“So, you’re the girl he’s seeing?” she asked as she sauntered over to Clara. The former lawyer inwardly sighed as she tried to pass by Woo-hyuk’s ‘fiancé’.

Jung-hyun blocked Clara’s path as the hotel’s employee tried to walk away from her. Clara rolled her eyes and groaned, as she looked up at the woman before her. She was dressed in a champagne-colored satin dress that hugged her body—Yup, definitely a model, Clara thought as she looked around the lobby for Woo-hyuk. Where was he? Shouldn’t he be escorting his fiancé back home? Jung-hyun stared at Clara intently. Just what did he see in this plain, average-looking woman?

“How long have you been seeing my oppa?” Jung-hyun pressed, as she glared at Clara.

“Um… I—"

“Hey!” shouted Woo-hyuk, his eyes blazing with anger as he saw Jung-hyun talking to Clara.

“Oppa—“

“Come here. Sorry, Clara. Get home safely.” he said as he yanked the woman away from Clara.

She protested as Woo-hyuk dragged her away outside and into a waiting car. Clara shook her head. Why did he even bother trying to piss off his fiancé?

“… Ugh. I should stay away from him.” Clara muttered with a sigh, walking out of the building and towards the subway station across the street.

“Ms. Clara Astley? I’m Daesung Foods, Executive Planning Director, Cha Soo-ho.” a voiced called out to her.

Clara froze at the entrance of the subway. Who did he say that he was…? She slowly turned to look at the man who was huffing and puffing, trying to get his breathing under control. Her eyes grew wide as she stared at the man who was walking towards her. Clara took a step back, gawking at her half-brother. What was he doing in front of her? How did he even know who she was? Her heart palpitated loudly in her chest. Was her revenge going to fail before it even started? Clara gritted her teeth as she glared up at him, hostile towards the young man. Soo-ho sighed as he glanced around them. People were staring at them in annoyance as they were blocking the entrance.

“… Perhaps we can talk at a quiet place? I promise I won’t take too much of your time.” he inquired, as he looked down at the glaring woman in front of him.

“Why do I have to talk to you? Do I know you?”

“Well, no, but—”

“Then, there’s no reason for me to talk to you, is there? If you’ll excuse me, I have to get home and rest.” she snarled as she turned away, heading down to the subway trains.

“Ms. Astley! Please, it’ll just be a moment. Could we please just talk for ten minutes?” he begged, as he blocked her path.

“… Move. You’re being extremely rude.” she snapped.

“How about you think of it as repaying a favor from last time? I did prevent you from falling over.” he said with a forced smile.

“… All right, what is it that you want to talk about?” she asked, giving up on trying to avoid him. Clearly, he was planning on following her, no matter what.

“Let’s move to a different location, shall we?” he gestured towards the exit.

“Well, then let’s go already.” Clara said icily as she started to walk towards the exit.

Soo-ho stared after her speechless. What the hell…? She really irked him the wrong way. He silently followed after her, and the two went inside a café nearby. Clara ordered her drink and looked at Soo-ho expectedly, who sighed and bought her drink as well. Sipping on her free drink, she just glowered at him. Soo-ho looked away uncomfortably. Why was she always so mad at him whenever they met?

“… As I was saying, I am an Executive Director of Daesung Foods… We were hoping that you would be willing to work for us as an executive director of our Legal Department in GK Group.” he started, sipping on his coffee.

“… Who is this ‘we’? Also, why would an executive of Daesung Foods, a subsidiary company of GK, be offering me a position within the parent company's head office? Is it your company’s policy to just scout someone randomly off the streets without knowing that person’s qualifications?” she interrogated, with an eyebrow raised.

“… I will soon be taking over the position as GK Group’s Chairman once my father retires… So, he has given me the opportunity to extend an invitation to you, Ms. Astley, to join our GK family.”

“That still doesn’t answer my question from before. Why are you even scouting me in the first place? I’m just a lowly entry-level office worker.” Clara said as she crossed her arms, looking over at her brother suspiciously.

“Hmm. We were informed by… our partners that the renowned international lawyer, Clara Astley, was working for SONGHWA Hotel as a regular office worker. Don’t you think your talents are being wasted at that company?” he suggested, as he crossed his leg, looking at her with a glint in his eye.

“Well, what would your corporation be offering me?”

“Whatever you wish. You will be given the highest wage of any executive director in Seoul, if you’d like.”

“… Unfortunately for you, GK Group cannot offer me what I want. I will have to decline your offer.” Clara asserted calmy. She clenched her fists, trying to come up with a valid reason for rejecting his offer.

