers. I got ready and headed to the restaurant where I was supposed to meet Im Nayeon. I was not very interested in this date as I was already planning on rejecting this arrangement any way. I reached the restaurant ten minutes early so I went to the table reserved under my name. I ordered a glass of wine as I waited for her to arrive. As I sipped blithely on my drink I heard someone address me quietly  “Are you, Myoui Mina?”

Nayeon’s POV

I entered the restaurant and asked for the table reserved under the name of Myoui Mina, the waiter led me to the table where a blonde woman with a beautiful figure was sitting. I gently asked, “Are you, Myoui Mina?”

She turned around and, God was she pretty, she was so pretty I could stare at her for an entire day and not get bored. I noticed that I was staring at her for way too long when I didn’t catch what she answered to me. I was so embarrassed but I asked her to repeat what she said. 

“Yes, I am Myoui Mina. I assume that you are Im Nayeon,” Mina said as she reached out her hand.