Three months ago.

 

What was supposed to be an ordinary day for Minji who was scheduled for factory visits and meetings with investors, turns to a cancellation of everything. Her secretary informed her that Mr. Kim wanted to speak to her in private for an ‘important’ reason. At the call of the king, Minji arrives at the Kim Corp headquarters, seemingly calm and mentally preparing herself for anything.

 

To Minji’s relief, it’s not bad news. Instead, she’s been placed on a very special and secret mission.

 

“You want me to go undercover and get close with the Lee’s heir?” Minji repeats herself, eyebrows raised.

 

Mr. Kim nods, clasping his hands together. “That’s right. When you get close and intimate with that girl, we’ll be able to have easy access onto what the Lee’s are up to. After all…” He trails off and slowly gives a look. “I know my daughter is…more comfortable around women.”

 

Minji freezes. She did not expect her father to find out so quickly. While she has never made it obvious about her preferences but whenever the man mentioned about a future marriage or finding a suitor, it feels like a nightmare brewing in the dark.

 

The man chuckles at his daughter’s reaction. “Do not be afraid my dear. I am not upset. Just…surprised that it has come this way. I had expected you to marry a man in the future. Though it appears I will have to look differently from now on.” He clears his throat and places a brown file on the desk.

 

“Everything has been planned out so that your relationship with the Lee’s daughter will run smoothly. You will have some homework to do as my spies have been enthusiastically gathering a lot of valuable information on the Lees.” Mr. Kim gives a smile. “I’m sure you’ll do a great job.”

 

Minji bows. “Of course, father.” As she turns her heel around, Mr. Kim reminds her that this mission is a secret between father and daughter. Leaving the room with a nervous heart after a subtle warning, Minji is unsure if she can perform well.

 

The woman was never the flirtatious type, let alone a playgirl of sorts. That is more of the Lee’s personality. Whether it be in the papers or social media, seeing the Lee sisters being the talk of the talk is normal.

 

That night, Minji’s schedule was spent in her study chambers, digesting every bit of information about the Lee’s heir and eldest daughter, Lee Siyeon.

 

While only a year younger, the woman is said to display a cold and deadly demeanour. Often charismatic in meetings and a sweetheart around females, she has a different side hidden under the wraps that is only shown to close friends and family.

 

Flipping through the photographs and analysing her facial features, Minji runs her hand across the woman’s face.

 

“You’re a very pretty woman Lee Siyeon.” Minji mumbles to herself. “But will your heart be pretty as well?”

 

Unlike the Lees who have always been showy and open about their private lives, the Kims prefer to lay low. That’s why the public views the Lee sisters as another breed of stars raging with popularity while the Kims love hiding in the shadows, are humble and private individuals.

 

Minji grew up without having the need of cameras shoved in her face all the time. The Kims stressed the importance of protecting the personal privacy and identities of their daughters. Even to this day, no one outside the family know the names nor faces of the three, mysterious Kim children.

 

This of course, makes the plan much easier to execute.

 

By going under another identity as ‘Jiu’, Minji has already crafted her own lies. She will act as a new fashion designer from a small, start-up business. With the help of her father, the ‘company’ is registered legally, ready with a small, empty office in Gangnam. The pieces were all in place.

 

And so, it begins on a Friday night, at the local bar where the Lee sisters usually hang out.

 

It’s tight with security as only guests with invitations are allowed. Minji managed to score an entry with her father’s secret connections. Entering the rather, dark bar that is drumming loud bass music into her body, the woman stands there in awe at the unbelievable sight.

 

On the left, Gahyeon is singing passionately into the microphone as she’s with her friends inside the private karaoke room. On the right, Dami sits in a corner and watches the rock band performing on stage. There are young ladies flocked around her, as if she was a magnet.

 

“Be careful. Your skirt is showing.” Dami frowns and gently places a blanket to cover a woman’s lap. She then grabs a tissue and wipes away a stain on another woman’s cheek. “Your beauty is an asset. Cherish it.” With the simple gestures and comments, it has all the ladies squealing.

