“Oppa.”

A wide smile stretched across Park Bo Young’s face the moment she saw Lee Min Ho sits at the table in the Italian restaurant. It has been a while since they spend time together. Min Ho was always busy with work and by the time he came home, it was very late already. Since her new semester has not started yet and she is very free at home, she thought of coming to his office today to give him a surprise. But when she arrived at the office, his secretary told her that he already went out for lunch at the Italian restaurant nearby, and he was really here.

“Oppa.” Bo Young ran over to the table where he was sitting.

Min Ho’s face suddenly turned pale as he looked at Shin Hye with a wary and worried gaze. This was an unexpected encounter and he knows how much she hates to see them.

“B-Bo Young.” Min Ho slowly stood up and forced a small smile on his face. “What are you doing here?”

Bo Young smiled as she reached out to hold his hand. “Oppa. I came here to have lunch with you.”

“Eo… but why didn’t you call first? I didn’t know you were coming.” He asked, trying not to sound awkward.

“I was thinking to give you a surprise.” Bo Young said in a sweet voice as she stepped closer and looked at him expectantly. “Are you happy to see me?”

Min Ho pressed his lips tightly together as he stole a side way glance at Shin Hye, worried about her reaction to see Bo Young here. He doesn’t want her to misunderstand that he plans all this.

When he didn’t answer her question and noticed his strange expression, Bo Young followed his gaze and turned to the person who was sitting at the same table with him. Her eyes were instantly widened in shock when she saw Shin Hye sitting there, smiling at her.

“Y-You…” Bo Young stuttered as she turned back to Min Ho. “S-She… what is she doing here?”

Shin Hye smirked at Bo Young’s question and pulled her gaze away. She took the glass in front of her and sipped the water slowly. Just by looking at Bo Young’s reaction, she is very sure that her existence has brought her a lot of discomforts and insecurities. Good. This is what she wants. The more Bo Young felt discomfort and jealous, the easier for her to come between them.

Min Ho let out a deep sigh as he looked at Bo Young. “She… she is…”

“Have you taken your lunch yet?” Shin Hye asked, cutting Min Ho off. Her voice was soft and polite as her eyes were looking at Bo Young with a smile painted on her face. “We are having lunch together. If you haven’t eaten yet, you should join us.” She paused and turned to Min Ho, who was now looking at her with an expression like he just saw a ghost. “Oppa, pull the chair and get her to sit down with us.” She said with her smile widened.

Did he hear wrongly? Min Ho’s eyes were still clouded with surprise, shocked by the fact that Shin Hye doesn’t get mad to see Bo Young here. It took him seconds to be back in his mind and react. He looked back at Bo Young and forced a smile. “You haven’t eaten yet, right? Let’s eat together.”

Bo Young held his gaze for a moment, bringing her bottom lip between her teeth. She then glanced at Shin Hye and Jun Won. Taking a deep breath, she forced herself not to lose control and nodded her head softly. “Okay.”

Min Ho pulled the chair for her as she took a seat right in front of Shin Hye. A long, breathy sigh escaped his lips before he sat down on his chair again. After he helped Bo Young to order her food, there was a long and intensely awkward silence that makes everyone feel uncomfortable.

“Hi, Bo Young-sshi. It has been a while since we met last time.” Jun Won spoke, the first one who broke the awkward quietness. Although he doesn’t know exactly what is wrong with the three of them, but he can guess that the intensity was caused by their family’s complicated relationship.

Bo Young looked up to meet Jun Won’s gaze as she faked a weak smile on her face. “Yes, it has been a while.”

Jun Won smiled. “I heard Min Ho said that you have done with your finals. So… are you going to join DH Corporation and work together with Min Ho after you graduate?”

Bo Young bit her lip hard, trying not to show the embarrassment on her face. How could she tell him that she failed her finals, not first time, but again, especially when Shin Hye is here? “I… still haven’t graduated yet. I’m waiting for the new semester to start.”

“You know Bo Young for a long time too?” Shin Hye cut in, looking at Jun Won.

He smirked and shook his head. “Not really. Although Bo Young-sshi is Min Ho’s girlfriend, but this is just the second time we met. I guess… Bo Young-sshi doesn’t like me very much.” 

Min Ho shoots Jun Won a sharp glare, warning him silently not to talk again. Jun Won’s smirked, understood the message right away. But before Min Ho could end the sensitive topic, it was Shin Hye’s turn to speak this time.

