Burning The House Of Cards: taking revenge on my billionaire family
Chapter 104 - 103. Behind The Lens

Chapter 104: Chapter 103. Behind The Lens

It hadn’t been long since Mari worked in HS Group’s mansion. She had no lofty ambitions of becoming someone important; her life gave her no leeway for delusion and wishful thinking. She just wanted to receive her salary to pay for her family’s debt.

That was all. She didn’t want to get involved with the family members, since she knew nothing good usually came from it.

And yet, she was already getting pranked on her first day and almost got fired. And not long after, the secretary of one of the children called her over.

Why? Why was it always her?

Mari sighed and walked soullessly to the hallway. This was why people should know how to blend in. The other newbies came with a recommendation from someone who was already working in this place, so they easily made cliques within the staff. Mari, who was only lucky to be there, found herself as the bottom-feeder and had to do all the hard, annoying, and difficult tasks.

If she still had to be stressed out by her debt and the continuous medical bills on top of that, Mari felt like she would have jumped off the bridge at that point.

Right. She should consider this as her secondary job. Her real job should be the one who took away the debt from her.

Telling herself that, Mari’s steps became a bit lighter when she arrived in front of the secretary. She observed the man quietly, looking neat and sophisticated like an elite. Just from the shine of his watch, she knew he must be a secretary of someone important. Most likely the first young master, since she heard the other two were not that bright or dependable.

"Hurry up," the man beckoned to her sharply, and Mari walked faster while lowering her head.

Being scolded was fine. Being recognized and remembered should be avoided--that was what the handsome bodyguard said to her.

"Y-you called for me, Sir?" Mari asked quietly, timidly, like a perfect newbie.

"You’re new?"

"Yes, Sir."

She felt the secretary’s eyes on her, looking up and down in appraisal. She fidgeted with the ruffle of her apron, and the man hummed in satisfaction.

"I need you to do something," the man said. "You know the annex where the second young miss lives, right?"

"Y-yes?" Mari flinched and looked up in reflex, thinking she was getting found out. The genuine panic in her face only further convinced the man to use her for the plan.

"I want you to go there and see what happens inside," the secretary said.

"Yes?" Mari blinked, but the man did not give her a chance to get confused.

"We are suspecting the bodyguard is doing something bad to her, so we need someone to check on her," the secretary continued. "Just go there, pretend you are sent to clean the place or something, and see what happens. Enter the place if you can, without their notice, and after figuring out what happens, return to report immediately."

Oh...no wonder the others were so eager to push her into this assignment. Anyone in the house knew the young miss was in her ’firing-anyone-in-sight’ era, so no one wanted to be near the annex. The male staff were afraid of the bodyguard, and the female staff were scared of the young miss.

And Mari the little sacrificial lamb was sent to face them both. Again.

"Uhh...but, if the bodyguard is doing something bad, shouldn’t the other security members--"

"Were you trained to question orders by the housekeeper?" the secretary’s eyes flashed terrifyingly, prompting Mari to lower her head. "Should I talk to her?"

The little lamb shook her head quickly. "N-no! I mean...no, Sir. I’m...I’m sorry!"

The secretary scoffed. "Just do what you are told. The young master will reward you after you’re done reporting."

Mari widened her eyes and nodded quickly. Those widened eyes were shining, glad that she could give information to her boss. The secretary, of course, thought it was because of the promised reward and sneered.

"What are you waiting for?"

"Y-yes, Sir!" Mari nodded and turned away, before pausing and looking back at the secretary cautiously. "Oh--I was told off for cleaning there last time. Can I take some ingredients and pretend to bring them groceries, Sir? I heard the annex’s food was all gone last night..."

"Huh...aren’t you a clever one?" the secretary arched his brow. Indeed, bringing groceries for dinner at this moment would make more sense than cleaning--which wasn’t typically done in the evening. "Sure, do that."

"Thank you, Sir! Yes, Sir!"

With that permission, Mari scurried to the kitchen and, after telling the head cook that she was under the first young master’s order, took some expensive stuff that she knew like lobster, abalones, what looked like high-quality meat, even some expensive-looking seasoning and cheese she didn’t know about. At least, if the young miss got angry, she thought she could appease her with this.

And so, a full picnic basket in hand, Mari knocked on the annex door--unlike her first day.

Ugh...she was told to enter secretly, but she couldn’t do that, could she? After all, her boss’s interest should precede the others. She glanced at the CCTV beneath the awning and counted in her head, calculating how long it should take for someone to answer the door.

She was on her forty-third when she heard a sharp, low voice behind the door. "Someone sent you?"

Wow. How did he know?

"Yes," Mari looked away from the CCTV and whispered. "What should I do, Sir?"

"Any listening device or bodycam?"

"No, Sir..." Mari glanced at the garden and the main house. "But someone is probably watching me."

