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Chapter 260: It's Okay to Go Slowly
Chapter 260: It's Okay to Go Slowly
Chapter 260: It's Okay to Go Slowly
After the meeting with the team, Lynn, having arrived at Red Castle, immediately sought Gregory to push through the formal contract with Kiska. Trusting in Geon, Gregory didn't hesitate to sign the contract. Upon hearing that Lynn was about to depart to Japan for a three-day schedule, Kiska requested to accompany her.
Gregory, knowing well how Kiska had reacted during the three days Geon had been away on a trip to Ireland, made his decision. After Lynn received Gregory's permission, following his meticulous questions about Fantagio's security personnel, she came to the annex where Byungjun, sitting on the floor playing with Kiska, greeted her with a smile.
"Have you arrived, Director? Have you signed the contract?"
Seeing the doll-like girl sitting on the floor, Lynn, with a tension easing off her face uncharacteristically, hurriedly approached and sat in front of Kiska. Kiska, seeing a beautiful sister sitting in front of her for the first time, opened her eyes wide and examined Lynn's face. After scrutinizing Kiska's cute face and body for a while, Lynn, with her face flushed, screamed and lifted Kiska into her arms.
"Kyaa! So cute!!"
Byungjun looked at Lynn's unexpected reaction with bemused eyes, but Lynn, not noticing his gaze, fussily touched Kiska's small feet and made a scene.
"Oh my, look at these cute feet. How could you be so pretty? I didn't realize it just by the photos!"
As Kiska looked slightly bewildered, Lynn calmed down a bit and made eye contact with Kiska.
"Hello? I'm Lynn. I've got permission from your dad, so we'll be together now."
Kiska tried to wriggle out of Lynn's hand, seemingly uncomfortable, prompting Lynn to catch her gaze again and said,"Kiska, you don't like it when Kay leaves for another place, right? You want to follow, don't you?"
Kiska stopped wriggling and looked at Lynn. As she nodded slightly with her large eyes, Lynn smiled and said,
"I got permission from your dad. Kay is going to Japan, and you can go too."
Not knowing what Japan was, Kiska tilted her head in confusion, prompting Lynn to simplify her explanation,
"You can go on a trip with Kay, Kiska. I've got the permission for it."
Finally understanding, Kiska's face brightened. She wriggled out of Lynn's grasp, raised her arms excitedly, and started running around the sofa before suddenly darting into the shower room and flung the door open. Hot steam billowed out as a scream erupted from inside.
"Eek!! Who's that! Ki, Kiska!! Close the door, please!"
Despite Geon's scream from inside the shower, Kiska, with her eyes sparkling in mischief, raised her arms in victory and laughed, while Lynn, with a flushed face, awkwardly turned her gaze out the window. Byungjun quickly stood up, closed the shower room door, and led Kiska back to the sofa, to which Kiska thanked Lynn with a hug. The disarmingly cute Kiska's embrace made Lynn smile broadly again.
Byungjun, holding the two women, cleared his throat.
"Ahem, Director, I didn't expect this side of you. To see Lynn Director, delighted by a cute child, was unexpected."
Realizing Byungjun was there, Lynn tried to regain her composure, but the warmth of the embrace made it short-lived. Eventually giving up on maintaining her image, Lynn patted Kiska's back and said after sitting on the sofa,
"If I had known such a cute child was here, I would have visited sooner."
Byungjun, with Kiska in Lynn's arms, looking up at her makeup-adorned face, commented,
"She is cute, indeed. Probably the cutest child I've ever seen."
As Kiska noticed Geon emerging from the shower room, she hurriedly ran to him and hugged his leg. Geon, with a proud smile, pointed at Lynn and asked Kiska,
"Why, Kiska? What's making you so happy?"
Kiska, mumbling, pointed at Lynn, prompting Byungjun to explain,
"Director Lynn has arranged for Kiska to accompany her to Japan this time, which is why Kiska is happy."
"Ah, is that so? Kiska, do you know what Japan is?"
Kiska shook her head with a bashful smile. Where they were going wasn't really a concern for the girl. Geon then stroked Kiska's head and asked as he sat on the sofa,
"What about Kiska's passport and visa?"
Lynn rummaged through her bag, pulling out some documents, and said,
"We'll have to sort that out. It shouldn't take long."
"Please, take care of it. But, I wonder if there are any flight tickets available on such
short notice."
"Don't worry. We'll take a private jet."
Byungjun, surprised, inquired,
"A private jet, Director? Our company has a private jet?"
Lynn smiled back at Kiska, who snuggled into her again, and replied,
"With Geon's single becoming a success, we managed to acquire a small plane. I came to the US on it. We'll take the same to go to Japan. I'll contact the immigration office separately. There's an airport in Akita, so we can go directly there."
Geon, recalling a drama he saw in his childhood, mentioned,
"I remember Akita gets a lot of snow in winter. I wonder if it'll be alright. It doesn't matter where we stay since Kiska will be with us. Which hotel are we going to?"
