Yena still doesn't know what to do with the information Mr.Jo gave her yesterday. It may be tragic, but she didn't really feel much sadness about it because she never really knew her father, let alone know who he even was until Mr.Jo told her.
But she did feel something, and that is anger.
Mr.Jo told her that her father's killer just recently got released from prison, and she wasn't sure about what to feel at first until she finally went to her room and had the chance to finally delve her thoughts about it.
Her first thoughts was that this person took away the life she could have had with her family, her REAL family, and instead turned her life into living hell starting from her father's death, and according to Mr.Jo, her mother died giving birth to her, so she had no other family to go to and was sent to the damned orphanage.
She felt hatred for this person, they just killed a person who had a family and for what? For their own personal gain? So they can be rich while someone suffers?
It made her feel moody the entire morning, until Mr.Jo called her out after breakfast.
He invited her to his study once again and made her sit down.
"So, I could see that you're upset about it." He says, watching her intently "For a second I thought you were on your period then I remembered our discussion yesterday." He joked, trying to lighten up the mood
But she just kept her face neutral, which made the joke feel awkward "Is there anything else you summoned me here for sir?" She asks politely
The business man clears his throat "In fact yes, I'll be on a business trip with my wife for a two days." He began "And I summoned you here to tell you that since you're older than Yuri, you're the supposedly the responsible one."
Yena raises an eyebrow "Aren't we supposed to have a guardian? We're still minors!"
"I know that, the maids are still going to be here, I told them to look after you, except at night time when they have to go home." He explains "I just need you to look out for Yuri, she's been acting weird since yesterday."
She remembers how cold the girl was to her yesterday, was it because of that hug?
She mentally face palms herself as the realization sets in, how could she think she was flirting with Yohan? She doesn't even like him that way, she considers him as her dumbass baby brother even though he's a year older than her.
She just sighs and nods "Yes sir, I'll look out for her."
The man smiles "Good!" But his expression quickly became serious as he frowns "I know this may seem sudden, considering on what we just talked about yesterday, but I only got this call right after you left, so I hope you understand."
"I understand sir." She says, nodding politely "But does Yuri know?"
He nods "Yes she does, I told her before breakfast, took a bit of convincing but she came around and we're leaving tonight by the way, kind of an urgent call y'see."
"I understand." Then she stands up, hoping to go to her room to mentally prepare to be alone with her step-sister for 48 hours "Is that all sir? Can I leave now?"
He nods "But before you do..."
She looks back at him, a questioning look on her face.
"Are you okay?" He asks, concerned "I mean after what I told you yesterday... you must've taken it hard."
She stood there for a bit, she has taken it quite hard hasn't she? Considering how much it affected her mood.
"I am fine sir." She began "I just need some time to think more."
"I see." He then gives her a gentle smile "Go on then, do your thinking."
She bows "See you later sir." Then went to go to her room
But as she walks the hallway, she passes by Yuri's door and she remembered the realization she had.
"And I also realized that I should've put and end to this stupid game of assumptions and just tell her straight to her pretty face that whatever she's thinking is wrong." She thought as she passed by the door and just stood there, silently groaning
She didn't want to do it, it's an awkward thing to just say.
"But this has been going on for a long time, if I don't speak up, things will get more painfully awkward between us!"
So before she could stop herself, she bursts through the younger's door...
And came upon the sight of Yuri half naked, getting dressed.
"Gah!" Yena's eyes widened and froze
Yuri looked at her angrily after she had overcome her shock and quickly began pushing the girl out of the room "What hell are you doing here?!"
The blonde finally comes to her senses and leaves as Yuri slams the door behind her.
"I am sorry, I didn't know you were getting dressed!" She exclaims, her face red as an apple as she stood by the door
"Even if so, you should learn how to knock!" The girl argued from the other side, her face also very red as she quickly gets dressed
"I am sorry okay!" She repeated, her mind is too busy trying to remove the recent scene she just had with the girl from her memory, to say anything else
After dressing up quickly, Yuri once again opens the door and glares at the older girl, who is still standing there dumbfounded.