"Alright," she heard a soft sound of unlocking and an instruction. "Pretend you find the door unlocked and act like you’re slipping inside secretly."

Mari blinked as the other side of the door became silent. She was told to do the exact same thing from two opposing sides...how confusing. How easy!

She was no actress, but pretending to sneak around wasn’t hard. Mari turned the knob and pretend to gasp upon finding it unlocked. She looked around, pretending to be cautious, before slipping inside while carrying the groceries carefully.

There, on the living room couch, was the beautiful young miss in a night robe that showed some of the red marks on her skin. The perpetrator of the marks, meanwhile, leaned against the couch with nothing but a pair of sweatpants, so Mari could see some scratches on his arms. Very scandalous.

"G-good evening, M-Miss..." Mari bowed deeply, trying not to stare too hard at their exposed skin.

Sarah tilted her head. "Is that an offering?"

"Oh!" Mari raised the filled basket toward the bodyguard, who was taking it with a frown. "They told me to pretend to clean, but I told them bringing groceries would be better."

"Pfft--"

The young miss was chuckling, but the bodyguard glared at Mari coldly. "I told you not to do something that will make you stand out."

Mari blinked and looked at the bodyguard in confusion. "I’m...sorry?"

Did she do something that would make her stand out? Mari looked genuinely clueless, and Sarah couldn’t help but laugh at that. Well...it didn’t seem like her boss was angry, so Mari exhaled a breath of relief.

"It’s fine, they won’t care much at that level," Sarah chuckled and waved her hand dismissively. "Is it the first son?"

Mari gasped and lowered her voice as if talking about a scandal. "How did you know, Miss?"

"How could I not?" Sarah scoffed. "What did he tell you to do?"

"Just to see what happens here, Miss," the girl reported. "Oh--they told me your bodyguard might be doing something bad to you."

Both Sarah and Hajin--who was in the middle of checking the content of the basket--fell into silence. They looked at each other for a second before bursting into laughter.

Hajin smirked and leaned down to press his lips over a mark he made on Sarah’s neck. "I was very, very bad."

"Sush," Sarah pushed the bodyguard’s head away as Mari covered her eyes. "Don’t give her--hmm? Wait...I think we can?"

Hajin tilted his head, grey eyes narrowing suspiciously. "What are you planning, Princess?"

"He told Mari to see what happens, so we should just show him," Sarah shrugged.

"Oh?"

"It won’t make sense that nothing happens, but pretending to be angry will only feed his ego," Sarah stood up and turned her head toward the window overlooking the main house. "On the contrary, showing that we’re being all...intimate will mess him up a little bit, don’t you think?"

Hajin placed his hand over his chest. "My cruel, little princess."

"You always called me soft-hearted," Sarah pursed her lips in protest.

"You’re cruel when it comes to men’s hearts, Princess."

"Whatever," Sarah scoffed and shifted her gaze to their little lamb. "You have your phone, don’t you?"

"Yes, Miss!" Mari fished out a phone from her pocket reflexively. "Ah--you want me to ’accidentally’ photograph you being lovey-dovey?"

"Lovey--" Sarah winced at the words, shuddering from cringe. "Ugh--yeah, something like that..."

"I can do that," Mari nodded, eyes shining with energy unlike how she looked that first time. "Where would you like to be, Miss? Bedroom...is a bit boring. What about the kitchen like last time?"

Sarah arched her brow. "You’re suddenly excited..."

"Uhh...hehe..." Mari scratched her cheek awkwardly, turning her head away to avert the young miss’s eyes.

"Well, I’m excited too," Hajin chuckled and pulled Sarah toward the kitchen. He agreed with the girl; the bedroom looked too boring and obvious. Looking intimate in places one usually used only for normal, daily activities? That was scandalous. "How should I look? Reluctant as usual?"

"No--It doesn’t work anyway," Sarah shook her head as Hajin turned her around, pushing her gently against the kitchen table. She gasped a little when he grabbed her waist and lifted her to sit at the edge of the table--just like the day Mari found them the first time. She grasped her face and looked into the grey eyes in warning. "But don’t look too eager. Just look like you’re slowly falling for me."

Hajin pursed his lips. "Hard..."

"Just do it," Sarah slapped his cheek lightly, over and over until Hajin put on the correct amount of yearning.

Meanwhile, the little director was busy by herself, looking for a position for a fake candid shot. "I should stand here--no, behind this couch would be more natural. Oh, mister bodyguard, please close the door a little bit so it enhances the peeping sense."

"This girl is a bit weird..." Hajin shook his head, but still did what she told him.

"Pfft--"

"Not too much--just a bit--yes, okay, that’s perfect

I’m going to take the picture now!"

Excitedly, with extra dedication including adding effects such as blurring and zooming, several pictures of the young miss and the bodyguard kissing in the kitchen with barely any clothing were produced.

And they arrived in front of the first young master half an hour later.

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