My Phony Ladylove

06. The Unexpected Meeting

...continuation, Chapter 1

WHICH PRANK DID YOU PULL YESTERDAY WITH YOUR DATE?" Liam excitedly asked. He saw a flicker of emotion run through Yvo's eyes but it was gone in a second.

"Now, we're talking. You should've seen her face! It was priceless!" Yvo replied as he recalled what had happened 13 hours ago but after remembering how the woman reminded him of the past and shove into his face that he's a murderer, his mood changed. His cousin immediately noticed it.

"What now? I thought you're gonna spill the beans already."

"I don't want to talk about it," Yvo replied as he left Liam and went out of his room to look for pain killers. His headache is killing him.

He went downstairs and saw the unknown girl talking to his family.

"Why is that woman still here?" he wondered when he suddenly heard her talking.

"...excuse me for my bluntness, but I can't allow anyone to just call me a random girl. I'm no random girl. I'm a decent woman with morals and principles and was brought up like this by my parents."

"Is she crazy?"

"...I know I'm in no place to say this but I hope that before you jump into conclusions, at least listen to his side of the story first. He was feeling terrible last night, that I know for sure."

"Who the heck is she to talk about me?!" he was about to confront the girl when his head ached.

"Ack!" he flinched in pain.

"Hey, are you alright?" said Liam, who just came out from his room.

"Do I look like I am? Just get that woman out of the house and while you're at it, bring me some pain killers. I'll be in my room," Yvo said as he went back to his room.

Before you jump into conclusions, at least listen to his side of the story first, the words that the woman said kept replaying in his mind.

"Who told her to speak up for me?" he pondered as he lied on his bed.

---

YVO was inside his office playing Need for Speed: Heat in his PS4. He was so close to winning when someone suddenly threw a pillow on his face and made him lose his game.

"What the heck?! Who-" he screamed in anger and wasn't able to finish what he was saying when his father interrupted.

"Is that how you talk to your father?!" his father yelled, continuing to throw anything that his hands could touch.

"Dad, stop it!" he tried to dodge everything that was thrown to him.

"When will you be useful to me?! You're already an adult and you have a company to run yet you're just playing those childish games?!"

"Dad, don't you know that these are mind games? It can increase my IQ."

"Increase your IQ, huh?! What for? You don't even use that rotten mind of yours for the sake of the company!" His father then walked towards a huge vase.

"Dad, that's expensive!"

"It is? I'm sure you can afford another one," his father said before he went near him and raised the vase towards his head.

"DAD!" he screamed in horror while closing his eyes, waiting for the vase to be smashed onto his face. But nothing came. He slowly opened his eyes when a folder was thrown to his face.

"Ack! M-my handsome face!" he exclaimed.

He then received a smack on the head.

"Rather than crying over that stupid face, why don't you be of use to me instead? Read the details inside that folder. I received a proposal from the Seoul District Hospital. Go there and meet the directors. They're selling some of their shares to us. Research on their hospital stocks for the last 5 years. I'm expecting a written report tomorrow morning."

"But Dad-"

"Before I forget, we have to meet some important people this lunch so free your schedule," his dad interrupted before going out of his office.

"Darn it!" he said irritatingly. With no other choice, he called his secretary to tell him that they'll be going to the hospital an hour later.

---

"IF I WASN'T WALKING while that bald man kept on talking, I swear I would have already gone to sleep. If I didn't cut him off, I'm sure he'll just talk and talk. I'm in no way interested in the history of that freaking hospital. And did you see the guy who was stabbed in the emergency room, the one who was bathing in blood? Gross! Just imagining it makes me wanna puke. Why did that clueless director let me see those? They don't know how to do business. They could've welcomed me with expensive food or something," Yvo complained to his secretary, Byun Baek Hyun.

They were still discussing their recent encounter in a café, across the hospital, when his phone rang. It was his father, reminding him of their lunch meeting with God-knows-who.

"Yeah, don't worry. I won't be late," he lazily answered before hanging up but as soon as he hung up, his phone rang again. He picked it up annoyingly.

"I said I'll be there, okay?"

"What are you talking about?" said a familiar voice on the line.

"Liam?"

"Yeah, it's me. Where are you? Are you still in the hospital?"

"No. I'm at the cafe across it. Why?"

"I'm on my way there. You're gonna flip out once you hear what I'm about to tell you."

"Why? What is it?"

"The VIP that you'll be meeting later is your fiancée-to-be."

"What did you say?!"

"Yep, you heard it loud and clear. I just heard about it earlier. What are you going to do?"

"What the?! What century is it already? Arranged marriage?! Are they kidding me?! There's no way I'm gonna accept this! No freaking way!"

"I know. What are you going to do about it then?"

"I don't know! I freaking don't know! Should I ditch them?"

"Are you crazy? Do you want grandma to pass out while waiting for you?"

"Grandma will be there also?"

"Of course. You're meeting your finacée and her family. The whole family has to be there."

"Darn it! How could they marry me off without even telling me?! Am I a freaking property?! Don't I have a say on this matter when it's my own freaking life?!"

"Calm down and let's think of a solution instead."

"I can't even think of any right now!"

"What if you show yourself for a brief second and then pretend to be constipated or sick or something?"

"What if they'll send me to the hospital after? I'll get beaten up by dad if he'll know I was just pretending to be sick. Besides, that's just a temporary solution. I can't pretend to be constipated or sick all the time. That won't break off the engagement."

"Then act like a jerk in front of the girl. I'm sure if she ends up hating you, she'll break off the engagement herself."

"And get beaten up my dad for my lack of manners? That won't do. We need a stronger solution."

"What if I call some of my girls and ask them to pretend to be impregnated by you?"

"Are you crazy? Do you want my mom or grandma to die from a heart attack?"

"Oh... that's definitely not a good idea. Why don't you try to look for a woman to introduce as your girlfriend?"

"But who?"

"Tzuyu?"

"You do know that her parents are friends with my parents. They might make the fake thing real. Besides, she's a friend. I don't wanna drag her into this."

"Hmm... are you sure that she's just a friend?" Liam teased.

"Shut the hell up and help me think of a solution already."

"Okay, okay. Holy Camoly, we only have 30 minutes before the lunch meeting!" Liam said upon checking the time on his watch.

"Dammit!"

"Stop cursing and try to look around. See if there's a woman who you can ask to pretend to be your girlfriend. I'll be there in no time."

And with that Liam ended the call. Yvo started to panic. He and his secretary started to roam around the café. There were a lot of women inside but none of those are worth presenting to his family. He was about to give up when he caught a glimpse of a sophisticated woman, who was walking outside of the café.

He immediately called for his secretary and told him to go after the woman, who was slowly fading away from his sight. He only released a sigh of relief after seeing his secretary talking to the woman. He rushed towards them.

Upon seeing the woman's face, his eyes almost got out of its sockets in shock. The woman also had the same expression on her face upon seeing him. They immediately pointed at each other as they spoke in unison.

"YOU!"