The next day, at the Hwang Publishing Corps.
Tiffany have a huge smile on her face while walking at the hallway of the building. She even greeted the employees too energetically. They figured that their boss had a great day yesterday. And are finally blessed enough to see her happy.
Even Sooyoung is shaking her head in disbelief. How could her friend be this energetic early in the morning?
They are about to step inside Tiffany's office when a man in his middle age block their way.
"Good morning, Ms. Hwang. You look so bright today. May I talk to you?" He said with a smile.
"Do you have an appointment?" Sooyoung raised her eyebrow strictly.
"Woah! Chill. It wouldn't take long anyways. I just need to tell Ms. Hwang about something." He said with a creepy smile plastered on his face.
"I'm sorry but I have an appointment in five minutes from now. We can just arrange an appointment next time." Tiffany politely turn him down.
"Oh come on. This is interesting." He insisted.
"We're not interested." Sooyoung rudely pushed him aside to let Tiffany walk ahead.
"It's about your father, Tiffany." He said. That stopped the brunette from walking. He smirked.
"Your father, Mr. Hwang didn't die on a normal cardiac arrest. Kim Taeyeon, your lovely Kim Taeyeon killed him." He said like a psycho.
"What did you say?" Tiffany came closer to him.
"You heard me right, Ms. Hwang." He smiled eerily.
"Tiffany, don't listen to him. He doesn't know what he's saying." Sooyoung held her best friend's arm.
"And what do you know, Ms. Secretary? Come on, Tiffany. I'm telling you the naked truth now. Don't tell me you're so blinded by the blonde to ignore what I'm saying?" He provoked her more.
"Taeyeon had nothing to do with my father's death." Tiffany spoke in her gritted teeth.
"That's a no no, Tiffany. Taeyeon is a murderer." He smirked.
"She's not a murderer!" The brunette screamed on his face.
Sooyoung held her tight. "Tiffany, keep it low. We're in the office." She reminded.
"Then what's this?" He showed an envelope on his hand with an evil smile.
"Inside of this is the evidence of what I'm talking about, Ms. Hwang. Aren't you confuse of why Taeyeon wasted her time to help you and even bought you millions of dollars of a company? It's because the guilt couldn't make her sleep anymore." He whispered to Tiffany's ear.
Sooyoung couldn't catch everything that he said. She furrowed her eyebrow and pushed him away again.
"Excuse me, Mr. Jung, Ms. Hwang had something more important to do than to listen to your nonsense. So please, leave. Before I call the security." She said, clearly annoyed with the man.
"Fine. Just take this with you. I'm handing you the evidences, Ms. Hwang. Handle it with care. This is the only evidence we have against Kim Taeyeon. Think about it. See it to yourself." He handed her the envelope and turn his back to leave them.
Tiffany stared at the envelope in her hands. She don't know what to do. She's afraid of the contents inside of it. What if he's telling the truth? No, Taeyeon won't do such thing.
"Tiffany. Why are you just staring at that? Throw it away. He's just playing with you." Sooyoung tried to snatch the envelope but Tiffany held it tight.
"I'll see what's inside." She simply declared.
Sooyoung couldn't do anything anymore when Tiffany walk straight in her office without looking back at her Secretary. The tall lady heaved a sigh. This is another mess. What did you do this time, Taeyeon?
Sooyoung fished out her phone and dialled the blonde's number. But she's not answering her phone. She sent her a text telling her that the creepy shareholder is messing Tiffany's mind.
After a while, Taeyeon contacted her.
"Yah! What are you doing? I've been calling you since forever!" Sooyoung scolded her.
"I'm sorry. Where's Tiffany? What did Mr. Jung told her?" Taeyeon said like as if she's in a hurry.
"That creepy shareholder accused you for involving on Mr. Hwang's death. He gave an envelope to Tiffany which I don't know what's the content inside. He said that's the only evidence they have against you." Sooyoung explained the situation really carefully and is full of concern.
