Chapter 13: I Trust You Min-jung.
"What? He did that?" Min-jung asked, genuinely surprised.
"You heard me right the first time. He had the nerve to ask me to name my price!" Nana repeated angrily.
This could be beneficial for everyone. What if Nana and Tan were to fall in love with each other? That would leave Ji-tae to her without any trouble. Nana was a great friend. She loved Nana, but she also loved Nana's man, and that was the problem. If only Nana could loosen up and get involved with Tan, things would go smoothly for everyone.
"Does that mean he likes you?" Min-jung asked, hoping the answer would be positive.
"What sort of question is that? What if he likes me? You know very well I have a boyfriend. Nothing can exist between the rich guy and me. Absolutely nothing," She said too passionately, causing Min-jung to pause.
Min-jung did not want to hurt Nana, "Nana, are you trying to tell me you don't feel anything for him? What if you weren't dating Ji-tae? Are you saying you wouldn't have considered him had you been single?" She asked Nana wanting to be sure.
Nana suddenly realised talking with Min-jung was calming her, "You expect me to consider a man that offers money for sex? Of course not. How can I date a man that hires a girlfriend just to prove to his family he has moved on?" She said without thinking.
"You like him," Min-jung said, giggling happily.
"No, I don't. I don't know what you're talking about," Nana replied.
"Yes, you do. You like him, and you're just in denial because you have a boyfriend. Hold on. He couldn't have just randomly offered you money for sex. What led to it?" Min-jung asked, suddenly alert.
Nana could feel the heat making its way to her face. She never could lie to Min-jung. Min-jung knew her better than anyone else.
"I have to go. Let's talk later when you're not spewing nonsense." Nana said, trying to dodge the question.
Min-jung suddenly felt light-hearted. This meant that Ji-tae wasn't Nana's true love. If spending just five days with a stranger could make her feel this way, she probably was wasting her time with Ji-tae. Now she would stop feeling like she was snatching her best friend's lover. She was doing them both a favour anyway.
"Nana, if you like him, I suggest you give him a chance. You can't be so sure about Ji-tae. Besides, you don't know what he's probably doing on his so-called business trip," She said, trying to set off alarm bells in Nana's head.
"I trust Ji-tae. He wouldn't do anything stupid," Nana said confidently.
"I'm simply saying be careful. Stop being so trustful of anybody. Including me," She added.
"I trust you, Min-jung. You can never hurt me. I know I can always count on you," Nana said trustingly, causing Min-jung to burst into tears.
Min-jung ended the call without another word. Stupid girl! She cried as she thought about her conversation with Nana. Why did she have to be trusting of everyone?
**********
Nana went back into the kitchen to meet Mi-Ok when she felt slightly calm.
"You're no longer angry, I guess," Mi-Ok commented when Nana sat down.
Nana sat quietly, casting a sullen glance at Mi-Ok. She thought about her conversation with Min-jung. Why would Min-jung suggest something like that? Was there something Min-jung knew that she didn't know? She wondered.
"What do you know about Ji Won?" Mi-Ok suddenly paused to ask Nana.
"Who is Ji Won?" Nana asked in confusion.
"Tan's ex-girlfriend. The one whose wedding you're attending this weekend," Mi-Ok said, suddenly getting Nana's complete attention.
"He told me she turned down his proposal at his mother's fiftieth birthday party and that she's getting married to his cousin. That was all he said, "Nana answered, suddenly curious about the direction of the conversation.
"I don't know exactly what's going on with you and Tan nor the extent of your relationship, and it's not in my place to tell you anything about Tan's relationship with her. But I want you to understand that Tan gave himself to her and got nothing but pain in return. I doubt I would ever be able to trust any lady if I was in Tan's shoes. So please don't be quick to judge him. He's a very good person with the purest of hearts," Mi-Ok said, turning to continue with her cooking.
"Doesn't he have siblings? And what about his father? He told me he had no sibling around; does that mean he is an only child?" Nana asked, wanting to find out more about Tan.
"Why didn't you just ask him about it?" Mi-Ok asked, turning to observe Nana again, but Nana shrugged. Mi-Ok considered whether or not to answer the question, she was Tan's girlfriend, after all, and she would know sooner or later, so why not just tell her? Mi-Ok said to herself.
"Well, I'm not sure I should be telling you this, but I will. Tan has an adopted younger sister, Mrs Kim had always wanted to have a daughter, but after Tan, she couldn't have other kids. So she adopted Mi Cha," Mi-Ok said, smiling fondly as she thought of the girl.
"Does that mean you took care of Mi Cha too? Or did Mrs Kim raise her herself?" Nana asked with a frown; she couldn't picture Mrs Kim raising a child. If the woman couldn't raise her biological kid, how could she raise the one she adopted? Nana asked herself.
"No, I didn't have to; Mi Cha was adopted as a teenager. I think she was about fourteen years old when she joined the family. She came shortly after Tan travelled abroad." Mi-Ok said as she chopped the onions.
"What about his father?" Nana asked.
"He's somewhere around the world," She said, not wanting to divulge too much information.
Nana wanted to pry, but she left the job of creating exactly the kind of man Tan's father would be after meeting the rest of his family to her imagination.
**********
"Take everything out of the room. I need the room to be freshly decorated. Fill the closet with new clothes; whatever is currently in trend should be there. I need my daughter to be comfortable when she returns," Mrs Kim instructed her assistant.
"How soon would you want it done? When is she coming?" Her assistant asked.
"I want it done as soon as possible. Hand me my phone. I suddenly need to hear her voice," Mrs Kim said, taking out her phone to call Mi Cha.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone