Chapter 91: 90 – Karmic Rule – V

Early in the morning, a special breaking news segment began on television. A live interview covering the recent events around Sinyoung with its current president, Yun Seojin.

"...Yes. Because of the recent controversy around Sinyoung, I planned to use my daughters as disposable pawns to divert attention." Yun Seojin stared straight at the camera and said, "I hired assassins to take my eldest daughter's life. And I arranged for a terrorist attack at my second daughter's office."

The news anchor interviewing him gasped. "You were going to throw them away just for that?"

"Sinyoung is everything, and children can be replaced."

A shocked silence. The news anchor stunned by Yun Seojin's words.

Yun Seojin adjusted his suit and said, "I am aware of the consequences for my actions. There is no need to worry. I am going to fully cooperate with the authorities in regards to this situation as well as Sinyoung's affairs. It is a pity that I got caught, but I will take responsibility."

Maria dropped her TV remote and muttered, "Holy shit."

She had just woken up. After she got snagged by Jinhee and Flone for surveying Jihu Oppa's apartment last night, she somehow managed to make a strategic retreat and head home. When she did, she immediately started planning the party to forget about that awkward conversation.

Arranging Chohong a first-class flight to come over to Korea, coordinating with everyone overseas in secret, making flight reservations to head over to Hawaii for a week...

Because Oppa had done a lot for her, and because Oppa was definitely going to not relax unless someone forced him to, Maria was footing the bill and running logistics to make it work.

But because of that, she had been busy and out of the loop of all the news and business events. So, before she went back to arranging the trip and party, she decided to turn on at least the local news to see what was up.

And then she saw that.

Maria picked up the TV remote and started flipping through the usual news channels. But they were all the same. Each of them showed the same interview with Yun Seojin, just different clips of it.

"...What the hell happened in the last 24 hours?"

Did Oppa get fed up with Sinyoung? That couldn't be, right? I mean, it was an inevitable conclusion. With how big Oppa got in Paradise, it was impossible for Sinyoung to ignore him. One or the other had to go, and it definitely wasn't Oppa. But for this to happen overnight...

Just what the hell did Oppa do to make the slippery Yun Seojin of all people to show his face and take responsibility? No, just how deep were Oppa's resources and connections?

Maria knew that the guy was rich. And she knew that he had an in with Sinyoung through the infamous Kim Hannah as well as Yun Seora. But there was no way in hell that was enough to cause *this.*

...Did that bastard win Yun Seohui over as well? If so-

Just as Maria had that thought, the news segment changed. Instead of Yun Seojin, Yun Seora and Yun Seohui appeared on screen.

It was a press conference, the beautiful sisters standing together in front of a podium while facing a crowd of press.

"Holy shit." Maria blinked and then quickly moved closer to the TV. "That bastard really did win her over, didn't he?"

Maria knew that Oppa was a natural lady killer... Hell, she had to admit that even she cared for him when she didn't ever think she'd care for a person after all she'd gone through in the past.

But to win over that ruthless, heartless, and manipulative woman who ruled Sinyoung with an iron grasp... and then to even somehow have her get along with Yun Seora...

Maria shook her head. She could think about the how and why later. Right now she had to figure out what the heck was going on.

Seora and Seohui looked at each other, the sisters sharing a look.

It was weird. The look they shared was authentic. The sort of shared understanding between siblings. And close siblings at that.

Except that wasn't possible. Yun Seohui despised Yun Seora and tried to keep her down... At least, that should have been the case.

But...

"Argh. Nothing makes sense!" Maria reached to tear at her hair. And then she remembered that she just had it recently touched up to prep for the surprise and forcibly clamped her hands together.

Instead, she stared at the TV, her eyes wide and trying to take in everything she could.

Seohui adjusted the mic and then looked out at the crowd. As she did, she said, "I thank you all for taking the time to come here. And for allowing us the chance to speak as well. In all honesty... It is fortunate that we are even able to stand here to speak after what happened."

One reporter stepped up and called out a question. "Miss Seohui! Is it true then? Did your father attempt to kill you both?"

