Seductive & Obsessive Liar
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The following morning, Ara prepared herself for class while Minji sneaked into her room. She was busy gathering her things when Minji crept up behind her and attacked her with a big, tight hug. To Ara's surprise, she slightly jumped from the sudden attack and turned to face her, looking very confused.

"I heard about you and my brother," she said with a sly smile on her face. "I knew it was going to work out! Sooner or later, I just knew it. I'm literally a genius."

Ara looked at her, confused, but suddenly, everything seemed to make sense as all the pieces fell into place. Minji was a sneaky little devil, but Ara knew it meant no harm. At the end of the day, Minji had gotten what she wanted.

"How did you know things would turn out this way?"

"I didn't," she replied. "I told you to work at Jimin's house because I hated Eunha—not hated—I hate Eunha with all my guts. Can you believe she once called Seoyoon a slur right to her face? I didn't care if she did it to me, but Seoyoon? One time, I visited Jimin with her when Eunha waltzed down the stairs and practically yelled it out to the world. He was lucky I didn't beat her ass up at that moment because they had recently started dating, and I didn't want to ruin it for them, but holy fuck. I never brought Seoyoon to his house again, knowing she was there. Shit, I felt so angry with him for not doing anything about it, so I ignored him for weeks."

"Gee, and what did he do?" Ara asked as she directed her full attention to her and her story.

"He constantly texted me and begged me to talk to him, but I didn't," she said. "It was extremely disrespectful. But whatever. One day, I answered his bombarding calls, and he said he would warn Eunha about it—which he did, but it never mattered much to her. I wanted him to get over her and find someone else. I wanted him to have a distraction. Maybe I was just upset because of her behavior towards Seoyoon and his obliviousness, but it fueled my desire to see her gone. I didn't care if he cheated on Eunha with someone else—fuck it, she cheated on him first. It could've been a one-night stand or maybe even true love. All I wanted was for someone else to catch his attention, and let's be honest, you really caught his attention. I did it for my brother's sake, but at the end of the day, you were the one who saved his business and his life."

Later that day, Jimin was organizing his papers on his desk before he grabbed his phone and stood up. As he was about to exit his office, he heard a faint knock on the door. He stopped in his tracks, slightly confused at who was knocking on his door when he had asked for privacy to focus on his work. However, he walked closer to it and opened the door to see a familiar face standing outside.

"Dongwoo?" Jimin asked, with a sudden burst of happiness hidden inside of him. "Dongwoo, come in! What brings you here?"

Dongwoo smiled as he walked inside and sat with Jimin on the couch in his office. Jimin was pleased to see him there, even if he didn't know why he had shown up.

"Tomorrow will be Eunha's first trial for the assault-related charges," he said. "Is Ara ready?"

Jimin nodded but remained more focused on Dongwoo's sudden appearance than the talk about Eunha's next court trial being soon. He also didn't want to remind himself of the horrible things Eunha did to Ara—his now girlfriend. He didn't want to remember Ara's bruises and scratches from that day. They were still visible on her face, but Ara kept reassuring him she felt fine, and had moved on from it. He was definitely not fine with it. It hurt him to think about it every day.

"Dongwoo, why did you come?"

Dongwoo fixed his suit and cleared his throat before he said, "If the position is still available, and if my presence is needed—or if it's any good to the company—I want to know if I am welcomed back."

Jimin smiled when he heard those words and couldn't help but pull Dongwoo closer into a hug as he said, "You know you're always welcome back."

To celebrate the special return, Jimin planned a celebratory dinner with Dongwoo and his wife later that same night at the most expensive restaurant in the area. He knew Dongwoo's return would be a complication for the other employees at the company, but he left it clear that if anyone ever made assumptions without clear evidence, they would be fired immediately. If anyone ever mistreated, harassed, or assaulted a co-worker, they would face heavy legal charges brought forward by the company itself.

As Jimin and Dongwoo walked towards the main entrance of the building, Jimin noticed a black car parked in the street across from his car. Outside of it was a hooded man with a face mask. His hands were in his pockets as he looked down but surely ahead. Surely at Jimin. Jimin stopped walking and extended his arm to stop Dongwoo as well. The man saw Jimin and started walking around as soon as he noticed Jimin was aware of his presence. He walked around the car but didn't know where to go. Jimin knew it was a trap, so he reached for his phone in his pocket and called his bodyguard, who was waiting outside the building.

