The first week goes like this: Chaeyoung spends the whole week in Bali meeting customers with Dahyun, the whole thing about having to find a fake girlfriend totally slipped her mind. It’s only when Jeongyeon sends her a 50-page PDF file that she is reminded of it. Nevertheless, she looks through the whole PDF, but they are all not suitable. It’s time to move on to Plan B.

 

She picks up her phone, scrolling through her contact list before clicking on the contact she is looking for.

 

“Yeah?” The person drawls lazily.

 

“I need your help.”

 

The person sighs, she’s disappointed but not surprised. “I will get a shovel. Where’s the body?”

 

“Wha- No! I don’t have a body to bury,” Chaeyoung sighs exasperatedly, rubbing her temples to ease the headache that’s creeping up.

 

“Oh. Then why are you calling?”

 

“Please pretend to be my girlfriend.”

 

The only reply she gets is one of the line dying. Chaeyoung removes her phone from her ear to see that her friend has indeed hung up on her. Furious, she calls back again. She could have just said no if she didn’t want to, did she have to hang up on her? And also, Chaeyoung doesn't understand how she is willing to help her bury a body but not pretend to be her girlfriend? The call goes through and she immediately starts raging, “Yah Chou Tzuyu you could have just said no, is there a need to hang up on me?!”

 

“It worked since you got my point,” Tzuyu says nonchalantly.

 

“But why not?” Chaeyoung whines, desperate now.

 

“Number one: I don’t want people to think I am the model of your departmental store just because we are ‘dating’.” Tzuyu is the model of the Son’s departmental store, and she doesn’t want people to think that she got the contract just because she's ‘dating’ the granddaughter and future successor of the departmental store.

 

“Number two: your grandma is scary.” Most of the people that have met Tzuyu all agreed that the first impression that she gives them is that she’s scary, her big eyes and tall height making it seem like she’s glaring down at them. But they obviously have not met Son Jangmi, the older lady exuding a force that makes you fear her immediately. She shivers, recalling the past few encounters with the older lady. “Yeah, nope.”

 

Chaeyoung groans, she has never understood why people always said that her grandma is scary. Maybe it’s because she’s her granddaughter that the older Son has never scolded her, pampering her instead. Rubbing her eyes, she thinks about how to convince Tzuyu. In business, customers are only willing to sign the contract or buy their product if they believe that the deal is beneficial to them, so what can she do to make sure that this deal is beneficial to Tzuyu too? Tzuyu doesn’t lack anything, being the heiress to the largest chain of coffee shops in Taiwan and the most sought-after celebrity in East Asia, so there is really nothing she can offer her. She knows a lost battle when faced with one, that’s why she cuts her losses and gives up quickly. “Fine, just watch me burn to ashes then."

 

“Don’t be dramatic, why do you need a fake girlfriend anyway?” Tzuyu scoffs.

 

She relates the whole story of why she needs a fake girlfriend to Tzuyu, causing the Taiwanese to be speechless for a second. “You know, it’s about time you got over-“

 

This time, she’s the one who hangs up on Tzuyu. Why do they all keep nagging at her recently? It’s not like she doesn’t know what she needs to do, but does knowing it makes it easier? No. Whatever, she’s just going to bury herself in work to forget everything again.

 

--

 

Bambam holds the car door for her, Mina smiling at him as she gets off the car. He closes the door after her, looping an arm around her waist, smiling charmingly at her. She hits him before looking around to see if there’s anyone around. Thankfully, it’s just them, so she lets him be, staying in his arms.

 

“Behave yourself.” She chides, but doesn’t do anything to pull away from him. They are here to see her grandma, a strategic move on her side to get approval from her parents for their relationship. She knows her parents doesn’t approve of him and their relationship, and that is why she brought Bambam here to try to get the approval of her grandma, knowing that the words of her grandma is the law in the Myoui household. As long as her grandma approves, her parents can’t do anything but accept their relationship too.

 

“Yes, I know. Smile, be polite, display good etiquette at all times.” Bambam rolls his eyes, it’s like the 27^th time Mina is telling him this. “But how about a kiss first? There’s no one here anyway.”

 

Mina huffs, but doesn’t reject that proposition, closing her eyes and waiting for him to lean in. But it doesn’t come, and she only hears a yelp from Bambam before his hands around her disappear. She opens her eyes to see her boyfriend being held in an arm lock by her grandma’s personal security guard.

