"Hey! I am not that evil." Jennie beamed. Though she thought it was weird for that teenager to act like that, she actually did not think too much about it. "It was weird for him to even bring some flowers thinking he could meet me. But... I believed that was him being thoughtful. You know... like a niece meeting an aunt."
"Hah!? He is like two-three years younger than you."
Jennie immediately rolled her eyes at Sehun. "He is a teenager. He looked like one." The man was not even wearing a suit. Instead, he was wearing some baggy hoodie and shorts. Now, Jennie is not a very superficial - scratch that.
Jennie loves good-looking people. She loves to surround herself with beauties. She likes to see her husband dressed up, with his broad shoulders and proud smirk. She likes to watch people and their excellent looks, ah. She was only human, alright.
However, that man - child was different. He literally looked like a teenager! The way he smiled and handle himself in front of Jennie, made her think that she was talking to a high schooler - a scheming high schooler. Jennie beamed at the thought.
Looks like she won't be bored for the time being.
"So... it is him or his manager who wanted to use his fan base to pressure us." She propped her chin into her palm. "Strange. For someone like his manager to even think that they could try to use his popularity against us."
"Aiyo, you are being careless." Sehun uttered. "Tell me. Was it because he is cute? Is that why you smiled at him in the photo? Look at the image? Hah, I believe Lisa is fuming right now."
"My husband is not that immature, Mr. Oh." She retorted. "And look at him! He looks like a child! I was just being a polite aunt."
"Now, they are going to use this against you and your company. Aunt or not, you should not just smile to other men like that!"
Jennie gave him a look. "I always smile at people. I'm not some ice goddess."
"Anyway, the news is already out. His fans are celebrating, and it is already trending in social media sites. In less than thirty minutes, they received close to twenty thousand tweets. That's - mostly fake accounts. But still." Taehyung said. "Do you have plans?"
"No." Jennie shrugged. "But since they wanted to use their popularity against us... then let's use it against them too."
Sehun grumbled something that the siblings did not hear, his face dark as he stared at Taehyung's computer screen. "Look at this... a flower. Baby Xiao bought an imported flower just for President Manoban. It is said that the flower is one of the rarest in the world." He then turned towards Jennie. "What kind of flower is this?"
"A fake one." She answered. "It's not really that rare. I mean... the fake one is not that rare you can order it somewhere. Not that impressive, to be honest. And why is this such a big deal?" Jennie asked.
"It's not." Sehun said before he rose from his seat, the same gloomy look plastered all over his face. "Send it to me once you're done. I will see Lisa in his office." He then left the room without waiting for Jennie to say something.
"What's wrong with him?" Jennie asked.
"Hormones."
Jennie immediately chuckled at Taehyung's answer.
"So how are we going to use their popularity against them?" Taehyung asked.
"Simple. Let them think that he got the deal. Then drop him."
"That is pretty harsh no?"
"I am harsh."
"But wouldn't that affect the mall? As you said... they could - his fans could boycott the mall and might even stage some rallies outside."
"That is only if we drop him without any reasons." She beamed. Did someone really just schemed against her? What a joke, she thought." Besides, there is no way that his fans will stick to him once we created something that could ruin his reputation."
"Why would you ruin his reputation?" the man or maybe his manager only wanted him to get the deal. Why would Jennie want to ruin his reputation in return? Isn't that too much for a retaliation?
"Silly." She met his curious eyes. "First, if we accept him. It means that we cowered and was intimidated by the news, by his fandom. This will make us lose the control, the power over the contract. Second, losing power over the contract means.... He could abuse it anytime that he wants to. He could demand things that are not in the contract and use his fandom to get it. Third, they will think that we are pushovers."
Jennie's face turned serious. She sneered. "If they think that we succeeded because of people like them. They are wrong. Our success was not because of endorsers. It was because of our hardworking team and employees." She leaned against her chair, disgust flashing in her eyes. "Scheming against a schemer is such a bold move for them. But they seemed to have forgotten something. I don't play with the rules. I make them."
Seeing the twins interact like this, Irene could only sigh inwardly. Both are actually clueless that Sehun was jealous. They just continued their conversation as if nothing happened. Of course, she could not blame any of them.
But poor Sehun, she thought as she waited for Jennie to give her instructions. Irene immediately wondered if Jennie knew that Sehun likes her. Surely, she must have felt it, right? After all, Jennie was really sensitive when it comes to emotions. She could easily read the people around her.
Moreover, Sehun was pretty obvious to his emotions. He might not show it in front of everyone, but every now and then, Irene could see him staring at Jennie and Lisa with the same complicated look that he showed earlier.
Irene sighed inwardly. Sometimes, she wonders if one day, she would be able to fathom Jennie's thoughts someday. Irene shook the thoughts out of her head.
