Hanni comes out of the elevator humming, she made gimbap for breakfast this morning. There was still half an hour before work, she would take it to Danielle's room and have breakfast with her.
Lately she had been preoccupied with Minji's problems and she hadn't had much interaction with the Australian.
She wasn't going to lie, she missed her friend's high voice and cheerfulness.
Danielle must be busy putting on her makeup at this hour, maybe she could surprise her while she was putting on lipstick.
Hanni giggled and quickened her pace towards Danielle's room, she saw Ms. Kang standing next to the photocopier.
And Danielle had her arms wrapped around the COO's neck, and Haerin's arms were around her waist, holding her close.
They were kissing.
Wait...
What?
Hanni let out a loud gasp.
The uninvited voice took them both by surprise, Danielle immediately released her lips and looked around for the direction of the sound. The woman's lips were half-open and swollen, confusion clearly depicted on her face.
Haerin turned to Hanni, "Good morning Hanni." she smiled, still hugging Danielle who finally just looked down in shame and buried her face into Haerin's chest.
Hanni immediately bent ninety degrees, "I'M SORRY."
Haerin chuckled, "It's okay, we should have done it in my office."
Hanni widened her eyes.
"But Dani looks so adorable that I can't help myself." she kissed Danielle on the forehead.
Hanni's face turned red with embarrassment at the sight.
Haerin glanced at the package in Hanni's hand, "Are you going to have breakfast together?", Hanni nodded, "Yes, it's gimbap, I made it this morning. Do you want some Miss Kang?"
Haerin released her hug, "No, I'm fine, thank you." she then looked at Danielle softly, "I'm going to my room." she kissed her lips and started to walk away.
"Oh, Miss Kang!"
The woman stopped and turned around, "Yes Hanni?", "May I talk to you if you have some free time later?" Hanni stood up awkwardly, "It's about Miss Kim." she said again carefully.
Haerin furrowed her brows for a moment, "Of course." she smiled. Hanni bowed, "Thank you."
Danielle sat back in her chair when Haerin entered her room, her face still flushed.
"Are you guys dating now?" Hanni hurriedly approached her, she put her package on Danielle's desk and opened it.
"Uuhh yes."
"Oh my, that's good news." Hanni hugged Danielle tightly, she then started to unwrap the gimbap.
"So, is there any update on you? We should exchange stories since you already know about my relationship with Haerin...I mean Miss Kang." she said as she clasped her hands together, but then she made a sad face, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hide it from you but we just started dating a few days ago."
Hanni chewed her food, "It's okay Danielle. I.." she swallowed her gimbap, "Uh..I'm getting married in 10 days."
Danielle's gimbap fell off her chopsticks.
"Hanni, marriage is a sacred thing, don't make fun of it." Danielle scolded, staring at the Vietnamese's face, hoping her friend would suddenly laugh.
But Hanni kept a serious face.
Danielle began to feel excited, did Hanni really mean it? Her partner must be a very lucky person.
Was it possible that she and Miss Kim had decided to take things to a more serious level?
"Who's the candidate?" Danielle grasped Hanni's fingers tightly, hoping her guess was right.
"Miss Kim." After saying that, Hanni immediately pulled her hand away to cover her ears.
Danielle let out a squeaky little scream that sounded like a shriek.
"You're not kidding, right?" she shook Hanni's shoulders while laughing happily, then hugged her tightly.
Gosh this woman is so extra.
"What's wrong? I heard screaming." Haerin came out of her office.
Danielle ran over to her, "HANNI IS GETTING MARRIED TO MISS KIM!" she jumped up to hug Haerin, "Their wedding is next month!" she screamed again and giggled.
Haerin glanced at Hanni, "Uuhhh, yeah." she said.
Danielle looked at Haerin, "Wait, did you know about this? Why didn't you tell me?" she pouted and made a sad face.
"I was thinking of letting Hanni tell you, you guys are friends." she said quickly, she glanced back at Hanni, signaling for help.
"Yeah!!! I wanted this to be a surprise for you..Uh..surprise!" Hanni grinned with an awkward face.
Danielle looked at the two of them squinting her eyes, a moment later she smiled widely, "Whatever it is, I'm happy for you guys." she kissed Haerin's lips, "You're going to have a wonderful sister-in-law." she whispered.
She then let go of the hug and ran to Hanni, hugging her tightly, "I'm really happy you're getting married, I'm sure you can change Miss Kim, I hope you're happy with her Hanni." she whispered softly.
Hanni returned Danielle's hug, feeling touched, "Thank you Danielle..."
She really hoped so.
Minji got out of the elevator and walked towards her office, she furrowed her brows when she saw them.
"Miss Kim!" Danielle released her hug and bowed to her, "Good morning." she smiled widely.
Minji was silent, she glanced at Hanni and continued her walk.
"Let's finish our breakfast." Hanni pulled Danielle's hand.
