Chapter One

Ahn Sohee was a woman who was fairly content with her life; she had a successful career with a second store opening earlier during the month, and she was surrounded by people that she loved and cared. Despite her aristocratic background, the 28-year-old was reasonably happy with the basic things life had to offer. She wasn’t one to overlook the simple bliss that most people would neglect.

However, it was one of those rare days where she just had better ones. Her designing team had somehow lost an important sketch that she had poured her soul and heart onto, one which was designed for an important high-profile client, so now she only had the entire night to re-do everything.

Hence it was understandable that Sohee came home with furrowed eyebrows and pursed lips, ready to pounce on innocent victims who might unfortunately bump into her.

Upon entering her luxurious condominium apartment, she wanted to scream at the top of her lungs when she saw familiar shoes resting at the entrance. Sohee knew exactly who came and what their agenda was.

She was just about to turn around for a desperate dodging attempt when her mother’s strident voice came into play.

“AHN SOHEE!”

Kang Sunja never tolerated mercy when it came to dealing with her children. Growing up, Sohee saw the apparent friction that strained her older brother’s relationship with their mother, and because she didn’t want to upset her, Sohee tried her best to be obedient. But sometimes, the 53-year-old wife to a prominent political figure could become exhaustingly overbearing.

In normal circumstances, Sohee would just apologise for whatever she had that done wrong in her strict mother’s perspective, regardless whether she herself thought it was wrong, just to pacify things. But at that very moment, Sohee was a ticking time bomb, imminent for explosion.

“How dare you embarrass your mother? Lee Jihoon is the perfect bachelor with an influential family background! Did you knock your head somewhere and leave it there? What is wrong with you?!”

“Mother, I am so busy right now. I cannot afford to talk about some stupid blind date that was guaranteed doom to start with,” she tried to reason. She admitted she could have chosen a wiser option of speech, but at that moment in time, there were no other adjectives to describe the arranged meeting with the heir of Kinju Hotels her mother had forced her to attend. It was stupid, period.  Lee Jihoon, regardless of his good looks, was one of the most arrogant guys she had ever met – which was a big cross to Sohee, who valued one’s personality the most.

Lee Jihoon was nothing like Choi Seunghyun.

And then a very rare war ensued between the mother and daughter.

“Where were you, bro?!”

Towering over the ladies who were approaching him, with his hand tucked into the front pocket of his jeans carelessly, the subject put out a smug front.

Truth be told, he was at the hospital for a therapy session that he was scheduled for every six months. But he didn’t feel like telling people when he himself believed he hardly needed help anymore – he had recovered ages ago.

“Not getting poured over by iced water,” he replied tauntingly at the bemused Lee Jihoon.

Because Ahn Sohee felt it was appropriately necessary to make a scene at the end of their disastrous blind date, Lee Jihoon was now becoming the laughing stock in his circle of friends and beyond. He was going to get back at the girl for ruining his reputation. You just wait, Ahn Sohee.

“She’ll concur to me soon. Everyone does.”

Choi Seunghyun laughed, seemingly in mockery. He had never seen his friend getting rejected by a girl; it was such a sight to witness. That girl was truly something.

“But I heard Ahn Sohee is a pretty tough nut to crack.”

As the name registered in his head, Seunghyun glanced at Kim Minhyuk, who looked like he was willing to bid every percent of his inheritance to prove Jihoon wrong.

Ahn Sohee.

Although Choi Seunghyun had an exceptionally infamous reputation with his admiring league of ladies, as quoted from the tabloids to describe the sought-after handsome bachelor, Ahn Sohee left a huge impression when Seunghyun met her in person about five months ago. There could only be a few girls he actually remembered and Sohee sat pretty high on that list.

He could still vividly remember how she broke down when he approached her – when he had hardly started making his move on her – and how she just left him so suddenly, as if he was a walking plague. Seunghyun had never had his pride kicked to the curb like that and even though he was not the type to admit defeat and scathe his previously perfect reputation when it came to winning the hearts of the female population, something about Ahn Sohee really rattled his usually confident demeanor into a shell of intimidation.

Seunghyun looked at his friend and almost wanted to argue that he could never get the regal Sohee when he himself couldn’t, but with his bruised ego at stake, he decided to go against it. They would make him the joke if they would ever find out he was rejected without mercy.

As he took a gulp of the Grey Goose resting on the table, he recalled Sohee’s perplexed facial expression when he had approached her at a coffee shop. Her face went a shade paler and her beautiful brown eyes grew wide.

Choi Seunghyun had an anxious inkling as to why the petite woman reacted the way she did.

But he couldn’t remember.

He didn’t want to remember.