{KOREAN-ENGLISH}
Joon So Min still sat stunned, processing Lee Jeong's request. She never imagined someone of Lee Jeong's status would admire her work,let alone visit her boutique in the States.
"You visited my shop?" she asked, brows lifted.
Lee Jeong nodded proudly. "Of course. Quietly though. I didn't want to stir attention. Your designs were elegant...clean, confident. They spoke without shouting."
So Min felt her cheeks flush. Compliments weren't new, but coming from someone like Lee Jeong, they struck differently. She'd poured her heartbreak into every stitch during those lonely months abroad.
"If you design my wedding dress," Lee Jeong continued, sipping her coffee, "you'll be the talk of town. Once your new shop opens, you'll have clients lined up from Gangnam to Busan."
Joon So Min blinked. That kind of exposure... she'd only ever dreamed of it. Slowly, she nodded. "I'll do it. Thank you so much for this chance." She bowed her head, gratitude genuine.
Lee Jeong giggled and leaned forward. "Let's make you the next big name in fashion, hm?"
—
Later that day, So Min met up with Hye Sua, who nearly knocked her over with joy.
"I knew it!" Hye Sua clapped. "I told you your designs would catch the right eyes!"
So Min smiled, comforted by her friend's unwavering faith.
"Min Jun is going to freak when I tell him," Hye Sua beamed, then lowered her voice. "Though... we're still keeping it all under wraps."
The reminder made So Min nod. After what happened with the media frenzy and her own heartbreak, she understood the need for secrecy. Lee Min Jun didn't want history repeating itself, especially not on someone like Hye Sua.
"Where's ma?" Hye Sua asked casually, pulling So Min back from her thoughts.
"She went to see her sister today." So Min's smile faltered. "She's not back yet."
—
Meanwhile, Choi Hura sat across from a woman with sharp features and cold, judging eyes. Her elder sister—Jin.
"You're being too kind to that girl, Hura," Jin said, sipping bitterly from her black coffee. "A child from the streets, raised in an orphanage... now mingling with chaebol bloodlines?"
"She's not just any child," Hura said firmly. "She's been through too much. I won't abandon her again."
Jin's lip curled. "She's still seeing that Lee boy?"
Hura nodded.
"Tch." Jin shook her head. "Then why not use it? The Lee family is rich beyond measure. Get some dowry, secure your future. Introduce my daughter to them instead. Mi-Hi just graduated,young, fresh, beautiful. Perfect match."
Hura blinked. "Mi-Hi's a lovely girl, but... that's not how things work."
"Isn't it?" Jin rose, her voice low but venomous. "Seems you've forgotten where you came from. Now that you have a rich son-in-law, you're getting bold. But when that child learns the truth,learns her mother is still alive,let's see how high and mighty you still stand."
Her heels clicked sharply against the café floor as she turned and walked away, leaving a stunned Choi Hura trembling in her seat. Her lips pressed into a thin line, and her hands clutched the teacup with quiet anguish.
A secret she had buried long ago was now clawing its way toward the light.
—
That evening, Lee Seo Jun stepped into his penthouse, the faint scent of citrus in the air. He loosened his tie and called out, "So Min?"
No response.
He noticed a small parcel on the table addressed to him. Curious, he opened it.
Inside was a sketchbook.
Flipping through it, his heart slowed,page after page were rough sketches of suits, gowns, wedding dresses... and then, soft drawings of him. Of them. Tiny moments captured in pencil: him sleeping on the couch, her laughing in the rain, a hand brushing his cheek.
He exhaled deeply.
"You shouldn't snoop through my things," came So Min's voice from the hallway.
Seo Jun turned. She stood with a grocery bag in one hand, cheeks slightly flushed.
"I wasn't snooping," he defended, "I thought it was a gift."
"It's not," she walked over and took the book from him, hiding it behind her back.
He smiled.
"You're cute when you're embarrassed."
So Min rolled her eyes, but a soft grin tugged at her lips. "Dinner?"
"Only if you cook something spicy."
"You really don't know how to behave like a guest, do you?"
Seo Jun stepped closer, closing the distance between them. "I don't plan to be a guest."
So Min's heart thudded.
But just before their lips met, Seo Jun's phone rang.
He checked the screen and sighed.
"What is it?" So Min asked.
"...It's the chairman."
So Min froze. "Your father?"
He nodded slowly. "He wants to meet. Tonight."