Chapter One - The Goddess

Whether people are driving along the road or walking on the streets at night, there is always one thing following them in silence. Not many people pay attention towards it but it's always there. Those who are the most lost, desperate, or even scared happens to be those who stay up all night. 

Their eyes would wander up towards the dark skies and there it is, the one thing that's following them around as support and in silence - the lonely moon.

The moon is forgotten just like them. 

. . .

"You're all set!" The room erupted in laughter and clapping as soon as Song Ji Hyo signed the contract. "We'll officially start next month!" 

It's crazy how the world is sometimes. Ji Hyo stood up and bowed down to thank the other writers that were around her. She couldn't believe that she's taking this sort of next step for her career. One minute, she was working as a clerk in a convenience store. The next, she's a constant trend and top ranking model for Seoul, Korea. It's so hard to believe that it has been almost 10 years since the day she was found by an agent. She looks down at the piece of contract in front of her - a movie contract, her very first movie. To do something like this that is completely different from just standing and posing, it's out of her comfort zone.

"As soon as we find our perfect male lead, we'll call you on when the movie shooting will happen." Director Jung said as he shook hands with her. "It's an honor to be a part of your big acting debut, Ji Hyo."

She smiled softly. "No, I should be saying that about you." Director Jung is known as the perfectionist directior in the movie world. He takes his time and makes sure every little factor and detail is perfect. "Thank you for choosing me to be the lead."

There are so many things going on in her mind right now, she doesn't exactly know what to really think of this situation. Was acting her next option? No. She wanted to continue just modeling and walking down runways but her company had insisted that she should show her face more often as a favor for the people who has loved her for so many years.

"Noona, we have to go to our next meeting." Lee Jun Ki, her longtime manager, came by and whispered her ear. 

"I look forward in working with you and your amazing team." Ji Hyo shook hands with Director Jung again before letting Jun Ki lead her out of the conference room. "Who are we meeting with again?" She has so many meetings and photoshoots lined up on a daily basis that she has lost track of everything.

"You have a meeting with a company that wants you to model for them." Jun Ki replied. He spends hours in a day memorizing Ji Hyo's schedule and ongoing projects. "Starlight Restaurant."

She halted her steps as soon as they arrived at the parking lot. "Starlight Restaurant? The 5 star restaurant?" What does a high class restaurant like that want a model for their campaign for? They do perfectly fine on their own alone.

"Yes, I don't - " he couldn't finish his sentence. Before he could stop it, a group of fans rushed over screaming and jumping around in excitement to see Ji Hyo in front of them. 

"Unni! One autograph please!"

Ji Hyo smiled brightly as she greet her fans. Nodding her head, she starting signing her autograph as quickly as she can.

Jun Ki sighed deeply as he's used to fans randomly coming by and interrupt their regular schedule. He gets in the driver seat, turning the keys in the ignition - waiting for Ji Hyo to finish her little impromptu fan meeting. 

. . .

In a small building with weights and punching bags are displayed everywhere, Kim Jong Kook walked around with his arms behind his back as he watched everybody work out. He’s on break before his next client comes in for their next session. “No, that’s not how you do it. You continue to lift the weights like that, you’ll break a bone or even rupture a blood vessel.” Showing the right posture by fixing it himself, Jong Kook stepped back. “Lift the weights.” 

“Ahhhh....” 

“Good. If you do 5 reps of that, you should be good.” Jong Kook said before moving on.

Fit & Crunch is his home. He practically spends his days and nights here constantly. When he's not working out, he has to stay in the office and finish up the paperworks. It may be a small gym for some people but it's his dream - a dream that he has finally achieved after working so hard. It’s the type of gym that Jong Kook wished he had when he first learned about bodybuilding and weightlifting. When he first opened Fit & Crunch, he wanted the place to help provide newcomers feel welcome and comfortable despite how their bodies look like when they first walk in. His and every trainer in the gym will make sure to give the best end results possible for every single client. Maybe it's with that kind of mindset in the business - it has earned Fit & Crunch and himself popularity.

Lee Kwang Soo walks over with the phone attached between his ear and shoulder. "Hyung, are we meeting up with the others for dinner tonight?"

Jong Kook closed his eyes for a brief second. He completely forgot about family dinner tonight. "Sure." If he had remembered about it earlier, he would've extended his afternoon work out 2 hours longer. Family dinner is just going to be a lot of catching up and people drinking until they're drunk. Who knows what time they'll be able to be done - which means he'll have to miss his night workout session today. "Is everybody going to be there?"

