After Jongdae had begrudgingly brought the news that it was better to leave Korea for a while and focus on Mari’s company in Tokyo, the married couple immediately took off. Although none of them outright expressed it, Mari and Chanyeol also wanted to get away from the unnecessary attention for a while.

Several people took Mari’s back, defending that she was only protecting her privacy and it was disrespectful of Boram to harass and publicly announce Mari’s Mother’s death like that. Nevertheless, the host wouldn’t stop responding to every hateful tweet, claiming she was innocent and Mari had always been a stingy woman behind the scenes. She even threatened to post a video where Mari and Chanyeol were filmed arguing right after the interview. If it hadn’t been for Jongdae pulling connections and contacting law firms left and right, threatening to close the studio down and suing their entertainment show, things could’ve gotten worse.

Bless the heavens for Jongdae.

Still, the anxiety gnawed on Mari’s heart. The Korean citizens were clearly still very disappointed in her. While going back to her hometown sounded appealing, she couldn’t say that her people would be any different. Her Mother had a huge fan base from Japan, after all, her most loyal fans even going as far to visit Seoul just to see her Mother’s grave with their own eyes.

But when they landed on the airport, flanked by their security team on both sides, the married couple watched in awe as the Japanese people greeted them. They held placards and banners with little cutouts from their face, the words “Welcome Home!” scrawled on top.

Awkwardly, Mari raised a hand to wave at them, while Chanyeol read the mood expertly, sliding a hand around her waist with a huge smile on his face. The people swooned at their affection, shouting that their love could conquer all and that they shouldn’t listen to what others said at all. The chantings and cheers wouldn’t stop even as they reached inside the vehicles waiting for them, a sea of people still waving at them as they drove off.

Mari’s attention was caught by the billboards. It had only been a few months – maybe weeks – ago when she arrived in Tokyo with Baekhyun to confront her Father. Her Mother’s face was plastered on almost every billboard, sometimes even on commercials on tall buildings. She’d been so lively then, and beautiful – but now she was nowhere to be seen. Her Mother slumbered peacefully six feet under the Earth.

Instead of her Mother as the face of Tokyo, Mari saw her face. Several photos from official photo shoots released by Chanyeol’s company in Korea, along with some footages of her in conferences or interviews, Mari could see herself everywhere. The lines “Empress of Japanese Business” and “Heiress of Fujiwara: the Nation’s Princess” were written in bold on top of every photo. She couldn’t stop staring at how different she looked in magnanimous screens, absolutely flawless and elegant. It gave off the perfect vibe illusion that deluded people into believing she was brought up in perfection that she had no flaws and she was born to do great things.

A few headlines claimed that Fujiwara Mariko – now Park Mariko in their country – was now being considered as candidate for Woman of the Year. Her school accomplishments had now been publicized, people whispering amongst themselves as her high IQ was presented to the world. For some reason, the media also got a hold of the lines and establishments that were her idea. The people wouldn’t stop talking how she’d been quiet and anonymous this whole time, but then brushed it off as her being “introverted” and “humble.”

These claims that were now released to the public as a “fact” brought backlash to the Korean citizens. Japanese netizens were upset that they couldn’t respect Mari’s privacy and her aversion to the public, defending that “their Mariko” grew up quiet and simple. While Chanyeol’s lavish life wasn’t anything new to her, the popularity she got when she married him made her uncomfortable.

Mari scrunched her nose, turning away from a hundred versions of her face staring back at her. It irked her that things had changed just like that. She always knew their marriage would change everything, but not to this extent. Suddenly, people loved and hated her for no reason; acting as if these people who she’d never even met somehow knew her better than anyone. Yes, they were right that the popularity did make her feel uncomfortable, but she still didn’t like being seen as the good guy or bad guy when all she wanted was to be recognized as a human being.

Chanyeol spoke up, seemingly just as surprised as she was upon having her face plastered everywhere. “It didn’t seem so bad after all. Your people don’t hate you.”

“We’re not here to be celebrities.”

“We are, though,” he snorted, narrowing his eyes at the billboards with an impressed smile. “Empress of Japanese Business? Nation’s Pride?” Chanyeol shook his head with a low chuckle, “I had no idea they waited for you.”