 

Minji looks around in search for Siyeon. She isn’t at the main floor nor in any of the private rooms. Feeling anxious with the sudden influx of strangers coming in, the noisy ambience makes it worse. The woman hurries to the stairwell at the end and finds herself at the rooftop.

 

Exhaling into the sudden silence, its empty and plenty of room to breathe. Minji makes it a note that she’s never going to a place like this ever again. Looking up at the night sky glittering beautifully with stars, the woman doubts whether she’ll be able to complete this mission successfully.

 

Flirting and coaxing someone into a fake relationship has never been Minji’s forte. No matter how wrong it felt, she had to do it for the sake of family. To improve business. To build a better future ahead. To…

 

“And what is a fine lady like you doing out in the cold?” A voice calls out from behind.

 

Minji turns around, stunned. She’s spent the whole week studying about this specific woman, staring at her pictures and memorising every single detail of her likes and dislikes – there is she right there.  

 

Lee Siyeon.

 

“Oh.”

 

It’s the only word that manages to come out of . In the end, it is Siyeon who finds her.

 

The Lee crosses her arms. “I’ve never seen you around before. Nor do I remember you being in our party lists. Who…are you?” She eyes on Minji suspiciously.

 

Minji bows immediately “My apologies! I’m actually Jiu. In fact, I’ve been ordered by my boss to research on the Lee’s fashion for an upcoming project and-“

 

“So…for the sake of your project, you found a way to get into this party?”

 

“…Yes.” Minji reluctantly confesses.

 

Siyeon hums in amusement. She’s never seen anyone this honest. Usually, they would freak out, even go on their knees and beg for an apology. But this woman right here is behaving so calmly. It intrigues her.

 

“Fine. I get that everyone wants to join the party cause we, Lees are high in demand. I usually turn a blind eye on cases like this but you…” The woman points at her. “You caught my eye.”

 

Minji knows the moment to strike is now.  

 

“If you’re okay with it, I would like to arrange a meeting with you in private. I’d actually love to interview you and explore the inspirations behind your fashion styles.” The Kim jumps onto the conversation and hands out her name card.

 

Siyeon stares at the name card and lets out of baffled laugh. She can’t believe how shameless this woman is. “Wow. You’re very straight-forward to getting you want.” She smirks. “I like that.” Tucking her hands into her leather pocket and tilting her head playfully, “Very bold of you to already ask me out on a date when we have just met.”

 

 

“H-Huh?…” Minji stutters. “That’s not what I meant. I told you earlier that my boss assigned me to do a research on your-“

 

Suddenly, Siyeon places her finger on Minji’s lips. “Yeah, yeah, I know. No need to repeat twice.” She winks. “Give me your number. I’ll call you up when I’m free.”

 

Three months ago, Minji was spiralled into mission impossible of having to win Siyeon’s heart in exchange of obtaining valuable information about the Lees. With fear of her cover being blown, it actually was a lot easier than expected.

 

Turns out, Siyeon was absolutely smitten in love with Minji.

 

She wasn’t sure if it was because of her beauty, personality or both. After a couple of meetings at quaint cafés and hotels, Siyeon had become to enjoy the company of the woman who was unlike the others. To Minji, she didn’t care about the fact that Siyeon was a Lee. The woman treated her equally and that was what struck a chord in her heart.

 

“Unnie.” Siyeon greets Minji at their regular hotel room, burying straight into her warm arms. “I’m so tired today. Work was hell.” She mumbles, easily pushing Minji straight to bed.

 

Landing right on top, Siyeon falls to the side and clings onto Jiu. Snuggling her head in between her coat and hands instinctively finding hers, she starts pinching it gently and mumbles, “I’m going to stay in this position for awhile.”

 

Minji sighs, letting Siyeon do whatever she wants. “I’ve only known you for a month but in reality, you’re actually a big baby.” Running her left hand through the woman’s hair while her right hand was occupied for Siyeon’s pinching, it’s something that Minji has gotten used to.

 

“Do you…hate that side of me?”

