One month later…

DCM Corporation’s Office…

“Have you called them?” Lee Min Ho asked his assistant, as his eyes were screening through the file he was holding.

Sung bujang stared at his boss and let out a deep sigh. “I’ve contacted Mr Chan’s assistant this morning to make an appointed to meet up with him but they will be taking tonight’s flight back to Beijing.”

Min Ho looked up from the file with his brows furrowed together. “I thought he would only go back next week.”

“According to his assistant, he has something urgent to be settled in Beijing.” Sung bujang replied.

An exasperated sigh escaped Min Ho’s lips as he closed the file at the same time. “What about we fly to Beijing to meet him? The project has dragged more than four months now. I don’t want to waste anymore time hanging there without a decision from them. 25% profit margin is the lowest I could go.”

“I know. But sajang-nim… as what I know, OK Corporation is offering them a zero profit margin.” Sung bujang said.

Min Ho chuckled sarcastically as he shook his head in disbelief. “This is totally a joke. What do they earn by giving them a zero profit margin in this project? This is a business. It’s not a charity.”

“If you ask me, it’s not a business for them anymore. It’s more like a… must-win deal for them. They don’t even care they will earn money from the project or not. It’s very obvious they just want to win and doesn’t care about the profit. They lost the Japan project to us last year. China market is so big now and they need this project to become the biggest player in the industry.” Sun bujang added.

Min Ho averted his gaze and heaved a deep breath. “No. I don’t think this is their real motive. As what I understand about Ok Seung Hoon and Song Ga Young, they are not a person who will do a business that loses money.”

No matter how bad they compete with each other over the years, OK Corporation will not do something that doesn’t benefit them. If he guessed correctly, the person who is in charge of this project must be their son, Ok Taec Yeon. What he wants is not the business. He just wants to beat him and take revenge on him.

Childish.

“But according to my informant, Ok Taec Yeon have met up with Mr Chan for two times last week and everything seems going very smoothly in the discussion. I think OK Corporation is very concern about this project.” Sung bujang reported.

Min Ho smirked. So he guessed correctly. It was really Ok Taec Yeon who causing them problems. It has nothing to do with business. It’s all about revenge, about Shin Hye.

“And there is one thing I’m not quite understand.” Sung bujang said again.

Looking back at him, Min Ho raised his brows. “What thing?”

“Does sajang-nim remembers the partner that Mr Chan brought to the charity ball? The model, Go Ara.” He asked.

Min Ho inhaled a deep breath before he nodded. “What is wrong with her?”

“As what I know, Go Ara is not just a simple friend to Mr Chan. They have a secret and intimate relationship. And the strangest part is… Ok Taec Yeon met up with her three days ago.” Sung bujang said.

“Ok Taec Yeon went to see Go Ara?” Min Ho asked in surprise. He didn’t know they know each other. Although it was none of his business but their meeting make him suspicious and felt uncomfortable at the same time. After what Ok Taec Yeon did to Shin Hye’s brother, he doesn’t trust this person anymore. Because of revenge, because of Shin Hye, he might do something to hurt them again.

He doesn’t care that losing this business will bring any impact to his company or not. What he care the most is Shin Hye and his family. He won’t let anybody hurt them or do anything that will affect their relationship again.

Just when Min Ho wanted to ask his assistant to check when will Mr Chan come back to Korea again, the sound of a knock on the door interrupted them. It was Krystal who came in with a troubled expression on her face.

“Sajang-nim…” She looked at him, hesitated for a brief second before she continued. “Go Ara-sshi is waiting for you outside.” When she saw Min Ho’s eyebrows furrowed, she quickly explained. “I already told her that you are having a meeting and she couldn’t see you without an appointment but… but she said sajang-nim will be very interested to meet her. She said… she come here to discuss about the China project with you.”

Sung bujang was surprised and turned to his boss. He felt something strange too.

Min Ho heaved a deep sigh. He knows exactly why Go Ara wants to see him. But what he was curious is the reason of Ok Taec Yeon meeting up with her and the thing they were planning behind him. And in order to find out, he has to see her. Letting out another long breathy sigh, he glanced at his watch. It’s not early now and he promised Shin Hye and Hyun Jun that he will be back on time today. He has to be fast.

“We will discuss about this again tomorrow. You can go out now.” Min Ho said to his assistant.

“Yes, sajang-nim.” Sung bujang nodded as he immediately stood up of the chair and exited the room.

Min Ho turned to Krystal and looked at her with a cold expression. “Bring her in.”

---------------------------------------------------------------

Lee Mansion…

Taking some tea and cookies in a tray, Shin Hye slowly climbed up the stairs, making her way to Hyun Jun’s room. His private class with Yim Si Wan has almost over and she thought of taking some refreshments to cheer them up after a long hour of class.

