Baek Ha Rim

i put my red lipstick on, finally finishing up my makeup look. we four girls were currently in one room prepping ourselves for the event tonight.

"i'm done." i looked at myself in the mirror one last time.

"i guess i'll go back to our room to get changed." i spoke, putting my items back in my makeup bag.

"already? are you sure you don't wanna glam up even more?" shin ah asked.

"no, i'm good. i think i'll see you guys later in the event. i wanna go get some fresh air." i spoke.

"alright! see you later!" they waved me goodbye.

i got out and immediately rushed towards changkyun's room the moment i closed the door behind me.

unlocking his room with the key card, i made my way in swiftly. to my relief, changkyun's towering figure immediately greeted me as he probably already anticipated my return.

"i'm done getting prepared." i spoke.

we looked at each other for a few moments before he finally blinked and nodded his head.

"do you have what i asked you?"

changkyun cleared his throat and pointed right behind him.

"it's there. i laid it out on the bed." he spoke.

i quickly moved away from changkyun and went towards the bed to see for myself.

"thank you." i expressed my gratitude the moment i saw the maid uniform he got for me.

"my pleasure. your makeup looks good on you by the way." he added a compliment.

i smiled at him and rolled my eyes.

"how did you get this by the way?" i asked.

"come here."

changkyun immediately led me to the bathroom. opening the door, there, i was able to see one of the hotel maids all tied up and unconscious in the bathtub.

"i ordered room service and immediately used a sedative on her. she's all knocked out so you can go ahead with your plans while i keep watch of her the entire night here." he said.

"that was quite risky... i'm really grateful, kyun-ah." i gave him a pat on the back.

"you should go ahead and get changed into her clothes. i'll wait outside here."

"alright then. i guess i should." i agreed.

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i walked out fully changed into the hotel maid's attire. seeing me, changkyun finally put the tv remote away and stood up from the bed.

"i guess i'll get going now-" i spoke.

"hold on." changkyun stopped me and pulled out something as he took a few steps closer.

"i got this for you. you, clumsy girl, should never forget to wear this." he brought out a disposable mask and carefully attached it to my face.

"the other hotel maids wear it so i'm sure they won't suspect you for it."

"thanks." i finally touched the mask sitting on top of my face and secured it in place.

changkyun looked at me and crossed his arms as his eyebrows raised.

"now tell me. what is it that you want to achieve tonight?" he asked seriously.

"i'm going to hold chae hyungwon hostage for tonight. it'll create some buzz for sure and it would reach mr. chae. through this, i may finally get to face him one on one."

"really? and you're so sure this would work? what if you get into trouble and hurt yourself?"

"don't act like we haven't done this before. we've held someone hostage together when dad sent me out to help you. worse, we went against a gang. now you're also here, what more could i ask for? our duo would work out fine."

"exactly. that's why if you need me, you should ask me for help. i'm really worried."

"don't be, the people here are just a bunch of richies who probably don't do dirty work and can't fight. i'll catch them off guard for sure and get chae hyungwon myself."

"alright, take care and be safe." changkyun reminded.

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the night has finally started. at 8 o'clock pm, everyone had already assembled inside the ball room. i realized that i actually had no chance of getting inside the venue because i had to blend in with the other maids and clean the halls or the vacant rooms.

i looked at the people flocking towards the grand ball room, taking a subtle peek every now and then. however, i also did my best to avoid locking eyes with anyone of them. 

"let's go?" my partner suddenly asked. we were both supposed to clean a room in the 5th floor. 

"yeah... sure." i nodded and looked away from her immediately. 

together, we pushed the cart containing our cleaning tools and supplies as we entered the elevator, leaving the ground floor.

Chae Hyungwon

"sir, miss kwon sent you a message asking if she could come here and join the company's short staycation." my secretary spoke handing me my phone which i refused to see.

"what is she asking me for? of course she could. although, you and i both know that i wouldn't appreciate her clinging onto me that very much." i rolled my eyes at the question.

"alright, what should i do sir?" she asked hesitantly.

"leave her alone, she'll do things on impulse anyway. i need to clear my mind, i'm about to give a speech here." i reminded her.

"alright, i'm sorry, sir." she bowed her head and left. 

i breathed out deeply in slight frustration and turned to face the front. from the backstage, i looked at the crowd of people as i waited. they were all members of chae's couture and i was pleased at myself seeing the sight of everyone's presence. it was amazing how i managed to grow the company, and now, we were celebrating our anniversary at this very moment.

it was special to me how we were bound to enter a new milestone and achieve different great things for the brand. 

