Last Chapters Recap:

Park Shin Hye disguise herself as a trainee in Femme Magazine, because she wanted to dodge her responsibility to be the Director. She met the Flower Boys of Femme there which include: her supposedly secretary Jung Yong Hwa and his gank, Jung Il Woo, Kang Min Hyuk and Yoo Seung Hoo. Jung Il Woo challenged Yong Hwa to take the nerdy In Ha - Shin Hye's alter ego - to the company anniversary party and changed her appearance during the event. When he was trying to win the bet, Yong Hwa found out about Shin Hye's real identity and fell in love with her. They decided to date. In the party, Shi Hoo - her second cousin - played the recording of the night when Yong Hwa and Il Woo made the bet, infuriating Shin Hye. She decided to assume the director's position and shook things up by re-shuffling the human resource in the company.  Ye Jin, her bestfriend, finally found out that Shin Hye was an heiress and was furious. Due to the fight and a terror from an unknown person, Shin Hye decided to move back to the mansion. She overheard that her grandfather was the mastermind of the recording incident during the party. Shin Hye's brother Hyung Sik decided to go back to Seoul, befriended Yong Hwa and helped him when Shin Hye wanted the theme of December edition changed in last minute. Belle Magazine issued its edition with the same theme as Femme, but it turns out Shin Hye planned the whole thing and published the original theme. Yong Hwa realized that he was still madly in love with Shin Hye, he moved in to her old apartment and decided to win her back.

​---o0o---

"So Ra-ya! Be good in your new school okay, Appa and Eomma have to go to work." A woman was kneeling in front of an eight year old girl. They were in a baseball field where a match between two elementary schools was on going. "Your new school is a special school, every kids in this school is special from all over South Korea. You need to have as many friends as possible and get along with them. Okay!?" she added, the girl who was wearing a signature burberry dress nodded, her hair was neatly tied into two piggy tails.

"Arasso, Eomma! I'll make a lot of friends like in Busan!" she said with a large slightly toothless grin.

"Chaa! You were the most popular girl in Busan, I'm sure you'll be like that too here. Go on! Today the school has a baseball match, go watch it and make as many friends as you can." The mother said, thinking that with whomever her daugther was befriended with, as long they went to that school, it would be a great opportunity for networking and for their blossoming business.

The girl skipped into the field and saw the supporter bench was full of people who were sitting with their respective groups, she opted to sit on a crowded bench that had a small gap which she could sit on. Once she sat she looked around, there were a lot of kids; her age, younger and older. Most of them was there watching the game with their parents. She shrugged the slight jealousy that came across her mind and focused on the game, but suddenly a girl came up to her, an older one.

"You're on my seat!" she said unwelcoming.

"Deh?" So Ra looked around and realized the group of girls who was surrounding her, looking at her like she was an alien. "Chuosonghaeyo!" she bowed and stood up to take another seat.

She decided to sit on an opening beside a group of older boys who was goofing around, she made sure that she did not sit in the middle of the groups. The game was on, she did not really understand how to play baseball nor the rules. She just came there because her mother told her to, she preferred to be home playing with her doll. 

So Ra suddenly felt something hit her legs several times, she looked down and saw a few popcorns laid beside her foot, it seemed that someone threw them at her. She turned to her right and saw the group of boys were laughing at her. 

"Ya! Why are you wearing a dress to a baseball game? Go home and play with your dolls!!" A boy said, the other boys jeered in mockery.

So Ra hung her head, she felt a strange pain on the left side of her chest, something so unfamiliar. Getting a new friend in Seoul was not as easy as she thought. The boys were still laughing at her, mocking her too feminine outfit for the baseball game. 

"Ya! Look at that kid! He brought so many snacks... Are you guys hungry?" the boy who just mocked her said to his group. "Let's get his snack and money after the game!" he said which welcomed with a cheer by the others.

"Tsk tsk tsk!" So Ra heard a woman on her left said, she was talking to her husband who sat next to her. "That boy is from Jeguk Group, the richest family in South Korea, why would he take other kids money?" So Ra saw her shaking her head. 

"Don't talk too loud! His parents are the owner of the school. We'll get into trouble if you bad-mouth him!" Her husband scolded.

So Ra did not really understand what the adults were saying, but when she looked at the boy that was being discussed, she had a slight fear, the same kind of feeling she would get when she saw the white face, big red nose and large mouth of a clown in the theme park back at Busan. Her pure and innocent heart told her that the boy and his group as well as the girl group before did not want to be her friend, something she never thought could happen before.

She looked around and suddenly felt scared, her mother told her that Seoul would be like Busan, that she would easily get a friend and would have so much fun there; but somehow she could see that that was not the case. Seoul kids were not as friendly as Busan's, she might had trouble in getting friend. Her mother would not like that.

"Wooo!!!!" So Ra jerked from her train of thoughts, she looked to the right, the boys who were jeering at her just now suddenly cheered towards the field.

"Second batter, from Jeguk Elementary. Park Shin Hye!!!" the announcer said, most of the people on So Ra's side stood up as the skinny boy prepared to hit the ball.

"Park! Shin! Hye!! Park! Shin! Hye!!" the crowd chanted his name including the scary boy and his group.

So Ra looked at the people who were vigorously cheering and at the boy who was being cheered alternately, she wondered why they adore that boy so much. She observed the boy intently and suddenly realized, that he was actually a girl whose hair was put inside the cap; that's why she thought the batter was a boy at first.

