#jujuw23d4

“And that concludes our event for this evening. Thank you all for coming. Please have a wonderful evening.” The moving of chairs and dishes clattering quickly replaced the announcer’s clear voice.

Jumin placed his napkin on the table, clearing his throat as she ensured she had her phone and purse. As her fiancé straightened his tie and buttoned his jacket closed, she readied herself for the next few hours of business jargon and conversations that she would have to focus on trying to keep up with.

“Mr. Han,” she heard from behind them, seeing Jumin turn his head. As he moved to stand, the conversation around them rose in volume. She stood to join them when Jumin offered both his hand and a light smile towards her.

“My love, this is Mr. Yang, our head of finances at C&R,” he explained, nodding once at her and letting go of her hand so she could shake Mr. Yang’s.

“It’s a pleasure to finally meet you,” she grinned, shaking his hand firmly but gently. The older man’s eyebrows rose, looking back and forth between the two of them.

“You’ve heard of me?” he wondered, releasing her hand.

“Of course!” she laughed lightly. “Jumin and his father would be lost without you.” Mr. Yang smiled sheepishly, swatting the air as if to push her comment away.

“Not at all,” he murmured, shaking his head. Jumin chuckled shortly, glancing down at her feet and moving his chair just a little as she stepped out from between them.

“Dearest, if you would like to make your way to the downstairs lounge, I can meet you there,” Jumin softly said as he leaned close to speak in her ear. She smiled, nodding up at him and understanding through his eyes that he didn’t want her to stand and be bored with their conversation.

“Of course,” she whispered back, bowing slightly at Mr. Yang as he did the same. “It was lovely to meet you!” she smiled, hearing him scoff in surprise as she moved away from them. She maneuvered through the banquet hall, glad to stretch her legs after spending the last two hours at their tables. However, there wasn’t much relief, as the shoes she’d bought for that evening were far more uncomfortable than she could have imagined.

She said brief hellos to a few people she vaguely recognized as she passed by, following the small crowd down the stairs to the lounge and bar beneath them. She held onto the railing for dear life, trying to walk as fast as possible even though she was one of the youngest and, therefore, fastest at the event. Her heels were both unstable and very high, and along with the fact that she could feel them digging into her ankles, she was surprised when she made it down the stairs without crying out in pain.

Despite how quickly the bar and surrounding tables were filling, light jazz played overhead, making the atmosphere feel slightly more relaxed than upstairs. She glanced around the room, finding a table near the window and heading towards it.

“Mrs. Han!” someone called out, startling her. She jumped, turning to her left as a man she hadn’t met before approached her with a friendly smile. Smiling back, she bowed to him and chuckled to herself.

“I’m not quite Mrs. Han yet, but I’m glad I can already respond to the name,” she smiled, seeing the man furrow his eyebrows.

“Forgive me! You’re only recently engaged, am I right?” he wondered, reaching out to shake her hand. She met him halfway, surprised at how strong of a grip he had.

“Right,” she nodded. He let go of her right hand, pointing at her left.

“May I?” he asked, and she lifted her hand in confusion. She understood as he gently held her hand, greatly contrasting the shake they’d just shared, and looked down through his glasses at her engagement ring.

“You can tell a lot through the ring,” he mumbled, pulling her hand closer.

“Is that so?” she laughed, watching him examine it closely. He blinked a couple of times before grunting and patting her hand in finality.

“It’ll do,” he nodded, flashing a smile at her. She laughed a little, glancing at it herself and smiling.

“I’ll let him know you approve, Mr…” she started, trailing off once she realized she didn’t know who she was speaking to.

“How rude of me not to introduce myself. I’m the head of PK Holdings, a company very involved with your fiancé’s,” he explained, clasping his hands behind his back. Her eyebrows raised in recognition even though he still hadn’t given his name, remembering that Jumin had called him out as someone who would probably approach one or both at the gala that night.

“Mr. Park! It’s so lovely to finally meet you,” she grinned, watching the older man blink at her in surprise. “Jumin has told me how easy it is to work with you.” The corner of his mouth twitched up into a smile briefly before he let out a bellowing laugh, making her laugh a little in both surprise and amusement.

“That boy,” he chuckled, smoothing his tie and shaking his head with a fond smile. “Ah! I believe he’s waiting for you, so I won’t keep you any longer. I’m looking forward to your wedding,” he said, drawing her eyes to the bar behind them, where Jumin was picking up two drinks.

“Thank you, Mr. Park. I’ll see you again soon,” she smiled, throwing him a small wave as she started over to Jumin. Their eyes met as he turned around, his expression briefly softening before he seemed to notice something.

“Jumin,” she sighed happily, receiving her glass of champagne from him. He leaned down to kiss her cheek, giving her goosebumps.

