MMB Chapter 9 Aquarius
Chapter 9 Aquarius
Inside the convenience store, Jung Do-hoon's gaze swept across the shelves—
Clove cigarettes are popular in Indonesia. They are made of about 60% tobacco and 40% spices such as cumin and cinnamon. For someone like Zheng Daoxun who occasionally smokes to calm his emotions, just imagining it makes him think that the taste is quite strange.
It's not as good as the taro flavor.
"Give me a lighter," Jung Do-hoon said in English. The clerk didn't understand, so he made a gesture of lighting a cigarette. The clerk then understood. Just as he was about to pay, the convenience store's welcome bell rang.
"Clerk, I was just looking for you." Pei Dongyong's eyes lit up. He took out his credit card, casually asked for a pack of Sampo Lin clove cigarettes, and handed one to Zheng Daoxun.
"I have one myself..."
He was about to politely decline when Bae Dong-young raised his hand:
"The point of coming to Indonesia is to experience the local culture and try new things, otherwise life will feel boring."
Perhaps, having one wouldn't hurt.
Jung Do-hoon took it, and two diplomats in suits came to the smoking area outside the store. The firelight briefly cooled his handsome face.
"What do you want?" He still couldn't stand the novel yet somewhat strange atmosphere, and frowned slightly.
"As you instructed, I just went through all the information about Natara, the local operator of the concert, in the room, and there are indeed some problems... such as irregularities in the bidding process."
Bae Dong-yong accepted the tobacco smell of cumin and cinnamon with ease, his brows relaxed, but he then asked with a puzzled look:
"But what does this have to do with us? Didn't we already make an appointment with the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs tomorrow? We'll put pressure on them and then wait for their response."
Jung Do-hoon understood what Bae Dong-young meant.
After the incident, the two of them immediately flew to Indonesia to discuss the issue, which in itself was enough to report back to their superiors.
How you respond to an emergency is sometimes more important than what results you achieve.
"I felt there was a problem when I was looking through the handover documents yesterday, but I was in too much of a hurry to look at them closely," Zheng Daoxun stubbed out his cigarette and took out his own from his pocket. "The tax problems were caused by Natara. Looking back now, the problems with the bidding process also seem like their doing."
"You mean the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs got ripped off during the bidding process...?"
"So that's where we put pressure on them. If they don't cooperate, we'll demand the replacement of the operators for all subsequent activities."
Pei Dongyong exhaled a circle in the air, then looked at the young clerk again, secretly clicking his tongue, and simply grunted in response.
As expected, not everyone can break the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' record. His opinion changed somewhat: "Understood, we'll do as you say."
"How's the form collection going? Before you go to the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs tomorrow, have the forms compiled and let me take a look."
"It's all sorted out."
"Next week, our focus will be on the World Expo..."
In the time it takes to smoke a cigarette, men often become acquainted and chat about all sorts of things.
Bae Dong-young pulled out another cigarette, about to light it, when he suddenly remembered something interesting: "Speaking of which, I didn't expect that the phenomenon of celebrities changing their birthdays is quite common. I looked at their passport information."
Jung Do-hoon glanced at him, his gaze sweeping over the hotel lobby in the distance. He didn't say anything. Minatozaki Sana's birthday was accurate and hadn't been changed. As for the others... he didn't know.
"Mina isn't an Aries at all. I knew it, she's so quiet by herself..."
Jung Do-hoon coughed lightly and patted Bae Dong-young on the shoulder: "I didn't expect you to know so much about Twice."
"It's part of my job, after all, I have to deal with them often. But I'm a fan of Ryderbabe."
"Red Velvet," Jung Do-hoon corrected.
"Ledbabe?"
Zheng Daoxun smiled helplessly and stopped correcting him. He was trying to quickly change the subject.
"There's another issue we need to discuss: the passports of those Japanese celebrities are outside our scope of responsibility and authority..."
"That's why K-pop groups should include more Koreans. Having so many foreign artists would put our Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a difficult position. Well, I support Mina."
Zheng Daoxun stopped talking, simply stubbed out his cigarette, and cleared his throat.
Pei Dongyong glanced at his boss with a puzzled look. He was wondering why, when they were just chatting about things outside of work...
Until he turned his head to look to the side, there stood a beautiful woman with a cold face and a somewhat puzzled expression.
Speak of Cao Cao, and Cao Cao appears.
Pei Dongyong gave an awkward laugh, completely lacking the composure one would expect from someone in their early forties: "Secretary, you're right, we do indeed need to clarify the scope of our responsibilities..."
Mina didn't want to pay attention to the two men smoking in front of the convenience store; she just wanted to buy a can of ginger ale.
But when the middle-aged man solemnly called her name and said he would support her, she instinctively stopped in her tracks.
What if they're employees sent by the company? We should at least let them know.
"Hello, representative." She bowed slightly to Bae Dong-young, who twitched his lips helplessly.
Zheng Daoxun stood with his hands in his pockets, remaining silent, but watching everything unfold with great interest.
"Mina-xi, I'm Bae Dong-young, an administrative officer from the Cultural Exchange Division of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. This... is my superior, Secretary Jung Do-hoon. We were just talking about work, and we happened to be talking about you two."
"I remember you came here to resolve your passport issue." Mina took small, quick steps, subtly shifting to the side.
Since you're not a company employee, you can leave after giving them a heads-up.
"Yes, thank you so much. I still need to go to the convenience store..."
"Okay, go quickly."
Jung Do-hoon patted Bae Dong-young on the shoulder again, suddenly having the idea to tease the old man. So he called out to the one who was trying to sneak away: "Mina-ssi, I have a question for you."
"Huh?" Mina froze. What question could she possibly answer from a diplomat? All she wanted to do was quickly buy a case of ginger ale and then go back to her room to be alone in peace.
"Are you an Aries? This is asking on behalf of our administrative officer."
Pei Dongyong opened his mouth slightly, looking utterly helpless as if he had been betrayed by his superior.
Mina's eyelashes fluttered. She glanced at Bae Dong-young, whose expression was stiff beside her, then looked away, her voice very soft:
I'm actually an Aquarius.
"Okay, goodbye."
Watching Minami's slender figure flee into the convenience store, Jung Do-hoon urged, "Dong-young, let's go quickly. If we don't leave, she won't dare to come out of the convenience store."
"Clerk, you really gave me a fright," Pei Dongyong exhaled, "I was already embarrassed enough."
"But at least it confirms your observation; she is indeed not an Aries."
"I told you, her personality is definitely Aquarius."
Why do you say that?
"This girl seems like the kind of person who is usually shy, quiet, and likes to be alone, but has a slightly cunning personality when she's with people she knows well."
"Dongyong, there's something I need to tell you..." Zheng Daoxun handed over a taro-flavored cigarette.
"What is it?"
Jung Do-hoon exhaled a puff of smoke, slowly looked at Bae Dong-young, and a very faint smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.
"I'm an Aquarius too."