"What is it?" She asks curtly
"I-I-I..." Yena stuttered, still too shocked to remember what she wanted to originally say in the first place
Yuri rolls her eyes "Are we just going to keep saying the ninth letter of the alphabet or are you actually gonna say a real sentence?"
Yena lightly slaps herself and gulped "Uhh, I firstly wanna say... that I am sorry for barging in on you."
Yuri feels herself blushing again and looked away "Just forget that ever happened, I am sorry for forgetting to lock the door as well."
"But if I had just knoc-" Yena tries to keep reasoning again, but Yuri just held up a hand
"As I said, let's just forget it." She says quickly, looking straight into her eyes again "Now, can you please just tell me what you wanted to say?"
"Well..." The confidence she had just a minute ago had left her "I-If you t-think I-I have a c-c-crush o-on Y-Y-Yohan... you're w-w-wrong." Then before she could see Yuri's reaction, she made a beeline for her room
Yuri raises an eyebrow "...What?"
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
"What do you mean he's gone?!" Cooper asks, slightly raising his voice
"Cooper calm down." Mr.Oh took a step towards him, looking slightly scared
"Calm down?"
He grabs his collar and glares at him "I've been waiting for FOURTEEN YEARS, only for him to be gone?! I can't just calm down!"
Mr.Oh gulps "Look, Cooper." He sighs "Just let me explain, being angry will get you nowhere."
Cooper knew he is right, so he roughly pushes the man away "Explain, quickly."
The old man quickly fixes his collar and stood up straighter "He escaped four years ago and wasn't found until the December of last year." He began "Only he came back with people willing to adopt him." He had a sad look on his face "I know this sounds like an excuse but I really wasn't sure what to do when I saw Yohan with them, but he really seemed to like them and they were really nice peopl-"
"You should've made up some excuse before I came back, I told you to keep him safe here until I do!" He exclaims "You promised me!"
"But I didn't know if you were even coming back! I didn't have a way of knowing how long your sentence was going to be because you were in a different country, for all I know you could have been in there for life, I couldn't keep him here forever!" The man argued back
Cooper stood there, angry that he couldn't say anything back.
So Mr Oh continued "He really looked like he loved them Cooper, he wanted to come with them and they wanted him. So he's out of my hands now, you'll have to talk with his adopters."
Cooper still felt angry, but he knew he had to find these people "Where are they?" He asks, feeling his anger subside as the rational part of him took over
Mr.Oh frowns "At Seoul." Then he sighs "I know you're going to be asking for the adoption files, but before I give them to you... what are you going to do once you find him?"
Cooper scowls at the question "I don't know yet, I haven't had time to think about it, since it was literally only moments ago did I find out that my son was taken away by some random strangers." He states sarcastically
"Yes, but you should consider this first, he will prefer the people who he considers his real family rather than his father who he has never met in his life, so I am telling you to choose your approach wisely if you would at least like to have a good relationship with him."
Cooper felt his fist tighten, but he could be angry as much as he likes, but it wasn't going to change the truth in any way, he will never have the relationship he wants with his son even if he tries, he already has his own family, he'll choose them.
Especially if he finds out what he had done.
He felt his knees buckle, all the things he's been processing has been too much for him, the dam of emotions he had been holding back finally pouring out as he felt tears filling his eyes.
He felt weak, his vision slowly becoming overcome with blackness as his body finally gave away and he collapse onto the ground.
The last thing he sees is Mr.Oh running to him as his vision finally became pitch black and his mind slips into unconsciousness.
"Fuck my life."
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Mina examines the papers that came, this investigation still isn't over as the team she had hired now began the phase two, finding the specific name.
She had just finished cleaning herself up and is now in her room, she wasn't sure how to even begin her search as she looked at the paper of names in front of her.
The CEO couldn't come just yet as she still had tons of work to do, but promised that as soon as the important stuff are over, she would rush over and help Mina.
So for now, Mina is alone.
"Should I go over to Google and search these names one by one?" She asks herself
She let out an exasperated groan "That'll take forever!"
