Chapter 110 - A New Entry

Sunye read the article. It was something from a tabloid and while the picture was a little blurry, her face was clear. Kibum's face was a little hazy but there was a writing on his jacket which gave away his name. SD was quietly watching her expression, waiting for her to say something.

"Well?" Jonghyun demanded. "Why aren't you speaking?"

"What's there to say?" Sunye stated. "It's a picture of a guy carrying me back to his room. What's so weird with that?"

Jonghyun slammed his hands on the table. "My employee is dating a notorious gangster!" he exclaimed. "I can't allow that-"

"As far as I remember, there are no such rules cited in my contract paper that I can't date anyone," she pointed out. 

"He's a criminal!"

"Was he convicted of anything?"

She was not giving in to this smear campaign the Choi family was carrying out against her. It was clear that they were trying to ruin her image through this sort of image but she had her weapons ready. It was something SD had taught her during the training sessions.

"The Choi family will try every trick to have you reveal your location," he had warned her. "They'll stalk you, ruin your image and try to make you react to their attacks. But once you react and retaliate, they'll find your weak spot and attack you. So whatever they'll do, stay silent and use your wits to deal with the situation without attracting attention."

If the Choi's were damaging her image by posting these pictures, they would expect her to retaliate by filing a case. That would require her to give her current location to the police and there was no doubt that the cops would work with them to find her new address. 

So the best way was to lie and accept she was in a relationship with Choi Kibum. The guy was in a coma so he would not be able to refute anything. Moreover, it would keep Jonghyun off her back seeing how scared he looked of the Choi family. 

"He's a dangerous man!" Jonghyun argued. "Aren't you being too careless, Han Sunye?"

"I'm a lawyer who deals with criminals everyday," she said coolly. "I know the dangerous sort myself. Choi Kibum is quite different and I can assure you we have a good relationship. Please stop putting your feelings in my way. It's only hampering my work."

Jonghyun was fuming in anger at her indifference. The fact that Choi Kibum was her new muse rattled him. How did she end up in his bed? 

"And now, if you'll excuse me, " she began. "I have to go. See, unlike you, I have cases to fight in court."

Without another word, she strutted away. She quickly walked towards the washroom and once she was inside, she leaned against the door. Her hands were shaking as anger clouded her head. SD was right. The Choi's would try every trick to ruin her and they had almost succeeded with that stunt. They knew how much a lawyer's reputation was worth in society and by linking her to a criminal they were going to make sure that she would no longer be able to work with her head held high.

But she knew that SD would not let that happen. He had something in his mind which would prevent the spread of the article. It had been up only for a few minutes as per the time stamp on it, so he had time to take care of it. 

Sure enough, a text came to her phone from Orea.

"Sis, SD had already told me about the article," she had written. "I've hacked that website and have taken down the post. I'll keep on searching for more articles and remove them as soon as they're up. Don't worry!"

Thank god, Sunye thought. She needed some space to think. So many things were happening at once that she barely had any time to sit and really think about what was going on. She typed a text to SD, telling him that she was going home.

Meanwhile, SD was still in Jonghyun's office. The latter was deranged with jealousy.

"Is this why you didn't tell me?" he demanded from his secretary. "About her whereabouts?"

"Yes," SD smoothly lied. "It seems that Ms. Han is living with Choi Kibum. Which is one of the reasons she was being secretive. But we all know Choi Kibum. He won't be with her for long and would eventually be tired of her. That's how he is."

But Jonghyun clenched his fists. He could not act against the Choi's because Choi Taek was his father's sponsor. If he acted against Kibum, Prime Minister Lee would make Jonghyun's life a hell. Even the Company would retaliate because Taek was one of the main leaders. He wielded great power in the Company and going against him would be equal to declaring war against the Company.

"I want him dead," Jonghyun gritted. "I WANT HIM DEAD!"

He threw his phone at the wall, breaking it to pieces. SD did not wince but stood there calmly.

"All we can do is wait until he is tired of her," SD said in a cool tone. "Once he is tired of her, he'll dump her. Relax."

But Jonghyun was not relaxing. The image of Sunye being with another man was haunting him, slowly eating his soul. He did not wait for her all these years only for her to run into another man's arms.

