Chaeyeon was good at pretending when she needed to—or at least that was what Jongin would think if he hadn’t known her for so long. No, her flick of the wrist as she played with the button on her blouse gave it away, and so did the fact that her eyes kept flickering to the ground as the three of them strolled up the pathway to the large house.
 

Kyungsoo pushed the button for the bell, and the few seconds that they stood there in silence was nerve-wracking. Jongin couldn’t imagine what Chaeyeon was thinking, especially because she was the one who had seen the man she was going to ask for a favor from, and the burden of the argument and persuasion would fall on her. Even though she thought she would fail.

He reached for her hand, almost as a second-hand action that he was used to taking, but the door opened, startling him. Chaeyeon forced a smile to her lips before bowing and neatly slipping her shoes off.

“Lim Chaeyeon.”

“We spoke on the phone briefly.” Her voice was steady despite her fidgeting hands. “Could my colleagues and I come in to talk?”

The man opened the door wider, looking seriously unimpressed with both Jongin and Kyungsoo. Kyungsoo’s bow was more like a jerk of his head. But the man settled down on to the couch, his eyes trained on Chaeyeon and Chaeyeon only.

“How are your parents?”

“I don’t know,” she cleared and said confidently. Kyungsoo in a breath at that admission, and Jongin knew why. The only reason he was listening was because of her parents. “I left home and quit the company.”

“Then why are you even here?” His face darkened. “What do you want?"

“Money.”

The man blinked at her, watching her for a few seconds before bursting into laughter. Chaeyeon simply crossed her legs instead of laughing along.

“I’m serious. You think I don’t know how you got forced out of the company because of your heart attack? And that the company has been losing money since?”

“Your honesty will get you killed, child.” He wiped a tear from the corner of his eye. “This industry isn’t meant for naïve people like you. I was like you once.”

“I want you to