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With all her guts she hated it, but Kai had pointed out a truth she needed to realize. Focusing on Choonhee only wouldn’t do anything for her but send her to the dumps. In order to get to Choonhee’s secrets she needed to do what she had to for herself first, and she knew that if Hayoung were to come after her again she’d be much more prepared to send her down to hell.

Siding with Kai was a different matter. Namjoo wasn’t about to be foolish enough to marry him. He might have managed to put a ring on her finger to mark her his, but she was determined to find a way to get it off rightfully with her own power. If she had come this far, she could go even farther. And she would no doubt save herself in the end.

The biggest problem right now was how to face Choonhee’s parents when she walked in. There was no guarantee that they’d fallen for her lie. Snaking her way around them wouldn’t be easy. Even if Choonhee’s relationship had been farfetched with her parents, they had adopted her and they might know her more than Namjoo expected. If all turned wrong, Namjoo wasn’t quite sure what she’d do. But now wasn’t the time to wimp out.

When the house came into view and Kai stopped his car out front she felt her nerves run cold. For a second she neither moved nor breathed. To think she had been so gutless that morning and was now back to her normal state of cowardice. Maybe another walk through the cold rain would knock her awake.

“What are you doing? You’re not going in?” Kai jogged her awake.

“Oh…” she mumbled and forced herself to unbuckle the seatbelt. She honestly dreaded going in.

She was surprised when he offered, “Should I go in with you?”

Namjoo almost readily gave in but reminded herself if she had to rely on for something like this, she might never be able to do anything herself. And she didn’t want to get any closer to him than she already was. It felt odd and she couldn’t disregard the fact that he once had been Choonhee’s man, the person her sister loved before death.

“No, it’s alright,” she reached for the door knob, “thanks for bringing me home.”

There was nothing like no problem or you’re welcome but a reminder, “Don’t take off the ring.”

Turning away Namjoo pushed the door open and stepped out. The second the door closed Kai drove off and she was left wishing she would have taken his offer. Biting her inner lips she forced herself toward the door and walked inside.

The house was empty as always. Above her on the wall the family portrait was still there, plastered proudly. Choonhee stared back at her with those mounting eyes of hers. An indescribable pang of emotions thwarted Namjoo from inside. She had already made her decision the immediate moment she stepped into this house. It was too late to back out.

Namjoo’s eyes drifted toward the hallway when Choonhee’s parents stepped out from the lounge room. She steadied herself mentally when their eyes locked and she stepped forward.

“I’m here,” she started, announcing her presence.

“You…do you realize what you did today?” Lee Kwan asked, staring her down. His wife at his side appeared steadier than yesterday and this morning, her eyes ridden of the despair she recently experienced.

“Where is my daughter?” the woman quietly hissed, her eyes flooded with loathing.

Namjoo pressed her lips together, remaining quiet. Hardening her voice, the woman repeated unhappily and with demand, “I asked you where my daughter is.”

Namjoo was in no position to talk to them about their daughter. In no way did she want to be the bearer of bad news. All she could say was, “I’m sorry.” 

The woman’s face immediately tensed with anger and her eyes flared. She growled, “So you want to be Choonhee, do you?”  

Placing a hand on her shoulder to keep her emotions at bay, Lee Kwan stared at her, “Because of you the situation has become very fragile right now. The company and our relationship with the Kim’s are in a dire state. Do you understand?”

Namjoo bit her tongue and nodded.

“From now on, you will become Choonhee and you will finish her duties for her, do you understand me?” he sounded like a top rank army official, demanding full attention and obedience. This time, Namjoo was really a dog on a leash. She would be more than dead if she tried rebelling against these formidable people.

Kai’s words of caution made their rounds inside her head. Namjoo would have to play her cards carefully from now on. Not only Hayoung, but everyone would have their eyes on her.

“I will not hesitate to turn you in if you put the business and our family reputation at stake. From now on you will do as your mother and I say. So don’t you dare have your own plans.” He cautioned her seriously. “Go to your room.”

Lowering her head with another nod, Namjoo walked around them and started up the stairs.

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Instead of directly heading into his home to face his utterly bewildered and confused parents, Kai remained in his car outside. He’d turned the radio off and he’d cut the engine, but his keys still dangled from the ignition. He’d removed the seatbelt and the empty seat beside him confirmed how alone he was in that moment.

In the blink of an eye everything had become so twisted. Catching up to reality and coming to terms with its cruelty was even hard for someone like him. Since what day, he wondered, had he started seeing Namjoo instead of Choonhee?

It didn’t make sense that he hadn’t realized it. He had noted the differences, how off Namjoo had been as Choonhee but he hadn’t been aware of it. At the turn of his head his eyes landed on the arm Namjoo had earlier held and pleaded with. The touch was almost the same, but the person was different.

