Black Label [EN]: Chapter 214

Black Label 214

214. VS Imitation

“I wouldn’t dream of interrupting what must be a rare, leisurely moment for you two. If you’re free, perhaps we could have dinner together.”

Jae-seung, looking sheepish, replied, “I’m sorry,” but Philip interjected with exaggerated courtesy.

“Haha! Lee, it’s quite alright. I’ll take care of the Chairman, so please enjoy your time with Ashlyn.”

Finishing his words, Philip whispered into Jae-seung’s ear again.

“I hope you achieve a favorable outcome. I’m referring to the ‘proposal’.”

Philip, along with everyone else, was unaware that Jae-seung had already proposed to Ashlyn and she had accepted.

Just as Jae-seung was about to offer an explanation, Chairman Ardo even winked at him.

The two of them quickly boarded the yacht, and Philip disappeared into the control room.

How long had it been? As the engine roared to life, the yacht slowly began to cut through the water, moving forward.

Soon, Jae-seung, left alone, turned to Ashlyn standing beside him and said in an exceedingly gentle tone.

“Ashlyn, shall we get into the vacation spirit?”

“I’d like that.”

With the help of a staff member, Jae-seung and Ashlyn also boarded a yacht and headed towards a nearby uninhabited island.

It was originally scouted as the best scenic spot for a proposal. They didn’t forget to bring a Richard-class Hennessy cognac and an icebox filled with simple snacks.

After the yacht docked on the beach, the staff member glanced at the watch on his wrist and began to speak in a nonchalant tone.

“Lee, I’ll come back to pick you up around sunset. It’s such a wonderful place, I doubt it will happen, but if you change your mind and want to return a little earlier, please call my personal number.”

“Understood. Thank you very much for your consideration.”

The two of them first changed into their swimsuits and immediately plunged into the emerald sea.

After enjoying swimming to their hearts’ content, they returned to the beach, wrapped themselves in beach towels, and shared cognac with cheese.

As the bottle of potent cognac began to empty, Jae-seung presented a jewelry box and began to speak.

“Ashlyn, take this.”

“What’s this?”

Jae-seung, looking a little embarrassed, gently rubbed the bridge of his nose and slowly continued.

“I originally planned to propose here in a grand way, while putting this ring on your finger.”

No sooner had Jae-seung finished speaking than Ashlyn, after muttering “Hmm?” once, lightly opened the jewelry box with her long fingers.

Through the slightly opened lid, an expensive yellow diamond ring, acquired through Sotheby’s [a prestigious auction house], was emitting a radiant glow.

After staring at the yellow diamond ring with dreamy eyes for a moment, Ashlyn poked Jae-seung’s side with her elbow, asking again.

“Lee, so you were going to propose while putting this ring on my finger?”

“Yeah. That was the original plan.”

“That’s very romantic, isn’t it? What kind of lines were you originally going to use for the proposal?”

“You better stop teasing me.”

“Teasing? I’m just curious. You must have had some lines in mind, right?”

When Jae-seung stared at Ashlyn without any answer, Ashlyn shrugged her shoulders once and muttered as if to appease him, “Okay, okay.”

Soon, Jae-seung gave a faint smile and lightly embraced Ashlyn’s waist.

The two remained silent for a long time.

They simply enjoyed each other’s warmth without saying a word, only looking around at the surrounding scenery.

Everything was beautiful. The sand on the wide beach, shining with the red sunset, and the gently rippling surface of the sea.

Closing their eyes and inhaling, a pleasant scent stimulated their noses.

Ashlyn’s perfume, the subtle salty scent mixed in the sea breeze, and the unique scent of oleander and eucalyptus leaves….

Jae-seung turned his head and began to stare intently at Ashlyn’s face.

Before long, Ashlyn, also aware of the gaze being directed at her, began to look back at Jae-seung.

After a moment of rather sticky silence,

Ashlyn slightly narrowed her brows and began to speak in an urgent tone.

“Lee, wait a minute. We’re outdoors. Moreover, it’s a place where anyone could show up at any time….”

