Soojin was beginning to feel annoyed. She had been out shopping with Taeha all day, helping the older woman pick out patterns for her interior design project when she saw the flashes of bright lights coming from outside of the boutique window again. They had been following them all day, trying to get the best shots they could. The fact they even stalked them during this hours-long thunderstorm meant they were serious. Soojin wasn’t worried about her identity being found out by the paparazzi, but their obsession with “Korea’s most eligible bachelor’s new fiancée” was really getting to her. Didn’t they have anything better to do? She couldn’t imagine being able to sleep at night if she was paid to stalk people all day. Soojin may be a paid actress— she’ll be the first to admit it wasn’t the most virtuous job—but at least she wasn’t a vulture.

“Don’t mind them, darling. They are probably just curious what my next role will be.” Taeha said as she pedantically sorted through ten different silk patterns that looked nearly identical to Soojin.

Soojin knew Taeha was lying just to make herself feel better. The paparazzi had been following the family since Jinhyung’s funeral, and between the patriarch’s death and the son’s mysterious new fiancée, the Park family had been the hottest topic on gossip sites this month. Taeha had been so used to being the centre of attention in the news that Soojin had a feeling the actress was jealous that she was now only a sidenote in the current family drama. If she had a choice, Soojin would gladly trade the attention to Taeha if she could.

After another half hour of shopping, they finally made their way out of the boutique and walked quickly towards their car. Despite the rain, the paparazzi continued following them, taking as many snaps as possible while yelling out questions.

“Have you sorted out the will yet?”

“Has your son moved back to Korea permanently?”

“Is there a baby Park coming in the near future?”

Taeha remained relaxed as they made their way to the car, umbrella in hand. For an actress of her caliber, this must just be another day. Soojin wondered how someone could get so used to this chaos every time they went outside. It sounded like living hell to her. Taeha must have noticed her discomfort, and she grasped Soojin’s wrist firmly as they walked. Soojin wasn’t sure if it was a gesture meant to comfort or to simply make Soojin walk faster. 

Just as they were crossing the road to get to the car, Soojin heard one last reporter yell at them from the sidewalk.

“Taeha-sshi! Will your son take over the company? Or will your ex-husband’s daughter be the next in line?”

With that question, Soojin felt Taeha’s grip tighten on her wrist. It lasted only a moment, but that all Soojin needed to know that the reporter had touched a nerve. Very interesting.

The ride back to the mansion was quiet, but Soojin didn’t mind. Taeha was staring out the window, lost in her own thoughts as she watched the rain come down. Soojin used the time to ponder why Taeha would be so bothered by the question the reporter asked. Soojin knew that the subject of inheritance was always tricky and cutthroat whenever big money was involved. It seemed like rich families were always getting into melodramatic public fights about it. She had assumed that Jinhyung had left the company to his top subordinates when he died, since Sungho wasn’t interested in staying in Korea long term, but perhaps there was more to the story. And how did Shuhua fit into it all? Typically, companies are passed down to the oldest son, so why would the reporter even question the line of inheritance?

Maybe Soojin could kill two birds with one stone if she used her time to get closer to Shuhua. She could earn the girl’s trust while also learning more about what was brewing between Sungho, Taeha, and the family business. But on a more selfish level, she wanted to learn more about the other woman. What she liked, disliked, wanted, avoided. Something about her attracted Soojin more than usual, and Soojin wanted to figure out what it was. Soojin had never faced an opponent quite like this before.

After being dropped off by Taeha’s driver at around 9 pm, Soojin ran through the downpour toward Sungho’s building.  She was excited to change out of her damp, expensive clothes into her comfortable pajamas. Sungho’s penthouse was large enough to give her sufficient privacy to feel comfortable, and she made sure to take the time to appreciate the spaciousness of her bedroom and bathroom. They were both much nicer than her own place. Soojin quickly bathed and changed into the silk pajamas Sungho had given her before walking to the living room, where Sungho was waiting for her in his own night clothes.