The pitcher finished his silent discussion with the catcher and squared off to pitch. When he finally pitched, the girl hit the ball accurately and the ball flew right off the field. The crowd went wild as she ran to the first base, second base and slided to the third. Even the nasty boy cheered victoriously, he and his gank chanted her name once again.

So Ra looked at her and memorised her name, maybe she should learn from her how to be loved by Seoul.

---

Fourteen year old So Ra sat on the passenger seat beside the driver, while her parents were at the back. Her father was reading the financial section of a newspaper while her mother was fixing her make up. She looked at her dress, slightly cursed for being forced to wear it; she wanted to wear something funkier to the party but her mother scolded her, she said it would embarrass the whole clan. She sighed imagining the boring party that she had to attend and had to pretend to enjoy in a few minutes.

"Argh!! Do we really have to attend this party?" her mother said begrudgingly, "I just couldn't stand that Park Family! Especially the daughter-in-law, Kim Jung Eun. She acted almighty for being married with a chaebol when she was actually just kindergarten teacher!" she put her lipstick back on the case.

"She graduated from Seoul University majoring Journalism, mind you!" her husband said nonchalantly. "And they got married when he was just starting off." he added without taking his eyes from the newspaper.

"Huh! That's why she acted like she's great about everything. The whole family is... they're busy building an image of a happy family. Christmas Eve dinner! What a joke?!" So Ra's mom said.

"Mind your manner when we're there, they are inviting all the big names in the print media industry. It's good for networking!" her dad continued, he folded the newspaper and put it on the side. "So Ra-ya! You know their daughter, right? I think she's the same age as you." he said to So Ra.

"Du Gu?" So Ra asked.

"I think her name is Park Shin Hye." her father said.

"O? O! She's in different class." So Ra said. "We don't know each other though." she remembered the girl from a baseball game years ago, but they never really acquainted.

"Then you can get to know her now! It would be good if you can be close with her..." her father said.

"Why should she be close with our competitor? I'd rather die than kiss that Kim Jung Eun's ." the mother cut him off.

"Kemanhe! Watch your language in front of her!" he scolded, "Don't you ever hear the term keep your friend close and your enemy even closer. It surely would be an advantage if we have a good relationship with them, they're in the business longer than us, they can put us further into the center of the industry."

The mother pouted having lost the debate with the strict father, they fell into silence through out the rest of the journey. So Ra looked through the window, the snow had started to fall legalising the winter that came late that year. Her heart felt heavy, the task his father had given her was not as easy as it sound.

Shin Hye was in a class where the wealthiest students of her year were, they all were very sophisticated and seemed too high to reach. So Ra had been wanting to befriended them but it was as if they were in their own circle and outsiders was naturally alienated. She had seen Shin Hye hang out with them several times and did not seem to notice her, she thought Shin Hye must had been as snob as the other kids in that class.

The Kang familiy's sedan enter the Park's mansion, they saw the front yard was decorated with christmas colourful lights. So Ra thought it was the most beautiful house she had ever seen, the treehouse on top of a big tree caught her attention, she wished she had one like that at home. They stepped out of the luxurious vehicle and walked to the porched. So Ra's mother gazed at her husband and daughter one last time, a wrinkle in So Ra's dress did not go unnoticed. She straightened it up while the father rang the doorbell.

Minutes later the door was opened, they instantly heard christmas music blaring from inside the house and people chatting happily. Park Shin Yang was in front of the door, grinning widely to his guest, his wife was walking behind him to greet the newcomers.

"Kang Ji Hwan! Osowayo!" he shook his guest's hand and step backwards to let them in. 

So Ra saw her mom and dad smiled ever so sweetly, a complete opposite of mood than when they were in the car. She looked at the couple host, both seemed very friendly and sweet, she liked them instantly.

"Park Si Yeon Oennie! How are you?" The lady host held her mother's hands and gave her a cheek-kiss on each side, her mother follow suit with an obvious fake smile; even So Ra noticed it.

"Never been better! Thank you for inviting us." she said while handing a bottle of Bollinger Vieles Vignes - one of the most expensive champagne in the world, "A little gift!" she said proudly.

Kim Jung Eun widen her eyes accepting the bottle, "Oh My! You shouldn't have! It must have cost you a fortune!" she said sincerely.

Park Si Yeon giggled, "Aniya! We have another one at home, so it's okay." she said.

Kim Jung Eun glanced at her husband, both smiled knowingly. "Arasso! Thank you very much, its.. um.. very thoughtful of you!" she said eventually. Park Shin Yang led Kang Ji Hwan into the house, while the ladies stayed to small talk. "This must be Kang So Ra!! You go to Jeguk Middle School too, right?" her smile could make any person smile with her. "Let me go get Shin Hye. Do you know her already?"

"No.. No... Mam!" So Ra stuttered nervously. Her mother glanced nastily at her for being timid.

"Just call me Immo!" Jung Eun said, "Shin Hye-ya! Shin Hye!" she shouted, "I'm sorry, she's kinda hard to handle..." she squinted her eyes asking for the adult's understanding.

Park Si Yeon giggled, "Kids these day! But my So Ra is very obedient, she always do what I told her to do!" she tried to brag, which earn a roll eye from her daughter. That's not something a teenage would be proud of.

