12 years ago in Oakwood Middle School.A group of students was gathered in front of the board to check their grades, some were happy but some were saddened by their results.
"You"re top 1 again! Congratulations, Sam!", Hannah hugged her best friend Samantha.
"You did great this time, too! Your grades increased.", Samantha complimented Hannah who managed to get top 10.
"Congratulations, Samantha!", said Mia Chang, Samantha thanked and gave her a smile.
In the corner of the room, there were 3 students glaring at Samantha"s back.
"I bet she cheated."
"Yeah, she thinks she"s all that because her family"s rich."
"If she wasn"t here, Nancy could"ve gotten the 1st place instead of 2nd. Aren"t you angry Nancy?", the student said as she asked Nancy Jung.
But Nancy didn"t say anything, she just looked at Samantha"s back.
Samantha and Hannah met Nancy and Mia when they entered middle school. They became closer to them compared to other girls in their cla.s.s.
Oakwood Middle School is one of the best middle schools in City M. To get accepted, you need to have either (1) good grades to get a scholars.h.i.+p, (2) must be from a wealthy or influential family (3) or sponsored.
Samantha, Hannah and Mia"s family have businesses; on the other hand, Nancy"s parents were salary earners but she had good grades, enough to get accepted into Oakwood.
Nancy had to maintain a certain grade or higher so that she can stay in that school. Over the years of being close to the other three, she had always been jealous of Samantha. She"d compare herself to her regarding grades, family status, and the people around her. But no matter what she does, she was always behind Samantha. Though she never showed her ill feelings towards her, Nancy had planted a seed of hatred towards Samantha.
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Present
"It"s nice seeing you here, President Park.", Nancy Jung said when she walked towards where Andrew was sitting.
Andrew Park looked at her quizzically trying to recall where he saw this beautiful lady but he couldn"t remember who she was, "I"m sorry, Do I know you?"
Nancy Jung didn"t show her disappointment, instead, she smiled, "My name"s Nancy Jung, I joined Regal Wings a month ago.", she said as she extended her hand.
"Oh, sorry. I"m still getting used to this role. Nice to meet you."
"It"s okay, it"s perfectly understandable since I"m still new. I hope the agency will take care of me."
Andrew looked at her physique more intently. She had a well-proportioned body and she was pretty. His thoughts suddenly drifted to Samantha"s face and he began to compare. Although Nancy was attractive, she was only second to Samantha. Andrew was still hung up over the woman who got away from him. Brus.h.i.+ng his thoughts aside, he gave her a smile,
"Don"t worry, all artists at Regal Wings are always well taken care of.", he gestured his hand and said, "Have a seat.".
Nancy Jung was polite and joined him in the table.
The cafe was located in the city center; shops, entertainments, cafés, and restaurants are found all over. Opposite the café, the two friends, Samantha and Hannah were out shopping. Well, more like Hannah was shopping and Samantha just accompanied her.
With bags on either side of her, Hannah was beaming, "S, why aren"t you buying anything?"
"I"m just here to accompany you."
"Hmmm.. You"re boring. Why don"t we go and eat first? I"m starving!"
A voice sounded from afar calling Samantha, "Ms. G.o.ddess of the stars!"
Samantha thought the voice was familiar and then she saw Liam approaching them, "Hi, Liam... What are you doing here?"
"I was in the area and saw both of you. h.e.l.lo Ms. Hannah."
"Hi.", Hannah replied a little shy in front of the handsome man.
"We were just about to eat, would you like to join us?", Samantha offered.
"What great timing! I"m famished!"
The three of them crossed the other side and headed towards a restaurant next to the coffee shop where Andrew and Nancy are.
There were a good few meters away when Hannah saw Andrew. She was about to tell Samantha that they should go to another restaurant but then her gaze landed on the woman in front of him.
"Nancy", her eyes grew wide. "Also why was she with Andrew?" She would never be mistaken, they don"t know each other and Nancy was supposed to be miles away from this city until she remembered Seo Joon"s warning. Hannah stiffened for a very brief moment and with her quick thinking, she grabbed both Liam and Samantha"s wrists dragging them to the opposite side, "Ah! I know a really good restaurant! Let"s go there instead!"