“Eo?” Shin Hye laughed softly. “I think the age difference between both of you is the main issue that Bo Young doesn’t like you. Don’t take it personally, Jun Won oppa.”

Jun Won keeps quiet and just nodded his head. His lips were curled onto a smirk, totally enjoying the show.

“You still haven’t graduated yet? What major are you studying?” Shin Hye continued to ask in a very polite tone, still smiling as her eyes were looking at Bo Young.

“Business Management.” She replied flatly without looking at her, trying to sound polite too, but everyone there could clearly hear the irritation laced in her voice.

“What a coincidence.” Shin Hye smiled wider. “I study the same major too. Hmmm…” She paused as her fingertips caressed her chin. “You are two years younger than me, right? So… you should be in your second year now. It will get tougher and those assignments will make you crazy.” She let out another smile, as her eyes never leave hers. “Feel free to look for me if you face any problem. I really hope I can help.”

She couldn’t stop herself from smiling again when she saw Min Ho’s nervous expression. “Since oppa found me a job, I think I’ll be likely staying in Seoul for a while. I don’t have friends here and we are almost the same age. I think we should hang out more and get to know each other.” She averted her gaze to Min Ho and the smirk on her lips deepened. “Am I right, oppa?”

Min Ho held her gaze, inhaling a deep breath at the same time. The challenging gaze in her eyes clearly showed her hatred and he knows she is doing this to agitate Bo Young. Although she was trying to look natural with the smile she masked on her face, but he could still see the rage in her expression.

“Y-You… found her a job?” Bo Young asked in shock before Min Ho could speak.

Here comes the jealous girlfriend. Great. Shin Hye tried to hide her smirk.

Another deep sigh escaped his lips as he nodded softly and looked at Bo Young. “Yes. She is working with Jun Won now.”      

“We are currently doing a project with DH and I’ll be working in oppa’s office for a month. That’s why we are having lunch together.” Shin Hye cut in again. “Oppa didn’t tell me that you are having a semester break now. If I know, I’ll ask him to invite you together. We didn’t really sit down to have a proper meal since I came to Seoul.”

Oppa… oppa… oppa. It felt like thousands of sharp needles poking into Bo Young’s eardrum whenever she heard Shin Hye called Min Ho ‘oppa’. Forcing herself to maintain her composure and ignore Shin Hye, her eyes locked at Min Ho as her reddened with anger, as if she is going to cry in the next second. “Why didn’t you tell me that she is working in your office now? Did appa know about it? Or am I the only one who didn’t know about it at all?” She asked, raising her voice. She couldn’t stand anymore and lost her temper.

Min Ho closed his eyes and heaved a deep sigh. Jun Won stared at both of them before taking a glance at Shin Hye, who her gaze were glued on them, a small smirk curled on her lips.

“If I didn’t come here today, how long are you planning to lie to me?” Bo Young asked again and her voice was almost shouting. Her eyes were red and pooled with tears.

“Bo Young, calm down and listen to me.” Min Ho held her hand, trying to comfort her. “I don’t…”

“I’m sorry.”

Min Ho bit his bottom lip and held his tongue when Shin Hye’s voice was heard again, cutting him off.

Shin Hye looked at Bo Young and faked an apologetic expression on her face. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know you would have such a big reaction about me working in oppa’s office. Please don’t be angry at oppa. I’m sure it’s just a misunderstanding and I won’t be in DH for a long time. It will only…”

“Shut up!” Bo Young turned to Shin Hye and glared at her angrily. “I’m not talking to you.”

Shin Hye pursed her lips as she leaned back against the chair, shifting her gaze to Min Ho. She let out a very small, meaningful smile that only he could see, only he could understand. See… I try to be kind, but your little girlfriend doesn’t seem to appreciate.

Jun Won glanced around when he felt Bo Young’s sudden outburst is starting to draw attention in the restaurant. He then turned back to Min Ho and looked at him. “I think you should leave… with her. We will see you in the office.”

Min Ho let out an exasperated sigh before he grasped Bo Young hand and pulled her up together with him. “I’ll send you home.”

Bo Young tried to yank her hand away, but Min Ho’s strength was too strong for her. “Why?! Why can’t we talk in front of her? I want to…”

“I’ll talk to you at home. Let’s go.” And before waiting for Bo Young to protest further, he pulled her to him and walked to the exit.

After they left, Shin Hye took her glass up and took another sip of the cold water as a smile slowly spread across her face once again.

“Congratulations. You won.” Jun Won said, clapping his hands.

Shin Hye turned to him, staring at him, waiting for him to continue.

“She is no match for you.” He said again.

Shin Hye smirked and looked away. “I don’t understand what you are talking about.”

A soft chuckle escaped Jun Won’s lips. “Except Park Bo Young, I’m sure everyone knows what you were trying to do just now. Every single word you said was to agitate and mislead Park Bo Young. You know she doesn’t feel comfortable for you to be near to Min Ho and you were trying to make it worse by telling her about your new job. You know that Min Ho wouldn’t tell Park Bo Young about it.” He paused and chuckled again. “Although I think it’s too harsh for that little girl, but I was quite amaze. If your objective is to make them fight because of you, I think you succeeded.”

Shin Hye ignored him as she took the knife and fork, resumed to eat her food.

“About your relationship with Min Ho’s family, to be honest, I’m not too interested at first.” Jun Won spoke again. “But after the incident just now, I’m quite curious now about what happened between all of you. All this…” He paused and studied her expression carefully. “… is about Min Ho… or… is about revenge?”

Shin Hye stopped chewing and after a brief moment, she swallowed the food inside forcefully. She gently took the napkin up and wiped her lips before turning to Jun Won to meet his eyes.

“Wae? Regret with your earlier love confession and start to accept the fact that I’m not the woman that you can touch?” She asked teasingly.

Jun Won couldn’t help but laughed loudly. “Interesting.” Their eyes locked together before he continued without any hint of giving up in his voice. “The more challenging you are, the more interested I would be. As I said just now, I’m just curious. It won’t affect my feeling for you.”

Min Ho or revenge?

Shin Hye smiled. “I’m sure you will get the answer very soon.”

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

“Bo Young… Bo Young… wait…”

The moment Min Ho’s car stopped at the car porch, Bo Young jumped out of his car as she ran into Park Mansion, ignoring Min Ho who was chasing after her from behind.

Jang Ji Ae quickly stood up off the couch when she saw her daughter stormed into the house angrily and rushed to upstairs.

“Bo Young-ah. Why did you come back so early? I thought you went to look for Min Ho for lunch.” She asked from behind. Her brows furrowed when Bo Young ignored her and later saw Min Ho walking into the house. “Min Ho? What are you doing here at this hour?”

“Eomeoni…” Min Ho’s legs stopped moving and looked at the older woman with a helpless gaze.

“What happened?” Jang Ji Ae asked. “Why is Bo Young so angry? I thought she went out to have lunch with you. Did both of you fight?”

Min Ho heaved a deep sigh before he nodded his head. “Yes. She came to look for me. But… she saw Shin Hye and she is angry because she said I lied about her working in DH.”

“Shin Hye working in DH?” Jang Ji Ae widened her eyes in confusion. “I thought she is working with your friend.”

“She is. But…” Min Ho paused and sighed again. “Eomeoni… I’ll explain to you in detail later. I need to make sure Bo Young is okay before she makes a big fuss and provoke abeoji. He will not be happy to see Bo Young throwing her tantrum because of Shin Hye again.”

“Okay, okay.” Jang Ji Ae nodded, totally agreed with Min Ho. She understands and knows how spoiled her own daughter is. Park Doo Jun will not be pleased. He was already very angry at her poor results in her studies. “Make sure she doesn’t get herself into trouble again.”

Min Ho nodded as he turned around and quickly ran up the stairs. His hand reached out to turn the doorknob and to his surprise, Bo Young didn’t lock the door. A sigh of relief escaped his lips because since she didn’t lock the door, it means she is waiting for him to come and still willing to listen to his explanation.

He gently opened the door and walked into the room very carefully. Bo Young was sitting on her bed, her face was flushed and her eyes were teary.

“Go out!” She shouted without looking at him.

Taking a deep breath, Min Ho walked closer and took a seat on the bed, facing her. He held her hand as his eyes were looking directly into hers. “Don’t cry.”

Bo Young shoved his hand away from her and glared at him angrily. “You lie to me.”

“What did I lie to you?” Min Ho asked helplessly.

“You didn’t tell me that she is working in your company.” She said.

“She is not working in my company. She is working with Jun Won. She is here because of the year end promotion that we work together with YP Creation.” He explained.

