The Dahlias (3)

Jina was happily wiping the surface of the furniture while Kim and the other servants looked nervous at what the young girl was doing. She was covered with soot and her dress was also diary yet, she was not relenting to stop.

"Young miss please!" Kim begged. "Please let us do the cleaning! You shouldn't be doing all this!"

"No!" Jina insisted as she walked over to another piece of furniture and began to scrub it with her rag. "I'll do it!"

Ever since she heard Gayoon's words that day, she had been fervently following it every night. She cleaned the furniture by herself as much as she could until it was time for her bath. And Gayoon was right. The exercise made Jina hungrier than ever but it was oddly satisfying to have dinner after working so hard.

"Young miss, please your father will scold us if he finds out!"

"He comes late so he won't know," Jina yelped happily. It was not like she did a very good job of cleaning around the house but she was improving. Kim and the others could only watch in despair as the little girl kept on wiping the surface. She was adamant on doing it without help and moreover, lately she had been obsessed with police toy sets. She even had Jang buy her a little forensic playkit and was playing detective games online.

I'm gonna become a detective just like Lady Cop! Jina thought gleefully as she cleaned away to her heart's delight.

….

Gayoon was frowning at the woman in front of her. She was looking at Gayoon as if she was dirt. The blonde chick looked in disdain at her from top to down and snickered loudly at her shoes.

"Even the prettiest dress could not hide your shamelessness," the woman commented. Her nose was scrunched up as if she was smelling something nasty. Her attitude was flaring up Gayoon's temper but she kept her calm.

"I don't think I have to give you an explanation for my look," she said sweetly. "I should go."

The blonde woman raised an eyebrow. The skank was giving her, Lim Somin, the cold shoulder?

Gayoon was about to walk away when suddenly, Somin put her foot forward and tripped her.

"Ah!" Gayoon screamed and fell on the floor. Thankfully the dress reached below her knees and did not have cuts otherwise it would have been more embarrassing. The other guests stopped their conversations and turned to stare at the two women.

Lim Somin was staring at Gayoon with a smirk. She had been trying to seduce Hwang Minho for months and now some skanky girl just swoops in with her dirty shoes and takes him away? Somin was not going to let this go.

Minho, who had seen the whole thing, was not stepping forward. He simply stood there, sipping his wine as he waited for Gayoon's reaction.

Gayoon calmly stood up and glared at the woman. "Apologize," she commanded. "Now."

Somin laughed at her words. "For what?" she asked innocently. "You fell on your own, miss…er...what's your name again?���

"Jeon Gayoon," she replied curtly. "Apologize for what you just did."

"But what did I do?" Somin chuckled. "You fell on your own."

Gayoon stepped forward and smirked. "Oh really?" she mocked. "Fine, let's have the CCTV decide."

She held up her arm which was slightly scratched due to the fall. "I received body injuries because I was intentionally tripped over by you. So if we check the CCTV footage and find out that you are the actual culprit, then that means you have assaulted me which led me to receive injuries. Hence, under our country's law, I can sue you."

Somin looked at her for a minute before bursting into tears. "Y-you're accusing me? Me, Lim Somin, of assault?"

Gayoon scoffed as the woman began to wail loudly. The guests were beginning to murmur at Somin's tears.

"The girl should let it go," one of the guests whispered loudly. "That's Lim Somin! Heiress to Aryan Fashions! Her mother would be furious if she found out."

"The slum dweller has no idea whom she dealt with."

"What a loser! She should be kicked out of here!"

"What did Minho even see in her?"

"He rejected Lim Somin for this cow?"

Gayoon brushed off their silly talks. They did not matter to her because she had dealt with far worse types of people. What did matter to her was the apology from Lim Somin and it was clear that she was not going to get one.

"We'll settle this in the police station then," Gayoon declared. "You can cry there all you want."

Somin let out a sharp breath. That bitch dared to mess with her?

She stood up and kept on crying her crocodile tears. "I-I'm sorry!" she sobbed. The way she was crying, it looked as if she was the victim in the whole situation. Gayoon, however, was unaffected.

