Aera took a deep breath, bracing herself before entering Heeseung's mother's office. She would be polite. She would be firm. She would be honest. And most importantly, she would not fall apart. 

She opened the door to the office, finding Mrs.Lee, the Chairwoman, Heeseung's mother, at her desk. 

In her mind, she grappled with which name to think of her as. Maybe... Chairwoman Lee? She truly had no idea. Maybe she'd just never have to call her by name, that would work. 

"I see you haven't broken up yet," Mrs.Lee said, not glancing up from her paperwork. "Do you plan to in the near future?" 

"No ma'am," Aera said softly. 

"How strong do you think your love is? Is it even love, or mere infatuation? I think you should think deeply about this. Is it really worth sacrificing your father's job over a boyfriend? My offer still stands, you know." 

Love. 

Was it love? Aera didn't know for sure. She didn't think so... not yet. Love required so much more, at least in her eyes. It meant sacrifice. It meant pain, and conflict, and having pain and conflict and still being able to come out of it together. It meant being there for the other person in their highs and their lows. 

They hadn't known each other long enough, they hadn't dated for long enough, for her to call it love. 

In her heart, she wanted to say it was. But she couldn't, not yet. 

"If it's just infatuation," Aera said slowly, looking at the table. "Then it will pass by quickly and there is nothing to worry about. And..." she thought, debating whether or not to say the next part of her train of thought. "And I'm not the one who made my father loose his job," she said firmly, looking up and meeting Mrs.Lee's eyes. "You are." 

Mrs.Lee let out an incredulous laugh. "Wow, you're a brave child. Okay, we'll see what happens then. I'll help with that... I have an idea to test if what you kids have is actually love. And an idea that could earn you more money." 

"No thank you," Aera said quickly, not wanting to try anything with Heeseung's mother. 

Her eyes narrowed, and she glared at Aera. "I am not asking you. I'm telling you what you're going to do. You realize that I own a lot, right? If I put your father on a blacklist for my company, you know how many opportunities he will lose? I have influence in other companies as well. I've been extremely patient, and extremely nice with you so far. Don't make me lose my patience." 

Aera sighed, trying to control her anger. "What's your plan?" 

"You're going to intern in Australia, which is one of our other corporate locations," she said. "Just for a month. The pay is probably better that wherever you work, and you won't have another chance to travel abroad without having to pay for a thing, I'll arrange everything. Just go and see how well your love fares." 

"I'll... I'll have to convince my parents," Aera whispered. She hated to admit it, but it did sound like a perfect offer. 

Perhaps too good to be true?  

"They should agree," the Chairwoman said, unconcerned. "Isn't school break starting now? You won't have schoolwork or anything. And I'll work it out with Belift, I'm sure they won't mind lending you over for a month." 

Aera nodded, trying to swallow down her anger. "I'll discuss it with my parents tonight." 

Mrs.Lee took out a business card, writing a phone number on it before giving it to her. "Use this to contact me when you've made your decision. Then I'll have my secretary send over the plane tickets and additional details, such as the hotel and travel expenses." 

"Thank you," Aera whispered, hating the way the words sounded. She bowed respectfully. "I'll get going now," she said, walking towards the door. 

"Oh, and Aera?" Mrs.Lee said, just as Aera's hand touched the doorknob. She turned back around, looking at Mrs.Lee, who's eyes were cold.

"I'd prefer that you didn't breathe a word of this to Heeseung."