5 years ago

(2 year after Chaerin left Korea)

"You are late on rent", the lady spoke. "Again. I cannot keep up with this anymore. Either you pay in full this time around or you empty the place. If you cannot afford to even pay the minimal price I am charging, then leave. There are so many people who make so much more and would be happy to take over"

"Miss Hong, I will have the money soon. I have a new teaching job. Please just two weeks, I'll have the rent ready"

"Its either by end of next week or you empty the place on Sunday", the woman sternly said and walked out.

Chaerin closed the door as she went back inside. Her eyes watered as she wondered how she was going to arrange the money for the house. She opened her account details and saw a $189.68 staring back at her. The rent was $600 and she had no way she was going to be able to gather money.

Dejected and tired she sat down. This money wasn't even enough to last for grocery for the month. Maybe this time around she would have to rely on the food that a nearby charity gave as well.

Tears pooled up in her eyes at the loss of hope. She didn't know how she had reached a point in life where she was struggling to even keep herself afloat. Employment was hard to find and even if she did, her depression made her a terrible worker who often ended up getting fired or removed.

It felt like an endless vortex which she couldn't escape. She laid down as she looked at the empty space around her. She lived out of her luggage and didn't even have money to buy basic furniture. A cheap mattress lay on the ground which she used to sleep. Her clothes were old and ragged and she did not have the money to buy decent stuff.

Beside her luggage, lay empty bottles of depression medicines. The first thing Chaerin had done after coming to the US was seek treatment. But once money started running out, she couldn't afford it anymore and so the meds stopped and she spiraled back into the darkness.

She had to get her act together. She had to do something to get back on her feet. She could not give up this easily. As she sat back up, her eyes fell on the picture of her and her parents. It was clicked when she was 3 and they were briefly living in the US. Behind them was their home.

This home.

A thought went in her mind which she instantly brushed off. What if she sold it? Would that give her money to start over fresh? Its not like she could bear to stay there anyways with all her parents memories anyways. Hesitantly she opened the web and searched up listing agents. Pressing on one source that looked reliable, she called the person whose name was available.

"Hi my name is Shin Chaerin and I am looking to sell a house"

———•••———

Chaerin was going to have a breakdown. She sat in the old house which belonged to her parents as the listing agent prepared it for an open show where people could come and take a look. She tightly held the glass of water to stop herself from going into an state of extreme nervousness or anxiety.

She could barely remember this house. Maybe a faint detail here and there. But her parents always talked about their memories living as an young couple here before they had her. And from those stories, it felt like she knew everything about the place.

"I think I see someone come in", the agent Emma spoke gaining her attention. "I'll greet them and take them around for a tour"

Chaerin nodded and the woman walked out of the house. A few minutes a knock was heard at the door. An Asian couple stood there with a young son as they peeped their head into the house.

"Are you looking for Emma? I think she is giving somebody a tour outside. I can call her"

"No we saw the lady", the man spoke. "But um, do you know the owner of this house?"

"I—I am—Uh I am kinda the owner. Its my parents's house"

Both the man and woman didn't say anything but looked at each other. "Are you Shin Si Mok's daughter?", the man asked.

At the mention of her father's name, Chaerin was stunned. She nodded a little and she saw the most genuine smile pop up on the duo's face as they approached her. "No way", the woman mumbled. "You have grown up so much Chaerin"

"You know me?", Chaerin asked not sure how a random couple knew her name.

"We did yes. When you were this big", the woman smiled, bending a little to indicate a small kid's height. "I used to be friends with your father", the man spoke. "Where is that asshole? How come he is selling this house but doesn't have time to come and see one of his best friends from high school who lives a few blocks down"

As he spoke that, stark silence took over where Chaerin didn't know what to say. "You don't know, do you?", she softly asked.

"Know what?"

"Mom and dad passed away two years ago in a car accident"

———•••———

Chaerin sat with the man in the yard as he held a tissue in his hand. The whole listing thing was completely off her mind now as she sat with her father's old friend.

