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Caelus collapsed on his bed the moment he entered his room, a heavy sigh escaping his lips as he sunk into the soft cushions, the exhaustion in his body finally settling in.
‘Just what did I get myself into?’ He asked himself, a bit regretful of the decisions he had made that night.
Just what came into him that made him suddenly change his mind about getting involved with her? He was initially dead set on just getting through dinner then leaving on a good note. How did he end up agreeing to date her? It wasn’t just courting or starting off as friends or just getting to know each other but straight to dating. Was he that emotionally unstable that he momentarily lost his mind?
“I’ll contact you, Sir Caelus. I’m looking forward to seeing you again.” Caelus recalled as she smiled brightly with so much enthusiasm before taking her leave first
Caelus stared blankly up at the ceiling. ‘There’s no turning back…’
Other than her name, Caelus knew nothing about her- well other than the fact that she was the granddaughter of a chairman.
‘She looked awfully familiar though.’ Some part of his mind kept insisting. He could’ve sworn he’s seen her somewhere.
As he was trying to remember just where he'd seen her before meeting her on that blind date, his phone pinged.
“We’re engaged!”
It was a text message from Helios. It was a short text, and he had only allowed himself to glance at it from his notifications, yet his whole world felt like crashing down on him. He already knew they were going to get engaged, and he knew to himself Diana would- in a heartbeat- say yes to Helios. Despite knowing everything was already set in stone, why was he feeling like this? Why was he still feeling so freshly heartbroken? He wanted to be wholeheartedly happy for them, and although he was to an extent, he couldn’t stop the crushing pain he was feeling in his heart.
He felt his eyes sting slightly, his eyes watering as a tear slipped down the side of his face. Caelus swiftly removed the silver-rimmed glasses that framed his face, covering his eyes with his forearm instead. Nobody was around, yet he still felt the need to hide his tears.
Another heavy sigh escaped from his lips. “I shouldn’t be feeling this way” His voice, hoarse, barely came out like a whisper.
Another ping was heard from his phone after a while. Caelus, afraid that it was another text from Helios- or worse, a text from Diana, hesitated to check it. After a short second, another ping was heard, and although he wanted so badly to ignore it, he thought that at the very least, he should be the first to congratulate the two of them. They were, after all, still one of the most important people in his life.
Contrary to his expectations, the notification came from a message request, and the second was a text from said request. It was an unfamiliar ID, one he had never interacted with before. He pressed to check the profile but was set to private and thus had no choice but to open the chat and see the message that was sent by said ID.
[ Hi! This is Hestia. ╰ (´꒳`) ╯ Please add my account and save my contact number XXXXXXXXXXXX. I had a pleasant time with you and I hope we can meet again soon! Thank you again, and good night sweet dreams （＾ω＾）(_ _ ) Zzz z. ]
Eyes still a bit blurry from his tears, Caelus blinked dumbfoundedly at the text message he got.
“Even her text messages are weird.” He mumbled through sniffles, wiping off the tears that were blurring his vision.
He’s only just met her but he couldn’t help but notice how expressive she was. He could feel her enthusiasm even through text.
He could delete the message request, and ghost her, never seeing her again. She wasn’t the kind of person he would usually vibe with- especially with how energetic and extrovert-like she was. He’s been on quite a number of blind dates himself, and he’s met women who had the same enthusiasm as her, and he’s turned down every single one of them. Yet why couldn’t he do the same with her?
In fact, he found himself accepting her request before he could even think of what to do next- just like how he accepted dating her earlier. Caelus took another glance at his phone, staring specifically at the said woman’s profile picture. Similar to how he had first seen her, she had her back turned, long wavy hair cascading down her back as she looked towards the city lights in the background. As he stared, he couldn’t help but wonder just how this ‘dating’ thing was going to work with her.
Since he had agreed to do it, he had to see it through, he thought, finally finding the remaining energy inside of him to get up. Although his emotions were still a bit in haywire and his body still felt heavy- it was much better compared to the crashing feeling that was pressing down on him when he saw Helios’ text.
His mind then wandered to whether he had to tell Helios and Diana of his new predicament, but then immediately dismissed it.
‘They have a lot going on in their lives right now…’ He thought to himself helplessly, glancing at the drawer of his bedside table where a pink diamond rests.