 

“No.” Minji answers as she gets up to cup Siyeon’s face and bring it closer to hers. “Why would you say that?”

 

The couple gaze into each other’s eyes for a second. Their hearts throbbing loudly. It’s an electrifying feeling.

 

“I’m just…afraid that you’ll discard me once I’m no longer of use.” Siyeon mumbles. Drawing circles on Minji’s thighs, the Lee confesses. “Being the eldest in the family, I’ve always been under the pressure to be the best. I’m scared of disappointing people because everyone has high expectations of me.”

 

Surprised at her sudden confession, it was a sign that Siyeon was opening up more doors in her heart. It also showed a glimpse that the Lee’s childhood wasn’t exactly all flowers and roses.

 

“It is your duty as the heir. But Siyeon, I want you to know that when you’re alone with me,” Minji caresses her cheek. “You can be whoever you want. Rant to me. Tell me everything that’s in here.” She pokes Siyeon’s chest.” “I’ll be here to listen all of it.”

 

Those were enough to melt the Lee’s heart. Breaking into a soft grin and then a giggle, Siyeon mutters, “I love you Jiu unnie.” Pecking her lips once, she repeats, “I love you.”

 

Minji smiles in response. “Me too.”

 

As long as Minji had Siyeon had her fingertips, the Kims could continue to spy on the Lees and use it to their advantage. But there was one, big problem.

 

“Yes father, I understand.” Jiu says as she hangs up.

 

“Everything alright?” Siyeon asks. Jiu nods and returns to her side. “Yeah, it’s nothing.”

 

“Hm. Okay.” Siyeon shrugs it off and returns her attention to the comedy program they were watching together. All snuggled in the sheets on a beautiful Saturday morning, it’s her favourite moment of the day.  

 

Whenever Siyeon laughs out loud, Minji finds herself smiling. Whenever Siyeon asks a nonsensical question, Minji enjoys the innocence b through the Lee’s eyes. Whenever Siyeon starts to pinch any of her hands out of habit, it makes her heart thump.

 

Recently, she’s been thinking of this woman a lot more. When she’s back at the Kim mansion. When she’s at work. When she’s chatting with her siblings. All day, every day. She sees nothing but Siyeon in her head. That’s when Minji realises she’s run into a very big problem.

 

She’s already falling very deep in love with Siyeon.  

 

 

---

 

 

For a whole week, a strange enchantment can be heard within the corridors of the Kim mansion. What appears to be an alien language murmuring through the air is actually Bora studying hard to master Mandarin in seven days.

 

Although Yoohyeon offered to help tutor at first, there wasn’t much improvement with the two sisters occasionally bickering. In the end, Yoohyeon simply left Bora with her old textbooks and went about her way.

 

Standing in front of the mirror and practicing her lines, Bora wants this to be perfect. She’s confident everything will go well with Handong. Picturing the whole tour in her head, they’ll spend a wonderful day shopping at Gangnam and forming an unforgettable friendship with a foreigner.

 

“Unnie…?” Yoohyeon peeks into her sister’s room and sees Bora speaking to herself. The girl scoffs at how absurd it looks. Alas, Bora hears.

 

“You’re laughing?”

 

“No! Not at all!” Yoohyeon breaks into a nervous laughter as she takes a step back upon seeing her sister approaching her. “Good luck unnie! You’ll do uh- great!”

 

“You don’t sound sincere at all!”

 

“Oh, come on! I said with my heart and love!” Yoohyeon screams as she runs for her life.

 

In a blink, the day has arrived. At the prestigious Pacific Hotel where the Hans will be staying, she along with Mr. Kim and his fellow board of directors have all gathered to welcome the group. Nervous, Bora tries to relax as she notices the flood of cars slowly arriving at the entrance. 

 

One by one, members of the Han enter. From the officers, secretaries and vice presidents, everyone greets each other formally and are automatically in contact with their assigned guide. For Bora, it’s obviously Handong but the lady has yet to appear.

