A few days later, Soojin found herself sitting across from Sungho as they took tea in his office. She had finished moving into his guest bedroom for the time being, and he had asked her to join him for an afternoon break. He told her that the Shui Xian tea they were enjoying was the most expensive he could get his hands on, and her presence was worth bringing it out to taste. Soojin found it bitter from being steeped too long, and not even the honey could sweeten it up enough to suit her tastes. Across from her, Sungho looked like he was enjoying it greatly, closing his eyes as he held the cup up to his mouth and inhaled the steam. Even rich people’s palettes are different than the rest of us, Soojin thought bitterly.  

She didn’t say anything about the taste and continued drinking to match Sungho. She took advantage of the lull in the conversation to take a glance around the office.

Sungho had told her that this used to be his late uncle’s office, as his father never gave him his own in their company tower since Sungho lived abroad. Soojin noticed that most of the decorations had been unchanged, with the uncle’s degrees and old family photos still lining the walls. From this she gathered that Sungho must not be a person who cares much about business, despite his fussy appearance. He seemed much more like someone who enjoyed the benefits of business without ever having to work a day in his life.

To further this assumption, she noticed that Sungho had empty coffee cups stacked in the corner of his side table, while old snack wrappers filled the trash bin. Sungho’s desk was covered in dozens of papers waiting for his approval or critique, a messier situation than Soojin would have expected from the son of a late CEO who was well known for his meticulous nature.

Sungho finally put his empty teacup onto the desk with a muffled clink, letting out a sound of satisfaction. He leaned back into his chair, stretching his arms high above his head. He acted more like he was having tea with an old buddy than a stranger he hired to be his pretend fiancée.

“I was impressed by your abilities at the funeral. By the end of the night, even I began to forget that you aren’t actually my fiancée.” He said with a laugh.

“Thank you.”  Soojin took another sip of the astringent tea. She could feel it drying out as she drank it, almost like it was driving her to take another sip just to feel hydrated.

“Those sorts of skills take years to hone, am I correct?” He inquired.

“You are.” Soojin nodded. A pleased smile spread across his face.

“You know, my mother had many kind things to say about you. You’re meeting with her this afternoon, correct?”

“Yes, at three.” Soojin had mentally prepared herself for Taeha all morning, knowing the older woman would probably grill her like an interrogator later that day.

“I’m glad she’s already taken a liking to you. She couldn’t believe that I had found a woman like you and somehow didn’t scare you away.” He said it with a chuckle, but Soojin could sense some history there.

“Have you scared away many women in the past, Sungho-sshi?” Soojin inquired with a raised eyebrow.

“Women…men… I’ve had my share of failed romances in my youth.”

Sungho waited for a surprised reaction from Soojin, but her expression remained unchanged, so he continued.

“By the end of most of my relationships, I think I enjoyed being wanted more than being had. I think it’s just my nature, I guess. Maybe that is something we have in common?”

Soojin hummed, like she was deeply considering his comparison. She could lie, but often the truth was the best way to get more information out of her clients. The best mask was one with a layer of truth behind it.

“I’m not someone who often lets myself be ‘had’ in the first place.”

It wasn’t a lie, and Sungho could tell. He leaned back in his chair again as he laughed at Soojin’s blunt response.

“You didn’t seem the type. I can’t imagine you letting a man limit your freedom.”

He wasn’t wrong. Soojin didn’t have the time for suitors due to the nature of her job, and truthfully, wasn’t even sure how to navigate a relationship that wasn’t formed on a basis of lies and money. But she would never admit that, of course.

“It’s just my nature, I guess.” Soojin repeated Sungho’s words back at him, much to his amusement. He finally leaned forward, crossing his arms on his desk as he settled.

“I find you so fascinating, Soojin-sshi.” Sungho’s gaze met her own, finally trapping her full attention. His eyes were focused and sharp, a quick turn from the relaxed and playful self he had shown only moments before.

“Do you?” Soojin challenged.

“I want to know more about you… to help our little act, of course. It’s only going to get more difficult from here” Soojin understood the curiosity, as Sungho was far from the first client who had tried to get closer, but she could also tell that there was an undercurrent of something else in Sungho’s proposal. It piqued her curiosity.

“There isn’t much to know. Anything you needed to know was in my company profile when you hired me.” Soojin finally finished her tea, putting it down on the mahogany desk with a graceful tap. She hoped it was the first and last time she would ever have to drink it.

“You don’t like to speak much, do you?” Sungho said as he glanced towards her empty cup.

Soojin wasn’t one for many words, both in her personal and professional life. She found it easier to stay as much of a blank canvas as possible for her clients. She never had a complaint about it before.

“I prefer listening.”

Sungho looked amused at her answer again, like Soojin was a child who said something droll.

“Lao Tzu did once say ‘Silence is a source of great strength.’ Do you see yourself as a strong person, Soojin-sshi?”

