Monday arrives sooner than expected. A time where students and workers alike dread the most - Monday blues indeed as most would say. It was no different for Hana whose weekly schedules were always packed to the brim. 

"Jeonmunim. We are expected to attend a luncheon hosted by Assemblyman Han tomorrow. They extended the invite to Miss Kim as well." 

"I'll ask Jungeun if she's free. If she isn't, I'll attend alone." 

"Yes, of course. TF team 1 and TF team 2 will be pitching their ideas for the remodeling of our Busan branch to the executives the day after tomorrow. The team with the best proposition will be chosen through a vote." 

"I want to be inside that meeting. Please ensure my schedule aligns with it." 

"Yes, Jeonmunim." 

As Hana steps out from the elevator and heads into the lobby with her secretary in tow, she stops abruptly in her tracks. Directly in her line of sight was the cause of her previous heartbreak (she feels nothing for her anymore) – Jeon Heejin, standing meekly in the middle of the lobby, dressed in a pink cardigan top and stonewashed jean. The brunette notices Hana instantly as she makes her way towards Hana. Hana on the other hand chooses to ignore her, sidestepping to avoid her when Heejin stops her, standing in front of her and blocking her route. Her secretary is about to take action to remove the obstacle but Hana stops him with one hand raised.

“Move. I am busy,” Hana growls lowly so only the two of them could hear it. 

“Can we talk?” Heejin asks shyly.

Hana is well-aware of the looks she is getting from the workers who were present. She knows that misunderstandings arise from uncomfirmed rumours so it was better to end this without stirring up anymore unwanted attention.  

“No. I’m busy” Hana answers stiffly. 

Hana circles around Heejin, walking away but doesn’t get far when her wrist is grabbed from behind.

“Please! Let’s talk, Hana!” Heejin pleads.

Hana grits her teeth, turning around, breathing out a short, “Fine.”

Turning towards her secretary, she says, “Nam Biso, postpone the meeting. I’ll be heading back to my office. Make sure no one talks.”

Her secretary bows, understanding Hana's instructions as Hana walks back towards the elevator with Heejin following closely behind. The ride up to Hana's office was dead silent. Heejin didn't dare to utter a word as she opts to stare at the floor instead. Heejin is saved by the opening of the elevator doors as the two heads out quickly. Hana walks into her office with Heejin, closing the doors and shutting the blinds before turning to look at Heejin with a glare.

“Speak and make it fast” Hana urges.

Heejin is shy, fiddling with her fingers. She hadn’t seen Hana in so long let alone been in the same room.

“I—I’m sorry” Heejin starts off with an apology.

Hana scoffs in disbelief. “Sorry? You’re sorry?”

Heejin could hear the anger underlying under her words.

“What are you sorry for, Heejin?” Hana questions condescendingly.

Heejin is caught off guard by Hana’s sudden question. “I—I…”

“Are you sorry for breaking us up? For giving up on us?” Hana questions heatedly.

Heejin shakes her head. “I… my mother made me do it! I didn’t want to give up! Hana, you have to under…” 

“--I know. Hyunjin told me.”

Heejin’s brows furrows. Hyunjin? She hasn’t seen the girl in a while. Just as she’s about to ask about Hyunjin’s involvement, Hana beats her to it.

“-But you did anyways. YOU gave up on us!! Your words! Your actions! You should have fought for us but instead you went along with your mother’s orders! So, why are you here now, Heejin? Why do you want to talk now? To get me back?” Hana sneers. “Why? Because I’m suddenly good enough for you and your family. What are you or your scheming mother up to now?”

“Hana. I know I was wrong but at that time, I didn’t have a choice. My mother threatened to hurt you and I couldn’t stand by and watch her do it” Heejin says as she tries to move closer to Hana.

Hana stops Heejin from coming closer, putting her hand up in defense, stopping the girl. "You could have told me. We could have worked something out together!"