Shin Hye gently knock the door before she opened it and saw both of them sitting by Hyun Jun’s study table, Si Wan was packing the books into his bag. He looked up at her and flashed a warm smile on his face.

“Eomma….” Hyun Jun smiled happily as he half running towards Shin Hye.

“Is the class over yet? Am I disturbing both of you?” She asked as she walked forward and put the tray on the table.

“No, you didn’t disturb anybody. The class is over.” Si Wan said, eyeing the cookies with his mouth watery.

Shin Hye smiled at his expression as she poured a cup of tea and passed it to him. “Try some cookies. I made it myself.”

Si Wan took the cup from her and grabbed a piece of the cookies at the same time, quickly put it into his mouth. “Hmmm… I’m so hungry.” He mumbled in between chewing.

“Eat slowly. If it’s not enough, there are still a lot in the kitchen.” Shin Hye said, worried he will choke himself for eating so fast.

“I can’t.” He said as he took a big sip of the tea. “I still need to rush back to the university for the next class. I only have an hour to reach there.”

Shin Hye nodded as she passed him some tissues.

He took the tissue and looked at her. “This tea is so nice.”

“It’s lemon balm tea. It has calming effects and soothes the entire nervous system. It can help you to get a good night sleep and soothe a headache. I learn it from the internet and especially made it for Min Ho oppa. I think it’s good for you too since you are always so busy.” She said.

“Thank you.” Si Wan smiled at her.

“How does the cookies taste, seonsaeng-nim? It’s very delicious, right? Eomma make very nice cookies.” Hyun Jun asked and his voice sounded proud. Shin Hye always made some for him to bring to the school and all the kids in the class fighting to taste the cookies. He felt so proud to have such a competent mother.

“Do you even need to ask?” Si Wan said as he took another piece of the cookies. “Everything made by her taste delicious. She have a magic hand.”

Shin Hye chuckled. “Both of you are exaggerating.”

“Eomma…” Hyun Jun held her hand and shook it softly. “Appa told us that he will come back on time to have dinner with us tonight, right?”

“Yes. Wae?” Shin Hye asked.

“Eomma, why not we go to appa’s office and give him a surprise? We can have dinner outside tonight. It have been a long time since Hyun Jun eat outside.” Hyun Jun said, looking at Shin Hye with his expectant gaze.

“Go to his office?” Shin Hye hesitated. “Although he said he will come home on time but he might have an urgent meeting or something. I don’t want to disturb his work.”

Hyun Jun shook his head quickly. “I called Krystal noona three hours ago. She said appa doesn’t have any appointment or meeting later. He even told her that he needs to go home early and not to schedule anything for him.”

“But it was three hours ago. Maybe… he has something to do now.” Shin Hye still hesitate.

“Eomma…” Hyun Jun pouted his lips. “Even if appa really have something to do later, we can still go to look for him and have dinner with him. He still needs to eat even if he is busy, right?”

Si Wan quickly swallowed the food in his mouth and turned to Shin Hye. “I think it’s a good idea to give him a surprise in the office. He wasn’t in good mood lately. I’m sure he will be happy to see both of you.”

Shin Hye moved her eyes to Si Wan with her brows creased in question. Min Ho was not in a good mood? Why she didn’t know about it? She wanted to ask Si Wan but because Hyun Jun was there, she swallowed the words back into . She doesn’t want Hyun Jun to hear or worried about it.

Taking a deep breath, she turned back to Hyun Jun and smiled slightly. “If you want to go, you have to quickly go to take your shower. It’s not early now and we will stuck in the traffic if we go out late.”

“Okay. I’ll go right away.” Hyun Jun said excitedly as he quickly ran to the bathroom.

After he was out of sight, Shin Hye looked back at Si Wan with a worried gaze. “Oppa, what do you mean of Min Ho oppa is not in a good mood?”

Si Wan held her gaze and raised his brows in surprise. “You didn’t know? I went to his office two days ago to report to him about Hyun Jun’s progression and saw him yelling at his staff in his room. I checked with Krystal and she said his China project is facing a lot of problems.”

Shin Hye remembered Min Ho told her before that Taec Yeon was also fighting for the same project with him. Did Taec Yeon do something to trouble him because of her? She heaved a deep sigh before looking at Si Wan. “He didn’t say anything to me. He doesn’t like to talk about his work at home. Since we came back from Busan one month ago, he has been very busy and work until very late at night. But he was okay in front of me. I didn’t sense anything wrong with him at all.”