Soojin had to stop herself from rolling her eyes. Sungho’s faux-intellectual façade so obvious that it was almost laughable. Rich men were always like this, quizzing women with silly quotes and useless pieces of information. It was always the ones with no common sense or idea of reality that thought the words of dead philosophers were worth anything. She had to continue playing his game, however, if she wanted this job to be a successful one.

“Machiavelli said, ‘Appear as you may wish to be,’ so if I appear to be strong to you, wouldn’t that make me so? I believe ‘Fake it until you make it’ is a common saying in English to express this same sentiment.”

Sungho looked impressed by her knowledge, and Soojin felt a flash of victory as she matched him word for word. She could tell she was beginning to earn his respect.

“You know, some argue that the way we appear to others—our external self—is more real than the way we see ourselves within our hearts, so you might be on to something, Soojin-sshi. And knowing your profession, I’m sure you would agree with the sentiment. Perhaps instead of a single tangible self, all we are is the amalgamation of the ways others view us?”

Soojin took a moment as she thought it over. Sometimes late at night she pondered her own existence as a person with no real identity. Actors often spoke about how their roles would seep into their own lives, changing their personalities for better or worse. For her, she sometimes wasn’t sure that she even had a life that her roles could taint. She was blank slate ready to be overwritten by whatever was necessary that day. For her, ‘self’ was just a thing to be molded and reshaped again and again like clay.

“I think that’s a question only you can answer yourself, Sungho-sshi.” She finally replied, and it looked like he was satisfied with her answer as he hummed in agreement.

Sungho finally leaned back again, the cool and focused look in his eyes disappearing as quickly as it appeared.  

“You know, I think you would very much enjoy speaking with my little sister Shuhua. She has her own unique way of seeing these things that you might fine quite refreshing.”

After their first meeting, Soojin wasn’t sure that Shuhua would ‘very much enjoy’ speaking with her, but the aloofness of the girl was definitely something Soojin was intensely curious about.

“Does she?”

“If I’m correct about you and I sharing the same sort of disenchantment and cynicism with humankind, then I also feel like you would be equally charmed by someone who completely lacks that scepticism. Maybe you two could teach each other a few things, who knows?”

“If you think it would be beneficial for the assignment to get closer to your sister, I can try.”

“It couldn’t hurt to try.” Sungho reasoned.

“What if she doesn’t like me?” Soojin asked. She didn’t want to tell Sungho about the moment they shared at the funeral, so she had to be careful about her questions.

“She will, I have a feeling. And if she doesn’t, just ask her about her dogs. She’s so in love with them that she would probably talk to a rock for hours if she thought it was interested in hearing about her pets.”

 Sungho laughed at his own joke before checking his watch. Soojin glanced at the clock on the wall and noticed that it was already almost quarter to three.

“You should get going. My mother doesn’t like to wait.”

--

Soojin was escorted to the courtyard of Sungho’s family home, a beautiful and peaceful spot one wouldn’t expect to be in the heart of Seoul. The home was a modern masterpiece of a mansion, and at the heart of it lay Taeha’s garden. The actress was well known to the public as a woman with a green thumb, but Soojin never expected this level of extravagance when she imagined the woman’s garden.

Taeha was standing by a beautiful stained-glass table, arranging a newly cut bouquet as she waited for Soojin to join her. She was wearing a simple white sweater and faded jeans under her green patterned apron, but Soojin had a feeling her outfit cost more than what Soojin made in three months. Even without her expensive shabby chic clothing, Taeha carried herself in a way that no one would mistake her as just another middle-aged woman. She was a star and she made sure others always knew that.

Unlike the meeting of equals between her and Sungho, Soojin immediately knew that she was on lower ground than Taeha. She had to prove herself quickly or be thrown away.

“Soojin! It’s so nice to see you again. How are you doing, dear? Adjusted to the time difference yet?”

Taeha put down her shears before she gave Soojin a welcoming hug. Soojin had been so busy trying to figure out Sungho’s family that she almost forgot she was supposed to have just flown in from Europe a few days ago. Key word almost, because this wasn’t her first rodeo. She immediately got herself back into the groove.

“Thankfully I think I’m finally adjusted now. Sungho and I had a pleasant afternoon tea, so that should help me stay awake as well.”

“That sounds wonderful. I’m so grateful that he has you by his side as he goes through this trying time. Losing a parent is one of life’s greatest difficulties. Despite our complicated relationship, Sungho really adored his father.”

Taeha sounded wistful, her attitude much less upbeat and performative than she had acted at the funeral.

“Again, I am really so sorry for your loss.”

“Save the apologies for my son. He needs them much more than me.” Taeha said with a tight smile that never reached her eyes.

“Enough about that. Tell me about yourself, Soojin. I want to know everything.”

“Where should I begin?” Soojin was content with letting Taeha take control of the conversation, and the ol