 

“What did I say about keeping your distance from her, huh?” The security guard tightens the arm lock she has on Bambam, causing him to wince louder. Like Sana, she didn’t like this douche very much, but unlike Sana, she has the guns to deck him in the face if he ever messes with her.

 

“Momo, let him go!” Mina shouts, trying to stop the security guard from breaking Bambam’s arm.

 

Momo grunts and lets him go, shoving him so that he’s a few feet away from Mina now. Smoothing her shirt, she collects her hands and places them in front of herself as if she didn’t just nearly break Bambam’s arm a few seconds ago. Mina runs to Bambam, placing a hand on his face. “Are you okay?”

 

Bambam grunts, standing up straight and trying to mask his pain. He will never admit he’s hurt and give Momo the satisfaction of knowing she hurt him. He pushes Mina off, “I’m fine.”

 

But the smirk on Momo’s face tells him she knows exactly the amount of damage she has incurred on him. “Madam has been waiting.” She pulls the door open and strides ahead, leading the way.

 

Bambam huffs and follows behind begrudgingly, Mina still shooting concerned glances at him while they walk. They walk past the main room, which has a huge fireplace in the middle and large chandelier hanging down from the ceiling. There’s a flight of stairs at the side, leading to the rooms upstairs. Bambam’s jaw falls, once again being reminded of the fact that his girlfriend’s family is super rich. Fixing his suit, he gets his head back into the game, knowing that he has to impress Grandma Myoui in order to achieve his goal; to be the Myoui’s son-in-law. It’s his ultimate dream, not having to do anything or worry about his finances and just live off Mina. (Not like he isn’t doing so right now.)

 

Momo leads them to a double door, pushing open to reveal the dining room that is large enough to sit at least twenty, and an old lady sitting at the head of the table, waiting for them. She smiles upon seeing them, Mina rushing to her grandma to give her a hug.

 

“Obachan, how have you been?”

 

“I have been doing well, what about you, my little baby?” Grandma Myoui pats Mina on the back, glad to see her granddaughter in a long while. Pulling away, she frowns, “You look like you lost weight again, have you been overworking again? I have to call your mom and scold her for working you so hard.”

 

Mina laughs, she knows her grandma is just joking, but she still feels the need to defend her mother. “No, she didn’t, please don’t scold Mama.”

 

Grandma Myoui smiles too, patting her granddaughter on the head gently before finally realizing they have another guest. “And who is this?”

 

Bambam steps forward, taking hold of Grandma Myoui’s hand and plants a kiss on the back of her hand. “Hello Madam, I am Bambam, Mina’s boyfriend.”

 

Grandma Myoui just frowns, removing her hand from his. “Hello, nice to meet you.”

 

Momo breaks out in a snicker, and Mina grimaces internally. When she told him to just smile, she meant it literally, wanting him to just smile and leave the talking to her. But he obviously didn’t get the hint, and just totally blotched his first impression with her grandma. Thankfully, Grandma doesn’t mention it anymore, regaining her composure as the host. “Well, let’s all get seated and start our meal, you guys must be hungry from the drive down from the city.”

 

While Mina settles down on the right of her grandma, pulling Bambam to sit beside her, Momo settles down on the left. Bambam looks across the table to see that Momo is seated with them, and he points it out, “Why is she here?”

 

“Momo is one of us, so she joins us for meals.” Grandma answers easily. Momo and Sana grew up together with Mina, and are seen as part of the family even if they work for the Myoui family.

 

“But she’s just a bodyguard.”

 

“Momo is not just a bodyguard, she grew up with Mina and is considered as part of the family. So if you feel uncomfortable with sharing a table with my family, maybe you should leave, Mr Bambam.”

 

Bambam is shot silent and Mina feels a headache growing. Well, he just single-handedly destroyed any chance of salvaging his first impression in front of her grandma. Thankfully, the food arrived and broke the tense situation, but the tension still lingered in the atmosphere throughout the whole meal.

 

After the dinner, Bambam was ushered to one of the guest rooms by Momo, while Mina accompanied her grandma for a cup of tea in their backyard. Her grandmother doesn’t beat around the bush, dives straight into the topic at hand.

 

“Mitang, you know Obachan won’t interfere with your relationship, but I can’t give you my blessings.”

