She walked in with her head held high but only because she didn’t want to look anyone in the eyes. Her heels were clacking against the floor and not that it was loud but it was enough to get the attention of the people on the ground floor. That, and the glitter of her dress. She was a bright contrast against the sea of dark suits of Jennie’s work force. Chaeng didn’t mind at first. Until someone, a short woman with a glum expression and cold eyes behind thick glasses, scanned her from head to toe with a look that said “You don’t belong here!”

Alice had probably foreseen all of it, Chaeng admitted to herself, when she finally had a full view of the intimidating display of power that the colossal executive building of the Kim Group. Because although she had been friends with Lisa for years now, she couldn’t help but feel a little subdued and a little out of place because everything inside Jennie’s empire seemed new to her. It wasn’t even like she wasn’t used to the extravagant display of wealth and power but Jennie’s domain was overwhelming.

From the cold granite floor and up to the plethora of beams and pillars that seemed to hold the dominance of the Kims on high pedestals and the endless array of bars and glasses used that seemed to cover the entire building and down to her employees clad in dark suits, stiff manner and glum expressions on their faces, with their brows knotted on their foreheads and lips sealed tightly like they were made to sworn to secrecy, everything looked cold. She hadn’t seen a friendly face, except the receptionist who accommodated her nicely, which was part of her job, of course, even when she was told repeatedly that “President Kim is busy at the moment.”

Everything inside the building was screaming supremacy – as it should, of course. The mood inside the Jennie’s empire was nothing like what Alice and their dad and the rest of the staff at PARK & PARK’S were indulged at the firm, despite the number of times she complained about trivial stuff in the firm during her random and seldom visits. Which most of the time would only fall to deaf ears, anyway, because she wasn’t technically part of the firm and her dad would subtly remind her that she sold her shares long ago.

But if she’d have to be honest, though. Chaeyoung Park was actually fighting off second thoughts about realizing her objective at the moment. In fact, if it wasn’t for the fact that the receptionist had already rang Jennie’s office, announcing her presence and her desire of seeking Jennie’s audience despite not having an appointment and despite being told that Jennie was busy and might not see anyone inside her office today, she might have turned around and walked away already. Far, far away from this mammoth of a building in Jongno district.

She would’ve gone straight to her apartment and walked straight to her bedroom. She would’ve freed herself already from this platinum dress she chose to wear today of all days, which somewhat made her feel like she was some fish taken out from the water. The tightness of the fabric around her throat was suffocating. The thought reminded her of Joohwangie. She suddenly missed her fish. She should’ve brought with her a backup, a sudden realization came to her. Chahee or A-yeon. Or anyone.

“Can I go up now or do I have to wait for someone to come and take me to Jen — I mean, President Kim’s office?” Chaeng asked the receptionist nicely despite her patience wearing thin. The heels of her boots were killing her and the unnecessary glares thrown at her occasionally by the passing employees who were unabashedly eyeing her silvery dress as though it was offending them, were starting to annoy her. Plus, she had been asked to wait longer than she aimed to.

“Someone will come and take you to the President’s office, Miss Park. In fact, they’re here, ma’am,” the receptionist said amicably, with a smile plastered on her pearly face. The woman nodded towards the coming group of men in dark suits walking briskly towards them. One of them, the leader of the small pack, looked familiar.

“Miss Park,” the man greeted her with a curt bow, whom Chaeng recognized from the hullabaloo at her bar some weeks ago courtesy of Jisoo and from Jennie’s press con earlier. “I shall take you to the President’s office now, ma’am,” the man said.

One of his companion – a tall, younger-looking male with a small face and prominent cheek bones led the way towards a private elevator. The other, the stout one with wide shoulders and a gloomy expression, was walking behind them. A-yeon was right. Security was, indeed, tight.

When they had all stepped in and the doors closed, they were then enveloped with uncomfortable silence. The men positioned around her but not too close enough, which she was silently grateful for because she was never really comfortable around men except with a selected few. The security stood in silence and were all staring ahead. Had their eyes been equipped with laser beams, they’d all have been burning holes on the elevator door, Chaeng humoured herself.

