Hide and seek

Summer went by quickly with nonstop fun and laughter. Alexa continued to spend most of her time with Alex, which was perfectly fine with Naomi. The main reason Naomi even begged Kaia to have Alexa over for the summer was to let Alex spend his time with her. They were both bonded by blood ties and were unconsciously drawn to each other as a result, so even if Alex hadn't noticed that she was his biological daughter, he still treated her like one.

In addition to taking Alexa to the amusement park, he also took Alexa to the zoo and an aquarium that held a dolphin and seal show. They took many selfies and pictures together and Alex bought multiple souvenirs for Alexa from the various gift shops as a way to preserve their memories.

Towards the end of summer, things at the company started to pick up, so Alex couldn't go out as much. This made him work even harder to make time to play with Alexa and keep her company because he didn't want her to be lonely. Although she seemed very mature for her age and was also extremely well behaved and understanding, she was still four, and being cooped up in an office all day was not good for her.

Alexa was a very adaptive child and could read most situations fairly well. She could tell when her Papa Alex was faking for her sake, so she would often force him to rest. Once he was well rested and still had time to play with her, she would usually have suggestions for games that wouldn't require too much effort to play.

Once, Alex had suggested hide and seek and told her to hide. Although Alexa was eager to play, she was somewhat hesitant because Mi Sung was there and tried to join in. Mi Sung seemed to be doing it so she could get back on Alex's good side. She even bought Alexa a big stuffed teddy bear that was taller than Alexa and "sincerely" apologized to Alexa from the bottom of her heart. She pleaded her for forgiveness and asked for a hug. Alexa could tell that she was faking sincerity so she decided to play a trick on Mi Sung and told her to hide. When she did, Alexa told Alex to go back to his office and rest while she played with Mi Sung. Alex was worried but she reassured him that she was a big girl and knew not to run off somewhere unsafe. Once she convinced him, Alexa just went off and did something else instead of searching for Mi Sung.

Mi Sung hadn't expected Alexa to be such a tricky little fox and had actually hid somewhere obvious for a very long time. She stayed there without her phone for super long until she needed to use the bathroom. When she couldn't hold it in any longer she decided to just go. She happened to walk past a sitting room full of couches and glass coffee tables. She almost didn't notice a small figure with long white blonde hair laying on top of a couch and watching a video on Alex's iPad. When Mi Sung saw the little girl without a care in the world, she was seething with anger. She really wanted to slap the little brat but held herself back because an employee was nearby. She swiftly walked over, momentarily forgetting all about going to the bathroom and plastered on her best sweet smile.

"Hey sweetie, what are you doing here?" she asked, crouching down slightly with her hands resting on her thighs. Alexa pretended not to see her and continued to watch a video from BBC with Alex on it. Mi Sung waited there for a long time in complete silence. Her smile waned slightly as her cheeks grew sore from trying to hold the fake smile for a long time. It was quite obvious that Alexa had purposely snubbed her. But she refused to give in and pretended that Alexa was just too engrossed in the video and really hadn't noticed her.

The employee who was nearby had appeared to be reading something diligently on her phone the whole time. But after a while, she let out a barely audible snort because she couldn't contain her laughter in. Mi Sung's smile finally cracked as she turned her face to glare at the employee. She straightened her back and fixed the imaginary wrinkles in her blouse before walking over to the employee. The clicking sounds of her heels echoed in the quiet sitting room and stopped right in front of the employee. The employee had tensed up at the sound of her doom approaching her. A drop of sweat dripped down the side of her face as she felt Mi Sung's glare directed at her.

"Yes? What's so funny? Do you mind showing me what it is?" she said with crossed arms. The employee flinched and nervously looked up with a weak smile. "Ms. Park, um...I didn't mean to...my friend just so happened to text me something and I--" Mi Sung narrowed her eyes and cut her words off with, "Give it to me." The employee was confused. "Huh? Give you wha--?" Mi Sung rolled her eyes and said, "Your phone. Now!" Her left hand was outstretched in front of the employee's face as her right hand rested on her waist. The employee was shocked and conflict was evident on her face. She reluctantly handed her phone over to Mi Sung.

Mi Sung smirked, "Shouldn't you be focusing on your work rather than texting your friend? What are you even getting paid to do? Huh? Answer me!" The employee was speechless as she stuttered for a bit and fumbled for an explanation.

Just at that moment, Alexa looked up and 'happened to notice' Mi Sung for the first time. "What's wrong? Auntie Mi Sung, it's bad to bully others you know. Even if you are friends with Papa Alex, he will get mad if he finds out you bullied someone again," Alexa said with a lecturing tone and stern expression. Mi Sung's lips twitched when she heard Alexa. Her expression darkened further and she turned her ferocious glare towards the little brat who had ignored her. All the false pretense from Mi Sung's face practically evaporated into thin air. She just couldn't continue acting anymore when faced with the child's innocent looking expression.

"I wasn't bullying anyone. I was just teaching a very bad employee a lesson. She shouldn't be playing on her phone when she's working. Alex will be mad if he finds out that he is paying her to play on her phone. If you're not clear on the situation then you shouldn't accuse people," Mi Sung retorted.

Alexa paused the video and took out her earphones before saying, "But Auntie Mi Sung, Big sis Anna isn't a bad employee. She's on her lunch break and noticed me searching for you before. She had helped me look for you but we gave up because the building is too big…" Mi Sung's mouth twitched at the obvious lie spouted by the little brat. She was about to say something but was cut off by Alexa. "Big sis Anna is very hardworking, you know. Even though she's on her break, she was reading something important for her work. She told me that it had something to do with an important contract."

Mi Sung was furious and almost cracked the phone in her fist. "Oh really? Well then, would you mind showing me this important contract?" She turned her eagle-sharp gaze on an easier target. Anna was grateful that Alexa had swooped in to rescue her. She was indeed looking through information regarding an important contract. But she was still flustered by Mi Sung's glare and words. It didn't matter if Alex and Mi Sung was engaged or not, she was still merely the daughter of a CEO from a top company in Korea. Mi Sung had no right to see any private company information and she knew it.

But Anna wasn't sure how to get her way out of this tricky situation. She didn't want to get on Mi Sung's bad side by not showing her the information but rules were still rules.

At that moment, Naomi walked over. "There you are Alexa! I've been looking all over for you! Oh and hi Anna and Ms. Park what are you all doing here?" Anna let out a sigh of relief and gratefully said, "Hi Naomi! I'm almost done with my lunch break and I'm going back to work. Um...Ms. Park...would you mind returning my phone? There's some important information in there that is confidential…" Mi Sung was extremely irritated but she knew Naomi had a high position and was well respected for her work ethic.

Under Naomi's stare, Mi Sung practically shoved the phone back into Anna's hands. Anna hurriedly scurried back to her office after waving goodbye to Alexa and Naomi with a weak smile. Naomi looked at Alexa and said, "Well Cupcake, you must be hungry. Let's go out and eat something, ok?" Alexa gave Naomi a big grin and replied, "Ok, Auntie Naomi! Let's also get something for Papa Alex to eat! He must be hungry after sleeping." Naomi smiled warmly at how considerate the adorable little girl was and said goodbye to Mi Sung before walking to the elevator.

Mi Sung just stood there dumbly. She was lost for words as she seethed with anger. Suddenly she felt an urge to use the bathroom again and ran to the ladies room.