"How's business so far?"

"As per normal. Nothing much has happened so far. How about you? I heard you went for dinner with Oppa and Irene." 

"That's the only way that I could think off to break the silent treatment that Irene had been giving me lately. You should see how excited she was when I told her that I had made arrangement for the 3 of us to have dinner together." Taeyeon let out a heavy sigh. "The worst 2hrs of my life ever."

"For this year, you mean?" 

Taeyeon rolled her eyes as Sunny chuckled at her reaction. Taeyeon had arrived at Sunshine Pub a few minutes ago and was escorted to the VIP room that Sunny had prepared for her. After what happened previously, Sunny had decided to keep Taeyeon away from the public to avoid further problems.

"Where's Yoona, by the way?" Sunny asked as she handed a glass of drink to Taeyeon.

"She went to look for Hyoyeon. I told her to bring Hyoyeon here if she's free." 

"She should be free. She just finished her performance an hour before you arrived and should be resting in the backstage. Speaking of the devil."

The two of them turned when the door opened as Yoona and Hyoyeon walked in. They greeted each other before taking a seat at the couch.

"How's Uncle and Auntie?" Taeyeon asked as Hyoyeon replied that they were fine and had been asking about her lately. "Tell them, I'll come over to visit when I'm free."

"That's what I told them and they replied by saying that you'll only appear during the next Chuseok." Hyoyeon's honest reply caused Sunny to laugh out loud because she said it with a straight face while Taeyeon pouted. "How's Irene?"

"She's fine. Busy with school work and had been giving me the silent treatment because she found out about the fight in the pub. She only started talking to me after I arranged a dinner meet-up for us and Oppa."

"Heechul-Oppa?" Hyoyeon's grimaced when she heard about it. "That must be one super awkward dinner. It's obvious only the two of them would be talking while you pretend to look interested."

"How did you know? That was what really happened that night." Yoona answered eagerly since she was also around during dinner.

"Because that is what usually happened when they came over to my family house for Chuseok." Hyoyeon replied as Yoona looked a little confused. "You do know that me and Taeyeon are cousins, right?"

Even though Yoona nodded her head, Hyoyeon continued explaining that both her parents has the same surname and that her mother is the older sister to Taeyeon's mother.

"Oouuhh, okay... All this while, I've always thought that your mother was the late Mr Kim's sister. "

Suddenly, the atmosphere in the room turned unpleasantly silent the moment Yoona ended her sentence. Taeyeon looked at her with eyes wide opened while Hyoyeon's jaws dropped.

"I thought your Appa was the only child in the family?" Sunny's question was directed to Taeyeon who seemed flustered.

"He was." 

Taeyeon and Hyoyeon answered at the same time but their replies seemed rushed and forced. Seeing that the atmosphere had suddenly turned awkward, Taeyeon asked Sunny to get more drinks for them which she reluctantly agreed to. The moment Sunny left, Hyoyeon stood up to lock the door. 

By now, Yoona had already started to feel uncomfortable and was a little nervous. She stole a glance at Hyoyeon who was standing by the door as if she was keeping watch before turning to look at Taeyeon who was staring hard at her.

"What makes you think that my father has a younger sister?"

Taeyeon's question was firm with a commanding tone of voice. Yoona swallowed hard her saliva as she fidgeted in her seat.

"I... I... thought... I heard.. I heard... Harabeoji... mentioning about it.... over the phone..." 

Taeyeon's eyebrow arched as if she was in deep thoughts. "When did you hear about this? Who else was with you when you heard it?"

"I... I... can't remember the exact date... but... but it was during the time when I just started to become your bodyguard. I was alone at that time." Yoona was becoming more and more scared of the current situation as she kept stammering and biting her lips.

"Have you ever mentioned about this to anyone?" Taeyeon's tone of voice seemed threatening as Yoona shook her head vigourously. "Are you sure?"

Hyoyeon noticed the nervousness in Yoona's actions and how the girl was starting to show fear. "Tae, we should go somewhere else to talk about this and explain everything to Yoona. Stop scaring her. She doesn't know."

Yoona saw how Taeyeon closed her eyes for a moment as her boss took in a deep breathe before nodding her head. Hyoyeon unlocked the door and sat down on her couch before facing Yoona.

"We'll explain everything to you. But not here. When Sunny's back with the drinks, pretend that nothing had happened earlier. We'll leave this place in an hour's time." 

***************************

"So explain to me exactly when and how you heard Harabeoji mentioning about that younger sister thing."

Yoona swallowed a lump of her saliva as Taeyeon leaned back into her seat while Hyoyeon just stood against the window. After leaving the pub thirty minutes ago, Taeyeon had instructed Yoona to drive to her private penthouse instead of driving home to the mansion. 

