The egg yolk sun poured through the small opening of the curtain and awaited entrance into Tae Hee's eyes. Waking up is not a pleasure for her when her dreams are better than her reality. Waking up is like a constant reminder that her life is nothing but a struggle to make ends meet. She's like a zombie who's dead inside but still walking and waiting for the day to pass and hoping it didn't get worse than yesterday.
Tae Hee rubbed the remainders of the sleep from her eyes and stared at her ceiling as if it can make her mood better. Slowly and reluctantly, she sat up and dragged her feet off the bed. Tae Hee stretched her arms above her head and yawned. She blinked her eyes when her phone rang.
"Hello," she lazily answered the call.
"I'm outside! Open the door!"
Tae Hee looked at her screen to check the caller ID. It was her friend, Jihyo. At the same time, she could hear someone was banging on her apartment door.
Tae Hee groaned. "I'm coming. Stop banging on the door. You'll wake up my neighbour." Tae Hee shuffled towards the door and opened it, revealing her friend's cheerful face. She rolled her eyes and let her in.
"Didn't you say you have an interview today?" Jihyo asked as she walked straight towards Tae Hee's bedroom.
"Yeah. At 2 pm." Tae Hee checked the time on her phone. "I still got some time to get ready." She followed her friends from behind. This will be her 6th interview after she failed the previous interviews. She lost her old job since the company went bankrupt and they couldn't even compensate their worker. Tae Hee had been jobless for almost two months now. Being jobless at the age of 25 hits her hard.
Tae Hee was barely able to pay her rent and utilities by using the money she had saved. She'd been eating instant noodles since the remaining money was used to pay her debt that she owed from a loan shark. Her small salary left her with no choice since her mother's hospital bill is too expensive.
"I have a hunch that you will make it through this time," Jihyo said as she took out a white shirt and a set of dark blue coloured blazer from a paper bag. "Wear this. Yours are too old. You should impress the recruiter."
"You didn't have to do this. My old blazer is still good to wear."
"Oh, no honey. You need to listen to me this time. Just wear this okay. I can't fit them anymore so you can have them," Jihyo lied. She knew her friend wouldn't accept it if she tells her she bought her a new set.
"Fine," Tae Hee surrendered. She sat on the bed beside her friend. "Do you think I can make it this time?"
"Of course! Didn't you say the recruiter personally invite you to the interview?"
Tae Hee scratched the back of her neck. "Yeah. I felt weird actually because why would he want to hire someone like me? I thought he's a scammer but I searched about the company and it is a huge company."
"What do you mean by someone like me? You're pretty and smart! I'm sure he can see and that's why he's inviting you to join the interview. You're lucky!" Jihyo side hugged Tae Hee and smiled widely. They had been friends since university. Jihyo knew about her struggles and she helps her sometimes but Tae Hee didn't like to be indebted to someone. Jihyo is not rich but her family is well enough to support her and her little sister.
"Maybe you'll be able to pay all the debt you owe from the loan shark," Jihyo smiled meekly. She was angry when she found out her friend owed money from a loan shark but after a while she came to understands that Tae Hee was desperate at that time and she doesn't want to burden Jihyo with her problem.
"I'm sorry about that. I didn't mean to hide it from you. I know you will be worried about me and I didn't want you to feel that." Tae Hee looked down on her feet.
"Hey, cheer up! I'm not mad anymore. I'm disappointed but not anymore. I trust you to be able to take care of it," Jihyo smiled.
Tae Hee looked at Jihyo as she squeezed her hand. "Thank you for understanding me."
"What's a friend for, right?" Jihyo stood up. "Let's not ruin our day with a sob story. You need to be ready and we're getting our brunch before you head for your interview!" She checked her watch and they have 4 hours before the interview.
~
Tae Hee stepped into a huge building which was located at a Gangnam city. She looked around in awe as this was her first time being in such a big and luxury looking building. Her previous company was just a small company and not as elegant as this building – even the previous interviews that she went were small companies.
She took a deep breath and sauntered towards the reception desk. Tae Hee smiled at the receptionist before she spoke.
"I'm here to meet Mr Park Seonghwa."
"Have you make an appointment with him?" The receptionist with a bob hair asked.
"Yes." Tae Hee nodded.
"And your name is?"
"Yoon Tae Hee."
The receptionist nodded and make a quick call using the office phone on the desk. She glanced up at Tae Hee and said. "His room is on the 15th floor. You can ask the receptionist on that floor to show you his room. Here's your visitor pass."
Tae Hee thanked her and made her way towards the lift. She pressed the 15th floor as soon as she entered and waited nervously until the lift brought her towards the said floor.
