Chae Hyungwon

i focused my eyes on my phone as minhyuk was driving. i had brought the yellow umbrella with me, and now i was wondering how i'd reach its owner.

"sir, why did you buy the ingredients yourself when you could assign a helper back in the house?" minhyuk looked at me through the car's mirror and asked.

i looked up and took a moment before deciding to answer him.

he was trying to spark a conversation with me once again and this was something i did not appreciate about minhyuk as a driver.

"i just felt in the mood to do so." i spoke.

"ahhh. for what are those ingredients, sir?" he asked again.

"eun gyeol's dad wants me to cook dinner for them to see how good i'd be for his daughter once we get married. he said it's not enough only eun gyeol knows what to do inside the house." i answered.

"oh. will you be okay with that, sir?"

i sat still, looking at him through the car's mirror thinking that his concern was unnecessary and his questions were too many.

"it's a way to impress them. her helpers will assist me on what i could cook with these anyway. her family is quite big so i'd be cooking for several people. obviously, i can't do it all by myself." i spoke again.

"okay. how about the marriage, sir? will you be okay wi--"

"you know what?" i cut him off in a firm tone and put my phone down.

"i think you should stop being so nosy into my matters and just focus on driving." i sternly spoke, staring at minhyuk coldly.

"ah, y-yes, sir..." minhyuk was now looking tensed because i called him out, but i simply did not have the energy to deal with him any more.

i'd rather save that energy to face the kwon family instead.

Baek Ha Rim

i finished showering, so i got out and changed into new clothes. i combed through my long straight hair, and decided to have it air dry on its own as i opened my laptop to check my emails.

looking closely, i refreshed the tab until i finally found the most recent email chae's couture had sent me.

bracing myself for whatever news i may receive, i took a deep breath and released the air as i bravely clicked on their email.

"...oh my gosh." i brought my hands to my mouth in shock.

i made it.

i was accepted for the job.

i kept staring at the email and reading it over and over again. the heavens seemed to be working in my favor.

"i'm gonna be part of chae's couture's marketing team... i can't believe this." i chuckled, but still felt great that my plans were going well.

i put on my slippers and hurried out of my room so i could tell mr. and mrs. baek the good news. they would be so proud of me, most especially mr. baek, who despised the chaes as much as i did.

i walked downstairs but noticed how mr. and mrs. baek were watching an evening tv show along with wonho and changkyun. i came closer towards them and fixed my eyes on the screen.

"that man.. he has the guts to guest on a live talk show as if he was some famous celebrity. his fans are also stupid enough to enjoy this and keep supporting him." mr. baek pointed to the tv, feeling peeved.

it was none other than mr. chae; chae hyungwon's father who was a politician.

back in 2002 when i lost my parents, mr. baek won as mayor. but on the 2006 elections, he was eventually replaced by mr. chae because they pressed charges on him for manipulating the number of votes.

other than that, they believed he was engaged in drug trafficking which mr. baek also denied.

of course, i would stand by the man who had saved me. i wouldn't believe mr. baek was really capable of those acts because he raised me well even if i wasn't his real daughter.

if anything else, i believe it's the chaes who like to play dirty.

mr. chae is here getting away with everything. he is already on his 4th term as mayor of our city, and people still praise and admire him being unable to see what lies beneath his facade.

on the other hand, his son owns a big company which established his name in the fashion industry quite easily.

hearing their names and seeing their faces on every form of media never fails to make my blood boil.

wonho suddenly turned his head and saw me behind them.

"looks like seo ha rim is here." he said.

everyone turned their heads to see me, but mr. baek shot a piercing glare at wonho.

"son! it's baek ha rim! i can't believe you're still trying to get in trouble with me by calling her that. if you don't like being called hoseok in this household, then i'd like you calling ha rim by our family name as well."

"your son has a point, she's still seo ha rim. she's not our real daughter anyway." mrs. baek butted in.

changkyun looked at me worriedly, so i swallowed hard before speaking and attempting to ease the tension.

"dad." i called out.

mr. baek turned to me, raising both eyebrows signifying his interest in what i had to say.

