These days, the biggest interest among reporters is, of course, Lee Hyun-woo.
A lot of things overlapped.
Politics, economy, society, culture, and entertainment.
Even now, reporters were gathered, chatting at Jeju Airport.
“How on earth did people find out they were coming to Jeju today?”
“I heard it from the chief secretary.”
“Where? Jungle? Guseong?”
“Both.”
Currently, the person answering other reporters’ questions was Choi Yong-bum, a reporter from the internet newspaper E-Daily.
He received information from the chief secretaries of both places that Lee Hyun-woo and Kim Ah-young were going to Jeju Island for business.
It was unusual. It was rare to reveal the destination beforehand.
No, sometimes they would deliberately call us when handling big contracts, but this time they ambiguously informed us of the purpose.
- It’s supposedly for a land transaction.
Speculating, it seemed like they might be looking for a place to build a house to live in after getting married.
- Since we can’t contact every media outlet, we’re informing E-Daily. But if only you know and strange articles come out later, that wouldn’t be good. So, please contact others on our behalf.
Choi Yong-bum promised to do so.
Actually, he wanted to cover it exclusively, but he couldn’t.
If he did, he might end up on the bad side of the chief secretaries of both places and miss out on future opportunities.
It seemed better to extend such a favor and bring the reporters along, making things clearer.
So he contacted them, and most of them even booked their plane tickets.
In other words, today they planned to board the same flight as Lee Hyun-woo and Kim Ah-young.
“It’s strange. Why did they reveal the destination?”
“Why do you think? We would have found out anyway.”
“Right. Nowadays, many eyes are on those two. If they go to Jeju, the local media and reporters will find out. Then we would follow immediately…”
“Rather than writing an article as if they secretly left, they might be asking us to write a good article by informing us like this.”
“Exactly.”
“Smart move. If they stay on our good side, at least we won’t write a sensational article, right?”
“Of course. And with the big issues Lee Hyun-woo is facing, they probably want to get on our good side.”
“True. He’s meeting Steven Job next week, right?”
“Yes. And he’s expected to receive investments from several places, so instead of clashing with us, they chose a win-win approach.”
“Lee Hyun-woo is really smart and has great survival skills.”
“Maybe he has good advisors.”
“That could be, but Lee Hyun-woo himself is quite exceptional. I think this is his idea.”
“Yeah, I agree.”
At that moment.
They sensed that Lee Hyun-woo and Kim Ah-young had arrived at the airport.
First, the security guards appeared and took a defensive stance towards the reporters.
Following them, surrounded by secretaries, were Lee Hyun-woo and Kim Ah-young.
The reporters smiled inwardly.
‘We won’t bother them at the start.’
They understood why they were so thoroughly prepared, having been burned by the reporters before, but the real action would start after they arrived.
They planned to follow Lee Hyun-woo and Kim Ah-young closely.
Taking photos and writing interesting articles.
‘Well, since they are being cooperative this time, we should write good articles.’
Previously, they’d written about their trips to Taiwan and Hong Kong under the guise of business, but this time they planned to omit the term ‘Jeju honeymoon trip.’
Since they were informed in advance, it seemed like a fair trade.
With such thoughts, the reporters boarded the plane.
After confirming that Lee Hyun-woo and Kim Ah-young entered first class, they relaxed, chatting and taking naps as they flew to Jeju.
Just before landing, Kang Dong-ho, the second chief secretary, kindly informed them of the schedule.
“Our CEO plans to unpack at the hotel and then move right away. However, neither our CEO nor Director Kim Ah-young want any reporters at the hotel. If any reporter has booked a room at their hotel, we will treat everything like a top-secret mission with no further updates.”
He used both carrot and stick.
The reporters had no choice but to nod.
‘Then nearby hotels should be fine, right?’
They thought this while plotting their strategy.
Meanwhile, they kept hearing instructions.
“There will be no interviews in Jeju. Naturally, there will be no interviews upon arrival, so please take pictures at the restaurant or café we inform you of later.”
They couldn’t shake the feeling they were being manipulated.
Their resentment began to rise.
They decided to endure until Jeju Airport but planned to ask questions immediately after taking pictures at the restaurant or café.
They were most curious about the wedding schedule, how the business would proceed after marriage, Lee Hyun-woo’s goals and plans before the wedding, what he would discuss with Steven Job, and what he planned to do with the investment money.
So, after arriving at Jeju Airport, they headed to the hotel where Lee Hyun-woo and Kim Ah-young would stay, preparing their questions.
They waited for them to unpack nearby, and noticing the movement of the security and secretaries, they followed.
Seeing the direction towards Hallasan, they rented cars and chased the leading vehicles.
Finally, they arrived in front of Hallasan.
“Why aren’t they coming out?”
“Yeah, what are they doing in the car?”
