Last night was the worst of all Nayeon had ever experienced, and it was clearly unbearable for the woman. I said it because she apparently had to skip work today due to the awful feeling it gave her. Nayeon wasn't sick, or at all, but she felt exhausted for some reason.

Nayeon spent the entire morning sitting on her bed, doing nothing but breathing and thinking about what had transpired the night before, particularly the words Sana had let escape from her lips.

To quickly sum it all up, here are the major occurrences that continually enraged the fire inside Nayeon's heart:

"Have you tried it yet, Sana?" Yu-jun inquired, keeping a tight eye on Sana's face to see how the woman would react to the food.

Sana's demeanor gave the impression as if she was genuinely delighted to try the stew, but Nayeon could tell the difference. Nayeon surmised that it was those eyes that gave it away.

But Sana could have changed significantly after all these years, it's only that it's not noticeable.

"Wow," Sana exclaimed after taking a bite, "this stew tastes excellent, Mrs. Kim," she said, her eyes beaming with honesty. Nayeon's brow furrowed as a result of this. For some reason, seeing Sana take more than a bite without making a sour face irritated her.

"I thought it was strange that your favorite food was anything with beans in it, but I can see that you really love them," Yu-jun said, her heart filled with excitement after seeing how much Sana appreciated what she cooked.

"See, she's in love with beans," Dahyun chuckled, playfully nudging his elbow toward Sana, who agreed with a smile and soft hum. "She might look a little pure as a driven snow, but she's got a pretty powerful personality," Dahyun added, intent on seeing Nayeon's reaction to all of this. "That's what I love about her."

"I thought I didn't have a type, but maybe it was just far too precise," Dahyun added as her mother gazed at her. She was pleased to see one of her daughters happily in love. "Sana simply strolled up to me, and I was smitten; I knew what I liked the instant my eyes landed on her."

"That's really sweet," Yu-jun exclaimed, her eyes softening even more.

"You're such a sweet talker," Sana stated before pinching one of Dahyun's arms affectionately. "Normally, I prefer the nonchalant type over the sweet type, but Dahyun changed me." "It was a pleasant change."

 

"Dahyun changed you... that's true; what I saw last night wasn't the Sana I knew," Nayeon thought to herself as she clutched one of the pillows tightly. "You don't even like beans! You told me the texture on your tongue gives you a strange feeling, and you even compared it to sand, so how are you now loving it?" Nayeon asked, as if Sana was everywhere in the room to hear her complaints. "This is seriously annoying!" She gasped.

"And the words you told me, Sana, are unacceptable! You should have just explained calmly," Nayeon mumbled, slamming the pillow continuously on her lap in frustration. "Why were you mad at me? Isn't it reasonable for me to be annoyed?" she said, her brow furrowed. After a few moments, Nayeon realized and said to herself, "Fine, we're not together. We broke up years ago."

Nayeon softly let herself down on the bed again, almost giving up on what she was feeling. She sighed and said softly, "But there's this thing called respect." "And sensitivity; she should've thought about how I'd feel about it, but I can't blame her," she muttered. "She clearly hates me."

 

Yu-jun insisted on washing the dishes, but Dahyun wouldn't let her, so they ended on doing it together, leaving Nayeon and Sana alone in the living room. It was more awkward than the two had anticipated because neither of them knew how to begin a conversation despite having a lot on their minds.

Sana took the initiative since she knew it would be difficult for Nayeon to speak first. "It's not real," she explained, "we're not dating." "I know that you know." 

"I know," Nayeon simply murmured, pursing her lips once more as she considered what to say. "I'm just not sure what it's for."

"To gain her trust," Sana replied immediately, but it wasn't simple enough for Nayeon to comprehend.

"Gain her trust?" Nayeon scoffed. "You have to fake date her in order for her to trust you?" "Make it make sense to me, missy," she continued.

"It wasn't part of my plan, Nayeon," Sana explained, taking a big breath before continuing, "all I had in mind was to work for her and earn her trust in that way, but she needed me to do that."

"She needed my help, she needed me to pretend to date her," Sana added carefully, making sure Dahyun and Yu-jun didn't hear. "I can't refuse to help her because it would set me off."

"Yeah?" Nayeon asked, clearly unwilling to grasp Sana. Perhaps this was too bitter for her to bear.