There's suddenly a knock on her door then Chaeyoung peeks in, smiling "Honey...?"
Mina's eyes widened and then she began to quickly cover up the papers with her blankets "Oh-Uh-Hi Chaengie!"
"What're you doing there?" Her girlfriend asks, opening the door and sitting by her bed
"N-Nothing." She stutters
Jihyo trusted her with their secret investigation, she can't tell anyone, not even her own girlfriend as she trusts Jihyo's judgement.
Then she sees Chaeyoung's hand reaching for one of the papers, she quickly grabs it "Stop!"
The Korean gave her a questioning look "Is it top secret?"
She nods slowly, hoping the younger won't try to pry any further.
So Chaeyoung gently retracts her hand "I understand."
Mina raises an eyebrow "You-You do?" She asks, surprised how her girlfriend easily backed away
She reaches for her hand and held it softly "Because I trust you, I just hope you know what you're doing - whatever this is." She says, giving her a loving smile
Mina smiles gratefully and tackled her in a bear hug "Thank you for understanding Honey." She says into her ear
She then let's her go and stared into her eyes "And don't worry, you'll know what all of this is eventually."
"Then I'll wait for it." Chaeyoung tells her, placing a hand on her cheek as she leaned in to give her a kiss
After pulling away from their gentle kiss, Mina smiles "So what is it you're here for?"
"Just wanted to say that lunch has been served." Chaeyoung says as she stands up "So why don't you take a break from your super secret papers and eat with your girlfriend?" She holds out her hand
Mina knew she had to start her investigation, but she's still coming up empty with how to do it. Maybe a meal could recharge her brain?
So she took Chaeyoung's hand as she led her to the dining room.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Cooper wakes up with a start.
He first sees the ceiling, wondering where is he until his brain suddenly processed the recent events that took place, it made him scowl as he quickly sat up.
"Oh hey you're awake!" He sees Alex sitting beside him, giving him a concerned smile
His first instinct is to get out of bed and rush back to Seoul, but he knew he had to take the file from Mr.Oh first. So he began to remove his blankets to stand up when Alex began to stop him "Hey, hey what're you doing?!"
"I need to talk to Mr.Oh, we need to leave immediately." He says, standing up
"Cooper, you just fainted two hours ago, you need rest!" His friend exclaims
"He's right." Their eyes quickly dart over to the doorway to see Mr.Oh
"Mr.Oh, where's the file?" Cooper asks, walking towards him
"I'll give it to you, if you rest first." The old man says "I know you're in a hurry, but it's not like your son will be leaving them anytime soon."
Cooper scowls "I have done my waiting, fourteen years of it, I want to see him." He says seriously "But if you aren't going to let me leave, then let me at least see the file."
"Then you must stay here during lunch, you need strength my boy." Mr.Oh places a hand on his shoulder "I know how long you have waited, but you can't seem him yet, not in this state."
Cooper backs up "Fine, but you better give it to me old man." He says, scowling as he sits back on his bed
"Understood, I'll bring it back." So the orphanage owner turns on his heel, and walked away
The room became silent.
"So... are you feeling okay?" Alex asks awkwardly
"I am fine Lex." He replies curtly
Which is a lie, he could feel his head spinning with all the recent events that had taken place, he wanted to bang his head on a wall as he felt like he can't do anything again, he felt like he was trapped in prison again.
And he hated it, he wants the feeling to end.
"You don't look fine." Alex comments
"I said I am fine Lex." He glares at his friend
Alex frowns "You don't even sound like yourself." He says "I know you're angry about your son being taken by someone else, but if you think about it, would he approve of you on how you're currently acting? Would he think highly of you, heck even Sejeong would be slapping some sense into you if she's here right now."
Cooper felt like he had been punched in the gut as soon as he heard Sejeong's name, Alex is right, he needed to get his head out of his ass and be rational, he won't be finding his son any time soon if he kept being like this, Sejeong would say so.
"Sorry." He says quietly
"You better be sorry Coop, that was rude as hell." Alex says, still frowning
"And I am sorry, I got angry."
