She blinked glancing at Ling, clearly nervous about her answer. “I work with Ling at Hanje Design as well. My name is Nana.”
Min raised a brow and turned to smile at Lara. “I think I might be going senile here. I don’t remember them at all. We’ll have to talk to the director at Hanje Design and see if they’re still on the payroll.”
“Oppa,” Lara said glancing at the girls who were nervously looking at each other. “I’m sure they wouldn’t be lying to you. They probably hold smaller positions so you haven’t met them.”
Min turned to Ling and gave her a warning look. “I’m sure you’re right, Lara. Ladies, this is my dongsaeng. Treat her well; she is very good to me. I rely on her to keep me informed. Please do enjoy the gala. Come on, Lara, I think I need a drink.”
They walked away from the ladies and Lara chuckled under her breath.
“You are so cool, Oppa.”
“They look like trouble. Are you sure you want to be their friend?” Min asked as they intercepted a waiter. He took two champagne flutes and handed one to Lara. “They’ll seek you out.”
“I can handle it. I just needed the backing.” Lara sipped her champagne and glanced around the room casually. “I know we haven’t been close.” She returned her gaze to him and Min read anxiety as she continued. “I’d really love it if you meant what you said to them.”
“I said a lot of things.” Min narrowed his gaze. “Which part do you want to know about?”
“The part where you called me your dongsaeng,” Lara said quietly. “I don’t care about the status; I just want us to be siblings.”
“We are,” Min assured her. He gave her a wide smile. “Be warned, I’ll pinch you if you start acting out around me today. I’m very skilled at that.”
Lara laughed. “You can try to pinch me. I don’t think it will work. I’m too cute to hurt.”
She fluttered her eyes at him and he sighed with an exaggerated roll of his eyes. “You wish kiddo.”
She teased him for a few minutes. They mingled with the guests; Min introduced Lara as his little sister to everyone he talked to. She clung to his right arm. Her hold trusting as they worked the room. He found he liked the funny comments she made every time they moved away from the many people who wanted a word with him. She kept him smiling which was hard to do. An hour and a half passed by so fast he was surprised when she led him to the buffet insisting she was hungry.
“I want something sweet,” Lara said as they stood by the buffet table looking over the food. “It all looks so delicious; I might just pile my plate. Wouldn’t you like to see that Ling’s face at the sight?”
She laughed and he smiled at her comments. She glanced at him and held out a grape to him.
“Oppa should smile more. It looks good on you.”
He took the grape and popped into his mouth. “I’ve never had a reason to smile at these galas. It’s usually so boring, thank you for making it so much fun.”
She smiled at him and continued getting food. He reached for another grape and chanced a glance at the entrance into the ballroom in time to see Young Jae walk out of the room. Min frowned when he saw his Uncle Yul follow Young Jae. He turned to Lara.
“Will you be alright alone?” he asked her.
“Go ahead,” she nodded to the door. She’d obviously seen the same thing he had. “I’ll be fine.”
He gave her a grateful smile and hurried out after Young Jae.
***
“Things are not going as planned.” Yul paced the small dining room his gaze hard. “You’re not doing your part, Young Jae. Min is gaining momentum. He won over Mr. Rio’s approval tonight. That’s not good.”
“I’m out, Yul,” Young Jae said. He stood staring out the windows of the hotel. The dark night below twinkled with streetlights and car headlights. “I don’t care about the stakes anymore.”
“You can’t back out.” Yul’s tone was cruel. “I warned you. I still hold the title to your mother’s land. Her debts will be called in and she’ll be homeless.”
“Keep it.” Young Jae turned to look at Yul. “I’ll pay the debt when I can. I’m not going to betray Min Ho anymore.”
“What is this? What is he giving you that you’ve done an about face? You hated him a month ago.” Yul scoffed. “Is he giving it up? We all know he’s queer. His type is not fit to run a company.”
Young Jae felt hot anger rise up and he glared at Yul.
