Paradise

♧16♧

Third Person POV

Today is the day that everyone has been waiting for. Today is the day that the heiress of S.M.I.P. will finally be revealed.

Their hidden ace will be shown to the world during today's press conference once and for all.

Many notable wealthy figures of Korea were invited. V.I.P. invitations were given out to the key facilitators of the long-awaited event.

Bom Park, mother of Rosé will be the one to host the press conference. Most of the reporters and paparazzi to come, would be from the Parks' news studio or from JJ Entertainment. They would be the one's to be in the front row to get the latest scoop. Press outside of these companies would be placed in seats behind them and separated from the VIPs by a purple velvet rope.

Raim Kim, the famous publisher herself, and her family was also invited to make an appearance. She will be the one to revise the final stories of the writers present and make sure that everything is decent enough to publish.

The whole event will be broadcasted to the world through the Parks' news studio as their very own camera crew will scattered around the hall to get the best angles of the hidden ace for the live.

Of course, Taehyung Kim was also given the VIP invite to be the grand event's official photographer; as promised by the heiress herself.

The event will be held at one of the many branches of SAS, owned by Yoongi Min himself and the security would be taken care of by Lia Han, whose father is the owner of an elite organisation of trained security guards to which her oldest sister, Jaine would inherit one day.

The gowns that the said heiress will be wearing for the press conference and the after party are said to be designed and hand-made by the goddess of the fashion industry herself; Jennie Kim of Duchess Couture.

The after party was to be facilitated by Jungkook Jeon himself to make sure that they would be safe throughout the whole event. Jin's Eatery has taken care of the food catering services and only the dishes selected by the family themselves will be served.

During the after party, there will be several performances from well-rounded superstars such as Joy Park, Rosé Park and Hoseok Jung. As well as, the notorious flirt - Jimin Park. Lalisa Manoban - one of the best dancers of her generation -  will be rendering the guests a performance of her own too.

The press conference is to start at exactly two in the afternoon but all of the reporters and constituents of the press that were able to snag an invite, were ordered to arrive at 11 in the morning where they would be escorted to a private room and briefed on how things will go. That would also be the time for them to think up some questions and submit it to the host, Bom Park.

Of course, everybody arrived just on time as they were warned that their tardiness would result in them getting cut off from the guest list and none of them wanted to miss the momentous occasion to finally get the tea on this mysterious family.

Once everyone was briefed on how to behave for the duration of the press conference, they were led to the hall where the event would take place. One by one, they enter and find their seats.

As soon as everyone is seated, a pregnant silence washes over the hall as everyone is too preoccupied with their own curious and rampaging thoughts about the heiress.

And it will only be a matter of time before the clock strikes two.

Lia's POV

"Are you positive you're okay, Ki? Because we could always schedule this for another day. Your health is much more important than those people's thirst for tea." I voice in a worried manner.

Kira simply waves her hand at me dismissively.

"Worry not, dear sister. I'm fine. There's no need to fret. Besides, we've made the world wait long enough for this. I think they deserve the revelation." She states calmly. Her calmness now is a complete contrast to her trembling self just a few hours ago.

Her duality is rather worrying.

"Well, if you ever need a getaway plan, just tell me and I'll be ready to get you out of there." I tell her with a wink.

She nods and smiles at the gesture. "That's very kind of you. Thanks, Liam." She says, addressing me by the pet name she 'accidentally' made for me a long time ago.

We hear the sound of footsteps behind us and we look up to see that Hyekyo and Joongki have walked in.

I smile at them and move to the side in order give the family space to talk. I stay in the room as it's my job to stay by Kira's side no matter what unless ordered otherwise by one of the family members.

I stand there, facial expression neutral.

"Darling. I hope you're ready?" Hyekyo asks.

From the corner of my eye, I watch Kira nod in response. It's a slight nod as the hair stylist that's keeping a hold on her hinders the motion a bit.

"Are you feeling better, pumpkin?" Joongki queries.

The hair stylist adds a pin to hold the girl's hair in place and sprays the hair spray over the hairdo. She then steps away and bows to the family who dismisses her and kindly thanks her for a job well done. The style crew leaves the room and Kira turns to her parents.

"I'm fine, mom and dad. This week has honestly just been rather overwhelming. I was exposed to more social interaction than my mind could handle. I should've went a bit easier on myself but what's done is done.  We prepared for this day for years. A measly set back isn't going to hold us down. I can't continue to live in fear forever. It's time for me to face the world as the new person that I am." She explains, voice laced with determination.

I smile slightly at her new-found confidence.

"Very well, then. It's your call, after all. We're only here to support you and guide you every step of the way. Always remember that we will be here for you no matter what and that we're so proud of what you've become." Hyekyo states in a motherly manner as she places her hand on her daughter's shoulder lightly.

"That's right. No matter what, you'll always be our little pumpkin. You've been through a lot and have come this far. We just want you to know that we're absolutely grateful and honored that we were able to become part of your journey. I thank the deities everyday for gifting us with such an amazing daughter." Joongki cooes and I see that the whole family is almost moved to tears by his mini speech.

"Stop it, guys. You're gonna make me cry then I'm gonna have to make the team come in again." She says with a laugh. "All jokes aside though, I'd just like to thank you guys. I couldn't have done this without you. I would never have gotten through all those storms without your guidance. Hell, I probably wouldn't even be here today if it weren't for you guys. You, my sisters and even the Jeons have been the greatest part of my life and I couldn't be more grateful for the love and support you've showered me with which led me to be the person I am today. Sure. I'm still a little rough around the edges but at leat I know that I'll never be alone again." She states sincerely.

I get rid if my facade and run over.

"Group hug!" I shout happily and Kira giggles as her parents join eventually.

"As much as I'd love for this cute moment to continue," A voice interrupts us from behind. "we really need to go. The press con starts at 2 o'clock, and it's one-thirty now."

We pull away from the comfy hug and turn to the source of the interruption to see Nabi standing there with her arms crossed.

I sigh.

"You're right. We need to go now if we don't wanna be late." I announce.

Joon holds out a hand for his daughter to take. "You ready, pumpkin?"

She nods and takes his hand to get up.

We make our way to the door just as I hear her mutter under her breathe.

"Here goes nothing."