Jung Eun chuckled, she caressed So Ra's hair, "That's so sweet. Your dress is very pretty So Ra! You're very pretty! I wish I could make my daughter to wear a dress this pretty." she joked.

"Don't try to be humble, I'm sure she's much prettier than So Ra!" Si Yeon asked. So Ra glanced at her mother in surprise, somehow that last sentence gave a pang in her heart. "I hear she's very famous at school."

"Not at all! She's just very active is all!" Jung Eun said, a girl in red-black checkered shirt and denim skirt ran to her side.

"Eomma!" she called cheerfully.

Jung Eun lit up and instinctively side hugged her like old friends. "O! Shin Hye-ya. Say hello! This is Immo Park Si Yeon and her daughter Kang So Ra. They are the owner of Belle Magazine." she explained.

Shin Hye bowed to the older lady, "Annyeonghaseyo, Park Shin Hye ibnida!" she said politely.

"Aigoo!! Yeuppuda!! Your daughter is very bright and pretty!" Si Yeon said.

So Ra stared at Shin Hye's appearance and turned bitter instantly. Her mother forced her to wear an expensive girly dress from a famous designer saying that it was the appropriate thing to wear to the party, and now after she saw what the daughter of the host was wearing, she felt like she was a doll that was being used to brag by her mother. She envied Shin Hye for being able to wear anything that she wanted to wear.

"I'm so sorry! She dressed too casually, isn't she! It's so hard to make her be a girl like you So Ra-ya!" Jung Eun seemed to read So Ra's mind. The girl just smile to cover her bitterness.

"Ah Eomma!" Shin Hye protested, something So Ra could never do to her own mother. Jung Eun giggled at her daughter pout.

"Anieyo! She looked beautiful, teenage nowadays... we could not force them to do anything, right?" Si Yeon said which earned a murderous side glance from her daughter.

"Do you want to play in my room? The party will be full of adults and going to be boring!" Shin Hye said intentionally loud.

Jung Eun laughed, "Gu Rae! Go play in Shin Hye's room. We'll call you when it's time for dinner." she said. 

Shin Hye cheerfully gestured for So Ra to follow her, So Ra looked at her mother for permission and walked behind Shin Hye after Si Yeon nodded slightly. Shin Hye opened one of the door on the second floor, she immediately ran to a chair and grabbed a few dirty clothes from it, threw them inside the closet to make the room looked tidier.

"Sorry, I didn't know there will be another kid in the party. Come in!"

So Ra came into the room and silently gasped, she loved her room. It was not as big as hers but it was warm and cozy and full of life. The walls were decorated with cute picture of trees, the leaves were actually cardboard to which Shin Hye pasted pictures of her with her family and friends. Books were everywhere, on the nightstand, on the drawer beside the bed, on the small cupboard around the TV, in the study area. She was really into books. A swing hung from the ceiling near the TV, a perfect place to hang out with friends during a slumber party.

"You're in the same year as I, right? I think I saw you in the other class." Shin Hye sat on her bed.

"You did!?" So Ra said, surprised that she even noticed her, "Yes... I'm in the other class. How come you never play baseball anymore?" she blurted out her curiosity.

Shin Hye looked at her quizzically, "How did you know I played baseball?" she asked.

So Ra jerked, realizing that she was not supposed to know it. "O!? I saw the trophies on your study!" luckily she thought fast.

"Aa!! Yeah! I played only until third grade. My mother said it only make me act like boys." she chuckled, "I beat up a senior once after a game, and I think she got worried that I might injured myself not because of the game."

So Ra laughed with her. "I love your room..." she said softly hoping that her jealousy would not be seen by the new friend.

"Don't you think it's too girly? It's my mom's way to make me to be a bit of a girl." Shin Hye's duck face emphasised her dislike to the room.

"No! Not at all... My mom loves antique, so my room is decorated with old and scary furniture. It's big... but looks like a room for snow white or the sleeping beauty." So Ra mirrored Shin Hye's expression.

"Well, now that you mentioned it, I think I prefer my room than yours." Shin Hye said sympathetically, they both laughed at her jokes. "Come! Why are you standing there? What do you want to do? Do you want to watch movies? Read a book? There's not so many things to do in my room, I'm boring!" she said.

So Ra laughed cheerfully as she sat in front of TV following Shin Hye's lead, she thought even if they just laid around on the carpet for the whole evening, it would be much funner than in her own home. She looked at Shin Hye who was busy wracking her DVD storage and felt lighter than a few minutes ago. At first she was worried that Shin Hye would be as snob as the girls she hung out with at school, but now that she got to know her, she liked how friendly and warm Shin Hye was. She hoped that they could be friends someday.

"You hang out with the popular girls, don't you?" So Ra asked when they were watching the first instalment of Highschool Musical, it was brand new at that time.

"Huh! Which popular girl... Ah you mean Go Ara and the girls? Yeah, sometimes... not all the time. We had playdates several times. Why?" she asked while grabbing a popcorn from a bowl.

"Nothing, I sometime wondered how it would feel like to hang out with them." she said softly, a bit embarrassed with her wish.

Shin Hye snorted a laugh, which kind of offended So Ra. "Why? It's nothing special. We went to a mall, watch movies and get ice cream. I'm sure you do it too with your friends, right?"