“I think he just doesn’t want you to worry. His mood surely turn good whenever he saw you.” He said, assured her with a warm smile. “Despite the problem he is facing now, I’m still happy to see how much he has changed since he fell in love with you. I guessed the Busan trip helped both of you a lot.”

“Hmmm…” Shin Hye nodded. “We went back to Light House Orphanage and he told me a lot about his past. And… also his relationship with Se Yeon.” She paused and let out a long breathy sigh. “Although I wasn’t quite comfortable but I could understand how much he loved her and how much Se Yeon’s death has hurt him.”

Si Wan stared at her and pursed his lips. “What… did he tell you about Se Yeon? Did he… tell you how Se Yeon… died?” He asked with a wary tone.

“I didn’t ask but ahjuhma told me before. She said Se Yeon killed herself.” She paused and looked at Si Wan. “She… killed herself in the hospital, right?”

Si Wan was silent for a brief moment before he let out an awkward smile. He nodded. “However… the past is not important anymore. The important thing is both of you are happy being together now.” He quickly ended the topic as he averted his eyes, trying to avoid Shin Hye’s gaze.

Shin Hye nodded slightly with a small smile. But Si Wan’s awkward and unnatural expression looked suspicious to her. Why does he always act so strange whenever they talked about Se Yeon? Does he know about something that she doesn’t? Or… does he know about the secret that Min Ho was hiding from her? Does it have anything to do with Se Yeon’s death? All these questions are giving her an uncomfortable feeling but she forced herself not to think about it. She already promised Min Ho that she would not ask because she chose to believe him.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

DCM Corporation’s Office…

Ten minutes after Sung bujang and Krystal left Min Ho’s room, she came back with Go Ara followed her from behind. Standing to the side to let Go Ara to step in, Krystal turned to Min Ho and stared at him with a worried gaze. She doesn’t like Go Ara since the day her boss dated her last time and seeing her coming here again, it brought an uneasy feeling to her. Min Ho has already married now and although she only met Shin Hye for few times but she likes her. She is very polite and never treats her like how Min Ho’s ex-girlfriends treated her before. But she also knows that this is very serious and she couldn’t report it to Hyun Jun. She can only hope that her boss will not do something that will make him regrets.

“Sajang-nim, Go Ara-sshi is here.” She reported softly.

Min Ho just nodded without saying anything.

After the door was closed, Go Ara slowly walked into the room and the moment her eyes met the man she wanted to see for a long time, her heart skipped a beat looking at his cold and dangerous expression. It was very obvious that he wasn’t pleased to see her.

Min Ho tried very hard to remain his composure and not showing the disgust look on his face but he just couldn’t help himself from being annoyed watching this woman walking towards him. Since the last time he met her in the charity ball, he still couldn’t forget the trouble she has caused him. He couldn’t imagine how Shin Hye will react if she knows he is meeting her again now.

Go Ara took a seat in front of him and curled her red lips in her usual seductive smile. “After so many months of not meeting, you still look as handsome as ever. I really missed you so much. If not because I was stuck in a big modelling project in China and too busy entertaining the big fat China man, I’ll sure come to visit you earlier.” She inhaled a soft breath and forced another smile on her face when Min Ho didn’t give her any response. “Our conversation has not over yet, remember? It was cut off by your so-called wife during the charity ball.” She reminds him.

She then glanced down at the file on his table as her smirk widened. “It seems that you still haven’t find a way to close the business deal with Mr Chan yet.” She bit her bottom lip and looked into Min Ho’s eyes. “You should know there is an easier way to settle this and you doesn’t need to go through all the unnecessary hassles.” She paused again, leaned forward and smiled. “As long as you said yes, the project will be yours.”

Min Ho inhaled a sharp intake of breath before forcing an inward smirk on his lips. “What do you want?” He asked in a deep but dangerous voice.

Another smile spread across Go Ara’s face as she stood up of the chair and slowly walked towards where Min Ho was sitting. She stopped beside him, turned his chair over so that he is now facing her. She felt his body went stiff in an instant when she sit down on to his lap and wrapped her arms around his neck. Annoyance clouded his darkened eyes instantly. She forced herself not to get affected by his reluctance and maintained a smile on her face. At least he didn’t push her away. She just needs to work harder and she believes no man in this world could escape from her.

Pressing herself tightly against his chest, she looked deeply into his eyes. “You know exactly what I want.” She whispered sensuously, as their lips were only inches away. Her fingers were very softly on the sensitive skin on his neck and her other hand was playing with his earlobe.

If this trick was used on some other men, they might feel aroused by her but for Min Ho, except from feeling disgusted, he couldn’t feel anything else on her shameless seduction. The strong smell of her expensive perfume nauseated him. But he couldn’t push her away yet. Sung bujang said Ok Taec Yeon met up with her two days ago. He needs to know what are they planning behind him.