“But why didn’t you tell me? If I didn’t find you in the restaurant with her just now, you will continue to hide it from me.” Bo Young said stubbornly.

“Because I know you will be like this.” Min Ho sighed again. “I know you don’t have a good impression on her but… she is your sister. You should…”

“I don’t have a sister. I hate…” Bo Young exclaimed, but regretted right away when Min Ho cut her off with his face hardened, unhappy with what she said.

“Enough!” Min Ho raised his voice, looking at her with his sharp stare. After a brief moment, he took a deep inhale of breath, trying to keep himself calm. “I know… two of you didn’t grow up together and with the complicated relationship between the elders, it doesn’t give you any reason to like her or even be close to her. But no matter how angry you are, you shouldn’t say something like that.” He paused with his jaws clenched tightly together. “She is indeed your sister and nothing could change that.”

Bo Young held his darkened gaze as she bit down her lip hard, tears started to roll down her cheeks. “Are you… scolding me because of her?” She asked in a shaky voice. “You had never raised your voice or scold me before. And now… because of Park Shin Hye, you shout at me.”

“I’m not scolding you.” Min Ho hissed in frustration. He doesn’t know what got into him, but this is the first time he felt so frustrated with Bo Young’s childish tantrum. “I just want you to understand that what I’m doing for Shin Hye now is something that we should do for her because we owe her that.”

“Owe her what?” Bo Young almost screamed at him. “We owe her nothing. It was their choice to reject appa’s money and didn’t let him take care of them all those years. It was her mother’s choice for not agreeing to divorce and thought her stubbornness could make appa go back to her. It was her choice to sell her body and… ahhh…” The remaining words were stuck in when she felt a sudden pain around her wrist.

When she glanced down, she saw her hand was now being grabbed tightly by Min Ho as her pale skin reddened by his grip. She was shocked and scared at the same time. She tried to pull away, but it only makes him tightened his grip even more.

“W-What are you doing? You are h-hurting me.” She stuttered, more tears rushing out from her eyes.

As if something just knocks his head hard, Min Ho was brought back to his senses and quickly loosened his grip around her hand. His breath came fast and heavy, making his chest rise and fall. He didn’t think that he would lose his control in front of Bo Young. But when she mentioned about Shin Hye selling her body, all the rage rushed through his veins and makes his blood boil.

“I-I’m sorry.” He pursed his lips, looking away. After few more deep inhales and a moment later, he finally calmed himself down and shifted his gaze back at Bo Young. “I think… you need some time to calm down. If we continue to talk now, it will only lead to a fight, which I don’t want to see it. I have an important meeting to attend in less than an hour. I have to rush back to the office now.” He paused, hesitated for a brief moment before he reached out to touch her hand, just a light touch without holding it. “We will talk again when I come back tonight.”

And without waiting for her to react, he quickly stood up and stepped out of the room. Bo Young glared at the closed door as tears rolled down her cheeks fiercely. Hot flames surrounded her trembling body and her anger continued to rise. Taking the pillow on her bed, she hurled it angrily towards the door.

“Park Shin Hye… I hate you!”

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

“Help me to pass this to Min Ho’s secretary. We need his approval before we could proceed.” Jun Won gave his instruction after he signed the document and handed it to Shin Hye.

She nodded as she came out of the conference room, making her way to the CEO’s office. An hour has passed since he left the restaurant with Bo Young and she wasn’t sure whether he is back to the office or not. She is very curious about what will happen between them after the incident just now. Will they fight? Or… does he has a way to calm her down?

“This document is for Lee sajang to approve.” Shin Hye said politely, handing the document to the secretary after she went in to the CEO’s office.

“Noted. I will pass to him once he is back.” The secretary replied with a smile.

“He… is not back yet?” Shin Hye asked cautiously.

The secretary shook her head. “Not yet. He didn’t come back since he went out for lunch with you just now. But he will be having a meeting in 15 minutes.”

“I see…” Shin Hye smiled. “Please pass the document to him. Thank you.” After a polite nod, she turned around and exited the CEO’s office. But before she could walk back to her place, she saw Min Ho at the door at the same time she came out.

There was a long silence between them as their eyes were locked. Shin Hye studied his face and tried to read what he is thinking in his mind now. Is he angry? Is he anxious? Is he unhappy? But his expressionless expression gives nothing away. His face is firm, his breathing is steady.

“Looking for me?” And his voice is cold, emotionless when he broke the silence.