So Ra's face turned sour, "I don't know. I came from Busan, I never saw girls like them before." She regretted voicing her desire to Shin Hye, but the fact was nobody in Busan was as rich as them. So Ra's family was one of the richest in Busan but even them was not as refined as those girls and their family. She thought that hanging out with those girls would surely elevate her status in the school and would help her parents business.

Shin Hye stunned at the sudden change of expression, she felt bad for joking at her new friend's wish. "Gu Rae? Well if you want to, I could introduce you to them? The might look unapproachable, but once you get to know them they're very nice. Especially if you have the same interest as them." she said.

So Ra lit up from Shin Hye's offer, that would be a teenage dream come true. "Really? You'd do that for me?" Shin Hye nodded vigorously. "Don't you like hanging out with them?" she asked

Shin Hye pondered for awhile, "Wel!! Sometimes I'm too boyish for them so they left me out if they wanted to do something girly like going to a make up store, or buying the new barbie doll. I only hang out with them sometime, my extra curricular activities are already killing me." she said. "Look, on the first day of school. Why don't you find me in my class. I'll introduce you to them." she offered.

So Ra smiled brightly, "Cheongmall? Gomawo Shin Hye-ya!" she said excitedly, a new hope came across her mind that she finally would able to achieve her dream of becoming one of the popular girl in the fanciest school in South Korea. 

They both laughed at her excitement and enjoyed the movie in a better mood, So Ra was happy that the party turned out to be better than she had expected. They were still enjoying the movie and fawning over the male lead of the musical when Jung Eun opened the door and joined them, she smiled brightly looking the two girls closeness even though they just met a couple of hours in prior.

"What are you watching?" she sat next to Shin Hye. "Whoo! That boy is hot!" she teased.

Shin Hye made a face in disgust at her mother, "Ew! Eomma! He's my age!" she cried.

"Well, I'm voicing your mind. You think he's cute, don't you?" she pursed her lips watching her daughter's face turned red.

"No I'm not!" a tomboy should not be noticing that kind of thing.

"You totally do!" Jung Eun pointed at her daughter's nose "You watched this movie everyday and rewind the part when he's playing basketb..."

"Eomma!!!" Shin Hye jumped to closed her mother mouth.

As the mother and the daughter of the house struggled and laughed at the same time, So Ra could not help to feel the jealousy of their relationship. She laughed with them though in her heart she wished she could do the same with her mother. She looked at Shin Hye, the same age friend that seemed to have a better luck than hers. She thought Shin Hye really was a girl who had everything. It was not a myth, a girl like that did exist.

---

The morning bell that indicates the start of the first lecture rang, making all the student ran to their respective class and leaving the hallway empty. The morning class was about to begin, they needed to be hurry to get to the class before the teachers did. The senior student went into their class one by one, a particular student attracted their attention since she was seen sleeping on her chair even though it was well before their first subject.

"Shin Hye-ya! Gwenchana? Where were you yesterday?" A girl in red hair sat in front of her, she turned around to talk to her. So Ra who was sitting next to the girl in question sat straight up, she was preparing to go through an uncomfortable situation.

Shin Hye lazily got up and opened her eyes. "O! Ara-ya! I stayed up until midnight to catch my deadline. What's up? What happened yesterday?" she asked.

"So Ra didn't tell you? We watched Highschool Musical 3 last night! You know! Zac Efron! Your ultimate crush since forever!" Go Ara said matter-of-factly, she was confused when So Ra said she could not make it to the theater with the rest of the gank.

Shin Hye frowned, it was the first time she heard about the plan, "You mean, you guys went to the premiere yesteday? The one where Zac Efron, Vanessa Hudgens and Ashley Tisdale came?" she asked in disbelief.

"Uh-huh!" Go Ara nodded slowly.

"So Ra-ya! Why didn't you tell me about it?" Shin Hye instantly asked her supposedly bestfriend.

The girl tried to put on her calm face, "I... I... thought you were busy with your deadline. I didn't want to disturb your work." she stuttered.

"Mwo?!" Shin Hye asked hesitantly, So Ra was right, she was swamped with the work for the school newspaper that due that day. But the fact that she was left out of the group from doing something that she had been waiting for a long time left a bad taste in . She wanted to confront it a bit but decided otherwise, since she thought it was not big of a deal.

"Where are you lately? You've been missing out a lot? Are you that busy with the newspaper? Don't you want to hang out with us anymore?" Ara asked, Shin Hye could feel the disappointment in her tone. 

"Yes, she is that busy. After all she's the new editor-in-chief!' So Ra said hurriedly, it was lucky that the teacher came in. The conversation would put her on the spotlight should it was continued.

"Good Morning, All!" The teacher said while walking to her desk. "I brought your latest assignment. There were no big surprises. Ara! you should put more attention to the assignment, you want to graduate, don't you?" she shot daggers at the girl in front of Shin Hye. "And as usual, Shin Hye, good work, keep it up!" she said,

So Ra mentally rolled her eyes, the teachers were always praising the perfect Shin Hye. The athletic, student body president and editor-in-chief of the school newspaper. No matter how hard she tried to get acknowledgement from the teachers, it was never good enough. That's why she stopped trying and tried another route to get people's attention, by joining the party girls led by Go Ara and partied hard. If there was one thing Park Shin Hye was lacked off, it was excitement and fun.