“Well, what is it that you would like? We can always negotiate—”

“I wish to marry the heir of HANSUNG Group, but you can’t ‘give’ him to me, can you? I’m aware that GK Group’s daughter, Cha… Jung-hyun, was it? I heard she is to be engaged with Kim Joo-hyuk of HANSUNG… I doubt you would be able to convince your sister to break off her plans of engagement.” Clara blurted out the most preposterous thing she could think of—one that would make Soo-ho speechless.

“That’s bold of you. You want something that is way out of your reach.” Soo-ho seethed, with gritted teeth. She definitely was rubbing him the wrong way. How dare she even think to marry his sister’s man?

“Bold? Sure, but not impossible. As far as I’m concerned, he is still single. This ‘engagement’ is merely for a business transaction between the two companies, isn’t it?”

“…”

“Well, I think there’s nothing else to discuss. If you’ll excuse me, I’ll be leaving first.” she finished her drink, and got up from her seat. Clara was about to leave, when Soo-ho, grumbling to himself, stopped her from going anywhere.

“… I’ll think about it. This is my business card, please call me if you’re ever still interested… Although, I do hope that you would reconsider your ‘plans’ to marry my friend.” he said icily as he placed his card on the table before leaving the café.

Clara scoffed as she sat back down on her seat, staring out the window at her half-brother walking towards a waiting car in the distance. She looked down at the table and picked up his card. She hummed as she twirled it in her hands. This was very unexpected. She never anticipated that her enemy would willingly let her in to their ironclad empire. Clara leaned back in her seat. Of course, joining GK Group would provide her the means that she needed to gain information about any illegal transactions the conglomerate made with other third parties and evidence against her father’s involvement in her mother’s murder… However, that also meant that she was in an increased risk of getting caught—her meticulously constructed identity going down the drain with one misstep. The former lawyer sighed— this was another headache she didn’t need.

Getting up from her seat, she left the café. After a few minutes, Clara managed to hail a taxi to go back home. There was no way she would make it home safely in the subway with her splintering migraine. After a 15-minute drive, she arrived at her apartment complex, feeling dizzy and nauseated as her migraine worsened. She trudged inside, trying not to puke all over the shining marble floor of the lobby. Clara managed to make it to her place as she plopped down onto her bed, exhausted from the day’s events. She stared at the ceiling in a daze. So many things happened today, that she could barely keep track.

“Is it even possible for all of this to happen in one day? Ugh… I'm so tired...” she muttered out loud closing her eyes.

She sighed as she contemplated GK Group’s offer. It would definitely be beneficial to take their offer, but she detested the idea of seeing her family every day. If there was only a way to use GK’s scouting efforts to her advantage to her revenge plan… It would be the ultimate weapon against the company—one her father would never have seen coming. There was also the upcoming meeting with Elizabeth Tan… She had managed to procure a meeting with her, but how would she prevent the Singaporean investor to reject GK Group’s business proposal?

“Wait!” Clara blurted out as she sat up quickly. She rummaged through her purse and took out her phone as she called her informant again.

“Oh, what now?!” he said, irritated.

“The meeting with Mrs. Tan… When is it again?” she asked as she started to pace around her room.

“Uh I was able to schedule it the day before she leaves, so it’ll be in two weeks, on Saturday. Why?”

“Two weeks? Why not sooner?” Clara frowned. That was too late, she needed to meet her earlier.

“She’s booked throughout her entire stay. They only allowed a meeting when I mentioned your name… Ha. And here you are, complaining—”

“Can you look into SONGHWA Hotel’s plans for a new hotel? Try to see if they’re also trying to set up a hotel outside of Korea like GK Group.”

“Um… All right, you’re just working me like a dog now, huh?” he grumbled.

Clara rolled her eyes. So dramatic, she thought. Clara stared out the window in silence, as she remembered what HANSUNG Group’s Chairman had announced. She frowned. Was it possible…?

“Hello? Clara? You still there?” her informant asked.

“Yeah… Hey, can you look into Kim Woo-hyuk for me? He’s also a new employee at SONGHWA Hotel…” Clara she nibbled on her lower lip.

“Kim Woo-hyuk? Why?”

“You mentioned that the CEO of SONGHWA Hotel might be undercover… It’s just a hunch, so I need you to confirm his identity.”

“Hmm, fair. Then should I also look into other employees who got into the company at the same time as you?”

“Yeah, that’d be good, but first, focus on Kim Woo-hyuk and let me know what you find out about him.” Clara said as she thanked him before hanging up.

Clara sighed as she sat down. It would make sense if Woo-hyuk was the new CEO, as he was clearly from a wealthy family. But something didn’t add up… If he was indeed the CEO, why would he need to lie that he was dating her…? Unless… Clara gasped as she ran over to the secret space in her room, sliding her bookcases, as she briskly walked inside and turned on the lights. She stared at the whiteboard that had her sister’s photo taped on it.

“Shit…”

**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.**