Chapter 3

The feeling of regret is an alluring thing, a familiar emotion for Chae whenever she makes a decision that would impact the rest of her life in an unexpected way, but seeing Joon look so happy after getting his admission letter put those feelings to sleep as quickly as they came.

"Hey, sis, are you ready to go?" Joon asked; he was half sleepy, and his hair had a slight curl on top. Chae thinks it makes him look cute.

"Yeah, my suitcase is ready." She said it with a nod. Surprisingly, it didn't take her so much time to pack for an impromptu trip.

'I'm so tired,' she thought as she stood up from her place in bed, stretching out her stiff muscles as she did so.

"Have a great trip." Joon smiled at her.

"It's a business trip, and I don't think it's going to be fun or great." Chae replied, trying to hold back a yawn.

"A trip is a trip," Joon said.

"I have prepared some dishes and put them in the freezer, so just reheat them when it's time to eat. I also left you some cash for minor expenses; call me if anything happens." Chae handed him an envelope.

"You're always worrying about me." Joon sighed. "It makes me feel like I'm a baby; just enjoy yourself."

He stole a glance at the window, where he could see a car parked outside.

'Did she call an Uber already?' he thought.

Hey, sis, your Uber has arrived." He announced. 

"Uber? I haven't called anyone yet." Her eyes widened as she took a closer look at the vehicle.

'This vechicle looks familiar!' she thought. 'Could it be Min Su's car?' 

As soon as she finished this thought, someone knocked at her door.

"I will get it!" Joon shouted and ran towards the door.

After opening the door, he was greeted by the sight of a tall man dressed in formal attire.

"Is this Han Chae Yeong's house?" he asked.

"Yes," Joon answered.

"My name is Kim Min Su, and I am your sister's boss. I'm here to pick her up, so is she ready?"

"Yes, she is." He replied, still holding the door open.

"Excellent." The man smiled as he entered the house.

"What are you doing here, sir? I told her I could manage on my own." Chae said she was trying her best not to show how annoyed she was so her brother wouldn't notice.

"I know that, but I was passing, so I just thought I should save you the trouble and pick you up myself."

Chae gave him an exasperated look. She knew he was lying; maybe he was suspicious and thought she might run away?

"Big sister, your boss looks so cool." Joon commented.

"Shut up, Joon." Chae glared at him.

"I'm serious; he looks like one of those bad-assed models in magazines you always drool over when you're bored." Joon looked genuinely excited.

"Stop looking at him like that." Chae sighed.

"Joon, you got your admission letter today, right?" Min Su asked.

Yes, but how did you know?" Joon looked curious.

Min Su simply smiled. "It took a lot of time; the committee board was threatened by someone because their child didn't pass the exam, so they decided to deprive you of your admission."

'What the heck? Why is he lying? Chae wondered as she watched her younger brother turn bright red. "Thank you; I don't know what I'd do without you." Joon said it sincerely.

"It's alright."   Min Su replied, his smile turning into a genuine one. "Miss Chae, I was the real one whose bracelet got ruined; I'm really sorry."

'Bracelet? What the hell is going on in this man's head?'   Chae thought as Min Su handed her a bracelet.

"That's alright, sir; I can't accept this." She declined.

"No, no, I insist." Min Su insisted.

"It's okay; thank you, sir." Chae tried again.

No, please accept it." Min Su said

No, thank you, sir." Chae repeated it as politely as possible.

"Come on, sis, just accept it." Joon whined.

"Joon  I appreciate your request, but let me handle this okay." Chae shot him a glare.

"Just accept it." Joon persisted.

"Fine  fine." She threw up her hands as she gave up on arguing. "I'm sure it won't fit anyway." Chae held out her hand to collect it, then wore it on her left wrist.

"Let's get going." Min Su ushered her toward his black sports car.

They both climbed into the car while Joon watched from the side.

"Why are you here? How do you know my house?" Chae asked as she buckled herself onto the belt.

Well, you work for me, so I know." Min Su explained calmly before starting up the engine.

"The address I filled out was incorrect, so how did you get my real address? Chae continued asking.

"Investigation," Min Su said with a grin.

"You are such a jerk. Why did you lie to my brother?" She asked.

"I didn't lie, but I didn't tell the truth either." He smiled evilly.

"Oh, shut up." She groaned.

When they stopped at a light, Min Su turned around and fixed her with his penetrating stare.

"You talk way too much." He shook his head fondly.

"Whatever." She mumbled. "Why are we going to Italy?"

"For an event. There's some information about the gemstones at that party." Min Su responded. He looked at Chae with a knowing smirk.

"Really?" She raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, we need to check it out." Min Su shrugged.

Chae rolled her eyes and went back to watching her reflection in the window. Her whole body felt weird; she really wanted to kill this guy.

"That's why I asked for your measurements." Min Su added it after a few minutes of silence.

"You could have told me. I don't want to wear a horrible dress to an event." Chae said, annoyed.

"I don't have a horrible fashion sense; your dress will look good." He replied confidently.

The rest of the ride was quiet, and Chae was thankful. When they arrived at the airport, Min Su pulled up in front of the private jet waiting for them.

"What about your right-hand man?" She asked as she tried her best to stay cool in case they had a dangerous plan to get rid of her.

"He's inside." Min Su grinned.

Chae nodded and started walking toward the jet. She prepared to attack if

Things went wrong; she knew how ruthless people like them were, and she needed to keep her strength up.

"Why are you staring at me like that?" Min Su asked as he took his seat beside her.

Sorry, I was thinking about where to stab you." She replied in a serious tone. "Chest would work nicely."

He chuckled and gave her a wink. "You can't kill me."

She frowned as she stared at him. "Aren't you a little overconfident? We are here together; your right-hand man is not close by. If I wanted to kill you, I would've done it by now."

"We'll see about that." He smirked again. "You can't kill me. In fact, I dare you to stab me."

She shook her head in disbelief; it was pretty obvious that she was getting sick of all this arrogant jerk's cockiness.

'Fine, I will do what he wants.' She thought. 'I won't hold back.'