Even though it was late, they had a meeting scheduled this evening to catch up on the events of the past few days. Taeha had been taking up all of Soojin’s time while Sungho was busy working on the business side of things, so this was the only time they had to themselves.

Sungho was sipping on some expensive liquor, but Soojin politely declined when he offered her some when she sat on the couch across from him. She never drank on a job unless it was to keep her image in public. She didn’t like how it loosened her up. It made the truth come too easily for her to feel comfortable, so she stayed sober whenever she could.

“How have you’ve been?” Sungho asked, starting off the conversation.

Soojin leaned back into the couch, getting herself comfortable.

“I’ve been busy. But you knew that already.” Soojin said, eliciting a smirk from Sungho.

“It looks like my mother had been driving you into the ground. Should I pay you more for your efforts?”

“It’s not your mother that was causing the trouble today. The paparazzi wouldn’t stop following us around as we shopped… But if you want to pay me more, that’s of your own volition.” Soojin added offhandedly.

“Ah. It was sadly inevitable, due to the circumstances. But I apologize for the extra difficulty. I’ll add a ‘paparazzi’ fee to your charges to make it up to you.”

Soojin didn’t object, and Sungho made sure to write a note to himself on his phone about it.

As he did that, Soojin debated if she should tell Sungho about Taeha’s slip up. Soojin didn’t trust him much, but maybe it would help get more information out of him about the potential inheritance battle.

But after a short deliberation, she decided that she would keep that piece of information to herself, and instead try to get the information with other, more traditional methods. It was time to turn the tables in her own favour.

“You know, your sister thinks I’m a gold digger.”

Sungho raised his eyebrows, obviously surprised by Soojin’s words.

“Did she really say that?”

“Yes. And she told me that I would have to prove my love for you or else she would tell Taeha that I was a scammer. It would all be over.”

Soojin could see the cogs moving in Sungho’s head. She guessed that he had never thought of Shuhua as a barrier to his plans before and was now trying to recalibrate.

“I never thought Shuhua would act like this. She was such an innocent and kind girl when she was younger.”

It was at that moment that Soojin realized Sungho’s mistake. He was gone for the past decade, studying abroad in Europe while Shuhua was left alone in Korea with Taeha. The small girl he remembered was now a perceptive woman, and Sungho hadn’t planned for that. It explained why Shuhua was barely mentioned in his briefings, and that blindspot was why they were now on thin ice.

“She said it was because she loved you, if that makes you feel better.” Soojin added.

“It doesn’t really. If Shuhua tells my mother about you, everything could fall apart. She might not know the whole truth, but any claims of deception could interrupt my plans.”

“And what plans are those?”

Soojin was genuinely curious. It seemed like she was inching closer and closer to the truth behind why Sungho hired her, and her curiosity made her take risks she usually wouldn’t.

“Nothing that would be of particular interest to you. Just focus on convincing Shuhua about us and entertaining my mother until I can return to Europe. It what I hired you for, nothing else.”

Soojin nodded obediently, but in her head, she couldn’t stop thinking about what Sungho meant by his ‘plans.’

She turned to the window, taking in the dark sky and the relentless sound of rain hitting the glass pane as she pondered his words.

She might have stepped into something bigger than she had planned for, and now she was in too deep to run away. Sungho sounded colder than usual, and Soojin didn’t want him to begin to distrust her. Everything she did felt like a balancing game when it came to the Park family, and she couldn’t risk a mistake this early into her assignment. Her reputation was at stake, and she needed the money.

“This rain looks like it’s never going to end.”  Soojin murmured to no one in particular.

Sungho leaned forward to put down his empty tumbler on the coffee table.

“When this rain stops

on the long bank of my heart by the river ferry point

sorrowful grass will darken into a deep green.”

Sungho recited, and Soojin could vaguely remember reading that poem in class when she was in university.

“Lee Su-bok?” She guessed, hoping she could earn more points of respect with Sungho. He looked satisfied with her answer when he nodded.

“Correct. You must come from a well-learned background, Soojin-sshi. Did you study literature in university?”

