'Who did he call 'Kitten' and why exactly is this man here?' Steph sneered as he clenched his fists.

He then glared at the man who was standing next to his Noona when that place should belong to him and only him.

"Who are you, Mister?" He questioned and then crossed his arms over his chest.

Though he knew exactly who Reuben Ming was, he did not want to give the other man any chance to feel a sense of superiority over him.

Noah glimpsed at his little brother who was bravely glaring at one of the most powerful men in the city and was immensely amused.

'How come I never see this courage when he is standing before our sister?' He wondered and then turned to face the pair standing opposite them.

Noah was used to seeing Steph cowering in the presence of their sister but now the boy stood fearlessly before this bigger man.

Reuben looked at the shorter man and raised an eyebrow at him.

Lina almost laughed out when she saw the defensive look on Steph's face.

'Don't tell me that even he is guarded against Ruby like the twins!?' She glanced at Reuben's side profile and shook her head.

She was fascinated by the fact that everyone who saw Reuben by her side had all negative reactions.

'This guy is so not easy on the eyes.' She concluded and then looked back at Steph.

Before she could explain anything, Steph took a step forward and shortened the distance between them.

Noah also moved ahead because he did not want to be left out of the conversation.

"You still haven't answered me, Mister. Who are you and why are you standing so close to my Noona?" He questioned with a stern face that did not match the usual playfulness that he always had in Lina's presence.

'It feels like I'm watching a baby chick trying to threaten the big bloodthirsty beast.' Mathew Kim chuckled when he saw the youngster trying to have a staring contest with his Emperor.

'Noona?' Reuben froze when he heard this and then tilted his head in bewilderment.

Seeing his reaction, Lina could no longer stop herself and she laughed out loud.

The three men all stopped whatever thoughts that were running through their minds and turned to stare at the beautiful woman who giggled cheerfully.

Her violet hair strands were clearly apparent under the early morning sun's rays and made it seem like a little fairy had descended down to greet them.

Reuben's stoic face blossomed into a radiant smile after watching the woman whom he had set his heart on was now beaming at him.

The Jin family boys weren't doing any better in this regard.

Noah was stunned to see her eyes sparkle and he felt a slight glimmer of warmth spread through his heart.

However, Steph was just pouting because this smile was not exclusively directed towards him.

'Is he trying to take my Noona away from me?' He suspiciously glanced at Reuben who was still staring at Lina's face.

Lina had stopped smiling when she felt all those intense gazes focused on her face and cleared her throat to reduce the awkwardness she felt.

Hearing the soft noise, they all awoke from their daze and glanced around to hide their embarrassment.

"Ruby, that's Stephen Jin. A fellow designer at Obsidia and he treats me as his elder sister so he calls me Noona." She silently whispered in his ear and nodded when she saw his nod.

'A sister, huh? Then it's alright. The brat isn't a threat to me anyway.' Reuben was appeased with this explanation and turned to face the youngster.

He gave him a nod but stopped as his eyes turned to the man standing next to him.

'Now about this guy? I'm not too sure.' He narrowed his eyes and gave him a glance from top to bottom.

When he looked at his face once again, Reuben frowned when he saw that curly-haired man gazing back at him with a sickeningly sweet smile.

'Did the Emperor of the Ming Enterprise just look at me with wary eyes?' Noah snickered in his mind as he continued to smile at him.

"Won't you introduce us, Lina?" He tilted his head and interjected after Lina finished whispering something into Reuben's ears.

Lina hurriedly nodded and then subconsciously held Reuben's hand to pull him forward.

Everyone who had witnessed this scene was waiting for the Emperor to lash out at this bold woman who seemed to have overestimated her status in his heart.

However, what they saw next was not what they had expected even in their wildest dreams.

Reuben glanced at the small arm wrapped around his bicep and a soft smile graced his face for the second time today.

"Reuben, meet Noah Jin. He's Steph's older brother and a friend of mine." She introduced them and waited for them to shake hands but that did not happen.

To smooth out the weird environment, she spoke up once again.

"Did you know I had met Noah at the airport before my flight back home? Coincidentally on the same day that we met." She recalled their first meets as she disclosed this information.

'I met both Ruby and Noah on the same day!' She chuckled at this bizarre coincidence but did not get the same response from them.

The two men silently observed each other's expressions to find any clue about what the other was thinking.

'I already know that because I saw you giving your phone number to him!' Reuben's eyes glinted when he thought of that memory.

While Reuben was feeling jealous, the other man had different thoughts in his mind.

'So Lina doesn't have any previous connection with Master Reuben? Just a coincidental meeting like mine?' Noah curiously wondered and tried to make out a plausible reason to explain the cozy atmosphere between the two.

His eyes then traveled to the hand that was still wrapped around Reuben's arm and frowned.

'We both met her on the same day then why does he seem to be so close to her already?' He clenched his jaw and was displeased when he thought of this matter.

Reuben had noticed the subtle glance that Noah had given to their connected hands and raised his brow for a quick second before he went back to his neutral cold face.

'So I wasn't wrong in my assumption that this man has ulterior motives towards my kitten!' He deduced after seeing the slight change on Noah's face.

Oblivious to the thoughts in their heads, Stephen had been alternating his sights between the two men and pouted when he saw them just gazing into each other's eyes.

"Noona, you still haven't told me who this uncle is!" He whined and fluttered his lashes at her like a little child.

This cute gesture did not affect Reuben in the least bit, instead, he felt like puking blood when he heard how the brat had just addressed him.

'Ruby, an uncle!' Lina quickly looked at her feet to hide the smile that had materialized on her face.

"I'm Reuben Ming and just so you know, I'm just 28 this year!" He scoffed as he declared in a firm and authoritative voice.

Steph trembled for a second when he heard the fierce tone in his voice but putting on a brave face, he rolled his eyes to show that he was not scared in the least bit.

"The reason I am here is for my kitten! I am cour-" Reuben did not finish his sentence but grimaced when he felt a sharp pinch on his arm.

He glanced at the source of his pain and came into contact with the menacing eyes that were glaring at him.

'What the hell were you gonna say just now!?' Lina gritted her teeth when she realized that his next word was 'court'.

This would definitely spark a bigger uproar and any chance of her leading a normal life would vanish once the news of Reuben chasing her was revealed to the public.

Hence she moved faster and pinched him hard to stop the words that were about to leave his mouth.

Reuben realized the blunder that he was about to commit and nodded his head at her.

'The media would turn this into another gossip article and that is the last thing I want!' He frowned when he thought of the ridicule and mocking that Lina might have to endure if this news ever got leaked.

Lina sighed in relief when she saw the look of understanding flash on his face and rubbed the area that she had ruthlessly attacked a few seconds ago.

Reuben smiled at that adorable gesture and then turned towards the curious young man.

"I am a close friend of your Noona. Since you are her brother therefore from now on, you are my brother as well." He announced and finished his words with a meaningful smile.

'To be more accurate, you are my brother-in-law.' He completed this sentence in his mind.

'Overconfident narcissist!' She scoffed and rolled her eyes.

He smirked when he heard Lina's scowl that was targeted at him.

Steph however, had not understood the hidden meaning behind those words.

'So he treats Noona as his sister too?' He nodded in satisfaction and gave Reuben a thumbs up.

While all this was happening, the neglected and forgotten assistants were silently watching the show as they sipped on the smoothies.

However, only one of them was to be seen because the other tinier assistant was hiding behind Benji's huge body to cover his presence.

'Why is he here!?' Mathew Kim panicked as he watched the curly-haired man standing opposite Lina and his boss.