 

Mina knew this was coming, but it didn’t hurt any less. “I understand. He’s usually not like that, he’s very nice to me.”

 

He’s nice because he has an ulterior motive, but Grandma doesn’t say it out, knowing that Mina probably heard it from other people already. So she uses her own method. “Yes darling, I don’t doubt that. But a person’s true character can be seen from how they treat other people, especially how they treat people working for them. I’m sure you didn’t like how he treated Momo just now too.”

 

“I think he was just upset because Momo-chan nearly broke his arm before we entered,” Mina tries to defend, but deep down she knows he was at fault.

 

Her grandma just smiles benevolently, knowing how stubborn her granddaughter can be, even more so if you try to dissuade her from doing something. “Like I said, I won’t interfere with your relationship, but I just hope you observe and know him better before you guys decide to progress further in your relationship.”

 

After they finish their tea, Mina helps her grandma back to her room, the old lady giving her a light pat on her hand before she enters her room, and Mina is left with endless thoughts, the first seed of doubt planted in her head. She may defend Bambam’s actions when other people call him out, but it doesn’t mean she’s blind to his actions and behaviours. It’s not the first time he’s rude to the people working under them, often snapping at the servers when they go to a restaurant, or the attendants when they get oil at a petrol station. Maybe it’s time she stops excusing and brushing such actions of his under the carpet, and consider if she really wants to spend the rest of her life with such a person.

 

--

 

In the second week on the search for a fake girlfriend, Chaeyoung feels like giving up. Honestly she doesn’t have time to look for a fake girlfriend when she has so many documents and projects waiting for her attention, and it’s almost impossible to find someone that fits all her criteria. Maybe she should just admit she’s not dating and go on those blind dates arranged by her grandma, it’s not like she hasn’t gone for them before. She’s sure she can come up with some new ways to reject the other party.

 

The car pulls to a stop in front of a large building, and Dahyun announces, “We are here.”

 

Chaeyoung shakes off her thoughts, nodding at the secretary. She decides to focus on her work first, getting off the car with Dahyun behind her. Immediately, someone bounds up to them.

 

“Hi Director Son, I’m Minatozaki Sana, secretary of Solicitor Myoui Mina. Pleased to meet you.” The bubbly secretary holds out her hand for a handshake.

 

Chaeyoung takes it with a smile, “Please, just Chaeyoung will do. This is my secretary, Dahyun.”

 

Dahyun shakes Sana’s hand, and is that a blush on the former’s face that Chaeyoung sees? But she doesn’t have time to probe, Sana already ushering them to the lift. “Mina is out of office to meet another client, but she will be here soon.”

 

“No worries.” Chaeyoung replies as they follow Sana into the lift.

 

The Japanese secretary ushers them into a meeting room, and gets them drinks before excusing herself. Chaeyoung plops down on a chair, turning to Dahyun who sits down beside her. “What was that?”

 

“What was what?”

 

“You totally blushed at Sana.”

 

“I did not.”

 

Chaeyoung just stares at Dahyun with an eyebrow raised. They grew up together, there are no secrets between them, no lies the other can’t see through immediately.

 

Dahyun grunts, “She’s pretty, okay?”

 

“Ask for her number,” Chaeyoung grins, turning her tablet on. “You should start dating so that we can finally quell those rumours at the office that we are dating.”

 

“Why, is it that bad if we are dating?” Dahyun asks with a pout, placing her hands below her chin.

 

Chaeyoung smiles, running a finger across Dahyun’s forearm. “Then, would you like to go as my partner for the company anniversary dinner?”

 

Dahyun shudders as an image of their CEO, aka Chaeyoung’s grandmother, appears in her head, and shudders even more at the thought of having to face the older lady as Chaeyoung’s significant other. She immediately withdraws her arms below the table. “Let’s just work, Director Son.”

 

Chaeyoung laughs as she opens a document on her tablet. “That’s what I thought, Secretary Kim.”

 

--

 

Mina is at the airport again, sending her boyfriend off this time. He groans as he holds her hands, the only form of contact Momo allows, the bodyguard watching them like a hawk a few meters away. “I can’t even give you a goodbye kiss with her here.”

 

“Momo can get a little over protective, but she means well.” Mina leans in to kiss him on the cheek. He can’t initiate anything under Momo’s watchful eyes, but it doesn’t mean she can’t. “Are you happy now?”

