"Does she know me?" Jenny curiously asked in her mind from the way Vivian said her name.

Jenny smiled at her and said, "Nice to meet you, Ms. Lee!" 

Clearly, Jenny doesn't remember her, but by emphasizing her name as Ms. Lee, Jenny can only hope that Vivian will tell her if they have crossed paths.

Vivian smiles and corrects, "Just call me Vivian!" 

She knows that her tone brings curiosity to Jenny. Despite that, she will not clarify the situation, at least not yet. 

Then, her gaze turns to Maru. "Mr. Maru Kang, right?"

Maru tries to hide from being smitten with Vivian, but his face turns red as she speaks his name. 

 "That's right," he said, shyly smiling at Vivian.

Jenny knows that physical beauty rarely captivates Maru, but seeing how he seemed infatuated with her, she thought, "Maybe she is an exception."

Vivian looked at Jenny and Maru and then asked, "Ms. Han. Mr. Kang, do the both of you know why I called you here?" 

Jenny and Maru shake their heads.

Vivian smiles as she is expecting their response.

"I want you both to work on a project! I've seen the work you two have done before, and it impresses me," she told them.

Jenny was the first one to speak, "I am sorry, Ms. Vivian! But Mr. Kang and I don't work anymore. Actually—our last work together was about seven years ago," she looked at Maru before she continued, "And as a matter of fact, this our first time seeing each other again after a long time." 

Vivian talked directly to Jenny this time.

 "I know you two are divorced, but that was ages ago. Are you still unable to work together, Ms. Han...Jenny?" she said in a mocking voice.

At that moment, seeing Vivian bully Jenny, Maru's admiration for her beauty earlier was gone. And he decided that he would not allow anyone to hurt her. 

Maru then answered for Jenny, "It's not that we cannot work together, Ms. Vivian!" he looked at Jenny and said, "Our divorce is not an issue here! Jenny and I are professionals; we know how to separate personal things from work." and he looked back at Vivian and continued, "But our last work together was seven years ago, and things may have changed. We are not confident about what each other likes anymore!" he said what Jenny wanted to say. 

To see Maru defend her, Jenny felt relieved. 

—Though Jenny thought that it was probably not her but himself he was defending, she still felt glad that he was taking her side.

Vivian raised an eyebrow and asked with a challenging tone, "But don't the two of you want to try working together?" 

Jenny and Maru look at each other. The thought of working together never occurred to them.

Vivian looked at them and saw their skepticism about the thought.

But before the two become more reluctant about the situation, Vivian offers to explain things further.

 "I am sure you heard of the J Corporation!" she said.

The two nodded. 

—Of course, they know J Corporation! Because it is one of the biggest companies in the world.

Vivian continued, "Well, The Auberge and the J Corporation partnered to build the biggest, most exclusive, and most luxurious hotel this country ever has. And I — we— want the two of you to join our project."

"I have a question, though! Why do you want us? There are a lot of other more well-known designers than us," Jenny skeptically asked.

Vivian looked at her seriously, "As I said, I am impressed with the work you and Mr. Kang have done," she answered—simply and directly.

"When do you plan to start?" Maru asked.

"If you agree, we will start immediately," Vivian answered.

"What if we don't?" Jenny then asked.

Vivian smirked.

"To be honest, Ms. Han, you and Mr. Kang are our backup plan," she said.

Maru frowned upon hearing her. He thought that if they had already chosen different people for the job, why were they still wasting time with them?

 As Maru thought of this, Vivian wasn't done humiliating Jenny, "Jenny, do you seriously think that a project this big will only have you as our option?" she mocked.

Hearing Vivian, Jenny felt embarrassed by what she said. 

—To be honest, Jenny's inquiry is not wrong, but Vivian makes it seem to be.

Maru decided to leave and not continue with the meeting anymore, seeing how bullying Vivian was. He suddenly stood up, startling Jenny. Vivian looks relaxed, though. 

"You should call your first choice then!" Maru said and was about to leave.

Vivian laughed sardonically and looked at him, "I guess James is right after all!"

Maru paused when he heard his name.