"It is." Seohui tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and looked genuinely fearful. "I was at my office. Then an assassin ran to try to stab me. I managed to escape, but there were more. It was only by chance that I lived. If not for-" She cut herself off and then shook her head. "If not for someone very dear to me I would have died. Of that I have no doubt."

Maria facepalmed. "Goddammit, Oppa."

That confirmed it. That bastard did it again. He pulled a hero moment and stole another girl's heart.

But dammit! She didn't even think that Yun Seohui *had* a heart to steal! HOW?!

Seora stepped up as well and said, "It was the same for me. I was at my office going over paperwork when an explosion went off. If not for my loyal bodyguard's quick actions and some friends helping me to safety, I would have perished."

A low murmur echoed in the room. The people in the press talking among each other.

As that happened, Maria frowned, rubbing her chin. "...But that doesn't make sense."

Her gut was telling her that something was off.

How did Jihu realize that Yun Seohui was in danger and reach her in time? And how did Yun Seora survive that explosion? This was Earth, not Paradise. Even if they were both high leveled warriors and specced for combat, the only thing they would have from that here would be their reflexes and intuition. Maybe some basic combat knowledge.

But to be able to survive assassins and then planned explosions-

Wait.

Maria suddenly flashed back to Jihu's status screen that he showed her. It was a while back now, but he had a bunch of innate abilities that he hid. But the number of them weren't.

There were six. Six innate abilities. Abilities that he had from the beginning that didn't come from his Paradise status.

"...God I need a drink."

Maria felt a headache coming on. But she was already sober for months now, ever since the time that Jihu got into his coma. As much as she wanted to break that streak to get rid of her headache, she had a feeling the crippling guilt afterwards would be worse...

"Argh." She pulled up her legs and then plopped her chin on her knees. "Freaking Oppa. You're the reason I'm like this."

The reporters asked a few more idle questions. Just random things about Seohui and Seora's current situation that they dodged or politely redirected.

But then came the big question.

"What will become of Sinyoung? Since your father admitted to his wrongdoings and its guilt... You can't plan to continue it, do you?"

Seohui looked at Seora.

Seora shook her head and then gestured for Seohui to go.

It was a subtle gesture. A slight deference.

But the people in the know about the sister's real relationship would be shocked.

Maria sure as hell was. "...Alright. I'm going to grab Oppa as soon as I can and get the story out of him because this makes NO GODDAMNED SENSE."

How? Why? What happened in the last 24 hours? Seriously, what the hell did Maria miss!?

Seohui turned to face the crowd and let out a tired smile. One that was stiff and awkward... but also a real one. "I think I've had enough of management. To begin with, I was never really suited for it... so I'll leave our business decisions to my younger sister."

A reporter waved to Seora and said, "Miss Seora! Your plans?"

Seora shook her head. "For now... I'm going to do my best to help in cleaning up the mess that Sinyoung has caused." She gripped the podium and put on a determined expression. "The sins that the company has committed. The corrupt people who held the reins... I'm going to do my best to root them all out and make the company accountable for what it should have been all this time. But after that..." Seora was quiet, lost in thought. And then she nodded and said, "After that, I think I want to open up my own company."

"Your own company?"

Seora nodded. "Yes. A company of my own..." She glanced back to Seohui and said, "And one that I'm going to run with my sister's help."

Seohui's eyes widened. But then she let out a soft smile, her eyes watery.

Maria didn't even know what to think anymore, so she just kept watching.

One reporter waved and then said, "Miss Seora! Do you have any idea what your company will be called yet? Or what it will do?"

Seora laughed, and then a mischievous spark appeared in her eyes. "Well... I'm not too sure just yet. But I'm thinking that the company will take the 'Seo' from our names and then add 'Ji' to it to make Seoji."

"Seoji?" The reporter blinked. "But what does the Ji represent?"

Seora blushed and looked away. "I-It doesn't have any particular meaning."

The press burst into uproar at that response and started talking all at once.

But Seohui stepped up and said, "That's enough for now. If you have any more questions, please direct them to Mister Shin. For now, we sisters have a lot of work to do."

With that, the sisters left.

And then the news coverage turned back to the usual anchormen.

Maria turned off the TV and then leaned back to stare at the ceiling. "This freaking guy..."

