Yeon Ji-a touched up on her powder. She pick up the lipstick on her dressing table. It was the new limited edition Fire Red Bomb from Suzy. She applied a thick smear on her lips and stared at her reflection, satisfied.
"Doing work for people who don't have where to spend their money is good." She said and laughed inwardly.
Her door was pushed opened the next second. Yeon Ji-a turned and glared at the servant.
"Who told you to come in without knocking?" Yeon Ji-a queried, her expression fierce. "How useless..."
"Yeon Ji-a, get down here." A calm voice trailed in from outside.
"Kim Seo-yeon? Why is she here?" She whispered to the servant who lowered her head and didn't speak.
Yeon Ji-a flattened her clothes and walked out of her room with a false calm expression. She stared at the calm and cold woman downstairs.
"Sister, we haven't spoken in so long. What do I owe the sudden visit?" Yeon Ji-a asked with a cold smirk on her face.
Kim Seo-yeon ignored the question and started walking up the stairs. She did not like the feeling of being looked down at by anyone, especially Yeon Ji-a.
"I didn't know being a D-list actress could get you Dolce coats and Chanel shoes. Educate me, I'm not part of the entertainment industry." Kim Seo-yeon said and stopped in front of Yeon Ji-a. She was taller. Kim Seo-yeon was a tall lady, a 9-head figure to be precise. Her body proportions and height were very appealing to the eyes.
Yeon Ji-a tensed, but she maintained a calm expression. The person funding her, was not someone that she, and even Kim Seo-yeon could offend.
"I'm not planning on becoming an old hag," Yeon Ji-a said, a mocking smirk on her face, emohasizing her remark. "I happen to have a boyfriend who loves me." She said and tucked her hair behind her ear, flashing a pair of earrings with a stunning purple amethyst stone.
"Yeon Ji-a, you have one chance to tell me what files you got your hands on and who's behind you." Kim Seo-yeon said flashing a cold smirk. She was not fazed at all by Yeon Ji-a's remark. She was 23 and was still young. She had nothing to worry about.
"Sister, I heard that you're engaged. You should be worried about fixing the mess you're in right now. You have no time to worry about me. I am also a shareholder in the company, I deserve some knowledge of what happens in the company. Han Yoo-jin knows what file I asked for and you can check the records to see if I took anything else." Yeon Ji-a said and rolled her eyes.
She thought Kim Seo-yeon was stupid. She was still in Gang city and expecting everyone to listen to her because of her little Jeongwon Capital. She really didn't know how high the stars were.
Kim Seo-yeon took one final assessing glance at Yeon Ji-a. She figured that whoever was behind Yeon Ji-a was out of her reach and untouchable, but she felt pity for Yeon Ji-a, who thought she had power, not knowing someone powerful enough could dispose her off very quickly.
No matter what, Yeon Ji-a was still her foster sister. She could not watch her fall like this. Yeon Ji-a was 20 years old and had a future ahead of her. She had naturally large eyes, the kind one acquired through countless procedures, a small nose and cherry red lips. She had debuted at 18 and if she was given time to mature, she would become a great face in dramas.
Kim Seo-yeon turned around and started walking down the stairs. Yeon Ji-a stared at her back gloating, as she left.
Yeon Ji-a was happy for a while, although it didn't last long. With Kim Seo-yeon's attitude, would she go down without a fight? She shook her head and told herself that the person behind her was enough to keep Kim Seo-yeon's mouth shut.
…
By nighttime, Yeon Ji-a, sitting at the back of the chauffeur-driven car rolled her eyes at Kim Seo-yeon's denouncement of the engagement rumors and the legal threat to sue fake news bloggers for misinformation.
She was absorbed in her phone before the car stopped at the entrance of a 12-floor hotel.
She got down, clad in a white short patterned dress with puffed sleeves. She paired it with a pair of red two-inch heels and a red purse.
She walked confidently into the hotel.
In an inconspicuous corner of the road, a car was parked, turned off and the people inside stared at the movements of Yeon Ji-a.
Yeon Ji-a entered the suite and dropped her purse on the table. She undressed to take a not-needed shower. She wanted to try charming that person tonight. She had been giving him a few hints.