Despite the causes, if he stopped now he would lose what he had come after from the beginning. The fact that Namjoo was now in the place of Choonhee just made all the circumstances different. There was one thing he was certain of, and it was that Choonhee’s formidable father wouldn’t be willing to go down so easily. Her father wanted his family too; they needed each other in order to keep surviving in this competitive economy.

Lee Kwan would keep Namjoo, Kai was sure of it. He would utilize her in the place of Choonhee for his own gain, for his company, and his own name. Nonetheless, whether Choonhee was Choonhee or Namjoo was Choonhee he would have to marry her.

That was the end of the story.

The only problem was if his parents realized the truth. Choonhee had been the diamond in their eyes, but Namjoo did not stand in the same elegant league. If they knew Choonhee was a fake his father would prosecute them, including him. There would be no lenience between family members, Kai knew it well. His father, though greedy, ultimately hated liars. Namjoo, who had nowhere to go, he wasn’t sure what would happen to her but it wouldn’t be very good.

Kai wasn’t able to stand for the responsibility of it. If Namjoo was ever found out, he would lose all he’d grown up with. Right now he was playing a very dangerous game, but if Namjoo listened well it would all turn out alright. And if she joined his family he would, in return, make sure she lived in comfort.

It would all work well he convinced himself and stepped out. His parents rushed at him the second he walked in and immediately bombarded him with questions.

“What was today about? What exactly happened at the press conference?” his father inquired.

“Is something wrong with Choonhee? Why would they say she’s missing?” the words flew out from his mother’s lips. “Is there really someone in that house pretending to be Choonhee? Oh my…how frightening.”

“Tell us, son, what’s going on?” his father ordered.

“Will you guys first calm down?” Kai asked, flustered by how they were attacking him like a sea of reporters. “Can I breathe a little here, please?”

Nodding, his mother quickly backed up but stared intensely up at him. The way his father’s eyes seriously shot at his face like a laser beam made him even more uncomfortable.

“Nothing’s wrong with Choonhee, it was a misunderstanding.”

“Then what’s this nonsense about a twin?” his mother wondered. “Is it really true that there’s a twin?”

Now…Kai hadn’t thought about how to answer that. Improvising on the spot, he lied, “Yes. Just now Choonhee took me to go see her and apologized for the noise we caused.”

His mother gasped. And his father asked the obvious, “So it’s true? There’s really a twin?”

Kai nodded. “She doesn’t want her identity to be revealed to the public and doesn’t want to be associated with any of us.”

“What do you mean?” his mother asked. “Doesn’t want to be associated with us?” then she scoffed, “As if we’d want to be embarrass her.”

“Why not? Isn’t Choonhee her sister?”

“Ah…well, I mean, she has…a family she wants to protect,” Kai glanced around while trying to sound confident.

“Well…that’s good to hear. So everything’s alright with Choonhee?” his father said.

“Yes.”

“What good news,” his father loudly and haughtily breathed.

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Namjoo couldn’t sleep no matter how many tosses and turns she did throughout the night. By the time she lay on her back it was five in the morning. The exhaustion was clear in her body but something in her wouldn’t let her rest. Throwing an arm over her eyes she sighed. Another minute passed before she pulled herself up and leaned back.

The moon was barely up and rays of light were starting to strike Choonhee’s bedroom. She would have to go to work in just a while. This heaviness inside her wasn’t helping to ease the burden she was feeling. Then glanced down at the gold ring on her finger and it with her thumb.

She didn’t believe under any circumstances that Kai would care about her. He was just like everyone else, who wanted to use her as Choonhee for their own gain because they were angry with her and they resented her. Maybe that was why she was starting to feel so empty at this point. She couldn’t and wasn’t able to believe in anyone. In no time, one by one they would all start stabbing her in the back. And who knew what might happen to her.

There was no one to go to, no one to call friend, and no one to rely on. Had Choonhee felt the same way? Had she been driven to the cliff of desperation and in the end, gave it all up for Kai only to realize she was wrong?

Sliding a hand up her face Namjoo groaned. She really wanted to sleep.

\\\\\

For once, she awoke before Auntie Shin could knock on her door. To much of her surprise, Kai was at the bottom of the stairwell waiting for her. He was one of the last persons she expected to see that morning. Actually, she had expected to see Hayoung at the front of her door with a sharp penetrating glare.

“You should at least pretend to be happy to see me,” Kai said as they started toward the dining room together. “You didn’t sleep well, I suppose?”

“Why are you here?”

“I want to look good for my in-laws,” he answered.

“You don’t mean that.”

“Do you really think everything I say is a lie?” he asked her. Namjoo turned to look at him, wondering what he was up to and watched him walk ahead of her to sit down.

“It’s so nice to have you over today,” Eungi smiled, shifting in her chair. “Eat up. Today must be a long day for you.”

