It was the next day and Clara was semi-dreading going to work, as she struggled to keep her footing in the subway train. She barely managed to escape the packed train, as she walked out of the subway entrance along with the rest of the hurried office workers. With a deep breath, she exhaled, and tightened her fists as she confidently strutted into the company building. She paid no mind to the whispers around her as she tapped her company id card before gliding across the sparkling lobby. Her fellow co-workers avoided eye contact, scurrying away from the rookie employee before she even had a chance to greet them. Clara had seen the notification on her phone from the company’s app the night before- warning its employees against spreading false rumors of others. She had thought it was odd, but nonetheless, hoped that she would no longer be the center of attention... Boy, was she wrong... Clara sighed as they all whispered to each other, scampering away from her. She didn’t mind them running away— it was better than having unwarranted eyes on her.

The new office worker made her way up to the 14th floor, hesitantly entering her office. Well, here goes, nothing, Clara thought as she opened the door and greeted her co-workers. Everyone awkwardly said their hellos before they distanced themselves from her, sneaking glances from time to time. Clara rolled her eyes as she sat on her desk, somewhat annoyed. Maybe she was wrong about thinking that the rumors would subside? Clara frowned, trying to keep her increasing, irritated mood under wraps—it would be bad if she were to explode in anger. She barely was able to control her facial expressions, when the lawyer glanced up and saw Woo-hyuk study her disgruntled expression. He sighed before nodding a ‘hello’. Clara gave an awkward grin, unsure of what to make of his reaction. She closed her eyes, trying to think happy thoughts before she gathered her materials for the morning meeting—which she did not want to attend.

Clara entered the conference room and the only seat available was the one that was next to Woo-hyuk. She inwardly groaned, knowing that the other women in the office were going to exude their jealousy once again. She made her way over and sat down next to him, feeling extremely uncomfortable. Clara tried her best to not seem affected by their behavior; she was going to get through this situation one way or another. As the meeting progressed, Clara noticed that her co-workers who, would have already made a snide remark, stayed strangely quiet. It was if they were… wary of her? Clara raised a discreet eyebrow, as she glanced around the room, everyone was avoiding eye contact with her—including Team Leader Park.

“… Hmm? That’s weird…” Clara quietly mumbled as she turned to focus on the PowerPoint that she had prepared the night before, as the deputy manager began the presentation. Woo-hyuk glimpsed at Clara, slightly amused at her quick tact of reading the room.

“Now, that’s the end of the meeting! Let’s get busy on this new event! Woo-hyuk, Clara, please start getting the guest list ready.” Team Leader Park said as he adjourned the meeting.

Clara waited until everyone left the room, before she let out a sigh. During the entire meeting, she had felt suffocated—clearly, something was amiss. Tapping her fingers on the desk, Clara remembered the notification from the night before. Something’s not right here… Why are they all so wary of me? Is it because of that notification?! Ugh, this is so annoying!, Clara thought as she rubbed her head in frustration. 

Noticing that the deputy manager was glaring at her from the office, Clara quickly went back to her seat and started working on the guest list for the event that Saturday. She felt the uncomfortable stares from her co-workers. However, she decided to ignore them and opted to focus on her task at hand. If she was going to win the favor of the heir of HANSUNG Group, she needed to stand out amongst her co-workers.

Clara was almost done with the list when she paused, leaning back on her seat. She stared at the names of the HANSUNG Group’s ‘royal’ family. She hummed as she tapped her pen on the desk, gazing at the name of SONGHWA Hotel’s CEO, Kim Joo-hyuk.

“… If it’s true that the heir of HANSUNG is engaged to that sister of mine, then I need to act quickly… But how? There won’t be any guarantee that I can even meet him at this event…” Clara mumbled out loud as she stared off into space.

Clara still had no idea what she should do. Was it a mistake to enter the company as a low-level office worker instead of a corporate lawyer? She sighed. Clara had thought that coming to SONGHWA Hotel would provide her with the means of meeting the new CEO, but she had yet to see him or his father, the Chairman of HANSUNG. She groaned as she rested her forehead on her hand, while writing down the name ‘Kim Joo-hyuk’. Hearing her bemoaned grunts, Woo-hyuk glanced up at Clara (who was still muttering to herself) and sighed. He knocked on her desk, startling her out of her thoughts. She looked up at him, wide-eyed, confused as to why he was trying to get her attention.

“Are you done with the initial guest list? I need to match the list with the VIP passes.” Woo-hyuk groaned with a huff.

“Oh! Sorry… I’m almost done.” she rushed to finish typing up the list. Woo-hyuk shook his head, hiding his smile. She was interesting to observe.

The deputy manager glared at Clara, but couldn’t bring herself to say anything to her, for fear of backlash. She grumbled to herself, annoyed at the ‘close’ relationship between Clara and Woo-hyuk. The manager suspected that Clara for sure had inside connections— it was so obvious. Why else would the CEO go out of his way to warn his employees about spreading false rumors? Someone must have told him about it—and who else would do such a thing? Only Clara was responsible for the mass notification. The deputy manager seethed with anger as she watched Woo-hyuk talking to Clara with a slightly entertained smile on his face.

Why does he smile and talk like that with her and not with any of us…?, the manager thought with a frown. She was determined to pull those two apart before they even had a chance to get closer. If anyone was going to date the new, handsome employee, it was going to be her! The manager smiled devilishly before she strode off to find more work for the frustrated newbie.

Looking haggard, Clara yawned as she left the office. Clara couldn’t believe that she was forced to work overtime for two days in a row! Was this normal??? She groaned as she stretched her sore back, while she crossed the street, nearing Daesung Foods. She glanced up at the subsidiary company of GK Group. The former lawyer scoffed, clenching her fists in anger. For the past 20 years after her mother’s death, her father had managed to use a part of her mother’s inheritance to help fund Daesung Foods—making it the number one company in the food industry. The nerve of him! Clara took in a shaky breath, trying not to remember that fateful night. Her mother's death still felt like it was a horrible nightmare.

She was about to leave the area and to the subway station down the street, when she stopped in her tracks, fear coursing through her veins. Her father, Cha Min-woo, was walking with her half-brother, Cha Soo-ho, out of the building. The father-son duo were laughing gleefully as they made their way to a waiting car nearby. Clara gasped as she averted her gaze from them. She felt sick to her stomach as she slowly turned away, as cold sweat matted her forehead. Clara had just barely managed to take a few steps forward, when she fumbled over her feet, her legs giving out. Unable to gain her balance, she felt herself fall forward, as her knees buckled to the ground. Just then, a hand grabbed her waist, stopping her from keeling over.

“Are you okay?”

**NOTE: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.**