"Damn it! I'm on my way." The blonde harshly said before hanging up on Sooyoung. She hurriedly ran out of her office, confusing Minho who is busy doing his work on his table. Seeing the blonde in a hurry with a worried and fear emotions mix on her face, Minho left his work to chase her.
The blonde reached the parking lot, and unexpectedly, a lot of reporters spotted her. They snapped their fingers fast to capture every single move of the blonde.
Taeyeon couldn't careless at that. She run fast to her car with the reporters chasing her behind. Fortunately, Minho came on the right time with the security guards of the Mall.
"Noona, what are you doing!?" He shouted worriedly.
"I need to go to Tiffany!" She replied harshly.
Minho can't even stop the blonde when she drove off the Mall as fast as her car can. It made the man worried. He immediately called the young lawyer, informing her what had happened.
After hearing the news, Seohyun contacted Yuri and Yoona. She told them about what's happening. The young lady bit her lower lip while doing her work furiously. She's right all this time. She swore she felt it. But she was wrong to believe that everything will be alright.
---
Meanwhile, inside Tiffany's office, the brunette is walking back and forth. She doesn't know why but she's very nervous. She hasn't even opened the envelope yet but the feeling of anxiousness is winning over her.
Finally, after minutes of contemplating, she sat on her swivel chair, took a deep breath to calm herself. She repeatedly told herself that everything's gonna be alright.
Her hands are trembling as soon as she held the envelope. She closed her eyes, and wished that Mr. Jung is wrong. She bit her lower lip. Took another yet of a deep breath before pulling the contents out of the envelope.
She saw a picture of her father and another picture which she believe is Taeyeon at her younger years. There's a title written at the top of the first paper. Death Certificate, it says. She furrowed her eyebrows on the old looking death certificate. It's not like the same her father's doctor handed her before.
Reading the certificate, she saw a very unusual caused of death. The doctor told them before that her father died due to Cardiac Arrest. But this certificate is stating a very different caused of death. It says that her father was drugged. She furrowed her eyebrows. Her heart is beating really fast and she's feeling the heat covering her entire body.
She flipped on another page, this time, it's a screenshot of a very blurry CCTV. There's a girl, her posture and the way she dressed is believed to be Taeyeon on her teenage years.
Tiffany threw the papers in horror. Suddenly, she can't breathe properly. Her knees weakened, causing her to slam down the floor. Her sight turned blurred. She couldn't hear anything. And everything around her stops. It's like as if the world stopped on her. She held her chest. And as she closed her eyes, memories of her late father smiling at her was shown.
"Appa." She whispered shakily.
"Tiffany?" Sooyoung peaked inside the office and saw no one on the swivel chair. She saw the scattered papers on the floor and instantly felt nervous. Immediately, she closed the door and rushed to the table.
"Tiffany!" She screamed in horror. Tiffany is laying on the floor lifelessly with her hand on her chest, showing how hard she fought for her breathing.
"Oh my gosh! Tiffany!" She supported the brunette's head and lightly tap her cheeks to wake her up. Just like that, Tiffany woke up and hungrily suck up the air like as if her soul just came back to her body.
"Tiffany, what happened!?" Sooyoung is so worried. Her heart is racing because of nervousness.
The brunette sat up, she stared at the papers on the floor. And suddenly, she stood up aggressively. Tiffany pick up the papers and shove them at the envelope harshly.
"What's wrong?" Sooyoung eyed her friend curiously.
"Taeyeon killed my father." Tiffany declared in gritted teeth.
"What? How can she do that? You just met her, right?"
"I do. But she had known my father all this time. She killed him." She bitterly said.
"Tiffany, let's not conclude first. Let's hear her explanation." Sooyoung tried her best to calm Tiffany. But the Tiffany in front of her is far from the open minded Tiffany she had known for years.
"There's no need for explanation, Sooyoung. Everything is crystal clear. Taeyeon murdered my father. And now I know the answer why she is so invested in helping me. It's because she killed him." Tiffany spoke every words in anger. She even glared at Sooyoung before starting to walk away.
