The five men consisted of Kim Tae-hyun, Park Do-yoon, Baek Min-jae, Ryu Do-hyun, and lastly, Seo Ji-han.
“Welcome, Boss… Lee Jun-ho. You’ve arrived.” Kim Tae-hyun stepped forward and took his luggage.
“How was your flight?” Park Do-yoon asked.
Lee Jun-ho gave a slight nod.
“It was okay.”
Kim Tae-hyun rolled his eyes.
As usual, Jun-ho had managed to answer with barely a word.
“So, where are we heading now?” Ryu Do-hyun asked, only for his stomach to growl loudly before anyone could answer.
Park Do-yoon raised an eyebrow.
“Where do you think we’re going? Do you ever think about anything besides food and restaurants?”
Ryu Do-yoon’s face fell as his eyes drifted toward the nearby restaurant.
He quickly looked away and licked his lips, trying to act as though he hadn’t been caught.
“I never said I was hungry or anything.”
“Sure you did,” Seo Ji-han said, bursting into laughter.
“Alright, that’s enough.” Lee Jun-ho’s calm but authoritative voice immediately cut through their teasing.
The others exchanged glances and quickly fell silent.
They knew their boss well enough not to push him when his tone became that serious.
He wasn’t the type to shout unnecessarily, but he expected everyone to follow his instructions.
“Let’s head back,” Baek Min-jae suggested.
No one moved.
Instead, they all turned toward Lee Jun-ho, waiting for his approval.
“Is it ready?” Jun-ho asked, turning his icy gaze toward Kim Tae-hyun.
“Yes. Yes,” Tae-hyun answered quickly, suddenly flustered.
“Fine, then. Let’s head there.”
Jun-ho’s tone left no room for arguments, so the five men followed him without another word.
Meanwhile, Kang Ji-won remained focused on her books, completely ignoring the loud chatter and occasional cheering coming from the other students.
For the first time since entering the classroom, she was actually enjoying studying.
She couldn’t help feeling pleased with herself.
Soon, the class came to an end.
Lin Li, however, had been watching her from time to time.
She noticed how quickly Ji-won flipped through her textbook, barely spending more than a few seconds on each page.
A mocking smile appeared on Lin Li’s lips as she turned toward the girl sitting beside her, Cheng Mixi.
“Look at Kang Ji-won. She’s so good at pretending. How can she read a page just by flipping through it that quickly? I bet I couldn’t even finish a few paragraphs in that amount of time, and yet she acts like she’s suddenly become a good student.” Find the original chapter at novelping.com.
Cheng Mixi immediately nodded in agreement.
“Exactly.”
Lin Li’s smile widened as an idea began forming in her mind.
She glanced around the classroom before speaking a little louder, making sure the students nearby could hear her.
“Cheng Mixi, let me tell you something. Yesterday, I met someone who was too poor to afford even a basic breakfast, yet she somehow had the courage to walk into a high-end jewelry store. When I confronted her about it, she even acted as if she didn’t know me.”
She paused deliberately before adding, “Wasn’t she trying to pretend she was rich?”
Her eyes briefly shifted toward Kang Ji-won.
That was enough.
Everyone quickly realized exactly who Lin Li was talking about.
No one seemed to question her story.
Most of the students had never even dared to walk into a high-end jewelry store despite coming from families with much better backgrounds.
To them, those places were meant for people with serious money.
“Or maybe she’s just jealous of rich people,” one student muttered.
Shen Huiling’s expression immediately darkened.
She knew Kang Ji-won wasn’t like that, and even though Ji-won had changed recently, Huiling still wasn’t sure how long that change would last.
She couldn’t just sit there and listen to everyone insult her friend.
With a loud bang, she pushed herself to her feet and glared at Lin Li and Cheng Mixi.
“What’s wrong with walking into a jewelry store? Isn’t it open to everyone? Who said a poor person can’t walk into one?”
The two girls stared at her for a moment before bursting into laughter.
“If that’s not the reason, then what is?” Lin Li asked with a mocking smile.
Another girl, clearly enjoying the gossip, suddenly joined in.
“Maybe she has a sugar daddy.”
The laughter immediately died down.
Everyone knew exactly what that accusation meant.
Kang Ji-won finally lifted her head from her textbook when she noticed the sudden change in the classroom.
Her eyes moved from Huiling’s furious expression to the disgusted looks on the other students’ faces before settling on Lin Li.
“What’s going on here?”
“So you’re finally done pretending, huh?” Lin Li scoffed.
Ji-won raised an eyebrow.
Pretending?
What exactly was she supposed to be pretending about?
She slowly closed her textbook and stood.
“Please, can you elaborate?”
Lin Li folded her arms and refused to answer.
“What happened?”
“Lin was slandering you,” Huiling explained angrily.
“She made everyone think that you have a sugar daddy.”
Ji-won’s expression changed.
Her fingers curled into a fist at her side.
Hmph.
Looks like I’d have to teach this character a lesson once and for all.
She walked straight toward Lin Li and stopped in front of her.
“Is that true?”
Lin Li’s confidence returned immediately.
She lifted her chin with a sneer.
“Well, yes. What are you going to do—”
Slap!
The sharp sound echoed through the classroom.
Everyone froze.
Shen Huiling’s mouth fell open as she stared at Lin Li’s reddening cheek.
“What just happened?”
Lin Li slowly raised a hand to her cheek, her face shifting from disbelief to humiliation and then fury.
“How dare you!”
She suddenly raised her hand and swung it toward Ji-won, but Ji-won caught her wrist before it could reach her.
“Don’t even think about it.”
With a quick movement, Ji-won pushed her arm away.
Lin Li stumbled backward several steps, struggling to regain her balance as shocked gasps filled the room.
Everyone stared at Kang Ji-won as if they were seeing her for the first time.
“Are you guys ready?”
Lee Jun-ho stood in front of his teammates, his gaze moving across each of them.
“Yes, Boss!” they answered together.
Jun-ho gave a slight nod.
“Good.”
His expression turned serious as he continued, “So, here’s our plan.”
The Slap felt amazing….
servers her right to slander our baby Kang Ji-won