Kwang Soo nodded his head as a response as soon as he heard what the answer was through the call. "We can't be late."

"Tell her that Jae Suk is the one that's always late, not us." Jong Kook argued back. Walking away from the training area, he walked into his office to find some of the paperwork that's needed for tomorrow. The list of clients has for the morning session are new and will need to fill out some information about their eating and exercise habits in order for him to havea better understanding of them. Once he does, he'll specifically write down certain work out and food that they should be eating while training with him. A lot of people may not understand why he loves the gym so much but he gets a thrill from doing this. 

To change people's lives by simply teaching them exercise and eating healthy food more often - it's an incredible feeling to watch people succeed after changing their lifestyles.

"Hyung..."

Jong Kook looked up from his stack of papers to see Kwang Soo standing by the door frame, still on the phone. Doesn't he have a client right now? "What?"

"One of the people in the training area is struggling with the bench press."

He sighed as he ran a hand through his hair out of frustration. "Ya, get off the phone and help them!" Kwang Soo immediately hung up and rushed over to the person's aide. Jong Kook shook his head in disbelief. He leaves the training area for one minute and it's already a mess without him.

. . .

"You're late." Kim Rae Won said as soon as he saw Jong Kook and Kwang Soo entered the building. He checked the time on his watch again and smirked. "Jae Suk won the bet."

Jong Kook slapped Rae Won's head playfully as he sat down. "What bet?"

"That you would be late." Jae Suk said as he took a sip of his water.

"It's not my fault that my gym closes late." Jong Kook tried to defend himself. It makes him feel bad that every family dinner, he does happen to be the late one. "I'll try to be on time next month."

Rae Won looked around the restaurant. "It's okay. Look at this place, it's still packed."

"They should be the last round of customers though," Jae Suk said. "There's no lines waiting outside anymore."

"We should be happy that Shin Hye is getting this much attention." Jong Kook said as he skimmed through the menu.

Starlight, Seoul's top ranking and only 5 star restaurant there is. Due to it's creativity and unique taste in their fushion dishes - their popularity hasn't died down since they first opened. Most people have to line up for hours to get a table here. Some even make reservations in months advance to get inside. 

"What attention?" Rae Won scoffed. "None of the dishes that she created has her name on it." The men around the table sighed. It's true. Knowing Shin Hye and the actual dishes she created, it's upsetting to see those dishes on the menu but the credit isn't given to her. "I keep telling her to listen to me and fight back - "

"Ya, when does Shin Hye every start listening to you?" Jong Kook rolled his eyes. "It'll be the end of the world if Park Shin Hye ever decides to listen to you."

Rae Won chuckled. "That's true." Out of everybody that's around this table, the only one he has a problem with is Shin Hye. Their friendship is a hard one to explain. What they're doing right now, sitting aound a table inside a restaurant - family dinner, something that's a regular for them every month. Although they all have different last names, they all grew up together in a sense.

Kim Jong Kook and Kim Rae Won are brothers who are five years apart. From the very beginning, they have always had each other's backs and protected each other for whatever is to come. It wasn't until when life unexpectedly hit them like a wave and sent them to an orphanage when they were teenagers. The orphanage is where they met Lee Kwang Soo and Park Shin Hye, two little kids running around the backyard with their own imaginations running wild itself. From that point on, the four of them took care of each other.

"It's not about the credit that matters, it only matters that she always tries hard." Yoo Jae Suk said.

Kwang Soo, Jong Kook and Rae Won looked at each other and laughed. Of course, their oldest mentor would say something as common sense as that. It's all thanks to Jae Suk that they got to leave the orphanage and have a life outside of it.

"Oppas!" Park Shin Hye walked over with a smile spread across her face. She hasn't seen them in so long that she actually missed them everyday. Placing down the dishes she had made for dinner, she sat down. "Sorry, I just finished cooking."

"It's okay." Jong Kook said. "I don't know why we always have a menu when we're here." 

"I know," Kwang Soo agreed. "Shin Hye always brings the dishes and we just eat it without complaint."

Rae Won glanced at the dishes. "I wanted scallops. You promised me scallops last month, Shin Hye!"

"Ya, do you know how busy I was all day? I didn't have time to breathe!" Shin Hye rolled her eyes.

Rae Won scoffed in disbelief. "Ya?" He repeated what she said. "Is this how you talk to a detective?"

Jong Kook punched Rae Won's arm. "Stop bringing up the fact that you're a detective. It's annoying!"

"Hyung!" Rae Won couldn't believe that his own brother wouldn't help him. "Why do you only choose to lecture me? What about Shin Hye?"

