Chapter 43: The Influencer

The whole green room was silent. No one dared to utter a single word. Everyone kept staring at Ashma's face. They all had heard about her, met her in fashion shows but saw her furious avatar for the very first time. Salt knew that she made a mistake by insulting and intentionally harming Ashma. Her eyes fell on her knees. The blood was darker now as it was clotted. Salt gulped with fear.

Ashma looked at Salt and stared her down. Salt didn't dare to look up. She lowered her head in shame.

"What is your age?" asked Ashma.

"20," said Salt, trembling.

"Is that what your parents taught you? Is that how you treat your elders?" she reprimanded Salt. She then shouted at her groupie, "and the rest of you, don't you have a brain or are you sheep who just keep following others blindly? Use your brain and follow someone great, not a moron who does not even know how to talk to a fellow human being."

Immediately, they all knelt down on the carpet and screamed, "joesonghabnida, we are sorry. Please forgive us, joesonghabnida."

Salt was about to kneel down when Ashma shouted, "don't you dare. Stand up, don't kneel in my dress. Take off my dress this very instant."

Salt instantly started opening the ribbon of the dress to take it off. But because of tension and fear, she was unable to open the knot.

"What are you doing?" shouted Ashma, again.

"Taking it off," said Salt, sobbing.

"In front of so many people? Are you out of your mind?" she yelled at salt. She then shouted at everyone else, "everyone, get out." As soon as everyone heard her yelling, they unlocked the door and stormed out of the room. They shut the door behind themselves so that no one outside could hear the scene unfolding inside.

Salt then went behind a wooden room divider and started taking off the beautiful, comfortable green dress.

"I am sorry. I didn't know that you were Ashma, the designer Ashma," said Salt from behind=d the curtain.

"It should not matter if you know a person or not. You must treat everyone fairly. Not only the people who give you expensive gifts," said Ashma.

Salt went silent after that. She had no idea how to talk to Ashma.

"I am sorry chief, please my name will be destroyed," please Jin-Kyong.

"The moment you tried to bypass me in my own company, you destroyed your name yourself," said Ashma.

"But I promised our CEO your dress," begged Jin-Kyong.

"Did you ask me first?"

"You never say yes," prompted Jin-Kyong.

"There is your answer, standing in front of you," Ashma pointed at Salt. "I don't want spoilt brats to wear my creation. My creations are like my kids, I don't want to hand them over to the ungrateful people who are unable to handle them, who think of them as just dress and not someone's hard work.

"I will be out of a job," begged Jin-Kyong, again.

"Do you want me to feel sympathy for you, after what you did? After the dirty game, you played," yelled Ashma.

"Please I am begging you."

"I just want my dress back and we can forget all this happen, you can go on your way, I will go on my own," said Ashma.

"But how are you here?"

"The moment I heard that idiot sent you the dress without telling me, I came in a hurry."

"You flew in from India?" Jin-Kyong was surprised.

"Where else?"

"Please help me out, I have heard you have a big heart," implored Jin-Kyong.

"I help people you don't hurt me, this stunt of yours would have hurt my career. Do you even know what dress is that?" asked Ashma.

"No, I am sorry, I don't. I just asked for a dress and I received that."

"That's one of the dresses from my spring collection," replied Ashma.

"What?" shouted Salt and Jin-Kyong in unison.

"No one in the world has seen it and you were about to send her on the stage wearing that," scolded Ashma.

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"He never told me that."

"You both are in the same boat. You use the name of others and try to sell them as your own. The fashion industry will blacklist you if I let this out of this room," rebuked Ashma.

Jong Jin-Kyong knelt down and folded her hand in namaste. Tears streamed down her face. "Please forgive me. Please don't tell anyone, I beg you."

"I hate to destroy someone's career but if this happens again, I will not only sue you, I will make sure you never get a job in this field. Do you understand?"

"Yes."

"And as for your CEO, ask him to give me a call."

"What will happen to Rishabh?" asked Jin-Kyong.

