010 - Red string: What can happen to me?

Mark stepped out of the dark SUV, a cup of coffee in his hand, dressed casually, but more formally than Alex at least. He showed a smile at Alex words:

"I will be needing as much money as possible soon, so there is nothing I can do but to hurry over when you call me."

Alex raised an eyebrow, then scoffed:

"Drop the act. Did Ga-yeong chase you out of home?"

Mark froze, and his smiling facade cracked. He calmed the twitch of his lips, and pleaded with a hint if defeat in his tone:

"Young heir Lenner, since you know, can you please leave me some face?"

The way Mark called him would have only had Alex roll his eyes and react indifferently before, but now, being called heir immediately his improved take a nosedive. He pushed his sunglasses back and turned away.

"Tch, let's go."

Mark was stunned. He looked at Alex as he stopped leaning against his car and walked to climb into the Gulfstream G700 on the tarmac. He could only turn his confused eyes to the van behind from which a group of people alighted holding a bag and a long case.

"Let's go."

"Yes, sir."

The bag and the case were sent up the private jet, before Mark followed in. The door was closed behind him by one of the beautiful stewardesses.

Despite the rushed departure for the unplanned trip, the crew remained professional, whether in attitude or in dressing. Mark looked curiously at Alex whose eyes he could feel were not wandering off from behind the dark glasses.

Even if not with any lustful desire, it was not like Alex to not stare, or even ogle, when the scenery was not bad, with all the air stewardesses moving around.

Mark looked attentively at the younger man, then followed his example to buckle his own safety belt. Alex quietly rested his head against the backrest as the plane started to move. And when it taxied to get ready for departure, Mark could not stay silent anymore. He put his cup of coffee down, and scrutinized Alex. Finally, when they rose in the air, he spoke:

"I know you partied last night, and I'm certain you had fun as usual. So, what happened after that which put you in such a bad mood that you need this… trip?"

Alex paused, turned to look at Mark, then scoffed.

"Are things ready on the other side? I want to go as soon as we arrive."

Mark gave Alex a look as he raised his eyebrow, then let go of the matter. He followed the cue to change the subject:

"I arranged everything on the way. We will be able to go as soon as we arrive."

Alex nodded with satisfaction:

"Good. Now, I'm hungry."

Mark gave Alex a helpless look. But he was also hungry, so he unbuckled his seat belt, and went to the kitchen in front of which sat the stewardesses.

Two hours later, the plane descended, but the world outside had gone from hot to cold, as white colored much of the space. Despite the view seeming more desolate, the white snow brought a smile to Alex's lips. His frown relaxed, and his emotions cooled down.

Sitting across from him, Mark also smiled slightly. The private jet landed without any tremor. When it came to a stop and they left it, Alex stood at the door. He put away his sunglasses, and breathed in the cold air, before going down with an air of contentment.

Inside the hangar they had stopped beside, the group that had arrived at the airport with Mark in a van earlier put down the bag and the case in their hands. Seeing them open the former and take out a pieces of clothing, Mark turned to Alex, his steady expression belying the concern in his tone as he spoke:

"Are you sure you want to do this, Alex? If anything happens to you, I won't be able to face your mother, nor will I be able to face my wife."

Alex paused his movement, before he took the clothes held out to him, and smiled:

"What can happen to me? Moreover, isn't it precisely because of the possibilities of accidents happening that we developed the outfit and the snowboard? To minimize their consequences."

Mark nodded, but did not relent:

"You are right. But even then, there is no need for you to test things yourself."

Unfortunately, Alex seemed to share none of Mark's concern. He slapped Mark on the shoulder, and blocked any further words with a wide smile:

"We already got all the green lights, there is no need to doubt or fear. Just watch me. If something happens to me, then we have already failed, even before having the market judge us."

Saying that, he gave Mark no further occasion to speak, and went to the side to get into the snowboarding outfit. The dark-haired older man opened his mouth as he looked at Alex's back, but no word came out.

"Sir, according to your orders, we did the tests again twice with the highest standards, and we checked the equipment again before bringing it along for the trip. Nothing will go wrong."

Mark turned to one of the young men among the group who followed him in a van. His face lost the expression of lament he had been looking at Alex with, and turned an authoritative calm. He nodded slowly, and spoke with a tone he never used with Ga-yeong, nor with Alex:

"I hope for your technical department that nothing will go wrong. You know what will happen if you prove to be unworthy of your salaries."

The throats in the group moved, as the swallowed saliva passed through to go down. Even if there had not been any fear before, with the stakes now raised and laid bare, it sprang out of the fertile soil of the fragilized hearts, and spread like weed after a spring rain.

Even with their confidence, they could only hope that bad luck would spare them, and not make a sudden visit.