─── ·𖥸· ───

"You're such a genius Minhee!" Dahyun exclaims. "Did you stay up all night watching those videos?"

Minhee doesn't say anything, staring at the purchase history report in her hand.

"She has been buying our products online and even filled the feedback form? " Dahyun scoffs, "This is going to shut her mouth right away! Oh, I still can't believe you could point out this detail...this bag is from three years back, we weren't even in the company then!"

Jeongguk pointed out a complimentary gift bag given for opening the online store, three years back, is he for real?

"Are you going to meet her today?" Dahyun asks, smiling hard. 

Minhee looks at her briefly, then shakes her head. "Send my mom."

"Y-your mom?" Dahyun's smile drops. "You know she—"

"She'll handle it," Minhee says, turning around to walk back to her cabin. "Tell her I need an apology video posted within 24 hours, I don't care if she pays money to the girl."

"Okay.' Dahyun simply says before she's calling out for Minhee again. "Also, if you don't remember, it's Jeongguk's mom and dad's anniversary."

Minhee stops in her tracks and turns towards her secretary. "Oh?" she seems to think for a moment, "What should I buy for them?"

"Should y-you?" Dahyun is surprised again. "Minhee...you have never brought a gift for your own parents...yourself."

"I want to buy one for Jeongguk's parents, though. Clear my afternoon schedule, we'll go together to buy something." Minhee says, nodding as if she's thinking of something else while speaking and turns to walk away.

"What has gotten into her?" Dahyun whispers, blinking her eyes in disbelief.

...

"Congratulations on your thirty-second wedding anniversary, Mrs Jeon. Best wishes to Mr Jeon too."

"Thank you, Ms Min, please." Mrs Jeon says, guiding her inside.

Minhee stands at the door, unexpectedly nervous. She didn't know that Mrs Jeon would be calling so many guests, even the ladies in her kitty— it made a fear creep inside her.

She needs to make a good impression.

Minhee looks around, her eyes searching for Jeongguk, but when she cannot see him, she sighs.

"Jeongguk is in his room, child."

Minhee flinches, turning to her side where Mr Jeon stands with a smile on his face. He walks to her and Minhee wishes him congratulations.

"Jeongguk is a little too popular with his mom's friends," he sounds embarrassed when he speaks. "Got his cheeks squished and painted with lipstick marks in the name of 'Hello Son, good to see you'. He must be getting rid of those."

"Why are you telling his wife about her husband getting other people's lipstick marks on him?" Mrs Jeon approaches them. "Don't worry Minhee, the man is still yours. He just has to rent his cheeks sometimes."

"He's got those after me," Mr Jeon says, slipping his arm around Mrs Jeon's shoulder as he looks down at her. "I used to get my cheeks kissed all the time."

"And you're telling me this on our wedding anniversary?" Mrs Jeon scoffs, looking away from him. "Minhee, go find Jungkook in his room. This guy here always has something to say."

Minhee glances around, unsure but gives a small smile to her, nodding.

"I am not kidding. I had girls lining up for me."

"Every old man ever."

Minhee chuckles. Jeongguk is definitely their son, he's got the family humour. Minhee knows which room is Jeongguk's but she contemplates if she should go to him or not.

Her hesitation vanishes when she sees her parents entering through the door and she hastily walks towards Jeongguk's room. She doesn't knock, just simply enters inside and her heart almost jumps out of her chest when she sees him lying on the bed. Unmoving.

"Are you dead?" she asks, her back against the door.

The body groans, twisting his body to face her. "I need your help."

Minhee blinks, relaxing slightly as she steps ahead. "What help?"

And when Jeongguk sits up is when she notices Jeongguk's exposed side of the abdomen and his fingers sticking out from its sleeve. "I am a little stuck here."

Minhee is conflicted. The man sounds unabashed but his red ears give him away.

She wants to stare, she wants to laugh at him, she wants to strangle him, she wants to kiss—

Let's not go that far.

Minhee huffs. "What are you? Five?"

Jeongguk doesn't say anything as she approaches him. Her hands hover in the air, confused as she tries to place them somewhere. "How do I even help you? Cut the t-shirt?"

"No!" Jeongguk immediately says, eyes blown wide. "It has the autograph of my favourite basketball player. You can't."

Minhee rolls her eyes. "Stay like this then."

"Pull my hand up!" Jeongguk whines, scooting closer to the edge. "My hand hurts, please."

Minhee scoffs, laughing after as she places one of her hands on his shoulder as the other holds his fingers. "What do I get in return?"

Jeongguk clicks his tongue. "Rich people, always greedy."

Minhee pulls one finger up making Jeongguk wince. "I will pull your finger off, treat your saviour nicely."

Jeongguk huffs, wiggling his fingers. Then he suddenly seems to remember something, "Hey, how absurd is this? I helped you in the morning and you still have the audacity to ask more?"

And Minhee pulls his hand up with all her force. Jeongguk groans, feeling his hand go numb. He tries to move it, it almost looks like Harry Potter's limp arm.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Jeongguk almost cries. "It was my hand for god's sake."

"Admit it, Jeon, my pullout game is stronger than you."

Jeongguk laughs, holding his numb arm in the other hand. "What even? Have you lost your mind?"

Minhee rolls her eyes. "Let's go down, your mom must be waiting."

Jeongguk stops laughing, groaning as he feels life revive again in his hand. They walk down together, Mrs Jeon immediately spotting them and calling them to her.

She introduces her friends to Minhee who tries to be polite, bowing down to everyone as Jeongguk places a hand on her back. She doesn't speak much, not finding confidence in her words other than 'yes', 'thank you' and 'the pleasure is mine'.

