3

134 8 0
                                    

–--

"You should call Rachel,"

Tan spoke up from his position at the doorway of her room, watching as she scribbled notes in her notebook. "I'd rather not," She replied without even sparing him a glance.

Yoo Rachel recently left the country to go back to Korea, and despite their close relationship, Minji refused to say her goodbyes.

Yesterday was her brother and his fiance's engagement anniversary, in which he took her out on a date. Minji expected the date to last long, knowing that Rachel will keep her brother by her side all day. So, she was rather surprised to see her brother home early than she expected.

Kim Minji may not be close to Yoo Rachel like how she was with Lee Bona, but Rachel is still a close friend of hers since they were young. Minji won't let their friendship blind her to Rachel's attitude.

Despite only meeting Cha Eunsang shortly, Yoo Rachel has been horrible to her from the very start. And with what Tan has informed her, their every interaction, there were no kind moments.

Not only that, Rachel didn't think twice to make the situation uncomfortable by introducing Chanyoung and Tan to each other as Bona's current and ex-boyfriend.

Once Tan explained the situation to her, Minji grew upset at her behavior. Thus, rather than joining her brother at the airport, she stayed at home—spending her free time burying herself in books.

For a few hours, nothing bothered her, even her brother knew not to disturb her. She was in her second book when her concentration was broken by the loud ringing of her phone as it echoed around her room.

Curiously, Minji opened her phone to see her mother calling. She didn't waste another second as she answered the call. "Hello, eomma," She greeted.

Her mother has made it a practice to always call her once a day. Although her mother would always visit her once a month, Jung Jisuk would never forget to call her when they were apart.

"How are you Minji-ah?" She hears the soft voice of her mother as a smile crept up to her lips, missing the sound of her voice. "I'm good. I just finished studying,"

"Don't forget to eat your meals,"

"Yes, eomma,"

After a few beats of silence, Jung Jisuk spoke up. "Anyway, I have a question. What happened between Kim Tan and Choi Youngdo?"

"What?" She expressed, the question catching her off guard as she was unable to control her reaction.

Choi Youngdo is a rather sensitive topic to Tan and Minji for different reasons, and an agreement has arisen between them that the male shall not be mentioned in the house.

The 'twins' know what happened to their friendship with the heir of Zeus Hotel, and they're the only ones who know. None of their families, friends, or acquaintances know the reason for the downfall of their relationship.

"Rachel's mother just asked me what happened between the two, and I realized I never knew that they fought. I want to know the answer if the topic comes up again,"

Upon hearing her mother's explanation, she was plagued by curiosity at the mention of Rachel's mother. "Why would Rachel's mom ask you that? She has never been interested in Youngdo before,"

"Haven't you heard from Rachel? Her mom and Youngdo's father are engaged,"

"Oh,"

Her mother didn't waste a second as she spoke, "You do realize what this means, do you? Once they get married, Youngdo will be your brother-in-law. I hope things won't be awkward between you, especially after your break-up,"

Minji frowned at the mention of her break-up. It isn't recent, but it was three years ago, days before she left Korea. "Eomma, you should ask Tan about this, I don't know much about what happened between them,"

She lied, Tan told her everything once they were in America. He was hesitant at first, knowing that she didn't leave with the guy on good terms.

---

Tan looked nervous which Minji couldn't help but notice. He kept messing with his food and glancing in her direction. "Stop playing with your food," Minji scolded once she got enough of it.

He sighed, dropping his utensils as he turned to his half-sister rather seriously. "I'm thinking," He started which Minji immediately retorted with, "Are you ok?" A sarcastic tone laced in her words.

"I'm going back to Korea," Tan ignored her comment.

"What? Why?" Minji asked, and before Tan could reply to her questions, another one followed. "Wait, only you? What about me?"

It took a few seconds for the boy to answer, "Do you want to come home with me?"

Once she heard the offer, Minji was lost in her head—thinking of various possibilities if she were to go with him.

"You don't have to, you know," Tan told her.

She bit her lip in contemplation. The topic of going back home has never been brought up with Tan following their half-brother's wish for him to remain abroad, and with Minji refusing to go back.

"What am I going to do with you gone? I only came here because of you,"

Tan gave her a look at the last sentence, "We both know you didn't," Tan knew something wasn't right when he left Korea, especially when Minji followed him a few weeks after.

She ran because she knows that her problem won't reach her in America. "You don't have to hit me with the truth that harsh," Minji frowned as the thought of going back stayed in her head for days.

It was all she could think of, from morning to night.

To be honest, Minji craves to be back in her homeland; missing her mother, her best friend, and the food. Though, she knows that she won't be able to avoid Choi Youngdo if she went back.

But it made her think: If avoiding Choi Youngdo is more important than seeing her friends and family.

After a lot of turning and twisting in her bed as she tried to fall asleep because of her crisis, she now stood at Incheon Airport—clutching the handle of her suitcase as she and her brother are looking for a specific person.

She smiled once they saw the already-smiling Yoon Jaeho, chief secretary of Jeguk Group; someone who has been a part of their company for a long time. Once the siblings approached him with their suitcases taken by his companion, he immediately greeted them.

"Welcome back. The both of you must have enjoyed the food there, especially you Tan. You've grown much taller since the engagement."

Minji snickered as she commented, "Yes, he won't stop eating," In retaliation, Tan nudged her shoulder before turning to Mr. Yoon. "How have you been doing?

"I've been well, just like Jeguk Group,"

Once the greetings were finished, Mr. Yoon dropped Minji off at her mother's house. Seeing as her mother and father are only spouses on paper, they're not obligated to live in the same house. Plus, her father's mistress, or Tan's biological mother is the one living in her father's house.

Though, before she went to America, she used to stay in her father's house. Her parents have come to an agreement that Minji will live in both houses but will have a schedule on which house she'll be staying in for a specific week or day.

"Eomma," She greeted as soon as she entered the house—spotting her mother. Jung Jisuk didn't waste a second in bringing her only child in her arms. "How are you?"

---

Chasing You || Choi Youngdo ||Where stories live. Discover now