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Chapter 2

“Sixteen and on the juice….. being rich sucks. The housekeeper’s kid had a blowout sixteenth at a skateboard park where half of them had to be carried home because they smuggled out half their father’s liquor cabinet. How come we have to wear tuxedos and hang out with your family’s business associates? This isn’t a birthday party; it’s a social engagement to create valuable contacts.” Bryant has always been rough and ready, not suited to high society life, and I giggle at him. He is the most annoying person I know, but he’s fun, and Jyeon acts half-human when he’s around. Despite appearances, I like Bryant.

“You’re shocked by this? I’m sure even my twenty-first will benefit my father in some way. It was never about his eldest son’s birthday.” Jyeon’s tone is bitter, and he raises his glass to his mother across the room, who has now taken her place among the glamorously dressed grown-ups swarming around the hall nearer the band.

I’m accustomed to this lifestyle, so it’s nothing new or intimidating, and I’m bored.

“Hey…. Did I miss anything?” Yoonah slides in beside me, immediately pushes his arm through mine, and leans his head against my shoulder despite my being taller. He’s slower to hit puberty than Jyeon ever was and still looks like a cute little tanned and pudgy Park boy. All big brown eyes and pouty lips, and he has a softness that melts your heart. This is the baby brother of my life, even though I’m an only child, and I adore him more than anything in the world.

“Your brain?” Bryant jests and pokes him in the forehead.

“I’ll always be smarter than you, even without a brain, Bry!” Yoonah jests right back at his brother’s best friend used to these quips and jokes from him.

“Dad’s coming; stand up.” Jyeon slides his arm around my back, out of sight, and pushes his brother off harshly so he flinches away. Constantly aware of how we should behave and present ourselves because our lives depend on it when it comes to our parents. He yanks me closer to his side, away from Yoonah, and then lets go of me completely. His hand falls back by his hip between us, but my stomach still tightens at the contact.

Deep down, I have always had some feelings for Jyeon, which are undefined, and his brief touch makes my insides flutter when it happens. I don’t know why, as he makes no effort to have any relationship with me anymore.

“You all look very nice tonight.” Mr. Park saunters to us and pats his eldest son on the shoulder. He’s an intimidating, tall, and muscular man, who doesn’t look like he’s in his fifties, but more of a handsome thirty. Jyeon takes after him entirely, with black hair that looks nice styled up or messy over his forehead and somehow boyish, deep darkest brown eyes and sallow skin.

Jyeon is his mini-me. He stands like the master of the universe, with a perfectly straight posture, and has an intimidating quality, especially when dressed in a black tux. If Jyeon ends up like him as a full-grown man, then OLO Corporation needn’t worry about having a commanding CEO at the helm to continue our family’s joint legacy. Intelligent, with killer instincts, and despite the classy and smooth appearance, Mr. Park is known as a demon in business and should never be crossed.

We all nod and smile, and I immediately fade into that nervous girl who starts fixing her appearance whenever he appears. Mr. Park is not someone who seems warm and loving when you know him well, and despite being my father’s best friend, I have never really built any bond with him.

“Sohla? Sohla, darling?” My mother beckons to me from across the room, and I exhale with relief, seeing my beautiful savior looking for me to introduce to whatever woman and girl are standing by her and curtsy quickly. An escape route so I can dodge Mr. Park and his suffocating energy.

“My mother wants me.” I make my parting nod of respect his way and walk off at speed, loosening my limbs while escaping from whatever Mr. Park wanted and sliding into my mother’s awaiting outstretched arm. The one soft and welcoming human in my life. My mother is the only reason I’m still sane. She married into wealth and never started that way, so she has retained the kindness and adorable personality of the preschool teacher she used to be. I love my mother beyond words.

“Darling, this is Lily Masters and her daughter Olivia. They’re from England and over here on family business. You two are the same age, and Olivia could use a little companionship for the next two weeks. I thought it would be nice to introduce you.”

I smile brightly at the sweet, freckled redhead, beaming at me with a wide toothy gap in her teeth. She’s a little round in figure and much shorter than me, but she seems genuinely lovely and bubbly. It’s rare in this society to find girls I get along with, so I am always looking for that girlfriend, envious of Jyeon’s’ friendship with Bryant. Most fear my family name and power, and some just want to use me to get close to Jyeon. Every girl under sixteen in this city likes Jyeon because he’s good-looking, wealthy, and has a powerful future.

“How do you do? I’m Sohla Kim. It’s nice to meet you.” I mind my manners and reach out my hand for her to take, smiling brightly, and am met with her mother’s beaming smile, like her daughters. People tell me I am a mirror image of mine. We are so alike that one day we will be twins.

“Ahhh, Sohla, you’re the little one who is set to marry Jyeon Park, right? Olivia was so upset to learn that the handsome boy she met at golf practice last week was already taken. I can see why though; you look very much like your beautiful mother.”

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