04. Is She Watching?

[Leading Phoenix Tech's CEO Lee Taeho: A Sweetheart inside a Philanderer?]

June 6, Mon: The nation and the netizens of Korea has a new heartthrob in town and as much as his past of freely rallying different women with lenient turnovers all across Seoul, Korean Netizens now speculate as to whether Phoenix's Lee Taeho is truly the playboy he poses himself to be. Women across are taking turns in putting in their two cents about his past, present and his engagement.

Lee Taeho shocked the nation by preparing an elaborate proposal this week for his one month girlfriend and Korea's Princess, Jung Haeson. The Couple left the fans skeptical as to the nature of their relationship with such a blatant publicity stunt of a proposal. But hey, one month's time is enough for a man to find his wife, as long as he has got millions of won to spare. While his disregard for his public image and his rampant business skills are quite infamous to his name, Phoenix's CEO thought it as inadequate to be simply labeled as Jung Haeson's Fiance. It seems that he is taking the long path in order to make a name for himself in any way possible. Quite the despo, aren't we? Well, I must say men surely have something to learn from Lee Taeho and his exploitation skills. After all, he has quite the number of women swooning not only for him but whatever he writes.

Last night, his best friend seemed to take the 'liberty' of sharing some old pictures of Lee Taeho. You guessed it! Teenage Taeho during his school years, quite before he became the CEO he is today. But that was not all, accompanying his high school pictures were some poorly well written love letter to a certain girl who he calls his 'future'. Well, we certainly have come so far into the future now, I wonder what his highschool love has to say about his relationship with Haeson, especially not after such a heartfelt message.

The lights came flashing the second his foot hit the cement outside the entrance and a flurry of reporters were shoving their mics into his face the next minute. He didn't know what the big deal was. Yes, an old love letter he wrote to his highschool girlfriend was leaked by his drunk best friend and with the recent engagement, the country was suddenly so interested in his character given that he didn't quite hide the fact he was…well, a manwhore during his peak years managing his company. It's better to say that he was certainly not above using whatever he had then to walk further up the ladder. Even if it means that he has to lie or flirt.

"Lee Taeho-ssi!"

"CEO Lee! What do you have to say about the scandal in relation to your marriage?"

"Sir, the netizens seem quite focused on your past and the lady in the letter, what does Miss Jung have to say about this?"

"Will Jung Haeson make a statement about this?"

"Is your relationship with Jung Haeson real?"

"What…"

"Sir….."

"Comment…."

Taeho ducked his head and brushed them off, even as they hounded him up until his car that was waiting for him around the curb. They seemed like desperate mosquitoes, buzzing near your ears irritatingly and incessantly and seemed to have no concerns for their safety or his as they shove their contraptions into his face. Even as he opened the door to his car and entered the backseat, their mics and cameras followed, lingering when he pulled the door closed.

Finally in the shelter of his car and its tinted windows, he melted into the seat, letting out a breath through his mouth as he unbuttoned his coat. He can finally breathe.

"Quite the rousing they are."

His ears perked up and he bent to look at the passenger seat. His secretary glanced at him, and looked back at her tablet without so much a greeting. Hair in a sleek bun, minimal jewelry and makeup with the straightest pantsuit you'd ever come across in your life. Even seated in a car, she appeared so composed, so tied together like the kind of adult everyone aspires to be with not a single strand of hair out of place. She didn't seem at all fazed by the fact that a million reporters were hounding the car like a hive of bees as they drove off.

"Mirae." Taeho nodded approvingly, almost grinning. When was he not happy to see his secretary and now that he knows, Giseok's ex girlfriend. Either one of them could have informed him that they had ended things but it seems that they'd rather leak his highschool love letter for the country to see.

"The scandal is a miracle, sales are rising in an accelerating manner on the map and the stocks are quite favorable, certainly a new peak record and I reckon we might even reach higher. I have hired a PR manager for this event and we shall see if we can ride this wave out as long as possible without damaging any of anyone's public image. I'm not sure if that can happen but I'd rather like it if we tried."

"It's amazing how going viral can affect sales." Taeho thoughtfully nodded, switching to his business mode. He reached out for his tablet and turned it on, "Send me the logistics, I'll look it over during the ride."

"Yes, Sir. I have also arranged a meeting with the SS Corps' CEO as soon as possible, unfortunately not today. I couldn't move it around with the board meeting today."

"And Haeson's agency?"

"It's likely that they won't make a statement, we are hoping that this matter will die down without anything adding oil to the fire. Thankfully, there's not much to take away with. We are putting up a team to take over rights to the story and review any additional tips coming from your former classmates or anyone related to the incident."

"Hm, I doubt that, there's hardly any connection out there in the countryside."

"Things change, Sir. It's better if we stay prepared."

Taeho sighed and closed his tablet, unable to focus. He knew that all this was happening thanks to Haeson. If he was anyone else beside her boyfriend or fiance, that post would have simply glided over everyone's head. Haeson was big as she was also one of the models who has done shoots for major big league brands not simply in Korea but internationally as well.

Taeho frowned, thinking back to what Mirae had just said. Things changed, it was true. It did. He knew that because he was one of the companies to target the countryside for better sales and awareness. For all he knew, the countryside must be breaming with techies and connection to everything happening in the world.

Maybe even she is watching him right now.

Is she watching? Does she know?