“No, it’s okay.”

Jae-seung, replying briefly, wrapped his arm tightly around Ashlyn’s back.

Soon, Ashlyn widened her eyes and began to continue in an agitated tone.

“No, wait! Just a minute! What do you mean it’s okay? No matter how I think about it, this doesn’t seem right. What if someone sees us….”

“This is an island with no resident staff. Other than the employee who will bring the yacht to pick us up in two hours, no one can disturb us.”

Soon, Ashlyn closed her eyes tightly, and Jae-seung naturally kissed her.

At the same time as the kiss, he could sense the scent of cognac lingering on her lips.

The subtle scent of alcohol. The scent further stimulated his intoxication, giving him the feeling that it was erasing the little reason he had left even faster.

Every time they moved their bodies, lukewarm, cooled grains of sand stuck to them everywhere.

He was certain that he would never forget today, this moment.

It was a beautiful moment, enough to make even moths look like butterflies.

* * *

“Congratulations!”

Chairman Ardo said with a bright smile.

No sooner had they cautiously conveyed the fact that she accepted the proposal at dinner than he began to rejoice as if it were his own business.

Soon, Chairman Ardo emptied a glass filled with strong liquor on the rocks in one gulp, wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, and continued.

“From next year, we should open this place as a tourist destination. Philip would be a good person in charge.”

At those words, Philip, who was sitting at one of the tables, brightened up and replied, “Thanks to Lee and Ashlyn, I’m getting a promotion, or something like it.”

Soon, Jae-seung slightly narrowed his brows and asked back in a faintly trembling tone.

“Wait, just a minute. Wasn’t that just a joke?”

Chairman Ardo, after saying “Lee” in a low voice once, stabbed his fork into a well-grilled salmon steak and continued.

“I never joke about money.”

“Well, it’s not bad.”

“Anyway, congratulations to both of you.”

Chairman Ardo, finishing his words, picked up his empty glass again.

Soon, Philip quickly filled Chairman Ardo’s glass as if he had been waiting for it.

Clink-.

Glasses clinked in the air repeatedly. Chairman Ardo, who was very excited, led a new toast every time the glasses clinked.

The gathering ended around the time when Chairman Ardo couldn’t bear the intoxication and dropped his head.

Philip, after muttering “Oh dear….”, carefully supported Chairman Ardo and said quietly to Jae-seung.

“I’ll escort the Chairman upstairs first. If you need anything else, please ask our staff….”

“No. We were about to head up for the night as well.”

Jae-seung, finishing his words, turned to Ashlyn, and Ashlyn nodded once.

Just as everyone was about to move to the second floor of the mansion, Chairman Ardo, heavily intoxicated, squinted his eyes and quietly spoke to Jae-seung.

“Lee, could you come closer for a moment?”

“Yes. Chairman.”

Just as Jae-seung, replying briefly, approached Chairman Ardo’s vicinity,

Chairman Ardo lightly patted Jae-seung’s shoulder and began to speak with difficulty, his tongue half-twisted.

“Congratulations on your marriage once again. So, as a senior in marriage, there’s some advice I definitely want to give you.”

“Yes, I’ll take it to heart.”

“The way to maintain a happy married life is simple. Live each day as if it were your last moment.”

Chairman Ardo, after giving a faint smile once, added again.

“If you think today is the last day given to you, how can you get angry and annoyed with the person you love? As always, farewell doesn’t give any notice. It comes suddenly and brings a lot of unbearable sadness. In front of such farewells, everything becomes meaningless. Money, fame, everything.”

What should he say? It was a meaningful remark that seemed to be filled with many emotions, and as if it came from experience?

Perhaps it was because of the unknown aura that had settled on Chairman Ardo’s eyes for a moment that he had such thoughts.

When Jae-seung replied in a very serious tone, “Thank you for the advice,” Chairman Ardo gave a faint smile and said to Philip.

“Philip, I’m sorry for making a spectacle of myself. Could you accompany me to the bedroom?”

