CHAPTER 207: CHAPTER 206. LITTLE DEVIL

As usual, Sarah only came far after the event had started. The mansion was already filled with guests when she arrived, spreading around the estate with their own groups while waiting for a chance to talk to the chairman.

Even if only a handful of selected people got invited, they came with their families or a plus one, so even the garden of the front yard was filled with people, especially the children who got bored inside. Some of these children would probably end up following their parents and working for HS in the future, so they were brought to this boring party instead of visiting their grandparents or enjoying their winter break.

That would be the case anyway, if HS Group were still around in the future.

Sarah watched the children who looked uncomfortable in their formal clothes, wanting to run around or just lie down but couldn’t because their parents told them to behave and looked dignified. Sarah knew the youngest among them would be shoved toward Vivian’s future child as a ’playmate’.

That happened to Sarah in the past, which was traumatizing in its own right. Finding out that your friends were only your friends because their parents told them to do so while talking bad about you behind your back and saying stuff like they only used you to be parachuted into the company...

Not something a child should have experienced.

Sarah glanced at the man beside her. If Hajin’s mother had not run away and Hajin had ended up living as Chairman Yoo’s son, would they have met at some parties and gotten to know each other earlier? Or would she hate him because she was born out of infidelity?

Hmm...it was a bit weird thinking about that. Sarah turned her gaze elsewhere to get rid of the imagery, but the other stuff wasn’t pleasant either. She saw people looking at her with a weird expression--as if they wanted to come and talk to her, but also too scared to do so. It was rather different from how it was in the past, and Sarah couldn’t help but chuckle.

"Hmm...interesting."

Hajin turned his head. "What is?"

"It’s my first time attending this after graduating from high school," Sarah said as they crossed the garden to the front door. "Feels so different."

"How different?"

"Well, you know how I was in the past," Sarah shrugged. "All I did was stand in the corner until someone talked to me."

Sarah looked at the bench beside the fountain, the decorative swing in the garden, the small chair in the patio she could see from the open front door...the places she used to stand by herself because she didn’t have siblings from the same mother. She would have, if her mother hadn’t been too stressed out because of the divorce and had a miscarriage.

"I’d be so scared of making mistakes that it felt hard to even breathe," she reminisced.

Hajin observed the girl beside him, watching her look amusedly at Ruby below the stairs--at another one of the places she used to stand alone.

"And now?" Hajin asked curiously.

Sarah smiled as her gaze met Ruby’s, who, after glaring at her for a second, turned her head away with a deep frown. "Feels like I’m looking at a play."

Hajin leaned down slightly to whisper. "And this is...an audience participation?"

"What a clever puppy," Sarah smiled brightly and kissed the cheek presented nicely in front of her lips.

Her giggles and his chuckle as they strolled hand in hand like a very happy couple were enough to make people think twice about coming to her and talk, because it seemed like they would get ignored anyway. In fact, when the house manager came to greet Sarah, he was truly getting ignored. Sarah only stopped near the stairs to get a drink from the staff who used to serve her in the annex before climbing the stairs, and didn’t even give a chance for the directors to call her.

Above, Amber watched her younger sister come up while rolling her eyes, scoffing at Sarah’s penchant for pissing people off. But, well...that would mean Sarah had no intention to rally support for herself, so it was rather reassuring. No matter what her assistants suspected, there was no way Sarah could be an heiress just because she owned the most shares among the children.

Besides, she didn’t seem to hide her ’bodyguard’ anymore, looking at how Hajin came fully dressed as a guest and how he walked with her--instead of behind her like he used to do. At this point, the executives should already know who Hajin really was from the internal gossip, and seeing them acting like a newlywed would diminish the thought of her as the next chairman even more.

After all, she might become the queen of Yooshin Trading instead.

Amber smirked as Sarah approached her. "You’re not dressing him as a bodyguard anymore?"

"Well, he’s not a bodyguard anymore--are you, puppy?"

Hajin held the hand patting his chest and kissed it sweetly. "I am whatever you want me to be, Princess."

Amber rolled her eyes. "Ugh."