"Look," Sana remarked, "you cannot put on that attitude to me." "It was your idea. I'm doing all of this for you, so that my task associated with you is accomplished as soon as possible." Sana sat back with her arms crossed. "Because, honestly, I don't want anything to do with you; if there's any way I can avoid you, I'll take it."

"We were fine, Sana," Nayeon began, "and now you hate me this much again."

"I've never not hated you."

"Fine, do whatever you want," Nayeon could only murmur, reluctantly conceding defeat. "You negotiated a contract with her within the framework of our contract; do you realize how complicated that is?" she remarked with her forehead wrinkled. She didn't back down despite Sana's refusal to look her in the eyes. "I'll say it again: you should be extra cautious around Dahyun since you don't know her and don't know how dangerous she could be."

"Dangerous?" Sana finally mustered the courage to meet Nayeon's eyes. "Have you forgotten that it was you who put me here?" "If you think she's dangerous, why would you expose me to her, Nayeon?" she said, leaving Nayeon speechless. "Would you like to know the truth?" "I don't trust you two since you are sisters, and I never know if you're actually plotting something against me or what."

"I'm not like that, Sana, you know who I am," Nayeon said, shaking her head.

"I'm just saying you're just as threatening to me." "The only reason I'm doing this is because I have to," Sana remarked, her eyes bright with pride. "And I don't care what danger I'm in right now; all I care about is what I want to reach, so don't compromise that for me."

Sana stood up, figuring she had finished speaking, but Nayeon grabbed her wrist. She had no choice but to look down at Nayeon's face. "What?" she inquired.

"Fake dating doesn't include," Nayeon paused, rather too embarrassed to continue. "...it wouldn't require kissing, would it?" she questioned, prompting Sana to scoff.

"You're unbelievable, Lim Nayeon," Sana grumbled.

 

 

Sana was, of course, the first to arrive at Kim Law & Criminal Defense, precisely at Dahyun's office. She double-checked that everything was in order before Dahyun entered. The truth is that when Sana became the personal assistant, the office began to mirror one. It's hardly surprising to find that Dahyun may be a topsy-turvy person. She is, after all, free-spirited. The term "organized" isn't simply in her vocabulary.

When Dahyun pushed the door open, Sana almost jumped in place. Soon after regaining her breath, Sana performed a low bow, saying, "Good morning, Atty. K—" but couldn't finish it.

"Why is it so hot in here?" Dahyun asked as she entered the office and went to her desk, with an unusual, irritated expression on her face. Sana was puzzled, since Dahyun seemed exhausted despite the fact that the morning had only just begun. She then slipped off her leather jacket from her body and tossed it on the sofa.

This was the first time Sana saw Dahyun without a leather jacket on, which meant she had no idea the woman was wearing a muscle tee underneath rather than an ordinary tee shirt. Adding to that hotness, Dahyun has a sleeve of floral tattoos around her biceps and down to the upper portion of her forearm. And that was enough to make Sana blush. Dahyun wasn't simply playing cool and smug; she was born with that attitude, and it sure suits her well.

"Uh..." Sana cleared , her attention instantly shifting to the air conditioner. "It's pretty chilly outside, so I didn't want to put the temperature that low," she explained, definitely avoiding any sight of Dahyun. "I'll adjust it," she offered as she searched for the remote control, which she remembered was on one edge of Dahyun's desk.

"I've got it," Dahyun stated, forcing Sana to look. Dahyun already had the controller in her hand, so she reduced the temperature herself. Sana was staring again for some reason after that simple action. "You're acting differently," Dahyun observed as she tossed the remote down her desk.

"H-huh...?" Sana stammered, suddenly acting normal, which made her look even odder, having caused Dahyun to chuckle.

The latter woman sat in her swivel chair, rested her back, and folded her arms across her chest. She merely looked at Sana for a few moments before shaking her head in disbelief.

"If we have to keep pretending to be a date, you should work on that," Dahyun stated, making Sana hum as she worked on fixing the pillow that was already tidy in place.

"Work on what?" Sana said, her voice nonchalant as she attempted to maintain an indifferent tone in the light of Dahyun's undoubtedly attractive state.

"Hmm," Dahyun said, tilting her head, deciding not to bring the subject up anymore. "Nothing," she replied. "I think you're perfect."

After hearing it, Sana suddenly choked on air. Perhaps she couldn't keep the act of being unfazed when she is, in actuality, captivated. In any case, I don't think anyone could blame her. Dahyun is unbearably hot, that's a fact.

