Narrator

“You’ve been drowning yourself with work, honey. Get some rest. Spend time with your friends, or go see Jungkook.” Mr. Park lightly chided as he strolled inside her daughter’s office. Sera had her nose buried in piles of paperwork, glancing up to see her father shaking his head at her.

She sighed. “I’m not drowning myself in work.”

“If you say so. When was the last time you ate in a restaurant or went late night ice cream shop hopping with Namjoon?”

She scrunched her nose and put the papers away. “Okay, I get your point. Thanks Dad.”

Mr. Park rolled his eyes and gave her a tap on the shoulder. “It’s been weeks, Sera. I’m sure all the attention is gone. Don’t worry too much. We’re fine, you’re fine.”

He smiled and looked at the door. “Go on, leave.”

Sera chuckled and got her things. She slipped on her coat and smiled at her father. “I’m going to Jeon’s  house for a while. Thanks again, Dad.”

“You don’t have to go there alone.”

She looked at him, confused. “What?”

Mr. Park chuckled. “Jungkook! Get in here!”

The door opened and Jungkook was there, smiling sheepishly. He gave her a little wave and she couldn’t help but grin. “How long have you been there?”

He paused for a while to calculate but ended up shrugging. He walked to her direction and grabbed her coat and bag, to which she consented to naturally. Mr. Park smiled at the two. “Well, I guess my role here is done. Have fun, you two.”

As soon as Mr. Park left, Sera socked Jungkook’s shoulder. “Using my Dad to get me off work? Classic.”

“I couldn’t talk you out of it, so I had to find ways.” He winked and pulled her closer to him. “Come on, I’m getting really bored these days without a little annoying brat bugging me around. How about Myeongdong?”

She snickered and followed him out. “Do I even have a choice?”

He stopped walking and poked her nose. “No you don’t.”

Sehun winced as another mug fell on the floor. Coffee spilled as it fell, staining the gray carpet. Namjoon released a deep sigh and balled his fist.

“Don’t you think we should tell her about this?” Sehun knew he should just keep quiet and let Namjoon handle his rage, but there were things that shouldn’t be left unsaid.

Namjoon stood up and glared at him. “And what, make her resort to rash decisions?”

“I’m just… saying. You’re technically obliged to tell her, since she’s already and official director. Sera—“

“If this can be handled, she doesn’t need to know.” Namjoon cut him off and strode out the room, the door banging as he left. Sehun closed his eyes and looked at the papers on the desk.

He gingerly picked up one paper, biting his lip as he read. If only he knew the root of it all.

Junghyun cheerfully leaped out of his chair as Jungkook and Sera entered the Jeon’s living room. He enveloped her in a tight hug while Jungkook scoffed in annoyance.

“You’re overreacting.” He muttered and plopped on the couch. Sera sat beside him when she was finally released from Junghyun’s big frame.

Junghyun grinned as he watched his younger brother. “So, what brings you here? Sera, I haven’t seen you for so long.”

“Just a week.” Sera corrected, munching on a cookie. “I was busy with a project. It’s my first one as director.” She smiled sheepishly, although both men knew he was feeling really proud.

Haena walked inside, taking off an apron from her hips. She smiled at the two younger ones and gave Sera a brief hug. “At last. I was worried you might be overworking yourself!”

“Exactly!” Jungkook agreed, to which Sera frowned. “Everybody thinks that. I love what I do!”

“Is everything going on smoothly?” Haena asked, and Sera nodded enthusiastically. “I’ve been working on this new project.”

Junghyun nodded. “Tell us mo—“

“It’s for charity.” She giggled, oblivious to the glances the others were sharing. She seemed so happy about what she was talking about, and it was rather amusing. Jungkook put his arm around her shoulders, squeezing it and urging her to go on.

She was more than happy to do so. “Remember the kids we visited at the orphanage? I was thinking, since our companies are active in the electronics market, and with the help of Samsung, we can build a school focused on cultivating technological skills. We have scholarship programs as of now, but they aren’t really given sufficient attention. There is clear underspending in the fund.”