“I didn’t have any idea either.”

“Are we going to the hotel first?”

Mari glanced at her watch, biting her lip. The idea of sleeping in the hotel was tempting, but she wasn’t here to rest. She was here for two missions: to do her job as the CEO and to figure out the secrets of her past. Mari shook her head. “No time. The stockholders are already here. Perhaps we can have lunch first or nap for a bit, but we shouldn’t take too long. It’s disrespectful to be late for a meeting.”

Chanyeol tried his best to not look disappointed. “Where are we headed?”

Jongdae sprang up to life from beside the driver’s seat, clearing his throat while scrolling his tablet. “The Fujiwara department store. At least fifteen major stockholders and three companies are looking to invest. They’re also waiting for the announcement of the first plan for the Fujiwara-Yeonghwa merger.”

Right. They’d supposedly announced that their first project from the merger would be something innovative to the point it changed everyone’s lives. It was probably a little too confident and arrogant in their part, but Mari learned in the wild world of business, there clearly were no rules. Even if there was, the lines easily blurred. The best way to come on top was to assume you were already the best. With confidence came intimidation, and with intimidation came potential competition backing out.

While she believed it was important to know how to fight well in their industry, it was also equally important to pretend that you could win every fight. The confidence was a great example of “fake it until you make it” but Mari didn’t care. She was well-aware of her abilities and the name she came with. She was Fujiwara Mariko, wife of Park Chanyeol.

She could be helpless in many other things, but when it came to business? No one could take her down.

***

Due to a national holiday taking place, most sectors of the Fujiwara Mall had been closed down, like the department store. The restaurants and grocery were left open however, while the department story was under restricted access only for Mari, Chanyeol, the stockholders and investors. It seemed that they arrived a little earlier than expected – much to Chanyeol’s dismay and Mari’s delight. It gave her ample time to scan the place with intrigued fascination, still a little taken aback such a huge, luxurious building were built by her family. Although she stood next to one of the most powerful men in the world, it was too easy to forget that Mari lived this lifestyle too.

She averted her gaze from the designer clothing with prices ranging up to seven digits. Mari scanned the crowd, smiling when her eyes fell on a certain red-haired man occupied with fixing the wire in his ear. She was looking for a specific someone however, someone she’d especially invited to be an esteemed guest of some sorts.

Mari crossed her arms on her chest, standing next to a sleep-deprived Jongdae. “Where’s Tana Kim?”

“I believe she’s running a little—oh, there she is,” Tana Kim came into view, dressed in sparkling sequins with a fur coat draped around her shoulders again. This time, her arms were covered by the turtleneck she wore beneath her dress, manicured nails through the racks of dresses with an empty look on her face. As if feeling Mari’s gaze on her, her eyes snapped up to catch Mari’s, the smile turning into a smirk.

Tana Kim sashayed her way, a hand placed on her hip. She couldn’t even be courteous enough to bow – not that Mari was expecting one. Tana had made it clear long ago that she was beyond any type of formality or professionalism. “Mari. A pleasure seeing you again.”

Mari’s lips twitched. “Drop the lies. I’m not here to fool around or be friends with you,” she declared, flipping her hair over her shoulder. Mimicking Tana’s previous actions, she shuffled through the racks of clothing that she should be wearing, but was too uncomfortable to do so. Fortunately, the Japanese didn’t care too much about being flashy and rather took pride in minimalism, so Mari was quite free in her pantsuit. Even from this distance, she could feel Tana’s scrutinizing gaze at her choice of outfit. “Do you have any idea why I brought you here?”

Tana hummed boredly, “Enlighten me.”

“I’m thinking of starting my company’s first ever magazine. If you have any ideas, feel free to share them with me.”

“You want to work with me now? I thought you said my ideas were disappointing.”

“They are, but you’ve worked in this industry far longer than I have,” Mari looked her in the eye, biting back a laugh at Tana’s scowl. “I’m open to hearing your–surely–innovative ideas this time.”

“You’ve got a way with words,” she muttered under her breath, glaring at Mari through that thick, glittery eyeshadow. “You’re effortlessly offensive. It’s even more entertaining that you’re asking me for help,” Tana snickered, raising her chin up to look Mari in the eye before stepping forwards, a taunting gleam in her eyes. “Tell me, Mari, why did you really bring me here?”