Matters like such should be kept to himself, especially when he had no idea where it was heading into- which in itself was an anomaly for him since he didn’t like diving into things unprepared in the first place. Agreeing to date someone he barely knew out of a whim was definitely a first and so now he could only worry about how things would go from there.
—---------------
“Someone’s in an extra good mood.” Hestia’s manager commented, seeing the blinding smile on her face as she entered the car humming a happy tune.
“You think so too?” Hestia, with eyes forming crescents, happily replied.
“The blind date went well? I thought you didn’t like Sir Helios.”
“I still don’t, even more so since he didn’t show up.” A momentary frown and furrow of eyebrows splashed on Hestia’s previously smiling face as she recalled the fact that she was initially set up with a man who was about to get engaged. However, her mood immediately reverted back upon remembering the man who had shown up instead.
“Oh? Then why do you look as if spring has come?” Her manager said with a teasing eyebrow raised.
“Because a prince- no, an ethereal man came instead.” At this point, her manager could’ve sworn to see her pupils turn into hearts like in webtoons.
“Seriously?”
Hestia nodded dreamily, looking out of the window as if she were looking at a beautiful scenery outside the car- when in fact, they still haven’t even made it out of the parking lot.
‘Has my talent gone insane or she was always like this but never knew till now since she’s never been so interested in an actual guy.’ Her manager didn’t know whether to be happy for her or to be concerned.
“So…what happened?”
Her manager asked a bit suspiciously, knowing how reckless and bold Hestia could be. Although she’s never seen this interested in a guy, knowing her personality, she wouldn’t have let such a guy go.
“What else? I asked him out of course!”
“After the date?” Her manager clarified, continuing to watch Hestia’s facial expressions.
“Huh? I asked him out right away the moment I found out he was single and available.”
Her manager looked at her confused.
“Isn’t that already implied? Since he went to that blind date instead?”
Hestia shrugged, her face grimacing shortly as she explained herself, “Yes, but that douche- er- Sir Helios, the guy I was initially set up with- was actually getting engaged that exact same night.”
“So I had to make sure. I wouldn’t want to headline a scandal about getting in between a love story as some kind of evil blind date.”
Her manager blinked, trying to process what her talent had just told her.
“Well, water under the bridge I guess?” Hestia shrugged, her manager still a bit stupefied.
“It’s all good since he showed up instead.” Then the silly dazed smile returned to Hestia’s face once more.
Her manager could only laugh a bit nervously- unsure of what to feel after hearing all about her date and witnessing the lovestruck state Hestia was in.
“That man…did he know you were a celebrity? I mean- he probably did- Your face is literally everywhere around Seoul-”
“Oh!”
Hestia sat up in realization, making her manager even more nervous.
“I don’t think he does!”
There was no look of surprise or recognition on his face when they met. In fact, he had treated her normally- which was a refreshing pace on her part. Nevertheless, even if he did recognize her as an actress, there should’ve been at least a bit of recognition on his part- no, noticing how quite rational the man was, he probably wouldn’t have agreed to date her in the first place if he knew she was a celebrity.
“Oh dear…” Hestia furrowed her eyebrows, her face clearly looking troubled now.
“I think…he’s not…he doesn’t…” She looked at her manager in worry, feeling guilty she hadn’t told him such an important detail.
I mean, it wasn’t like she knew him as well other than his name, but it would be very much troubling on his part if the media found out. She had promised to herself he wouldn’t bother the man too much or cause him too much trouble especially when she was the one who persistently asked him out- and he had relented under the condition of “reparation” for being stood up.
“Are you sure?” Her manager looked at her with clear eyes, which made her calm down a little.
Hestia nodded.
“Since he went in Sir Helios’ stead, he must be someone of the same calibre. They wouldn’t dare offend your grandfather even if it’s Chairman Nereus.”
“He gave me his business card. He’s the chairman of Illion group.” Hestia rummaged for her wallet in her bag, picking out the business card that was given to her from it and handing it over to her manager.
“Illion group?” Her manager’s eyes slightly widened.
Coincidentally, it was the corporation that had just sent in an ambassador deal contract for Hestia that day. Although it was specifically their group’s jewellery brand company as a starter, the contract expanded to the entire group’s other brands as well if both parties find the conditions of the contract satisfactory after a three month’s monitoring period. She had just received it this morning and thus wasn’t actually able to review it, however and she was actually planning to mention it to her along with other brand deals and show offerings she had already reviewed beforehand.