Soon, she came out of the bathroom in a bathrobe. She picked up her phone as she dried her hair with a towel. 12:04 am. How strange. The person was usually here by 11:30 and she had deliberately taken a long shower, hoping he would come in on her.
She sighed and decided to lay on the bed and wait. She lay in all sorts of positions she thought would look sexually appealing to him.
She didn't know when she started to feel drowsy. Her mind drifted to many improper thoughts.
In the dimly lit room, a male figure walked in. He licked his lips as he stared at the woman who in her daze, had accidentally loosened the bathrobe and was giving him a good view of her fair body.
…
"Ms. Kim, we have issued a statement to look into the matter and have also sent out an apology. The lawyers say we can only say that the case was settled years ago and the fault isn't from Jeongwon Capital's end. Lawyer Chu has also asked us to reveal that Baek Gu-won had long been terminated."
"Mm. It sounds about fine. Are there any negative effects?"
"We've already paid people to put out good comments and many comments are showing remorse, withdrawal and nonchalance. There are quite a few dismissive comments, but they'll be taken care of. The situation should be stabilized by tomorrow."
"Get the chauffeur. We're driving to Yeon Ji-a's."
…
Yeon Ji-a left the hotel room in a fleeting hurry. She was disheveled, but she didn't care. She hailed a cab and got in quickly to avoid being caught by cameras. Her chauffeur seemed to have withdrawn last night, when she wasn't showing up.
She had woken up that morning in the arms of a smelly man. She slowly remembered the events of last night when she was screaming manically. She shuddered at the thought that she'd slept with such a disgusting beggar and more at thought that she had been set up.
Could it be that that person had set her up? She hadn't done anything wrong, except trying to seduce him last night. She didn't deserve this treatment at all.
She felt disgusting all over and dialed the phone number through gritted teeth. The phone number rang twice but wasn't answered.
He had always picked up on the first ring. She was sure now that he had set her up. If he had, she didn't care what happened, she would expose him immediately.
The cab stopped and Yeon Ji-a ran into her house like a timid mouse.
She didn't live in the Kim family mansion like Kim Seo-yeon. She lived in a private villa that Kim Jae-jun got for her. She refused to live in the mansion with the rest of them, routinely denying she was family with them, despite their unwavering affection.
Yeon Ji-a grew up as Kim Ji-a and she and Kim Seo-yeon were the very best friends and loved each other as sisters. Until she found out she had been adopted at 4. Kim Ye-sol had gone to the orphanage as part of her philanthropy. Seven year old Kim Seo-yeon had accompanied her. At the time, Kim Seo-yeon was shy and didn't like to talk, but she, Yeon Ji-a, spoke to her and played with her, making Kim Seo-yeon want to come back every weekend. In the end, Kim Ye-sol found Yeon Ji-a likeable and decided to adopt her. At 16, when she found out, she started skipping school, drinking, smoking and attending parties in rebellion, because she believed that she was only part of the family to be a tool for Kim Seo-yeon. At 18, she refused to remain in the house and moved out. And that same year, changed her surname to Yeon. She demanded everyone address her as Yeon Ji-a or else she would not have contact with them again. Kim Jae-jun still stubbornly called her Kim Ji-a or Ji-a whenever he saw her.
In the living room, Yeon Ji-a stood and stared at the woman who was seated on the sofa, eating grapes off a fruits platter.
"Ah, I was getting old waiting. I thought the fruits would be finished by the time you came over." Kim Seo-yeon said with a mischievous smile as she stared at Yeon Ji-a's scattered hair and rough appearance. The eyes behind the smile was cold and calm.
"You..." Yeon Ji-a muttered. She was not a fool. Kim Seo-yeon seemed to have been the one who set her up. But how did she lure that person away? She couldn't worry about that, as she marched to where Kim Seo-yeon was, looking like she wanted to rip her to shreds.
"Stand where you are, Yeon Ji-a." Kim Seo-yeon said calmly, without a ripple in her facial expression. "I happen to have a nice video of you." Kim Seo-yeon said slowly.
"Kim Seo-yeon, I swear, if you dare to release that video..."
"What can the D-list actress do to me?" Kim Seo-yeon interrupted, her smile disappearing, as it was replaced by a cold expression.
Yeon Ji-a paused, the hatred on her face, looking like it would materialize.
"The video will be released in ten minutes. Make a choice."