There were a lot of excuses for why 'Ji' might be added. In Korean, it could stand for intelligence, so adding it could imply that they wanted to be smarter and learn from the mistakes of Sinyoung.

Except Maria knew better than that. Especially with the way that Yun Seora had blushed. And the faint hint of red on Seohui's face as well when Seora said it.

"Argh!" Maria jumped out of her seat and said, "That idiot! At this rate, how the hell am I ever going to get compensated?!"

That was Yun Seora! And Yun Seohui! When people like Baek Haeju, Seo Yuhui, Princess Teresa and even the infamous Agnes was in the running, where the hell was she going to measure up?

No, setting that aside...

Forget the Parasite Queen, at this rate, the world would be in danger because of the wars erupting to try and win Jihu's attention!

Honestly!

Maria rubbed her face and moaned. "Goddammit. Maybe Jinhee was right to be paranoid."

Jihu's younger sister had been super wary about her and wanted to make sure she was legit and not some hussy trying to win over Oppa's affection to use him.

It was... a fair assessment. Maria would be the first person to say that she was a gold digger at heart.

...And she would also be the first to say that a guy like Oppa was crazy enough to guilt trip even her shameless gold-digging heart.

Which meant that Oppa was a crazy enough bastard that even crazier girls might trip over themselves to go after.

Hell, it wouldn't surprise her if some dragon fell in love with him too or something.

"...I should talk to Flone about this."

That Saintess ghost lady was the only one who really had a handle on Jihu's situation... as well as the only one he really listened to. Maybe if she knew what was going on she might be able to calm things down. Or at least rein him back before something crazy like the Parasite Queen fell for him or something.

A small *buzz* echoed. Maria's phone, vibrating on the table. She picked it up and saw that it was Chohong.

[Don't think that I like you because of this, you gold digger. But I appreciate you giving me first class. Don't forget to pick me up later! I'm getting on the flight now, and if you aren't there when I arrive, I'm going to call Jihu to say you tricked me.]

"This bitch. Can't you give me a proper compliment?" Maria rolled her eyes and responded to Chohong's text. After that, she called Seol-Ah.

Had to make sure the kids didn't do anything stupid, after all.

...It wasn't like she was worried about them or anything.

Honestly.

xxx

Jinhee stared at her ceiling, lost in thought.

Outside her room, she could hear her mom chattering with that Kim Hannah... No. Since she was married to Oppa, it was Hannah Unni.

...And to be honest, it wasn't that bad.

Jinhee had been super upset at Oppa. Flone Unni was so sweet and nice. Not only that, but she loved Oppa a lot. Genuinely loved him. Loved him enough to where she was willing to let him be with as many girls as he wanted.

A sensible guy would say no. He would see how much Flone loved him and then hold onto her tight and say he wouldn't pick anyone else.

But Oppa didn't do that. Instead, he took advantage of Flone's love and then grabbed a whole bunch of other girls.

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Hannah Unni... Well to be fair, she knew Oppa first. When she thought about it like that, Jinhee thought that it wasn't that bad for her to be Jihu's wife. And Hannah Unni had helped out a lot too...

Jinhee heard from her mom that Hannah was the one who paid for Dad's medical bills. Not only that, but she had a feeling that it was only because of Hannah that the situation at the club didn't end up super bad.

So Jinhee could accept that.

It didn't change the fact that her Oppa was a dick for playing around with so many women though.

And Jinhee was sure. The women at the house the other day wasn't even half of the women in her Oppa's life.

First of all, Seora wasn't there. She loved Oppa a lot too, but Seora hadn't been around last night for the discussion.

Second of all, there was that Maria girl hanging around Oppa's apartment last night with that 'present.' She was... okay. A bit flaky, but she seemed to genuinely worry about Oppa.

But then there was the fact that she also called Oppa 'Oppa' instead of by name or anything else. Not to mention how young she was... Jinhee was sure that they were around the same age too.

It was weird.

...Well, maybe not that weird. Even Jinhee had to admit that her Oppa was hot. Objectively, he was a guy who could get any girl from high school up to... Well, now that she thought about it, he was a guy who could catch any girl that was straight. And maybe a few that weren't.

Probably some guys too.

Anyway, there was that Maria girl.