"How old are you?" Jong Kook asked. "Why do you argue with Shin Hye about the most ridiculous things?"

"Hyung!"

Jae Suk shook his head as he laughed. He has seen this so many times, it's not even alarming for him. "Let's eat." Just as everybody were to start eating, the sound of screaming caused them to halt and look over at the corner of the restaurant. "Shin Hye, what's going on over there?"

"I don't know." Shin Hye chewed her food. "All I know is that we had to make some special food for someone important earlier."

Kwang Soo tried to take a peek. "You didn't ask who?"

"It's not important to me, why should I care?" Shin Hye shrugged her shoulders. "The Executive was a bit nervous though."

Jong Kook couldn't see who were actually around the table in the corner when he tried to take a peek. "Must be really important if it has your executive involved."

"Park Shin Hye..." they look up to see Starlight's Head Chef Lee Jung So, walking over to their table. "Sorry to disturb your little family dinner but I have to take Shin Hye away for a few minutes."

Shin Hye furrowed her eyebrows together in confusion. "Me? Where?"

"Remember the VIP customer we had to cook for earlier?" Pointing over to the table in the corner with a smile. "The VIP customer would like to see you. She wants to thank the all the chefs for the food."

"I'm only the Sous Chef. Isn't having you there enough?" Shin Hye hates these sort of things. Technically, only the Head Chef would do the interaction with the customers. She's only second cook in line, her appearance wouldn't make a difference. 

Head Chef cleared his throat as he tried his best to be respectful in front of her close friends. "Executive is telling you come over."

Jae Suk slightly pushed her. "Just go."

Shin Hye wiped with the napkin. "Who is it?" 

"Song Ji Hyo."

Kwang Soo's eyes widened in shock. "Song Ji Hyo? The Song Ji Hyo?!" He couldn't close his mouth. Standing up from his seat so he could actually get a better look this time, his gasped to see that it's actually true. There she is, sitting at the corner table, laughing and smiling at the people around her.

Jong Kook hit Kwang Soo so he would stop acting crazy. "Sit down and eat. Why are you freaking out over somebody you don't know?"

"Hyung, do you know who she is?"

"No and I don't care." Jong Kook said as he munched on his food. It's one of the characteristics about Kwang Soo that he never liked. He has the tendencies to obsess over the most idioctic things, even at his age. "Who is she?" He really doesn't know this so called important person is. He spends so much time in the gym and working, he never has time to sit down and watch the news.

"No one important." Rae Won said sternly with a bored expression on his face. Keeping the real comments to himself, he cleared his throat to avoid any attentiion on how his behavior. "If you don't want to greet the woman, don't. You've already done your part as her chef, Shin Hye. It's your time to eat dinner and relax."

Kwang Soo looked at the brothers, he couldn't believe what he was hearing. He knows that the brothers are insane at times with their motto on living healthy and work hard nonsense but this is unacceptable. "Are you two crazy? What's up with your dull reactions?! It's Song Ji Hyo, the top model of our era! I heard she signed a movie contract today, I wonder if she's celebrating about that."

Shin Hye closed her eyes. She doesn't know what to be more humilated at. The fact that she has their annual family dinner every month at the place she works or the fact that the men in her life are completely throwing her life under the bus in front of her boss. "I'll go, Sunbae."

Jong Kook watched as Shin Hye and her sunbae made their way over to the important table. "She's only a model, what makes her so important?"

"Her beauty itself is a mystery. If you look at her photos, there is no undeniable fact that she's a natural beauty." Jae Suk answered. "She's famous because of her fashion runway walk and photoshoots but what really got her up there is that all the money she made so far, she has donated nearly half of it."

Kwang Soo nodded his head. "Think about it, Jong Kook. She has been working as a model for nearly ten years. Every month she donates her profits to charities in silence. Song Ji Hyo is someone everybody admires and aspires to be like."

"It's not really donating in silence if it's trending the next day, is it?" Rae Won questioned while arching an eyebrow. When Jae Suk or Kwang Soo didn't answer back right away, he smirked. "My point taken."

. . .

Shin Hye sighed out deeply as she made her way into the changing room and over to her locker. Having finishing dinner with them and cleaning the kitchen, she's completely exhausted. She takes a seat, closing her eyes for a few seconds. Taking a closer look at herself in the mirror, she frowned at how pale and dull her face has become in the last few weeks. Having no choice but to pull three double shifts in a row, she has aged horribly. Once she is home, she's going to do so much skincare products on her skin that'll probably start peeling. Taking off her chef gown, she has to hurry since Jong Kook is waiting for her outside the restaurant.