“Don’t ever talk about Jun Min Ho like that. You’re not good enough to utter his name. You disgust me. He’s your family, but look at you. You’re doing your best to give him a hard time.”
“He might be my family,” Yul said quietly, “but I’m not the one who’s betrayed my lover. It makes sense. You’re in love with him, aren’t you?”
Young Jae sighed and turned away from the despicable man. “It’s none of your business.”
“Oh but it is,” Yul said with a sick smile. “If you don’t want it plastered on the papers tomorrow morning, you’ll do exactly as I say.”
“Are you blackmailing me?” Young Jae narrowed his gaze at Yul. “I won’t let you use me to hurt Min any longer.”
“I don’t think you have a choice,” Yul replied. He rubbed his hands together and moved to take a seat at the dining table. “The board is meeting in two days. They’re going to be voting on Min’s progress. I want a negative response and you’re going to help me get it.”
Young Jae was about to speak when he glanced up in time to find Min standing at the entrance of the dining room. Behind Min, Yuna and Mr. Rio stood watching them. His gaze returned to Min, and the stab of pain in his chest at the betrayal he read there destroyed him.
“Is this what you’ve been up to, Yul?” Mr. Rio asked moving around Min to enter the private dining room. “You’re blackmailing and lobbying to get your son on the top seat. Assemblyman Kang was right. You have gone beyond low.”
“I wish you’d stop meddling with family affairs,” Yul said his tone dripping with disgust. “I don’t care what kind of power you have with the board. My son should be the C.E.O. instead of that light weight standing at the door.”
“I think your days with Hanje Group are over.” Mr. Rio turned to look at Young Jae. “I’m sorry son, but yours are too. Min Ho deserves better from a chief assistant.”
Yuna moved to place hands on Min’s shoulders and Young Jae sighed.
“You’re right, Mr. Rio. However, before I leave, I’d like the opportunity to help clear up Mr. Jun’s reputation. I’ll take responsibility for the striking factory workers.”
“Young Jae,” Yuna gasped her hands gripping Min’s stiff shoulders tightly.
“Please, Mr. Rio.” Young Jae ignored Yul’s scoff and turned to look at Min. “I want to make things right.”
“That decision is Min Ho’s.” Mr. Rio turned to look at Min. “I’m glad you called me when you did. We would have never known there was a problem among us. I promise that the board will make the right decision the day after tomorrow. I’ll handle Yul’s situation personally.”
Min dragged his gaze away from Young Jae and forced a slight smile for Mr. Rio.
“Thank you for helping.”
“Hanje Security will want to talk to Young Jae.” Mr. Rio nodded for Yuna to go get the head of security. “Yul, come with me.”
Yul followed Mr. Rio out of the private dining room. When he was passing Min, Yul stopped and gave him a hateful look.
“This is not over. The moment you make a mistake, I’ll be waiting to pounce. I’ll get my son what he deserves.”
Min narrowed his gaze and looked at Yul. “I’ll be waiting for your first move. Next time, I won’t be blindsided again. I’m a very fast learner, Uncle. I hope you remember that.”
Yul sneered and followed Mr. Rio out of the dining room. Young Jae watched Min stand at the door in shock. Min’s eyes turned cold as he clo
sed the door Young Jae deliberately left open.
“What is going on?” Min demanded the moment the door closed. “Why were you talking to Uncle Yul?”
“I thought you heard him.” Young Jae shrugged. “I’ve been on his payroll this whole time.”
Min shook his head in denial. “You pushed me to stand up to his bullying. Is this a game, Young Jae? I’m not in the mood right now for one of your weird tests. Were you tricking Yul so that Mr. Rio would find out what he’s doing?”
Young Jae stilled his heart against the pain he was feeling at Min’s words. The truth was always better and as much as Min was giving him a chance to be free, he couldn’t avoid it.
“I was working with Yul. This is no trick. He was blackmailing my family.”
“Blackmailing your family?” Min stepped forward to brace his palms on the dining table, as though it would help him make sense of the situation. “What about the fountain, and the kisses, did you do it all to gain my trust?”