"Sana-ssi," Dahyun uttered, and this time her tone sounded more serious. She even drew her chair closer to the desk, as if she sought a formal discussion. "Will you come here?" she inquired, adding, "I want to speak with you about your father's case."

Sana had frozen in place after hearing it. Every time she was reminded of her father's case, she felt this way. Nervousness would rise up inside her till she felt as if she wanted to just break down. Sana is afraid that she is creeping closer to not getting the justice her father deserves than having him freed. If this happens, she will be unable to forgive herself.

"Shouldn't the discussion be with him? With my father?" Sana inquired with her eyes downcast. Even the tone of her voice suggested heartbreak.

"I'm afraid we wouldn't be able to do that," Dahyun remarked, pointing to the chair in front of her with her extended hand. Sana followed suit and sat down quietly. "We can't do that just yet," Dahyun said, clasping her hands over the desk and sighing.

"You know there can't be any ethically questionable relationship between a client and an attorney, don't you?" Dahyun questioned, her eyebrows raised as if expecting a response. She went ahead after getting a single nod from Sana. "You and Mr. Sachio are my clients, and even though you didn't actually hire me as an attorney, I work for you," she explained, "that's the simplest way to put it."

"At the same time, Sana," Dahyun had to touch Sana's hand, which was on the table, because the woman appeared to be staring off into space, thoroughly troubled by the scenario. "At the same time, you work as my personal assistant and are my friend." "Plus, apparently, some people know us as girlfriends," she added. "Meeting with your father right now and confirming that I will be his defense counsel may put us in jeopardy once news got out."

Everything Dahyun had just stated had just contributed more to Sana's concern. To Dahyun, it's preferable that Sana was aware of it than of being oblivious. As a result, she had no regrets, despite the fact that it appeared to have a negative impact on the woman.

"We need to be extra careful," Dahyun remarked, lightly squeezing that hand and smiling a little, hoping to cheer Sana up a little. "Whoever knows about your father's situation should be the only ones. Don't tell anybody else about it because we don't know whether someone is watching us," she warned, only prompting Sana to nod her head.

"I need your help investigating this as you are the only person I trust," Dahyun said, looking directly into Sana's eyes. "What we're going to do is gather everything we need first, dig for evidence that may imply fraud from the prior trial and figure out how to prove it. I'm sure there are mistakes." She clenched her jaw, taking a moment of silence, "And then, we'll deal with the rest of the issues down the road afterwards."

Sana looked down at her knees, trying not to cry. She clutched Dahyun's hand for comfort, then strained to say, "Thank you for doing this, Atty. Kim."

She actually wanted to communicate more than that. But for some reason, these were the only words that could escape her lips. Sana felt horrible that she had pulled Dahyun into this. If all of this fails, the woman could lose her license and end up thrown in jail. Furthermore, her father may never receive the justice he yearns. That is the absolute worst-case scenario.

In any case, Sana is grateful that someone was prepared to lend a helping hand. Despite the fact that the scenario calls for risk, Dahyun embraced it and is prepared to see whether it failed or prevailed.

"Don't thank me yet," Dahyun whispered, gently releasing Sana's grip, "we still have a long way to go."

"We do," Sana answered, more assured than ever. She took a deep breath before nodding, indicating that she was now prepared for whatever came her way.

"First and foremost, Sana," Dahyun began, before opening the drawer beneath her desk. She took a brown envelope there. Sana simply stared as Dahyun took out a photograph and set it on the desk. "Did you know her?" Dahyun inquired, "the victim?"

Sana shook her head a couple times. "I've heard her name because it was mentioned several times during the previous trials," she explained. "That's the only way I know her."

"But are you aware that she went to the same high school as you?" Dahyun inquired with her forehead wrinkled.

"Yes," Sana said. "I also learned about it throughout the trials."

"All right," Dahyun said as she took out another photograph. This time, it was a photograph of a familiar individual, at least to Sana. "How about him?" Dahyun questioned, pointing to the image. "Do you recognize him?"

Sana was puzzled, so she looked towards Dahyun's direction. "I... do," she replied, hesitant. "He attended to the same high school as me," she added. "That one, I remember clearly."

"Can you name him?" Dahyun inquired, possibly to ensure his identity.

"Zhang Cai Zen..."

Dahyun took out another photograph after hearing Sana accurately answer the question. She set it on the desk again, this time without saying anything.

It was a photograph of the victim and Cai Zen taken in a well-known nightclub, as well run by the Zhangs.