"Mr. Song, there's a mysterious man in black standing outside his car. He's looking around, and he has his hands in his pockets. He might be carrying a weapon. Don't take drastic measures, just shield Mr. Lee as he walks towards the car."

"Yes, Mr. Park."

Before his bodyguard was about to walk inside, Jimin said, "The layer. Are you wearing the vest underneath?"

"Yes, sir. Don't worry. Your safety is my priority."

After Dongwoo went to the car with Jimin's bodyguard, it was Jimin's turn to do the same. He followed his bodyguard to the exit, and as soon as he stepped outside the building, a gunshot was heard. Just as Jimin had expected. He quickly ducked his head and covered his ears as he looked to his side. His bodyguard had sustained the shot in his stomach and was now kneeling on the floor in pain. Suddenly, multiple security guards ran outside the building as they tried to shield Jimin, who was checking up on his bodyguard. He was panting heavily, but he reassured Jimin he would be fine because of the protective vest he wore underneath him. After all, he knew what his job consisted of and was ready to take a bullet for his boss whenever needed.

"Mr. Park, you have to get in the car," one of the security guards said as he tried to get Jimin to stand up. Jimin didn't want to leave his bodyguard on the floor, but regardless, he was taken inside the building and attended to. Jimin quickly sat in the car beside Dongwoo and closed the door before Mr. Lee drove them away from the scene. He looked out the window and noticed the hooded man and the car had disappeared. Jimin knew who had fired the shot—or at least who had ordered it. During his trial, Siwon confessed that Eunha had contacted someone else to do her morbid favors. That 'someone' was never caught or exposed to the public. That someone had to be that man. The man who was seen on the night of Byun Haneul's murder. The only man who had escaped.

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"Breaking news: This evening, there was an attempt to shoot the CEO of the Park Corporation, Park Jimin, as he was leaving his company's building. One shot was fired, and it injured his bodyguard, Mr. Song. Fortunately, he was wearing a protective vest to shield himself from danger. The culprit was seen in front of the building but later escaped when the attempt failed."

As Eunha heard those words from the television, she got furious by the second and didn't know how to contain her anger. She wanted revenge. Revenge against all the ones that placed her in jail. She wanted it so desperately. But it all had gone to waste. She had failed, Sunggyu had failed, and all her plans had failed. However, she still had one more thing to hold on to. She passed her hand by her belly and gripped it tightly as her nails dug into her shirt. The creature growing inside her was her only hope.

The following day, a new trial began once again. This time, Ara sat at one end of the court with Hoseok as the prosecutor, while Eunha sat on the other side alone. She had no attorney to contact. All her attorneys were from Jimin's company and wouldn't dare leave him for her. She also had no money and wouldn't dare ask to have a mediocre attorney representing her.

Jimin was observing the scene with Dongwoo beside him, who wanted to attend to support his boss. It was a full courtroom. Baekhyun was there, Namjoon was there, Jungkook was there, Minji was there. Not to say, the media had a significant presence.

During the trial, Hoseok presented evidence left and right. The day Ara received the bruises, a medical examiner photographed them and determined that it had to have been an attack by force that caused them. The examiner testified in court, but the video of the assault was not allowed as evidence as it had been obtained illegally. However, Yoongi had witnessed the assault and was able to testify. Eunha remained silent. She was immune to all the things said about her. That was, of course, until Hoseok asked her why she did it.

"I did it because he cheated on me!" she yelled, gathering everyone's attention in court. "My fiancé cheated on me with the fucking maid! That slut! She wouldn't stop walking around my house like she fucking owned the place! She seduced him, and from one day to the next, he didn't care about me anymore. He completely betrayed me!"

Jimin scoffed as he heard her words. The courtroom was filled with camera flashes, capturing the moment Eunha started crying her eyes out. Ara felt disturbed by her words, mainly by her crying. She knew she should've expected her to pull a one-eighty on everyone and say such things. It was Kang Eunha, for fuck's sake.

"Your honor, that's not true," Jimin said as he stood up and fixed his suit. "I know I'm not under oath right now, and I shouldn't be allowed to testify, but these accusations are ruining my reputation as well as Ms. Byun's. If you call me to testify, I can explain the situation in detail."