Soojin realized this was another test, one of many that the Park family had already forced her to partake in. If Sungho figured out which university she went to, it wouldn’t be too difficult for him to eventually find out her real identity. She wasn’t sure why he cared so much about her identity, she really wasn’t anyone interesting, but she knew she had to stay vigilante to his leading questions. None of her former clients ever cared this much about who she was, but Sungho had already proven that he was much more astute than most of her clients.

“I read a lot.” Soojin answered. Sungho didn’t need to know any more than that, and it seemed like he expected that sort of answer when he leaned back again with a resigned sigh.

“You might be one of the most interesting women I’ve ever met, Soojin-sshi.”

“I don’t think of myself as particularly interesting, Sungho-sshi.”

“Oh, trust me. You are.”

The next day, Sungho and Soojin were sitting in the courtyard at the mansion, waiting for Taeha to join them. The older woman had called a sudden family meeting this morning, but hadn’t provided any details in her texts. Soojin wasn’t sure what to expect, so she kept shut and waited for the matriarch to arrive. Sungho was busy on his phone, so he didn’t pay her any mind.

She soon heard movement behind her, but when she turned around expecting Taeha, she instead watched Shuhua march towards their table.

“Good morning, Shushu.” Sungho called out to his sister, putting on a mock-sweet voice that Soojin assumed he used to tease Shuhua.

The girl only scowled at him as she took her seat across from them, arms crossed defiantly Obviously she wasn’t happy to be called to a family meeting so early in the morning, especially one that Soojin would be at. Soojin tried to meet her eyes, but Shuhua looked down at the ground instead.

“Did mother interrupt your beauty sleep?” Sungho asked, watching Shuhua’s sour mood with a smirk on his face.

“I was busy today.” Shuhua grumbled. She didn’t look up when she responded to her brother.

Sungho was about to again when they heard the courtyard gate open and Taeha entered.

“Good morning, my beautiful family.” Taeha said as she finally made it to the table. Soojin took in Taeha’s outfit for the day. The woman looked like she was ready to go for a fashionable drive down to the countryside, with her large designer sunglasses and beautiful wool jacket. Was she planning on going somewhere today?

Taeha took the seat next to Shuhua, completely ignoring the younger woman’s moody aura as she began to talk.

“Let’s get right to business. As you all have noticed, the family has been having problems with the paparazzi and reporters recently. Soojin and I were followed when we were shopping, Sungho’s secretary was harassed by a reporter, and Shuhua was followed home last night.”

Soojin wasn’t aware of what had happened to Shuhua until now, but she could see that the girl was clearly trying to hide how upset she was by the incident. She couldn’t blame her. At the start of her career, Soojin was stalked by a former client, and it had taken her months to feel comfortable again. She felt slightly guilty that it was partially her fault that Shuhua was being followed home.

Taeha continued, breaking Soojin out of her thoughts.

“This is unacceptable, especially as a family in mourning, so I’ve made plans to circumvent this.”

“And they are?” Sungho asked, his eyebrow raised.

“We will be moving to the house in Jeju for the time being.”

Sungho snorted and crossed his arms.  

“That place is a total hovel. I thought father sold it years ago.” Clearly, it was somewhere Sungho did not want to be. Soojin wondered what kind of place a rich brat like Sungho would consider a ‘hovel.’ She was sure her own childhood home would be considered a slum to him.

“Your father often escaped to it when things were too chaotic in Seoul, so he never sold it. The public doesn’t know about it, and I think it would be a wise place for us to stay for the time being and become closer as a family.” Taeha’s reasoning was sound, but Sungho still wanted to argue.

“It’s tiny! How will all of us fit in there? And how long would we stay? I have too many things to get done in Seoul.”

Taeha glared at him as he complained. Shuhua remained quiet.

“I will take the master bedroom; you and your fiancée can have the guest bedroom with the queen-sized bed and Shuhua will sleep in her old room by the docks.”

“Her old room? Wasn’t that mine?”

With Sungho’s complaining, Soojin was starting to understand much more about the Park family dynamics. Sungho saw himself as the prince, and despite his love for his sister, he still beli