"You can do it!" She mumbled to herself as the door opened, revealing a beautifully decorated floor. There's a reception desk not far from the lift and a woman in her 30s was seating behind it. She's wearing glasses and her hair was tied neatly into a bun.
"How can I help you, miss?" The woman asked as soon as she saw Tae Hee.
"I'm here to meet Mr Park Seonghwa," Tae Hee answered.
"You must be Miss Yoon Tae Hee?"
"Yes, I'm Yoon Tae Hee."
"Follow me. Mr Park is waiting for you inside his room."
His room? Is this like a one to one interview session? Tae Hee fiddled with her fingers and her palm was sweating. She had never been into a one to one interview and it's making her extremely nervous. The walk towards his room felt longer. There were a few rooms on the hallway and Tae Hee didn't dare to look who occupied the room – she's sure they're someone with a high position in the company. Tae Hee bit her lower lips when they reached a room which was situated at the end of the hallway.
The woman knocked on the door and a male voice can be heard, signalling whoever that knock the door to come in. The woman twisted the doorknob opened and she smiled.
"Miss Yoon Tae Hee is here," the woman said.
"Let her in." The voice was deep and serious.
"You can have a seat over there." The woman gestured Tae Hee to sit on the sofa in the room. She closed the door and left Tae Hee alone with Seonghwa.
Tae Hee stood in front of the door awkwardly, not knowing if she should sit on the sofa when the guy was still seated behind the desk, immersed in his work.
Seonghwa sensed her standing near the door so he glanced up from his papers to meet her face. "Take a seat, Miss Yoon."
Tae Hee nodded and gingerly sat on one of the sofas. Oh My God, this is so awkward. I didn't expect to have this kind of interview.
Seonghwa stood up and took a seat in front of Tae Hee. He cleared his throat to gain her attention.
Tae Hee awkwardly lifted her face to meet his. It was a lie if she says that her heart is not beating at the moment. This was the second time they met and she still found this guy breathtakingly handsome. His chestnut hair was parted neatly on one side and he has a sharp nose and a pair of eyes that can make your knees jelly if you stare into it. Pay attention, Tae Hee! This is not the time to check out on him.
"I'm going to go straight to the point," Seonghwa started. "Are you good at deceiving people?"
"Huh?" His question made her dumbfounded. It took her a few seconds before she can digest his words. "Are you asking me to scam someone?"
"Scamming is not the right word. Let's just say I want you to pretend to be someone." Seonghwa laid back on the sofa. "You need to be discreet about your true identity around people."
Tae Hee cocked her brows. "What does that mean? That sounds like a scam to me."
"Not for me," Seonghwa replied. "Look, you're going to get higher pay from your previous company. All you have to do is to pretend to be someone in her place, only for a few months."
Tae Hee's jaw dropped. Is this man crazy? "That doesn't make sense."
"What do you mean?"
"How can I pretend to be the person you want me to be? Isn't it obvious that people around her will know? I mean, our face will be different – obviously because I don't have any twins – and we have a different personality. That will be impossible."
"I know you're going to say that." Seonghwa took out a photo of a woman. Tae Hee's eyes widened in disbelief. "I had the same reaction as you,"
"How – how is that possible?" She can't believe that woman in the picture resembles her a lot – no, they're like a mirror to each other. There's no way one can tell the difference if they see both of them at a first glance.
Seonghwa shrugged. "Let's just say you're a doppelganger." He stared at her for a while before he continued. "The woman you saw in the picture is Miss Lee Mina. She's the only child of Lee Corporation's chairman, Mr Lee Soo Man."
"Hold on." Tae Hee stopped him from continuing. "Why do you need me to pretend to be her? Even if we have the same face, we are from two different worlds. I'm not born with a silver spoon so I don't know how to act like a daughter from a rich family." She might have a princess-syndrome since she's the only child and I'm sure her parents spoilt her. There's no way I can act that way.
"You are wondering how to act like a spoilt and snobbish heir, right?" Seonghwa smirked.
Tae Hee coughed as she choked on her spit. How did he know what am I thinking?
"You don't have to worry about that," Seonghwa continued. "Miss Mina had been home-schooled her entire life. She then went to a university in New York so not many people knew her personally here except her family members and the maids inside the house, of course. She didn't have a close friend so you don't have to worry about people knowing you are a fake."
"Sounds lonely," Tae Hee said. It was ironic for her to say that when she's not much different from her. Tae Hee didn't have friends until she met Jihyo. Nobody wants to be friends with her after what had happened to her family. She moved to Seoul to start a new life after she managed to grab a scholar to enter a university there.
"So, what do you think? We will pay you triple from what you earned before."