“All of it was a sham.” Young Jae kept his tone flat. It was better to get this out of the way and leave Min in peace. He would make sure that there were no more problems for Min. “I did it to protect my family, but it’s no excuse. You have to let me make a statement to the press.”
Min kept his head lowered. “Stop lying to me. You care about me.”
“I don’t.” Young Jae shrugged. “It was all a game, Min. You said it yourself, you don’t trust me the way your father does. You were right. I’m bad news. I wanted to take away your position. Let me go, Min.”
“If I help your family, will you stop this?” Min asked quietly.
Min raised his head and Young Jae gasped when he saw the glistening dark eyes. Min looked ready to cry, his heart on his sleeve. Why did he have to make this so hard?
“It doesn’t matter.” Young Jae lowered his gaze unable to look into Min’s eyes. “I don’t think it will help the situation if I stay. It’s time for me to go. If I don’t, Yul is going to have more things to use against you.”
“I don’t care what Yul wants. I want you to say that you’ll stay.”
If he stayed, Min’s chances of being voted in were good, but the thought of Yul outing Min on the headlines, he couldn’t risk that.
Young Jae bit his lip to keep the pain at bay and glanced at Min.
“You’re just a kid, Min. You have no clue what you want. You’re not my type.”
Min held on to the table for a moment longer before he straightened up. His gaze hard, he took a step back and adjusted his coat.
“Fine, have it your way. Do what you want with the conference. I don’t care.”
Min turned to leave and Young Jae drunk in the sight of him greedily. He would have wanted to know how it felt to hold Min through the night. He wished he could see what that handsome face looked like in the throes of passion. Min reached the door and paused.
For a minute, Young Jae thought that Min might be calling his bluff. He wished Min were really calling his bluff. It would be so easy to discard the path he was choosing.
Min clung to the door handle and spoke.
“I read once that, ‘love has no ethics and it has no teacher’. I never understood what those words meant until now.” Min turned to look at Young Jae. “It hurts to admit it because you don’t want me but, I love you, Young Jae.”
Min opened the door and left the room without another word.
Young Jae let out a long shaky sigh.
Jun Min Ho, the annoying spoiled rich brat, turned into serious businessman, had just declared he loved him.
“I’m an idiot,” he whispered to the empty room.
***
Chapter Eight
Lara stepped out of the elevator on the fifteenth floor at the Hanje Head Offices. She adjusted the brown bag she carried and hoped Min hadn’t left for a meeting. The front office receptionist waved at her with a smile as she headed down the corridor to Min’s office.
Two women stood talking.
“Can you imagine Kim Young Jae was responsible for the workers striking at the Hanje shoe factory? He was helping Mr. Yul destroy Chairman Jun’s business reputation. He confessed it all at a press conference two months ago. Who would have imagined that? It’s such a shame, I really liked Young Jae.”
“Shut up,” Lara snapped at the two women.
The both gasped when they saw her.
“Don’t you know gossiping is in bad taste?” Lara asked annoyed by their attitude. “Find some place else to make up stories.”
Lara glared at the two women and kept walking down the hallway to Min’s offices at the end of the hallway. She pushed her hair back and shook her head at the gossip. She’d hoped it would die down, but it seemed to be catching fire with each week. Min was already struggling with the situation; he didn’t need an office full of gossipmongers peddling that bogus story.
She walked into the executive assistant’s office and smiled at the young man behind the desk. “Is he in?”
“Yes, he’s supposed to be going out in a few minutes.”
“Thank you.”
Lara walked right into Min’s office without knocking and wasn’t surprised to find him standing by the office windows staring out. She’d caught him doing it more times than she cared to count.
Min was missing Young Jae.
She hated to see her brother so sad.
Lara pasted on a smile and used her most cheerful tone. “Oppa, I brought you lunch.”
Min turned with a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes.
“Are you running away from your classes again? I told you that you don’t need to do this for me.”
She shrugged and moved to a coffee table to place the lunchbox she’d brought with her from home.