"We were going to come to Seoul this year", the man whose name was Richard Lee said. "And the first thing I told my wife Marie I was going to do was find your father. Marie kept telling me to go earlier but I kept making excuses about work, about commitments and never planned it. Look where that got me"

"Dad mentioned you once", Chaerin spoke up. "I used to see him open his high school booklet and look at this one particular picture. So I asked who it was and he mentioned it was someone he used to be friends with"

"We were the only two Asian kids in this suburb. And naturally we became friends. Our parents used to hang out together a lot. He became an orthopedic doctor, I became an oncologist. He met your mother who was an international student from Korea and I met my wife Marie who used to work as a nurse in the hospital. The four of us became quiet the best friends. He had you and we were all very excited. Life was good but unfortunately he wanted to go back to Korea once your grandmother passed. We wrote letters initially but as time progressed the monthly letter became semi annual which then became annual and eventually died down"

"He wanted to come visit this house", Chaerin spoke up. "He always said he wanted to go to the part of California he grew up in but never got around to doing it. But after my grandma died here, he never came because he said he couldn't bear to remember the memories with his mother"

"That was a tough time in his life", Richard spoke. "And partly the reason he left with your mother and you. Gave up the best job at one of the biggest hospitals in the US for the sake of his mental health"

"Dad always said being happy was the most important thing in life and nothing came closer"

"Are you listening to your dad though?", he asked.

"What?"

"I can see in your eyes kid", Richard sadly smiled. "You have been through some things and even when you smile, only your lips curve up. It doesn't reflect in your eyes"

"Life's been hard", Chaerin shrugged her shoulder. "I am not going to pretend it isn't. A lot of things went wrong in my life and it all lead me to become the hopeless person I am today. I have become an embarrassment. And it kills me knowing I am disappointing them"

"Frankly I don't remember a lot about you", Richard began. "But I distinctly recall one thing. You were a prodigy. Even at 3 years you once solved a puzzled in the newspaper which I, a doctor with 3 degrees was struggling with. And I remember being in awe of you. I used to say to your parents that you were going to do great things in life and do you known what they said?", with that he paused. "We only want Chaerin to be happy. It doesn't matter to us if she makes it to Mensa or gets a Nobel prize. As long as she is happy, healthy and treats people well, we will always be proud of her"

As those words left his mouth, tears rolled down the girl's eyes. The man pat her back as he sadly smiled. "I think they are very happy to see how strong their daughter has turned out to be. Life can get tough sometimes. Its not always ups right? Just hang in there and you will get out of it. You think you won't survive this but after two years you'll look back and be grateful to yourself for hanging in. What has happened is in the past. Concentrate on what lies ahead for you. The weight of grief will always pull you down but to move with it or against it is entirely your choice"

His words seemed to have a profound effect on Chaerin. Something went off in her mind and she could feel a spark of confidence. Like the kind she used to have when she was young — A strong belief in her own abilities coupled with the trust that she could achieve whatever she wanted to.

"I am going to make that start", Chaerin replied. "I promised my parents I will live a good life and I must adhere to it. I cannot continue living in misery they way I am living now"

"You got this", Richard smiled. "I am so happy I stopped here today. We were driving by and saw this house with a sign and I was surprised to see the house that had been closed all these years suddenly have activity. But I am glad I got to meet you. Si Mok would have been happy to see us having this conversation. You don't know this but when you were 2, I used to be your favourite uncle because whenever I visited, I came with so many chocolates. You mom used to yell at me for spoiling you but I just had to"

Chaerin chuckled as she looked at him. "I am glad I met someone who made me feel good about myself again. Its been a while since I have had a good conversation like this and I am grateful"

"Kid you will achieve everything you want! And about this house, don't worry! I will buy it from you and when the time comes you can return me the money and take it back. You parents lived some of their best years here. You don't want to sell it to someone who will never understand the memories this place has"

"Are you sure this is a little expensive and I don't want you to feel—"

"Kid, trust me!", he smirked. "Being a doctor for over 30 years comes with its fair share of money!"

Chaerin smiled and nodded at him. "Give me some time and I'll come take it back"

"I will wait for that", Richard replied.

"Dad!", a boy came towards them as he stood a few steps away from them. He bowed at Chaerin who returned the gesture. "Mom wants you both to come back in. She said Miss Shin should dine at our home today"

"That's wonderful! Come kid, Marie is a wonderful cook and she makes the best Korean food. Oh and this is", he pointed at the young boy. "My son. He turned 18 this year. Jordan, properly greet her. Now that is your Noona"

———•••———

Chaerin waited in the lobby as she anticipated the arrival of someone. Minutes passed and she could see the security guard looking at her sternly. A few seconds later he walked upto her. "Miss may I know if you have an appointment?"

