Chapter 36: What is this Feeling?

  "Jesse Evans! I missed you so much!" Liz excitedly shrieked.

The man was caught off guard by the young lady who suddenly jumped into his arms, the force of which nearly caused him to take a step back. Since the moment Rich had gestured over towards the back of the studio, Jesse's attention had been focused on Miyeon. His friend had briefly explained Liz's recent selfish behavior of flying to A City on a whim and only Miyeon had been available to help pick her up from the airport. Truthfully, Jesse was extremely concerned that Liz would play some childish prank on Miyeon upon her arrival. So, he was eager to check that the latter was alright.

Jesse looked down at the 163cm brunette that was energetically attempting to pull down his face for a peck on the cheek when he felt a sudden flash of annoyance. As a man who already made the decision to pursue the woman he loves, he disliked the thought of another female casually touching his half-clad body. Especially knowing Liz harbors romantic feelings for him, he didn't want to give her false hope. Moreover, he didn't want to create a misunderstanding for Miyeon. 

Yet aside from the slight furrow of his brow, no other vestige of this negative emotion was visible on his handsome face. Still the perfect British gentleman, he gently pulled away Liz's arms from his neck and body and gave her a tepid welcome greeting. Then taking on the role of a 'big brother,' Jesse told Liz to call her parents and let them know she's arrived safely in C Country. Jesse gave her head a quick pat and  informed Liz that he'd already booked her a room at a hotel nearby his apartment. And before Jesse turned his back to her, he gave Liz a pointed look to indicate that this was a nonnegotiable arrangement if she wants to stay in Y City. 

On the other hand, Liz was so surprised at what she deemed to be Jesse's sudden distant demeanor that she almost forgot how to speak.

'What is this? Why is Jesse acting this way? He's never been this cold to me. Even after I've caused him and his exes to break-up, he would always treat me affectionately. Could it be? He wasn't lying when he said that he has someone he loves now?' Liz's mind became filled with these thoughts that she was unaware of the sudden change in her expression. Almost abruptly, Liz had the urge to grab hold of Jesse's arm, desperately wanting an explanation. 

  However, Jesse consciously took a step back to avoid her touch. Ignoring the crestfallen look on his childhood friend's face, Jesse kept walking towards the direction of Miyeon who was currently in the middle of a cheerful exchange with Rich. 

"Hey Irene. You look beautiful as always," Jesse said softly upon reaching the two.

"[Cough Cough Cough] That's slick, mate," Rich cheekily interjected.

"Pfft. Thanks Jesse. You don't look so shabby yourself." Miyeon replied smiling. 'Well he certainly has a nice body. It's no wonder he was so popular in uni.'

"Aight, before I even become more of an afterthought, I'll go ahead and make myself scarce." Rich said with a feigned look of disappointment. "Talk to you later, baby girl."

"Alright, drama queen," Miyeon responded laughingly. 

"Thanks for picking up Liz from the airport. I owe you one," Jesse said somewhat apologetically once Rich was out of earshot.

"Hmm. I'm keeping tabs you know. I just might start charging interest." Miyeon jokingly responded.

"You can charge as much as you want," Jesse fondly said. And Miyeon merely smiled in reply as she'd already grown accustomed to Jesse's sweet talk. 

"By the way, did Liz give you any trouble earlier?" (Jesse)

"Not at all. She was quite nice." (Miyeon).

Jesse breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing Miyeon's response. It seems Liz hasn't realized that Miyeon was the person he was referring to during their previous phone call.

Meanwhile, as Liz stood several feet away watching the scene unfold before her, she felt a piece of her heart break. 'Why are you speaking to her so tenderly when you were so lukewarm with me?'

...........

Meanwhile, Robert Zhou Le Ciel's photographer, returned from a short break to see his model happily chatting with a remarkably attractive asian woman wearing blue denim jeans with a white button down top. Perhaps on impulse or maybe photographer's intuition, he began to take several behind the scenes shots featuring the pair. In fact, he had felt although Rich and Jesse certainly made a picturesque sight, there was an element missing. 

Upon seeing Miyeon, Robert realized what it was. It lacked feminine allure to balance the overt virile manliness exuded by the pair. The young lady's asian beauty also doesn't pale in comparison to the gentlemen's striking Anglo-Saxon features.

Looking more closely, the trio seem to complement each other well. In fact, the image also presents a powerful message, C County standing toe to toe with the English. 'Wouldn't that be a more tempting advert?' Robert smiled as he thought to himself.

With this new found purpose, Robert strode towards Miyeon.

......…..:....

The ensuing discussion eventually resulted in an ad-hoc job for Miyeon for the brand LeVy Strauzz Jeans. This was of course only achieved after much convincing on the part of Le Ciel's photographer. Yet, even more surprising to Robert was that Miyeon remained unwilling to sign an exclusive contract with Le Ciel despite already working on several one off projects and being well acquainted with the chief designer. 'I don't know if this girl is really just lowkey or she's plain stupid. Something like this could really put her on the map if she had the right fashion house to back her,' Robert mused as he called an early end to the shoot. They will resume tomorrow morning once Miyeon's contract is finalized. 

In the meantime, Robert decided to release some behind the scenes shots he took earlier on the company's Veibo page as a teaser, unaware of the subsequent tumult to arise.

..........

  Incheon International Airport, Arrivals Terminal

Accompanied by Secretary Jin, Lu Minzhe landed at Incheon International Airport that afternoon for business negotiation with another conglomerate. As he waited for the luxury chauffeur service to arrive, he disabled the airplane mode on his smartphone and began to casually scroll through his Veibo. As the CEO of Lu Corporation, he has several organizations and business associates on his following list, Le Ciel happening to be one of them. Lu Minzhe would 'like' some posts every now and then as a method to maintain & foster business relations in public. However, a certain post caused his fingers to stop mid scroll, his eyes widened at a behind the scene shot of a male model casually cupping Miyeon's face in his hands. The latter had her face upturned, looking at the man with a sweet smile on her face.

In that instant, Lu Minzhe felt a sharp pang in his heart. He felt uncomfortable at the sight of Miyeon with that good looking blond model. 'What is this feeling?'