Could he have possibly approached Hestia to secure the deal? But the business card said he was the chairman. Wouldn’t it be too extreme for the chairman to secure the deal himself? But then again, it would be understandable. Not to sound too arrogant, but there were a lot of companies trying to get Hestia to be their ambassador. But thinking about it, Empire Corp. was also a company aiming for an ambassador deal with Hestia, and if they had known she was the one set up for the blind date with Sir Helios, the Vice Chairman of that corporation, then they wouldn’t have let such opportunity go.
‘It’s also possible it’s just a work of fate.’ A naive thought, but possible.
“You said you asked him out right? That means you’ll see each other again?” In a calmer and more well composed voice, her manager asked, handing Hestia back the business card to which Hestia held onto it as if it was the most precious thing to her.
“Well…ideally. But what if he had found out and decided to just cut me off?” Hestia looked at her with weary eyes- as if she was in a life or death crisis.
“You can’t really do anything about that- especially if you don’t want to cause a scandal- moreover, I wouldn’t let you do that.”
Her manager said bluntly, shrugging her shoulders, making Hestia frown even more.
“But you can’t just assume he would, right? Without reaching out to him?”
Hestia met her manager’s eyes, seeing the encouraging look on her face, the very same whenever she needed a little push and assurance.
“You’re treating me like a kid.” Hestia chuckled, her usual smile back on her face.
“When am I free again, my dear sweet manager?” Her previous mirth and enthusiasm came back, this time trying to butter up to her manager.
Her manager, in turn, just couldn’t help but laugh lightly.
____________
It was a week and a few days after the blind date, and during that time, he had met with Helios and Diana who invited him out to dinner. He didn’t know just how he survived said meeting- let alone face them- without breaking down, but somehow he did it and now he was doing all that he could do to distance himself from them through the guise of being busy with work- which wasn’t a complete lie since they were planning to launch a new product their company had been developing for years.
In those days, Hestia, the woman he met on a blind date and had asked him out, had sent him a few messages to which he had only curt replies to. Despite such curt replies, somehow the said woman continued to remain enthusiastic- and weirdly enough, he genuinely felt like she still was even through text.
[ Hi! Good morning! ◝(^⌣^)◜ Can I bother you with a date? If yes, are you free anytime this week? ]
[ I’ll check my schedule. ]
[ Okay （＾ω＾）]
‘Childish’ he thought, though he didn’t really mind. He thought it fit her personality somehow when he thought about it.
[ I’m only available on Saturday. ] he had replied, which was a day after the previous message.
To which an immediate reply came. [ Can I bargain for your time on Friday night instead? Even just for a quick dinner (ᗒᗣᗕ)՞ ? ]
[ No. I already have a prior appointment. ] Which was an appointment he didn’t want to go himself, however it’s not like he could cancel plans with Helios and Diana out of the blue. Furthermore, he was doing his best to assure them that he was okay and that he was happy for them. Cancelling last minute would waste his prior efforts of assuring them.
[ Okay. Next time then (っ◞‸◟c). ] Was he too blunt? He thought about replying to suggest another date when another message popped up.
[ I’ll ask again next week (⌒_⌒;). Good night sweet dreams! （＾ω＾） (_ _ ) Zzz z. ]
Truth be told, he would’ve preferred meeting up with her instead of facing the mentioned two. Although he didn’t know her that well, he didn’t exactly hate or dislike the time he had spent with her.
She didn’t bombard or pester him with messages, which relieved him since judging from his previous blind dates- despite having not given them his number, had flooded him with messages the following days. In fact, there was probably only one conversation through chat he would consider ‘lengthy’.
[ Good morning ◝(^⌣^)◜! I’d just like to ask. ꒰´꒳`∗꒱Mr. Caelus, what is your favourite dish? ]
[ Nothing in particular. ]
[ How about a favourite drink? Σ(-᷅_-᷄๑) ]
[ Anything is fine. ]
[ Do you like wine? Σ(-᷅_-᷄๑) ]
[ I wouldn’t say I like it. I only drink on occasion. ]
[ Then, how about coffee? Tea? ╰ ꒰´꒳`∗꒱ ]
[ I prefer tea. ]
[ Do you love it? Can you say it’s your favourite then? Σ(-᷅_-᷄๑) ]
[ Not exactly. ]
[ Do you like it enough to enjoy tea ceremonies? (^⌣^) ]
[ Sometimes. As a hobby. ]
[ Alright, I’ll keep that in mind ( ^◡^). Have good day ｡^‿^｡ ]
Such a random conversation was initiated on the day he was said to be available, which was the morning after the night he had dinner with Helios and Diana. Coincidentally, he was just about to hold a tea ceremony when she had sent him a message.