"I don't", the woman replied. "But I am here to meet Jason. Jason Rowan Coleman. We used to be friends and he knows me. I think he changed his number so I could not get in touch with him so I am waiting for him here"

The security guard did not say anything but a few seconds latter scoffed. "Okay miss if you are paparazzi looking for some scoop on his divorce with his husband, I am going to have you leave this premise"

"No I am not paparazzi", Chaerin yelled exasperated. "And what did you say? Jason and Pier divorced? When? I thought they were doing good. Oh my god"

"Okay no need to pretend to be innocent and act like this is news to you", the guard scoffed. "Now out of the office"

With that he lunged for the woman. Chaerin screamed as she held onto a coffee table. "Let go of the table!", the man tried to pull her along. The woman tho just used both her legs and arms to cling to the furniture like her life depended on it.

All bystanders and members of the staff watched the security guard drag Chaerin who was pulling the table along with her. "LET ME GO! I REALLY AM FRIENDS WITH HIM. WE ATTENDED THE ANIME CON TOGETHER AND ALSO DID SUSHI FRIDAYS WITH KARAOKE AT KOREATOWN. LET ME GO!"

"Yeah our boss is a social butterfly and everyone thinks they are his friend", the guard mumbled and pulled her once again.

"What the hell is happening here!?"

At the sound of a familiar voice, the guard let go of Chaerin who fell along with the table to the side. She immediately stood up, removed the hair off her forehead to face the sound of the voice.

"Chaerin!?" a man said as he looked at her. The former smiled as she nodded. "Long time no see Jason"

"CHAERIN!?", he yelled and ran towards her. "OMG BABE!", he giggled as he took her in a tight hug. "Where did you go? I missed you so much. Anime con without you was boring! I had no one to co-ordinate my Levi Ackerman outfit with!"

Chaerin smiled as she pat his back. "I am sorry Jason, there was so much going on in my life. I needed an escape but I am back now!"

"What happened", he asked in concern. "Let's go, I want to here everything", with that he held her hand and turned back to his secretary. "Cancel every schedule for the day and make a reservation for us at Nobu"

———•••———

Jason slammed his chopsticks in anger as people around them watched this. "He did what? She did what? They did what?", he scoffed. "No way. Ain't no way these bitches played you like this"

Chaerin smiled sadly as she nodded. "This is what happened. And its been two years now so I try not to think much about it but it still haunts me. Every little thing reminds of what was done and its a struggle to get over it"

"I knew he was too good to be true", Jason angrily stuffed a sushi in his mouth. "Jungkook looked like he was the perfect prince but who knew he was being controlled by his devil father. That man has a shit personality and an arrogance so high you could jump from it and commit suicide. That is why I stopped doing business with him"

"They are living their life, its okay now. There is nothing I can do anyways"

"Oh no honey", Jason shook his head. "We don't forgive people in this house and sleep. We stay up and plot revenge. You are going to get back to these snakes exactly the way they got you and then they will know"

Chaerin sighed. "Jason there's nothing I can do. First I need to make my life decent before I can destroy someone else's. I don't have a job and can't keep one even if I get it. I feel so hopeless and shitty, I feel ashamed of my own self"

"Shut up bitch", Jason scoffed. "Ashamed? I better not hear you say that ever again. You are one of the smartest people I know. And this is coming from a tech prodigy who started his billion dollar business at 19 and became one of the youngest billionaires in the world at 26. If I call someone smart they better know they are smart. And whatever you need, tell me, I'll give it to you. Anything that will help you start. How about a million dollars for the month?"

"Jason", Chaerin sighed. "I don't need your money. And I feel shitty asking you for help because I don't want to make you think that is the only reason I got back in touch with you. But I am at the end of my hope now and even at the risk of being selfish, I need someone to hold my hand"

"Chae, you are one of the few people who was my friend because they liked me, not my money. My dad was rich and then I became rich and my entire life I struggled with not being able to identify people's intention. And then came you. You used to buy our tickets for the convention, take me to eat good Korean food and bought me gifts all the time without any expectation of the same favours for me. I remember me wanting to do sushi nights at this high end place in Beverly hills but you refused and took me to this local place inside a Japanese store. All these little things stayed with me and you don't know how much it meant having a friend who listened to me rambling my problems over dinner because they wanted to not because they expected free food at this Michelin star restaurant. Babe I love you and I want you to remember that always. Anything you need, you got it"

"Thank you Jason", Chaerin held his hand a single tear rolling down his eyes. "For being there always. I didn't know if I had people I could seek support from in this mess and it feels nice knowing that you are there unconditionally"

"Always love", he winked at her. "Now, tell me. What can I do for you?"

