Chapter 20

 

“Don’t weaken right now! You can’t give away the fruit of a battle you strived and fought to win finally!”

  I knew who it was.

His presence alone was enough to put my pulse into chaos.

“Jang Mi..”

His voice softened, and I could feel him drawing closer to me.

I shook my head.

“No, stay away, don’t come near.”

“I’m sorry.” He said almost in a whisper.

“Why are you apologizing?” I cried

I am the one who should do it, over and over again until my voice becomes husky.

“No, why are you here in the first place?”

My voice grew louder with irritation.

I miss you.

“Didn’t I tell you that we can’t-..” I was about to scold him, but suddenly I was wrapped from behind in his embrace.

“Shh.” He hushed me. “Don’t say anything, I won’t believe your words anyway.”

My lips parted as I wanted to protest but he hugged me even tighter, his arms preventing me from moving.

“I can hear your heartbeat, and you’re not trembling like you used to every time I touched you.”

I felt my cheeks heating up.

“To be able to walk away and leave you when you’re about to drown alone.. That is not who I am.”

I was feeling warmer and warmer that I could no longer sense the cold night breeze against my skin.

“You really are a prince.” I mumbled in a voice that he couldn’t hear.

“Hm?” he hummed questionably.

I reached my hands to clutch his arms that were still around me.

“See? One just can’t fool his own heart.” He shook his head that was resting on mine.

 

We remained silent a bit, surrounded by the lovely aroma of the roses around us.

It’s yet another miracle for him to appear before me during this time.

          

  It was as if our hearts were connected by an invisible thread.

            To tie us for eternity, and make our paths cross, no matter what stands before us.

          

  What stands… before us..

    

“But.. what about your family? Their support which you lost? Or the high position that you had to give up because of me?”

            Even if he was my prince, reality and fantasy are so far from each other.

“I cannot allow myself to have you… after ruining your life!” I shook my head, tears never ceased to flow from my eyes.

            “Who says you did?”

            I jolted,

“If anything.. my life wasn’t good to begin with! And if it wasn’t for you, I would’ve never found out my true self or learned of my true aims and goals.” He smiled, “And now, neither my father nor anyone can come between us! ” his voice became louder, overflowing with confidence. "And you should have figured it out by now... the thing that I truly want..."

Could it be?

He suddenly whirled me around and cupped my face with his slightly cold hands. “You can always lean on me, whether you are troubled, lost...” He paused, “Or even insecure.”

I looked him in the eyes, and he smiled, reassuring me with a nod.

“Because..” he suddenly got down on one knee and took my hand in his. “Jang Mi.” he called my name once again, in a tone that sounded like nothing I ever heard from him. "My only wish is to have you by my side and be able to love you and treasure you forever." He then dropped a kiss on my knuckles and it made me blink.

 

“Apparently, you won’t be needing a new ring, since this one never came off.” He chuckled slightly as he tried to pull it out, “So, we..”

“W-Wait..” I shut my eyes close and bit my lips.

“Huh?” he gasped. “It..” I stole a glance and saw him staring wide-eyed at the ring that was now in his palm.

“How..?” his gaze shot up to catch mine. “Does this mean..” he picked himself up and I backed off slightly, feeling a bit perplexed by his weird face expression.

“I..”

I was actually able to take it off, since I got a bit thinner and started to take care of my shape, but not once that I did. I got used to it on my finger, it became a part of me.. and the fact that Yu Jin put it on for me made it the only thing left to remind me constantly that my heart belonged to someone.

“I could’ve took it off any time but I didn’t!” I quickly uttered.

“You.. really..” his eyebrows knitted and his lips kept shaking as if he didn’t know what to say.

“I wanted people to know that.. I had a special someone!” I added, thinking that he must’ve misunderstood when, and to my greatest bewilderment, he kissed me.

I tried to break the kiss, grasping for air, but he completely seized my lips, and arms.

 

***

 

“This is.. very overwhelming.” I hid my face in his coat.

“Are you planning to remain like this forever?” he teased.

“No, I won’t look at you anymore.” My face was probably redder than a tomato.