“I have not yet apologized for the inconvenience that my men and I had caused you and your place, Miss Park,” the familiar-looking man, who chose to stand beside her, said while the elevator button was now hitting fifteen.

Chaeng didn’t know exactly how to respond to that because he wasn’t exactly apologizing and it was more like Jisoo’s fault than anybody else, so she chose to just regard him with a quick glance but did not say a word.

“I hope your friend is doing well,” the man spoke again. He was talking about Lisa, or course. His voice was baritone. His manner was calm. As calm as he was when Chaeng saw him for the first time inside the Orange, pulling Lisa and Jennie away from the bedlam that Jisoo created and as calm as he was when he escorted Jennie away from the press earlier. But his jaws were set and his eyes were fixed on a particular spot on the spotless door and Chaeng wasn’t sure what to make of his emotions.

“After what your boss did today? I highly doubt she will be,” Chaeng said with an inadvertent clipped tone before the elevator stopped at the thirty-third floor.

Jennie’s top security man was the only person who joined her in stepping out of the elevator. The other two remained inside. They bowed to them before the door closed yet again and then there was another stretch of silence.

Mr Young led her to a long corridor with an immaculate granite floor and a series of lamps hanging on the ceiling. They walked down to a suite of offices and turned a corner where a wide oak door was waiting. A solitary desk was beside on its left and a woman, Jennie’s secretary, Chaeng presumed, instantly rose from her seat behind it. She greeted them with a courteous bow before throwing a curious look at her. The woman looked like Chaeng’s age. Like the woman on the ground floor who accommodated her, Jennie’s secretary was also a looker. She had a playful smirk hinting on the corner of her mouth as she looked from Mr Young to Chaeng with anticipation.

“Miss Roseanne Park is here to see President Kim,” Mr Young announced.

The secretary nodded before she left her desk to knock on the oak door. She went and reappeared few seconds later. This time, a polite smile was plastered on her face dedicated for Chaeng.

“President Kim is ready to see you, Miss Park,” the secretary told Chaeng before she pushed the door wider for her.

Chaeng was welcomed by a rush of cold air from the air condition system and the penetrating gaze of Jisoo Kim who was sitting on the black-leathered couch. When their eyes met, Jisoo raised her brows to her and offered her a smirk – the same smirk that Jisoo gave the media at the press con – and which Chaeng only responded with a slight movement of her brows. She heard Jisoo huffed faintly on her seat. Her eyes never left the redhead, which Chaeng hated at the moment. She had completely forgotten about the other Kim because her mind was too preoccupied with drafting her speech dedicated for Jennie. Did the woman not have better and more pressing things to do other than hang around Jennie’s side all day? But then again, of course Jisoo should be here. What was she expecting, anyway?

Jennie’s office was a capacious. It was painted in creamy white and lush black and a good amount of luscious red and it somewhat reminded Chaeng of an art gallery, especially with how the lightings were strategically positioned on the beams and on the ceiling. The spacious room housed a few furnishings, a desk where Jennie was sitting behind it, and a shelf that stored books and ledgers and some other things. There were also canvasses and citations hanging on one wall, including a rather large frame with the Kim family on it, painted in oil, and a monochrome photo of Jennie holding a book inside a café.

Behind Jennie’s desk was a wide window made of thick, clear glass dedicated to the enchanting view of Seoul. The sight was impressive. It looked like an infinite maze of multi-colored lines and shapes with a stunning skyline. The Han River was snaking through the maze. On the floor spread a thick, rich carpet with diagonal lines that felt supple against the heels of her boots. The interior of the room looked surprisingly unpretentious. But its vibe, however, was screaming with class. And from the look of it, the whole place had been under a revamp recently.

The President’s office belonged to Jennie’s late father and after Jennie took over the position, she decided to refit the whole place according to her taste and character. Her father’s old office was a little archaic for her liking.

“Chaeng,” Jennie said warmly as she rose regally from the seat she occupied behind her impeccably polished desk, like the head of an empire that she was. “I was wondering who Roseanne Park might be until Chu told me. I wasn’t expecting you to drop by but I’m glad that you did.”

