After a weekend that felt like a war, Young Hwa went to work.

Throughout the weekend, In Ha had been yelling at Young Hwa as if she would devour her, so she could barely leave the room.

She had to stop by a convenience store on the way to work to fill her hungry stomach with a triangle kimbap, having starved all day.

Well, even a kind person would get angry in such a situation. In Ha was even worse.

Young Hwa thought this way and willingly accepted the situation of that day.

As soon as she arrived at work, a thick file of documents fell onto her desk.

When Young Hwa, who had shifted her gaze to the documents, raised her head, she saw In Ha’s face from the design department.

With her somewhat gaunt face, she had her arms crossed.

“Color copy. Do it properly without cutting off the contents of the work order like last time.”

Young Hwa pulled the file in front of the monitor and opened it.

On the large work order, which looked twice the size of an A4 paper, various decorations were added on top of a simply drawn women’s clothing sketch.

“What should I do with the content overlapped with Post-it notes?”

Young Hwa peeled off and reattached the paper with Post-it notes stuck on it due to lack of space to write all the content.

“Do I have to explain everything to you? That’s your job as an office assistant. Either copy and paste it, or write it yourself. Do I have to instruct you even for such basic tasks?”

“Okay… I got it.”

Young Hwa closed the file as if annoyed and turned her gaze back to the monitor.

“And this is an office. Use the correct title. Call me ‘Team Leader!’ Got it?”

In Ha turned around and went back to her seat.

Watching her back, Young Hwa bit her lower lip hard.

Yes, it’s true that when you climb to the top, it hurts more when you fall.

She cooled down the heat that had risen to her nape. The red flush that had risen from the blatant disrespect gradually returned to its original color.

Beads of sweat formed and disappeared on her neatly combed forehead.

Young Hwa had been working as an office assistant in the design department of U&I Fashion for over seven years.

Thanks to joining right after graduating high school, her experience was overflowing, but promotion was difficult.

Moreover, her younger sister, Ji In Ha, who had entered as a team leader three years ago after graduating from graduate school, openly disrespected Young Hwa.

Even though they were sisters, Young Hwa and In Ha were the same age.

And above all, no one at U&I recognized them as sisters.

Well, Young Hwa didn’t recognize them as sisters either.

There was only one elder sister Young Hwa could acknowledge.

Elder sister Sang Hwa.

My sister who was as beautiful as a flower.

Just as she was lost in her own thoughts, a phone call came in.

Usually, she never kept her mobile phone on. She had no friends who would contact her. However, at the company, she had to connect her desk number to her mobile phone.

Most of her work involved delivering documents, making copies, and fitting when new products were released.

So a mobile phone was essential.

“Yes.”

−Have you arrived at work?

It was Sun Woo. Although they had never exchanged phone numbers, somehow he had found out, and there were missed calls recorded throughout the weekend.

“Yes. I have.”

−Come out at lunchtime. I’ll wait in front of the company.

Arbitrary.

Unilateral, dogmatic, dictatorial.

When thinking of Sun Woo, only such words came to mind continuously.

A necessary figure, but also a dangerous one.

Somehow, Sun Woo didn’t know moderation from their first meeting.

He showed self-centered thinking typical of someone who had lived in a position of power.

“It’s Monday, so work is busy.”

−Haa.

A low sigh was heard through the receiver.

−Is being an assistant even work? Should I help you quit that errand job?

If she had been impatient, she might have cursed at that moment.

Although it was such a job, Young Hwa liked the company. At least In Ha was careful with her behavior, conscious of others’ eyes, and it was a job Young Hwa liked.

A dream with her sister.

“Young Hwa, how’s this outfit?”

Sang Hwa was a late-blooming college student. Due to difficult circumstances, she had to work while studying, so she went to college at a somewhat late age.

Fashion and Clothing Department. Sang Hwa, who had taken a step closer to her long-dreamed job, looked pretty just by being there.

“Wow. It’s unique.”

Roaming Dongdaemun and traditional markets, Sang Hwa bought and wore cheap clothes. But with her good eye, even cheap clothes looked like luxury brands when Sang Hwa wore them.

“Right? I totally scored today. You wear it too when you meet friends on the weekend. Okay?”

Sang Hwa, who always cared for her younger sister more than herself. Young Hwa always came first for the good things.

So even though she was in a position where she couldn’t even pick up a pencil, Young Hwa worked hard.

When she was working like that, it felt like she was getting closer to her sister.

“I’ll go out. Where should we go?”

−You should have said so from the start. At the lobby in front at the exact time. I’ll park the car behind the station. Don’t be late. I hate waiting.

“Okay.”

