A Frosty Exchange

The sun rose high on the horizon when Ji-hoon walked briskly away from a soaring skyscraper. A row of men and women garbed in suits stood by either side of him, bowing as he left.

He was accompanied by a man – equally in a sleek, smart suit like him – but wearing a round, thin metal-framed glasses and carrying a suitcase.

They reached a silver Tesla S car when Ji-hoon felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. He took it out and saw a notification from TruHeart Matchmaking agency:

Dear valued member, we're excited to have you as part of the family at TruHeart Matchmaking agency! Our team will reach out shortly to learn more about you and recommend suitable matches based on your personality and preferences. We're excited for your journey with us!

Ji-hoon felt his sour mood sink further with the message. His fingers tightened over his phone.

"How on earth did they get my number?" He blurted out, irritated. His secretary paused in opening the car door to look at him, his brows raised.

"Who?"

"That dratted matchmaking agency."

"Ah." His secretary put the suitcase in the backseat of the car and proceeded to the driver's seat when Ji-hoon stopped him.

"Give me the keys, I'll drive."

His secretary regarded him with a knowing look on his face. "You're going over to the agency, aren't you?"

"I trust you, Si-woo," he said, patting him on the shoulders and collecting the keys. "Find a way to stall the clients until I get back. I'll be with you in an hour."

Si-woo watched Ji-hoon enter the car, start the engine, and drive out of the driveway. He adjusted his glasses, sighing. "I always have to do the dirty work and clean up your mess," he muttered. "You'd think I'd get more than a pat on the back…"

***

Ji-hoon was led through a long, narrow corridor into a spacious office. Oh Ha-na rose to her feet as he entered her office. Just like in the foyer, she was like an angelic vision before his eyes.

Her long, black hair was tied into a neat knot at the back of her head. The features of her face were just as he remembered – soft and easy on the eyes, calm and peaceful like the surface lake.

Her minimalist makeup and white bow tie neck blouse did marvellous work in accentuating the silky-whiteness of her skin. Ji-hoon chided himself for paying close attention to her, for his heart doing odd, little flips at the sight of her. 

Irritation clouded his face. If she felt any recoil to his imperious presence, she wasn't showing it. But he had to make it abundantly clear that he wanted nothing to do with her agency or whatever matchmaking nonsense they were about.

"I need a cancellation of the contract you signed with my parents immediately. Or I'm suing your agency."

Her face was calm and collected. "I'm sorry, but I'm afraid that wouldn't be possible. We haven't done anything on our end so far to warrant a termination of the contract."

Ji-hoon felt his mood grow darker. "Maybe, I haven't been clear enough. I never agreed to any contract in the first place. It was signed against my consent."

She cleared her throat. "I'm sorry for the inconvenience, President Cha, but it is not uncommon for our clients to get signed into our agency with third parties involved. The contract was signed with your parents on the understanding that you agreed to work with our agency for a year."

"And you never bothered to check with your 'so-called client'?" He retorted hotly. "Is this how you people do business here?"

Before he could say anything next, Ji-hoon felt his phone vibrate again in his pocket. He picked it up to see a text from Si-woo. He knew he was running late for his meeting, and so decided to end things quickly.

"I'm giving you three days to send me a termination of the contract. Three days, Director Oh. Or you can kiss your agency goodbye."

***

A few moments after Ji-hoon left, Ha-na was left staring furiously at where he stood. For all her years of running the matchmaking agency, she had never met a more troublesome client. For God's sake, wealthy, chaebol families were begging to sign into her agency, and he was threatening to tear down everything she had toiled for a long time! 

Ha-na felt her head swim from fatigue and the hot, humid temperature and decided she'd go for lunch and get more coffee. While eating, she could figure out what to do – she was certain President Cha was the kind of person who never talked without meaning it, evident by the frigid gleam in his eyes.

She stepped out of her office and into the office cubicle of her employees, only to be met with curious stares. 

 "President Cha is as cold as they say, isn't he?" Jae-ho commented, standing akimbo. "And I thought I was the cold one."

"I was literally shaking in my boots!" Eun-ji exclaimed, squeezing her eyes shut tight and shaking her short bob hair. "I don't know how you could stand him, Director. I thought I would faint!"

"If he weren't cold, he wouldn't be the president of G & L," Bo-min stated matter-of-factly, tying her hair into a short ponytail. "It's a lot of responsibility to lead an internationally acclaimed luxury brand."

"But it's curious, isn't it?" Soo-ah asked, stroking her chain dramatically with her index finger and thumb. "For someone so cold, he hand-crafted one of the world's most expensive diamond necklaces. It even has a romantic name, 'Jewel's Kiss'."

"It isn't one of the most expensive, but currently the most expensive diamond necklace in the world, priced at a staggering $200 million!" Jang-won exclaimed, showing a photo of the necklace to the stunned eyes of his colleagues.

He sighed wistfully, glancing at the ceiling dreamily. "If I had $200 million, I'd stay in my room and code all day!"

Jang-won's comment about what he'd use $200 million for if he had it elicited a stream of comments and arguments from the rest of the employees. Ha-na felt her temples prickle with a headache once more.

"Anyone up for lunch? I'm heading out." She announced and began walking out.

"I know a place! Let me book us down." Jae-ho suggested, picking up his phone. The rest of the employees, excited to be going for lunch, began trooping out of the office.

When they were left alone, Soo-ah approached Ha-na, her face creased with worry. "You okay? President Cha was really coarse."

Ha-na sighed. "I'm fine, I've dealt with worse cases. I just have a slight headache."

They walked towards the front door of their office. "But what are you going to do? He threatened to close down our agency."

"Don't worry about it; I'll talk to his parents."

Soo-ah tilted her head to the side as if contemplating a thought for a second. Her lips curved in a mischievous smirk. "Come to think of it… doesn't President Cha resemble your high school boyfriend?"

Ha-na rolled her eyes. "First of all, he wasn't really my boyfriend; we barely went out on one date." She gave Soo-ah a quelling look.

"Secondly, you're being ridiculous. He and that guy are not in any way similar. They don't even bear the same names!"

Though Ha-na denied it, the truth prickled her. Soo-ah was right. President Cha did bear an eerily striking resemblance to her high school sweetheart, and it troubled her greatly.

Who was he really, and why did his very presence make her lose her carefully guarded composure?