“Miss Ga Eul, would you like some coffee? Wait a moment. I’ll go buy it for you.”

It was a sight to behold. Jung Mi O, who had been acting so arrogantly as if she feared nothing in the world, was now offering to buy coffee for Ga Eul herself.

Jung Mi O came back sweating profusely, carrying two iced Americanos.

Since the cafe across from the office was closed due to a fire, Jung Mi O must have walked quite a distance in this heat to buy coffee. Especially since she wouldn’t know where the coffee shops are in an unfamiliar neighborhood.

Still, physical hardship is a hundred times better than mental anguish. How much anxiety had I suffered because of Jung Mi O’s lie?

If it weren’t for her saying the boss had a fiancée, I might have said something about liking him when I jumped into his arms. Even if our fathers were entangled in an ill-fated relationship, I could have at least confessed my feelings.

Now, even knowing there’s no fiancée, I can’t confess. Because I found out he’s preparing to return to America.

“How can I help you?”

Ga Eul asked without feeling the slightest bit apologetic as she gulped down the coffee Jung Mi O had bought.

Indeed, coffee tastes best when someone else buys it for you. So you should enjoy it while you can. Jung Mi O may be desperate enough to do this now, but who knows when she’ll return to her old self.

“My father wants to send me to America. So please put in a good word to elder brother Dae Un. Elder brother Se Hyun says elder brother Dae Un listens to you.”

For my part, it would be better if Jung Mi O went to America. Considering how her lie made me miss the chance to confess to the boss. And what good is it to have another woman hovering around the man I like?

So Ga Eul didn’t even bother to correct Jung Mi O’s mistaken belief that the boss listened to her. After all, didn’t Jung Mi O lie about the boss having a fiancée? I didn’t lie.

“Since elder brother Dae Un threatened our father and things turned out this way, elder brother Dae Un should resolve it. Tell him I’ll kill myself if he doesn’t. Tell him I’d rather die than go to America.”

“Dying just because you’re going to America…”

Is America such a difficult country to live in? I want to go but can’t.

“It’s not just America. It’s a facility in America. A rehabilitation facility. It’s a truly horrific place.”

So you’ve been there before. And the experience was terrible enough to make you want to die. The disgust in Ga Eul’s heart towards Jung Mi O faded a little. Instead, some sympathy arose.

“Is it really because our boss threatened Jung Mi O’s father that he wants to send Jung Mi O to America?”

“That’s what I’m saying. It seems elder brother found out about my father’s company’s poor financial situation. He said he’d tighten the purse strings even more if I wasn’t removed from his sight.”

“He’d go that far just because you appeared before him? Is that really the only reason?”

The boss does have many flaws. He’s a sloth and a glutton. He might even be a good-for-nothing. But even so, it’s excessive to squeeze another company’s finances just because their daughter annoyed him a bit.

Jung Mi O’s eyes wavered. She also hesitated before answering.

“Actually… I told my friend about you attending English classes at dawn, and, well, she ended up telling Oh Myeong Se.”

I was dumbfounded. Ga Eul stared blankly at Jung Mi O. So Jung Mi O had also contributed to my kidnapping.

“It definitely wasn’t intentional. How could I have known she was close enough to Oh Myeong Se to party with him at nightclubs? She said she just casually mentioned knowing a ‘Han Ga Eul’ when the name came up. Oh Myeong Se said he’d take care of Han Ga Eul.”

“How did you know I was attending English classes at dawn?”

Ga Eul’s voice turned cold.

“Elder brother Se Hyun… He scolded me, saying you were attending English classes at dawn while working at the company, but I was just wasting my life idling around. So I was a bit irritated and told my friend…”

Jung Mi O furtively observed Ga Eul’s expression.

“So the boss found out about that.”

“Don’t you know? Elder brother Dae Un turned the security company and Pyeongan Group upside down because of your kidnapping. Especially the security company, it might even shut down.”

Seeing the puzzlement on Ga Eul’s face, Jung Mi O began to chatter excitedly.

“I heard the security company was full of holes. Originally, the principle was to have two guards protect you as a pair, but that day one of the guards suddenly called in sick. Yet the security company didn’t send a replacement, and even when Oh Myeong Se’s henchmen left his house, they reported that nothing was wrong.”

Isn’t it ridiculous? That I’m hearing this from Jung Mi O. Shouldn’t I, the victim, have been the first to hear about this? Something’s seriously wrong. I have a lot to ask the boss when he returns.

“Why did they do that?”

“Elder brother Se Hyun said they were probably bought off by Oh Myeong Se. And they were also conscious of Oh Myeong Se as a big client. Elder brother Dae Un is only known by certain people domestically, but Oh Myeong Se is the grandson of Pyeongan Group.”

“Didn’t Pyeongan Group have a hand in this? No matter how much Oh Myeong Se is the grandson of Pyeongan Group, he shouldn’t have had enough power to make a security company betray their client.”