Shutting the locker as she puts on her jacket, she jumped in surprise to see the Head Chef standing there. “You scared me...” she muttered softly. Shin Hye gripped onto her car keys as she stared at the man in front of her. Head Chef Lee Jung So is practically like the manager of Starlight considering the years he has worked here. “I’m heading out.” She moves to the left side to go around but he came over to block her.

”You did a really great job today. Song Ji Hyo couldn't stop complimenting us. If Executive does end up getting this campaign deal, we'll be a lot busier than normal. Are you ready for it?"

She was surprised herself to hear that Starlight is starting the advertisement route. If this deal does go through, Song Ji Hyo will end up being the face for the restaurant. Once that happens, chaos is about to be erupted for them. "As long as I'm under your lead, I'll always be ready." Flattery - it is what always works for men likee him. She glanced down to see his hands softly caressing her arm. Here he goes again. She could feel her knuckles going white as she gripped onto the car keys even tighter. “Goodnight, Head Chef. I'll see you tomorrow.”

It’s the fifth time today that he has tried to hit on her. Throughout the day as they were cooking, she could feel his hands on her as he was reaching for ingredients nearby. It’s revolting. What can she do? He’s the Head Chef and she’s only the Sous Chef, second in line. It took her years to even be a Sous Chef, not to mention - she’s a Sous Chef for the most prominent restaurant there is in Seoul. 

There are certain things she is willing to take without saying anything. If keeping this job means she has to be an eye candy to mens disgusting as him, so be it. Shin Hye can’t risk losing this job especially since it's such a high paying opportunity. Her eyes wandered over to the bright neon lights of Starlight Resturant above her. You’ll be mine one day, she thought to herself.

"Shin Hye...." Jong Kook called out for her as he leaned out the driver side window.

She turned around and nodded her head as she quickly rush over. She can't let anybody know about the way she is being treated at work especially people like Jong Kook. If Jae Suk, Kwang Soo, Jong Kook or even Rae Won finds out about what's really happening inside the kitchen - being busy isn't going to be the only erupting chaos in Starlight.

. . .

"Noona...." Jun Ki knocked on door again after a few minutes as he glanced at his watch. He only has 30 minutes left before Ji Hyo is really late to the next scheduled photoshoot. He has been calling her name and knocking on the door for the last 5 minutes. He doesn't know what to do. There are two current factors he is fearful of right now. One, she probably overslept after such a long day yesterday. If it's the second factor, he shakes his head - let's hope not. "Noona...." 

Having no other choice, he backed away from the door and took a deep breath. He shoved his shoulders against the hard with all the power he has, nothing. Bang! Bang! Bang! He grimanced in pain as soon as he broke through the door and stood in the bedroom. Clean and dirty clothes scattered everywhere and empty alcohol bottles around the floor. The whole world would practically be shock if they ever saw how her bedroom looks like. For him, this looks like a typical night for her. 

As soon as he saw her nowhere in the bed, immediate fear ran through his body. It's what he fears the most is happening right now. He ran over to the bathroom to find Song Ji Hyo's arms dangling from the edge of the bathtub and her head leaning against the wall. "Noona!" Slapping her face a couple of times to have her wake up, there's no response. He glanced down at the floor nearby and groaned to see the illegal substances displayed. Why would you do this right now, he thought to himself. Quickly cleaning up the evidence, he took out his cellphone to call the CEO on what to do next.

. . .

Jong Kook laughed as he threw the paper ball up in the air as he listened to Rae Won and Shin Hye's continuous banter. He was over at Shin Hye's house because she had complained about having light problems around. Once he told the others, Rae Won and Kwang Soo immediately tagged along. 

"I was better at the claw machines than you when we were younger!" Shin Hye screamed.

Rae Won scoffed. "YA! Those stuffed animals around your bedroom! Who got those? Me!"

"Jong Kook oppa got me some too!"

"Hyung doesn't know anything but working out!"

Kwang Soo turned the television volume higher. "Quiet!" Everybody stopped talking and stayed in silence as soon as they saw a picture of Song Ji Hyo on the screen.

Top model and rising movie star, Song Ji Hyo was found unconscious by her manager this morning. She has been admitted to the hospital where sources has told us that it's due to her lack of nutrients and sleep. We will keep everybody updated on Seoul's goddess when further information is released. For now, we wish her to sleep well and return back to us with the brightest smile once again.

"She looked fine last night," Jong Kook said in confusion. "She was even eating fine too." 