“How did you fare with Mr. Park?” he wondered, finding her hand at her side and placing it on his arm as they walked towards the windows.

“He examined my ring for a good 30 seconds,” she snickered, gladly hanging on his arm as she tried to steady herself and avoid any pain points with her heels. Jumin hummed thoughtfully, taking her hand and holding it as she sat down at the table they’d chosen so she could steady herself.

“That indeed sounds like him,” he mused, sitting across from her and undoing his jacket button. They both took a sip of their drinks, him of his wine and her of her bubbles.

“He said “It’ll do,” she relayed, watching as Jumin looked the slightest bit offended.

“It’ll do,” he repeated lowly, leaning back in his chair and looking out at the view. “I would be interested to see his opinion change when he sees your wedding band.” She pressed her lips together, her tongue tingling from the champagne, and butterflies began to swirl in her stomach. She couldn’t help the rampant excitement whenever they mentioned the big day.

“He seemed very nice,” she continued, beginning to cross one leg over the other to get comfortable but deciding against it. Putting too much weight on one foot hurt too much at that point, and when she instinctively reached down to rub her ankles, she played it off as fixing the skirt of her dress. They only had a few more hours here, and she didn’t want Jumin to leave the event early for something so trivial.

“Judging our relationship based on the choice of ring is very nice, yes,” Jumin teased, making her roll her eyes and smirk.

“Either way, I’m glad I was prepared for tonight,” she noted, seeing him tilt his head.

“Our preparations helped?” She nodded and took another sip, thinking about all the slideshows that Jaehee and Jumin had prepared to help her begin to memorize all of the most important people who would be there that night.

“If I’m going to be a regular guest at your company’s events, it would be good to know as much as I can,” she replied, seeing Jumin nod thoughtfully.

“Do let me know if it overwhelms you,” he murmured, meeting her eyes again. She smiled, shaking her head.

“I’ll be fine. Besides, how can the future wife of the future chairman be clueless?” she teased, watching a small smirk grace his lips.

“I like that title for you—future wife of the future chairman. Rolls off the tongue,” he said, jesting back at her. She chuckled, rolling her eyes again and looking out at the crowds that began to gather at the larger tables.

“Where to next?” she wondered. “I’m sure you have a list of people you need to speak with tonight.” Jumin slowly turned the wine glass as it sat on the table, not meeting her eyes.

“My list was short, and therefore I have already completed it,” he said, looking up at her. She furrowed her eyebrows, waiting for the punchline. “Besides, this wine tastes horrible. How could I stay any longer?” There it was. She scoffed, standing up and avoiding scrunching her face up in pain. Her calves were becoming sore, and her toes felt like they would be pressed together for the rest of time.

“Come on,” she laughed, holding a hand out for him and grabbing her glass. “I’ll come with you.” Jumin stood to meet her, buttoning his jacket again and keeping her gaze.

“I wasn’t joking, my love. I’ve talked to everyone I needed to already,” he reiterated, pulling her hand to his and intertwining their fingers. She searched his eyes, wondering if maybe he just didn’t want to admit he was tired. He returned her stare, looking lovingly back at her. She couldn’t help but give in, raising her eyebrows in mild surprise.

“In that case, I suppose we could meander our way to the exit,” she shrugged, placing her glass back down and squeezing his hand.

“Perfect,” he smiled, holding her hand at his side and walking a pace in front of her to lead the way.

Multiple people greeted them as they walked past, but no one tried to stop them for a conversation. She could have sworn that there were far more people that Jumin should have talked to, but those thoughts quickly shifted back to focusing on walking as painlessly as possible. After a few moments, she linked her arm with Jumin’s again, using him for support while being as subtle as possible about it.

A moment of relief came in the elevator, and she leaned against his shoulder to look up at him.

“Would you like to pop open a bottle of something you’ll actually enjoy once we’re home?” she wondered, seeing him smile and glance down at her.

“Among other things,” he nodded, making her bite the tip of her tongue and watch the elevator descend through the floors instead.

Once they arrived on the ground floor, she steeled herself for only a few more minutes of the horrible heels she’d chosen. It was like the universe knew that she was almost done, making the walk through the lobby the most painful part of the night thus far.

“Darling,” he called, making her tense and wonder if he had noticed her struggling after all. “There is a professional photographer near the door. Would you like to take a picture? You are absolutely stunning tonight,” he wondered, slowing to a halt as he gauged her reaction. She glanced over, seeing two chairs in front of a camera on a tripod.

“I’d love to,” she smiled, looking down at her dress and smoothing it out. “I would hate to forget my first corporate gala.” Jumin let out a short laugh through his nose, leading her over to the photographer.

