Seunghoon's arrival stirred a whirlwind of change in the girls' demeanour. Victoria, who had been burdened with immense stress and exhaustion, now radiated a captivating glow that delighted everyone's hearts.
Witnessing a transformed Victoria was a rare sight indeed, as they had all sworn to never add to her stress or provoke her anger. The quartet understood that deviating from this pact would only bring them misfortune for the rest of their lives.
Hannah and Audrey enthusiastically embraced Seunghoon's presence, frequently taking him out, much to Victoria's chagrin. She nearly lost her composure when the trio ventured out for burgers, leaving her feeling on edge.
Jennifer, however, harboured a sense of discontent. Seunghoon and Jennifer shared a half-sibling bond, and she couldn't help but feel bitter that he had met Via first, before her.
Yet, she found solace in her secret happiness, knowing how worn-out Via had been over the past three weeks. The young woman had completed five missions during this period while simultaneously managing two strategies.
Now, the entire team had unanimously decided to take a well-deserved day off from their demanding and exhausting duties, planning to resume work promptly at 5:00 AM the following day. Jennifer hesitated, reluctant to comply due to having worked tirelessly for two consecutive nights with Audrey, brainstorming strategies.
Jennifer Jeannet Han was merely putting on an act, even though Seunghoon had gifted her two dozen new perfumes from various renowned brands and an entire wardrobe, which would have delighted anyone else.
She claimed to be bitter because he hadn't brought her the elusive Baxendale's best-selling perfume that was always sold out whenever she attempted to purchase it.
Not once did Jennifer consider burdening Victoria with this thought, despite Baxendale being Victoria's company. She justified her reasoning by believing that if Seunghoon were to bring her ice cream, all concerns would be resolved (especially after receiving a death glare from Victoria).
The particular evening carried an air of wholesomeness. Victoria had just emerged from a refreshing shower, a ritual she faithfully followed after an intense four-hour workout session. Undoubtedly, she felt invigorated.
Seunghoon's presence added an extra layer of positivity to her day, and she relished her victory against Jennifer during their tennis match.
Her reflection in the full-length mirror evoked a sheepish grin. Clad in a breathtaking ensemble of a Black Suit, perfectly complementing her skin tone, Victoria admired her appearance. Her lustrous waist-length hair cascaded down her back, elegantly braided in a loose style.
"Miss Vienna," the maid respectfully addressed her. It was customary for all employees, be they maids or workers, to refer to Victoria by her alias, "Vienna Park." Such was the protocol when they embarked on missions in foreign countries.
At present, they found themselves in the enchanting city of Venice, Italy, engrossed in their latest missions that, to Victoria's dismay, heavily relied on her expertise.
She had flawlessly executed every mission and meticulously planned each strategy, even finding time to attend Baxendale's fashion show. However, this success came at the price of Victoria's precious sleep.
Victoria turned to face the elderly maid and responded in fluent Italian, "Grazie. I'll be ready shortly. Kindly inform my mother that I will meet her at the Hilton Venice Hotel."
Once the elderly maid left, Victoria turned back and looked over how wonderful her day had been, the smile she had dropped. She was about to meet the woman she hated with a passion, ending the blissfulness of her holiday.
She balled her hands into fists so tightly that her knuckles turned white. In frustration, she gripped the rubber band in her hair and opened her hair.
Tears were forming behind her eyes, every bitter and hated moment flashed in front of her. That woman, Yah Yeojin, who had given birth to her, was making her life hell.
How peculiar it was that, once, that woman was Victoria's most prized possession.
That woman who she had once loved had left her, and her father after ruining every chance for Victoria and Jennifer to live a normal life.
She was the woman who experimented on her and Jennnifer and ruined their lives! She was the woman who forced Victoria to bring fame to her. She was the one who used Victoria as a trophy. She was the woman who made Victoria in-human. She was the person who sent people to hunt down Victoria.
She was the woman who caused the stress. She was the woman who caused her to almost kill herself.
Her hair hung in front of her face, shielding the tears that streamed down the face of The Dark Wind's leader.
With a moment of realization, she concluded that she was not to cry. Victoria was a person known for her cold demeanour, and she was not going to waste her precious tears on the woman whom she hated.
She looked up to the mirror and smoothed her hair. Her eyes narrowed, and tension gripped her mind. She suppressed the urge to scream, remaining motionless for a few fleeting moments. She could cancel the meeting or choose not to attend.
But that was not the demeanour of the great Hwang Yeonjin. She was the one who brought the enemy to the battlefield, not one to flee from it.
---
Dressed in a black suit, with her long, lustrous jet-black locks till her waist sat a young woman of twenty-one. The table was decorated with cuisines from all around the world, each costing more than the average man's yearly salary.
But all this was nothing more than a penny to Yah Yeojin, the mother of the world's richest, most successful woman sat opposite the woman clad in the black suit.
The woman of twenty-one was her daughter, or as everyone knew her, Hwang Yeonjin. Hwang Yeonjin had numerous identities, each for its motive; but not everyone knew that they were the same person.
Hwang Yeonjin or Victoria Hwang, as she was known in the whole Mafia Underworld or to every man and woman in the Union and the Arion.
The other one, Vienna Park, was the identity the whole world knew. She was the most successful woman on earth, the most kind. The woman whose philanthropic works had helped the world's poorest nations.
Everyone in the government knew that these two people, Vienna and Victoria were the same person.
They could reveal Vienna Park's real identity, but they knew that she held the power to destroy the government too. They knew the consequences they would face.
Yah Yeojin was the most hated woman in the eyes of Yeonjin Hwang. But why?
She turned Yeonjin into a human incapable of a normal peaceful life. She was the person Yeonjin hated because she made her incapable of being a human.
Yeojin had used Victoria and Jennifer in the experiment twenty-one years ago, which had turned them into more than just humans.
The restaurant was a very lavish one. Numerable golden chandeliers hung from the arched ceiling, golden and a very opulent aura hung in the air.
The setting was enough to prove that no normal person came here, and Yah Yeojin and Hwang Yeonjin were nowhere near the word normal. In every aspect.
The woman, Yah Yeojin, was dressed in a white dress that made her look like an oversized arctic walrus, she had her now white hair up in a beautiful bun. She looked as if she would have been a very pretty person at a young age, but now, she looked more like a workaholic grandma with a bad case of Alzheimer's.
She had a smirk on her, now ugly, face. It was perfectly reasonable to do so, she had managed to call THE VICTORIA YEONJIN HWANG to dinner with her. And everyone knew how rare it was, to see her out of her work.
The young woman, Victoria took a drink from the table which looked like liquor in a wine glass. But both the women knew that Victoria didn't drink, and that "liquor" was apple juice.
The two women were sitting opposite each other, a lavish table in between and a dark aura around them. No one of them was saying a word.
"Still not into drinking, Via?" The walrus woman said. Her voice sounded like nails on a chalkboard to her, above which she had addressed her by her nickname.
The walrus woman looked pleased to see the annoyance on Victoria's face. But sensing that it was causing her mother satisfaction, Victoria took a sip of her apple juice and scoffed.
She set down the glass on the table. "I don't give a damn that you gave birth to me. Now you're nothing to me, we have no connection. Don't. Address. Me. With. That."
The walrus woman's smile dropped.
"Why in the name of The Union did you call me here, woman?" Victoria asked bluntly, meaning to offend the woman she once called "mom".
---