"Do you think they'll say that it's my resturant food?" Shin Hye is worried all of sudden. Food poisoning can do a lot of damage to a chef's career. Especially when it comes from someone as big as Song Ji Hyo. "Should I call and ask?"

"I have to go." Rae Won quickly stood up and gathered his things as fast as he could. 

"Where are you going?" Jong Kook asked. "I thought you had the day off today?"

"Uh, something came up." Rae Won rushed out the house and straight into his car without explaining anything.

"What's up with him?" Shin Hye asked. Taking out her phone, she bit her lower lip in anxiety. "Maybe I should call - "

Jong Kook shook his head. He highly doubt that it's the restaurant's fault. Everybody including themselves are fine. "Don't worry too much. I mean, Kwang Soo said she's a busy person. Maybe it's really the lack of sleep that got to her."

Kwang Soo sighed. "I hope she's fine."

Throwing a pillow at him for his overeaction, Jong Kook turned to glance at the television screen. To think of it, he never actually saw how she looks like and to his surprise, she really is a beauty. 

. . .

Ji Hyo rubbed her temples as she listened to the upsetting phone call from her CEO. "Yes, I know. I'm sorry." She took a deep breath to control her emotions. "I'm sorry." As soon as he hung up, she shut off her phone. Since the moment the news of her being admitted to the hospital, her phone has been going off nonstop. Whether it's reporters or friends - she doesn't want to hear anything from anyone for the time being. She jumped in surprise to hear the sound of her door slam open. 

"Wow, another private hospital room?" 

Ji Hyo covered her face with her hands out of annoyance. Not him again, she thought to herself. "What do you want?"

Rae Won stepped inside. "What is it this time, Ji Hyo? Lack of nutrients and sleep? That's a new one."

"Leave me alone."

"No can do." Rae Won said. "What did I tell you the last time? If I ever caught you doing anything around those kind of stuff again, I'll really arrest you."

Ji Hyo looked at him dead in the eyes. "I'm going to tell you again like I told you before. I have no idea what you're talking about, Kim Rae Won. I am here because I've been working too much and my body isn't taking it well."

"What was it last time? Headache? No, was it a migrane?" Rae Won stood in front of her hospital bed and narrowed his eyes. "How many fabricated news is your precious CEO going to keep doing until people start to really find out what it really is?"

"If you don't believe me, you can ask my doctor for the blood tests that they ran on me." Ji Hyo suggested.

He chuckled. "I'm not going to fall for that. I asked for it last time and got nothing."

"Exactly, so why do you keep insisting - "

"Because I know you, Song Ji Hyo!" Rae Won screamed. "I know you and your habits!" 

Ji Hyo glared at him. "Just leave me alone, please."

"No can do." Rae Won promised. Once when somebody is on his radar, he won't let go of the suspect. He has been a detective for so long that when his senses are telling him something, he knows it's right. "A lot of people may fall for the whole 'innocent-I-don't-do-anything-bad' act but I won't."

She nod her head. "Believe what you want to believe." She find it impossible to argue with someone like him.

Rae Won walked over to the door. "What I'm doing isn't unreasonable. As a detective, this is my job."

She watched as he start turning the door knob to leave. "What is really is unreasonable is the fact that you use our past relationship as a reason to keep coming back." Ji Hyo looked at her ex-boyfriend. "You know things about me and now you're using it against me. If you call that being a real detective, I have some news for you. It's not, Kim Rae Won."

Rae Won looked at her without saying a word. Slamming the door behind him, he start heading out when he ran into Jun Ki. Both men stared at each other for a few minutes. "Aren't you tired of being her manager?"

Jun Ki looked at him with no facial expression. "Aren't you tired of acting out in jealousy over something that happened years ago?"

He scoffed. "As her manager, you better take those things away from her. If she dies on your watch, I will kill you."

"She's not your problem any longer." 

Rae Won cleared his throat and walked away. I know that, he thought.

. . .

A/N: WOW! The first chapter is a lot longer than I originally wanted but I really wanted to introduce some of the characters more in depth so maybe you guys can get a little bit of an understanding of why or how they are. It took me days to write and revise everything - if I missed something, I'm sorry! It's been a while since I started writing again and now that I am fully back with this, it feels so weird tbh! 

Anyways, I hope you all liked the first chapter! Please do share what you think! Like I've always said, hearing feedback and your comments always inspires me to write better and longer! (: 

Please do vote, comment and share this story around! I'm forever grateful for you guys always reading my stories! 

Again, this is a SPARTACE & RAESHIN mixed story! With a little Hyun Bin love going around aahhah! Please support!