She wanted the house so badly. She is standing outside the old victorian house that her great grandfather had built that is now one of the many heritage sights in Busan.  She is admiring the elegant, beautiful, a testament to a bygone era. She thought she could have in exchange for her hard-won savings and a sizable bank loan within four days but something came up. Someone else made an offer. A big offer that no seller couldn't resist.

"Is there a problem Mr. Kyu?" So Min asked the council chairman.

"So Min, there's no point in beating around the bush. I'm just going to say it -- we've had another offer. And we're going to take it." 

So Min blinkeda few times. "I don't understand."

"Dogun Construction has come in with a last minute offer. The council needs to think of the whole community, and we believe this is the best outcome for everyone."

"But we had a deal. A contract."

"No, So Min, we had a conversation. A conversation is not legally binding."

"We negotiated a contract, Mr. Kyu. I have a copy at home You were going to sign it at this week's meeting."

"I'm sorry, but we had a better deal come in, and we took it. I know you're disappointed, but that's the way these things go."

"Have you signed off on the deal yet?" So Min asked. 

"No, but we will on Friday."

"I want to talk to the other councilors," So Min said, crossing her arms over her chest and lifting her chin.

"Fine. They'll all be at the meeting. Members of the public are welcome. You know So Min, it's probably for the best. It was unlikely you were ever going to be able to restore this big old place on your own, anyway." Mr. Kyu walked away.

For more than 10 years she'd lived and breathed the dream of buying that house. She'd lain awake on more nights  than she could count imagining how glorious it could all be if she could only scrape together the money to purchase the house from the local council. 

She'd invested the small legacy her grandparents had left her and saved her wages as a teacher and also working part-time in her parents' hardware store and taken any extra work that had come her way, planning for the day when she'd have enough for a deposit. And finally she'd made it. At least she'd thought she had. 

So Min called her  friend Min Ah who worked at the municipal office. If anyone knew the details of this offer, it would be her. She found out that the Dugon construction wanted to buy the house replacing it with a four-story apartment block. They wanted to destroy the intricate plasterwork on the domed ceiling inside the house, smash the marble stairway, scrap the glass wall sconces. 

She need to think. She needed to get past the panic that was making her heart race and stomach churn. 

She need a lawyer. 

Yes, she needed a smart, sharp mouthpiece in a suit. Someone formidable who could arm her with the necessary information. She started searching her phone contacts for a number she hadn't dialed in years. There had been good reasons for that, of course. Sensible, sanity preserving reasons. But this was an emergency. All bets were off. Hyun Joong's fiance, Hyori, dealt with property law all the time in Seoul. Amy found her number as an unwelcome thought slunk her mind: What if Hyun Joong answers instead of Hyori?

She'd been deliberately trying to distance herself for two years. Not returning his phone calls. Being lazy with emails. Freezing them out. But it wasn't as though she'd gone to school with a million lawyers. It was either Hyori or a lawyer chosen at random from the phonebook that would come complete with a hefty bill her tight restoration budget could not afford. 

So Min is hoping Hyori would pick up and not Hyun Joong. She pressed the button and listened as the phone rang.

Come on, Hyori, pick. Pick up, Pick up, Pick up. 

A click sounded and suddenly Hyun Joong's voice was in her ear. Her stomach tensed -- then she realized it was only a recording. 

"Hi there, this is Hyun Joong and Hyori's residence. We can't get to the phone right now. Leave a message nad your contact details and we'll do our best to get back to you as soon as we can."

It had been nearly two years since So Min spoken to Hyun Joong, but sounded exactly the same. She could even imagine the slight smile he would have been wearing when he record the message. Charming as all hell.

The answering machine beeped and she took a quick breath.

"Hyori and, um, Hyun Joong. Long time no speak, huh?! Hyori, I was actually calling to talk to you. I need some legal advice and its kind of urgent --" 

"So Min. Hey, How the hell are you?"

So Min's heart banged against her rib cage as Hyun Joong's deep voice sounded down the line. Not a recording this time. The real thing.

To be continued...