Pay With Your Heart

Hei-Ran was tensed all through the day. She kept pondering why her grandfather had suddenly called her and even invited her to the house. This was something he hadn't done in a long while. Even when she had gone to the Su mansion, they had barely seen, and even when they did, he'd always ignore her.

Was he sick? She called her mother to ask, but she had no idea about it, neither did she receive a call from him. This was strange.

Hei-Ran couldn't come up with a reason why her grandfather would suddenly ask for her. She had an upsetting feeling in her stomach about this abrupt invitation.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Jin-Hai asked for the umpteenth time when she looked nervous. Her hand hasn't left the hem of her skirt in the last few minutes.

Slowly nodding her head, she replied, "I am.."

Jin-Hai sighed at her response. That's the response she kept giving him since the call, even though she looked like she was far from being okay.

"Do you want me to speak to your grandfather?" Jin-Hai asked, making Hei-Ran look at him with widened eyes.

"And say what?" She didn't know why her grandfather had called for her, neither did she know what to say when she got there, so what exactly was he going to say to him?

Shrugging his shoulders, he replied, "I don't Know. But I also don't like the fact that you're this nervous. It's also making me anxious." He honestly told her.

Hei-Ran stared at him without saying a word. A few thoughts ran through her head, but she sighed and turned her gaze away from him. "I'll be fine." She assured him.

He reluctantly nodded his head as he opened the cab door for her. He didn't like the fact that she had stopped him from taking her there. He had been picking her from home and dropping her back every other day, so he didn't see why today should be any different.

"I'll see you tomorrow," Hei-Ran told him while he grumpily nodded his head. Just as Hei-Ran took a step towards the car, he slightly closed the door, surprising Hei-Ran, who cocked a brow at him. But before she could say a word, he leaned in and placed a kiss at the corner of her mouth.

Hei-Ran was startled by his unexpected actions. Her eyes rapidly blinked at him.

"I'll see you tomorrow." He said in his usual tone like he hadn't just done something crazy, even though his heart was beating crazily.

Hei-Ran stared at him, utterly flustered, before regaining herself. She absentmindedly nodded before hopping into the cab. She watched from the window as Jin-Hai waved at her. Her hands subconsciously moved to the spot which Jin-Hai had just kissed, and her heart skipped.

'Why did he do that?!' A smile broke on her face when the scene flashed through her mind. She wouldn't lie; she was completely enjoying all the romantic perks she was receiving from Jin-Hai. He was just so sweet and cute, except when it came to working.

But where did that come from?

She giggled at his sudden sweetness. "Oh my." She blushed.

But her joy was short-lived when her phone suddenly began ringing, and it was her grandfather again. Really? Twice in a day?

Now, something was wrong!.

"Hello, grandfather."

"Where are you?" He asked.

"On my way." She told him.

"Good." He replied before ending the call. Hei-Ran stared at her phone for some moments, her anxiety slowly returning once again. She took a deep breath to calm herself. She hasn't done anything wrong in the last couple of years, and even if she did, nothing could be worse than the scandal that happened several years ago.

A few minutes later, Hei-Ran arrived at the huge pristine Su mansion. She stood in front of the building, simply staring at it.

There was a time when she lived there, trying to learn the ropes of running the company from her grandfather, who had been so keen on teaching her everything he knew, till the scandal. She moved to her parent's house and afterwards to her place when her mother's marriage hassle became unbearable.

Hei-Ran dragged in a deep breath before approaching the colossal gate.

"Welcome back, young miss." The staff greeted as Hei-Ran stepped into the mansion. Happy smiles could be seen on the faces of a few staff - which were the older staff at the Su mansion. Hei-Ran responded with a nod as she asked for her grandfather's whereabouts.

"Where is grandfather?" She asked.

"In his study. They are waiting for you." One of the staff replied.

'They?'

Without pondering much, Hei-Ran made her way up the stairs, her heart beating so fast as she approached the door to his study.

And just as if someone knew she was standing by the door, it was suddenly opened from the inside.

"Come in." It was her grandfather's secretary and friend. She bowed to him as she nervously stepped into the study.

She quickly bowed to her grandfather when she saw him sitting on the sofa in his office. He seemed to have aged a bit more than the last time she saw him, but he still carried that aura of authority as she has always known him to. She had almost forgotten how formidable he looked as the patriarch of the Su family. He was the one person she admired the most in the family. He had thought her to be the person she was today - A career hungry woman.

He was the sole reason she had left the company. She couldn't bear to see the disappointed look in his eyes after her lovely cousin ruined her career by setting her up. He had not said a word to her about it at the time, but she could tell how highly disappointed he was in her.

"Grandfather." She greeted while the man only nodded before taking a good look at her.

Hei-Ran stood with her eyes lowered to the ground, too afraid and intimidated by his presence. Standing before him reminded her how much she had failed him.

"Are you not going to ask how I've been faring?" He asked, making Hei-Ran look at him with surprise.

"Hmm?" She muttered in surprise, causing the old man to sigh.

"H-ow have you been, grandfather?" She finally asked, making the old man shake his head.

"Stand upright and look me in the eyes, Su Hei-Ran." He suddenly said in a harsh tone prompting Hei-Ran to act accordingly. How could she forget he hated seeing his children or grandchildren looking weak?

"A Su never looks weak. I at least taught you that." He said in a somewhat irritated tone before turning to his secretary, who was standing beside him.

"Bring her in." He ordered.

'Who else has he called?' Hei-Ran pondered in her head, but her answer came the moment the door was opened.

A-Yeong!

'What was she doing here?' Hei-Ran felt a vein in her head twitch at the sight of the annoying girl who had had just stepped into the room.

The evil scheming cousin.

But apart from being shocked on seeing A-Yeong, she was more shocked to see how she looked. What happened to her? Where did all her glamour go?

Hei-Ran glanced back at her grandfather, and seeing the angry look on his face, Hei-Ran wondered what was happening.

She stared back at A-Yeong, who was looking quite dishevelled and had pretty dark eye circles. Has she been crying? Now, this was interesting!