----
****
"This better be important Hanni, I had to lie to Minji that I was taking you to my best friend's place, who luckily is a famous wedding dress designer. And thankfully she has an important meeting with those British guys. You know she's very possessive of people or things she thinks are hers, right?"
Hanni awkwardly squeezed her fingers, "I'm sorry for troubling you Miss Kang, then is Danielle okay with us going together?"
Haerin chuckled, her facial expression immediately turning soft, "She's not the jealous type, after all I allowed her to go with Jin Sol, just for today."
"Now tell me what you want to know about Minji." she took a drink of her mineral water.
"I actually heard this in passing, but it seems like Minji was very angry back then...uh, do you know Minji's ex? The one in college?"
Haerin choked so hard, she immediately coughed while holding on to the edge of the table.
Her face was very red.
"Miss Kang...are you alright?" Hanni looked at her anxiously.
Did I ask the wrong thing?
Haerin tried to calm her cough.
"Hanni..." she breathed in with difficulty, two drops of water flowed from inside her nose, she quickly wiped it away, "That..that..is a dangerous subject." she said.
"Does that mean you won't tell me?" Hanni lowered her head slowly, looking sad.
"Well..I don't know if I can tell you about this. Minji herself never brought it up, and would get angry if anyone mentioned it even unintentionally, this..." Haerin cleared her throat, "It's very sensitive."
"Sensitive? Why? What's going on?" asked Hanni, a look of deep concern on her face.
"I want to help her..she looks so..hurt." Hanni's voice trembled fighting back tears, "Is that why she is like this?
I want to be a strength for her, but I need to know what caused her to be like that, so that I can understand what steps to take."
She looked at Haerin again, "Please?" she said slowly.
Haerin turned her face away, unable to look at Hanni's face which right now, in her opinion, looked like a sad puppy.
That pleading look in her eyes was very dangerous. How did Minji not heed that innocent look and angelic nature all this time?
Oh yeah, she has no feelings.
"Hanni..." Haerin rubbed her forehead in frustration, she wanted to tell that woman but that devil MUST NOT know.
Who knows what she would do to both of them.
"Alright I'll tell you but please, please what you'll know after this will stay here, no one else will know, especially Minji."
Hanni gave a small nod.
Haerin took a breath and exhaled slowly.
"I met Minji for the first time when I was brought to the house by Mr. Kim. She was very quiet, and always had an expressionless face. She was always in her room, probably studying, because father was always pressuring her to be the topper in school.
I tried to get to know her better, and she was fine with that, but I often felt like she had a barrier around herself. I feel like I'm someone who only knows her, but doesn't feel like her sister."
Haerin took a sip of her wine.
"There were some nights dad would come to her room and I'd hear her screaming, which I knew because my bedroom was next to hers. But I could hear dad's angry yelling more clearly, and some other sounds, like falling objects, punches.
And after that I can hear her sobbing, it can happen every two to three days of the week, at random times."
Hanni felt hurt.
Haerin wiped away her sudden tears, " I'm sorry, remembering it again makes me emotional." she smiled awkwardly.
"And the morning after I saw some bruises on her legs and face, maybe dad also hit her in some unseen places because sometimes she couldn't straighten her back or wear long sleeves even though it was summer.
And once a week there was a man who came carrying a black briefcase and went into her room, later I found out it was their personal doctor and he came to treat Minji.
Sometimes Minji would get into fights at school, and dad would get called, and Minji would get beaten up again because dad thought she had embarrassed him, but he never asked her why she was fighting."
Hanni couldn't bear to hear that, she looked away as tears began to race down her cheeks.
"Then she graduated with perfect grades and I advanced to the last year of high school. Dad sent Minji to S University, and she lived in the dorms. A few months later Minji came because mom missed her a lot and wanted to see her. She came with a girl."
Haerin looked at Hanni and gave a small smile, "She has a cute face, a very nice girl, cheerful and polite. Even dad liked her on first meeting. Minji also looks very different with her, she looks more...alive.
They come to the house once a week, sometimes they stay overnight.
I was very happy because Minji became more smiling, talking, she even likes to joke with me, she's a very funny person. I was so grateful that the girl changed her."
Haeri looked down at her wine glass, "When I graduated I was sent to the same university as Minji, dad started preparing her to continue in one of his companies. Minji focused on studying, and that girl was always by her side, keeping her company."
Minji told me she was crazy about her, loved her very much, and wanted to have a family with her, that she would marry her after they graduated." she stared out the window, her eyes teary.
"Dad appointed Minji as Director a month before she graduated from college. She studied and worked so well, he started to be proud of her. At that time her life was perfect, good grades, a partner who supported and loved her, a secured career.
A few days after Minji graduated she called me, saying that she only went to the convenience store for a while, but when she returned to the apartment she couldn't find her girlfriend, and her wallet wasn't there either. The contents of his safe were also empty, all the important documents were missing, including the company documents."