Min Ho smirked. “If I remember correctly, I already told you that...” He leaned closer and stared dangerously into her eyes. “… we are over.”

Go Ara smiled and held his gaze. “You are the one who said it. I didn’t agree.”

“So what if you don’t agree?” Min Ho chuckled softly. “I’m married… and I only love my wife.” He said mercilessly as he saw a slight hurt crossed her eyes. But he don’t care his words has hurt her because for him, he don’t even care how she feel. She should already aware and understand the rule before they started the game. It has never been serious between them. It was only a game.

Go Ara felt extremely angry and jealous over the fact that Min Ho chose a normal woman over her. She doesn’t understand. What does a woman like Park Shin Hye have that she doesn’t? She is a very popular model in Asia and so many men are dreaming to own her. But why Min Ho doesn’t care for her at all and just throw her away like garbage? She will never admit defeat to him. Even if she couldn’t win him over, she will not let other women to have him.

Trying very hard to control her anger and jealousy, she forced a stiff smile on her face. “I don’t mind. You can keep your heart for her but give your body to me. And in return, you can get my heart, my body and the business deal. It’s beneficial for you.” She paused and smiled again. “You know how well we could make each other happy. I believe I can satisfy your need better than your wife.”

Min Ho smirked as he tried to suppress a laugh. He wanted to laugh not because what she said was true but because she thinks too highly about herself. He was a heartless man when he first met her. His heart was frozen during the time they were together and he just wants a woman to satisfy his physical needs. But now, there is only one woman in this world who could satisfy him physically and mentally. And that person is his wife, Park Shin Hye.

“You are too confident in yourself, Go Ara-sshi.” Min Ho said with his voice laced with sarcasm.

Go Ara smirked as she tightened her arms around him. “You are right. But I’m not only confident in myself. I’m also very confident in you and understand your body.” She said as her hands slowly trailed down to his hard chest. I know how difficult to satisfy your big appetite and a woman like your wife will never be able to do it.” Letting out another smile, she leaned forward and planted a kiss on his cheek, leaving a red lipstick mark on it.

The moment when Min Ho felt her lips on his skin, his natural reaction is to push her away but he have to control himself for not doing so. His gaze darted into her eyes as he slowly reached out for her, grabbing her chin very roughly. The feeling of the foundation on her face irritates him more.

He smirked when Go Ara let out a startle gasp. “What if I say no?” He asked through gritted teeth.

“You won’t” She said, pressing herself closer to him. “I know you. Nothing is more important than your business. And I’m sure you wouldn’t want to lose to your enemy… Ok Taek Yeon.” She paused and dropped her gaze to his lips. “I know you will say yes.” She whispered as she leaned closer and attempting to kiss him.

But just when her lips almost touch his, Min Ho spoke again and his words completely froze her in place.

“How much did Ok Taec Yeon pay you?” He was tired and has no energy to play this silly guessing game with her. Her behaviour gets on his nerves. Whatever they want to do, he is not interested anymore. He is rich enough and more than afford to lose one or two business to them. He just want to make sure their plan did not involve Shin Hye and will not hurt her.

Go Ara pulled back and looked at him in shock.

Min Ho smirked, satisfied with the expression he saw on her face. “He must have paid you a very big amount of money  for you to pull off such an act in front of me.” He let go of her chin and chuckled sarcastically. “That idiot is too stupid to think that a woman like you could seduce and threaten me.”

“I… I don’t understand what… what you are talking about.” Go Ara stuttered.

A soft chuckle escaped his lips. “Do you know why you will never be able to sit on the position of Mrs Lee?” He asked, looking into her frightened eyes.

“I don’t mind marrying a stupid woman… but I hate someone scheming and greedy.” He paused as the smile on his face disappeared and replaced with a cold expression. “I can give you whatever you want, me or even my money… but my heart…” He chuckled in disgust. “… do you think you have the ability to own it? Yes, I can’t deny that you indeed have quite a pretty face, alluring body and a very excellent skill in seducing men. But too bad. What I want is a wife, not a .”

“You…” Go Ara’s face turned pale.

“I’m not interested on how much Ok Taec Yeon have paid you to do all this. But no matter what both of you are planning behind me, it will never succeed.” Min Ho let out another smirk. “I admit that this China project is very tempting and I wanted to have it. But if you think you could threaten me using that Chinese man, you are very wrong.” He grabbed her chin once again and glared into her eyes. “You said you know me, right? Then you should know what kind of man I am. I can lose a business deal and lose anything. But