This is not her business. Not at all.
...
Li Corporation
"See? Isn't this easy?" Mr. Li Han smiled at his youngest son. "Now you will get the contract, and they won't be able to do anything about it."
A sigh escaped his son's lips. He eyed the entertainment news on his tablet before staring at his father's eyes. "I don't like it." He answered. "You can't just use my name to get close to them. In fact, you cannot just use my name every time you want a contract with a company."
"Why not?" his father asked before he finished a glass of whiskey. "You have my genes, my talent's, I created your name, your contracts." He gave him an unamused look. "Besides, this is for our family's business. I will contact them soon - in fact, I might just do that tomorrow. Give them a call and set up a meeting."
"Father- "
"No buts, Young Xiao. You owe this to your family. Plus, you get the money and everything. Why are you complaining?"
"Father-"
"What?" his father interrupted him, irritation apparent in his eyes. "Are you telling me you wanted to avoid enemies? Isn't it too late for that? A lot of companies already fell into this scheme. Stop complaining and just do your job."
Li Xiaoming gritted his teeth. He lowered his head, avoiding his father's eyes. "Then can you at least tell your people to stop following me around? You already got what you wanted. The deal will be sign in a few days. Can I at least... get some time for myself? Alone?"
"What are you talking about?" his father frowned. "Unlike other stars, you don't have any scandals or issues and that is because of my people. Can you - " he made a deliberate pause, his jaws clenched. "Can you just appreciate everything that I did for your career?"
"Young Xiao... listen." He continued. "You are young. Enjoy this - your fame, the money. Everything. You can get whatever you want, everything that you want. Now... I know I sound like a controlling father, I know it sounds bad right now. But - this is for your future. I am only thinking about what's best for you."
"Even if this is not what I want for myself?"
"How do you know what you want for yourself?" his father asked. "You are young and naive." He gave a dramatic sigh. "Aiyo, it will pass. Whatever it is that you think you want will vanish. It's nothing but a temporary want, it will leave you sooner or later."
"You see? This is why family matters. Your family will never leave you. I will never leave you. And you have to understand that." Li Han patted his son's shoulders. "Now... you go out and put a big smile into your face. The filming for your next film will start next week, so give yourself some time to relax. Stay in your flat and rest."
"Can you - Can you at least give me my bank card?"
"What for?" Li Han asked.
"Because it's my money?" Li Xiaoming retorted. "I want to use them."
The lines in between his father's brows immediately deepened. "If you want to buy something, then you can tell me. I will buy it for you and just have someone send it to you. Just tell your manager to give the list to me later."
Li Xiaoming sighed as he rose from his seat and turned his back against his father.
"Don't forget to post on your Weibo. Thank the Facci Group for accommodating your needs." He heard his father's words before he exited the room. Li Xiaoming's jaws thinned when he saw his manager waiting for him outside.
"This is your schedule next week." As usual, his manager Li Hueli said in a stern, almost robotic voice. "Filming will start at nine in the morning. There will be an opening ceremony before that, and we will let a few fans have your signature."
Li Xiaoming walked past his manager, both of his hands were shoved in his pockets, his head lowered as he continued walking. Ignoring his actions, his manager continued talking behind him.
"Facci Group will confirm with the contract tomorrow or the next day. Just prepare yourself. This is an international company. Once you signed with them, Mr. Li said that they might consider you for their other companies. This might even be the start of your international career."
Hearing his manager talk non-stop, Li Xiaoming could not stop but pity himself. Half of the things that she was saying, does not even make sense to him. What contract? What international career? He gritted his teeth as he went inside his van with his manager. "I want to sleep. Wake me up when we arrive." He uttered, putting on his headset before he closed his eyes.
When Li Xiaoming arrived in his flat, his manager made sure to prepare some smoothie for him before she left. The usual, he thought as he opened his medicine cabinet and got himself some sleeping pills.
For a few minutes, Li Xiaoming stared at the bottle of pills before he walked out of his bathroom and sat on his bed, his eyes glued at the large TV in his suite room. He clutched the bottle closer to him and for a few seconds, he wondered if this was all worth it.
He lay on his bed, his face blank, his eyes were on the ceiling as the sound of the entertainment news from the TV reached his ears. He heard his name, they mentioned his nominations and awards and how his fans had seen him with the big European company just today.
He let out a sad sigh before he opened the bottle of pills.
One, two... maybe he will do three today.
Four, five. Alright... six should be enough to knock him out all night.
With no hesitation, he gulped the six pills and waited. Waited for the silence to muffle the sound of the entertainment news around him.
Then there was darkness.
....