“I don’t know, Tana, why did I bring you?” Mari echoed mockingly, “Was it perhaps because someone told me Tana Kim didn’t exist at all?”

Tana’s eyes grew guarded, but at the same time, almost impressed. “Oh?”

“Judging from your face, I’m guessing that was perhaps a bit unexpected?” Mari challenged. Not wanting to match the look of fury that crossed her face, Mari looked back at her with a placid expression, her voice leveled and calm. “Whoever you may be, I’ll find out soon. Just make sure before I do, you won’t turn out to be my enemy.”

“And why should I not be?”

“Because you have no idea what I’m capable of,” Mari smirked, hands playing with the edge of her fur coat. When Tana in a sharp breath, she raised two hands to pretend to brush off dust from Tana’s shoulders, further aggravating the woman. Mari tried her best not to laugh. “Now that we’ve got that settled, I want you to meet my brother,” she beamed, gesturing to her unsuspecting brother who’d been looking around the department store warily the whole time. “Kyo, come here. Let me introduce Tana Kim to you. She’ll be working for us soon enough.”

“An agreement I haven’t agreed upon, exactly, but sure,” Tana retorted before turning to Kyo, who stared at her hardly. She extended a hand for him to shake, a sickly sweet smile on her face. Unbeknownst to Mari, her brother swallowed then looked away, his palms growing cold and clammy. “I’m Tana Kim, the head of Prime, Yeonghwa’s magazine,” her voice dropped into a whisper as Kyo returned a firm handshake. “I didn’t know Mari had a brother.”

“I’m not exactly welcomed in the family, but uh, it’s nice to meet you. I’m Fujiwara Kyo.”

“Mari’s…” Tana began with a -eating grin.

“He’ll be my co-CEO. See to it you show some respect to your superior.”

“Co-CEO?” Kyo reeled back in surprise, turning to Mari as if she’d grown two heads. “We never talked about that.”

Mari ignored her brother. She should’ve told him long ago that she planned for him to take over with her someday. Kyo was never interested in the family business, but too much was happening that she couldn’t guarantee his safety. The events in her life could greatly affect him even if he didn’t want to be. While Mari wanted to give her brother his freedom, it was best he stayed at a distance where she could keep a close eye on him. The last thing she needed was to lose another loved one.

Mari smiled at Tana, “It’s best for you to work with my brother. He can help you learn more about Japanese culture.”

“Hey, this isn’t what we talked about. You told me to just—”

“Your Co-CEO is like this? I expected more from your family,” Tana rolled her eyes, halting the siblings’ near banter. Deciding that she was done with their conversation – not that it was considered a decent one – she finally walked away, muttering something about wanting to get this over with and go home already. Now that, Mari could agree with her on, but then Mari realized she didn’t realize exactly where “home” was. It felt more like she was just bouncing from one place to another, finding comfort for a while before she felt the need to run away again.

“I’m sorry about Tana, she’s a bit of a pain in the ,” Mari sighed, facing her brother who’d pursed his lips. The resemblance between them was uncanny – they’d both gotten the same sharp eyes from their Father that made them look menacing if they wanted to be, but ironically enough, the Fujiwara siblings were anything but that. Kyo was gentle yet lighthearted in nature, while Mari was the shy, reserved one. Inside the department store though, flocked by security guards and assistants, the two siblings stuck out like a sore thumb from the power they exuded. Mari knew then that Kyo would be a good CEO with her. “I’m sorry for randomly springing this up on you as well. But I’ve thought about it a lot, and I really want you to take over the company with me someday.”

Kyo’s eyes darkened. “I’m not sure about that, Mari. I wasn’t trained for it.”

“You don’t have to be,” she reassured, holding his hands with an encouraging smile. She’d really thought about it, finally deciding there was absolutely no way she’d work in a place where her Father had control of. The thought of kicking her Father out the company remained just that, a thought, simply because Mari wasn’t powerful enough right now to take him down. But with Chanyeol’s alliance, Kyo’s support, and her own competence, Mari felt confident they’d make it far someday. She squeezed Kyo’s hands tighter. She may have missed the