The harsh morning sunlight pierced through the clean glass windows of the premium hospital ward, hitting directly onto the face of the young handsome man lying on the bed.
Seo Jun groaned loudly, his hand immediately flying to his forehead. His head felt like it was about to split into two, the aftermath of a massive hangover hitting him like a freight train.
"Oh... Mrs. Jang... my hangover drink," Seo Jun mumbled into his pillow, his eyes tightly shut as he buried his face back into the mattress. He didn't even have the energy to sit up. Keeping his eyes closed, he whined loudly, "Mrs. Jang, bring my drink quickly, pleaseee..."
Suddenly, a pair of hands firmly grabbed his shoulders and shook him without any mercy.
"Sir! Get up! This is not your home," a sharp, professional female voice cut through his whining. "This is a hospital, and you cannot create trouble here!"
"What? Hospital?" Seo Jun scoffed, still refusing to open his eyes. A sleepy, annoyed smirk formed on his lips. "Mrs. Jang, you are lying just to wake me up, right? Nice trick, but it won't work..."
Annoyed by his stubbornness, the nurse stared down at him with a heavy glare. Feeling the intense gaze, Seo Jun finally forced his eyelids open. The moment his vision cleared, he froze. Instead of his luxury bedroom ceiling, he looked directly at a stern-faced nurse in a crisp uniform staring right back at him.
"OH!!" Seo Jun jumped in shock, his eyes widening to the size of saucers. "Who are you and what are you doing in my house?! Mom? Mom! Security! Security!"
"Sir! Why can't you just calm down? I already told you, this is a hospital!" The nurse lost her patience. Before he could scream for security again, she reached out, grabbed his chin, and literally forced his head to turn toward the other side of the room. "Look over there!"
Seo Jun's eyes followed her hand. He blinked, staring at the clinical white walls, the medical equipment, and the clear IV drip connected to the back of his own hand.
"Why... why am I in a hospital?" Panic finally shot through him. His heart started racing as he looked at the medical tubes. "Wait, did something happen to me?! Am I dying? Where is my mom? And where is my secretary?!"
Frantic, he grabbed his luxury smartphone from the side table, his fingers quickly sliding across the screen to unlock it, and immediately typed a furious message to his secretary.
Right at that moment, the door to the ward swung open, and the attending doctor walked in, holding a clipboard. "Ah, so you are finally awake."
The nurse stepped back, letting out a sigh of relief. "Yes, Doctor. He just woke up."
The doctor looked at Seo Jun's charts and shook his head with an amused smile. "Great. You can leave now. To be honest, you didn't have any actual illness at all. But you certainly created a massive scene last night!"
"Do you have any idea what you did? You vomited five times during the night—not just on the floor but across three different hospital beds! I suggest you tone down your drinking from now on."
Seo Jun's jaw dropped in absolute horror and embarrassment. Three beds?! He quickly tried to clear his throat to regain his dignity, throwing his shoulders back. "Fine... but who brought me here anyway?"
The doctor shrugged, looking completely indifferent. "How would I know? The person who dropped you off left immediately. You should know who you are partying with."
Seo Jun's brows furrowed in pure confusion. "What do you mean 'I should know'? If I was in my right mind, would I even come to this place? Why would I come to a hospital? I wanted to go straight to my own house—which, let me tell you, is way more luxurious than this place!"
Hearing his arrogant tone, the doctor's expression turned cold, showing his own attitude. "Sir, you can save that talk for later. Right now, please take your discharge papers and go back to your luxurious home. Thank you."
"What?!" Seo Jun's temper flared. He glared at the doctor, completely offended. How dare a regular doctor speak to him like this? "Why is this doctor talking so big? I can get you suspended in a heartbeat! Do you even know who I am?!"
The doctor didn't even blink. He adjusted his glasses and looked at Seo Jun with pure sarcasm. "Sir, I am a doctor, not a demographic survey agent who goes around doing a census of every person's identity. I don't need to know who you are."
Seeing the tension rise, the nurse quickly stepped in to handle the situation. "Sir, sir, please calm down. Let's just resolve this quietly."
Seo Jun scoffed loudly, pulling the IV tape off his hand with a grimace. "Unbelievable! I don't even know which idiot dropped me here. What an absolute fool. Bringing someone to a hospital for a simple hangover... ugh!"
As Seo Jun turned his back to gather his things, the doctor and the nurse walked toward another patient's bed across the room. They leaned in close, whispering and giggling quietly to suppress their laughter.
"Seriously, where do these crazy people come from?" the nurse whispered.
"I know, right?" the doctor chuckled under his breath. "Who on earth brings someone to a hospital just for a hangover? What a legendary pair."
Hearing their muffled giggles, Seo Jun's face turned red with embarrassment. Stomping his feet, he stormed out of the ward and marched straight down to the ground floor reception.
