2 Chapter 1
[Now, South Korea]
FROM NARI: ...he said he was sorry, unnie. What should I do? Of course, I apologised too and-
A frustrated grunt sounded from the yellow two-seater sofa that was placed in the centre of the hall, just in front of the brand new LCD television that had only been used at the most, three times so far.
A brunet female who had a face towel draped on her shoulder couldn't help but frown as she looked down at the screen of her smartphone. Her other hand was busy with the toothbrush that was in her mouth.
Traces of white liquid escaped the corners of her mouth just before she threw her phone carelessly onto the sofa, obviously not bothered at its state.
"I knew she'd let that good-for-nothing bum back." She said aloud as she stared daggers into the one-seater sofa chair right in front of her.
One could almost feel the inanimate object cry in fear.
"At least she has a love life, Eun-byul." A male voice called out before the sound of sipping could be heard.
A man who looked like he was in his early-thirties drank from a mug before stuffing a slice of toast into his mouth. He was dressed in a police officer uniform while leaning in his chair, obviously enjoying teasing his younger sister.
He found himself brushing off the crumbs of bread that were left on his growing moustache.
The short-haired female who has now moved to the bathroom frowned at her brother's comment before replying, "At least I'm not as old as you yet."
She then closed the door of the door, getting ready for work.
-----
"Chairman, the meeting will start in half an hour." A short and stout man bowed, facing an office table that had piles of documents and folders stacked.
A large glass plaque with 'Liam Kang' engraved was placed right in front of the office table, facing the door. Pens were aligned properly and a few seals were also compartmentalised neatly.
Seated on the leather office chair was a man dressed in an iron-grey suit that was paired with a work shirt and a black tie.
The man had his hair slicked back neatly, not a strand of hair out of place. His face was clean shaven and his jaw could almost cut even concrete. He gave off a handsome but cold vibe, stereotypical for a CEO of a conglomerate.
His most distinctive feature though is a small scar he has under his left eye.
"Have the car ready, Gio." Liam said before standing up, ready to leave.
"Yes, sir." The smaller man whose features did not resemble a typical Korean, almost American, bowed again before making his way to ensure the CEO's car was ready.
-----
"-make sure you get a statement from the police. Mr Seo might have been the one being hit but according to the initial report from internal investigations, he was seen with the victim the day before." The sound of continuous keyboard typing filled the quiet office as a male with a lanyard around his neck stood by the glass door, just outside the threshold of the small office room.
A soft sigh escaped his mouth as he held a bunch of documents closer to his chest.
The male dressed in a light blue work shirt and a pair of slacks seemed to have thought for a moment before replying, "Eun-byul-ah, I'm saying this as a colleague. Don't do more than you're supposed to."
With that, he closed the glass door before making his way back to his own office.
The typing sounds that came from a short-haired woman who had a pair of red-framed reading glasses on, dressed in a floral blouse and a white pencil skirt seized.
She focused her vision from the computer screen back to a framed photo of herself in school uniform, rolling her eyes at her older brother while at the back, a middle-aged couple smiled widely.
"Don't do more than I'm supposed to."
She mouthed the words that were told to her just a moment ago before reaching for the photo.
Her fingers lingered by the sides of both the older male and female's faces before she cleared her throat. She wondered whether she would still be hearing such a thing if she continued on with her studies. She was lucky enough to get this job as a paralegal.
Just as she was about to resume typing, her phone rang.
Han Eun-byul looked to the caller ID to find it to be her lawyer friend, Kim Hye-rin.
"What brings THE Lawyer Kim to call at such an early-"
A loud high-pitched scream paused her in a sentence and she found herself pulling the device away from her ear, a reflex at having an actual professional lawyer who was in her late twenties scream into her auditory canal.
"What?!" The short-haired female reply, one hand rubbing circles into her temple before it proceeded to take off her reading glasses, setting it down onto the glass-surfaced table.
Sometimes Han Eun-byul wanted to grab Hye-rin by the ear and just give her a piece of her mind.
But she knew the latter meant no harm and always tried her best to help her in any way she could. She didn't admit it but Hye-rin was one of her closest friends.
"Eun-byul-ah. Do you remember the documents for Ha-neul corporation?"
The paralegal nodded before answering, "Yeah. I placed the merger contract in my second drawer. Is there a mistake in it?"
She remembered proofreading thrice, just as she did with the other documents and contracts she was tasked with researching and writing out.
If possible, she could hear the panic in the other's voice as Hye-rin said, panicked, "The meeting starts in five minutes and I didn't take it!"
Eun-byul was confused for a moment before reaching for the handle of her drawer. Opening it, still laid there was a stack of documents, on its cover page, neatly written 'Ha-neul-Ryu Merger Contract'.
Her eyes widened, immediately grabbing it before asking, "Where are you?"
"Conference Room 1-"
"You better treat me to meat for dinner." The paralegal said before throwing her phone onto the table, not bothering to end the call or reply to Hye-rin as she took off out of her office.
Five minutes didn't seem like a whole lot of time to wait but Eun-byul remembers listening to Hye-rin complain about how the CEO of Ha-neul Corporations was really anal about being punctual.
According to the lawyer, he had withdrawn a million-dollar contract with a potential client just because they were a few minutes late. She remembered frowning at it. To average-working individuals, hundreds of thousands of Won was already a lot. Let alone a million US dollar contract.
She found herself bolting through a hallway and rushing down a few flights of stairs, all the while echoing 'sorry's and 'excuse me's every few seconds. Eun-byul held onto the documents as if her life depended on it.
Finally reaching the fifth floor from the eighth floor she worked on, a small grin appeared on her face as a small drop of sweat made its way on her forehead. She was going to wash her face after this. She didn't care whether her makeup was ruined or not-- she just needed to get this contract to Hye-rin.
Just as the printed plaque 'Conference Room 1' came into sight, Eun-byul found herself knocked into the back of a short but wide man who was dressed in a suit.
He looked like he was around her uncle's age.
She immediately stood up before bowing, apologising profusely.
"I am so, so sorry, sir. I should've watched where I was going." She said, setting down the contract she had in hand before helping collect his own set of documents that were scattered on the floor.
"No, no. It's okay." He replied, his accent rather strange as his intonations suggested he mastered Korean like any Korean citizen but his voice suggested he was Latin American.
A tall figure approached the two who were now both apologising at each other while gathering loose items.
"Is everything alright?" the male dressed in a grey suit asked, concerned for his secretary just as said secretary stood up, his hands filled with the stray documents that were collected.
Eun-byul bowed once again at Gio before apologising, "Again, I am so sorry for my carelessness."
Gio bowed back at her before turning to the taller male, "I'm alright, Chairman Kang. The meeting will start soon."
Liam Kang was about to ask Eun-byul whether she really was alright when his eyes locked hers.
"Are you-" He stopped dead in his tracks, eyes widened at the frantic female who was making sure the contract she was to deliver was in order.
Ha-neul.