"Don’t be jealous, Eonni," Sarah curled her eyes. "I know your boy is here somewhere."

Amber glared at Sarah, her hands twitched as if tempted to clasp the younger’s mouth. She glanced around briefly to make sure no one was around to overhear their conversation, and then cleared her throat while walking toward the railing, gesturing for Sarah to follow her. Chuckling, Sarah looked at the first floor while propping her chin against the railing.

"What do you think?" Amber asked.

"About what?"

"The atmosphere."

"Well...feels a bit quiet, don’t you think?" Sarah smiled. It had been years, but she remembered it used to be more festive. While everyone looked like they were enjoying themselves, there was unspeakable tension that forced everyone to be cautious of what to say and where to look. "With only daughters in sight, they don’t even know who to talk to."

Usually, they only greeted the daughters and the younger sons briefly. The only one these people talked to was Mason, the apparent heir--although he wasn’t truly crowned back then. It was so clear that they only wanted to cozy up to the next chairman. Even the wives were only looking for Vivian instead of Mina.

Amber clicked her tongue, because she could see it too. It annoyed her that no one talked to her either, just several wives and daughters who wished for a place in HS Fashion. She could tell that the idea of her being the heiress was yet to settle in. Knowing those patriarchal geezers, she wouldn’t be surprised if they ended up hailing her useless twin brother instead. Just because he was a son.

How despicable.

Sarah glanced at her sister and curled her lips. "Don’t be so proudful, Eonni. There’s nothing wrong with talking to them first."

Amber frowned. "You want me to act like Ruby?"

"Pfft--why would you do that?" Sarah laughed. "Just talk to those who matter."

"Hmm..." Amber narrowed her eyes. "What about you?"

"What about me?" Sarah shrugged. "I’m only here to show my face. I’m going back after greeting the chairman."

Amber looked at the younger woman, who was humming indifferently while watching the crowd below. "Yeah, you do that."

She watched Sarah wave at her cheekily and held her bodyguard...well, boyfriend’s arm and went deeper inside the mansion, where their father was. Once again, Amber scoffed.

Yeah...this girl barely talked to anyone, so how could she garner the executive support? At any rate, to make sure those geezers wouldn’t think about it, she should talk to them.

"Hmm...I kind of feel bad," Sarah muttered when she saw Amber going down the stairs, probably to talk to the directors.

"Because she wouldn’t get it anyway?" Hajin smiled. "Well...she’ll get some experience from this at least."

"To not get deceived easily?"

"To face the real world without the protection of the family," Hajin said. "Just like you did."

Sarah raised her brows, before laughing softly and leaning her head on Hajin’s arm. Had she become so weak-willed that she always needed this kind of reassurance? Or perhaps...she just wanted to hear it from Hajin.

"Ah," Hajin halted his steps and held Sarah’s waist. Turning around, he leaned against the wall while pulling the girl close. "I always wanted to do this."

Sarah widened her eyes as her lips were claimed rather hungrily, the arm around her waist held her tight, flushed against the sturdy, but warm man. Blinking in surprise, it registered in her mind that Hajin rarely ’attacked’ her like this, unless they were already in that kind of mood. He was being surprisingly careful, perhaps because he feared Sarah would push him away. Their position, after all, used to be a master and a servant.

But...it wasn’t bad. Sarah closed her eyes and started to kiss back, savoring the fervent heat spreading through her mouth.

Yeah, it wasn’t bad at all.

At least, if it wasn’t abruptly stopped. Again, Sarah blinked in surprise when Hajin suddenly broke the kiss. Even more surprised when his eyes weren’t on Sarah, but on the corridor passing by the lounge room they were in.

"Why--"

"I just saw the third wife and the chairman’s brother pass through that hallway," Hajin said in a whisper. "Seems like they were sneakily trying to go somewhere. Outside perha--ugh--"

Before Hajin could finish, Sarah grabbed his necklace and pulled his head down to face her. "Did you do that just to pretend like we didn’t see them?"

Hajin looked at Sarah’s annoyed face and tilted his head, a cheeky smile across his lips. "But, Princess...that’s what you used to do to me."

"...ah."