JIN-HAIâS OFFICE
Frustrated, Hei-Ran ruffled her hair as she collapsed on the sofa in Jin-Haiâs office, a deep sigh rolled off her lips as she kicked off her shoes.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om
Jin-Hai watched her from behind his desk. The sulky look her on face was cute but he knew she was really frustrated.
âI hate everything.â She grumbled, while Jin-Hai picked up a bottle of water from the fridge and walked over to her.
âThank you.â She said and quickly gulped half itâs content. Exhaling deeply, she glanced at Jin-Hai who was now seated by her side. âI donât know what to do anymore.â She sighed and leaned into his embrace.
âItâs okay.â Jin-Hai comforted her, as he wrapped his arm around her. His fingers gently combed through her hair before pulling her closer. âTake a deep breath.â He told her and Hei-Ran did as instructed.
âI donât feel better.â She said.
.....
âYouâre thinking too much.â He replied and kissed her temple.
Hei-Ran sunk deeper into his arms. âThinking is all I can do.â
âThen think less. Or if you must think, think of me.â
âHmm?â Hei-Ran lifted her head to his face, but she turned away when she saw the teasing smile on his face.
âThis isnât the time to joke, Jin-Hai. Iâm running out of time. The board will be on my neck soon, and Iâm yet to provide them with some answers. I have no answers at all. What should I do?â With each passing day and with the deadline drawing closer she felt anxious. She took a quick glance at Jin-Hai when she remembered what he had said when she started all this madness.
âCould there really be nothing going on, and maybe Iâm just being paranoid?â She asked making Jin-Hai turn to her. She sat up right and turned fully to him.
âWhat if you were right? What if I have started all this because I still held grudges against A-Yeong for what she did to me? What if-â
âShh..â Jin-Hai hushed her makingHei-Ran swallow the rest of her words as he placed a finger on her lips.
âWhat if your instinct is right?â He asked her.
âBut-â She tried to speak but he pressed his finger closer against her lips.
âYou didnât start all this without some facts. You noticed the discrepancies which others didnât and that prompted you to start this.â
âExactly what Iâm saying! Why was I looking through the accounts of a company I wasnât working for? Doesnât that give us the answers already?â
âWhat about the offshore account?â Jin-Hai asked her.
Hei-Ranâs eyes thoughtfully darted around. âWhat if she has a plausible reason for that? Maybe Iâve just been angry towards her that I began to find ways to fault her and hurt her.â Hei-Ran unconvincingly said.
Jin-Hai could see the struggle in her eyes to believe that she was telling herself the truth. âOr maybe you were just looking out for your family legacy, and your cousin.â
âJin-Hai-â
âCut yourself some slack. Youâre a good child, and a good sister. Donât argue with that. Trust your instinct, as Iâve always trusted it. It is what had brought this company that we built together to this height.â
Hei-Ran looked into his eyes and she didnât know what to say. Her instinct has always been her guide. The one time she hadnât trusted it was when she dated the jerk who helped A-Yeong in framing her, and that had caused her a lot of heartache.
âI donât know.â She dejectedly hissed and lolled back on the couch.
Jin-Hai felt bad seeing her like that. She was pretty much exhausted.
âEverything will be fine. Iâm sure thereâll be some result about the offshore account soon. Hopefully it will provide some answers.â He comforted her.
âI hope so.â
âI Know so.â He said. He sounded so convinced and Hei-Ran wanted to believe him. She didnât want to disappoint her grandfather and her family once again.
They turned towards Jin-Haiâs desk when his phone started to ring. He sauntered over and picked up the phone. His eyes darted towards Hei-Ran when he saw who the caller was.
âItâs the guy.â He announced and Hei-Ran instantly jerked up and hurried towards him. She anxiously gestured him to answer the phone and he did.
âMr Song.â A masculine voice called through the phone.
âItâs me. Any progress yet?â He asked while he glanced at Hei-Ran who had her ear pressed against the back of the phone, listening in on his conversation. For her sake he wanted a positive reply.
âI just sent you an email, you should look at it.â The man said. Hearing him, Hei-Ran hastened towards Jin-Haiâs laptop and quickly opened his emails.
âThank you.â Jin-Hai said. âIâll get back to you as soon as possible.â
âOkay.â The man replied and disconnected the call.
Jin-Hai walked over to Hei-Ran to see the content of the email that had been sent.
He glanced at the open document and a confused frown framed his face.
âLee?â He mumbled and turned to Hei-Ran who was shocked as he was. She seemed to be deep in thought. âCould this be President Leeâs family name or another Lee?â He thought out loud, his gaze keenly fixed on the screen.
He watched as Hei-Ran picked up her phone and dialled Eun-sunâs number.
âHey,â Eun-sun greeted the moment she answered the phone.
âEun-sun can I ask you a question?â Hei-Ran asked.
âHmm, sure.â She answered.
âWhatâs the name of president Leeâs cousin you mentioned the other time?â She inquired.
âJi-Tae?â
âJi-Tae.â Hei-Ran looked at the name sitting on the screen. It was the same. Lee Ji-Tae.
âHei-Ran?â Eun-sun called when Hei-Ran went silent.
Her voice snapped Hei-Ran back to reality. âIâll call you back.â
âAre you okay?â Eun-sun asked with concern. Her friend was sounding off.
âIâll call you back, I promise.â
âOkay.â Eun-sun replied while Hei-Ran ended the call. She turned to Jin-Hai who was also looking at her.
âWho is he?â Jin-Hai curiously inquired even though he had heard Hei-Ranâs brief conversation with her best friend.
âPresident Lee Dan-Hanâs cousin.â
Jin-Hai frowned. âWhy would she send him such amounts of money? And for so long?â Jin-Hai wondered. The Leeâs werenât poor, and as a matter of fact, they were the highest socialite family in the country, even though their number was quite small. So why then would A-Yeong send huge amount of money to a member of that family?
âIt beats me.â Hei-Ran muttered. She was just as shocked as Jin-Hai was, and the way Eun-sun had described him made her more suspicious of whatever was going on.
âWhat do you think could be going on between them?â Hei-Ran asked Jin-Hai who was suddenly deep thought.
A thoughtful look framed his face. âA relationship, which I highly doubt or maybe business?â
âBusiness?â Hei-Ran doubted that. What sort of business could A-Yeong have with a Lee that involved sending out huge amounts of dollars to a secret off shore account? Things werenât adding up. There was more.
âThereâs more.â She said. âAnd I hope this more isnât going to be devastating when I figure it out.â She already feared it would be, because despite A-Yeong being a bold and confident woman, she also had a thing for making poor lifeâs decision.