Haerin rubbed her forehead, "Minji entrusted everything she knew to that girl, because her love was so strong. Because of her faith in her, because she believed they would always be together." she clenched her hands into fists.
"Dad was furious when he found out about this, no...furious is a very mild word..I can't even describe it...he was like a mad monster.
He had to spend money to hire a private detective to find the girl. They found her but the documents were no longer with her, she sold them to our competitor."
Hanni gasped.
A waiter came to bring their food, Haerin stopped talking for a moment and waited for the waiter to pass.
"All the company's secrets are there...the girl was put in prison but dad had to dissolve the company, he couldn't take such a big risk to keep it.
He also couldn't fire the employees because it was so sudden, people would speculate and his name would fall, and it would definitely affect some of his other companies.
He ended up creating a new company, which is our current company, and incorporated the existing employees into it.
He did this secretly, only announcing that the company was changing its concept. His strong connections and money allowed him to do it all in less time than needed.
But he also had to silence a lot of media and people working on the case to keep it out of the news."
Haerin looked down at her food.
"Minji was severely beaten, dad also hit me when I tried to defend her.
She was battered and couldn't walk so she had to be hospitalized for a month. Mom couldn't do anything, all she could do was keep Minji company and take care of her while she was in the hospital.
Dad demanded that she work immediately when she was discharged, giving her a long list of what he called 'debts of sin', saying that she had to reimburse him for all the money he had spent on this matter.
Minji was devastated, she lost everything.
But that wasn't all..."
Haerin stared at Hanni, she looked doubtful. Hanni held back her tears, she smiled softly, "It's okay Miss Kang, it's come this far, you have to finish it."
The cat eyes sighed, "A few days after Minji was discharged from the hospital, dad's lawyer came to the house, he told us that one of the motives for Minji's lover to commit theft and sell company secrets was because she fell in love with someone else, who turned out to be the son of Mr. Kim's rival.
The guy manipulated her, courting her while Minji was studying and working hard, fighting for their future.
He convinces her that she'll be happier with him, that he'll pay more attention to her, and tells her that his family is richer than the Kims.
And she was pregnant with Minji's child... a three-week-old fetus, but she aborted it, just to be with him."
Haerin smiled wryly and looked at the people passing by on the street, "Minji didn't know that, she didn't know that fucking bitch was carrying her child. Can you imagine how she felt when she heard that? I'll never forget the look on her face that day...
After that she worked very hard for many years to pay off that 'Sin Debt', and also included achieving the targets given by dad. Father finally gave her the CEO position.
But she became a very different person, the person you see today."
Haerin glanced at Hanni, the woman was staring out the window, her face filled with tears.
Haerin took another sip of her wine, and placed her glass next to her plate.
All of Minji's rudeness and violence could not make Haerin truly hate her sister, because she knew the most.
She knew the most about how hurt Minji was.
She closed her eyes, sighing slowly, making a wish.
Please...please make her the person who can love my sister sincerely.
Let her be the right person.
--------------------------------------------
Hanni furrowed her brows as Minji led her back to her penthouse. They got out of the car and entered the elevator.
Minji took off her shoes and washed her hands, "What's the matter? You're very quiet today." Hanni walked over and stood in front of her, looking at her attentively.
"What do you want for dinner? Order up." Minji shied away from her and walked towards the sofa.
Hanni followed her, and confronted her again, "Answer me." she said with her hands on her waist.
Minji gave her a cold stare, she moved closer to the Vietnamese.
"Where did you go with Haerin today?"
Hanni raised her eyebrows, "To her friend's place to measure the wedding dress."
"Did you get what you wanted?"
"Well, yeah."
Minji's jaw hardened, "Why don't you show me?"
Hanni gaped, "It was supposed to be a surprise Minji."
"And you're back at the office at 3pm, does it really take that long?"
"Minji, it takes time to measure and decide on the right model for me." Hanni caressed the woman's cheek.
Minji gripped Hanni's wrist tightly, "What exactly were you doing with Haerin?" she snarled in her deep voice.
"We just went to her friend's place." Hanni said softly, looking into Minji's black orbs.
Well, she wasn't completely lying, they did go to Haerin's friend's place and took body measurements, she just didn't know about the model she wanted yet.
"You're mine Pham, if you lie..."
Minji's growl was cut short by Hanni's kiss, she immediately returned it aggressively.
Those soft, sweet lips, she wanted them on other parts of her body. Minji gave a small groan, starting to feel aroused.
Hanni gently pushed Minji's chest and released her lips, "I know Minji." she smiled gently.
She then hugged her, "I'll order chicken for dinner, you take a shower, I'll wait for you."
"Come take a shower with me."
Hanni chuckled, "No, after feeling your kiss earlier I'm not sure you'll be as docile as when we showered together before."
Minji made a noise that sounded like an angry grumble and let go of Hanni's embrace, "Order some chicken at your favorite restaurant."
Hanni smiled, "Of course."