"You haven't answered my question. Why do I need to pretend to be her?"
Seonghwa exhaled a deep sigh. His face looked sad. "Miss Mina fell into a coma and she still hasn't woken up. It's been almost 3 weeks already."
"No offence but is it necessary to have me pretending to be her while she's in a coma? You told me not many people know her and if there is, does it matter though? They can visit and pray for her recovery."
"Right, you have a point there. I forgot to mention to you a one more important thing." Seonghwa leaned forward and rested both his elbows on his thigh. He interlaced his fingers and fixed his eyes on her. "The main reason Chairman Lee need you to pretend to be her is that she's supposed to marry the heir of J Corporation, Jeon Jungkook. Both families will meet this Saturday and we can't have the meeting if Miss Mina is not present."
Tae Hee gaped. "Are you telling me that I need to live with a stranger?!"
"No, you don't have to. You just need to pretend to be his fiancée. Mr Lee will arrange the marriage after Miss Mina wakes up from her coma and fully recover,"
"What if...she..." Tae Hee bit her lower lips and contemplating whether she should say it.
"She will," Seonghwa sighed. "She's a strong woman so she will wake up. The doctor said the injury is not severe so she will survive from it."
"Sorry." Tae Hee didn't know why she apologised but he seems hurt and she felt a pang of guilt.
There's a moment of silence before Seonghwa broke it. "So will you do it?"
Tae Hee fiddled with her fingers. She didn't know whether she should do it and taking a risk of pretending to be someone. The offer was tempting but the consequence if people find out she's not Mina was also something that she's not sure whether she's able to handle it. What if Jeon Jungkook sue her for scamming him? Will Mr Lee back her up when they're not related by blood?
"Can you give me some time to think about it?"
Seonghwa stared deeply at her. He leaned back on the sofa and crossed one of his legs on top of the other.
"What if I say Chairman Lee will pay off your debt to the loan shark and also your mom's hospital bill? You will be working here while you are masquerading as Miss Mina and we will guarantee you a job at another place after she recovers. We already wrote it in the contract if you doubt it."
"You...knew about me?" She was surprised to know that Seonghwa knew about her debt and her mom.
"Of course I will do a background check before I offer you the job. That's what recruiters do, don't they?"
Tae Hee bit her lower lips. Should I take it? What if Jeon Jungkook found out about me? But they offered to pay the debt...and mom's hospital bill.
"I..." She fiddled with her fingers again. "I need some time to think." Tae Hee didn't want to make a rash decision like when she decided to owe a large sum of money from that loan shark. She regretted it until today but she was too desperate at that time. She didn't have enough money to pay the hospital bill and it's already 3 months due.
"Fine. I'll give you until before this weekend to decide. The offer is over if you didn't give me any answer." Seonghwa stood up and ambled towards his desk. He took a large brown envelope and handed it to Tae Hee. She took it with a questioning look plastered on her face. "The contract is in there. You can read and sign it if you agree to the term. I left my business card in there so you can call me."
Tae Hee opened the envelope and took out the document in it. There were few rules written on it and whatever Seonghwa was offering previously was written on it as well. They already prepared it meticulously beforehand and Chairman Lee was deadly serious about wanting her to pretend to be his daughter.
"Oh, and remember this, once you agree to this, you can't back out"
"What do you mean?" Tae Hee raised an eyebrow.
"You agreeing to this contract is like agreeing on the merging between the two companies. The two of them will get married and automatically both the companies too. If you back out halfway, that's like you are terminating the contract between the two companies. They can't know about Miss Mina condition."
"The life of rich people gives me a headache."
Seonghwa chuckled. "Business is like a competition. Their world is like a competition. Will you let your child marrying someone who's in a coma? They will doubt about her waking up soon and they might as well think her as good as dead. They can't risk their company's future."
"They can just merge without having to marry off their child."
"That can happen but there's a lot of consequences to it. It's much more secure if they are to marry their child." Seonghwa turned his gaze towards Tae Hee. "You won't understand it so just forget about it. Just know that once you're in, there's no way out without Chairman Lee's consent."
"What if Miss Mina took longer than 6 months? I'm sure Jeon's family wouldn't want to wait that long."
Seonghwa shrugged. "Then you need to pretend to be his wife."
"What?!"
"You will get to know him while you are pretending to be his fiancé so he's not a stranger anymore. That wouldn't hurt to live together. Just don't take a risk of having his child. You wouldn't want to know what will happen to the baby I'm afraid."
Tae Hee gaped. She knew it the bigger the offer, the bigger the risk. It's like stepping out from a gutter and into a lion den with a bag full of gold. I can't turn back once I signed this document. Should I?