“Of course, certainly. I’ll escort you.”

After the two went up the stairs first, Jae-seung turned to Ashlyn and said.

“Ashlyn, would you like to go up first?”

“Huh? Why?”

“I’m just going to smoke a cigarette and then come up.”

Ashlyn stared with her arms crossed for a long time, then replied, “Okay.”

Soon, Jae-seung went outside the mansion and put a cigarette in his mouth.

As darkness fell, the surface of the sea, which had looked so beautiful during the day, only showed a faint shape.

Just as he was exhaling acrid smoke several times in a row, Philip’s voice came from behind.

“Lee, shouldn’t you put on a light coat? The night breeze is sharper than you think.”

“Yes, I should from now on.”

Philip, after giving a faint smile once, took out a cigarette and put it in his mouth.

As the two silently smoked for a while,

Philip broke the silence that had settled between them by speaking first.

“Lee, about the words that the Chairman gave you right before going up….”

“Yes.”

“It will definitely be helpful advice.”

Philip, finishing his words, added, “Because it’s advice filled with the Chairman’s experience.”

“Experience?”

“Yes.”

Philip, replying briefly, looked at the distant surface of the sea and began to continue again.

“Originally, I accompanied the Chairman and his wife every year on vacation. His wife was a beautiful and wise person, and the Chairman was a great lover of his wife.”

There was one fact that could be guessed from the fact that all the words were in the ‘past tense’.

Soon, Jae-seung sighed once and asked cautiously.

“Then, did you perhaps ‘lose her’ [did she pass away]?”

Philip only nodded once as if to answer.

Soon, Jae-seung raised his head and began to look up at the room on the 3rd floor of the mansion with the lights on. It was the room that Chairman Ardo was using.

Come to think of it, there was one thing missing from Chairman Ardo’s vacation that should be included in the leisure life of the wealthy.

Women.

Boat parties, fishing, alcohol, movies, music. Everything was there, but he couldn’t find any sign of enjoying women. That was why he felt something was missing on this island where everything was there.

As expected, no one is without scars. He decided that he should pretend not to know until Chairman Ardo brought up this story first someday.

* * *

After returning to the room, he made a phone call to Korea before taking a shower.

To be a little more precise, to ‘Director Song’.

As soon as Jae-seung returned to the room, he picked up his smartphone, and Ashlyn frowned and complained.

“Don’t tell me you’re going to handle business even here?”

“I’m just going to tell Director Song about the wedding.”

“Really?”

“Of course.”

*Well, I’m also thinking of talking about work at the same time.*

Before the signal rang several times, a welcome voice began to be heard from the other side of the receiver.

Director Song’s voice, which seemed to be mixed with a bit of annoyance, was sharp.

– Goodness, how long has it been since you left for vacation that you’re already calling?

“I missed you.”

– What? Why are you being so disgusting? Just tell me what you need.

“Is the Wallflower ‘*Imitation*’ also circulating?”

Soon, Director Song began to continue as if she had been waiting.

– Don’t even mention it. In a world where fake products pour out in 20 minutes after the collection is released? I almost flipped out when I went on a tour of Dongdaemun [a large commercial district in Seoul]. The amount of imitations circulating is probably much more than the amount we printed this time.”

“Then are there any products among them that are not our designs?”

– Of course. There are tons of designs that just have our logo on them. By the way, why the imitations? Are you thinking of suing them all together? It won’t be difficult to find them. If you slowly dig into the wholesale companies, starting with the tail….”

Just as Director Song was about to continue speaking, Jae-seung cut her off, saying, “No, I just had an interesting idea,” and then added again.

“Oh, and by the way, I’m getting married.”

– What?

“That’s what happened. It’s a long story, so I’ll tell you after I finish my vacation.”

Voices saying “Wait, wait a minute!” were heard repeatedly from the other side of the receiver, but Jae-seung had no choice but to press the end call button without any hesitation.

It was none other than Ashlyn, who was standing next to him, staring intently at him.