"If I remember correctly, I had just started working for about a week when I had to accompany you to Harabeoji's place. You had a private dinner meeting with him so I just lingered around the house. I had went to the Ladies and was just about to exit when I heard someone talking in anger just outside of the toilet door. I stood behind the door and waited for the person to leave before going out."

"How did you know that the person was Harabeoji when you didn't even see him?" Hyoyeon asked.

"Because he mentioned that he had already lost his son and daughter-in-law." Yoona replied before Taeyeon asked her if she remembered what the conversation was all about. "I didn't really hear everything clearly so I suspected that Harabeoji was pacing around when he was talking. I was surprised when he said 'It doesn't matter anymore. I've already lost my son and my daughter-in-law. Even if his younger sister is still alive, I would never hand the company over to her. She's not my daughter.' That's the only thing that I heard clearly."

"Did Harabeoji saw you coming out from the Ladies?" Taeyeon asked as Yoona shook her head, replying that she waited for another 20mins before going out. "You did the right thing.  You might be dead by now if Harabeoji knew that you had eavesdropped on his conversation."

Yoona's jaw dropped when she heard what Taeyeon had said as she turned to look at Hyoyeon to check if Taeyeon was actually joking about it but Hyoyeon had a blank expression on her face. Fear was clearly shown on Yoona's face as she swallowed another lump of saliva.

"Stop scaring her again. She's already nervous from the time at the pub." Hyoyeon nagged at Taeyeon who just stared blankly at the ceiling. "Yoona, whatever that you had heard from Harabeoji on that day, I hope you continue to keep it a secret just like how you've been doing all this while. No one is supposed to know about the existence of Uncle Kim's younger sister."

Yoona's eyes blinked repeatedly as moved a little before she clenched it tight.

"You must have a lot of questions right now. I can see the curiosity in your eyes." Taeyeon said as Yoona slowly nodded her head. "I'm going to tell you this only once and like what Hyoyeon had said earlier, I hope that it stays as a secret with you. I'm doing this because I trust you and also because I want you to know the consequences if ever you blurted about it just like what happened earlier."

Yoona lifted up her hand and swore that she would not tell anyone about it as Taeyeon took a deep breathe before straightening her back.

"It's true that Appa had a younger sister. Step-sister to be exact. She was Harabeoji's illegitimate child with his secretary. Harabeoji thought that the baby was aborted, just like what he instructed his secretary to do. But she didn't do so and even raised the baby girl up after running away from her own house. When the girl was 12yrs old, her mum was diagnosed with liver cancer stage 4. That was when his former secretary decided to come to Halmeoni in desperation and told the truth about the girl. Halmeoni was so furious with Harabeoji and threatened to expose the girl's identity to his father-in-law, who is my great grandfather, if he didn't take the girl in. At that time, this kind of thing was frowned upon by the public and business was just about to bloom. Appa was already 18yrs old by then so he knew about the girl's background through Halmeoni. Appa sympathised with her, especially after her mum eventually passed away a few months later. Appa treated her like his real sister and even defended her at times when she got into trouble with Harabeoji."

Taeyeon paused for a while before requesting Hyoyeon to get some drinks for them.

"5yrs later, Appa got married and started to drift apart from her sister because he was busy with his new life and also the company. She started to mix around with bad people and kept getting into trouble. There were a few times that she ran away from home but Appa will always manage to convince her to return. Harabeoji was unhappy that Appa kept defending her and he never acknowledged her as her daughter. She was never brought to any function or introduced to anyone by Harabeoji so no one actually knew about her connection to the family. 3yrs later, Appa's sister found out that she was pregnant due to a one night stand. Appa knew that Harabeoji will do something to her sister if he was to find out about it so he and Omma decided to bring her sister to LA to hide the matter from Harabeoji. Coincidentally, the company was starting to venture into overseas business so Appa took the opportunity to move there."

"So your Aunt now is in LA?" Yoona asked that question when Taeyeon paused the second time to have a sip of the water which Hyoyeon had brought for the 3 of them.

"Anni. She passed away while giving birth." Taeyeon's reply caused Yoona to stop drinking her water.

"Along with the baby?" Yoona asked but she was surprised when Taeyeon shook her head. "So the baby was given away?"

Taeyeon shook her head again. "Appa raised the baby just like he was his own son. And everyone believed it since Appa and Omma were away from Seoul for almost 5yrs. Nobody knew the truth except for Omma's sister who is Hyoyeon's mother."

"Just like his own son?" Yoona's facial expression showed that she was in deep thoughts before her eyes widened when she realised something. "That person is Heechul Oppa?"