“Haha you’re so funny.” He was in a very good mood. 

“I’m trying to make you feel guilty, not laugh in amusement..”

“You really are cuter when you sulk like this.” He teasingly kissed my hair.

“Stop!” I gritted my teeth, “Don’t kiss me anymore today.” my tone naturally lowered from embarrassment.

“Ok, ok, fine I won’t.” he slowly pulled away from me.

I heaved a small sigh, clutching my chest.

“Your ring.”

He had it in his hand.

“Oh”

That was a bit awkward.

He cleared his throat as he reached for my hand:

“With this, I’m officially proposing to you, again.” He then rested my hand on his chest, where his heart was, “I promise you, that you won’t cry anymore.”

He held my hands in his.

“The moon and those beautiful roses are the witnesses of my vow.”

If it wasn’t for the prince’s true love and his belief.

 “I love you, Jang Mi.”

Cinderella’s tale wouldn’t have ended happily

“I love you too.”

He laughed.

“This sounds too pleasant to my hearing.” He bumped his forehead against mine lightly and we were both staring at each other’s eyes.

 

---

 

And even though it ended well for Cinderella and her prince..

 

“Cha for constructions will not afford to have yet another unexperienced woman in charge of the board!” one of the directors rose up in protest during a meeting that Jang Mi called emergently.

“Yes! The company is going through unavoidable bankruptcy!” another one stood up and banged his fist against the table.

Soon, all of the others did the same, Jang Mi took a deep breath, hearing their protests.

“Sit down.. please.” She called, but they looked far more agitated to listen to her.

“Ms. Cha!” Suddenly, the secretary came in the meeting room, bowed slightly then whispered into Jang Mi’s ear: “This is so bad! Lee Electronics are willing to stop investing in the Seoujong Complex project!”

Jang Mi pushed back her chair and stood up at once.

“What?”

“What is it? Did anything happen?” the room fell in abrupt silence.

Jang Mi clenched her fists.

Damn it,

“Why are they doing this now?”

“What’s happening?!” the directors started screaming again.

But… the Lee group is our strongest partner!

Jang Mi started to think hard.

If they back off then..

“We’ll be over..” she whispered, completely at loss.

The directors kept asking for explanation and eventually, burst out:

“This is it! We’re officially over!”

The room tore in chaos.

“How are we going to deal with this?”

“No, there’s no solution, I guess it’s high time we step back as well..”

“Yes, there’s nothing left.. let’s save what’s left of our assets before it-..”

They were all saying the same things, and Jang Mi felt powerless as they completely ignored her presence.

They pushed back their chairs and started to leave.

 

“Wait!”

 

The door was pushed open and Yu Jin appeared, then started to make his way into the room and bowed at the directors:

“Please sit down and listen to what I have to say.” Then he turned to look at Jang Mi who was as shocked as the directors were.

“Aren’t you the son of Chairman Lee?”

A fuss started to spread amongst them:

“Yes! How could you show your face after what your father did?!”

“This is not a bar, this is a company, you can’t just barge in!”

He inhaled deeply then cleared his throat:

“I know that you all are furious and you have the right to protest.”

His cool reaction surprised them.

“I also learned of my father’s decision, and I must say that he might have committed a big mistake..”

They suddenly sat down, Yu Jin glanced at Jang Mi and she nodded at him, still knitting her brows in concern:

“I came here to save this company.”

“Huh?! What?” they gasped, then burst out in laughter.

“Arrogance, this is mere arrogance.”

“Hah! You reckless youngsters always think that it’s a game for you to play.”

“Yeah, go back to your father’s side, tell him that we aren’t easy to fool.”

“Exactly, this is definitely a trap.”

 

“Enough!”

Jang Mi couldn’t take it and stood up with a yell. “You do not know anything beside him being Chairman Lee’s son!” her voice echoed throughout the room and yet, she spoke formally. “I am the chairwoman, and I am not willing to lose neither the company, nor your support.” She sat down, all eyes on her after succeeding in catching their attention “The situation we are undergoing demands cooperation of all parties.. and any help offered should be appreciated.” She paused to glance at Yu Jin, “Yu Jin is soon to be my husband, so he has the right to be here, not on behalf of his father, but that of mine, ours, and I do not think that he might do anything to hurt us.”