"Choi Taek is funding your father's party," SD went on. "And also the Sailor's Reef bridge project, right? It's a huge amount. Once that bridge is built, the position of the Choi's would be unbeatable in the country."

"Sailor's Reef huh?"

Jonghyun did some quick thinking. There was only one way to take down the Choi's without getting his hands dirty.

"Looks like I've found one way to take care of the Choi's," he grinned. SD was impassive but inwardly, he played his cards right. He got this idea the moment the Choi's had released that picture. It must have been taken by one of the men in the club but it worked to his advantage. And thankfully, Sunye also subconsciously went along with the plan he had in mind.

Let the pieces fall into place on their own, he decided. All he had to do was fuel the fire named Lee Jonghyun.

Let's see whether you do what I dictate, brother, he thought.

…

"Oi!" 

Myung's voice interrupted her thoughts and Orea glanced at him. They were at their computer class where the teacher was giving her deathly glares but did not dare to question her again. Ever since they had submitted the project, the teacher was shocked to see the simple yet formidable software Orea and Myung had designed. Orea might have done most of the coding but Myung helped her to refine the application because he had an extensive knowledge of how hotels operated. 

Thanks to their great teamwork, they received the highest marks in the class. The other projects could not even come close to what they had created and when the school authorities heard about it, they began to negotiate with different hotels to sell the software. 

At first, they only wanted to credit Myung for it while Orea was fine to have remained anonymous. But to her surprise, Myung fought to have her name as co-creator. When she asked him, he shrugged and replied, "It just didn't feel right to steal your work."

"You're dozing off again," he muttered. "Don't you dare doze off while I have to sit my ass in this class and listen to this guy!"

Orea stuck out her tongue at him. Unbeknownst to him, she was up all night to design another one of SD's harebrained schemes. Minseok had told them that the Sailor's Reef Bridge was the key point for the Company and they were planning to do something there but the information was in PM Lee's system. He was still trying to crack the code which could help them hack into the system but it was going to take time. Till then, Orea kept on trying to scan the other areas of interest like PM Lee's office but there was nothing of use in his workplace system.

"I'm tired," she yawned, putting her head down to sleep. Myung groaned and pinched her arm but it was of no use. She was completely out. 

The teacher was still teaching the class, ignoring the two of them. After they humiliated him by creating such amazing software, he had given up trying to discipline the unruly brats.

"Hey, what's that?" 

One of the students pointed outside at a large RUV which pulled up in front of the school gates. It was visible from their class' window. The students were bored by the lecture so they peeked outside the window.

"Oi!" the teacher barked."It's class time!"

"That looks like the truck owned by the members of Beez-O!" one student squealed.

Orea's eyes shot open in shock. B-B-Beez-O?

Myung noticed that Orea sat up, glancing outside. She was a huge fan of different idols and Beez-O were one of the most popular groups in the country. They were on almost every billboard, internet articles and TV shows. Their popularity was no joke and it was not surprising that Orea would jump at the chance of seeing them in person.

But inside Orea's mind was not excitement. She was scared.

"Get back to your books!" The teacher yelled, scaring everyone. The students scrambled back to their seats, not daring to look outside but whispered in excitement. Orea put her head down again, hoping that it was not Beez-O's truck.

There was a knock on the door. The teacher opened it and immediately, the whole class gasped in shock.

At the door stood an ash haired boy of their age. He was easily taller than the rest of the class, even towering over the teacher. There was a piercing on his left ear and he was wearing the same school uniform as the other students. His dark eyes squinted, glancing around until it fell on one particular person.

"Look at his chiseled features!" a student gasped.

"He's more handsome in real life!"

"I can't believe it's the leader of Beez-O himself!" 

The boy handed over a paper to the teacher. The latter groaned as he read the paper.

"Introduce yourself!" he grumbled. The boy entered the class and addressed everyone. He raised his hand in greeting.

"Hello!" he said with a smile. "My name is Kwon Minwoo and I'll be studying in this school with you all."

Orea slowly raised her head, hoping it was a nightmare. But it was not. As the boy waved his hand, a tattoo on his wrist peaked at her.

It was a small 9 with a blue tiger inked on it. His eyes met hers and he smiled at her.

We meet again, Heo Orea, he conveyed through his eyes.