Alex just shrugs "But what are you gonna do once you meet the parents? It's not like you can just politely ask them to take them back and I am pretty sure Yohan won't just come either."
Cooper sighs "I don't know."
He really doesn't know what he would be doing, he just wanted to see his son again. But now that the thought of Yohan's new parents has entered his thoughts, he can't help but wonder what kind of people they'll be like, will they be nice with him too?
He just hopes they won't know about the incident, or else it'll all be over.
Mr.Oh then enters the room again with a folder "Here, I was the one who talked to them, so if you have questions, you can run those by me."
Cooper took the file, his hands shaking.
"Well, this is interesting." Alex comments, sitting beside him to look at the file
The ex-convict took a deep breath before opening the file and his eyes widened as he sees a picture of his now all grown up son, smiling.
He stared at it, taking in every detail on the picture as he feels his heart go warm.
"He...he's perfect." He feels tears sliding down his cheeks
He ran his thumb across the photo, thinking of how much he looked like him and his mother, he got his dark brown hair, sharp nose and his smile, just as Sejeong said.
He feels Alex place a hand on his shoulder "I can see the resemblance."
Mr.Oh felt dread on his chest as he a watched the two, he felt like once he meets the girls, they'll be fighting and Yohan will he stuck in the middle of it.
"Poor kid." He thought
Cooper clenches his teeth as he gently takes the photo "Don't worry son, dad is coming." He takes a deep breath, willing himself to focus on the task at hand
So he puts it in his pocket as he began to read the page, his eyes widened.
"Nine women?!" He looks up at Mr.Oh "Nine women adopted him?! Nine?!"
Cooper is absolutely shocked, nine people, adopting ONE kid?
"This has went way much better than I thought it was gonna be." Alex commented with a laugh "I didn't know you could be in a relationship with more than two or three people?!"
The orphanage owner frowns "That's not true, from what I gathered about them, they are friends with a few couples, they just have this sort of bond that they wanted to adopt a kid altogether."
But Cooper wasn't paying attention as he is too busy scanning the names.
"Im Nayeon, Yoo Jeongyeon, Hirai Momo, Minatozaki Sana, Park Jihy- Park Jihyo? Haven't I heard of that name before?"
He eyes the name curiously.
"Park Jihyo?" He mutters
"What is it, what'd you find?" His friend tries peering over his shoulder
"Ms.Park?" Mr.Oh's face softens "Ah her, have you heard of her?"
Cooper recalls the name, he instinctively reaches for his coat pocket, only to realize he isn't wearing his coat.
"Where's my coat?" He asks, standing up and looking around
"Whattarya doin'?" Alex frowns "Leaving already?"
"No! I think I've seen the name 'Park Jihyo' before." He says quickly, still looking around
"Who hasn't heard of her?" Mr.Oh spoke up "She's the CEO of the leading entertainment company in South Korea." He says, capturing the attention of the two
"She's WHAT?!" Cooper's eyes widens, he felt like fainting again
Mr.Oh, sensing his discomfort, places a hand on his shoulder "I know that it is quite bizarre and you're probably wondering the kind of people they are, but I have seen them, they are really nice people who want nothing but just to see Yohan happy, like you do, disregarding their status."
But that didn't make Cooper feel any better, next to those people he's nothing! Being his blood father isn't going to change his status as a poor ex-convict, who would want to choose that when you have nine rich celebrity mothers who can provide you with anything you will ever want in life.
"The universe is so damn unfair!" He thought angrily as he pushes away Mr.Oh's hand
It had taken everything from him, his wife, his credibility, his future and even his son! The only thing that has kept him going was to just see him again, to at least hug the last family he had and even that has been stripped from him.
He sank to his knees, wanting to scream at everything.
What did he do to this deserve this?! Was it because he killed someone? Was it because he still hasn't been punished enough?
"Cooper?" He hears Alex behind him
But his head is still aching terribly.
"I never wanted this! I never wanted to kill anyone, I was just trying to protect my family... I was... only trying to defend myself..." He feels tears once again roll down his cheek, not realizing he had just yelled out "I didn't mean to kill him, I didn't WANT to kill him..."