"now, let us all welcome the ceo of chae's couture. the one and only, mr. chae hyung won!" i immediately got back to my senses the moment i heard the host speak that very line. 

i suddenly heard a round of applause for my anticipated entrance. therefore, i quickly poised myself and made sure i held myself with much dignity and pride to show them all. 

confidently, i walked towards the podium and leveled the microphone towards me. 

"good evening ladies and gentlemen, it is such a pleasant sight for me to have you all gathered here tonight. since this is not the first time we've celebrated our anniversary, i'd like to keep this short and sweet. on this very day, we are celebrating our company's much awaited anniversary. at this moment, i would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to each and everyone of you for being part of the chae's couture journey. may we encounter more moments of success and achieve greater heights for the upcoming years that we will be together." i graciously spoke.

i scanned my eyes across the scene until i unexpectedly caught sight of a man familiar to me below. there, he stood meters away towards my right, carefully observing me at the side as i gave my speech. i was about to brush it off, until i realized that he had already caught my gaze and gave me a little smirk as a sign of acknowledgement. swiftly, i broke the eye contact and turned to face the rest of my audience. 

"of course, let us not forget to acknowledge our sponsors. everyone, the owner of this hotel and my very own cousin. let's shine the spotlight... on mr. yoo kihyun." i turned to face kihyun's direction. 

there, my cousin stood very much pleased with the attention i gave him. the lights centered on him as he turned to the audience and waved his hand lightly with much pride and esteem. opposite to me, he was wearing a luxurious white suit. in his left hand was a glass of expensive red wine.

after receiving a warm round applause and welcome from the people, kihyun turned to look at me, casually holding his glass up to his mouth to sip on his wine. 

"tonight, as we celebrate the fruits of our labor for another year, may we reward ourselves and enjoy the stay. remember, you all truly deserve this. cheers, and may you all have an amazing night." i took one glass of white wine prepared for me on the table beside the podium and held it up in initiation. 

slowly, i distanced myself and gave one last bow to the audience before making my way down the stairs. as i walked around, i greeted various guests and employees of the company. it truly felt wonderful to hear them congratulating me.

playing right at the screens were slideshows of our company, employees, notable designs in our collections, and our various achievements.

"look who we have here." my face slowly fell upon recognizing the familiar voice. 

i slowly turned around and saw kihyun approaching closer. i knew my face was probably looking sour just by the sight of him, but i sucked it in and tried to be civil. after all, he was one of those who successfully made this event happen.

"congratulations, chae. i hope you're having a wonderful time." he smiled. 

"thanks. i sure am." i replied shortly and pressed my lips together as i looked away.

"i'm glad you finally came to me and asked to have your anniversary celebration held in my hotel. after all, this place is one of the best. have you come to take a look around? we actually made vast improvements." 

"i haven't, but judging from my suite alone, i see the effort that you placed. i'd have more time to explore this hotel on the following days of my stay here." 

"sure, go ahead and spend some leisure time. my hotels aren't topnotch quality for nothing. if you want, i could tour you around. next time, you should bring uncle and aunt as well. your mom and dad would be proud of me if they actually saw and experienced this place first-hand." he smirked. 

i faced the other way, unable to look at kihyun in the eye. his loud arrogance was always something that irked me. he must have probably gotten it from his dad. i still remember uncomfortable family reunions with the yoos because they would always find a way to compare me to kihyun. hence, i haven't developed a close relationship with him at all. 

"the ladies here are looking stunning." kihyun carefully scanned his eyes around.

"do they work for you?" he suddenly asked.

"they work for the company. these are all my employees here." i looked at him with unenthusiastic eyes.

"well, i think i better go ahead and socialize— if you know what i mean. i'll see you around, chae." kihyun smiled and quickly excused himself before disappearing from my sight. 

i stood silent on my own, taking my time until i slowly came to realize that i was missing something.

or rather, maybe i meant to say someone. 

i looked through the crowd of people, moving my eyes left and right yet she was nowhere to be found. where exactly was she in this room tonight? 

slowly my feet took me away as i wanted to know.

at that moment, amidst the people and the ongoing celebration, i felt the eagerness to only see her. 

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kihyun's finally here! it's been quite some time since last update, guys!

if y'all don't know yet, i took so much time to update because first, my laptop keyboard got broken and we had to wait to buy a new one because of lockdown. second, my phone also broke the same day as my keyboard did. how amazing. third, college has already started for me~!

i hope you guys appreciate this update~ i have a lot of things to do but i tried to set time and effort to really put this one out for you guys. sorry for keeping you all waiting!

please do vote and comment! stream open mind and losing you as well! 

good night!