it was Nathan's turn to speak. Kim Eunji thought that the man would not be able to make it as after they came back from Beijing that night, Nathan received a call coming from someone that made him flew all the way to the US.
Nathan had barely made it. He arrived when Kelly declared her vows to Mo Jing-sheng and decided to sat down on the last seats instead of going to the designated seat.
"Good morning." He greeted. "First Brother... I still could not believe that you're indeed a married man now. I could still remember how you stunned us when you suddenly dropped the news of being married to us. Who would have thought that someone like you who had avoided women in his adulthood would be the first person to get married among us in the end?" Nathan stated that made everyone chuckled.
"Nevertheless, I could say that you found the right woman for you. Sister-in-law, thank you for coming into his life and letting him experience the feeling of loving and being loved. We knew that among us, you're the most reliable one. You have been a great friend, a great leader, a great boss to your people. For sure, you'll do great as a husband and soon as a father. Always remember that the brotherhood will always be around to support you every step of the way! Therefore, I would like to dedicate this toast to First brother and his beloved wife. Cheers to the future years you would spend together with sister-in-law."
"Cheers!" The crowd echoed.
The last to give her speech was Kim Eunji.
"Kel... my best friend... my sister...the first person who insisted that she should be my most favorite person in the world next to none when we first met. Don't worry, you're still my most favorite person in the world but I don't know which rank you're at. I could still remember the day when I found out that you secretly got married to someone I did not know for you have hidden him so well from me. No, she's not afraid that I would snatch him away from her. On the contrary, she's afraid that I might be against with their relationship. I admit, I was upset. However I still give in for I knew of all people present today, you have longed for a family you could call your own. And now, that dream finally came true!"
Kim Eunji then turned her gaze at Mo Jing-sheng as she said, "Master Mo, do treat Kelly well and never make her cry or else I would put some sense in your head. But I know you won't do that as you loved her therefore that won't happen soon. My only advise, don't irritate her specially now that she's sensitive or else she would ran away from you." The guest chuckled at her remarks.
"Congratulations to your marriage and I wish you both and my niece or nephew good health, happiness and prosperity all throughout. Cheers!"
The program went on as planned. Mo Jing-sheng and Kelly enjoyed the Lion Dance.
Then the time when everyone could dance on the dance floor came. Mo Ping and the quite Kim Jeong Ho approached Kim Eunji to ask her for a dance. However, Kim Eunji decided to decline them politely.
"I'm sorry but I have to decline both of you." She shortly answered. She thought that if she give in to their invitation, every single man present in the area would make their attempt to dance her as well.
Those men were the sons of the Directors and Executives of Mo International and also some of their business collaborators who decided to bypass the wedding and attend the reception instead. Master Mo allowed them to come provided that they were sincere of their purpose with no political reason.
Kim Eunji knew how to read someone's body language. She then knew that the two had a thing or two for her these few days.
Therefore before the two could even decide to make their move and pursue her, she decided to talk to them privately and clarify things.
She had no plans to follow Kelly in that path of romance so soon. At least not yet.
However, the two were persistent and begged her to dance with them at least for the last time. Mo Ping didn't expect that he would be rejected even before he tried to pursue the woman. But as a Mo, he respected Kim Eunji's decision. What more, she's the treasured goddaughter of the Mo Family.
Kim Jeong Ho felt the same way too. Kim Eunji said that she won't date someone with a surname Kim even if they were not relatives. (In South Korea, man and woman with the same surname are allowed to date and get married provided that they're not related.)
This was Kim Jeong Ho's first attempt in pursuing love therefore this was also his first rejection.
Kim Eunji, heaved a huge sigh and decided to agree with them provided that this would be the last time they would make they would try and invite her to dance.
Then she saw Nathan talking to Mo Jing-sheng's parents. She immediately diverted her gaze away from him when he caught her looking. She didn't want the man to misinterpret things.
She then followed Mo Ping to the stage and was about to grab Mo Ping's hand as they were about to dance but another hand held hers instead.
As she looked up, Kim Eunji was stunned. "Mr. Bai." She whispered.
"Master Bai, what are you doing?" Mo Ping asked however Nathan did not answer him and instead took Kim Eunji's hand.
Little did she knew, the man had been stealing glances towards her since he saw her in the wedding venue. Therefore, he saw Mo Ping and Kim Jeong Ho inviting Kim Eunji for a dance. He felt relieved when Kim Eunji declined but then his face turned sour when Kim Eunji agreed out of their persisting invitation.
Like his body had a mind on his own, he found himself walking towards Mo Ping and Kim Eunji who was about to start dancing. He immediately took Kim Eunji's hand even before Mo Ping could hold it.
"Do you know how to dance?" He asked her and Kim Eunji nodded. Of course she knew how to dance.
The music started and it was a slow tempo song suitable for waltz.
Then the two started dancing. Both of them were stunned when they realized how comfortable they were when dancing together. Their movements were so fluid and none missed a step.
They were lost in their steps that they did not realize the music was about to end. Nathan was holding Kim Eunji's waist firmly as if telling that he never wanted to let her go.
Nathan was about to draw his face close to Kim Eunji's with an attempt to kiss hee when the music stopped. Kim Eunji then snapped out of it and pushed Nathan away from her body. Out of reflex, she slapped him.
"!!!"
Everyone gasped out of the impact.
Nathan also snapped out of it and he just realized what he had done. He had never lost control of his body ever since. In fact, this was the first time that this happened to him. Eyes wide and mouth agape, he looked at Kim Eunji's back as she walked away from him.
