"Solo artist Ahn Yujin arrested for slaughter of her father figure,"

The lass in front of the mentioned culprit placed down the tabloid on the table. She leaned back on her seat and stared at the headline on the front page written in bold-italic letters.

Ironically, tranquility dominated the custody room as the allegation was expressed in array. It may have the air of being serene but the wrongdoings and regrets are usually heard and casted onto its walls.

The longing silence was broken when Yujin sighed and cleared to speak in a monotonous voice. "Why won't you just terminate my contract with your agency?" 

"It's not a part of my option. It has never crossed my mind to just let my artist slip away that easily," she shook her head and stared at Yujin.

"But Yuri unnie, it will badly affect the agency's reputation-" 

"Even if it does," Yuri cut her off. "I will never consider firing you."

Yujin looked down on the floor. "I have owed you a lot, don't you think it's too much of myself?" 

Yuri leaned in and placed her arms on the table to support her weight. "Every word stated in this newspaper isn't factual, right?"

The taller girl bit her lip. She nodded at the older and held her breath for a moment.

"I decided to have your activities on hold. For now, we'll focus on setting you free from this hell. Let's prove your innocence, hmm?" Yuri nodded her head once to convince the other girl.

"About that…" Yujin paused for a moment to proceed clearly on her sentence. "You shouldn't pressure yourself on finding a decent lawyer for my case. Anyone is fine," Although things were already settled, she still felt apprehensive to be overindulged by her friend's plan.

"No, Yena and I will spend our time finding a commendable one for you," once again, Yuri disagreed with the taller's modest suggestion.

"Yuri is right, Yujin. We won't let you end up getting rotten inside the jail," the blonde girl barged in and walked towards their table, standing beside Yuri.

"Oh, you're here," she looked over her right shoulder to take a sight at the newcomer.

"Isn't it obvious, redhead?" Yena messed her hair and put her hand inside her pocket jeans right after.

"Yah! I worked hard on getting my hair perfectly fixed only for you to ruin it," Yuri started to glare at the blonde.

"You're still a fan of hair sprays after all this time?" She chuckled teasingly which made the redhead roll her eyes.

"I can let you laugh and make fun of my hair sprays if you already have a lawyer for Yujin in your mind," Yuri became more serious after the provocation. 

"I thought we already settled our choice for this one?" Yena crossed her arms and raised her eyebrows.

Yujin looked back and forth at the two. She's having hints based upon what she's seeing in front of her. She recognized that they have already decided this beforehand.

Yuri shifted her glance from the blonde to the younger lass. "Should we tell her, then?"

"Jo Yuri, I'm a bit annoyed with you asking all these questions that obviously leads to a sole answer. You should thank me for not knocking your head at this point because I'm planning to date you in the future," Yena impatiently nagged at her and rubbed the back of her neck.

"I'll hit your head first, Choi Yena, you'll see," she raised her fist, acting as if she'll let it land on Yena's skull.

"I believe it's in Eunbi unnie's circle of friends? The lawyer you've chosen?" Yujin rested her head on her palm, with her arms leaning on the table.

"Definitely," Yena pointed her index finger at the taller and winked.

"You're right. Also, we didn't just choose her because she's a friend of our friend. We also looked for someone who knows you better than any other lawyers would know their clients," Yuri laid down her hints through an explanation in an anticipating tone.

"We picked that lawyer so she could at least have a deeper background of your identity. To the extent that she will surely win the case," Yena added the redhead's statement. "Not to mention, she apparently won every case she had held," Yujin started to raise an eyebrow.

In this instance, Yujin doesn't have a particular candidate in her mind. Who could it be? 

Ahn Yujin has certainly met and bonded with a lot of people due to her fame. She is a rising young star in the country, everyone looks up to her with admiration of the versatile talent she holds. Her comradeship with thousands of fellow artists and even with the people outside the career isn't a rare sight for the audience. She knows the nation as much as the nation knows this young lady.

However, at this moment in time, she is still clueless with whom the two older women were describing. She couldn't come up with even a single person in her mind.

"Do you now know who it is?" Yuri finally asked her. Hoping that the girl already knew who they were talking about.

"Uh, that clue is still vague. I've been hanging out with a lot of lawyers these days-"

"Here she goes again, being the oblivious woman she is," Yena heaved a sigh and tapped her foot hastily. 

"It's not it. You're getting the idea wrong. What we mean by someone who knows you isn't how they identify you now. She was literally close to you- and to us as well even before the majority of our countrymen recognize you," Yuri got excited that her tone and speaking speed went high and fast.

"Do you now get it?" The blonde stared at Yujin once again and paused on tapping her foot.

The younger scratched her nape and began fidgeting her fingers. "I don't really have an idea-"

"Jang Wonyoung," Unlike a while ago, she is now staring at the floor, her tone fast-paced yet monotonous. She didn't stop herself from declaring the name when it is not her part to do so.

Yujin stopped playing with her hands when she heard the name. A familiar feeling rushed into her, something she nevermore wanted to feel. Ever.

"W-Why her?" She wished that she misheard it or better unheard. She couldn't grasp a reasonable explanation for it.

Yena and Yuri gazed at each other, exchanging the worrying look in their eyes. As much as they care about their younger pal's feelings, they can't think less of the consequences that might happen to her if they decided otherwise.

"Just like what we've told you a while ago. She can defend and save you from taking all the charge when it's not supposed to be yours in the first place," Yuri lowered her voice and made it softer than before.

Yujin felt her hands' temperature drop to zero, the cold sensation went up to her entire skin. She's trying to warm it up by crossing her arms, approximating to hugging herself.

"Hey, think of this as a business deal only," Yena tried to cheer up the lass with her token suggestion.

"Maybe try not to take it personally, Yujin," Yuri went closer to her and held her shoulder.

