The two workers looked at the sight in front of them in utter shock. Perhaps even a little bit of disgust. The four of them were getting ready for Nayeon’s photoshoot that she had today. Even with her packed schedule, she needed to bring her friend with her. With her knee propped up on her seat, Nayeon pet the lamb and ruffled its hair. 

Finally breaking the silence, Kibum spoke up. “Why do you have a sheep with you?”

“Here we go again,” Wendy whispered under her breath.

“First of all,” Nayeon broke contact with the animal, “she is a lamb. Second, her name is Baby.”

“Okay, hold up.” Kibum flicked his wrist and threw his palm up, “Why do you have it in the first place?”

Nayeon continued petting Baby. “Aeyoung gave her to me.”

“Aeyoung? Giving you something? As a gift?” Kibum scoffed, “That already sounds sketchy as hell. I bet it has a chip inserted inside of it to capture your private moments and send them to the world.”

Taegi sighed and picked up the heated straightener. “Nayeon-ah, don’t you find it suspicious?” She started doing Nayeon’s hair in the process of the conversation.

Nayeon laughed, “I know it sounds very strange but Baby is for a photoshoot with her company. XX is promoting being cruelty-free. I didn’t want to leave her home, so I thought I could bring her to my shoots with me.”

“These past few days have been awful!” Wendy complained. “You know I’ve had cats and dogs before but, honestly, taking care and feeding a lamb is way above my pay grade.”

“You better get acquainted with her.” Nayeon shot a cheeky grin at her. “I’ll be too busy with my shoots to take care of Baby’s bodily functions.”

Wendy groaned. “It’s like you joined with your sister to go against me.”

Nayeon laughed and continued running her hands down Baby’s fluff. “Who knows. Maybe Aeyoung’s coming around.”

“I highly doubt that,” Taegi confessed. “We’ll just have to see about that.”

The two men laughed. The younger one waved his hand in the air and he continued his laughter. “Wait so let me get this straight.” He coughed before speaking. “So you two currently have a lamb living with you in your home and she named it Baby?”

Jinki nodded. “My wife is infatuated with that thing; I’m telling you.”

“So instead of making a baby, she decided to get – not a dog, not a cat – but a sheep!”

“Woah, woah,” Jinki sarcastically chimed. “Baby is a lamb. My wife gets very defensive about the right terminology of her daughter.”

“Daughter?” If a person could die of laughing, it would be at this moment by Lee Taemin. The whole situation was so hilarious to him. “I’ve heard of people parenting dog but never have I,” he could not even finish. Taemin took a short breath with a huge smile on his face, “Man, you guys are so rich that you’ve surpassed spoiling a domesticated animal.” He shook his head, “I can’t even right now.”

“Well to be fair, her sister got it for her. Which is strange because Aeyoung is rather spiteful towards my wife.”

“Rich, petty people are so weird.”

“Hey, whatever keeps my woman happy.” Jinki sighed from laughter, “She really loves it, I’m telling you. You know, we’ve only had it for a few days and, man, you should see how she cuddles with it on the grass. It’s really adorable.”

Taemin made a turn then stopped the car. They arrived at their destination. As they stepped out, Jinki observed a significant difference in the piece of land. A few years ago, it was a small community with cottages formed on the edge of the road. The area was industrializing. Lee Wang had an eye for potential, and this area was where it was. The mall would be built on this exact strip now. A few years down the road, this area would be a booming district with popular nightlife. All but one resident took the settlement that was made for this lady. All but Kang Hokwon. A sixty-five-year-old man was the sole purpose of why the construction was backed up so long. Kang Hokwon would not give up his home. Lee Jinki and Lee Taemin had arrived to negotiate for the last time. Jinki was a firm negotiator, even though he was sympathetic to the old man’s attachment to his home. However, he had one job and one job only: make this the last time he saw Kang Hokwon.

As they approached the door, it swung open. “Here to bribe me again?” The old man shook with his fragile bones. Although he was seemingly healthy, Kang Hokwon was slowly decaying with age. His joints became more tender, his bones weaker, and his immune system was more vulnerable than ever.

“Mr. Kang, we have a final deal for you to discuss.” Jinki paused. “May we come in?” 

Reluctantly, the old man let them in. His home, as Jinki remembered, had the thick scent of savory wood and ginger. Herbs were plotted in the front of the home, in the back, and even inside the home. It was dark yet warm, with only a dim golden light from the kitchen. It was musky and thick in the home but not threatening whatsoever. Like the medicine cabinet of a grandmother, the house had a purpose to heal and recover. It doubled as an herbal remedy shop for the locals around him. However, now that no one was left around, his herbs were there to rot.

“Whatever the amount,” Mr. Kang began as he slowly sat down his oversized couch, “it will not matter.”

“Hey,” Taemin began with an agitated tone, “everyone but you took this deal. Our offer is more than you would have made in this lame shop of yours. Just take it, don’t be stubborn.”

“Lee Taemin,” Jinki quietly scolded. He took out his check out of his chest pocket and place it on the table. “We have been negotiating for quite some time now, Mr. Kang. We have prepared a hefty settlement for you and your land.” Jinki slid the check towards the old man. He saw how the old man’s eyes sternly remained at its gaze; away from the check. “Use this money to help you. This will keep you comfortable for the rest of your life, I will assure you this. Please, take it.”

