all the male idols i've mentioned in my story are Out Of Character. 

track 07 - Therefore I Am

2 days ago

"sir, the team leader called soojin and talked, just as you ordered."

"good. she must never suspect we have him. have you got something?"

"well, this guy was right, soojin doesn't care about your money or status. in fact,  she wants to destroy all your assets. "

"and that's exactly what i suspected..." mr.cho chuckled bitterly as he recalled what soojin said a few hours ago, and leaned back, "insurance? no, soojin, it's a weapon you're using against me."

"very unlikely though. you have to be a genius to be able to make it look like you are doing what's in the best interests of the corporation while in reality destroying it on purpose."

"but she's shrewd and cunning. i can't take that risk."

"right... i thought we were so close to win this. but we tortured the leader only to learn the file he got was just another copy. turns out, all this time soojin has been carrying everything in a usb drive that she keeps from everyone else. all that effort was for nothing."

"damn it! so humiliating to be wrapped around her finger."

"but i don't get why you would acknowledge her as your daughter."

"i'm trying to stall her, hwiyoung. she gave me only two weeks, and two weeks has flown by. now before the shareholder meeting, we need to get rid of this burden. so, i'm ready to hear the plan B you mentioned."

a smug smile spread on hwiyoung's face, "then it's time to disarm her"

"i'm listening"

"you'll leak this copy and confess to your crimes"

"what the hell?"

"if you do that,  i can get you out of the jail in less than six months, and-"

" no, we'll surely face an immediate fall in price. so no ."

"listen, i'll make sure certain shareholders believe you won't dump them, and that you will come out soon. and of course my dad would gladly help you. trust me, the share prices will not drop. also you will leak not all of it, but only part of it. because the lawyer said she doesn't really have hard evidences proving some. so you can deny them if she leaks the rest. "

"let's say the police arrested me, then what? soojin will claim my position. what's the point of it?"

"miyeon"

"she doesn't give a , i gave up on her."

"i'll get her here"

"you? sure, this plan stinks."

"yet  this makes more sense, comparing to losing all your assets. "

"look, son... i have no doubt you can get me out of the jail, but i'm not that sure you can convince miyeon to turn back and handle this now."

"don't worry, i assure you, she will do. more than that, she will be my wife."

"how ?"

"i will explain. but first order your men to find where she is."

"already know where she is."

"then i'm flying to paris today."

"fine, but be aware that miyeon is the key of your plan, so don't mess this up.  and leave the marriage thing out of it for now . also nobody - well, except that shareholders - must know about this, got it? now, get her here before the meeting ."

***

the unstoppable morning arrived after the dark gloomy night, the sky was painted in hues of silver and gold, sunbeams flooding over the rooftops as if wanting to show the certain allure of paris.  miyeon needed a few more hours of blackness. but it can't be helped, shiny mornings comes daily.

having prepared in a few hours, she was out, walking down one of the cobble lined streets of paris - the street that harboured with cafes, eateries, and independent boutiques. she was on her way to the world-famous L'As du Fallafel for breakfast. hearing the leaves crunched under her feet, she breathed in the fresh air and thought maybe the world would have been a better place if humans had knew how to love and protect nature. or they just need to learn to love.

and with this loving heart of hers, she couldn't hate her best friend, her sister, soojin. yesterday she saw the news about her father and soojin. she knew that her father did not know who and where ivy was, and that's why she guessed that soojin had revealed herself. this also proved that her intuition about soojin was correct. soojin was up to something, she lied miyeon for this cause. miyeon's broken heart, however, was still filled with love. she had thought it all over. she had thought all night from soojin's point of view and only come to this conclusion; soojin had her reasons. but she could have just been honest with her in the first place, miyeon was thinking hard to understand why she would lie.

she shook her head, "i should go back soon, something is wrong."

it was early in the morning, so the cafe was not too crowded. she stood in the front for a second, observing the menu by the window. then someone tapped her on the right shoulder, she looked that side but no one was there. and he appeared from her left side.