Jennie had a warm smile plastered on her lips as she walked around her table and made her way to greet Chaeng with an embrace. And perhaps, it was exactly how Jennie spoke to her with that mild tone as though she was welcoming a friend on a typical day that ticked Chaeng off. She suddenly felt like she just had a shot of Chahee’s special drink, which she loved and hated, by the way, and which Chahee would only concoct especially for her. All the pent-up rage she didn’t know she had saved specially for Jennie was quickly rising up to her throat and it made her dizzy and searing.

“What was that earlier?” Chaeyoung Park demanded before she could stop herself. There was a tone on her voice that caused Jisoo to flinch on her seat. Chaeng caught it at the corner of her eyes and it gave her the satisfaction. But not Jennie. The heiress remained calm and collected.

“Why don’t you sit down first?” Jennie said coolly, as though she was about to lay out a potentially good business proposition and it only piqued Chaeng even more.

Chaeyoung Park had never felt this rage so strong and ferocious before, it felt like it was burning her throat. It was even nothing compared to what she had felt for Jisoo during their first meeting.

Jisoo, meanwhile, was sitting quietly on the couch. After the little movement she managed involuntarily earlier when Chaeng opened her mouth to speak, Jisoo hadn’t moved at all. She was observing. She was looking from Jennie to Chaeng as though she was watching a pingpong match. Anticipation was on her face but other than that, she made no attempt to do anything else. Why would she? When discreetly, she had been waiting for this moment to happen after the Orange incident – when the redhead was too drunk and jealous over Jennie and Lisa and chose to redirect her ire towards her.

Jisoo had been thinking a lot about it, no matter how she tried to ignore it. There really was nothing in it for her, of course. Except that she would surely be a spectator, which she knew she would never desire but here she was sitting first row. All thanks to Jennie for not kicking her out. And no, she wasn’t trying to get even with the redhead. Chaeng and her had own way of getting even. Besides, she knew Jennie. Her best friend wasn’t pugnacious and therefore Jisoo was confident that she didn’t have to pull one away from the other and calling Mr Young wasn’t necessary. Although, judging from Chaeng’s glares directed at Jennie, she should also prepare herself for the worst scenario.

Jisoo had always been rational. Her loved for books and her exposure to the dirty and politicking ways of the corporate world and her involvement in philanthropic acivities helped in shaping up her perceptions of things. And as cliché as it may sound, she was a firm believer of truth and how it sets everyone free. And today, she was hoping that both women would be liberated from all the things that had been holding them from confronting their own versions of the truth. Chaeng had to release that pent-up rage and Jennie had to confront the paradoxes surrounding Lisa, if that wasn’t too much to ask.

Jennie’s secretary knocked, momentarily breaking the tension. She came in carrying a tray of steaming teapot and a set of cups, each for them. She was all-smile while serving the three women with tea and at one point threw a furtive look on the stunning redhead, which Jisoo caught and it almost made her laugh. Miss Kang, of course, was oblivious of the friction inside the office. Bless her.
Jennie thanked Miss Kang after she placed the last cup on the table and when she was done, Miss Kang retreated her steps towards the door. She bowed and left the executive office.

“Well?” Chaeng said as soon as she heard the door clicked. She folded her arms across her chest. She remained on her spot and her eyes never left Jennie. She was too furious to sit down on the seat Jennie had offered her. And besides, she didn’t want to sit across Jisoo. The woman was smirking at her again. The devil.

“What do you want to hear from me, Chaeng?” she asked is a strained voice when she returned to her chair behind the desk.

“What was that earlier?” Chaeyoung Park reiterated the question, emphasizing each word between gritted teeth.

“The board wanted me to release a statement. Our stocks have been dipping for days now and they thought it was necessary,” Jennie replied as she leaned on her seat. She was looking at Chaeng as though she was seeing the redhead for the first time. Sort of, anyway.

Chaeng looked different now that she had finally claimed who she really was under that red mane and behind that rockstar persona. It was the first time, as far as Jennie can recall, that a Park from the impressive firm, PARK & PARK’s, had paid the Kim Group a visit. Their worlds didn’t have the many opportunities to cross. Of course, Chaeng didn’t drop by to talk about business. But it certainly was a welcoming prospect from Jennie’s point of view as the head of a conglomerate. Chaeng, of course, would think otherwise. The redhead wouldn’t have concealed her being a Park if she wanted to be publicly associated from the influential Parks.