He did not stop her from leaving. He instead walked away towards the other direction and left the reception with a smug look on his face and hand on his pocket.
The guests looked at the direction were the two left. No one knew what they were thinking that time as the two parted ways.
"What was her relationship with Master Bai?" Someone asked as they were puzzled that Nathan did not hit her after she did what she did.
"I heard that she's bestfriend with the new Missus Mo." Someone chimed.
"Eh? But it doesn't mean she would go scot free when she slapped him so hard." Another girl butted in.
The four girls were full of gossips and even criticized Kim Eunji's guts of hurting the man whom they had been dreaming to meet in person that they did not realize Kelly, who had just returned from using the toilet, was behind them.
"I think she's someone that you should not gossip about. I know my bestfriend too well. She hated it when someone judged her character without even knowing her too well." Kelly finally spoke to get their attention.
The four then turned around and saw Kelly with her arms crossed over her chest.
"Missus Mo!" They gasped as they were surprised.
"We're very sorry!" However Kelly looked at them with one of her eyebrow raised as she said, "Don't bother apologizing to me. Unless you have some juicy gossip about me, too?"
"None! None at all!" They heavilly denied. They didn't want to be in trouble after all.
"Good."
She then flashed a meaningful smile towards them and made her way back to her waiting husband.
The celebration then wrapped up pretty smoothly after that and since Kelly was still suffering from morning sickness, Mo Jing-sheng decided to postpone their honeymoon plans.
Later that night, the busy Nathan Bai flew back to United Sates. Something happened that he had to go back immediately.
Now that Kelly had finally settled down, Kim Eunji was having thoughts if she too should stop from roaming around the world and settle down in one place. Her two International Foundations, the Young Warrior and Paradise Foundation had been stable for quite some time now. Therefore, there's no need for her to travel around the world to create and promote awareness that they existed. Also, they had a lot of beneficiaries who decided to volunteer as their way to give back on the foundation.
However, none of them had met Kim Eunji yet and only knew Kelly as the Director of both. All these years, Kelly had helped a lot in taking over most of her responsibilities in the foundation. Aside from the foundation, she had other responsibilities which she could not avoid now. And also, she had hidden this part to Kelly.
She didn't know how she managed that but she did.
The following morning, Kim Eunji bid her goodbye to the Mo Family couple. Kelly was reluctant to let her leave but she knew she could not stop Eunji from leaving.
"Don't stir trouble. Understood?" Kelly gently reminded her.
Kim Eunji felt helpless. She didn't like trouble but trouble always found their way to her.
"Eunji darling, can you not really stay longer?" Madame Mo felt sad as soon as she heard Kim Eunji announced of her departure.
"I can't." She simply answered. Though reluctant to let her go, they managed to send Kim Eunji off to the airport.
Kim Eunji promised to visit them when she had time.
***
"Nathan! Please. I want you to reconsider your decision." A man on his early 70's spoke.
Nathan looked at the man who had become his mentor and one of the people behind his success. The man was the tenth generation head of the Johnson family and he's Nathan's Maternal Granduncle. Which means he was the brother of his mother's father.
"Uncle Andrew. You knew of my decision to not get married." Nathan firmly answered.
"But Nathan--" Nathan had
"Uncle. I don't understand, I already have Bai Corp., my NJ Holding Corp. and had managed to bring Net International to it's glory in my hands. Isn't it enough?" Nathan's expression turned serious as he looked at the man who had just recovered from his heart attack because of pressure.
As the new head of the Johnson family the pressure was on him. Honestly, the branch families had never been pleased to have him as the new family head of the Johnson Family.
He was not born with a pure aristocratic blood. Her mother was a daughter of a commoner after all. What more? He's of Asian descent. They believed that Asian blood were far more inferior than that of the Western blood.
That ideal should have been abolished by now as awareness of racial equality campaign and advocacies had been spreading all over the world.
At least his capabilities as a businessman had put them on bay. But some were vicious enough to plot evil plans towards him.
"You don't understand Nate. I'm not young anymore, in fact I don't know until when I can hold on. If I'm gone, your position in this family would be jeopardized. Besides, your actions of fooling around with women won't help. Also those assassination attempts against you ever since they knew you had taken over my position wont stop."
Andrew Johnson and Nathan's situation as the family head was far different from each other.
During his time, the branch families did not pressure him that much because he's already sick. They thought that once he died, they would get the chance to select a new family head out of the remaining branch families but boy they were wrong.
No one thought that he would find an apprentice and eventually became his successor. What more? He's the grandson of his eldest brother who had ran away from his responsibility as a Johnson in the past.
"Then how can marriage would help me from all of this? To me, it doesn't make sense at all!" He was annoyed.
Nathan didn't know if he should laugh or cry. He had successfully evaded the Bai Family's attempt to marry him off to Wan Baozhai. And now, his facing the same thing in the Johnson Family.
"Nathan her family would help us. I can't explain it to you yet but in time you'll understand why. Please trust me as your elder okay?"
Nathan was silent for a moment and then spoke.
"Don't expect me to treat that woman differently."
With that, he walked away and left.
While Nathan was having a serious talk with his Granduncle, Kim Eunji who was about to board her plane received a message summoning her to the Jin Family House in Haikou, Hainan.
She was hesitant to obey but then her phone rang showing a private number.
As she answered the call, a familiar voice of a man rang from the other line. "Eunji." The man spoke her name.
"J." Kim Eunji answered back.