The teacher held out a piece of paper, gesturing Shin Hye to take. it. So she stood up and walked towards the podium. "But the surprise of this week goes to Kang So Ra! I love your writing, you should think about learn about it more!" So Ra jerked at the sudden praise, her cheek went red. "Shin Hye! Could you give this to So Ra, thank you." she gave So Ra's assignment to Shin Hye and continued to distribute the other student's essay; So Ra's cursed her luck silently.

Shin Hye walked back to her seat while checking her assignment, she accidentally read So Ra's assignment and went wide-eyed. It was her essay she wrote many months ago for the school newspaper, the one she disliked and tossed to the bin. She did not know how and when the essay got into So Ra's hands. Shin Hye sat on her seat and reluctantly held out the paper to So Ra, she peered at the bestfriend looking for any sign of nervousness.

"Thanks!" So Ra said without looking at Shin Hye's eyes.

"How did you get the idea?" Shin Hye threw a bait.

So Ra looked up, thinking for an answer. "I don't know, it just came up I guess." she hurriedly put the paper into her bag.

Shin Hye scoffed, "With that kind of essay, you should really think about joining the school newspaper." she said cynically, she could not believe that So Ra could shamelessly claimed that the work was hers.

"Nah!" she wagged her hand to Shin Hye, "Writing and newspaper are your thing. Besides, I don't have much time to write." she said, finally look at Shin Hye's eyes.

She smirked, "You should ease off with the party and prepare for the college exam." 

"Here we go again! The nag witch is about to make a presence!" So Ra rolled her eyes, Ara laughed with her. "We're rich, our parents would help us to get into college. Don't worry about it Shin Hye-ya!" she high-fived the other party girl. "So are you coming after school? There's a new club we wanted to try, we are getting a new clothes to go there." she asked Shin Hye, such a rare thing lately.

Shin Hye looked at both girls, Ara seemed like she sincerely wanted her to come. "Nah! Sorry... I need to cover the basketball match. Jeguk might go to the play-offs." she said finally.

"Ah! Akkapda! You should ease off with the work. We're highschoolers for goodness sake. Senior! It's time to have fun!" Ara scream-whispered, afraid their teacher would notice.

So Ra perked up, "Let her, working make her alive." somehow the smile only made Shin Hye felt restless.

---o0o---

Police station is such a scary place, it made you feel like a criminal even when you did nothing wrong; so receiving a summon to visit to the place could already made your heart thump faster nervously. Especially when you did something wrong, like drunkenly beat up an innocent person in a bar. The fact made Yong Hwa jittery while waiting for the detective who summoned him through a letter. He received the letter a day before and immediately sighed nervously, he knew it would come sooner or later since he passed out during the scene and did not testify yet.

So now there he was, sitting on one of the chair that usually used by witness or suspect of a crime. In front of him, on the desk, was a computer set, telephone, papers, folders, and a handcuff. That last piece of item was not something he would see everyday, just the sight of it already made him restless. The surrounding did not help either as two thugs were being brought in by a detective and forcefully seated on another chairs that looked like the one Yong Hwa was sitting on. Shouts, curses and loud bangs were heard from that table as the thugs seemed to refuse to make any statement.

Yong Hwa looked at the name plate on top of desk, the detective name was Lee Sun Gyun. He was the one who came to the bar on the night Yong Hwa was wasted and ended up black-and-blue from the giant's iron fist. He was now in charge of the investigation as the proprietor escaped and had not been caught yet. 

Yong Hwa looked around trying to guess which one was officer Lee Sun Gyun and finally found out when a tall, slightly dark skinned man walked to the desk in a firm step. He glared at Yong Hwa annoyed, it was as if his nap was being disrupted because him. Detective Lee Sun Gyun sat on his chair without saying any greeting, he just kept himself busy with the computer. Yong Hwa instantly felt that the detective did not like him, why would he? To him, Yong Hwa was just another troublemaker who could not keep his alcohol consumption to himself.

"Chaa!! Jung Yong Hwa-shi?!" he said finally after succeeding in opening the file on his computer.

"Deh! Detective!" Yong Hwa straightened his seat waiting anxiously for the detective's next question.

"Do you feel better now? Did you got drunk and wreck a bar recently?" the detective observed the young man in front of him sternly.

Yong Hwa grinned a nervous grin, "Aniyeo, Detective. I promise myself never to drink like that again." he said earnestly.

He scoffed, "If all people in Seoul could be like you, I'd be out of job already. Why do people drink like that?" he said out loud.

Yong Hwa widen his eyes confusedly, wondering if that was the question that he needed to answer for the report. "Er..."

"If you want to drink, go get a friend to back you up for when you're out of control!" he continued, Yong Hwa decided to just nod since apparently it was just a rethorical question. "You know? after this I have to handle that bar case with the model. Another out of control drunken behaviour by the celebrities." he rudely typed something on his keyboard, maybe it was broken or something. "Now that's a real headache! With all the reporters, agents and lawyers! Next time, if you're on a secret relationship, just date at home. Secrets, alcohol, and jealousy are not a good combinations!" he rambled. 

Yong Hwa nodded, he thought the detective must have had a slipped up since the news was not supposed to be spread. But voicing his thought to the grumpy detective would not be wise, he just wanted to quietly settle his problem with the police and went to work. He was late already.

"So! Do you know the man who you hit?" the detective asked after recording Yong Hwa's personal data.