"How!! You weren't an heiress back then. My mother would have found some demented way to send you to a remote part of the world without me knowing."

"Then, you should have stood against your mother! You should have done everything to protect me from her. I loved you, Heejin! More than anything in the world! You were everything to me!!!” Hana's voice thundered, her tears threatening to fall as she continues with a shaky tone. “But you broke my heart. You broke me. You betrayed me. You out of everyone should have been the last to hurt me yet you did.”

By the time Hana was done speaking, her tears were already streaming down her cheeks. She forcefully wipes them away with the back of her hand as she tries to calm herself down. She was over this - over Heejin - over her conniving of a mother. On the other hand, Heejin began to cry as well, unable to hold back her emotions any longer. She wanted so badly to wrap her arms around Hana and just bury her face in Hana’s neck but she knew Hana wouldn’t have accepted it. The Hana who loved her was gone and she had no one but herself to blame. 

“Jeon Heejin. The day you gave up fighting for us was the day you gave up on our relationship. From this day on, I don’t ever want to see you again. We are strangers. If we bump into each other, let’s pretend we don’t know each other. This is my last request. If you truly loved me, you will at least promise me this much.” Hana stands up, giving Heejin one fleeting glance before walking out of her office, slamming the doors behind her. 

Heejin bursts into tears, biting her lips to prevent the sobs from escaping . Enough, Jeon Heejin. Stop being so pathetic! You're not going to break down in your ex-girlfriend's office. Heejin it up as she wipes her eyes with the sleeves of her pink cardigan, holding her head up high as she steps out of Hana's office, ignoring the looks she got from the workers around. Once she was out of the building, she exhales heavily. Maybe in the future, when Hana was less angry, she could ask her for forgiveness again but for now, that was just wishful thinking. Walking down the strip, she spots a small corner cafe.

She couldn't help but think of the past when she would visit little aesthetic cafes like this one with Hana and Hyunjin - well, when they were still friends at least but those days were long gone now. She decides to get a drink, afterall she was thirsty from the walk. Pushing open the door into the cafe, she is greeted by the pleasant smell of freshly roasted coffee beans and fresh baked goods. The one thing she didn't expect to happen was meeting with the one and only Kim Hyunjin. 

The cat-like girl finally spots Heejin as her eyes widens in surprise. 

"Miss? Miss?" 

Hyunjin turns back to the counter and realizes that it was her turn to order. She quickly snaps back to reality. "Yeah, a chocolate croissant and one Iced Americano to go, please." 

The cashier types in her order. "That would be 16 400 won." 

Hyunjin hands the cashier the cash and in return, the cashier hands her the receipt as Hyunjin moves to the side. Once Hyunjin receives her order, she walks to a table by the window and takes a seat, sneakily taking a peek at Heejin who was ordering. Once Heejin turns her head, Hyunjin is quick to dodge, pretending to eat her croissant. 

A deep, familiar voice shocks Hyunjin. "Do you mind if I sit here?" 

Hyunjin looks up to meet Heejin's eyes, nodding meekly as Heejin slides into the seat opposite Hyunjin and setting her cup of green tea latte down. 

"I haven't seen you in a while. How have you been, Hyunjin?" Heejin starts the conversation. 

"Good. I'm working at the foundation now" Hyunjin replies. 

"That's nice. You always said working at the foundation made you happy since you got to help kids" Heejin says. "But you disappeared a week after Hana did. Where did you go?" 

Hyunjin gazes at Heejin with shock evident on her face. "You noticed? I thought you wouldn't care." 

Heejin gasps, feigning hurt as she places both hands on her chest. "How could you say that? I thought we were friends." 

Hyunjin smiles sadly. "I just thought that you might not need me around since I would probably cause you more trouble. So, I secretly left for the countryside. My grandparents own a fruit farm there so I stayed there. I told the school that I needed some time off. That's why I came back to Seoul - to take finals." 

"I see" Heejin mumbles. "Well, welcome back, Hyunjin!" 

