Seokjin was grumpy that day, passing Jiah a file with his eyebrows frowned. He scolded Taehyung for not passing a customer's complaint sooner. However, Taehyung had only taken note of the customer's complaint ten minutes prior, so Seokjin's reaction baffled him. He even argued with Yoongi about their upcoming goods, which was unusual as they had never argued about it before.
Even the youngest staff member got scolded for a ridiculous reason – for not parking the car properly. However, upon closer inspection, there was nothing wrong with how the car was parked, and it was within the lines.
Jiah noticed that Jimin would jolt from his seat every time he heard the changes in Seokjin's tone. It was evident that he still felt guilty about something.
Seokjin was in the toilet when one of the staff members finally spoke up.
"What's wrong with Seokjin hyung?" Jungkook asked. "Has andropause hit him early?"
No one dared to answer when they heard a soft click coming from the toilet. Even Jisoo, Seokjin's sister, could only watch as he walked past her. Later, he sat at the counter and turned on the desktop.
No one understood what was going on with Seokjin, but everyone knew he no longer had an issue with Wheein and Jisoo's relationship. With the unsettling tension between the Kim siblings and Jimin, along with Seokjin's sudden negative mood, the atmosphere in the boutique was distressing.
Remembering what Taehyung had said before, Jiah believed that he was having a hard time adjusting to this new norm. She wished he knew he wasn't alone in this. Trying to shrug it off, she went back to her task of checking the hung clothes.
She was about to jot something down on her note when a creak from the entrance caught the oldest staff member muttering, "Woah, what the –"
Recognizing the familiar elegant and feminine appearance, Jiah turned and immediately bowed. The woman smiled softly and returned the bow. Then, her gaze shifted to Seokjin, who was at the counter. "Hi," she softly chirped.
"Ah, yeah, hi!" Seokjin replied, looking confused. "Here to see the red capsicum?"
Understanding Seokjin's joke, she chuckled softly. Then, she shook her head and said, "I'm here to see Miss Jiah."
All the staff turned their wide-eyed heads toward Jiah. "Me?" she asked, flabbergasted, pointing at herself with the pen in her hand.
Grinning, Wendy nodded and said, "I would like to hang out with you!"
**********
Jiah had never been to an expensive place, especially a spa. Having Wendy pay for everything made her feel small. She wasn't sure about Wendy's intention to bring her out, but she tried not to think of her in a bad way. She didn't even know what her story was with Hoseok.
When they were at the foot massage, silence filled the air. Jiah watched as the masseur massaged her feet, and during the body massage, another silence prevailed. If it weren't for Wendy's gentle smile, she wouldn't have felt at ease around her. The masseur's skilled hands rubbing and kneading her back and arms released the tension trapped in her muscles. It was so relaxing that she almost fell into a deep slumber.
After taking a quick shower, Wendy told her she would be waiting for her at the sauna. Jiah swiftly wrapped her body with a towel, tied her hair in a loose bun, and walked out of the shower.
In one of the sauna rooms, Wendy waited for her. Like Jiah, the tall blonde woman had wrapped her body with a towel, and her hair was tied in a high ponytail. A red band scarf pushed back her baby hairs. When Jiah entered, Wendy smiled at her and gestured for her to sit with an open palm.
Jiah took a seat on the wooden bench across from Wendy. The appropriate heat warmed her body, drying it after the quick shower. Steam dispersed across the room, and silence hung in the air until Wendy spoke, "Working with Hoseok has been giving you a lot of tension, hasn't it?"
Jiah awkwardly chuckled and said, "Not really."
"You fell asleep during the massage."
"Ah... I've been a bit tired recently. There's so much going on," she replied, awkwardly chuckling again.
Wendy let out a soft laugh. "I see," she murmured. "Are you feeling better now?"
Jiah couldn't deny that she felt much better after the massages. "Yeah," she said, giving a short nod.
"I'm glad I brought you here," Wendy said, a soft smile adorning her lips.
Another silence followed, and Jiah looked around the warm room to avoid the awkwardness. Nothing caught her interest except for the cheap wooden seat attached to the wall. But she felt Wendy's gaze fixed on her. Not wanting to ask what was wrong and break the unease, she waited for Wendy to start the conversation and let the questionable stare continue.
As expected, Wendy began, "Hoseok hasn't told you anything, I guess."
"What do you mean?" Jiah asked, feigning ignorance.
A brief moment of stillness filled the room as Wendy straightened her back and crossed her legs. Placing both palms on the seat's surface, she exhaled deeply, breaking the silence. In a soft tone, she uttered, "Back when we were still in high school, we dated. We were in different classes, but we met in the same club. The dance club. Watching him dance was satisfying. He was cool!" A smile formed on her lips. "I still have videos of him dancing. I would love it if you watched them with me later."
"Oh!" The sudden invitation caught Jiah off guard once again. "I would love to."