"Where are you going? Taeyeon is on her way. Let's listen to her side, Tiffany." The tall lady chased her.
"You called her?" Tiffany eyed her friend in disbelief.
"What do you expect me to do? Let that creepy Jung mess with your mind? Tiffany, you said it yourself last night, there's nothing we can get from revenge. We should listen to Taeyeon's side too." At this moment, Sooyoung is already losing her hope. Watching the fire in Tiffany's eyes is very difficult for her. It's like, no matter what she say and no matter who talk to her, her mind is already closed for them.
"Easy for you to say because it's not your father that had been murdered." She pushed the tall lady from blocking her way.
"Tiffany! What about your work? You have a meeting!" Sooyoung shouted.
"I don't fucking care! Let this fucking building burn down with her! If this is her way of payment for my father's death then no fucking thanks!" Tiffany shouted back angrily before storming out of her office. The envelope is on her hand and she's holding it tightly.
---
Taeyeon drifted her car recklessly right in front of the Hwang Publishing Corps. Everyone's attention is on her car. Without wearing a glass or a cap or anything that could cover her face, still wearing her office suit, she push the door and harshly shut it down.
The passersby and some of the workers are surprised to see such a beautiful woman driving like that. Some of them recognized her as Kim Taeyeon. And those who recognized her teared up to see her again. Her fans are happy. Taeyeon noticed that. And this is what she really expected from her fans. Far from the reaction of the fake fans that are outside her Mall few days ago.
The security guards of the building didn't know what to do after they saw her. They are confuse if they will stop her or let her in. While they are processing what's happening, Taeyeon walking fast passed through the main gates of the building.
The blonde run as fast as she can. She is tapping her foot on the ground patiently when she's waiting for the elevator to arrive at Tiffany's office. And when the elevator did, she run fast and barged in the brunette's office.
"Tiffany!" She shouted.
At the same time, the security guards who didn't recognized her arrived to take her out of the building.
"No, don't touch her." Sooyoung told them who is standing on the side.
"But, Ms. Choi, she's an intruder. And The President told us countless of times to not let the intruders in. Unless they have her approval." The man worriedly stated.
"It indeed have an approval from Tiffany. They are more than close friends. So if you don't want to anger Tiffany by offending her friend, you may leave." Sooyoung gave them a fake smile.
The security guards bowed at them and apologized before leaving.
"Where's Tiffany?" Taeyeon asked the tall lady anxiously.
"She left."
"Where did she go?"
"I don't know. She just left few minutes before you arrived. I couldn't stop her. She didn't listened to me." Sooyoung informed the blonde with a very sad expression.
Taeyeon couldn't believe what she just heard. Her knees weakened and almost fell on the floor. Thankfully, Sooyoung catched her on time. She felt numb and doesn't know what to do anymore. She can't believe this is how she'll lose Tiffany, the girl she had fallen in love.
First she lost her first love, she lost her career and everything that they owned leaving only their house on them. Then she lost her father. The hardest break down of her life. And now, she's about to lose Tiffany. The woman who occupied her heart. All of these happened because of that man.
Mr. Jung, a shareholder of the Hwang Publishing Corps is the reason behind all of these. It was just yesterday when Taeyeon and Minho found out about his identity thanks to Hyoyeon's investigation. And now, Taeyeon couldn't wait to crash him into pieces.
---
Tiffany is wearing her thick sunglasses, staring blankly at her father's grave. The only place she can think of visiting is the cemetery where her father's grave is located. She texted Mr. Jung. Asking him to meet her and to see if he actually know where her father's graveyard is.
She is so confuse what to believe anymore. The man had showed her the pieces of evidences pointing at Taeyeon for her father's death. But there's something inside her that wouldn't want to believe it. Is it because her love for Taeyeon is just strong enough for her to believe the man? Or her instincts are telling her that Taeyeon is innocent?
"Ms. Hwang?" The man approached the brunette. Tiffany turn around to face him but was surprised to see a woman beside Mr. Jung. She didn't expect her to be here.