 

The crowd at the lobby begins to disperse as everyone heads to the ballroom upstairs for a welcoming ceremony. Bora watches as her father meets Mr. Han and ushers him to the venue. It’s just her all alone now, waiting patiently for the final guest.

 

Many thoughts run through Bora’s head. Maybe the daughter decided not to go last minute. Perhaps, she’s sick. Or-

 

Bora hears the clacks of high heels echoing loudly. She lifts her head up. Jaws slowly dropping as her eyes meet Handong entering with her elegent, lavish million-dollar purple dress. Bright, red hair flowing down her bare shoulders and sparkly accessories from head to toe. It’s almost as if she’s a doll come to life.

 

Astonished, Bora’s mind goes blank. She forgot all of her lines. From the pictures, Handong is already beautiful. But now that she’s seen her in real life…Handong is dead-drop gorgeous.

 

“Ni…hao…” Bora barely manages to process a greeting.

 

“Ni hao.” Handong replies with a chuckle, finding the woman’s pronunciation rather cute. Noticing the panic, the lady reassures her with a wave. “It’s okay. I know Korean.”

 

Bora blinks in complete surprise. “…Oh.” Awkwardly scratching her cheek, “I see. Your Korean…is quite good!” And it hits her. “Right! We need to head to the ballroom now. Please follow me.”

 

“Alright just hold on for a second. This dress is so troublesome, it’s very difficult to walk…” Handong mumbles.

 

Bora extends out her arm. “Hold onto me. I’ll make sure you won’t fall.”

 

The Chinese lady looks at her. Bora raises her eyebrows in question. Handong shakes her head and gently grabs her arm. “Xie xie ni.” She says as the two make their way to the lift.

 

For a moment, Bora is disappointed that all of her efforts to learn Mandarin were thrown out of the window. No one told her that Handong could speak Korean proficiently. But that’s fine. In exchange, she’s got herself a very, pretty friend.

 

Shyly stealing glances at Handong, Bora exhales nervously. She isn’t sure why her heart is beating like crazy.

 

---

 

 

Seoul University, one of the most prestigious institutions of the country where only the cream of the top thrives.

 

Driving into the carpark is a white Audi. It halts perfectly in the yellow square. A young lady with pink hair exits and slams the door shut. Everyone knows who she is. The youngest of the Lees, Gahyeon.

 

Today is her orientation and it is obviously something she cannot miss. As she tries to find her way around the campus, she’s lost. “This place is really big!” She exasperates while staring at the board, trying to find where her faculty is.

 

She looks around, hoping that someone would step in to help. But everyone is just giving glances and not offering to help. Of course, her family’s powerful background has the commoners shivering in their shoes. Gahyeon proceeds to text her friends, Arin and Dayoung with hopes that they will help. But there was no reply.

 

Annoyed and not wanting to be late, Gahyeon starts to find a target among the passing students. One look and everyone suddenly pretends she is a ghost. Great.

 

“Hey, you!” Gahyeon shouts, her target locked on a tall brunette minding her own business. “Hey! Do you hear me?! You! The girl over there!”

 

“Huh? Me?”

 

“Yes, YOU!” The pink haired girl approaches the brunette, hands on her waist. “Do you know how to get to this place?” She asks, shoving the phone into her face.

 

“Uh…” The brunette squints her eyes. “Sorry, I’m not wearing my glasses today. Usually I have lenses but I forgot.”

 

“Oh my god, useless!”

 

The brunette scoffs. “Excuse me?”

 

“Don’t just go excuse me! You’re supposed to-“

 

At that moment, someone grabs Gahyeon’s arm. The girl is ready to fight but stops upon realising who it is.

 

“I’m so sorry for the trouble!” Dami steps in, bowing profusely. “My sister is hot-tempered and kind of stressed these days, especially since she’s having her orientation today. Please don’t mind her.”

 

“Uh, sure…” The brunette mumbles. But she stops. Squinting her eyes closer with a blink, “Wait…aren’t you Dami?”  

 

The Lee looks up and recognises the brunette.

 

“…Yoohyeon?”

 

Gahyeon stares at the two. “You two know each other?!”