"Uh-hm," Wendy hummed, still smiling softly. She continued, "We met during the club. We went to the same club for three years straight. During those years, we were always selected to look out for the members. It always brought us together."
That wasn't what Jiah wanted to know. She didn't want to hear the story of their relationship either. But it felt like she needed to know somehow.
Jiah's lack of reaction seemed to encourage Wendy to continue. "We both liked each other, but our relationship didn't last long. It was my fault."
The last statement caught Jiah's attention. She knew but it prompted her to ask, "Why?"
"I had to leave Korea. My dream was to be a model, and I found an opportunity in another country. So, I told him not to wait for me and ended our relationship," Wendy explained, pausing to shrug. "But here I am."
Jiah mumbled, "Don't tell me..."
Wendy heard her. "Yeah," she paused again, studying Jiah's reactions. "His sister left during our senior year, or I don't know, ran away? With my cousin. Hoseok had a hard time, and I ended things with him." She detached her palms from the seat and leaned back, crossing her arms. Sinisterly, the image of her as an elegant woman cracked as she muttered, "Ironic that he's adopted. I still have to acknowledge him as my cousin."
"Lee Soohyuk?" Jiah asked.
"Uh-hm. It looks like you know our story," Wendy replied.
"To be honest... No. I've only heard of Soohyuk from Seokjin and Yoongi. I didn't bother asking about what's going on between you and my boss," Jiah said. If she understood correctly, that made her and Kang Maru biologically linked as cousins. However, the thought of Wendy breaking off their relationship in a cruel way angered her. Hoseok was already losing his mind during those times with so many issues bombarding him, and she hurt him even more. She told Wendy, "Just hearing your name makes Hoseok mad."
Wendy's gaze gradually fell to the ground, lightly curving her lips. The tone Jiah used in her last statement might have come across as harsh, but she didn't care. Wendy remained silent, and the atmosphere grew heavy. Neither of them said anything until it was the cue for them to leave.
They went to their lockers and got dressed. Stepping out of the spa together, Jiah didn't know whether to leave immediately or not, afraid that Wendy might want to take her somewhere else. After a few steps away from the spa's entrance, Wendy turned to face her. Jiah was baffled when Wendy suddenly took her hands.
A tight smile appeared on the taller woman's lips before she said, "Please take care of Hoseok."
"Huh?"
"I didn't know Hoseok would shut himself off from people. I left him without thinking twice. I didn't care about the consequences of my actions. I never thought this matter would weigh so heavily on him. I thought Hoseok would get over it sooner," Wendy explained. Water pooled on the brim of her eyes as she added, "That day, I witnessed something I never imagined he would experience. It broke my heart, and I knew part of it was my fault."
Jiah had the urge to disagree. "But we don't know–"
"Hoseok went through so much during that time, and I treated him like he was disposable." Her voice trembled as she spoke, and her voice became shaky when she continued, "But I'm not going to lie, I fell for him. I loved him. I loved our time together, and I missed us. I should have ended things more gracefully, shouldn't I?"
Jiah didn't know how to respond.
Inhaling a deep breath, Wendy said, "Hoseok is... a good person. If he shows that he's protective of you, then you should know that you're one of the precious things he wants to save until the end."
"I think you should talk to him about this. Let it all out to him. I can talk to him if he–"
Wendy interrupted her. "No," she shook her head. "I don't deserve his time."
At some point, Jiah couldn't understand Wendy anymore. She didn't hold back her thoughts. She stared at her for a moment before saying, "I don't understand you."
"You don't have to," Wendy whispered. "Please love him. Love him better than I could. I know you're capable of that. I know, out of all people, you can make him feel loved."
Jiah stuttered, "W-Wendy... I still think you need to talk to him."
Wendy shook her head with a soft smile. A tear finally rolled down her cheek, but she quickly wiped it away with the back of her hand. Her intention to hang out with Jiah seemed to be clearer now, to give Jiah the explanations she wanted.
Jiah didn't see the point in forcing Wendy to talk to her boss. Thus, she stopped trying to convince Wendy. Thinking about Wendy's explanations, an idea suddenly popped into Jiah's mind. Certainly, she was mad at Wendy for hurting Hoseok, but it felt like she needed to lighten the atmosphere. However, lightening the air wasn't her only intention. She said, "Right now, I'm thinking we should go to a café. I know this is sudden, but Hoseok's dancing videos, remember?"
"Oh, yeah!" Wendy replied, chuckling before sniffing her nose.
"I know a good café," Jiah said, smiling. Then, her smile faded as she revealed her true idea. "But it's not just his videos I want to see. I have some questions I want to ask."
Wendy's eyebrows jumped. "What questions?"