Taeyeon nodded her head before she stood up to stand in front of the window. Hyoyeon, who had sat down beside Yoona after taking the drinks, nudged Yoona by the shoulder.

"This is another secret that you need to keep also. No one knows the true identity of Heechul Oppa except for me, my parents and Taeyeon. Harabeoji doesn't know and even Irene is not aware of it too." Hyoyeon explained to Yoona who looked a little baffled at the moment.

"What will happen if Harabeoji knows the truth? Is he going to remove Heechul Oppa from the company and hand over everything to Taeyeon-unnie since she's his legitimate heir? What will happened to Heechul Oppa? Does he even know his true identity?" Lots of questions shot out from Yoona's mouth as her curiosity intensified.

"Heechul Oppa knows who he is. Appa told him everything when he was 16yrs old. The thing is, Oppa thinks that I don't know about all that but I knew because I had eavesdropped in their conversation. At that time, I was already 12yrs old so I could understand the whole situation."

"My mum and Taeyeon's Omma had always been close to each other, especially after their parents died just a few years after my mum got married so they only had each other to rely on. With Taeyeon's Appa's permission, her Omma told my mum about everything. After Taeyeon's parents passed away, my mum asked her about the matter, thinking that Taeyeon needed to know the truth but she was surprised when Taeyeon told her that she had known about it all along. At that time, I was with her so I came to know about it." Hyoyeon explained further while Yoona just listened attentively.

"What you told me earlier, about the conversation that you heard from Harabeoji, reaffirmed my belief that the secret had been leaked." Taeyeon had a deep frown on her face as she folded her arms. "I'm just wondering to what extent does Harabeoji know about the truth and to what extent does he believe it?"

"Is it going to be problematic if he knows?" Yoona asked with concerned.

"Technically, yes. There will be a shift in power and I think Taeyeon will be greatly affected if her grandfather knew the truth. Imagine, the son of the daughter that you had never wanted to acknowledge before, is now leading your company. I think that old man will blow up." Hyoyeon replied while looking at Taeyeon. "He might kick Heechul-oppa out of the company and family. Then Taeyeon will be his next target to control."

"Target to control?" Yoona repeated Hyoyeon's words, confusion spreading all over her face.

"But he can't control me. He knows that. I've never agreed with his ways or see eye to eye about anything with him. I'm not like my Oppa, who will just listen and follow whatever he says." Taeyeon answered with a tinge of anger in her tone of voice. 

"That's why I said before that Harabeoji will either use Irene against you or maybe an arranged marriage." Hyoyeon said before letting out a sigh. "He will want someone he can control in the company. So if he can't get through you, he will find someone he can trust and whom will listen to him which could be your future husband. Your parents are no longer around. Indirectly, he's the only one who can approve of your marriage plans."

"I don't intend to get married. This family is too ed up. I don't want another innocent person to have to live such a life." Taeyeon gritted her teeth.

"Then he might use Irene against you because he knows that Irene is your weakness. Your sister is like your life." Hyoyeon's words caused Taeyeon to frown before she noticed the slow rising of Yoona's hand. "Yes, Yoona. You want to ask something?"

"Sorry to interrupt but is Harabeoji really a ruthless person? I've never really seen him or worked with him but there were rumors spreading around even before I started working here. There were even rumors that linked him to Taeyeon-unnie's parents death."

"I'm not that sure myself but Taeyeon hated him. So I guess she knows stuff which she chose not to tell others." Hyoyeon replied on behalf of Taeyeon who had kept her silence. "Even if those rumors were true, it's not the first time such thing has occurred in this family. Taeyeon's grand-uncle disappeared on the day he was discharged from his mandatory military service."

"Grand-uncle? Disappeared?" Yoona frowned for a moment before her eyes lit up as if she remembered something. "I think I've heard about this somewhere. I was still in the martial school at that time and there were a lot of speculations among the trainees when the news came out. He was the eldest son in the family and was supposed to take over the company, right? But after he disappeared, Harabeoji was the one who took over even though he was the youngest.  He had an older sister too but she migrated with her family to America a few years after the disappearance. Don't tell me Harabeoji really had something to do with it?"

"No one knows for sure." Taeyeon finally broke her silence. "Harabeoji has a lot of connections, good and bad. This family has made a lot of friends and even more enemies along the years.  There is a reason as to why my Appa asked me to employ bodyguards from your martial school. He trusted the people there. He mentioned before that the people there will be loyal and will protect you like you are their family."

Yoona nodded her head in agreement as she remembered her master's teachings. Loyalty, humble and courage were the characteristics instilled into the trainees there. "Actually, there is something that I need to tell you about. I've met the late Mr Kim, way before I had even worked for you."

***************************

"Can I ask you a question? When you first met your boyfriend, what makes you feel that he's the one for you?"