“Good evening, Mr. Han,” the young man greeted them, readying his camera quickly. “It would be my pleasure to photograph you two. May I suggest some poses?”

“I would like most of them with my fianceé in the chair. Her dress and posture will make for a gorgeous picture, don’t you think?” Jumin gushed, making her hands tremble slightly as she sat down. The photographer instructed Jumin where to stand and how to place his hands, one of them draped over the back of the chair so that his fingertips brushed her shoulder.

“And now, miss, if you would move your hand over your lap– perfect! Let’s take a few shots with this pose,” he said excitedly, the shutter clicking as he took multiple pictures quickly.

After a few more poses, Jumin deemed that enough and handed the man a small stack of cash.

“Thank you,” she smiled at the photographer, moving to stand before Jumin placed a hand over hers on the arm of the chair. She blinked up at him, resting her weight back down on the cushion as he moved to kneel in front of her.

“What is it?” she wondered, seeing him adjusting the skirt of her dress.

“Uncross your legs for me,” he spoke softly, making heat flush under her skin as his fingers slipped around her ankle. She did as he said, her heart racing as he carefully slipped her heels off. Her anticipation boiled down to confusion as he dusted them off and handed them to her. She took them hesitantly, looking to Jumin for an explanation.

“Would it be alright if I carried you?” he asked, looking up at her from where he kneeled. She blinked at him, opening her mouth for a moment before speaking.

“Sure, Jumin, but–” She stopped as he wrapped a hand around her waist to pull her towards the front of her chair, looping his other arm beneath her knees. He picked her up and pulled her to his chest with ease, making sure her skirt was appropriately draped as she made multiple noises of confusion and surprise. Someone opened the door to the venue for them to exit, but she could barely hear it over the sound of her heart racing at the unexpected situation.

She had forgotten about the reporters outside, flinching as a flurry of clicks and flashes started around her. Instinctively, she turned her face away, pressing her cheek into Jumin’s chest as he walked without hesitation.

“Mr. Han!”

“Is she injured?”

“What dress is she wearing?”

She squeezed her eyes shut, feeling embarrassment flood her body as she imagined all the articles already being written. Jumin remained quiet, walking a few more paces until she heard a car door open. He lowered her down, helping her into the car while serving as a barrier between her and the cameras. She threw the heels on the floor, covering her face and folding over on herself. She groaned, feeling Jumin settle in beside her and close the car door.

“Jumin, what was that?” she asked through her hands, wanting to flop onto his lap but also wanting to hear his explanation before she showed him affection of any kind.

“I could tell as soon as you stood up from our dinner table that your heels were causing you tremendous pain. Why didn’t you say anything, my love?” he wondered, making her squint up at him through her hands.

“I didn’t want to make a big deal out of nothing,” she responded, grateful when Driver Kim pulled away from the curb. She sat up straight, kicking at one of the heels absentmindedly.

“Your health and comfort are anything but nothing,” he replied, reaching over to take her hand and lift it to his lips for a gentle string of kisses.

“The universe will punish you somehow for this,” she grumbled with a small smile she was trying to restrain.

“For taking care of my fianceé? I hardly think so,” he disagreed, putting their intertwined hands in his lap and looking at her.

“I appreciate what you did, Jumin, but I really would have been okay for a few more steps,” she explained, watching him rub her fingers thoughtfully.

“I was just practicing for when I carry you over the threshold,” he said quietly, making her chuckle.

“I should have guessed you would want to. You’re so superstitious,” she scoffed teasingly as he looked up with a slight pout that always managed to get him out of trouble.

“I can’t take any chances,” he replied, making her laugh and give up on making him regret what he’d done.

“You’re unbearable,” she lied, watching his face relax at the sound of her laugh. He leaned over to kiss her cheek tenderly, making her stomach flip.

“Now, which sales associate helped you with these Louboutins?” he wondered quietly, his face still close to hers. She met his eyes, her stare narrowing at him.

“Leave Jinsoo alone, please,” she sighed, knowing he could find out what he wanted to know within minutes, even if she wouldn’t tell him.

“Ah, Jinsoo. My next target,” he said menacingly, making her stare at him before bursting into laughter again. He watched her with a growing smile, stroking his chin like he was a villain deep in thought.

“Jumin, please. She’s only doing her job,” she said through her laughter, knowing he was completely joking.

“I will have my revenge,” he muttered, pushing her to laugh again and lean into his side. He gave in and laughed with her, pulling her closer as she continued to fight for the saleslady until Jumin gave up his playful charade.

Their ride home was full of laughter, and he promised to help her soothe her feet at home, utterly content that he had made her smile again.

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hello!! thank you so much for reading this! and thank you all so much for all the support I've received already this week <3 it means so so much to me!

stay tuned for the last two days! thank you again!