 

Bambam smirks, feeling like he just had a small victory over Momo. “Anyway, business still hasn’t picked up at the restaurant, can you transfer some money to me first?”

 

He runs a restaurant back in Thailand, and Mina had always given him financial support whenever he asked, hoping that he will make it big one day and change her parents’ perspective about him. She always just transferred money over to him without any doubts, but now, all that she can think about is her grandma’s words. “Again? I just transferred you some last month.”

 

“The bills raked up again because the profits aren’t covering our operating costs.”

 

It has been months, and business still hasn’t picked up. There’s obviously something wrong with his business techniques that resulted in the poor sales. “Can I take a look at the marketing strategies you have in place now? I think there must be a way to improve them to increase business.”

 

At this, Bambam lets go of her hands. “Do you not trust me?”

 

“No, I just want to help you. Sometimes you are too involved in the situation that you can’t see other better alternatives.”

 

“You can help just by transferring me money.”

 

“I can’t keep transferring you money like that! We need to fix the fundamental problem, which is to find a way to improve your business instead of just pumping money in like that endlessly.”

 

Bambam scoffs, “I’m just asking you to transfer me some money to tide me over this period, is that so hard? I will return you after, if you think I’m trying to scam your money.”

 

“That’s not what I meant-“

 

“Forget it,” he fixes his bag strap, “You just don’t want to help.”

 

He turns and leave without another glance at Mina, and she just sighs, watching him walk through the departure gates. They have never gotten into such a big fight, and over money no less. She feels sad that they fought of course, but she can’t help but feel that his reaction was a little too over the top. Yes, she has the money now, but it’s going to run out some day if she keeps giving him money like that. And when that day comes, what’s going to happen? (She feels like she knows the answer to that, but she doesn’t want to acknowledge it.)

 

A few seconds pass before Momo appears at her side. “Is everything okay?”

 

“Yeah,” Mina clears , and she can only wish that the weight in her chest can be cleared away as easily too. “Let’s go, I still have an appointment with a client later.”

 

--

 

Now Chaeyoung takes pride in her patience, but she didn’t expect to be waiting an hour and counting for this lawyer. Thankfully Dahyun arranged their next appointment after lunch so they still have buffer time to spare here, but just because they can, doesn’t mean they should. If the lawyer had another client to meet before this, she could have scheduled that previous meeting early, or schedule their meeting later and not make them wait like this. This just shows unprofessionalism and disrespect for them, the client.

 

Dahyun runs into the meeting room before slamming the door shut, acting like a thief who is running away from the cops. Chaeyoung ignores her, already used to her shenanigans.

 

“Omg you will not believe what I just heard at the toilet!” Dahyun rambles excitedly as she plops down beside Chaeyoung.

 

She doesn’t respond, knowing that Dahyun will go on to share her findings anyway.

 

“Apparently our lawyer is late because she went to send off her boyfriend at the airport and she’s trapped in a jam now.”

 

Chaeyoung finally turns to Dahyun. “Are you saying we have been waiting here like idiots while our lawyer has been prancing around at the airport playing Juliet and Romeo with her boyfriend?”

 

Dahyun gives her an awkward smile, and she slams the table. “Unacceptable. I want to speak to the managing partner.”

 

“I don’t think that’s going to work; the managing partner is her mother. But if it’s any consolation, her mom is blowing her top right now because she’s aware that Mina is late for our appointment because she was out frolicking with her boyfriend, who she absolutely hates by the way.”

 

“Do I look like I care if her mom hates her boyfriend? I just want to meet this goddamn lawyer and finally finalize our land deal.” Chaeyoung rubs her temples, feeling a headache building.

 

There’s a knock at the door before a lady enters the room, Sana following behind her. This must be Ms Juliet herself, finally making her way here after bidding a tearful farewell to her boyfriend at the airport. Mina looks calm and absolutely unapologetic, like she didn’t just come into this appointment an hour late.

 

“Please pardon my tardiness, I was held up by my previous appointment.” Mina greets professionally, and the lawyer walks to her, holding out her hand. “I’m Mina, and I will be handling your case.”

 

Chaeyoung resists the urge to snort, standing up to take Mina’s hand. She’s so tempted to just expose the lawyer right there and then, but she chooses to remain civil, still having to depend on Mina’s expertise for their business. She says through gritted teeth, “It’s okay, thank you for helping us out.”