"I want to do something. Feel worthy of living in this society again. Make my own young self proud. Feel that fire of competing with others and coming out as the best. Become my old self that both you and I remember"

"I know exactly what we need to do for that", Jason smirked. "I want to start an investment company. Put some of the money I earn into a fund which invests in upcoming companies. Why don't you lead the charge on it? Find me companies that will grow in the future and become the next big thing. I'll start you off with $35 million to invest and as we expand, I'll pump in more money. We design a team that can work alongside you — poach the brightest minds from other companies. Give me excellent returns for the next four years and you become the Chief investment officer with 50% partnership"

As she heard this, all breath left Chaerin's body. "Jason this is too much responsibility. $35 million and in my hands?"

"If I have faith in your capabilities, why don't you have some in your own?", he raised an eyebrow. "Plus $35 million is not even that much"

Chaerin fell silent as she heard this. "I don't want you to do this grand stuff just because I came to you for help. Even a small job that can get me on my feet will do", she sighed. "You have the most talented team. People that have so much more experience than I do and are
far more capable of earning you the return you need"

"And those are exactly the people I don't want", he shrugged his shoulders. "I don't need someone who just values my money. I want someone that values me as well. Because people that are only in it for the money will not hesitate to play around with it and ultimately drown it. I need someone like you who has a lot to prove and even more to lose"

As she heard this, Chaerin looked at her feet as she fiddled with her fingers — an action she did when she was considering something seriously. Taking this as an opportunity, Jason bent ahead as he held her hand tightly. "Trust me on this but most importantly trust yourself Chae. You will do wonders. All you need is to take that leap of faith. And even in the most extreme situation if this doesn't work, don't worry. I will never hold it against you. All that matters to me is that you put in your 100%, that's it! So babe, do we have a deal now?"

She gulped before staring at her hand. For a second she kept looking before something went off within her. Taking his hand into a clasp, she shook it as fiercely as she could and Jason smirked because he knew her older self was back. "You have a deal Jason Coleman"

———•••———

1 year ago

Minsk, Belarus

"Chaerin", a soft voice called out.

"Jason", a deep one replied.

"Another year, another green on the balance sheet", he smiled taking the woman in a hug. "You don't disappoint, do you? A record year for Coleman Capital with $845 million in profits. You are crushing it in the game. Oh shit, knock on the wood I don't want to jinx it"

"You will never Jinx it", the woman smiled adjusting her glasses. "Because I don't depend on luck to earn this money. Its purely me and my team and our combined efforts. We make it work. So we don't worry about running out of luck"

"Sheesh woman", he smiled. "You make me reconsider being gay"

Chaerin chuckled as she put an arm over his shoulders. "We could have had this congratulatory dinner in New York as well. Why make me come all the way to Belarus?"

"I have a gift", the man began with a smile on his face that meant pure evil. "I made a friend about a year ago. We met on a Yacht and hit it off well. And I want you to meet him. I believe you and him could have an amazing conversation", with that he nodded at his assistant who made his way towards the door.

A few seconds later a man walked in fastening his suit as he made his way towards the table. "Mikhail Dovhal", Jason stood up as he greeted the man. The said stranger hugged back tightly as he spoke with a thick accent. "Meet my friend and business partner Grace. Grace, this is Mikhail — the president of the European Steel Commerce and Regulations"

"Mikhail, pleasure", she shook his hand, knowing exactly why Jason introduced her to this man. "The pleasure is all mine Grace", he answered and kissed the back of her hand. Chaerin looked at Jason who had a mischievous look in his eyes as he acted starstruck at this gesture.

"Now, let me tell you why I set up this dinner. Mikhail wants to help you and he has a proposal", he smirked as he looked at the man. "Miss Grace", Mikhail took over. "Let me tell you very simply what I do as president of the Steel Commerce council. I control who trades in Europe and who doesn't. And I hear from Jason that you are very interested in bringing over a few steel companies here"

"I am very interested Mikhail", she smirked lifting her knife. "But before we begin discussions, tell me one thing. At a given point how many companies are allowed to manufacture and sell steel in Europe?"

"A fixed number. We keep our steel business very exclusive. Every year a limited number of licenses get distributed and equally get cancelled. Its a zero sum game"

"So", she continued circling the beef in her plate with the knife. "For someone new to enter wouldn't an existing player have to leave?"

"Absolutely", Mikhail smirked. "We cannot compromise on our exclusivity. If I need to make way for your companies to get in, I must remove another to keep balance"

"Very well", she smiled. "How about you let me decide who leaves and then we can take this discussion forward in a way it benefits the both of us", she said and stabbed the meat with her knife.