The men stood in silence until there was a sharp inhale from the older gentlemen. “This home,” he began, “has been with me since the day I was born. My children were born here. My wife’s soul rests on the grounds of this home and I expect mine to as well. This business has been with my father and now mine. How could you take it away from me?”

“Mr. Kang,” Jinki spoke, “I understand you have a very close bond with your home. However, there is no one around to support your business anymore. Your neighbors have left. You are in complete isolation now. Don’t you think you deserve to be surrounded by company?”

Jinki knew he made a good point. “Think about your wife. She would not want you to be living alone in a stranded area alone. What if something happens to you and you can’t call for help? Who will help you? How will people know you are in need?”

“I am a man, I can take care of myself!”

“I understand,” Jinki assured, “however you must take your circumstances into consideration. You are an elderly man who lives in a secluded area with little traffic. Once they build the new highway here, would you even want to live with all the loud construction? This house will not be a home anymore.” Jinki pushed the check towards the man, “Please take it.”

Mr. Kang looked at the check, then the contract. His heart was shaken from anger, but he knew the place he loved would not be the same. He looked at the contract and signed it. He takes the check then turns his back from the two businessmen. 

“You got what you wanted. Now get out of my house.”

Both Taemin and Jinki bowed.

“I appreciate your business,” said Jinki. “I know this was difficult for you, so if you need help moving out, I can arrange some movers to come and help you. I’ll even come myself if you’d like,” Jinki suggested. As always he was a pacifist. In all the negotiations he made, he wanted it as peaceful as possible. 

“No,” the old man declined, “None of that would be necessary. Just get out of my house. I will be out by the end of this week. I will make sure to.”

Understanding the gravity of the situation, both men collected the contact then made their way outside of the home. Kang Hokwon couldn’t help but feel immense rage and sadness. Instinctively, he walked to his small refrigerator and reached towards the untouched bottle of soju.

“It’s been a long time, my friend.”

Her phone vibrated on the table and made a loud noise. Minrin stopped typing and looked at who the caller was. She rolled her eyes then canceled the call. Shortly after, it began vibrating again. Finally, she picked it up.

“What do you want?”

“Why didn’t you pick it up the first time?”

Minrin sighed, “What is it, Choi Minho? I am at work.”

“You left without saying goodbye.”

Without even seeing him, she knew there was a smirk pressed on his face. Minrin looked over her desk to see if the door was locked. “Look,” she said slowly, “if you think what happened yesterday means anything, you need to stop dreaming. is a biological need. What we did was out of impulse, not love. So I’m gonna need you to stop romanticizing what happened yesterday. Do not get it twisted. You are more of a meatstick to me than a husband.”

There was a short pause, then he spoke up. 

“Why are you being so mean to me?” he asked in an almost sarcastic tone. “Are you upset that you didn’t get to see Jinki today?”

“Shut up,” she sneered.

“Ah, so it is. Well, let me tell you something Hwang Minrin. You don’t get to tell me . The only reason why you’re able to work so closely to your lover is because of me. If I didn’t come save your broke family, you would be fondling a gross, fat CEO’s balls right now to try to pay off your parent’s debt.” He took a short breath. “So I’m gonna need you,” he emphasized, “to not get it twisted. I have and will always have the upper hand. You don’t get to spit your words at me. Don’t forget who holds the contract here.”

Minrin’s jaw clenched. As if a wave of regret didn’t hit her after the post- clarity, there was immense hate, rage, and disgust towards him at that moment.

“Man,” Minho broke out into light-hearted laughter, “look I fully intended on having a nice conversation with you but it just seems so impossible with you, Minrin. Do you think I like reminding you of your burdens? Do you think I want to constantly threaten you? Well, I’ll go ahead and answer it for you: no, I don’t.”

“Just stop talking to me.”

“Just be a good wife, can you do that for me?”

She unclenched her jaw, fully ready to accept the consequences that would follow. “It must be so hard to be second place all your life, right Minho-sshi?” She knew that sent an immediate jab to him. “Secondborn, second richest; you never really have anything to claim your own. Your brother holds at least some of the family’s shares and companies but what do you have? Nothing. You’re like an adult who constantly has training wheels on. Worse of all, you’ll always be seen as below Lee Jinki and his family; and I know that makes your tender little ego tingle with jealousy.”

“You –”

“I know you formulated this whole marriage contract to spite him. It’s so easy to tell. Everything you do, you try to out beat Lee Jinki-sshi but guess what: you’ll never be even a slither of a man he is. You will never have the power, compassion, kindness, intelligence, and especially humanity that he has. I will be the one to tell you that you will never prevail against him. Comparing you to him would be like comparing the value of a single grain of salt to the value of gold – there’s nothing to compare because it’s so easy to see which one is better.”

Minrin sighed from releasing all the anger in her chest. 

“I know you don’t have anything to do so I’ll be the one to hang up first. One of us has to work in this marriage. Clearly it can only be me.”

Without letting him respond, she hung up. The adrenaline pumping through her blood fueled her with excitement and courage.

“ you, Choi Minho.”

hello everyone! i know it's been literally years since i've updated but i just wanted to let everyone know that i do plan on finishing this. i can't make any promises on how quickly i can get it done since i just started my master's program in uni. i honestly had so many plans for this story but instead of dragging it out, i am just going to condense it adn make it fantastic! with that being said, i (think like 85% sure) the story will be coming to a close soon. thanks to everyone who's been followign this story and i love yall so much!!