“Thank you, mother,” he spoke with a note of formality which had Namjoo wanting to vomit on spot. She hoped so much to sit away from him but due to the fact there were only four chairs, she obviously was left without option.

“I have something I would like to announce,” Kai said when Choonhee’s father sat down. “I hope you don’t mind.”

“What is it?” Choonhee’s father asked.

Namjoo barely choked on her food when Kai grabbed her hand and held it up with his. “It might be a little early, but I thought it would be nice to have it on now since Choonhee is trying to delay the wedding. I’ll get her a better one in a few weeks.”

“Isn’t that sweet!” Eungi cooed excitedly, her demeanor this morning on opposite the polar from yesterday it was frightening. Stunned, Namjoo’s eyes floated around the room full with the food she couldn’t will herself to swallow.

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“Did you really have to do that?” Namjoo asked closing the front door after her.

“I did say I’ll get you a better ring soon.”

“Do you think I care about that?” she spat.

Kai stared at her from the bottom steps then scoffed. “What would someone like you know? You spent majority of your life growing up without etiquette or manners.”

“I said I’m not doing it. The wedding, I’m going to hold it off for as long as I can.” A fume of anger grew in her without he was taking her words like a joke. It offended her.

A smug smile grew on his face as he walked toward his car muttering, “So you say.”  

Gently clenching her teeth together Namjoo stared at him, determined to get to work by herself that morning. There was no way she wanted to breathe the same air as that jerk.

Pulling the front passenger door open he said, “Get in.”

“No. You drive to work. I’ll find my own way there.” She refused. His eyes set back onto hers and she thought he would come up to drag her in, but instead slammed the door shut.

“Have it your way then.” He said then made his way back around the car and got in. Without one look at her he drove away. Biting her lower lip stubbornly she started down the stairs and toward the road. If only she knew how to drive…

Twenty minutes later she arrived at work in a cab, dreading how the day would go. There would be gossip and she would most likely be ostracized again, nothing new to her. Steeling her heart, she started toward the building. In no time she heard the clapping of heels against the concrete coming from her left and knew immediately who those heels belonged to.

“Shameless enough to come to work, aren’t you?” Hayoung came into step with her.

Unable to help herself, Namjoo began feeling small just standing beside this woman who had towered over her from the beginning. Her gaze floated toward the ground and her lips grew tightly shut.

“Do you really think everything’s going to work the way you want?” Hayoung quietly asked. “I warned you before, not to rebel against me.”

Namjoo suddenly gasped when an arm locked itself around her shoulders and pulled her away from Hayoung. “Good morning to you too, Secretary Oh,” Kai greeted. “It’s starting to get fun, seeing each other every day isn’t it?”

Hayoung flatly returned the stare then turning away walked ahead of them toward the front doors. Oozing with self-scorn Namjoo bit her tongue. Removing his arm Kai straightened his blazer. Without one look at her he said as he walked passed, “Get to work.”

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For the first hour there was completely nothing to do. Then slowly one by one her co-workers started dropping off simple assignments at her desk that kept her well occupied, that was until someone she didn’t recognize walked into the office.

A tap on her desk had her looking up into the extremely thin man’s face, “The Vice Executive wants to see you.”

“Vice…executive?” Namjoo repeated hesitatingly. Sehun was the Vice CEO. What would he want with her?

Namjoo first noticed the curious eyes, probably wondering what problem she’d caused this time. Pressing her nervous lips together she stood up to follow the man out of the office and toward the elevator. The ride up was the shortest she’d ever and she wished pleadingly that it would have crashed on them. When the lift opened her insides screamed.

Naturally, her legs led her after the man and before she knew it they were starting past Hayoung’s empty desk, which left her questioning why she wasn’t there to stop her. then the knock on the door had her blood turning cold.

“Miss Lee Choonhee is here.” The man announced.

Namjoo’s throat closed up and her palms started sweating. The man pulled one of the two doors open and the man waited for her to enter, but her feet were rooted frozen to the floor. She didn’t want to go in and face Sehun. Not after what she did to him.

Why had he called for her? Why?

“Please go in, Miss,” the man urged. Curling her fingers up into her palm Namjoo forced herself into the room and listened as the doors closed, locking her into the private office. Before her Sehun, in his gorgeous black leather chair, stared at her. His eyes seemed to be absorbing her entire whole, her in.

Namjoo found herself gulping, standing stiffly and awkwardly far away from his desk. She could still hear him talking into her ears from behind, his arms wrapped securely around her. Her heart rolled and tripped guiltily. He had meant well when he found her that day, she had felt it but couldn’t understand why he had tried helping her. There was no reason for him to, so she couldn’t trust him. No ground existed between them and she had already turned her back on him by using the information he gave her against him.

Then he finally stood, his tall figure towering over her even from far away. “Why are you standing over there?”