But finally... there was the fact that Flone Unni had mentioned some other women too when they were chatting. Chohong, Sora... who was different from Seora. That had been a bit confusing to sort out.

Where was she...?

Right. There was Sora and then a girl named Seol-Ah... so that made at least three girls that Jinhee hadn't met.

They all seemed to know about each other at least. Oppa wasn't a complete asshole and saw the girls behind each other's backs. But it didn't change the fact that he was playing with all of their hearts.

...Well, maybe playing wasn't the right word. Her Oppa was a good guy who genuinely cared about the people he helped.

But she told him! If he didn't draw the line, he was going to get ganged up on!

And it was already starting!

Hannah and that Claire women were on one side. Flone, Miss Yuhui, and that Miss Resa were on another.

Seora was definitely on her own side... and probably planned on dragging her older sister into this if Jinhee's intuition was right.

Then there were those three other girls who were probably on their own side as well...

Jinhee sat up in her bed and frowned. "...Maybe I shouldn't be too hard on Oppa."

He was already struggling to stay afloat. And knowing him, he probably stole all their hearts without thinking too much on it. No, knowing him he probably went overboard... Just like he did with Seonhwa.

That bad habit never really left, even if Seonhwa did.

...Which reminded Jinhee too.

There was no way that Seonhwa wasn't feeling upset about all of this. But from what Seunghae had been saying, her older sister had been out of the house a lot and seemed to be seeing another guy.

Well, that was what Seunghae suspected since Seonhwa always clammed up when asked about where she was going.

But Jinhee didn't feel like that was right.

Her gut was telling her that Seonhwa was bound to be feeling super depressed.

After all, Oppa turned his life around, became super successful and attractive, picked up all these women... and completely forgot about Seonhwa.

...Though to be fair, she was the one who left him to go study abroad and chase her dreams...

Dreams that she never even pursued considering she came back home and opened up a small cafe instead of becoming that world class engineer or whatever she wanted to be.

"Argh. Why does Oppa's relationships with girls have to be so complicated?"

Seriously! Even with her... If Oppa hadn't come back that one day, she would never have forgiven him. And then there was the fact that his current work life was a result of him having to run in and kill people to save her after she made a stupid mistake...

"Jinhee! Breakfast is ready!"

Her mom called out.

Jinhee sighed and got out of bed before walking downstairs. As she did, she saw Claire walking out of Jihu's bedroom.

He wasn't home, of course. They had just let her share the room along with Hannah.

Claire noticed Jinhee and bowed her head, smiling. She opened her mouth to say something, but then she paused and pulled out her phone.

...What the heck was she doing?

While Jinhee was thinking, Claire finished typing. And after that, a robotic voice spoke up in Korean.

"Good morning younger sister."

Jinhee blinked.

Claire smiled and then bowed her head again, repeating the words. "Good morning younger sister."

"...Right." Jinhee nodded and said, "Good morning to you too, Miss Claire."

Claire smiled and then walked over to the bathroom.

Jinhee shook her head and then continued downstairs.

This was weird. She had gotten used to Seonhwa in the past, and she got along with Flone, but having another beauty around and acting so intimate with the family... It was weird.

Especially since they made it clear this wasn't a fling or short time deal.

Jinhee sighed and then headed into the kitchen. There, Hannah and Jinhee's mom were cooking breakfast.

Hannah noticed Jinhee and stopped to wave. But then she tensed and lowered her hand, averting her gaze.

Jinhee sighed and said, "It's fine. Sorry about yesterday, Unni. I'm just... I was very upset at how Oppa treated Flone Unni."

Hannah let out a relieved sigh and then smiled. "I understand. Jihu is always going at his own pace, so a lot of misunderstanding can happen."

Jinhee walked over to the pantry and then grabbed a box of cereal.

Jinhee's mom noticed and frowned. "You're not going to wait for your Unni's home cooking?"

Jinhee hesitated.

Hannah laughed. "It's fine, Auntie. I don't want to pressure Jinhee into anything she doesn't want to do."

Jinhee's mom nudged Hannah and said, "I told you already, Sweetie. You can call me mom. You're already part of the family, aren't you?"