"It wasn't your fault." In his line of blurry vision, he sees Alex's shoes in front of him
"Then why..." He looks up weakly "Why is the universe punishing me this badly? It took everything from me."
His friend scowls down at him "You still have Yohan, he may have nine rich moms, but that doesn't mean he won't need you anymore."
"You need him as he needs you, you need each other to finally close off the pains of the past." Mr.Oh speaks up, standing beside him
"I don't know what he just said, but yeah." Alex holds out his hand "So get off your ass and see your son."
Cooper didn't want to cling on false hope that his son might want to at least see him, who would want to see a murderer?
"Come on, you got to get your energy up if you want to see him." His friend says "He'll at least be curious won't he? That good enough for you?"
Cooper knew his friend really is trying to cheer him up, he didn't want to seem like a bother to him but he really just felt hopeless.
So he stands up and took out a deep breath.
He would have take his shot right? He knew his son would want to stay, but he won't throw his shot away to his son.
"But Cooper, you would have to take on whoever he chooses to stay with, I am sure the kid has already been through a whole heckin' lot to make such a big decision with you pressuring him." Mr.Oh pipes up
He nods "I'll let him choose."
"You good now?" Alex asks
He manages a small smile "Not entirely... but I am trying."
His friend grins "Then rest up, gotta see the son right?"
He sits back on the bed "Yeah, gotta meet my son."
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
It is now currently night time and Yena is on her bed as Yuri's parents left an hour ago and she now felt restless.
She thought about how the girl is reacting to her when she barely spoke when they were saying their goodbyes to her parents, she felt paranoid about it.
Then there is a sudden knock on her door.
She gulped "Robbers?!"
"Who's there?!" She asks, sitting up
"It's me, Yuri." She hears a gentle voice "Hope your not getting changed."
Yena almost smiles "Well... I am not, you can come in."
Yuri opens the door and walked in, looking very cute in her pajamas.
"Uhh, hey." The blonde greeted, feeling awkward as she didn't know what to say "Uhmm, wanna sit here?" She pats the space on her bed beside her
Yuri nods a little and sat beside her.
Once again it is silent.
"You know, even though I kept chasing Yohan, I never really knew why I had a crush on him, I just did ya know?" Yuri began
Yena wanted roll her eyes, she didn't want to discuss him, why does everything got to be about his bestfriend?
"Be patient, she's just getting started."
So she let her continue.
"I thought maybe because he really was the first nicest person that actually stuck around with me without looking at me weird, or is annoyed by my mother's antics, he just tolerated them and acted nice to me."
Yena fought the urge to say "Don't I do that too?"
"I never had genuine friends before him, so when I had him, I didn't know how to act, he really seemed like he'd seen stuff from what I've heard so I was intimidated to get know him."
The blonde chuckles "Yeah, both of us have seen some shit."
"So I thought... maybe I should try acting all sweet around him, so he'll at least notice me in his active group of friends, I suppose that didn't work did it?" She looks ay Yena questioningly
"Kinda didn't, from what I am seeing he's distancing to clear your mind." She says "I think though."
Yuri nods "Hmm, so you're saying I should clear up the confusion?"
Yena felt quite better for some reason as she grins "Yeah, tell him he got it all wrong and just wants to be friends!"
A warm feeling on Yuri's chest came as she saw the blonde's smile and the way her eyes shone.
"That would be very awkward to say wouldn't it?" She smiles a little
The older nods "Course it is, but it would be better to end it before more assumptions come right?"
"I'll think about it."
Yena didn't know what else to say after that. But there is something she needs to know.
"So... how did you realize this? When I told you about Yohan?" She asks curiously
Yuri nods "It's got me thinking hard, did I really come off as a lovesick girl chasing after him?"
The blonde almost laughed "You kinda did."
"I remember feeling a bit angry around you because I thought you were taking him away from us, because all he did is talk about you every chance he got, I think he actually likes you."