"The man who I hit? Or the one who hit me?" Yong Hwa made sure, the detective only raised one of his eyebrow gesturing the ineffectiveness of Yong Hwa's question. "I did not know any of them." Yong Hwa finally answered. "I was so drunk and thought he was with... erm..." he looked at the stern man shyly.

"Go on..." the detective encouraged.

"I thought he was with my ex-girlfriend. I got angry and I think I punched him once." Yong Hwa pursed his lips to contain his embarrassment.

There was a slight enigmatic smile on the detectives face. "So what happened next? Do you remember?" he asked.

Yong Hwa squinted his eyes in the effort to dig his memory of that night. "Vaguely, I remember the boyfriend wanted to punch me, but another guy hit me instead. When I asked who he was, he said he was a friend of the boyfriend."

Detective Lee Sun Gyung looked up from the computer, he eyed on Yong Hwa curiously, intrigued by his statement. "He said that? That they were friends?" he made sure.

"Yeah! I asked him who he was and he answered I'm his friend, you idiot!" Yong Hwa lowered his voice to imitate the giant's sentence, but the detective did not react to the joke which made Yong Hwa's shoulder sank two inches lower. "Why, Detective?"

"What did you do before you went to the bar?" he asked without answering Yong Hwa's question.

"I got off from work, took a walk and found the bar. That's it." Yong Hwa said lightly.

The detective slightly frowned, it seemed that he was in deep thought. "Do you remember anything else?"

Yong Hwa fell silent, he wrecked his brain out to find any clue. "There was another guy! The accomplice!" he said suddenly.

"The boyfriend?" he asked.

"No! Another guy, he came just before the big guy wanted to hit me with the chair." Yong Hwa shuddered at the thought of him was about to get hit with a chair. "I think he said finish him!" this time he did not try to joke.

Lee Sun Gyun looked at the young man again, the last bit of information was new in his investigation. "Do you know those people?" he asked.

Yong Hwa was taken aback by the question, "Now that you've mentioned it. I felt like I've seen them somewhere. I tried to recall but never succeed." Lee Sun Gyun nodded slightly. "Wait! I think when I was taking a walk before going to the bar, I felt I was being followed." he remembered that feeling when he was stalking Shin Hye's old apartment. "But that could also be my friend following me." Yong Hwa massaged his temple, he was confused of which one was real and which one was his imagination.

"Arasseoyo! If you remember anything else, please contact me." he said eventually, Yong Hwa nodded.

"That's it? I can go now?" Yong Hwa asked in disbelief, that was easy!

"Of course not! You still need to pay a fine for your drunken behaviour! You're lucky the bar did not press any charges to you!" he barked.

Yong Hwa massaged his temple as he stood up, "Yes! I understand Detective. Where do I have to go to settle everything?" he said, wanting to get out of the police station as soon as he could.

After he finished paying his duty as the light-weight criminal, he walked out of the station feeling relief yet alarmed. The interrogation with the police had him thinking, it was as if the detective thought the assault was not accident at all; and that it was more than just a regular brawl in the bar. He tried to remember the faces of the two man who wanted him dead, shivers ran through his spine at the thought of that. He would never thought anyone would hate him that much.

He was getting ready to get a taxi when he felt someone tapped his shoulder, he turned around and gaped not expecting to see the person at that place. She smiled seductively as always which was even ier since she wore a low neckline pantsuit and in a loose ponytail; though she put a light make up on her face but the revealing outfit was surely a tactic for when facing a bunch of male officers.

"Jung Yong Hwa-shi! Annyeong! What a strange place to run into you!?." she said with a wide grin.

Yong Hwa blinked to contain his shock, "Kang So Ra-shi? What are you doing here?" he asked.

So Ra scoffed, "Just some annoying matter. A man name Kim Min Jae said he knows me and sent some classified material to me." a cunning smile formed in her lips.

Yong Hwa was stunned by her bluntness, she was shamelessly bragging about her innocence when he already saw right through her. It was as if she had split personalities. "Gu Rae? So you're proven innocent, then?" he played along.

"Of course!" she said victoriously. "I don't know anyone named Kim Min Jae, there's no proof of it. It's amazing what poor people would say to save their sorry ." 

"I see! Well! It was nice running into you, Creative Director Kang. Good bye!" Yong Hwa did not really know how to respond to the sarcasm and just wanted to end the interraction with the strange girl.

She smiled as Yong Hwa stepped down the stairs and whistled to a taxi. He climbed into the backseat and told the driver to head to Star Media Building. They were about to set off when suddenly the door of the other passengers seat was opened and the seductive girl climbed into it. Yong Hwa gaped in disbelief watching her nonchalantly buckled her seatbelt.

"You're going to your office, right?" she said after she was ready to set off. "I'm heading that way either, give me a lift." she annoyingly smirk.

Yong Hwa was slowly getting very agitated by the girl, but he was never one who could be rude and chase girls away when they asked for a help. So he relented and told the driver to drive. The half hour journey to the building was in a total silence and completely awkward. Yong Hwa kept looking at the view from the window to avoid any unnecessary interaction with the girl.

"So did you got back together with Shin Hye, yet?" she asked suddenly. Yong Hwa choked and immediately shot nasty look at her. "What? I'm just curious. Knowing her, she would never forgive you or even acted like you exist once you hurt her." she sprinkled salt on his wound yet again, "That's why I'm curious as to why she's keeping you around."

"How can you be so sure that she won't forgive me?" he said without looking at the girl.