"Thank you."

Hyunjin scours Heejin's face as she tests the water. "I heard about Hana and Jungeun." 

She watches as Heejin stiffens before slumping against her chair, looking wistfully at her cup of latte. 

"They look good together" Heejin says with a smile that never really reaches her eyes. "I never noticed it until now but, they do. Foolish of me but I've seen pictures of Hana and Jungeun together. Hana's smile - I don't think I've ever seen her smile at me that way. The way she looks at Jungeun, it's beyond whatever she's had for me. Plus, Jungeun's known and probably loved Hana longer than I ever have. I believe they'll be a great pair - at least, she won't hurt Hana like I did." 

"No, you hurt Hana to save her. None of this is your fault, Heejin. You have to know that" Hyunjin protests. 

"The point is that I hurt her when I should have at least tried to stand up to my mother but I was a coward. I didn't put enough faith in our love and that's what hurt Hana the most." 

Hyunjin doesn't know how to soothe Heejin's feelings. She shouldn't have even brought up Hana and Lip in the first place. They were doing well. Why did she have to be an idiot and bring up the one person that has the capability to hurt Heejin. Just as Hyunjin is about to open to say something, buzzes coming from Heejin's purse interrupts her. Heejin looks at Hyunjin with a guilty look as she opens her bag, pulling out her phone. Just as Heejin was about to check her phone, she gets a weird feeling. She looks up and sees strangers staring at her weirdly. 

She doesn't think too much about it as she finally opens her phone to check her messages. She lets out a loud gasp, alarming Hyunjin. 

~~~~~~~~~~

Shortly after Hana leaves Heejin in her office, she takes the elevator back down to the lobby. She uses the time inside the elevator to clear her thoughts. The second the elevator doors open, any thoughts of Jeon Heejin was pushed to the back of her mind. She takes confident strides across the lobby, greeting the staff who bows when they saw her with a slight nod. She spots Joohyuk standing beside the car, waiting patiently for her.

She steps past the glass sliding doors and exchange glances with Joohyuk who opens the car door for Hana. Hana thanks him as she slides into the car. Joohyuk shuts the door and climbs into the passenger seat.

"Let's go" Hana orders as the driver pulls out of the entrance.

She heads to her appointment and is out of it for most of the meeting. Once her appointment was done, she shakes hands with the representatives of the construction firm that she was set to work with and was about to walk out when she catches the grim look on Joohyuk’s face.

He leans closer to Hana's ear, covering his mouth as he whispers, “We have a serious problem.”

Hana sends the representatives a tight-lipped smile as Joohyuk takes a step back. She sees her client off before turning to look at Joohyuk with a serious expression.

“What problem?” Hana asks.

Joohyuk swipes open his pad and flips it so Hana could see the screen.

“This article was released by DaeHan Daily and multiple news networks have already begun releasing articles following them.”

Hana sees a picture of Heejin and her in the lobby earlier. She stares at the article name in disgust.

Jeon Industries heiress Jeon Heejin and Park Group’s heiress Park Hana seen together? 

What relations do they have to each other? Is it an affair? 

Jeon Heiress and Park Heiress getting cozy in lobby of Park Group HQ

“It’s reached number one on every search engine in Korea” Joohyuk adds.

“Do whatever you can to get rid of these ridiculous articles. I want them gone within the next hour. Is that understood?” Joohyuk bows as Hana jumps into the car and has the driver speed towards BBC university. The only thing she cared about right now. 

 Jungeun.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

At the same time, within the top floor of Jeon Industries, the mastermind behind the articles smirks as she scrolls through the news. She wanted Hana and Jungeun apart and was prepared to use any means necessary. She resorts to a scandal, hoping it would work. She knew Heejin was going to see Hana and she took advantage of that to get them into a scandal knowing that the public was easy to manipulate. If it took sacrificing her daughter, then, so be it. She grins, believing she’s won. She couldn’t allow someone like Hana to screw up her plans.