The security and secretaries got out, but there was no sign of Lee Hyun-woo and Kim Ah-young.
They seemed to be waiting inside the car.
At that moment, Park Min-sook, the chief secretary, approached them.
“Since the weather is cold, they have no plans to go up Hallasan. It also seems like it will get dark soon, so they plan to enjoy the view from the car.”
The reporters’ faces twisted.
It seemed they wouldn’t get a single photo today.
“What about dinner then?”
“Yes, they’ll show their faces during meal time, right?”
“Of course. We will inform you of the restaurant. Please wait there.”
Feeling like they were being tricked, the reporters didn’t trust Park Min-sook’s words.
Instead of going to the mentioned restaurant, they followed the vehicle convoy of Lee Hyun-woo and Kim Ah-young.
But soon, seeing the car heading to the hotel instead of the restaurant, the reporters were stunned.
After arriving, they gathered in the hotel lobby.
“What’s going on?”
“Didn’t they say they would give us interview time at the restaurant?”
“Technically, they only said we could take photos.”
“Still, this isn’t the restaurant they mentioned!”
The reporters, who didn’t get a single photo, raised their voices.
This time, Han Se-jin, the first chief secretary, appeared and spoke apologetically.
“Sorry, but our CEO suddenly has an upset stomach, so he decided not to have dinner. We will definitely inform you of the restaurant for lunch tomorrow. Let’s meet then.”
The reporters clamored, but Han Se-jin didn’t pay them any mind and went upstairs.
The security blocked the reporters trying to follow.
“Damn, I feel tricked.”
“Yeah.”
“Will we really see them tomorrow?”
“Hopefully. Please.”
But they didn’t know.
That Lee Hyun-woo and Kim Ah-young were not at the hotel at that moment.
At that time, Lee Hyun-woo and Kim Ah-young were having coffee at a place facing the sea in Jeju.
“They must be confused now, right?”
“Probably.”
From the beginning, they didn’t go to the hotel.
After staying a bit longer in the first-class cabin, they exited and drove a pre-rented car to enjoy a date.
Now, after having dinner, they were enjoying coffee as dessert.
With sunglasses being essential, it seemed like few people recognized them.
This plan was designed by Lee Hyun-woo.
He had a hard time persuading the two chief secretaries and Park Min-sook, but fortunately, they granted his wish to move freely away from everyone’s eyes.
Instead, they insisted on returning to the hotel for the night.
Lee Hyun-woo agreed, but.
“Let’s go somewhere else tonight.”
He never intended to from the start.
Kim Ah-young’s eyes widened.
“Somewhere else? Then when will we go to the hotel?”
“By somewhere else, I meant another hotel.”
“What?”
Her eyes shook greatly, understanding his intention to go to a different hotel.
‘Could it be… tonight?’
Her face turned red.
Luckily, with her sunglasses on and the darkening surroundings, no one recognized her.
“Wearing sunglasses at night makes people look at us more. Let’s go.”
“O-okay…”
Seeing Lee Hyun-woo not giving her time to prepare, she felt quite flustered.
But she was also thrilled, which showed her dual nature.
‘No, this is what I wanted too.’
Lying in bed with the one she loves, welcoming the night, and waking up together the next morning was a scene she had imagined countless times.
But Lee Hyun-woo always maintained a boundary.
With the internet being a flood of information these days, many communities discussed the first night of men and women.
It was said that men were like wolves who would never leave a woman alone, but Lee Hyun-woo seemed to never even glance that way.
‘That wasn’t it. He was just waiting for the right opportunity.’
It turned out they hadn’t only tricked the reporters but also the chief secretaries and security.
For her, it was a welcome development.
Spending the night with Lee Hyun-woo at the same hotel where they were staying with others would be quite embarrassing.
The next day, everyone would know they spent the night together, so what difference would it make, one might argue, but for her, it was very different.
Being away from them made the first night with him feel even more special.
With such thoughts, she followed Lee Hyun-woo to the nearest hotel, her heart pounding.
As expected, when Lee Hyun-woo said at the front desk,
“One room, please.”
She felt her blood rushing.
And his next words made her dizzy.
“Oh, and please bring a good bottle of wine.”
A man and a woman, one hotel room, and wine.
What more could one need?
But at that moment.
Brrrrrrr!
She felt her phone vibrating in her bag.
Flustered, she reached in and removed the battery.
‘It’s absolutely unnecessary tonight.’
Noticing the vibration, Lee Hyun-woo smiled as they walked to the elevator.
“I turned mine off a while ago.”
How could someone be so well-prepared?
Her heart swelled with anticipation.
Even as they moved to the hotel room via the elevator.
‘Gasp…’
When Lee Hyun-woo held her hand, she felt her breath stop, and her body stiffened.
She didn’t know why, but he seemed quite experienced.