The Peak
"Are you sure about this?" Sehun's face immediately turned ugly. "What if it was Chaerin? Maybe she told them about it?"
"No. Chaerin was not aware. She didn't know what Jennie did to the Yang Family. Even Kai and the others were not sure if it was Jennie who really did it."
"But- Kai did not really mention anything about the conversation, yes? What if it was only because of what happened to his wife? Surely, it was enough for them to know that it was Jennie?"
"I can't be sure." Lisa stood as he looked out on the window. "Actually I am not sure. I feel like someone is watching us. When Kai told him about the foreigner then... I immediately assumed that they had a spy. It is just a feeling that I can't let go."
"Then... are we going to do something about this- feeling?" Sehun said. "I mean... that is so unlike you."
"I know. Trust me. I know."
"So?"
"We're taking Qi Xia."
"Hm? Taking someone in broad daylight is illegal." Sehun chuckled.
"And so is taking someone when it's night time." Lisa turned towards the only person aside from Jennie that he would trust with his life. "Uncle already tried to talk with his son. However, until now, he is still cooped up in his house. If Jennie is right, then Huifang does not have long to live."
"And?"
"Jennie said they want to frame it either on her or me. So... we are framing Qi Xia."
"You- "
"Yes, we will take him, frame him for killing his friend, torture him until he tells us who is behind this and then... kill him." Lisa titled his head. Slowly, a sinister smile bloomed in his face. "That man has been acting like a fly lately. Buzzing in my ears, tempting me to crush him."
"I heard that you asked Taehyung to play with him?"
"Hmm." He nodded. "He still has access to his system. He can ruin it anytime."
Lisa continued, "I had suspicions that he was working with someone before, and I wanted Taehyung to find out if it was connected to his business. Apparently, it's not. This means that the person behind them may not be associated with them or even close to them. Maybe someone who they just met. Or someone who recently approached them."
"Good thinking."
"Hmmm. Now however, I am sure that it is not related to them. But it should be someone powerful or else, they would not be this confident. Even Zhou Huifang really tried to tell Jennie about my past."
"We have offended a lot of people but I am almost a hundred percent sure that we haven't offended someone outside of Asia. We are not that powerful to even fight against those Itallians or those Mexicans. So- a foreigner? Do you think- "
"It should be Jennie." Lisa said. "She made a lot of enemies. Companies that she forcibly took from people, families that she ruined."
"You are making it sound as if she is more evil than us. At least... she didn't kill anyone- she killed one but that was self defense."
Lisa raised an eyebrow at his words. "It is not about who is more evil or who is more kind. It is about our past. Jennie is a cruel business woman. She may act like this now but... her history, the things that I read about her signifies that she had her own enemies, people that she offended for the sake of... profits." He shook his head. "And sometimes, leaving someone alive is more cruel than death. Letting them stand by the sidelines and watch as their companies are being ruined before their eyes is just as excruciating- if not more painful than death."
This is the reason why a part of him was always against Jennie's style of dealing with enemies. It was too cruel, too malicious. Still, he was not planning to ask her to change her ways. Jennie was not a perfect human. She too has made mistakes, lots of them, she does not know a lot of things. However, all these imperfections made her into who she was today, it made her realistic, it made her... human.
And no matter how imperfect she was, Jennie was still the woman that he loved.
Sehun smiled. "Seeing you worry about other people's past is refreshing. But yes, I would agree with this logic. She fought against corporations and multinational companies. It is normal for her to acquire the ire of those people." He made a deliberate pause before he gave him an assuring smile. "Stop worrying too much. We will eventually find out who it is. Just to make sure, I will stay and will personally take care of things here."
"Thank you," Lisa sighed. With their past, slowly coming back to bite them in the ass, Lisa was worried that their future might become more turbulent than what they were experiencing today.
"Being worried doesn't suit you." Sehun chuckled. "It adds wrinkles to your face." He uttered. "Jennie doesn't like ugly people. She might stop liking you once you get too old for her taste."
"You are still sulking about the kid?" Lisa teased. "He does look like a teenager."
"Still! He really had the guts to give her some flowers! You should be angry about this."
"Jennie doesn't like the fragrance of flowers. She's allergic. I'm sure that flower ended up In the bin."
"She is?" Sehun widened his eyes. "Alright then... I will forgive that kid."
"You are so childish."
"I was only angry for your sake!" Sehun hissed. "And I have the right to be angry." Even he did not have the guts to give Jennie at least one flower! How could he let other men give her flowers just like that? He pouted. "I will leave now. I will give you some updates once I arrive."
"Hmmm." Lisa leaned against his chair as he watched Sehun leave the room, with a complicated look on his face.
~~~~~~~~
PLEASE DON'T VOTE.