Hyunjin

The city's gilded youth loved to spread gossip behind your back. Your lifestyle—rare sports cars, penthouses, and private dinners—left them in suspense. "Another kept woman who just got lucky," the whispers flew ahead of you. You were in no hurry to refute them; you were too amused to watch them drown in their own envy.

Hyunjin was from the same world. Heir to a vast empire, impeccably handsome and frighteningly influential. When you started appearing together, the gossip reached a fever pitch. Everyone was sure you'd simply found a more expensive "toy. "

One evening, at a private reception at Hyunjin's mansion, you were standing on the balcony, admiring the city at night. Hyunjin came up behind you, gently touching your waist.
"Do you know what they're discussing downstairs?" he asked, nodding toward the noisy hall. "That I gave you that mansion on the coast in exchange for your meekness."
You grinned, placed your glass on the railing, and slowly turned to face him. Your fingers slid over the lapel of his expensive jacket, straightening an invisible crease.
"Hyunjin, my dear, let them believe what they want. It's easier for them to invent a story about a 'kept woman' than to admit that a woman can be more successful and calculating than all of them."
You took a confident step toward the balcony exit, heading straight for the group of whispering "friends," who instantly fell silent. Before you passed them, you turned to Hyunjin and said loudly, with an icy smile:
"And remind them, my dear: I don't accept gifts, I pay for them. Why should I look for patrons when all the accounts in this city are mine anyway?"