"i got accepted as marketing associate in chae's couture." i spoke.

everyone's face in the room suddenly lit up, and i took it as if they were actually impressed i made it into chae hyungwon's company.

"wow... sweetie, that's great!" a smile started to form on mr. baek's face.

"great? have you lost your mind? why are you gonna work for our enemy's company?!" mrs. baek questioned.

"honey, calm down. ha rim is smarter than you think." mr. baek smirked, feeling confident about the situation.

"what do you mean, dad?" wonho asked.

"she entered chae's couture with a hidden agenda. she's gonna bring the chae family down and she's starting with hyungwon." mr. baek answered.

"okay, how?" mrs. baek continued to question.

"i'll see what i can do. i will also gather information that can lead to my parents' murder case." i said.

"are you kidding me? chae hyungwon is the owner of that company and you're a mere marketing associate. how can you guarantee getting closer to him?"

"mrs. baek, if i had these intentions, it's best if i go as someone insignificant to the company so i could hide myself or disappear easily. i'm willing to wait no matter how long this revenge of mine will take."

"well i think, only the higher ups who could be trusted by chae hyungwon himself have better chances than you do! do you know who you're dealing with? and why disappear? are you that bold to plan on something such as assassinating him?" mrs. baek once again argued.

at that moment, tears in my eyes were already forming as i recalled how the assassins murdered my parents. however, i blinked my eyes to stop them from falling.

"... if it leads to that point, then why not? i trained for this, didn't i? i despise mr. chae's family so much that i could kill them! that way, he'd feel the pain of losing loved ones." i spoke firmly.

mrs. baek kept silent. she was looking at me like i was someone who had already lost her mind.

"revenge is bitter, huh." wonho spoke out of the blue and stood up to leave the place.

"hon, what do you think of this? don't tell m--"

"yes honey, i like it. i like ha rim's idea. why not put an end to the chae family like that? they've been bothering us for so long that i want them gone already." mr. baek smiled.

the look on his face says that he's amused of my thinking.

"train harder with changkyun so you could be as smooth as the assassins he sent to your house, ha rim-ah." mr. baek said.

"this is crazy. if this plan to get rid of them fails, you're gonna be held responsible for all of this ha rim-ah." mrs. baek glared at me and left the living room.

"well, i think i should go inside my bedroom as well. changkyun, i'll leave ha rim to you." mr. baek shrugged and went off to follow his wife.

i stood still, lowering my head down. i was frustrated that mrs. baek was disagreeing with me.

however, this revenge was still mine anyway.

i could get as light or as aggressive with it if i wanted to.

looking down, i saw changkyun's feet right infront of mine. gently, i felt him hold my shoulders so i looked up to meet his eyes.

"i know you're upset. wanna come to a pub with me? we could eat some meat and drink some soju to ease your mind." he suggested.

"i don't know if that's a good idea for tonight." i said.

"c'mon. you got accepted into chae's couture."

suddenly, he took my hand and dragged me outside the house.

"y-yah!" i tried to stop him but we already got outside the house's door.

we both stopped in our tracks and looked up at the sky realizing it was raining on this evening once again.

"aish..." changkyun expressed his disappointment.

"i have an umbrella, we could--"

i suddenly paused realizing i didn't have my umbrella with me.

"wait.. changkyun-ah, did you see me bring an umbrella when i got home?" i asked.

"no, you only had a hand bag." he answered.

my jaw dropped open realizing what i had done.

"aish!! i left it at the bus stop!" i hit my head with my hand, feeling frustrated.

"it's okay. let's run together using my jacket as a shield. game?" changkyun smiled and lifted up his jacket which was big enough to cover us both.

my eyes drifted from him to his jacket. without hesitation, i smiled and gave him a firm nod.

"game!!"

and with that, changkyun and i both ran for it together.

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hi guys i hope you don't mind that i would refer to wonho as "shin wonho" here! he will only play a minor role anyway hehe, i included him because i miss him already :(

edit: this is my new author's note before publishing! yes, i am aware that wonho's back, yay! that will be stated in the 5th chapter too which will be published next time because during the release of news about wonho, i was on the process of writing the 5th chap actually lol!

anyway, i hope you enjoyed my double update! ☆