"What? But we"re almost there?", Liam was startled but he just let Hannah drag him.
"I just remembered that restaurant isn"t good. I have read bad reviews recently.", she said while still pulling the two behind her and dragging them away from the coffee shop.
"Really? But I"ve eaten there and--"
"Shut up, Liam! I"m taking you someplace better and I"m paying so just follow me quietly."
Samantha laughed at her friend"s fearlessness, she was speaking to "Vice President Cho" and she couldn"t care less about her words.
When they got settled in the restaurant, they were just waiting for their orders when Samantha was on the phone with Daniel. She told him that she and Hannah b.u.mped into Liam and are currently having lunch together. Daniel Cho went on a business trip to another city and would not be coming back for a few days.
"Hey! h.e.l.lo?? Earth to Moncher!" A lady from the table next to theirs was waving her hand in front of her friend.
Liam turned his head towards the voice and caught an attractive lady with blue eyes staring at him.
She had plump red kissable lips that curved into a smile when she saw Liam looking back at her.
"We need to go now.", said her friend.
Moncher stood up from her seat and sauntered towards Liam. She placed a card in front of him and winked before she turned to leave.
He smirked as he watch the woman walk away.
Hannah made a face and eyed him.
"What? Ladies like me. Can"t help it."
Hannah scoffed.
Samantha finished their call and looked at her friend in the eye, "So... are you going to tell me what happened back there?"
"I don"t know what you"re talking about.", Hannah said as she looked at Samantha trying to stay calm.
Liam watched as the two ladies in front of them conversed.
"Really? So you did not deliberately walked the other way and changed the restaurant because of something?"
"I told you, this restaurant is better."
Samantha didn"t believe her words, she glared at Hannah, "She"s hiding something."
"Why are you looking at me like that?"
"Okay, what"s going on?", Liam couldn"t understand why the two friends were acting like that.
Samantha smiled at Liam and spoke, "Well, when we were walking towards the restaurant earlier, Hannah suddenly stopped us and dragged us in the opposite direction.", she glanced at Hannah before she continued. "I"ve known her since she had a snotty face--"
"Hey! I didn"t have a snotty face!! You did!", Hannah pouted.
"Whatever.", Samantha snickered, "Since I"ve known her for a long time, I know when she lies... So tell me, what were you avoiding back there?"
Hannah swallowed.
"Or rather, who?"
Hannah started to panic but she tried with all her might not to show any distress in her expression. Where was Seo Joon when she needed help regarding this matter? Oh right, she didn"t want to see him... not after what happened. But how will she answer Samantha?
"Were you really avoiding someone, Ms. Hannah?", Liam asked her gently.
Hannah bit her lip and clenched her hands into fists under the table.
"Fine! I"ll tell you the truth."
Samantha and Liam waited for her to continue,
"I saw Andrew at the coffee shop next to the restaurant."
"Oh-", Samantha was indifferent. Although she didn"t want to see Andrew, she thought that she could handle him just fine if ever they b.u.mped into him.
"Wait, who"s Andrew?"
"He"s Samantha"s ex-boyfriend and apparently, he was just recently appointed as the new CEO in Regal Wings."
Hearing this, Samantha wasn"t surprised. After all, their entertainment agency is owned by their family and is one of the top agencies in the industry.
"You mean, Andrew Park?", Hannah nodded and Liam glanced at Samantha. "Woah. Does my brother know about this?"
"He knows. They met one time when Andrew caught me outside my baking and pastries cla.s.s."
"And you bake too? Why.... you"re full of surprises sister-in-law!", Liam"s too impressed by his brother"s girlfriend.
"What sister-in-law? You"re overthinking.", Samantha said as she eyed Liam.
But he wasn"t fazed, he turned to Hannah again, fis.h.i.+ng for some answers, "Tell me more about her and Andrew!"
"What about Andrew?" a voice from behind them was heard and Hannah"s insides felt like it was having a party. Her hair stood on end when she heard Seo Joon"s voice.
"You"re here. The food is about to be served.", Samantha said when Seo Joon sat down on the empty chair in front of Hannah.