[ Hi! Can I bother you for a date? Preferably this Saturday? (⚈∇⚈ ) ]
[ Okay. ]
[ Yay! I’ll send you the details soon ╰(⸝⸝⸝´꒳`⸝⸝⸝)╯]
That was the latest text message they had, which happened the day before yesterday. Caelus, upon noticing how Saturday was only a day away, couldn’t help but wonder when she would send the details like she had said. Caelus shook off such random thoughts and went back to the papers he was reviewing.
Then, a knock on Caelus’ office door was heard before a man who seemed to be in his mid 40s entered.
“Chairman, the meeting will be starting in 10 minutes.”
Caelus, who went back to reviewing a document, looked up at his chief secretary.
“I’ll head there in a minute.” He shortly replied, flipping back the pages of the document he had in hand and placing it back on the pile of papers he was finished with before getting up from his seat to head down to the conference room.
As the meeting went on, and as Caelus flipped through the meeting agenda that was recorded on his tablet, a certain topic caught his attention.
‘Ambassador Contract Deal’
Although it had been a matter he had ordered to be looked into right away, especially with their upcoming brand launch, he didn’t expect it to already be included right away at today’s conference meeting. He expected to hear about it the next week or so.
As he looked into more of the details, a list of A to B list celebrities was included as prospects for the position. Caelus’ eyes slightly widened upon seeing the name that was at the very top of the list.
‘Hestia’ he had read, and beside her name were statistical numbers that researched how well the products she had endorsed would sell out.
Before his mind could think more deeply into what he had just found out, the ambassador contract deal agenda was brought up as the next topic, which quickly shifted his attention back to the presentation before him.
“We’ve gathered at least 15 prospects for the contract deal. Among them are five of the top celebrities in Korea who’s maintained quite the influence and popularity from the past 10 years to the present. Then, we have ten B-list celebrities who've earned quite the fame in recent years as well.”
The presenter continued to explain, although a tad bit conscious and nervous upon realizing how intensely the chairman, Caelus, was listening in.
“According to the statistics we’ve gathered on past and current brand endorsements, the celebrity with the biggest influence is the top actress, Miss Hestia.”
Sample pictures of Hestia’s endorsement pictures were flashed along with statistics that compared the growth of sales upon every advertisement launch.
‘That’s why she looked familiar.’ Caelus sighed internally to himself.
How could he have not realized it sooner enough? No, just why did it take him this long to realize she was a celebrity? He’d literally drive past numerous billboards and endorsement posters of her strewn about in the city. She was also a face frequently seen in cinemas and TV channels, even more so in the media. How could he not have realized it even right away?
Other than her being literally everywhere, the statistics shown in the presentation were concrete proof of her fame. Every product she endorsed had its sales rocket to at least half of its previous sales. There were even products that were sold out unintentionally due to her influence. The presentation even mentioned how she had a brand of bottled coffee sold out the next day after fans had seen the brand in the background of one of her live broadcasts. At some point, the presenter was starting to sound like an avid fan of Hestia, and weirdly enough, the people in the meeting whispered of excitement possibly having her as an ambassador- may it be for the company or for ‘fan-related’ reasons.
But then, one of the directors had a concern raised.
“Mr. Chairman, permission to speak.” To which Caelus gave a brief nod for him to continue, eyes not leaving the powerpoint presentation shown before him.
“Our top prospect is Miss Hestia, yes? However, I heard Miss Hestia’s quite in demand. There are many other corporations aiming to name her their ambassador. If we insist and put a lot of effort into getting her as our ambassador and end up getting turned down, wouldn’t it be a loss on our part? What if the remaining celebrities in the list get snatched up by other corporations too while we wait for her answer? Especially considering there are quite a number of competitors who are set to launch new brands and products.”