“That could be the case. That’s why elder brother Dae Un went and caused a ruckus at Pyeongan Group. He also caught Yang Ki Taek like catching a mouse. Yang Ki Taek was the one who chose that security company.”

“Yang Ki Taek?”

I remembered. They said Yang Ki Taek was the one who led the guards to the villa where I was kidnapped.

“He’s elder brother Dae Un’s right-hand man. He’s been here a few times too. Anyway, Yang Ki Taek might feel wronged. That security company is the one Law Firm APEC uses whenever they need it. So Yang Ki Taek probably didn’t expect such a big hole to appear.”

There were so many shocking things that Ga Eul was now indifferent to the fact that the people who came to the office were not the boss’s drinking buddies but his subordinates.

They’re saying that my maternal family, Pyeongan Group, might have contributed to my kidnapping.

By someone from Pyeongan Group bribing the security company. The boss knew about it but didn’t tell me. He said he had something to tell me when he came back this time, right? He should have a lot to say. Ga Eul gritted her teeth.

“So, will you help? Will you put in a good word to elder brother?”

“Then what will you do for me in return, Jung Mi O?”

That’s how this world works. They’ll take your nose if you close your eyes.

The boss I trusted sent me to my maternal family to use me. I thought he was being nice, but it was out of guilt. He’s been preparing to go to America for over a year without telling me. So I’m done being a pushover too.

“You know, give and take.”

At Ga Eul’s words, Jung Mi O thought for a moment. Then she said,

“If things work out well, I’ll tell you a secret related to Han Ga Eul.”

“Like how I ended up entering my maternal family’s house?”

“Oh, you already knew?”

Jung Mi O seemed surprised that Ga Eul knew about it.

“Then, something else. About Han Ga Eul’s father.”

“Tell me first.”

Ga Eul’s ears perked up, but she spoke leisurely.

“No. I’ll tell you when it’s confirmed that I’m not going to America. You might decide not to help after hearing it all.”

It was a reasonable point. It was also right to put out the most urgent fire first. Still, there was a need to confirm.

“Can I trust you, Jung Mi O? Are you sure you know the secret? How do you know it if it’s a secret?”

“Because people treat me like I’m invisible. They think I’m stupid so they don’t guard against me at all. So they talk about whatever they want, whether I hear it or not. I heard elder brother Se Hyun trying to stop elder brother Dae Un when he was trying to come to Korea.”

If she was willing to say she was treated like a fool, it seemed trustworthy. It was also pitiful that Jung Mi O would say such things about herself. Living without recognition like that would make anyone’s personality turn sour. Ga Eul felt a little desire to help Jung Mi O.

“Don’t you want to try doing something yourself? To prevent your father from sending you to America. I mean, find a way to solve it with your own strength without clinging to our boss.”

Jung Mi O reacted sharply to Ga Eul’s words.

“What can I do? Do you think I want to be sent away? You don’t even know what kind of person my father is.”

“Do you know any celebrities, Jung Mi O?”

Ga Eul suddenly asked Jung Mi O, who was venting her pent-up emotions.

“I know many celebrities. I always meet them when I go to nightclubs.”

Jung Mi O answered confidently, as if her emotions had never been agitated. I thought so. Everyone has an ace up their sleeve.

“Then would you like to try doing as I say? If your father doesn’t change his mind even after that, I’ll take responsibility and persuade our boss. I’ll ask him to stop you from being sent to America.”

“You have a way to prevent my father from sending me to America? Are you sure?”

“Trust me this once. You have nothing to lose.”

Isn’t this usually what scammers say? It couldn’t be helped. Jung Mi O needed to trust me to actively solve her problem.

“It’s do or die. Anything’s better than dying, right? Even a sparrow chirps before it dies. You should at least try to ‘chirp’ before being sent to America.”

Exuding the aura of a scammer, Ga Eul looked into Mi O’s eyes. It seemed I had quite a talent for this. Wasn’t it me who convinced Young Min’s mother to invest in stocks again after losing a lot of money?

“Wh-what do I need to do?”

Jung Mi O was just a child. A child who had only grown physically. With lots of money and no discernment, perfect for being taken advantage of. That’s why Jung Mi O fell for it so quickly.

“Among the celebrities you know, who has the best image?”

Ga Eul calmly laid out her plan. Jung Mi O listened intently, not wanting to miss a single word. She even checked occasionally to make sure she heard correctly.

“If I do that, will my father really not send me to America?”

“Of course, that’s what will happen. And even if it doesn’t, what do you have to lose? Is there anything that could get worse than your current situation?”

Ga Eul wondered if she should make a business card. ‘Han Ga Eul, Master of Gaslighting’. Because Jung Mi O fell for it in an instant.

It was even easier than with Young Min’s mother. Maybe because she was more desperate than Young Min’s mother. Young Min’s mother probably thought her husband wouldn’t actually kill her, but Jung Mi O was certain her father would kill her and then some.

But what’s the use? Ga Eul’s shoulders, which had been raised high, suddenly dropped due to a sudden realization. She couldn’t even tell the person she liked that she liked them.