"Trust me, I want to send him to prison for stealing my dress," Ashma gritted her teeth.

"What?" jin-Kyong was shocked.

"But I think firing him was enough. This black spot will remain in his life forever," said Ashma.

Salt came out of the divider and handed the dress over to Ashma. Ashma looked around and there was a paper bag on the table. She dumped all the chips and cookies out of it and placed her dress carefully inside it.

"Never repeat what you did today. Because next time I see you, will not be good for you," warned Ashma.

Before she could leave, Salt knelt down near her feet.

"Please forgive me. I just want to wear your dress once." Salt kept rubbing her palm while apologising.

"You did that, you just now wore my dress."

"No, I want people to see me in your creation. Your dress was so beautiful, elegant and comfortable. Please fulfil my wish. Please give me your dress, any dress," begged Salt.

"As I said, I don't give my creation to people who don't deserve it. And always remember, Never beg in your life, because then all you see is the person walking away from you and that too only their leg," said Ashma and walked away from them. She opened the door, looked at the manager and the girls and left the arena.

As she walked away she took the chilly air with her. Managers and the girls ran inside and saw Salt kneeling on the carpet crying her eyes out. Jin-Kyong frantically dialled some number to get a dress for salt to wear that evening. But salt kept crying and crying.

Ashma dialled Dae-Hyun's number and called him back. He came to the parking lot, picked her up and they left the premises. Ashma closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Coming to Korea was a frustrating experience for her. Problems after problems kept coming at her. She was fed up. She already had the spring fashion week over her head, she didn't need problems piling up before her.

The car kept running, she had no idea where she was or how fast or Dae-Hyun was driving. Too many things were running in her mind. Moreover, she didn't sleep well which made her tired and cranky.

After some time, she reached the Park mansion. She paid Dae-Hyun with a smile and he drove away after giving her the instructions to take care of herself and give him a call whenever she needed a car.

She nodded and said goodbye to him. She moved inside the house. She was in pain. Her knees were stinging with pain. She was hurt, tired, frustrated, angry and in pain. She had no idea about which emotions she should feel first.

She went in and heard a voice, " Hello! Stunners. Hi, stunners! This is your beloved Man Hae-Won." Ashma's eyes fell on Hae-Won who had her phone in her hand and was recording. Vidhi and Eun-Kyung were sitting on the couch next to her. "This is your beloved designer Ashma," and she laughed loudly. Vidhi and Eun-Kyung looked at tired Ashma with concern.

They both wanted to ask her about her day. Why did she leave in a hurry? Where did she go? Why didn't she inform them? Why didn't she ask for their help? At least anyone of them could have driven her to her destination. Eun-Kyung knew she was independent and Vidhi knew she raised her as an independent woman but still they wanted her to share her problem.

The moment Ashma heard her introduction, her head blew and smoke came out of her ears. She immediately ran towards Hae-Won. She snatched her phone and threw it on the floor.

"Ashu!" shouted Vidhi.

"Ashma!" yelled Eun-Kyung.

"My phone!" screamed Hae-Won.

Ashma ignored all the yelling and screaming and shouted at Hae-Won, "are you out of your mind? Do you know what would have happened if people would have seen me and known that I am in Korea?"

"It is my phone, my life, I can record anything I want," sobbed Hae-Won. Her phone was her life, seeing it shattering into pieces broke her heart.

Ashma too had enough frustration for the day. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath but it didn't help this time. She gritted her teeth, bent down, picked up the broken phone, raised her arm and showed the phone to Hae-Won.

"If you record me again or take my picture without my consent, I won't break your phone, I will break you. Do you understand?" she placed the phone in both her hands and bend the phone with her bare hands, the glass cracked under pressure and gave Ashma minor bruises. She then threw the phone again and shouted, "and stop crying."

Her scolding suddenly jolted Hae-Won out of crying. Her eyes dried out, she replied, "Yes, sorry."

"Hmm," grunted Ashma.

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