When Whales Fight, Shrimp Get Crushed (2)
Min Seonye was the third of the six siblings of the Hanbit Group family.
Recognized by her clan for her exceptional instincts and outstanding management skill, she had risen to the de facto presidency of Hanbit F&B—the foodservice affiliate that actually interested her.
The reason for the qualifier “de facto” was simple. She was still young, and more importantly she had no desire to be hounded by the press or anything of the sort. So she propped up a convenient figurehead as official president and left it at that.
She spent her days drifting freely through the Hanbit F&B stores she ran—eating, drinking, and simply enjoying herself. In other words, she had zero intention of throwing herself into the succession war.
Her siblings, however, thought otherwise.
The third daughter has no interest in the chairman’s seat at all?
We’ve already got enough rivals; if she’s willing to step aside, fine by us… but still…
Min Seonye, what the hell is she scheming?
They kept their guard up while laughing at her behind her back.
She just threw away the chance to become heir of the Hanbit Group… heh.
I was worried Father seemed to dote on her the most, but this is a relief. Stupid bitch! Hohoho!
Seonye was, of course, fully aware of what they thought.
Think whatever you want~ Honestly, I feel sorry for my older brothers and sisters.
What was the point of clawing and scraping for the chairman’s seat in that suffocating free-for-all when you could live freely and do what you loved, the way she did?
So she paid no attention to the whispers of her siblings or anyone else. And above all—
Ever since she met a certain part-timer working at Luminous, the café brand under Hanbit F&B, she had grown even more certain her choice had been the right one.
Or rather, life had simply become a lot more fun.
As a sort of hobby, Seonye made a point of personally visiting the Hanbit F&B outlets she ran. That day had been no different; she was just wandering around when she happened to stop by one of the Luminous branches.
Oh my~? The part-timer here is pretty cute… Wait. Hold on. Is that a guy?!
The first time she saw Sihyun, Seonye was briefly flustered. The emotion that hit harder, though, was pure fascination.
Don’t tell me… that kind of kid is my type?
Curiosity surging, she drifted naturally up to the counter and ordered coffee. It was the middle of summer and she was dressed lightly, so she decided to put her best assets to full use. She leaned her upper body far over the counter and deployed her most reliable weapon.
“Excuse me~ Could I get an americano?”
She finished it off with a wink. Honestly, a small part of her wondered if she’d overdone it—if she looked like a total clown—but strangely enough she felt no embarrassment at all. Never in her life had she approached any man this way, yet here she was, committed.
In response to Seonye’s rather bold opening move:
“Ah, yes. Just a moment.”
Sihyun took the order with complete indifference and headed straight for the coffee machine.
“Huh…?”
An involuntary, dazed sound slipped out of Seonye’s mouth. Not a hint of shyness or fluster. If anything, he looked faintly annoyed.
Did I misread this? It’s a girl after all, right…?
There was no way a beauty like her would get the cold shoulder otherwise. And yet, right then, something else reached her ears unbidden.
“Kyaa~”
“Sihyun is so cute!”
Female customers at a nearby table were whispering and gushing, every single gaze locked on Sihyun.
Okay, so it really is a guy…
Seonye sank into confusion all over again. Before she could even organize her thoughts—
“Your americano is ready. Miss?”
Sihyun had already set the cup down.
“Ah, yes. Thank you~”
She accepted the coffee in a hurry and hesitated for a beat.
…Should I just ask whether he’s really a guy?
She immediately shook her head.
Even as a joke, a question like that would piss him off for sure.
Not only had he stayed completely unfazed by her provocative approach, he was also giving zero attention to the squealing female customers still making a fuss. Clearly he was thoroughly sick of women pestering him.
He’s probably heard “Are you a guy?”, “You look like a girl,” and “You’re pretty” more times than he can count.
Having reached that conclusion, Seonye decided to abuse her authority as the de facto boss.
Well then, I’ll just ask someone else~
Coffee still in hand, she headed for the staff room.
“Hello. I’m someone like this…”
“Hiiiek! Someone of your stature, coming to a place like this?!”
The store manager nearly jumped out of his skin at her sudden appearance.
“There’s a part-timer named Sihyun, right?”
“Yes, is there some problem? Did that bastard do something—should I fire him?”
“What on earth are you talking about?!”
“Hiiiek! Forgive me!”
“I just… want you to tell me about that kid. As much detail as possible.”
“Y-Yes! Of course!”
From that day on, Seonye’s interest in Sihyun only deepened, and she naturally became a regular at the café where he worked.