Hannah blushed and looked away, focusing on cutting up the green onions on the chopping board beneath her. "I-I suppose I am A-... M-Mom."

"There we go!"

Jinhee shook her head and pulled out the box of cereal before walking over to grab a bowl. Pouring some into it, she looked at Hannah and said, "How *did* you two get married anyway? Did Oppa just decide that you were basically his wife already and decide to make it official? I mean, you were always in his apartment and stuff, right?"

Some light teasing. Jinhee wanted to joke around a bit to get more comfortable with her new Unni.

Except she noticed that Hannah blushed and wasn't denying it.

Jinhee paused. "...Wait. You can't be serious, right? Don't tell me Oppa just decided to say that you were basically married so then you just got married."

Hannah cleared her throat. "O-Of course not. It wasn't anything... like that."

A clear lie. The way Hannah said that showed that even she didn't believe it.

Jinhee's mom laughed. "It's fine, Sweetie. Love comes in many different forms."

Jinhee grabbed her bowl and walked over to the refrigerator, grumbling. "Yeah it does. And for Oppa, apparently in over a dozen different forms."

"Jinhee!"

"What?" Jinhee opened the fridge and then poured some milk into her cereal. "It's true, isn't it?"

Jinhee's mom pursed her lips and looked at Hannah.

Hannah laughed and waved it off. "It's fine, Mom. I'm well aware of what Jihu's like." She let out a sigh and said, "...And to be honest, the only reason we're married is because I pressured him a bit. I didn't think he'd actually call me out on my bluff. Twice too..."

Jinhee carried her bowl back to the table and then grabbed a spoon. As she did, she looked at Hannah and said, "Wait. Bluff?"

Hannah blushed and said, "It was a misunderstanding. I thought Jihu was into me so I invited him for some ramen. But then he showed up with actual ramen when I was expecting... well, 'that.' So I got mad and then stupidly said to leave if he was messing around or marry me if he was serious."

Jinhee groaned. "And of course Oppa married you."

"Well, not at first." Hannah frowned and said, "He actually talked with Flone first. And I talked with her about it as well..."

"Wait, really?" Jinhee sat up and said, "So Oppa wasn't the person who decided to marry you?"

Hannah looked a bit bitter, but she sighed and said, "That's right. Flone told me that I could marry him. She loves Jihu, but she wants Jihu to be happy more. And she said that Jihu wouldn't be happy anymore if I left, so that I should just go ahead and marry him." She looked down and fiddled with her ring. "...I'm still feeling a bit guilty about that."

...Wow.

Okay. So that changed things a bit.

So it wasn't that her Oppa was a dick who played with girl's hearts...

Ah, wait. That was still true. Her Oppa was a guy who naturally stole girl's hearts. He just wasn't a guy who did that on purpose.

...And he was also a serious guy who was troubled at the fact that he did that. And he was a guy who would definitely do all he could to take responsibility... while being stuck in trying to figure out what to do since he was being pulled in a thousand different directions because of his actions and all the different girls he made fall for him.

Jinhee let out a deep sigh and rubbed her face. "I thought Oppa was smart... but I guess he's an idiot after all."

Jinhee's mom quietly brushed her hands on her apron and then smiled. "Excuse me girls, but I have to go speak with my husband for a bit."

"A-Ah." Hannah nodded. "Go ahead, Mom."

Jinhee took a bite of her cereal and said, "Yeah. Go yell at dad."

Jinhee's mom walked upstairs. The sound of a door opening echoed.

"Hm?" Jinhee's dad called out. "What's wrong, Honey- Gah?!"

"You idiot! Who told you to wish for all those girls?! Who told you to say you wanted an interesting life?! Now our son has all of these beauties who want a piece of him! What are you going to do, huh? How is he going to take responsibility?!"

"W-Weren't you the one who wanted a lot of grand children?"

"Have some shame! I saw that approving look you gave Jihu! Don't think I'm blind just because the doctor said I needed glasses!"

"I never- Ow! Hey!"

In the middle of all of that, Claire walked downstairs. She paused and then typed on her phone again before holding it up.

"What is going on in this house?"

Hannah laughed.

Jinhee rolled her eyes and went back to eating her cereal.

Claire tilted her head, confused.

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