 

“So I have heard about the rough idea from Sana. Your company will be acquiring a piece of land in Japan and need our expertise regarding that, right?”

 

“Yes. Dahyun-ssi, please provide the details.” She’s actually supposed to do it herself, but she doesn’t trust herself to talk shop calmly right now, not when she’s still boiling inside that they wasted a whole hour waiting just because their lawyer couldn’t be professional, using her work time to go on personal schedules.

 

So Chaeyoung just sits there spinning her pen while looking at her tablet while Dahyun explains what help they need from the lawyer. She may look like she is disinterested, her focus on her tablet but she’s listening to every word that is being exchanged between them. Mina may have punctuality issues, but she definitely knows what she is doing, explaining everything they need clearly. But because Chaeyoung is petty, she can’t let this go without taking a little revenge.

 

She pulls up her chat with Jeongyeon, “I need you to run a check on Myoui Mina. Any dirty secrets, the dirtier, the better.”

 

“Hi Director Son, I’m working really hard at the office right now looking through the security of our internal systems making sure they are not compromised by hackers. I will not entertain any out of work request.”

 

This smart-, Chaeyoung huffs. “I walked in on you building your Lego sets during office hours at least 55 times. What do you have to say for that?”

 

“Myoui Mina, born in Texas and moved to Japan. Dad’s a surgeon, Mom has her own law firm. A+ grades throughout her whole life, no criminal records, no secret child born out of wedlock, everything clean.”

 

Chaeyoung groans, but sees that Jeongyeon is still typing.

 

“Well, if there’s one weird thing, she transfers money to this Thai guy quite frequently.”

 

“Her dealer?” Chaeyoung’s heartbeat jumps at the thought of finding a weakness of Mina she can exploit. A rich heiress like her dabbling in drugs wouldn't be all that surprising; they have the money to do it, and the connections to cover it up when it hits the fans. 

 

“No.”

 

“Then?” As if she wasn’t already pissed with Mina, Jeongyeon is doing a great job of frustrating her even further.

 

“You sure you want to know?”

 

The is Jeongyeon being so secretive for now. She didn’t want to explain herself, knowing that Jeongyeon will definitely scold her for being such a petty , so she just settled with a short reply, “Yes.”

 

It takes a minute before Jeongyeon replies, but when she does, it isn’t in words, but in the form of a barrage of different media, from screen grabs of text, to the guy’s bank account statements. Reading through everything, she just feels disgusted. Thai guy is her boyfriend, and asks for money from her to run his ‘business’, but he doesn’t even have one, just squandering the money she transferred him on luxury goods and alcohol.

 

She just wanted to find out some dirt about the lawyer, mention it in passing later right before they leave, wanting to make the lawyer panic because someone actually knew about her deepest, darkest secret and might expose her. But she didn’t expect to find this, didn’t expect to feel sympathy, empathy for the girl sitting opposite her. Resting a hand over her chin, Chaeyoung taps her pen against the table rapidly, her habit when she is in deep thought.

 

Her phone lights up again. “You okay?”

 

“Yeah, jesus I’m not a baby, I can handle stuff.”

 

“Don’t let Nayeon hear that. Hmm, interesting,” Jeongyeon proceeds to send her a video, the quality is pretty grainy and the surroundings are dark, but she can still make out two girls kissing in the video, one of whom is undeniably the lawyer sitting in front of her. “She’s one of us, what a waste that she went to the dark side.”

 

Chaeyoung rolls her eyes. “Biuality exists, please educate yourself.”

 

There’s a pinch on her thigh, causing her to jump in her seat with a cry. She’s finally reminded of where she is, and there’s a smile on Dahyun’s face, but her eyes are glaring daggers at her. “Director Son, we have sorted out most of the details. Do you have anything else to add?”

 

She has zoned out from this meeting the moment she started texting Jeongyeon, but she trusts Dahyun enough to know that the secretary has settled everything well. She’s about to say no to conclude this meeting when an idea comes to her head. Chaeyoung smirks, sometimes you don’t have to look so hard, because what you are looking for may just come knocking at your door by themselves.

 

“No, I believe everything has been handled appropriately and I’m looking forward to close this deal with your help. But Mina-ssi, I have another proposal that might interest you.”

 

Mina her eyebrows, “And what might that be?”

 

“Please be my girlfriend.”

 

--

a/n: and that, ladies and gentlemen, is how they meet.