Her words left them speechless, and they ended up giving in to her will.

Yu Jin mouthed a small “Thanks” to Jang Mi then looked back at the managers:

“I made sure to give the LE. Corp a fitting answer to the move they made on us.”

“What do you mean?” one of the managers asked.

“I quitted the company, not long ago, with no will to go back. And by quitting, I also sold my assets and shares..”

“No way! Your father wouldn’t have allowed such a thing!”

“He couldn’t actually do anything, he chose profits over equity and as a major shareholder I could no longer allow myself to get involved in such business.. Even if it was my father, he wasted the chance he had to win me back and thus lost me along with it.”

“B-But.. it’s the Lee group we’re talking about! You can’t just get away with what you done!”

“Yeah,” a few voices rised, “You’re still very young to have earned all that money by your own.. and become a major shareholder as you said.”

“Chairman Lee must’ve had a hand in it.”

“If you do not trust me.. then..” he grinned, “How about I tell you that I’m going to save the Seoujong Complex project?”

“W-WHAT?!”

“What in the…?!”

Jang Mi herself retorted:

“But.. you know… it’s a matter of billions of Wons! Not just_”

“It’s exactly as they said, we’re talking about the Lee group here, not just any company.. So, after selling some of the properties that were in my possession, in addition to the shares.. I am willing to use the money I earned to invest in the Seoujong project.”

“T-This kid..”

“If what he is saying is true then..”

“I have the money and the strategy, so..” he bowed his head at the mangers. “I’m asking you to assign me as head of the project. That is my only wish.”

The board directors started to discuss the matter and they had to resort to voting, since some were for appointing Yu Jin and others were against it, and after the vote, the first party dominated and Yu Jin got hired indeed.

 

****

 

The project was carried on smoothly, the topic attracted the Medias and CFC had to hold a press conference in which Yu Jin even announced his wedding to Jang Mi.

Soon enough, the stocks of CFC went up dramatically and the company was kept from going bankrupt within a month. The project attracted foreign investors as well and it grew even larger.

Jang Mi and Yu Jin got married and bought themselves a modern flat, as for the mansion, and since her sisters had nothing left anymore, she thought that it’d be wiser and more fair to give it to them. It made Yoon Song bow before before Jang Mi and ask for forgiveness for all the bad things she did.

Mr. Ko accepted Jang Mi’s offer to work for their company as its legal adviser and surprisingly started to grow some affection toward the older sister Yoon Song.  

           

(Two years passed since then.)

           

Jang Mi was in the living room, sitting in the big comfortable sofa and gripping her head.

            “I am feeling so dizzy..”

She could barely stand, but she managed to reach her hand to the table and grab her cell phone.

She dialed Yu Jin’s number.

“I hope he picks up..”

Suddenly, the doorbell rang.

“Ah.. seriously..” she tossed the phone aside, giving up on getting Yu Jin to answer.

Whoever that was, their timing was very good. she thought.

She leaned against the wall, and managed barely to unlock the door,

“I’m coming in!”

It was Jun Ho’s voice. He pushed the door but then got surprised to have Jang Mi falling in his arms.

“H-Huh?” he caught her tightly. “Oh my goodness, did you miss your step-brother this much?” he laughed, “Or are you already bored with my brother?”

“I-I’m not feeling well..” her voice was so weak.

“Hm? Sister-in-law..” he got surprised. “Hey!” she was panting.

“For God’s sake!” he carried her to the living room and was surprised to see her cell phone . “Oh, somebody’s on the phone.”

He picked it up to hear:

“JANG MI! WHAT HAPPENED?! SAY SOMETHING!”

“Oh, is that you hyung?” he guessed right away.

“Jun Ho? What are you doing? Where’s Jang Mi?!”

He sounded so worried and Jun Ho sighed.

“Well, isn’t it your fault for always traveling and leaving your poor wife behind?”