Lynn, stroking Kiska's small back, answered,
"When I asked Shizuka about booking a hotel, she suggested staying at her family home. The staff from China will come, and Team Director's close staff of four along with Fantagio officials will stay at Shizuka's parents' place. We've booked a separate hotel for the staff coming from China. It's not possible for everyone to stay at the house."
Geon, excited, asked,
"So it's a countryside house? Haha, I've rarely been to the countryside to farm, so I'm looking forward to it."
"Indeed. It's not a heavily populated area, so think of it as a vacation."
Geon alternated his gaze between Lynn and Kiska, smiling at them, and remarked,
"I've never seen Director Lynn wear such an expression. Is it because of Kiska?"
Lynn, attempting to maintain her composure with a cough, failed to manage her expression due to Kiska's warmth and eventually gave up,
"Hmm.. I do have a bit of a soft spot for cute babies."
"Haha, that's unexpected. I always thought you'd be the perfect businessman. You look much better like this, Director."
"Hoho, do you think so? Thank you."
The three of them were so engrossed in their conversation in the annex that they didn't notice the night deepening. In the end, that day, Lynn ended up sleeping in the annex room with Kiska, and until the moment he fell asleep holding Kiska, he never lost his warm smile.
**
On the day they left for Japan, Geon arrived at New York JFK airport and boarded the plane with Kiska, escorted by bodyguards dispatched by Fantagio. Fantagio's private jet was a small Boeing 737 with 19 seats. Although about 80 staff were departing from China, the team leaving from the US to Japan was small, including Tim, Lynn, Byungjoon, Geon, Kiska, and Shizuka, along with four of Tim's staff. Byungjoon had downloaded a bunch of animated movies onto a tablet PC to keep Kiska entertained during the long flight, and soon after starting the video with headphones on, Kiska fell asleep.
The group, waking and falling asleep intermittently during the long flight, finally landed at Akita Airport to be greeted by a landscape filled with snow from a snowstorm a few days ago in Akita Prefecture. Luckily, the weather had cleared up. As Geon, holding Kiska's hand, stepped down, he turned to Shizuka, who was immersed in the scenery, and asked,
"How does it feel to be back home? How long has it been?"
Shizuka, standing at the top of the stairs leading out of the private jet, looked at the snow-covered Akita and smiled with eyes brimming with tears,
"I haven't been back since I entered preparatory school, so it's been 4 years, Kay."
"Wow, that's quite a long time. You must miss your parents."
"Hoho, yes, I'll see them soon."
"Did you contact your parents in advance?"
"Yes, I told them we'd have guests, so they should prepare."
"Ah, it's my first time staying at a friend's house, haha."
"Really? Why?"
"My mom never let me sleep over anywhere. I've never stayed at a friend's house."
Shizuka fidgeted with her hands, lowering her head.
"Friend?"
Geon tilted his head, puzzled.
"Yeah, friend. Why?"
"Oh, nothing. Let's go!"
As Shizuka hurriedly pushed Geon forward, ending up arm in arm with him, her face turned red as she glanced at Geon, who seemed unfazed, and clung to his arm even tighter. Byungjoon, who had descended from the plane earlier, noticed Geon holding Kiska's hand on one side and arm-in-arm with Shizuka on the other. He made a bemused face and said as Geon came down the stairs,
"Look at you? Now you've got both sides covered. Shizuka, Kiska. A pair, huh? Should I change my name to Lee Byung-Ka too?"
Geon chuckled and glanced at Shizuka, who, while trying to act nonchalant, continued to hold onto his arm tightly. The group caused a minor commotion at the immigration checkpoint, but Lynn quickly resolved the situation, and they swiftly got into a car and left the airport. Geon and Tim were celebrities, so the vehicle carrying the secretly-arriving group quickly passed the airport adjacent air force airfield and headed towards the rural outskirts covered in snow. Kiska, pressing her nose against the window, marveled at the beautiful countryside winter scenery, pointing out things for Geon to explain. For things about the countryside Geon couldn't explain, Shizuka provided the answers. They soon arrived at a traditional Japanese one-story house, where they were greeted by a couple waiting in front of the house despite the cold winter day. Seeing them from inside the car, Shizuka became restless and, as soon as the car stopped, she ran out to hug the couple, her eyes welling with tears.
"Mom! Dad!"
The man, welcoming Shizuka with a happy face, approached the group getting off the car and said,
"Welcome to our home."
Though Tim didn't understand the man's words, he guessed it was a greeting and reached out his hand with a smile,
"Ah.. Konnichiwa? I'm Tim Curtain."
The man bowed and shook his hand, saying,
"I'm Ryosuke Miyawaki."
Although they couldn't understand each other's language, they smiled at knowing each other's names, but soon the atmosphere turned awkward due to the language barrier. At that moment, Geon, carrying Kiska, approached Ryosuke, bowed, and said,
"??????KAY??????Shizuka??
?????????????? (Hello, I'm called KAY. I'm a friend of Shizuka, pleased to meet you)."
Ryosuke was surprised at the fluent Japanese, and Tim was also astonished. Seeing Geon smile, Ryosuke softly said,
"????Shizuka?????(Are you Shizuka's friends?)"
Geon smiled, glancing at Shizuka, who was laughing in her mother's arms.
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