Chapter 1

My CEO father talked about fairness, then turned around and dropped the project proposal I'd handed in straight into the trash.

Meanwhile, he couldn't stop praising the one my brother submitted.

I stared at him, unable to believe it.

"Dad, you didn't even look at my proposal."

"No need to."

His cold indifference left me suffocated, staring at a stranger.

"Your brother's proposal fits the criteria best."

"This project will be handed over to him in full!"

"You'll support him and follow his lead."

He hadn't spared my proposal a single glance.

And with that he threw out every drop of sweat and effort I'd put in.

I slammed the door and walked out, unwilling to accept it.

But I hadn't gotten far.

when my brother's fawning voice drifted out of the office: "Dad, you and Mom are just too good to me."

"If you hadn't done the proposal for me,"

"there's no way I could've beaten my sister!"

...

I froze on the spot.

The look on my face shifted and shifted again.

My mind went back, whether I wanted it to or not, to a month ago.

Mom and Dad had called my brother and me into the study.

Faces solemn, they told us

the company placed enormous importance on this project.

If we wanted to prove ourselves,

to win the support of the senior figures and the shareholders,

we had to show what we were really made of.

One month.

Whoever passed the evaluation first would take the manager's chair in the project department.

The truth was, my brother and I both understood it perfectly.

On the surface it was about the project manager position.

But really,

this was Mom and Dad choosing the company's future heir.

Ever since they brought my brother home from the foster home,

their attitude toward me had grown colder and colder.

Sometimes they even chose to 'forget' I existed.

Trips they took with my brother, the visits to those uncles,

they went out of their way to leave me out of it.

As if they were laying the groundwork for him in advance.

But I never voiced a single complaint.

All I wanted was to prove to them

that I was more than capable.

That they could hand the company to me without a worry.

And yet.

Just when I thought the chance to prove myself had finally come,

while their mouths said fair and impartial,

that they'd never take anyone's side,

behind my back,

they had quietly 'fixed' the outcome in advance.

The chance I thought I had

turned out to be nothing but a laughable 'show of running for second place.'

And I'd been the only one kept in the dark.

Every day I worked myself into the ground,

all to turn in a flawless answer.

Just as I felt like I couldn't breathe,

footsteps came from behind me.

My brother's voice reached me, faintly smug.

"Sis, I'm really sorry."

"I accidentally beat you again."

"But don't be discouraged."

"This time was pure luck, honestly."

"With your ability, I'm sure

you'll be perfectly qualified for the job of being my assistant."

"Right?"