She had planned to draw closer little by little, casually place him under her debt, and then devour—
No, simply grow closer to Sihyun.
Why the hell is this crazy bitch here?
Even while facing off against Yuri, Seonye couldn’t help being thoroughly rattled. Anyone else she could handle, but every time she saw this woman, keeping her cool became nearly impossible. That was why the two of them so often lost their tempers and brawled at parties and gatherings where other chaebol families were present.
While she was thinking that, Yuri snorted, crossed her arms, and sneered.
“I asked first, you bitch!”
“What did you just say, you fuc— ah.”
Seonye was about to fire right back when she remembered Sihyun was watching from behind, and barely managed to hold her tongue. Yuri took one look at her restraint and smirked with sudden understanding.
“Hm? Aha…”
A knowing, nasty smile spread across her face.
“Don’t tell me you’re putting on an act because of him?”
“…”
Seonye’s silence was all the confirmation Yuri needed. She curled her lips and poured on the mockery.
“Well now, how unfortunate. Unlike you, I have no intention of hiding my true nature…”
“W-Wait a second…!”
Seonye could already predict whatever garbage was about to come out of Yuri’s mouth and what kind of scene she was about to make. She tried desperately to stop her—
Griiiip—!
Yuri had already seized her by the body and hoisted her into the air, laughing in her face.
“I’m interested in him too, you know? So why don’t you get lost?”
“Y-You crazy bitch! Stop it!”
“Don’t wanna~? If you don’t want me to slam your head into the floor, you’d better do something~?”
Yuri put even more strength into her arms, lifting Seonye higher. Seonye was just about to counterattack when—
Grab!
“How about you stop?”
Sihyun had appeared without warning and locked a firm grip around Yuri’s wrist. Yuri frowned for a second, then immediately broke into a sly grin.
“Kyaa~ So forward. It’s only been a few hours since we last saw each other, you know~”
Thud—!
With that, she simply let go of Seonye.
“Ugh!”
Seonye lost her balance and landed hard on her backside.
“You bitch—! Han Yuri, you—!”
Furious, Seonye wanted nothing more than to spring up and launch herself at Yuri, but right now Sihyun took priority.
“Sihyun! Get away from her! She’s a psycho!”
Seonye shouted urgently. Yuri merely chuckled and tilted her head toward Sihyun.
“Hmm~ Right. That’s right, your name was Sihyun, wasn’t it? Kim. Si. Hyun.”
She enunciated every syllable with deliberate care.
“Hey, Han Yuri!”
Seonye barked at the woman who was completely ignoring her and eyeing Sihyun with open interest. She had hoped she was wrong, but of course this lunatic had come to the café specifically to see him!
That was my mistake!
She had known, to some extent, that this crazy woman frequented that club. Yuri’s personality was so vicious that she never so much as glanced at men. Seonye had assumed that even if Yuri saw Sihyun, she would ignore him entirely—or worse, look down on him, push him around, and hurt him. That would have been far more natural.
But the way Yuri was looking at Sihyun right now…
It was exactly the same as her own.
Which was why—
“Haa… Please keep it down inside the store. If you want to fight, I won’t stop you, so take it outside for the love of—”
Sihyun was sighing wearily when—
“Fight her? Nah, I’ve got no business with this one. The person I’ve got business with is— Kyaaaak! Min Seonye!! You crazy bitch!!!”
Crash—!
Seonye launched her entire body at Yuri.
“You fucking bitch! You goddamn whore!!!!”
“Who you calling a bitch? You fucking psycho!!”
In an instant the two of them had seized each other by the hair and erupted into a full brawl.
Crash—!
Clatter—!
Thud! Thud!
The café descended into pure chaos within seconds.
“A fight broke out! Should we upload this to YouTube?”
“You idiot! Post that kind of shit these days and you’re fucked! Just get out of here!”
“Should we call the police…?”
“The café staff will handle it!”
Unwilling to get caught in the crossfire, the customers hurried outside. And the store manager—who knew exactly who Min Seonye was—had a sinking feeling that the woman locked in combat with her was no ordinary person either.
“Aaaaah—! What do I do! What do I do!!”
He broke out in a cold sweat and flailed helplessly.
“Kyaaaaak!”
“I just want to clock out! I want to go home!”
The other part-timers were equally shell-shocked, milling around in panic.
And Sihyun—
“Haa…”
He let out a long, heavy sigh and thought to himself:
Yeah. I should just quit this café job too.