“That’s a brilliant idea.” Jungkook his chin. “The kids will be given the opportunity to utilize state of the art technology that will help them develop holistically.”

“Sounds like a slave program to me. Win-win.”

Heads turned to the door. Sekyung was leaning on the doorframe, mug in hand. Junghyun’s brows furrowed. “I think what Sekyung meant—“

“I literally meant it like I said it. A slave program. No offense, Sera.”

Sera’s pressed her lips together and forced a smile.

“The way I see it, the kids are given what Jungkook calls an “opportunity”, but who are we kidding? It’s an avenue to harvest skilled technicians that will later work for the company. It’s an investment.”

There was silence and tension was thick in the air Jungkook swore he could cut through it with a knife. He was confused as to why Sekyung would suddenly say those, but Junghyun gave him a look that told him not to interfere.

“Kyung, I believe Sera is doing this for the children. She’s been working for this project for a while now, and I believe in her decisions. Right?”

Haena nodded and cleared . “Park Industries is one of the top companies in Seoul involved in youth education. There have never been doubts about their intentions.” She smiled at Sera who was just staring at nothing in particular. Jungkook was holding her, running his thumb over her hand.

Junghyun and Haena shared a brief glance.

“Oh I forgot about my cookies in the kitchen! Kyung, will you help me with them?”

Sekyung snickered at the obvious attempt to get her away, but she lazily obliged. Junghyun squeezed Sera’s shoulder and gave her an apologetic smile. “I’m sorry. She’s… going through a rough time.”

“It’s okay.” She smiled.

Jang turned off the television and hurriedly walked to the door to greet Sera. He had his usual smile on, carefully helping his beloved young miss out of her coat.

“It’s been a long day, Jang.” She yawned, stretching her arms.

He smirked a little and led her to the kitchen. “It always is, Young Miss. The secret is to always get through it with a smile.” He handed her the warm glass of milk he prepared and she smiled. No matter what happened, she knew she had Jang.

“Anyway, I was thinking of doing some writing before I go to sleep, so please don’t wake me up early tomorrow. I’m taking a day off.”

“With Young Master Jeon, I suppose?”

“Yup. Who else is there?” She chuckled.

Sera heaved a deep sigh as she jumped on her bed.

Of course, who else was there?

Her eyes darted to her phone’s wallpaper. It was no other than Jungkook fooling around, setting his funny face as the first thing she saw whenever she unlocked her phone.

She knew there had to be something more to what they agreed upon initially. It was not just a simple arranged marriage. But deep down, she wasn’t ready to admit. She savored every single minute of him, but it didn’t feel right. Something was eating her whole, but somehow she wanted to ignore it.

She shook her head to get rid of those thoughts and closed her eyes. Maybe, just maybe, she could forget everything just for a while.

Her phone buzzed and she grumbled in annoyance. It was a notification from her subscribed daily news. She was about to swipe it away when something caught her attention.

Jeon Group stock prices fall as merged subsidiary with Park Industries progress

She took in a sharp breath and clenched her fist. That moment she instantly knew what was eating her inside.

The more she let her desire take over her, the more she made it worse. The closer she was to him, the more damage she brought. She wanted to be selfish— she’d follow what her heart really wanted and ignore the consequences. But she treasured him so much to do that.

She often wondered what made her feel so miserable and unhappy at times. Who was the reason for all the confusion, the pain, and the anger?

It was never my parents or the business. It was never Jungkook. It was never even Kai.

A tear escaped her eye.

It has always been me.

______________________________________________________

After 2 months, I'm here again. I know you are sick of my apologies but I will still say sorry.

I'm so so so so so so sorry. I hope you didn't forget this story. I really wanted to update, but circumstances and such--

Anyway, I'll do my best to make it up to you guys. 

Thank you for waiting :)