"Because that's what happened with her first love." So Ra said. Yong Hwa instinctively turned to her, remembering Shin Hye's meltdown in the bar a few nights before. "He disappointed her and she stopped talking to him, until she went to Paris and they lost contact" she filled him in.

Yong Hwa gulped, he wished that that would not be the case for him. "It's different now, she's different, I'm different..." he said, trying to convince himself more than her.

So Ra scoffed, "No one could move a mountain just like no one could change the hard headed Park Shin Hye."

They fell into another silence afterwards until they reached the Star Media Building. So Ra instantly stepped out of the vehicle leaving Yong Hwa with the bill. He shook his head in amazement, that girl really knew how to annoyed someone.

Yong Hwa pulled out several bills from his wallet, gave them to the driver and stepped out of the taxi. He closed the door and tried to find his riding companion. His eyes instantly grew wider when he saw who she was with. The other person noticed him, she was looking at him with hurtful eyes, he felt his whole body burned from the intense stare of her. It was as if the time stopped ticking.

---

Shin Hye was coming back from signing a temporary contract with TTL, she stepped out of the company car followed by Kwang Soo who escorted her to the supplier since her secretary had to do yet another personal business. She was already half way to the lobby when she heard someone called her name, she turned around and gaped to see her highschool bestfriend in front of her building.

"Shin Hye-ya! I was hoping to run into you!" the girl skipped out from a taxi, Shin Hye saw someone else was in it.

"O! So Ra-ya! What are you doing here?" she asked reluctantly, So Ra was the last person she wanted to see that early in the morning.

"I had some personal business just now, and I have another one around here soon!" She chirped.

"Gu Rae? Have a nice day, then!" Shin Hye turned around to get into the building.

"I hope you don't mind!" she shouted which made Shin Hye reluctantly face her again, "I asked Jung Yong Hwa-shi to pay the taxi fee." she smiled sweetly.

Shin Hye froze from her statement, she knew So Ra intentionally relayed that news as it would provoke her indisputably. She gazed at the taxi that So Ra just stepped down from and saw him, getting down from the passenger seat behind the vehicle. She held her breath remembering the fact that he wanted to resign, her heart hurts knowing that both had personal business at the same time and 'coincidentally' rode together there. Was that the reason he wanted to resign? When did they get so close? Did he meet So Ra behind her back? Was she going to loose him to her like last time?

So Ra's lips form into a faint smile, so faint that none of them noticed. She liked to agitate Shin Hye, it's the least she could do if she could not get what Shin Hye's had. She looked at the man, who was now realizing that he was being stared at so intently by his boss and ex-girlfriend. He was looking back at Shin Hye in panic, a look that was familiar to So Ra. Another man looked Shin Hye the same way many years ago. She hated that kind of look.

"It's none of my business." Shin Hye finally said, she hurriedly walked into the building almost bumped into her secretary. "Oppa!! I thought you had something to take care of?" she asked in surprise.

Shi Hoo stunned to see Shin Hye, So Ra and Yong Hwa in the same visibility range. "O!? Yes, I'm going now!" he stuttered.

"Gu Rae? Don't be too long!" Shin Hye said without looking back, she went straight to the elevator and pressed 14th. Kwang Soo and the team were waiting for her.

She stood inside the elevator alone, slowly getting unnecessarily agitated to the machine that took too long to close and performed its task. She pushed the close button several times and sighed in relief when it finally closed. But then someone ran and blocked it from closing, he abruptly went inside the elevator, making a number of people who intentionally let the director to ride alone, surprise. Shin Hye shot daggers at him, but scooted anyway.

The elevator ride was so awkward, even if a needle dropped to the floor they would still hear it. Yong Hwa stole glances several times to the girl who was crossing her arms and hanging her head. She looked so sour, like she just had a bad meeting.

"Bad meeting?" he tried to start a conversation. Silence answered his question. "I met her accidentally at the police station." He tried again, not wanting her to misunderstood anything. She was still keeping shut. He finally could not take it anymore and turned his whole body to face her and walk towards her. "Are you going to ignore me again?!" Shin Hye jerked at the sudden aggression and looked at him, "We are an hour away from weekly meeting, are you going to make the meeting hard for everyone again?" his voice slowly raised.

"Kemanhe." she said gritting her teeth; stepping back until she got pinned on to the wall.

"No! Tell me! What is wrong with you?! What did I do wrong now?! I told you, I met her accidentally and she rode my taxi without my permission?" his breath was starting to get heavy. If she was not letting her wall down, he was determined to knocked it little by little until it crumbled.

"Stop it! Stop talking to me!!!" Shin Hye shouted finally; she pushed his chest to widen their distance. Yong Hwa catch both of her hand and held it tight, not to stop her from pushing but to hopefully gave her some support. Shin Hye silently gasped, surprised by the sudden contact. She felt as if electricity aded her whole body from their touch.

"No! You talk to me! Tell me what's wrong! Don't held it in! If you're mad, tell me you're mad. If I did something wrong, tell me so I could fix it!" Yong Hwa shouted with her.

"Why!??? Why do you even care!!! You're going to resign and go to her anyway!!! Ka!! Go away and join her! She's funner and more exciting than me!!!" Shin Hye blurted out. It had been a long time since they had the intense stared-off, but this time it somehow felt different.