**********
Jiah brought Wendy to her best friend Shinhye's workplace. When she asked about Shinhye's whereabouts, one of the waiters informed her that she had resigned a few months ago. As she remembered the issues her best friend and the owner's wife had, she felt relieved to know that she had resigned. At the same time, she felt bad for not keeping up with her.
She wondered how her best friend was doing at the moment, but bigger worries came to light as she recalled Shinhye's abusive father. The more worried she became, the more she told herself that she was going to visit Shinhye at her house, but she would have someone with her if that would lessen Shinhye's worry about her sudden visit.
Despite her best friend's absence, she ordered two cups of sweet green tea and two butter toasts. Later, Wendy showed her Hoseok's dancing video clips. An open-mouthed grin appeared on Jiah's face as she was amazed at how flexible he was. His movements were smooth and on point. The audience cheered for him and shouted his name. For sure, one of the shouts came from Wendy, who was behind the camera.
A big smile never left Hoseok's lips as he danced. Jiah thought of him as fancy. Her first impression of her boss slowly dissolved in her mind and was replaced by how cool he was. His movements were perfect. She doubted that many of the Bejiwoo staff knew how well he could dance.
Watching Hoseok dance was satisfying, but it was unfortunate that she couldn't watch him in real life, considering that he had shut himself off from the world. It would take a lot of time until she could see him dance.
Wendy put down her phone after showing three five-minute videos. She said, "Did you see how slick that was?"
Jiah's lips formed an 'o,' and her head frantically nodded, her eyes widened. She uttered, "I can see why he got selected to look out for the club members often. Anyone would have mistaken him for a professional."
"I know, right!" Wendy said, chuckling softly. "Oh, right! You said you have some questions to ask. What is it?"
Jiah was sipping her green tea. Quickly, she put it down on the table and gulped. "Is it okay to ask about... In-Kang?"
Wendy's eyebrows jumped. She didn't seem to have expected that Jiah would be interested in In-Kang. She said, "Certainly! What's up with In-Kang?"
"I don't understand what the link between In-Kang and Bejiwoo is. Seokjin told me that to sever ties between In-Kang and Bejiwoo, they would need a huge sum of money to pay for it," Jiah said. She didn't know how much she could trust Wendy, but at least, she tried asking.
Wendy exhaled deeply, letting out a brief hum. She said, "I've heard about that. I don't understand it either. Frankly speaking, I've been focusing on my modeling career, so I don't know much about In-Kang. I don't have any business related to In-Kang either," she paused. "I only came back to Korea because they hired me to be the event's emcee."
"And... you've never accepted modeling for them?" Jiah asked.
Lips curved downwards, Wendy shook her head slowly. "Nope! I've never been interested in working with them. Besides, there's so much drama happening at In-Kang, even way before Jiwoo and Soohyuk ran away."
"What do you mean?"
"I heard that you know Kang Maru," Wendy said.
Things were getting intriguing. Jiah responded, "Yeah, he was my classmate."
Wendy slowly nodded her head. "I heard he's been trying to have no relation with the company. His father plans to pass down the company to him, but Maru doesn't want it. He says he'd rather build his own company." She crossed her arms with a loud sigh. "I know Maru. Plus, there have been rumors going around that it seems he's been trying to avoid the company's corrupt history."
"Corrupt?" Jiah's eyebrows furrowed at the word. "The company is corrupt?"
"That, I can't confirm. But there have been rumors that uncle is involved in illegal activities. I don't know what it is, though. I'm much like Maru. I don't care about In-Kang," the blonde woman said.
Partnering with In-Kang meant that Bejiwoo's profits from the business were shared. The ridiculous part was that Bejiwoo had to pay a sum of money to sever ties with In-Kang. The public party to 'boast' that they had done good deeds could be a method to attract more business partnerships. It would boost their business and assets. If it was true that the owner of In-Kang had been involved in illegal activities and if these were linked and her assumptions were correct, In-Kang might have been on the verge of bankruptcy. If not that, then it was their greed for money.
But why did Jiwoo and Soohyuk run away?
She couldn't help but think badly of Jiwoo. It was possible that she was escaping from the burden of the business and forced Hoseok, Seokjin, Yoongi, and Amber to handle it instead. And with Soohyuk, she pursued her luxurious dreams in another place. Shaking her head lightly, she weakened the imagination, thinking it was evil of her to assume something about someone she didn't know.
Later, she thought of Maru and Soohyuk. She had no idea that Maru was going through pressure despite living in a wealthy family. The image of him being one of the friendly people she knew came to mind, but it was dimmed by the cold Maru she had seen during the event. The memories of him reeking of tobacco were still fresh in her mind as well. She was surprised to learn that Maru smoked.
"Can we talk?" His tone was knotted with desperation. She remembered that. She became even more curious. What did Maru want to talk about?
Soohyuk. She had never heard of him from Maru, never heard him say that he had an adopted older brother, leading her to assume that there had been issues between them.
Excluding Wendy, how much had the family hidden?