“Not really. There is a document that needed your approval. But it’s not urgent. I have passed it to your secretary.” Shin Hye replied flatly, trying to sound cold, colder than him.

“Jun Won told me about it. I’ll take a look later.” He said as his eyes were still looking at her. “If you have nothing urgent, I have a meeting to attend.” When Shin Hye didn’t say anything, he broke their eye contact and walked passed her.

But just before he could go inside, Shin Hye’s voice was heard again and stopped him from walking.

“How’s my little sister?” She asked, her voice laced with sarcasm.

Min Ho closed his eyes briefly, inhaled a deep breath, trying very hard not to lose his control again. For the first time ever, his mood is unbelievably bad and after the fight he had with Bo Young, he really doesn’t want to have another fight with Shin Hye now.

Without turning around to face her, Min Ho’s voice filled the room again. “Thanks to you… she is not fine.” And without waiting for Shin Hye to react, he walked straight towards his room, leaving Shin Hye staring at him from behind.

In a sudden, she felt breathless, as if something pressed tightly against her chest. Although she keeps convincing herself that she doesn’t bother how he feel or what he think, but she is uncomfortable with the way he treated her just now. He has never been this cold to her before. And now, she knows what he is thinking in his mind. He is angry… and he is angry with her.

~~~~~

Min Ho glanced down at his watch and it was already 9pm now. He has been in the meeting for more than five hours, but he knows he was the main reason for the meeting to drag this long. Whenever his HODs report something to him, he just couldn’t help from spacing out and make them repeat and repeat again. No matter how hard he tried to concentrate, his mind just wouldn’t comply.

The incident that happened this afternoon has affected his mood very badly. Everything happened in a blink of an eye. It was completely a coincidence that Bo Young found him in the restaurant and met Shin Hye there. He wasn’t sure what sour his mood the most, but everything happened too sudden. He knows Shin Hye hates to see Bo Young and although she seems polite throughout the whole incident but that wasn’t her. She was just faking it and everything she said was just trying to provoke Bo Young. And with Bo Young’s attitude, she will definitely fall for it.

Rationally, he should be angry with what Shin Hye did this afternoon. But deep inside his heart, he knows he is more upset with what Bo Young said about Shin Hye at home. He can be tolerant with all her unreasonable behaviour but not to the extent that her words could hurt others. It wasn’t Shin Hye’s choice to sell her body for whatever reason that she has to suffer in the past.

And then… he didn’t forget what Jun Won said before Bo Young appeared in the restaurant. He said… he confessed his love to Shin Hye. What does it mean? He didn’t have the chance to ask further and it irritates him more for not knowing anything. Jun Won likes Shin Hye? But how can it be possible? Yes, Shin Hye is beautiful, but their personalities doesn’t suit at all. In fact, they are too similar and both are too strong for each other.

But… why does he even care? It was totally none of his business. Even if he cares for Shin Hye as a friend or as a sister, he has no right to interfere anything. Jun Won is his best friend. He knows Jun Won is a good person and he should be at ease if they are together. But why? Why does it feel so uncomfortable knowing that Jun Won likes her? Does she… feel the same for him too?

“Sajang-nim…” The head of the legal department spoke as he looked at Min Ho with a nervous gaze. “We need to finalize this and come out with a decision before we meet up with the client tomorrow.”

Min Ho turned to the older man and held his gaze for a moment. His voice shook him off from his deep thoughts and brought him back to his senses. Knowing that everyone is looking at him, he cleared his throat awkwardly and straightened his body on his chair. “I know. And looking at the proposal you present to us just now, I think we should…” He suddenly paused; his sentence was cut off by an abrupt crash of thunder, so loud that it caught all his attention. He turned to the side, staring out of the large viewing window. He didn’t know it was raining outside and he could see the faint flicker of distant lightning through the dark sky.

“Eomma… please… please make the thunder stop… p-please…”

The scene of Shin Hye crying hysterically and how she bit her hand on the other night, came rushing back and replayed in his mind. All the frustrations and anger he had earlier had totally vanished. What he could think of for now is Shin Hye. He quickly took his phone up and checked. There were no missed calls or any messages. She didn’t call him.

He turned to his secretary, who was sitting beside him and asked in an anxious tone. “Is Park Shin Hye still in the office?”

The secretary shook her head. “No. When I went out to refill the coffee just now, everyone in t