"I told you, I met her accidentally and never asked her to ride with me." he said with a calm convincing voice. "And no! She's not funner nor more exciting than you." he continued while grabbing a brown envelope from his jacket and gave it to her.

"What's this?" Shin Hye asked without breaking their eye contact.

"My resignation letter." Yong Hwa said at the same time as the door opened. He left her inside the elevator, pursing his lips for being somehow happy with the confrontation. He promised to be better towards her, and he aimed to be true to his word.

Shin Hye stared at the back of the man until it disappear from her sight, tears were already b on the corner of her eyes. She looked at the brown envelope hopelessly. "This is it, Shin Hye-ya! You finally lost him. Twennya?!" she scolded herself. After awhile she sniffed her tears back and sighed, bracing herself for the worst, her hand moved to open the envelope.

She frowned when her hand the inside of the envelope and did not feel anything similar to a paper, so she put her eyes on its crevice to peek inside it. And as her hand took out paper crumbs out of the envelope, the remainder of what used to be a resignation letter, her lips slowly curled into a smile. Relieved that she did not loose him after all, at least professionally, he was still on her side.

---o0o---

"Okay! I guess the first step is done, and we are ready to apply the recycle paper for our January edition." Shin Hye said with a huge smile, she was suddenly having a good mood.

"Yes, Director. They're in production mode to cover our requirement, one fourth of our December sales." Kwang Soo answered.

"Where do you want to distribute it to, Director?" Team Leader Kwon asked.

"You decide, Team Leader Kwon. Just make sure it's monitored and sampled during the analysis. My suggestion is to distribute it to different area with variety of demographic." Shin Hye answered, she saw people nodded in agreement.

"Understood, Director. We'll notify you once we decide on it." The older man said.

"Great! And don't forget to create a QC team during receiving of the paper. If we fail on this first try, we might as well cancel the whole project." Shin Hye reminded while tidying up her belonging ready to close the meeting.

Team Leader Kwon and the others followed suit and stood up to leave the room, "Deh, Director. I already coordinate with Team Leader Cha to check during receiving." He said.

Shin Hye smiled proudly, it felt good when a meeting did not have to be done with tension and shouts. "Great, thank you Kwang Soo-shi. Thank you all!! Enjoy your holiday! Merry Christmas!" she said while stepping out of the big bad table area and walked to the creative meeting room.

"Merry Christmas, Director!" they replied cheerfully almost in unison. The people in printing was so grateful towards her, because their department was slowly evolving from the step daughter, unworthy department of the company to one of the most important part; it gave more pride and dignity in their job and it was all because of the new director.

Shin Hye walked hurriedly to the other meeting room, as she was almost late to the first creative meeting after the issuance of December edition. Her heart was fluttering from the excitement of meeting the creative team after their first success, it was the first time that she actually look forward to the meeting. She looked to her side when she felt someone walked along her, and was surprised to see Kwang Soo strolled with her.

"Do you need anything, sunbae?" Shin Hye asked curiously.

He shook his head innocently, "No! I'm heading to the creative meeting too. I got an invitation this morning."

"Gu Rae?" Shin Hye frowned, it was the first time someone from Printing Department was invited to the creative meeting, usually it was restricted to the creative core team.

They went inside the small meeting room and was instantly stunned. The room was packed, doubled the people that usually attended the meeting. Shin Hye widen her eyes looking at the attendees, it was as if every department was represented there. Aside of the usual core team she saw, Jung Il Woo sitting beside Min Hyo Rin, Yoo Seung Ho stood in the corner near the window since there was no chair left for him, Team Leader Cha from printing, Soo Jung the maknae from fashion department and many more. A man who she recognized as the guy who fought with Yong Hwa on the first creative meeting stood up to give her his seat, she return his friendly smile and sat.

"Why do you think he invited me?" Il Woo whispered to Hyo Rin.

The fashion editor shook her head, "I don't know. He didn't say anything." she said cooly although she was curious herself. "Soo Jung-shi! Did you bring the result of our meeting? Our ideas for the next editions?" she asked her assistant.

"Deh Editor Min, it's right here." Soo Jung was about to give a folder to her boss.

"Twesso! Just keep it in case Creative Director Jung needs our advice." Hyo Rin said at ease. The friendly banter did not go unnoticed by Shin Hye and Il Woo, he looked at the editor in admiration.

Exactly at 10 a.m. a cheerful step and the sound of a man whistling was heard from outside of the door, Yong Hwa sauntered inside and jumped suddenly. "Woaah! We should move the creative meeting to 16th floor next time." he said with a smile, Shin Hye's stomach fluttered by it, she diverted her gaze to the table hoping to control the butterflies.

"No kidding! What's up with the crowd, Creative Director Jung?" said a guy who was one of the core team.

"I want to try something? This is the first creative meeting after the previous edition was published, so I wanted to gather the representative of each related department to evaluate our latest edition. Sales and Marketing!" he faced Seung Ho, the younger man instantly alarmed by the sudden spotlight. "Did you bring the analysis of the sales that I ask you, let's hear what worked and what didn't based on the area and demography." Yong Hwa said, "Manager Jung!" he called his ex-bestfriend, Shin Hye observed the banter carefully, "Let's hear about what the model's opinion all this time about how we work. I hear that we have a lot to improve during photoshoot." Il Woo nervously nodded, he too did not expect the Creative Director would ever talk to him.

Yong Hwa explained why he invited each and every person in that room, it turns out that they were invi