She keeps glancing at her mom who is talking to someone else and her dad who is sitting with Jeongguk's dad in one corner.

"Mrs Jeon," Mrs Song says, "It's not fair that you don't have one picture of your only son's marriage in your house."

"You haven't posted one single picture of what you were wearing that day," another one adds. "Also you have such a beautiful daughter-in-law, your feed should be full of her!"

Mrs Jeon seems to be taken aback. She smiles but anyone can tell it's a sad one. Jeongguk immediately chimes in, "We haven't gotten time to even shortlist them yet."

Lies. He tells them so convincingly. Minhee thinks.

"Mom will share them as soon as we get them done."

That's that. The dinner proceeds after the cake is cut. Mrs Jeon insists for Jeongguk and Minhee to join them in the cutting too but Jeongguk very smoothly convinces her otherwise. Jeongguk is always so eloquent, Minhee has noticed that. He has it in him to turn things in his favour or change the situation. A cunning trait he's made the best use of.

She doesn't eat much, finding the crowd of ladies from the kitty suffocating. Some of them really have nothing to do but enjoy discussing other's lives. Moreover, her mom is also around and she doesn't want to make a scene.

Her mom is probably mad about how Minhee asked her to meet Jia Zain. They got the apology video up and Mina told her that her boss didn't spend a single money but the evidence and law threats were enough.

The curly-haired walks into the yard and quietly sits on the chair beside her dad. He seems to be seeing something on his phone.

...

"Have you any idea who Ryu is working with? Ultimately my mom too."

Dahyun shakes her head. "They are being very discreet about the information regarding the Runway. I heard everyone signed some sort of NDA to keep the information within the company."

Minhee groans, feeling her head throb with pain. She has a bad feeling about this, her mother isn't possibly upto some good. The situation at Wings' is not good after Miranda's launch event. Employees have been wanting answers, they want to know how secured their future here is. Minhee feels like she's come to a dead end.

There's no redemption. Wings' is already paying so much funds to charities, funding new projects, paying so many employees for damage, filling up the loss of damaged manufactured products— the funds for this year have drastically decreased. She contemplated a lot, whether or not Wings' should participate in Runway because those funds could be saved for something else.

Jung's were the only hope, where she would have to spend the least amount of funds because they take care of everything. But with any other fashion designer or editor-in-chief, she will have to pay more to gain more.

When Jeongguk had joked about how he doesn't understand Wings maintaining the top position after all this time, she kind of wonders why too. She's clearly seen the power and potential Ryu Iseul has. Why has that woman not yet overthrown Wings' from its top spot?

What has her dad done all these years to keep her away?

So she asks, just like that.

"She came into the industry ten years after us," Daejun says, clearing his throat slightly. "Time did everything then."

"What about now? Time doesn't matter now, right?"

Daejun seems surprised at Minhee but nods. "Yes, it doesn't. Not in a way you're talking about anyway. Miranda's growth is twice ours, we just have the benefit of those surplus ten years. However, you won't be able to drag that benefit for very long."

Minhee nods. It's silent in the yard and Minhee can't recall the last time she has had a peaceful conversation with her father.

"It might also be because she took a break around last year's Christmas, her fiance created a scene at their wedding and ran away with one of her cousins. There were no articles, I heard she still pays the reporters to not release any." He dog-ears a page in the book he was reading and closes it. "Why are you asking though?"

"Just curious...about Ryu's intention."

"To be on the top," Daejun says, nonchalantly. "She's always been ambitious. Being on the top is her goal."

"But she's an international brand. A subsidiary of it." Minhee says, furrowing her eyebrows. "We are domestic brands, slowly making it global. Why is she considering us a competition?"

Daejun looks at her, Minhee is taken aback by the small smile on his face. "Why do you consider Jeongguk as yours? His company is smaller than yours."

Minhee sucks in a sharp breath. She looks away, trying to find words to answer him. She has her reasons but how does she tell him?

"Because he's capable," Daejun says, staring at something far away in the yard. "Despite setting up a domestic company in Singapore, he's standing in the seventh position in a year. You always ask me, wonder, why him? Have you ever looked into it yourself, why him?"

Minhee licks her lips. All this time whenever her parents have talked about Jeongguk, it annoyed her— made her angry. But today, maybe it's the calm manner Daejun is talking in, not questioning her or maybe it's Mrs Jeon's yard, but Minhee wants to listen.

Listen, why.

"Why did he change his decision on working in Wings and open his own company? Why did he not open an international brand in the first place? Why despite so many defaming scandals, he's not budged once? Why did he get the Jung deal? Did you ever ask, why?"

Minhee bites her lips. She doesn't know why she wants to cry. It's not like Daejun's scolding her or mocking her. But a tear slips down her cheek.

"He's naive. He doesn't know his ways around business but he has something, not a businessman has nowadays. Consistency. Consideration. Passion for what he's doing." Daejun says, looking at Minhee.

"He has much more. He is richer than so many people sitting in their mansions. They don't realise, neither does he but if you stand outside, you can see it." Daejun sighs. "I hope you can learn from him, Minhee and he can learn from you. Just need to open your eyes, and your heart."

A few beats of silence pass. Minhee sniffs, her lips quivering when she tries to speak. "I have decided to not go to Paris." She sighs. "Funds are low. No place in Runway teams for another brand."

Daejun seems to think for a moment before he stands up. "Whatever you feel is the best for the company." He turns to walk inside the house but not before saying.

"Just remember that thirty thousand employees depend on you. You don't have a job, but a responsibility."

─── ·𖥸· ───

six months later, you'll hear me cringing about the pull out game joke