She thought it was quite a well-laid plan. But the terribly arrogant man wasn’t in that plan.

No, since he was such trash, he must have fallen for the scheme.

Young Hwa headed to the copier with the work order In Ha had drawn, thinking it was a disaster she had brought upon herself.

When she removed all the Post-it notes, a dress created for the fall new collection was drawn.

“Ah. This X again…”

Young Hwa bit her lower lip tightly with her upper teeth.

There was a dress drawn that was almost identical to the one she had sketched in her practice notebook.

Even the motif that created an elegant atmosphere like a hanbok, with flower prints flowing down to the hem, was the same.

“You twin… X.”

Now, as if it wasn’t even surprising anymore, only curses came out.

***

When Young Hwa went out at lunchtime, a car was waiting at the place Sun Woo had mentioned.

The high-end foreign car had rather dark tinted windows.

When she knocked on the car window, it slid down smoothly.

“You came on time.”

“You said you hate waiting.”

“Get in first.”

With a click, the door opened, and Young Hwa got into the passenger seat.

“Are you hungry?”

Having eaten almost nothing over the weekend, there was no way she wasn’t hungry.

“A little.”

“Let’s order room service. I’m in a bit of a hurry.”

Young Hwa glanced at him and turned her head at his blatant words.

“What did you say?”

Young Hwa’s face, with her long hair tied up tightly, looked particularly small.

“Did you get hit?”

Young Hwa covered her right cheek with her palm and turned her head.

It was a bruise from the fight with In Ha after ruining the engagement ceremony.

She didn’t think it hurt at the time, but as time passed, a dark blue bruise appeared.

She didn’t like heavy makeup. Moreover, the makeup she had done in the morning had smeared, revealing the bruise.

“Whose fault is it? Who caused such a scene at that kind of event?”

But Young Hwa didn’t back down and spoke up.

“Well, I didn’t create a good situation, but how could someone raise a hand against family? That’s a bit incomprehensible.”

Of course, if it were a normal family, Sun Woo’s words might be right.

“You know. I’m not in a position to do that in that house.”

“Do you get hit often?”

What kind of novel question is this now?

There are people who ask such questions so easily.

“Do I have to answer?”

“You know what?”

“What?”

“So far, you haven’t said anything to me. You haven’t answered my questions, you haven’t told me who you are, and I don’t know why you’re doing this.”

That’s because I didn’t intend to. I didn’t think Sun Woo would find me, nor did I think he would show such obsession.

Young Hwa’s plan was to let In Ha get married safely and then find out that Sun Woo was committing adultery with her in between.

She wanted them to feel their happiness being miserably destroyed.

“It was a mistake. I didn’t know you were In Ha’s fiancé.”

“Really?”

Sun Woo, who had stopped briefly at a signal while driving, showed a cold smile.

“Yes. So get engaged to In Ha again.”

Only then would it make sense for her to seduce Sun Woo again.

“Who are you to say that?”

“What?”

Sun Woo threw a scornful laugh and started driving again.

Arriving at a hotel near the company, he walked unhesitatingly to the reserved room.

When he tapped the key card, the door opened with a click.

It was Sun Woo who blocked Young Hwa as she was about to enter through the open door.

“Choose.”

“What?”

“If you enter through this door now, I’m willing to let you use me.”

Sun Woo’s smile was cruel.

“You can turn back if you want. But then, I won’t be willing to play along with you.”

He wasn’t a stupid man.

So he must have guessed that Young Hwa had approached him intending to use him.

“Why?”

“Are you accepting my offer?”

As the door opened, Sun Woo enveloped Young Hwa’s head with his tall frame and flowed into the room.

His heated nape felt red and hot. His rough breathing sounded like that of a beast.

“Did you know that I approached you intentionally?”

As if annoyed, his manly fingers came to block Young Hwa’s lips.

“Of course.”

“How?”

But in between, Young Hwa threw curious questions.

Sun Woo, who was pushing up her thin T-shirt, raised his head.

His clear brown eyes narrowed.

“It’s your first time with me, right?”

“Ah.”

“Who wouldn’t know when a woman trying to seduce trembles all night long?”

Dogmatism beyond arrogance. Superiority playing with the other person.

“I want to use you a bit too. I like it. Your body.”

What was shaking in his hands felt like her mind, not her body.

She was flustered by the familiar hand movements that made her breath slide hazily.

“Get engaged to In Ha.”

Sun Woo raised his head.

“What?”

“Get engaged. To In Ha.”

Sun Woo laughed silently with his mouth.

“Okay.”

On top of the crumpled pile of clothes, Young Hwa’s life began to crumple like that.