The receptionist saw him approaching and quickly pulled out a folder. "Sir, here are your discharge papers. And please take this remaining change." She handed him a thin envelope of cash.
Seo Jun stared at the money, completely bewildered. "Change? Who gave this money in the first place?"
"The lady who came to drop you off last night," the receptionist explained with a polite smile. "She paid a very heavy amount in advance directly at the counter, so this was the balance amount left after deducting your room and cleaning fees."
Before Seo Jun could process the fact that a mysterious woman paid his expensive fees, loud, frantic footsteps echoed through the hospital lobby.
"SIIRRR!!! SIRR!!! Are you okay?!"
Seo Jun turned around to see his secretary running toward him, completely out of breath, sweating bullets, and looking like his soul had left his body.
Seo Jun distorted his face into a thoroughly annoyed, miserable expression. He looked at his panicked secretary and said sarcastically, "No. I just got back from fighting a war."
"Sir! What on earth are you saying?!" Secretary Kim gasped, clutching his chest as if he might have a heart attack right there in the hospital lobby.
Seo Jun rolled his eyes, adjusting his rumpled designer suit jacket with as much dignity as he could muster. "Okay, okay, I'm just joking. But you already know that after drinking at night, I lose a bit of my senses, Secretary Kim."
"I am so sorry, Sir." Secretary Kim bowed his head deeply, his face full of genuine guilt. "Last night, I suddenly had an urgent matter to attend to. Mr. Han called me in a panic, and I had to leave immediately."
Seo Jun's eyes narrowed into a doubtful squint. He looked at his secretary suspiciously. "Why? What was the urgent work? Did something happen?"
"Yes, sir. It's about the big meeting to save our company." Secretary Kim lowered his voice, leaning in closer. "It is scheduled in the next two days."
Seo Jun snapped his fingers, trying to trigger his hangover-fogged brain. "Ah! That company's name... it is Tahaa... or something? Arrgh, its pronunciation is a bit too difficult!"
"It's Valkyrie Ventures, Sir," Secretary Kim corrected him smoothly, a proud and hopeful smile breaking across his face. "Wow, Sir... you already had so many ideas! You kept track of this project's details, didn't you?"
Seo Jun cleared his throat quickly, throwing his shoulders back and acting like he knew it all along. "Of course! Everyone knows that Valkyrie is a massive company based in Italy with incredible revenue returns. It's a huge deal." He brushed a stray piece of hair from his forehead, looking completely confident. "Anyway, let's get out of here. The smell of this place is ruining my mood."
"Yes, Boss. The car is ready out front," Secretary Kim said, gesturing toward the automatic glass doors.
Both of them walked out of the hospital, leaving behind the whispering medical staff, and slipped into the back seat of their waiting luxury car. As the engine purred to life and they drove away, Seo Jun looked out the window, completely unaware that the 'foolish idiot' who paid his hospital bill was the exact same 'Valkyrie Queen' who held the future of his entire company in her hands.
Inside the Onyx Mansion, Part 2
Inside the spacious luxury villa hall, the atmosphere shifted from casual morning breakfast to serious corporate tension.
Mr. Nam and Richard had just entered, standing respectfully in front of Siwon, who leaned back into a leather armchair, her green velvet coat contrasting sharply with the elegant decor.
"Do those Han Sang Enterprises people even give us the confirmed meeting date or not?" Siwon asked, her tone cold and business-minded. She tapped her fingers impatiently on the armrest. "I need to look over my company's interests as well. We can't just waste time waiting around."
Mr. Nam adjusted his glasses, looking a bit hesitant as he opened his file. "Boss, the meeting is scheduled in the next two days, and they want to inform us about the exact venue soon. But... well, to be honest, their core team is quite upset with us right now."
Siwon raised a single eyebrow, completely unfazed. "Upset? For what?"
"Because you arrived a day early on your flight and didn't inform them," Mr. Nam explained with a helpless sigh. "Their welcoming committee stood at the airport for the entire day yesterday, holding banners, just waiting to receive you."
A small, arrogant smirk played on Siwon's lips. She let out a soft, mocking chuckle. "So what if they stood there?" Siwon scoffed, waving her hand dismissively. "Let's leave it. They are the ones who need me to save them, not the other way around. If they want this deal, they must adjust to my timing."
Richard and Mr. Nam exchanged a look, knowing better than to argue with the Valkyrie Queen when she was in her element.
Siwon stood up gracefully, smoothing out her velvet coat. The aura of a ruthless businesswoman completely took over.
"Alright, enough about them. Let's utilize this time productively. Mr. Nam, get the cars ready. You are going to show me our new branch's building site today."
"Yes, Boss. Right away." Mr. Nam bowed deeply, turning around to make the arrangements.