The Vicious Wife

Hope

While Kang Daniel and Jihyo were talking, Roseanne was already on her way to one of the top jewelry stores in Time Square.

Time Square was one of the best shopping mall in Seoul. The high-class mall was able to attract some of the world's most stylish and popular boutiques and housed Seoul's most iconic and exclusive shops. However, three years ago, Time Square, owned by the elusive Choi Family, almost went bankrupt due to some internal conflict. Rumor has it that they were saved by one of the richest man in South Korea: Park Jimin, the owner of Park Capital.

Who was Park Jimin? He was a legend in the business world in South Korea but no one knew much about him. This was because he was even more elusive than the Choi Family. There were no images of him online, nor any articles written about him and his lifestyle. Moreover, Mr. Park had never accepted any interviews, be it from magazines or news media outlets. Everyone concluded that he had used his influence to keep his identity a secret.

This man swept the Korea market six years ago and single-handedly raised the economy of the country, a first in the history of Seoul.

Roseanne remembered that her late grandmother, Anne, had once told her to look out for this man if she ever wanted to branch out in the East. However, at that time, Roseanne had been busy trying to establish a foothold in Europe, so she felt that it wasn't the right time to think about branching out in the East, especially not in the country of her birth.

Hence, she hadn't given that man any further thought until today.

"Lia, find someone reliable to investigate the owner of Park Capital," she calmly said while heading towards the third floor of the mall. If she wanted to establish her company in the East, then she would need the support of someone powerful, like the owner of Park Capital. "Also, how is the Li Enterprises? Did you get ahold of their current standing in the stock market?"

"President, the Li Enterprises seemed to have been suffering for years now. Their stock prices had not shown any improvements for the last five years. Their business is slowly dwindling down. The biggest share in the company is still held by the current Patriarch of the Li family. According to my research, Li Enterprises will continue to perform poorly for a long time," Lia explained. "They must have offended someone really influential. Otherwise they would not suffer like this."

"Who holds the second biggest share in Li Enterprises?" she asked.

"It's the Park Capital. Li family's Patriarch owns 32 percent of the shares in Li Enterprises while Park Capital owns 25 percent. Our sources said that sooner or later, Park Capital will seize ownership of this company."

Roseanne furrowed her brows in response. She really needed to be acquainted with the owner of Park Capital. "I want you to check if there are any upcoming galas or charities that have invited the President of the Park Capital as a guest. Then, secure an invitation for me," she instructed before stepping inside GC Jewels; a famous jewelry brand in Europe that had a store in Time Square.

"Roseanne darling!" Roseanne turned her head towards the source of the voice.

"Hope!" She smiled at the man who was in his late twenties. Jung Hoseok, known as J hope who was wearing a dark grain one button men's suit had a brilliant smile on his face.

"Welcome!" Jung Hoseok kissed Roseanne's cheek and took off her camel colored trench coat, revealing her sophisticated red flare dress. The man raised an eyebrow while looking at Roseanne's outfit before he gestured for his assistant to take care of Roseanne's coat.

"Beautiful as ever!" His lips hooked into an enchanting smile before he looped his arms around Roseanne's. "Let me take you to the VIP area. I have some new items that will surely look good on a dashing woman like you."

Lia shook her head as she followed the duo into the VIP room of the store. Jung Hoseok was known to be one of Roseanne's good friends from Europe. He had been working as a manager in GC Jewels for years now. But most people did not know that the man was also the lead designer in GC Jewels and was responsible for designing some of the most iconic and expensive pieces of jewelry for the company.

As a lead designer, instead of working at the headquarters, he had chosen to work in the shop because he wanted to see the reaction of the people who purchased the jewelry he designed.

Seeing Jung Hoseok's dedication to the company, the owner of GC Jewels was touched and made a surprising decision by appointing him his sole successor and heir. As the owner was a single man and did not have any children to pass on the business to and follow in his footsteps, making Jung Hoseok as his heir was a logical decision for him. He was convinced that business would continue to thrive in his hands. As soon as the man adopted him lawfully, Jung Hoseok changed his name into J Hope which means, to bring better hope to GC Jewels in the future.

Of course, Lia only came to know about this because J Hope was considered one of the President's best friends.

"Hmmm... this pea sized gem is one of the rarest pearls in the world." J Hope gave Roseanne a display box made of glass. Inside the box was a pair of tangerine colored earrings. "Since there was no way to cultivate this kind of pearl, this piece of gem right here is completely natural! Try it!"

J Hope enthusiastically opened the box and gave the earrings to Roseanne. Then he ushered her to a mirror that was placed in the middle of the table that they were sitting at. "See? I know this will look good on you!"

"Because of its rarity, only three pairs of these earrings with this precious pearl were made. I especially designed this one for you. This was supposed to be for your birthday but..."

"Hope... my next birthday is next year." Roseanne rolled her eyes at her melodramatic friend. Of course, Roseanne knew that the latter was just talking nonsense. "I like this. How much is it?"

"Hmmm... having you wear one of our items would already be enough to pay for it. But... since I know that you will insist on paying for it, I will sell this to you at half of its original market price."

Roseanne raised an eyebrow. J Hope was the biggest profiteer among all of her close friends. There was no way that he would let go of such a beautiful pearl for a cheap price. However, she also knew that this man would be willing to catch a bullet for her.

"Two million dollars." J Hope said.

"Alright." Roseanne smiled. However, before she could tell him to wrap it up for her, they were interrupted by a knock on the door.

"Manager, the madam of Li Enterprises is here to take a look at our jewelry." A woman's voice was heard. "She said she wanted to see our exclusive collections." Roseanne instantly grinned.

As expected, enemies always meet on a narrow road.