“We both know you don’t remember to eat lunch. Come and sit. Mom made you japchae. She wants to see you later for dinner. Do you think you can make it?”
Min sighed and came to sit on the comfortable armchairs surrounding the coffee table. He looked at the food she laid out on the table and picked up his chopsticks.
“I’m meeting Shin this evening. He’s coming into town today, and will be gone tomorrow afternoon. We’re going out to Bar 74.”
Lara sat across Min and watched him take a small bite of his Korean noodle stir-fry. He looked tired; there were dark circles under his eyes. He wasn’t sleeping well.
“Are you sure you should be out drinking? I think you need to rest.”
“Don’t nag, Lara. I can take care of myself just fine.” He shrugged. “Besides, I miss seeing Shin. We haven’t managed to talk while he’s been away. I’m glad I have the freedom to go wherever I please now.”
Lara sighed and sat back in her chair watching him eat. He didn’t look up to see her speculative study. So, she sighed again and waited to see if he’d catch on. When he didn’t glance up, she shook her head.
He was ignoring her.
“Are you really not going to ask what’s wrong?” she asked with a frown.
“I’m sure you’re going to tell me anyway.” He glanced at his watch. “Make it quick, I have to leave in a few minutes.”
“Fine, I want you to call Young Jae Oppa. He misses you too, you know. The same way you’re missing him and don’t bother denying it. You’re not sleeping.”
Min put his chopsticks down. His expression was carefully blank. She hated seeing it.
“Are you done?”
“I’m not done. If you don’t call him, I will,” she said with a glare.
Min picked up the napkin she’d placed beside the bowl of japchae and wiped his mouth. He placed it on the table and smiled at her.
“Thanks for the food, Lara. Be careful going home, and say hi to Omma.”
He stood up and walked to the coat hanger where he retrieved his suit jacket. A fitted black jacket that he pulled over his pastel green shirt, he closed the buttons and smiled at her.
/> “I’ll see you later.”
“Escape all you want, Jun Min Ho. I’ll get you to talk about this.” She stood up as he left the office with a short wave and she was left standing alone in his spacious office.
Her gaze fell on the half-full bowl of japchae. He really wasn’t eating enough. She picked up her handbag, got her cell phone and scrolled through her contacts until she found Young Jae. She smiled and perched on the edge of her seat as she waited for Young Jae to answer.
“Hello.” Young Jae’s quiet voice reached her after four rings.
“Young Jae Oppa, will you meet me for a while? I hope you’re not too busy.”
***
Young Jae looked up when Lara showed up around two o’clock. She looked lovely in fitted jeans and a red top that framed her figure to perfection. Her hair was up in a ponytail and she sat down at the chair across him with a wide smile.
“Hi,” she said happily.
He couldn’t help the smile as he put his book on the table and sat back.
“You look happy, is it because the sun is shining today?”
“I’m enjoying the weather before it changes and its cold.” Lara shivered dramatically. He laughed and waved the waiter over so that she could get a drink. “What’s good here?”
“Have anything you like,” he told her. “Oppa might not have a job with Hanje Group anymore but I can still afford to buy you lunch.”
She chuckled and ordered a chocolate pastry and a tall glass of peach juice. When she was done, she returned her attention to him. She treated to a thorough scan on his face.
“You look better than Min.” She frowned. “I hope you’re not a stubborn as he is.”
“Lara,” he started to protest but she raised a finger to stop him.
“Don’t start; I just had a similar conversation with my brother. He’s such a hardheaded idiot. All he knows how to do is work.”
Young Jae moved his book to the side. It was so easy to picture a stubborn Min working away in his new office. Min, he smiled at the image that filled his mind. He always remembered Min at the musical fountain.
“How is he really doing?”
“How do you think? I’m having a hard time keeping up with him. He’s living alone at Jun House. Dad is busy running his political campaigns in Daegu. Mum wants Min to move in with us, but he can’t, as you know. I’m worried because he’s not taking care of himself.”