The judge glanced at him and then back at the defendant. Suspecting the assault had something to do with the man, she turned to Hoseok and asked, "Mr. Jung, do you wish to bring in Mr. Park as a witness to testify?"

Hoseok looked her way and said, "Yes, your honor."

It didn't take long for Jimin to be placed under oath and for him to sit down to testify. He glanced at Ara from the witness stand and simply smiled.

"My sister brought Ms. Byun as a maid a few months ago," he said. "Ms. Kang had never paid attention to her since the day she first arrived. That day, I interviewed her and accepted her in my house—not to confuse it with whatever house Ms. Kang was referring to since she never owned any—but that was it. Ms. Byun and I never had a sexual relationship during her time working at my estate. Our relationship was professional. Ms. Kang's accusations are false and are only here to distract you from the fact that she was the only one in this engagement who was openly committing adultery, your honor. Ms. Byun even caught her in the act at my house with another man who was unaware she was engaged."

Jimin spoke with such confidence that Eunha knew her words meant nothing compared to his. He had purposely left out the fact that the man was Baekhyun in order to not complicate the situation even further. Ara knew that, and Baekhyun thanked him for that. He had left out the masquerade, too, because no one other than him and Ara knew about that night, and no one needed to know. The fact was that Eunha had attacked Ara without proof of his affair. That was it. There was nothing else to say.

"Are Mr. Park's statements true, Ms. Byun?" the judge asked, and Ara nodded in response.

"She attacked me because I knew of her affairs and because she was afraid I would tell Mr. Park about them. And yeah, I did tell him because I thought he needed to know what happened in his house."

The judge nodded as she looked over at Eunha. There was nothing in her favor. When it was time for Ara to testify, Eunha glared at her from the corner while Ara made no eye contact. Hoseok stood up and walked to Ara as he smiled and asked, "Ms. Byun, what was your relationship like with Ms. Kang?"

"With Ms. Kang?" Ara asked as she chuckled. "I barely had a proper conversation with her at Mr. Park's house. I ended up talking to her when I saw her at a cafe once with another man. When she noticed I saw her, she walked to me and sat at my table. She started a normal conversation with me, which then turned into a threat."

"A threat?" Hoseok asked as Ara nodded. "Can you let the court know what she told you?"

Ara nodded once again and said, "She said if I told anyone what I saw, I would end just like my father. She said I'd end up gasping for air to save my life, just like him. She grabbed my latte and poured it onto my devices and belongings, which I had to replace later. I was left very confused."

"Gasping for air, just like your father?" Hoseok asked, and Ara nodded. Baekhyun tried to hide his anger with those words, but Ara immediately noticed and knew how he felt. It was the first time he had heard of such an encounter, which sent chills down his spine. There was no way Eunha could have been so careless to say that. It exposed so much.

"She said that twice, actually," Ara said as she continued. "One day, at Mr. Park's house, she slapped me and said that same phrase again. I was confused, but I thought it must've meant something if she kept repeating it."

This time, Jimin was left in shock. He had never heard of the second interaction at his house or Eunha's threats mentioning Byun Haneul. Ara had kept it all to herself until the very last moment. At last, she had revealed it all, willing to let all the pain and suffering go once and for all.

That same day, the judge came to a verdict and declared, "After careful consideration of the evidence and testimonies provided, the court finds the defendant, Kang Eunha, guilty of assault and battery. The defendant is sentenced to eighteen months in prison and is ordered to pay Ms. Byun Ara restitution in the amount of five thousand dollars. Court is adjourned."

That same day, Sunggyu packed up his belongings and went to meet with Han Sunho. He couldn't wait any longer. He had committed multiple crimes, and he kept committing them even while running away. It was inevitable. He was shaking. He didn't know what to do. Anxiously, he scratched his arms in a rush as he tried to think of something. The arms that had multiple scars from years before. Multiple scars that Haneul had caused him as he struggled to save himself.

That was when he was greeted by a tall and muscular man in front of him. The man saw how anxious Sunggyu looked and reached into his pocket, pulling out a capsule. He grabbed his hand and placed it there as he chuckled and said, "It's valium. Come with me. I have more inside."

Sunggyu looked at him as he scratched his arm with his other hand. The man stood there and smiled before he added, "I'm Han Sunho. Nice to meet you, Sunggyu."

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