She didn't even feel surprised, the guy falling in love with the girl who gave him the "strength" to go on kind of trope, it's sweet if you disregard that Yena isn't into guys.
So she chuckles "I already told you don't like him that way didn't I?"
"That you did." Yuri nods, now smiling a little wider "So I guess you'll have to turn him down eh?"
She nods "When he confesses, I will."
Then it became silent again, but this time, it was more comforting.
Yena felt glad that the whole thing has been cleared up, so that means she could probably speak with Yuri more casually?
"So, since we got that out of the way..." she began, looking at Yuri "Should we get to know each other better?"
Yuri nods, her eyes shining "Sure, what do you wanna know?"
The blonde grins "I don't know, why don't you go first?"
"Well... what's your favorite color?" The younger asks innocently
She frowns "What're you five?"
"Hey, you said getting to know each other!" Yuri playfully slaps her arm
"Alright, alright." She laughs, rubbing her arm "It's yellow!"
"Ooh, mine's close, it's orange!" The younger pipes up
"What are we going to do with that information though?" Yena asks
Yuri chuckles "Buy some paint?"
The blonde giggles "It's my turn to ask now." She asks, after they laughed
"Bring it on then."
"Have you ever kissed someone?" She asks raising her eyebrows suggestively
Yuri goes red as Yena laughs heartily.
"What? That's a very high escalation than what I asked you!" The brown haired girl scowls, her face red
"So what? I thought we were getting to know each other?" Yena asks smugly "Besides, it's a simple question, a yes or no would do."
"No then! Happy?" Yuri looks away, feeling her heart race at how Yena looked at her
"Feeling very happy, my turn." Yena smirks "Why haven't you kissed anyone?"
"That wasn't a question!" Yuri kept blushing
"It is! You wanted to get to know how if I was feeling happy, it's a question so you're gonna answer mine now!" The blonde felt really amused at how red the other girl is getting
"No fair!" Yuri pouts "We're not even playing a game here!"
"That's fucking cute." Yena thought as she laughs "It is very fair, it's a simple question Yul, just say why and you can ask me anything after."
Yuri sighs "That was smart."
"Because... I am pretty sure you already know, but I didn't have anyone to kiss, let alone friends!" The girl answers quickly
Yena facepalms "Oh yeah, I should've thought of that, that was a dumbass move." So she sighs, still feeling quite amused "So what's your question now?"
Yuri smirks "I'll throw it back at you, have you kissed anyone?"
Yena grins "Of course I have!" She states proudly
The younger's face looked priceless "Really? When?"
The blonde raises a hand "It's my turn now Yul."
Yuri wanted to know more, but let on.
"What is it?"
"Do you want me to kiss you and find out how it feels like?" She asks, not really sure how could she ask something like that casually, but decided to roll with it
"That's not a 'getting to know' type of question!" The brown haired girl protests "That's like asking for permission."
"It's a valid question!" Yena becomes smug again "I want to know if you want me to kiss you, so what's it gonna be Jo Yuri?" She winks at the girl who blushes furiously
"We're both girls, we can't kiss!" She protests again
But this only made the older even more amused "So?"
"So it's bad, my mo-mmf!"
But she unfortunately could not finish her sentence as Yena wasn't having any of her bullshit and just kissed her, grabbing her from her waist.
Yuri knew this was wrong, yet it felt so good that she slowly felt herself succumbing onto the kiss and returning it.
While a part of Yena screams at her that doing this is going to get her in real trouble, but a part of her is feeling too good in the kiss.
This lasted for ten seconds before Yena pulled away, smiling hazily and staring at her lovingly.
"You didn't exactly say no, my apologies Ms.Jo."
------
I KISSED A GIRL AND I LIKED IT~
This is so fucking gay and I love it so much.
Anyways, have a great gay y'all!
But in all seriousness, I don't know what to feel about this chapter, I had to rewrite this multiple times trying to find the perfect chapter that expressed the emotions right, but after at least five rewrites I just gave up and chose the one that felt best for me, so I hope it feels the same for you :)
Vote and comment!
Thanks for reading!