An eventful birthday

Seung-ho whisked her away to his penthouse apartment, just one of the many living spaces he owned. Wearing the actor's pyjama shirt which was like a dress on her, Ji-ho slept in a bed that smelled like fresh sheets and a hint of expensive cologne.

_____

"Good morning," she greeted Seung-ho who was already at the breakfast table with a newspaper in his hand.

He glanced up at her and smiled briefly. "Aera left you a present."

Ji-ho noticed two boxes on the table. One was much larger than the other.

"She shouldn't have," Ji-ho replied but she was smiling, last night's episode temporarily forgotten. "Can I open it?"

"It's yours," he answered as his gaze drifted back to the newspaper.

Ji-ho's eager hands opened the bigger present and she found a beautiful premium leather handbag. The medusa plaque on the front of the bag allowed the observer to understand how unavailable the bag was to someone who wasn't wealthy.

"So good!" Ji-ho declared as she appreciated the delicate lilac lining on its inside. Placing the bag aside, she then unwrapped the smaller box. Aera was spoiling her with so many presents, Ji-ho thought. The smaller gift was a perfume inside the most beautiful bottle she had seen in her life. The glass bottle was rose gold and exploding with pretty glass flowers. She would only later find out that there weren't more than fifty bottles of it produced every year.

"My goodness.." She murmured as she took a sniff. "I can't spray this on myself. It seems like such a waste."

"Mm?" Seung-ho raised his brows like he was mildly offended by her declaration. Setting the newspaper aside, he gave her a thoughtful look. "If you had a wish, what would you ask for?"

"Why? Will you grant me the wish?" Ji-ho enquired with a smile. "I want long life and happiness for me, Sun Young-mi."

A flicker of emotion, something complex and dark flashed across his eyes. "Long life can sometimes be a curse," he told her. "And happiness, well, if money can buy it, it's yours. For this day at least."

"Seung-ho," she dramatically said his name. "Is this an all-access pass to your bank account for my birthday?"

The actor smiled at her infectious upbeat energy. "Only if you promise not to max out my credit limit."

Credit limit? Did that even exist for a man like him? Ji-ho wondered.

"You know, I think I have a different wish," she told him. "Drop me off to Midnight Lotus at six-thirty this evening. It has to be discreet so don't use a vehicle that can be identified by the paparazzi. And I also need a sexy dress and a wig! Since you already know my size, I think we won't have a problem, right?"

"Young-mi," the actor leisurely replied. "What are you intending to do at such an unsavoury place?"

"What do you think?" She said with a catty smile.

Seung-ho shook his head at her. "Drugs?"

"Exactly."

_________

For her plan to succeed, Ji-ho needed her special eyeglasses with a recording function. The item had already been purchased and was lying in a drawer at her home so Seung-ho had his chauffeur drive Young-mi back to the apartment. The actor had a short meeting to attend un the meantime. He apologised to Ji-ho for not being able to take her home. It wasn't a problem for her since she would be coming back to his place anyway.

___

Feeling agitated and slightly nervous, Ji-ho wandered into her apartment, imagining she would find Blue bleeding out on her floor. Fortunately for her, it turned out to be just that, her imagination.

The living room was perfectly clean and smelled like lavender air freshener. No blood, no broken furniture, nothing. It was as if Blue had never broken in. Regardless, something about the place made her feel uncomfortable. After the events of last night, Ji-ho wanted to move out of the apartment as soon as she could.

The young woman grabbed a bag full of clothing and essentials. She planned to stay at a hotel till she could move into the apartment that Tae-hyun had gotten for her. Speaking of which, Ji-ho had to thank her boss for giving her the day off since it was her birthday. Making a mental note to call him, she took the special eyewear from its seat in the drawer. Ji-ho then stuffed it with the other belongings in her bag and then rushed out of the cursed apartment.

______

"What's going on?" Ji-ho asked the chauffeur as the car came to a stop.

"A tyre puncture, miss," he replied. "We must have driven over something sharp on the road."

"What do we do?" She asked. Ji-ho wasn't very concerned about the puncture because she had plenty of time to kill.

"I can fix it, miss Sun. Please wait a short while inside the car."

Ji-ho did as she was told. The young lady took the opportunity to call Tae-Hyun and they spoke for a few minutes but he had to hang up because he was busy. Having no other way to pass the time, she began scrolling through her social media. Right then, the door of the vehicle was pulled open and she saw a shocked Dan-bi standing with her hand on the door.

"Why are you in Seung-ho oppa's car?!" She demanded.

Was Dan-bi stupid? People were staring and pointing because one of the most famous actressess in the country was standing out in the open and yelling like an idiot.

"Get out!" Dan-bi demanded. "You have no right to be in his car!"

The chauffeur attempted to intervene but Dan-bi's bodyguards cut him off.

Ji-ho sighed with frustration. The stupid girl was drawing attention to the both of them. She could already see the sensationalised headlines sprouting up.

*Dan-bi and Young-mi get into a heated public spat about Seung-ho! A secret love triangle!*

"Can we not do this here?" Ji-ho coolly replied. "We're going to end up laughing stocks if you insist on picking a fight with me so publicly."

That seemed to wake up the jealous actress. She looked Ji-ho up and down as if examining her for marks.

"Come with me and I won't cause a scene," she told Ji-ho with a smirk.

"Where?"

"My car, of course. We can argue there... Or here. It's up to you, Sun Young-mi."

Ji-ho did not want to implicate Seung-ho in such an ugly and messy scenario. Not wanting to cause him trouble, she reluctantly got out of her car and followed the actress to her vehicle.