"hi"

"hwiyoung?"

"you should definitely have the traditional falafel with spicy sauce. and hummus, of course. let's go."

hwiyoung walked in right after. and miyeon followed him, confused. they sat down at a table in the corner. after giving their orders, hwiyoung took out his laptop and put it on the table.

"hwiyoung, why are you here?"

"to show you something"

he opened the file and turned the screen toward miyeon to let her see. miyeon looked it up, and was not so surprised. because she already knew half of it, but hadn't been able to do anything yet.

"as you can see, these are the crimes your father's committed. and your father got this from soojin. she's blackmailing him."

"soojin?"

"yes, she's been gathering all this information for years. and for the past two years, she learned too much through you. and she wants the company, not to run it, but to bankrupt it."

and there suddenly, miyeon had a flash of the night she had fight with soojin. she remembered what soojin whispered to her .

'i'm going to take everything from you. your company, your life, your smile... you and your family will never see the light of day.'

"oh no, soojin... why..." she got a faraway look in her eye and fought back tears with a lump in .

miyeon cared about neither the corporation nor her father. she could just ignore everything because she was earning her living as a fashion model, after all, and had got a lot of savings. she really wanted it for a second, she really wanted to leave everyhing and run away. but she knew the bankruptcy of the corporation meant many employees would lose their livelihood. this was not a game, other lives were involved. and plus, there were some people she might miss. she won her fight and didn't cry.

"okay, i'll just get to the point," said hwiyoung, "i learned all about this secretly. nobody, including your father, knows that i know what's happening. mr.cho thinks that soojin just wants the seat, which is why he'll probably accept the deal and appoint her as ceo at the meeting. but do not worry. i'm here to help you."

"but, how did you find me?"

hwiyoung put the laptop into his bag as he saw the orders were coming, "i got my ways" he said. after the waiter had left, he continued.

"anyway, now you have two options: first one, i will leak this, your father will go to jail and you will take over the company -  but on one condition.  the latter, you won't do anything, you will watch your sister screw everything up, and eventually, she will probably hand the file to the police, and your father will go to jail anyway."

"wait, stop, what the hell are you talking about?"

"miyeon-ssi, i know that's a lot to swallow, but you need to focus."

"no, i get it all. that's the point, i get it, but it still sounds ridiculous. also, what is that condition?"

"you have to marry me"

miyeon arched her eyebrows and forced a smile,  "what a surprise (!)"

"so?"

"i thought things were good with you and my father. how did it all come to this?"

"doesn't matter. i don't care about anything but you miyeon."

"you seem to forget you're younger than me"

"miyeon-ssi..."

"and you really do expect me to believe you, don't you? "

"i'm not lying, she is climbing all over your neck."

"maybe... but you can't make me believe that you're stabbing my dad in the back. that's impossible, you are like a dog. you're owned by him."

"better watch your words"

"and if i don't?"

"miyeon...-ssi. you gotta believe me."

"hwiyoung, please don't waste my time and tell me your actual plan."

", fine! here's the truth..."

hwiyoung reluctantly told her the plan B and about the conversation he had with mr.cho the other day. miyeon listened to him cautiously as she took a bite and chewed it quite a while to enjoy her meal, but wasted effort. she was frustrated and had a temper, hence the lack of appetite.

"how on earth could he still try to get us married, even in this situation?"

"he didn't. i wasn't supposed to bring it into this. but  i love you so much that i believed this would work out. i'm trying everything. tell me, what should i do to get you to marry me?"

"all right, selfish boy, listen up..." miyeon stopped eating and quickly wiped , "... here's option three; you'll do everything just as you and your owner planned, nice and natural. and i'll take care of the company. but you won't help him get released afterward. he must stay there and pay for his crimes. instead, you will be busy helping me against soojin's next moves. because if i know her, she won't go away easily."

hwiyoung laughed, "still got your sense of humor, i see."

"i've never been so serious"

"then a big no, why- why would i do this now?"

"i'll marry you"