She was like Lisa, Chaeng was, and it was no wonder that the two had been friends all these years, Jennie realized and found it amusing and concerning at the same time. If Lisa was a princess and Chaeng was part of a prominent family, and Jennie’s supposedly ever-reliable intels from the Kim Security Group who, by the way, had been doing a terrific job in profiling their subjects, hadn’t able to uncover the truth about Chaeng and Lisa, then Jennie should address her concern to Jisoo’s father on the next meeting. But for now, she had to deal with Lisa’s raging best friend first. Jennie sighed. She wasn’t particularly thrilled with the idea.

“Was the last part also necessary? Did they tell you do that, too? Because I am disappointed, Jennie. The girls in the Orange are disappointed. And I cannot imagine how Lisa won’t be if she’ll hear about it. It’s funny because I thought you’re better than—,”

“Than who? You or Lisa?” Jennie interjected and shook her head.  “If you’re here to ask me if I’m ecstatic about lying, then the answer is no. I honestly feel worse every passing minute, believe it or not. In fact, before I was told that someone from your father’s firm is in the building and seeking audience, which happened to be you, I was telling Chu that it was never the brightest moment of my life.

“It was my first time appearing on national TV, against my will, of course, and it had to be like that. I’m not proud of it and I’m certainly not proud of what I said about me and Lisa – especially about Lisa. So, yes, Roseanne Park. Go ahead and be disappointed. I’ve already disappointed a lot of people today, myself included. You won’t be the first,” Jennie said with a weary voice.

“Why?” Chaeng muttered. Her lips barely opened. She was shaking from rage and she was trying hard not to explode or she might embarrassed herself and regret it later. Jisoo was staring at her, she knew. She could feel her gaze prickling on her skin but Chaeng paid her no attention.

Jisoo could stare all she want, but Chaeng was there to get to the bottom of things. And by bottom of things, she meant to find out exactly what’s going on between Jennie and Lisa and why Jennie had to lie about everything about Lisa and who the hell is the enemy? She could hate Jennie all she want after today but Chaeng was her father’s daughter. And her father had taught her to give anyone and everyone the benefit of the doubt because “how else would you get to the bottom of things, sweetheart?” her dad would often say.

Jennie shook her head and shrugged. “I don’t know. I honestly don’t know why I said that. Maybe I wanted to protect her. Or maybe I wanted to protect me and the company. Does it even matter now, Chaeng? The world must have heard about it by now. There’s no point discussing about it here when we both know Lisa would soon hear about it, too. If she hasn’t yet,” Jennie said bitterly. The thought about Lisa watching her spewing lies after lies earlier today brought immeasurable pain to Jennie’s chest. She could imagine the Thai pacing restlessly inside that ridiculously enormous chamber of hers, probably contemplating how much she hates her and everyone else and plotting inside her head how to get away from her father’s reach. Jennie regretted what she did but she knew she could never take it back. It was too late now to take it all back. She deserved Chaeng’s rage and she deserved whatever unkind words Chaeng would hurl at her. She deserved all of that. But Chaeng’s next words only broke her into pieces.

“She loves you,” Chaeng said matter-of-factly. “And you love her,” Chaeng added, her voice cracked involuntarily when Jennie did not respond. “I know you do, Jennie. That’s why I don’t understand how you can just say it like that. The lies you said about Lisa, I can understand completely. But a fling? That was too much! You didn’t have to hurt her like that!”

“And you think I’m not hurting?” Jennie said with her chest heaving. She was already on her feet. Jisoo was on her feet, too. “You think I’m sitting here with my head on cloud nine after what I did? You have no idea how I feel – what I exactly feel, Miss Park. You have no idea what I went through just so I can still sit here.”

Chaeng snorted. “So that’s it then, isn’t it?” she sneered. “You care more about your position than Lisa? That’s actually a shame because I thought you’d be different. Hell, I thought you are different!”

Jennie huffed as she casually wiped the tears with the back of her hand.

“No. Yeah, you’re right. Maybe I am different. And maybe