Caelus nodded thoughtfully. One of the reasons why he had them look into potential ambassadors this early was because of the competition they currently had. Although their launch wasn’t till next year, which was around 9 months away from now, he had directed to find an ambassador that would help get the product a large sales boost upon the very start of its release. In order to do that, finding a suitable celebrity who would boost their lowest selling products as a test was the first step.
“We had initially thought of that problem as well, Director. It was one of the big risks of casting an A-list Celebrity of such calibre, and so we decided to send a draft of the ambassador contract deal to Miss Hestia several days ago to test the waters.”
‘What?’ Caelus, who was slightly leaning back on his seat, sat up upon hearing said information.
“Several days ago? When was that exactly?” Caelus inquired out of the blue, startling the employee who was presenting.
“Er- the 4th of this month.”
‘That was the day after the blind date.’ He immediately recalled.
Has she seen the contract yet? Does she even know about it? If the contract was brought up to her by her management, did Hestia recognize the company label? She should have since he had given her his business card as a way to contact him. And if she did see the contract, why hasn’t she brought up anything about it to him? At least a little question about it or a little mention about it?
“Are there…any updates on their part?” He continued to ask.
“Oh! Yes, Mr. Chairman! In fact, her manager called the other day and said she was willing to discuss the terms of the contract a bit more. She said there were a few revisions she had wished to negotiate on, and so we agreed to schedule a meeting for that tomorrow.”
The presenter answered a bit too enthusiastically. And upon hearing such information, excited mumbles and whispers slowly filled the room. It wouldn’t take a genius to realize many of his company employees were avid fans of hers- the director who had raised the previous inquiry included- since he looked to be the most excited one amongst them all.
‘Revisions?’ Caelus recalled, it made sense how terribly difficult it was to get Hestia as an ambassador- other than the fact that she was well sought out. She probably wasn’t an easy opponent to convince. Well- it was either she herself or her management.
“Tomorrow, you say?” Caelus tapped a finger on the heavy long wooden table situated in the middle of the conference room.
“Yes. Her manager agreed with the 10 AM appointment time we proposed.”
Caelus nodded, although his mind delved into deep thought, trying to remember whether he had anything set for 10am tomorrow.
“Uros.” Caelus called his secretary, who was beside him, in a small whisper, to which the man had immediately responded.
“Do I have anything scheduled tomorrow morning at 10 AM?”
Uros, who didn’t expect the question, blinked dumbfoundedly at him. “H-huh?”
“Uros?” Caelus looked at him slightly wary with the lack of answer and was met with a dazed face instead.
“O-oh- oh…Sir Helios requested some of your time during that morning- although I have yet to confirm it with his secretary since you have yet to give an answer…”
Uros said a bit awkwardly, knowing the love triangle that went on with Helios, Diana, and Caelus. He was his secretary after all- and other than that- he was someone who had seen Caelus all throughout his childhood- other than Helios and Chairman Nereus.
“Decline the request…for now. Say that there’s an urgent appointment and to schedule it another time.”
Another shock had hit Uros. Caelus had never declined a request from Helios before- no, he never had Helios wait for an answer even! The next thing he said came even more as a shock, not just to Uros, but to the people present in the meeting as well.
“Who was the team leader of this agenda?” Caelus asked, turning back to the presenter.
The presenter himself had raised his hand, to which Caelus addressed with an unfazed face.
“Send me more of the details of the contract deal, and the endorsement plan you had in mind with Miss Hestia as the prospect ambassador. You’ve drafted one already, yes?”
“Yes! Yes Mr. Chairman!”
“Have it sent to my office right away. I’ll review it myself, and I’ll join the meeting with Miss Hestia tomorrow to discuss the conditions she wishes to negotiate. ”
“It would be an honor, Chairman! Of course!” The employee bowed enthusiastically, taking it as a sign that their team had done well in handling the agenda.
Caelus, on the other hand, was rather curious of what was going on in the current circumstances he was finding himself in.
The woman he had- on a whim- decided to date turned out to be a celebrity- a fact he hadn’t realized till now, and now said woman was the top prospect their company wanted for ambassador, and out of all the companies that offered her such an offer- their company happened to be one of- if not only- the company she responded back to. There were many things to unpack- questions that could be asked that could only be answered by one person- and that was Hestia herself.
He could send her a text message, ask her about it, yet he decided not to. Rather, he preferred to get his answers in the flesh. He didn’t have to wait long anyway, he was to meet her tomorrow.