"It's half hearted but I'll accept it," she shrugged. "Next time, I'll not be so lenient. Doesn't matter who your parents are."

She added the last part with a threat and she meant it. No matter how rich or influential a person was, one they were brought in front of the law, their reputation gets tarnished. As a police officer, she knew very well that the rich people were afraid of being brought down to the precinct even for the simplest statements. It affected their reputation a lot as rumor mills tend to go wild.

Minho watched the whole thing intently. Even if Gayoon did not get the apology she wanted, she did not back down nor lower her pride. The guests were looking at her with disdain and envy but she could not care less, causally flipping her hair as she walked by.

Somin, who was fuming in humiliation, stormed away. The other guests, still murmuring, went back to their conversations. Somin went towards the bar and summoned a waiter. She pulled out a hundred dollar note and handed it to him. She then took out a packet of fine white drugs. It was aphrodisiac which she intended to use to seduce Minho but now it was going to be used for something else. She was going to tell one of the waiters there to mess with that woman who dared to humiliate her.

"Give this drink to her," Somin instructed the waiter as she mixed the powder into the drink. The waiter followed her gaze and saw Gayoon, who was standing all by herself, typing away on her phone.

"Understood?" Somin asked. The waiter nodded and walked off. Somin watched in amusement as the waiter approached Gayoon.

But suddenly, the waiter's path was blocked by a tall figure.

"What a cheap trick," Minho muttered. He had kept an eye on Somin the whole time and his instincts were right. People like her would not let go of an insult easily.

He took the glass and instead walked towards Somin. Placing it in front of her, he commanded, "Drink."

His icy glare made Somin fear for her life. Hwang Minho was not only known for his influence but also for his temper. He was unforgiving and ruthless especially when it came to dealing with unethical schemes.

"Oppa…" Somin cowered.

"Why, you won't take a drink from your beloved oppa?" Minho asked with a cold smile. "I felt really bad for what happened to you. Gayoon was really unfair to you. So accept this drink on my behalf."

He forwarded the glass to her. Somin was sweating profusely. How did she get caught in her own trap?

"Drink up!" Minho said with a smile. It was not a request but an order. Somin was in a fix. If she drank it, she would give herself away and if she did not, then her family would incur Hwang Minho's wrath. Maybe I can just keep it in my mouth and not drink it, she thought.

She nervously took the glass and sipped it, not gulping it down her throat.

"Liked it?" Minho smiled at her. "Drink up! Drink it full. I feel so bad for what happened to you. It's the least I could do."

Somin was mortified. She took more sips but it was impossible to hold it in her mouth. "Drink more," Minho instructed. "Drink it all."

Her eyes were watering as she tried to hold in the drink. Finally, unable to prevent herself from swallowing it, she rushed towards the washroom to throw it out of her mouth. Minho watched coldly as she dashed off. He took out his phone and dialed Jongin's number.

The latter was on a date with his girlfriend. "Oppa, we're hanging out after such a long time!" his girlfriend squealed. "Take a day off tomorrow! For my sake! That man makes you work too much."

"For you my sweetie pie," Jongin squealed back. "I'll do it. Let the money lover survive without me for a day!"

His phone rang up and to his despair, it was his boss. "I'll tell the money lover right away," he said happily. He picked up the phone.

"Hello sir," Jongin answered. "I want to-"

"Annihilate Aryan Fashions by tomorrow," Minho's deadly voice came from the other side. "Make sure they go bankrupt by tomorrow afternoon and surrender their company to us. If not, I'll fire you immediately."

"Y-yes sir!" Jongin exclaimed, standing up like a cadet in salute. "I'll start working on it immediately."

He hung up the phone only to meet the angry glares of his girlfriend who stood up and stormed away. I'm never going to have a love life," Jongin thought in despair.

Minho put the phone back in his pocket. He did not have to worry about anything else. He just acquired a new company which he would, undoubtedly, turn into a profitable venture within days. Who knew he would end up with a bargain deal at this party?

"Looks like the detective has a dime's worth value after all," he smirked as he drank from his glass, carefully observing the woman who was oblivious to what had happened.