"More importantly, weren't you supposed to be on tour?!" he was getting more pissed at Jun Ho by the second.

"I chose to visit my sister-in-law before I go, so I'm not like a certain someone who puts work above-.."

“You’re the last person to lecture me on relationships, now where is she?”

“She’s not feeling ok, and I am going to take her to the hospital. Again, for having such an unreliable husband.” He was serious and yet enjoyed teasing his brother.

“What?! Is she sick? Oh God, please take care of her, I’ll try to catch the first flight to Korea.”

“Ok, you don’t have to worry. I will take care of her for you.”

Jun Ho was still irritated and hang up on him.

“What a workaholic, I can’t imagine how you endured it, sister-in-law!”

“D-Don’t be hard on him, Jun Ho.” She managed to utter. “Whenever he comes back home, he makes sure to give me enough love..” her voice was becoming lethargic and she passed out.

He blushed slightly to her words and he shrugged.

“Humph, always praising him aren’t you?”

****

“So how is she doctor?” Jun Ho got up from his seat as he glimpsed the doctor leaving Jang Mi’s room.

“Congratulations, you’re going to be a father~” the doctor patted him on the shoulder.

“F-father?” Jun Ho blinked a few times before he could grasp what he heard. “EHHH?! Sister-in-law is…?”

He ran to see her in the room, and she had tears in her eyes, the phone in her hands and she was laughing:

“Yes, I never was happier before in my life.”

Jun Ho went to stand beside her and saw Yu Jin on the phone’s screen:

“Hmm, and I thought I was going to call and prank you.. too bad” he pouted.

Yu Jin started to laugh, he was obviously in a great mood.

“I’m about to board the plane, see you in few hours.” He waved with his hand.

She nodded and waved back at him. Jun Ho did too.

“I’m so happy..” Jang Mi started to cry.

“Aww, even though you’re an adult now.. you cry like a baby.” Jun Ho patted her on the head.

“I can’t help it. I’m sorry.” She chuckled and pulled Jun Ho in a small hug.

            “My brother is so lucky.. he’ll soon have a child.” He pouted.

            “Hehe, and guess who’s going to be this child’s uncle?”

            He blinked then a smile crossed his face, his eyes shining.

“Oh right.. I am going to have a nephew..” he covered his face. “Ah! I feel so embarrassed! I need to prepare! Sister-in-law, if you need anything, you must tell me!” he clasped her hands in his.

“Haha, of course I will.” She nodded.

“Ok, first things first.. let’s throw a party to celebrate the great news!”

“No, wait, it’s still..”

“Hello? Byun So, you won’t believe it.. that good for nothing hyung of mine…” and he walked out the room with the phone in his hand.

Jang Mi sighed slightly and then laid her hand on her belly.

 

It feels so warm..

I can already sense another life growing within me..

I will make sure that this bundle of joy lives happily ever after..

And have a life different than mine.

 

“Jang Mi!”  Jun Ho pushed the door open and came running at her.

“W-What is it?!” she got scared.

“F-Father.. wants to speak with you!”

 

“Eh?” she quickly put the phone to her ear.

“H-Hello?” her voice trembled.

“J-Jang.. Mi..?” the man’s house trembled more than hers.

 

Jun Ho nodded at her and mouthed a “fighting” to encourage her:

 

“F-Father-in-law?”

“C-Can I.. and my wife.. come to visit you?”

 

She couldn’t believe her ears.

 

“I-If you don’t want to see us.. then..” he was intimidated.

“N-No of course not!” she yelled, “Y-You’re always welcomed!”

 

Even Jun Ho was a bit surprised at how she managed to speak loudly.

She clenched her fist.

 

“Really? Th-Thank you very much. I hope you like cake because my wife insisted to bake you..”

 

This little one is already starting to bring us good luck.

With this, my happiness cannot be any bigger.

 

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Thank you so much for reading Cinderella's Revenge 

I hope you enjoyed it and I am very grateful for anyone who came this far and read it~

I hope to see you in another story and have a nice day.

Ran - chan       

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