"Sunmi?" Tiffany eyed them in shock. The said woman bowed a little to great her.
"It's been a while, Tiffany." She said.
"Omo! It's really you!" The brunette immediately hug her tight.
"I can't believe you're really here. My childhood best friend who is now a successful superstar is here! I miss you a lot!" Tiffany happily welcomed her childhood friend.
"I miss you more, Tiffy." The woman replied with a smile.
"You girls are cute." Mr. Jung commented on the side.
"I know you're wondering why. But Sunmi is a very important person to stand against Taeyeon." He said. Hearing the blonde's name, Tiffany automatically straighten up and listened intently.
"You see, me, your father and Taeyeon's father, Mr. Kim are very close friends way back in college." He handed her an old album containing their pictures.
"Everything is doing well, our friendship is in sync as well as the businesses we have. We worked hard together to reach the top. But suddenly, Mr. Kim became greedy. He started to build his own company which is directly competing with us. Me and your dad got mad at him. We tried to call him and even go to his house to talk to him but he never showed up nor did he tried to reach us. At that moment, I didn't know that it was the ending of our bond. He sell his shares on our shared businesses. And we realized that it's the end for our friendship." He explained with a sad expression on his face.
"Aren't you even wondering why Taeyeon gave you the Song's Publishing Company? Well, except from the fact that she murdered your father of course." He shrugged his shoulders. Tiffany just shook her head lightly for an answer.
"It's because it's supposed to be yours." He said. "The Publishing Company was build by me, your father, Mr. Kim and Mr. Song. But like what I said, Mr. Kim cut our ties and instead of handing the company to your father, he handed it to the Songs. Imagine how much of betrayal Mr. Kim did against us."
"Then one night, this eventful night when your father threw a party in your house. Do you remember? You are with Sunmi the whole night." He said.
"I remember." Tiffany clenched her jaw. Because that night is the same night she lost her father.
"Great. Then you might also remember that Mr. Kim is invited by your father and he came with his daughter that we only met on that night." He look at them eerily. Sooyoung's right. He looks like a psycho.
"I do remember. That very quiet and diffident girl on the pool side. She's wearing a black jacket and a pair of sneakers as far as I remember. Sunmi and I approached her and tried to be friends with her because she's looking cool for a girl to dress like that but she wouldn't talk. She's just staring at us." Tiffay replied. Now it makes sense why does Taeyeon's aura is so familiar to her. It's because she had met her before. On their teenage years.
"Exactly. That girl is non other than Kim Taeyeon." He chuckled.
"She heard her father and Mr. Hwang quarreling about something. Kim Taeyeon is a kid who doesn't like to listen to any fights. So she left them in that room. Moments later, her father came looking for her. But he couldn't find her anywhere. I remember that almost everyone helped him to find her. But no one saw this mysterious girl. Until Mr. Kim himself, he saw her standing right in front of your lifeless father in that room. And do you know what's the crazy part?" He smirked while Tiffany is just staring at him. This is hard for her. But she's willing to listen. For the sake of the truth behind her father's death.
"Little Taeyeon left to get a drug and actually put it in your fathers drink. She came back in that room to apologize to your father regarding the fight she heard and handed him a drink to freshen up his mind she said. Mr. Hwang was so fluttered. He was very happy to drink it. Seconds after, he struggled to breath. And little Taeyeon is a little monster who just watched him struggle until he died." He spoke and while he's speaking, the volume of his voice is lowering little by little until he just whispered the last two words.
Tiffany felt chills. Not only because of what she heard. But also because of the man's demeanor. She swallowed nervously. Why is she here alone with them anyways?
Suddenly, she's scared for her dear life. And out of nowhere, despite the story she just heard, she's seeking for Taeyeon's presence. And she's certain that the only place she can feel safe and secured is Taeyeon's arms.
Now, Tiffany's left in dilemma. Should she believe him or Taeyeon? Would she listen to his words or her instincts?
***
Thank you for reading! ❣️🇵🇭