Changes and Chances

Chapter 27

They arrived at the redhead's house 20 minutes after the time stated on the invite. It was a big neighborhood and they had some challenges in navigating which among the big houses was Chaeryeong's.

Luckily, the rows of cars entering the house gave it away.

Lia was shaking in excitement as she held onto her gift tightly. She and Chaeryeong grew really close back then. And there were a lot of things that she shared dearly with her. But when the break up happened, she had to choose her best friend - and that means avoiding all possible ways to trigger the hurt. The other girl was also smart enough to distance herself voluntarily. She knew the situation was too complicated to mess with.

"Lia-ssi?" she heard a familiar, teasing voice.

She almost knocked Chaeryeong over when she jumped and gave her a big hug.

"I missed you, too." The other girl chuckled as she returned the hug.

Ryujin was watching them quietly when she met the redhead's eyes. They exchanged a knowing nod and a smile broke out in her face when Chaeryeong walked over to give her a quick embrace.

"I'm glad you're doing okay now, Ryujin-ah." The redhead whispered before pulling back and leading them inside.

The house was huge. The pair took their time to appreciate the giant chandeliers hanging from the high ceiling, the expensive-curtains, and the sophisticatedly decorated wall.

Ryujin was stunned as she spotted a familiar art work displayed in the middle of the staircase wall.

Her mouth was hanging open as Lia realized what she's looking at.

"T-that's your art."

The brunette could only nod as flashback hit her.

She hastily joined a local auction when she accidentally discovered that their family business was in danger of declaring bankruptcy in the middle of last year. Had it not been for a surprise visit during a short break, her parents would've kept it from her until graduation.

Turns out, the big client that was supposed to be the business' saving grace was connected to Hwang's corporation. And because of the not-so-good history between her and a certain Hwang heir, the client pulled out.

When the auction commenced, Ryujin was pretty sure that no one would buy her art. She discovered that the rest of the artists who joined are either - already well-known, or were starting to break through the industry.

She had to try, anyway.

When her piece arrived at the podium, there was dead silence in the room. The initial price was only 500,000 won - which was barely anything. But she prefers to have any amount rather than nothing.

No one batted an eye when the short description of the artist was read. Someone who hasn't achieved or proved anything yet, it just made sense that the piece would remain unsold, no matter how good the art is.

But when the auctioneer was about to move on to the next item, someone held up their bidder number - a man in her 50's - and declared. "3.5 million won."

There was a quiet commotion in the audience as they didn't expect someone to buy the piece - much more that someone is buying it for 6 times the starting price.