"How can I, unnie?" she glanced up at the redhead looking misty-eyed.

Despite the chilly feeling Yujin adheres now, she was aware that her eyes were heating up and soon will be soaking wet. She's trying her best to hold every possible tear back from shedding hard.

Self-loathing engulfed her as she was reminded again of the past. She detested how her brain was functioning automatically as it brings her down memory lane whenever someone mentions the certain girl.

"Fifty percent increase on your final paycheck with his firm?" The slim woman chuckled and stared at the other woman in her gray tailored suit and pencil skirt. "Jang Wonyoung, you should have taken full advantage of it if you're going to be opportunistic," she continued.

Wonyoung smiled at the woman. "Ms. Lee Chaeyeon, I mean, Chaeyeon unnie," she paused to correct and modulate the honorifics, reason being the latter wanted it. "He's going to be my husband after all, his property will also be mine."

"Okay, you have a point," Chaeyeon began to roam around the room and glanced again at the young lady. "But still, he should've considered your fee, your talent alone in court could explain why," she winked and pointed at her.

"I know your firm could provide it to me, am I right?" Wonyoung smiled at the lass.

"Of course, it's what you deserve all along," they both looked at the doorway as someone entered the room.

"Can you hang those on the wall? Thank you," Wonyoung and Chaeyeon watched the guy put it at the desired place and waited for him to leave before proceeding to their conversation.

When they were left alone again, Chaeyeon walked towards the wall and examined the frames.

"Harvard Law School," she muttered and glanced at the woman who's also heading near her. "No wonder why such a young lady would have a huge self-esteem, who wouldn't be proud of this?"

"I am indeed proud, to the point that I deceive my pride with arrogance. The people in my previous firm could make a great storyline out of it." Wonyoung faced the older one and smirked. "When I'm just actually looking back at my past achievements and appreciating it more than everyone else would." Chaeyeon let out a giggle, continuously agreeing with the younger's words.

"This place looks nice, it's just perfect," Wonyoung went near the glass wall to stare at the view outside the building. "Especially the interior, it's all pastel pink and purple. It seems well-designated."

"Actually, your fiance planned this entire design," Chaeyeon confessed.

Wonyoung crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow. "Since when?"

"Mr. Watanabe called me last month about transferring you here, but he never told me the reason," the older woman shrugged.

"Haruto told me that he wants to give a chance to his other associates in the firm," she sighed. Chaeyeon chuckled at Wonyoung's sentence. 

"It's because you have an invincible record of won cases. Don't worry, your position is secured here. I know you were almost promoted to Senior Associate in your previous law firm. I might check on that and make it happen in no time," she patted Wonyoung's shoulder.

"I'll send you your first case tomorrow. You could go and rest already. See you around, Attorney Jang!" Chaeyeon gave a smile to her before leaving the office room.

Wonyoung sighed and glanced again at the glass window. "Tomorrow will be another typical day for me."

"Good morning, Attorney!" A bunch of office workers are greeting Wonyoung once she'd stepped inside the building. She replied with a warm smile on her face as she escorted herself to her office.

She never felt this warm environment for a long time. Her co-workers from the previous law firm used to be friendly with her, but as the time went by, they became cold and aloof towards her.

Wonyoung isn't worried about experiencing the same thing in this new habitat. She's used to the former times and it's not an actual bothersome to her anymore.

When she entered her office, she sat down and dialled on the telephone to order a cup of coffee. 

Wonyoung waited for a few minutes for it to arrive. A man set foot in the room with a 

coffee cup on one of his hands and a pile of papers on another. 

"A pleasant morning, Attorney Jang Wonyoung!" the guy cheerfully greeted the woman. 

"Watch out, the coffee might spill," he carefully handed it over to Wonyoung as she sat on her swivel chair and proceeded to open the lid.

"I am Mr. Shin Hoseok and I'll be your secretary from now on. You can just call me Hoseok," the man fixed his tie as he introduced himself.

"People here would prefer to be informal, I see," Wonyoung nodded with her realization.

"Good observation, Attorney. I think everyone here is friendly. Aren't you used to this?" 

"This is just my second law firm and my second year in this field. Comparisons are still insufficient so I couldn't tell much," she pouted. "Anyway, you can call me Wonyoung, whatever you like." 

"Chaeyeon is right, you're still young but you talk better than most of the adults out there," Wonyoung giggled and shook her head. 

"What's that paper you're holding?" she pointed out the bundle of paper on Hoseok's arm.

"Ah! This will be your first case in this firm, Wonyoung," he toned down his voice, making it look suspenseful to the woman.

"It's not just an ordinary case," he swayed his index finger to emphasize its particularity.

Wonyoung leaned forward and grinned. "Really? What kind is that?"

"It's Cause Célèbre," her eyebrows furrowed when she heard the term. "Have you ever defended one?"

"I haven't, it's new to me," Wonyoung frowned and tidied up her blazer coat. "I might not also recognize the celebrity but let's give it a try."

Hoseok passed the papers to Wonyoung. She flipped the pages to skim-read it.

"The case of Ahn Yujin, who's accused of murder of her uncle Bae Hyunmoo. Do you know her?" 

Wonyoung got startled on skimming and glanced up at the man.

"Y-Yes, her name rings a bell," she bit her lip.

"As expected of that girl. Everyone knows her. I guess you're not that lost in the showbiz world, huh,"

"Not that I recognize her because of her popularity."

"Pardon?" Hoseok looked at her with confusion on his face.

Wonyoung sighed and gulped and proceeded on attempting to explain. "I know Ahn Yujin because she's my-" ex-lover. She cleared a few times before she could even finish. "I-I mean, she's not just a random celebrity to me."

how's the first chapter? let me know on the comments!