Ailee – Scandal

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_JPTvACwMw

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 “Welcome to the 15^th anniversary of Elite!” the announcer called out amidst the classical music and the polite chattering that mixed with not so subtle barbs exchanged between the members of South Korea’s high society. “Let us now give a round of applause for Elite’s founder and CEO, Nam SaKyung!”

Loud clapping echoed through the room as Mrs. Nam stepped up to the platform to give her speech. “First of all, thank you for coming to our celebration even though all of you have busy schedules. Second, thank you for your continuous support towards our company and our projects. And finally, I want to thank my husband and my son, BooHyun, for their love and support throughout the years.”

Another round of applause was given for the Nam family, while WooHyun stood a little behind clenching his wineglass tightly. He gritted his teeth and gulped down his wine, enjoying the bitter taste of the red wine. “And now, I would like to thank our models for their faithful and never ceasing effort to show our products and our company’s vision in a good light. Please give a round of applause for Girls’ Generation!” The nine girls ascended the stage in varying designs and colors of dresses, looking every bit angelic as they posed for the cameras.

“After School!” The group gracefully walked onto the stage wearing dresses from Elite’s latest collection.

“Song Hye Kyo!” The thirty two year old actress looked unchanged by the years and was as youthful as ever.

“Jang GeunSuk! Kim HyunJoong!” The list went on and on and WooHyun felt like throwing his glass onto the floor and walking out. Was he never going to get credit for anything? He had worked all these years for Elite, never once disobeying his mother when she told him to do something for the company and yet, he was never complimented or even giving a “thank you”.

Therefore his surprise was greater than ever when he heard, “My nephew, Nam WooHyun!” Everyone turned his way and applauded; he could see BooHyun giving him a wide grin and his father was even clapping softly. He gave the visitors a charming smile as he strode up onto the stage and coolly posed for pictures. It wasn’t until he had descended that he realized he wasn’t the last to be called. His blood boiled as he realized someone was getting an honor higher than his by being called on after him. Even before hearing that person’s name, he already despised him or her, a person more adored by his mother than her own son.

“And last but not the least, the wonderful HAN SOOJI!” SooJi stepped onto the platform wearing a strapless cream colored dress with sparkly designs around the waist and her brown hair was splayed over her shoulder. She was wearing simple clothes and no accessories and yet her beauty, which she was famous for, radiated all over. She gave a bright smile and her eyes sparkled.

The flashes of light were more intense than ever, the applause was louder than ever, Mrs. Nam’s smile was wider than ever and WooHyun was angrier than he had ever been. How could a simple model steal away the spotlight from him? Just who was she?

“How hateful,” someone behind WooHyun muttered. He whipped around to see a young short haired woman, around eighteen, wearing a one shoulder pastel pink dress and a disgusted expression. The older woman beside her gently chided her by softly calling out her name. “SooJin-ah,” she said.

The younger woman looked annoyed and stomped off while the older woman disapprovingly shook her head. The man standing beside her said nothing throughout the small exchange between them. WooHyun noted this curiously but he was more interested in the apparent dislike of the younger woman. He carefully followed the lady in pink and slowly approached her when she stopped by the refreshment table. He tapped her on the shoulder and softly cleared his throat.

The lady in pink turned around and looked at him with raised eyebrows. “Yes?”

“My name is Nam WooHyun,” he said, holding out his hand for a handshake. She stared at it for a moment before taking it and replying, “Han SooJin.”

“Excuse me for asking, but I couldn’t help but overhear your small comment earlier,” he slowly began.

SooJin shook her head slightly and prodded, “And?”

WooHyun continued, “I couldn’t help but wonder why…”

SooJin exhaled quite loudly through her nose before saying, “She’s my older sister and as you heard earlier, I find her hateful and attention seeking.”

WooHyun was pleased to find someone who had the same feelings as his towards his mother’s obviously favorite model. However, he tried not to look too overjoyed and simply asked, “And why is that?”

“It’s because –“ she stopped talking and narrowed her eyes at him. “Why should I tell you? I barely know you and I think this is hardly the right occasion for me to discuss my dislike for my sister.”

Slightly taken aback but unwilling to give up, WooHyun told her, “It seems that everyone else loves Han SooJi and I was just wondering why you, her own sister, would find her hateful. She seems like she’s everyone’s favorite person.”

“Well, as you can see, she’s obviously everyone’s favorite,  The Nation’s Fairy,” she said and made quotation marks as she gritted out the words “The Nation’s Fairy”. “And as a result, everyone around her gets drowned in her shadow. She’s like Korea’s perfect daughter, at least that’s what most people say. It often gets annoying being her younger sister. It’s like everyone has such high expectations for me and when I fail to deliver, they say that I’m not as good as my sister,” SooJin explained. She took a sip of the sparkling apple juice she was holding before continuing, “Can’t seem to do anything better than her. Umma and appa just absolutely adore her. She doesn’t even seem satisfied with all the attention.”

WooHyun subtly nodded, satisfied with her answer and finding her situation relatable, given his relationship with his family. SooJin looked at him, curious as to why he was asking such questions. “Why are you curious anyway?”

“Well-“ before WooHyun could even start explaining, a tall brunette with a short black dress approached him with her friends and said, “WooHyun-ssi!” while at the same time the famous Han SooJi called out to her sister, “SooJin-ah!”

“Nana-ssi!” WooHyun exclaimed, surprised. His eyes widened when he saw that she had brought the rest of her group with her.

Nana immediately striked up a conversation and WooHyun found himself surrounded by the group. He was, of course, pleased with the attention and when he looked back at SooJin, she was already feasting on the hors d’oeuvres, not minding the sudden interruption in their conversation, and thoroughly ignoring her sister who seemed to be trying to have a conversation with her. His vision was blocked by the tall UEE who was trying to call him back to their discussion. When she moved, he caught a glimpse of SooJi getting ditched by her sister and raising an eyebrow at him and the group of girls that encircled him before walking away with her pretty little nose in the air. How stuck up, he thought.