"Hhhmmm... I don't know. Was it his smile or was it the way he looked at me? I guess you just felt it right at that moment when he popped the question. Wae? Didn't you feel something special when your boyfriend ask you to be his?"

"He asked me to be his girlfriend through the phone. A week before I left for Seoul. At that time, I didn't see any reason not to accept his proposal to be a couple."

"Oh yes, I forgot. Long distance relationship. But when both of you were still friends, didn't you feel anything for him? Think of him a lot, maybe?"

"Now that you've asked, I don't remember thinking a lot about him though." A long pause followed before a sigh was released. "But why am I thinking a lot about her though? When I don't even know her at all?"

"Her?" Hyorin had a frown on her face as if she was in deep thoughts before she gasped. "It's Taeyeon, right?"

"What makes you think it's her?" Tiffany herself was taken aback by Hyorin's accurate guess as she leaned into her chair and pouted. "Was I being too obvious?"

"A little obvious because ever since you saw her that night, you've been mentioning her names a few times almost everyday."

Hyorin had a smirk on her face as she waited for Tiffany to answer her. Both of them had just finished doing an operation together and were spending their break time inside Hyorin's office. Lucky for them, there were not much work left for the night so it was quite peaceful at the moment. 

"Are you sure you're not actually interested in her? Come to think of it, she's actually quite charming. I saw the way she interacted with Yeri and both of them were so cute. They looked like real siblings." Hyorin commented which obviously caused Tiffany to be curious. 

"Yeri?" Tiffany's eyes sparkled when she remembered about where she had heard that name before. "The one with PTSD, right?"

Hyorin nodded her head. "From what I heard, Taeyeon was the one who brought her to this hospital. Let me look up her details from the hospital's records."

Tiffany bit her lips as she waited anxiously while looking at Hyorin, typing away on her computer. She had wanted to find out more about Yeri since that day the hospital had the children's day event but since she was still considered a new doctor, she has limited access to the patients' records and was only given acces to those under her care.

"Here it is. Kim Yeri. Born in 1999. Admitted to Choi Medical Center due to PTSD. Transferred from Pusan National Hospital. Guardian, Kim Taeyeon. Doctor In Charge, Choi Soojin." A frown appeared on Hyorin's face as she kept clicking on her mouse. "That's weird. I can't actually access any other details except for her general info. Surprisingly, there's no other family contact details linked to her except for Taeyeon. Maybe only Doctor Choi has the full access to her records."

"1999? She's ten years younger than me. If I remembered correctly, Doctor Choi mentioned that the girl was involved in an accident with her family while they were vacationing in Busan. She was the only survivor in that accident." Once again, Tiffany felt her heart hurt when she informed Hyorin about whatever that she knew. "Maybe that's why there is no family contact details in it. Taeyeon is the guardian because she was the one who brought her here."

"Are they related or something? Both of them have the same surname though. I can't believe that I'm actually quite curious about this." Hyorin admitted as a smile appeared on Tiffany's face.

"It makes you curious, right? Everything that is linked to Taeyeon makes you feel like you needed to find out more about her."

"But I can live without knowing more." Hyorin rebutted with a grin. "Even if at the end of the day I won't find out anything, I don't think I'll be thinking a lot about her. Unless I'm really interested about her."

"Yah!!" Tiffany pouted when she realised that Hyorin was teasing her. "I'm going to start doing my rounds since it's already 6am so I'm going back to my office to freshen up a little. You should get some sleep if you can."

While Hyorin continued to chuckle at her, Tiffany stuck out her tongue and exited the office to proceed to her own office. Along the way, a lot of things went through her head and she let out a sigh as she pushed her office door opened.

"Kim Yeri. Kim Taeyeon."

Meanwhile, somewhere in the hospital, a young girl was tossing and turning around on her bed. Her forehead was drenched with seat as her expression showed signs of extreme fear. She was gripping the bedsheet tight as tears started to flow down her cheeks. Her eyes seemed to be reluctant to open as her bedroom door was pushed open.

The two nurses on duty were alerted of her actions through the cctv that was attached in the room. Making their way quickly to the bed, one of them held on tightly on the patient's shoulders and tried to wake her up. The girl continued to squirm violently, without opening her eyes as the nurse started to panic.

"Yeri is having her nightmares again. We need to get Doctor Choi here but she's on leave today. I need you to look for any available Doctor right now while I informed Doctor Choi and her guardian." She informed her colleague who nodded her head quickly and ran out of the room. Taking out her phone, she quickly typed a message and sent it to the intended receiver before turning to face Yeri. 

The other nurse who had ran out, was searching around when she noticed a lone figure standing at the counter.

"Doctor Hwang, we need your help right now."