Four [No Matter What]

Yeonhee carefully pulls the yellow covers over Minju then gets on her knees. Coiling her hands around Minju’s left, Yeonhee mutters some prayer to herself before she rests her chin on their hands. “How are you feeling, sis?” 

Minju, wholly conscious, bobs her head slowly. “I’m better.” 

Yeonhee exhales excessively, relieved that Minju is alright. In spite of the fresh scratch on the side of her forehead, “Why didn’t you contact me? If you had told me you were coming, I would have come and picked you up.” Yeonhee is on the verge of tears but Minju finds it silly. 

It’s not like she’s dying and none of them saw her attackers coming. 

“It’s good that you’re feeling better, Minju. I’ll stay with Yeonhee in the living room if you want to get some rest,” Yunseong, who’s been observing them from the doorway, says kindly. 

“Sorry to worry you both. If you can stay with Yeonhee through the night, I'd appreciate it.” Minju whispers instead as trying to speak normally hurt her vocal cords. 

Yeonhee kisses Minju’s hand then with some stalling she finally lets Minju rest and leaves the room with her boyfriend. 

Once Yunseong shuts the door to Yeonhee’s room, the woman grabs a hold of his wrist and drags him into the kitchen. She then lets go of him and spins around to meet his gaze. “What did I say? My sister got hurt the moment she returned! I shouldn’t have worried her over some stupid threat!” 

Yunseong immediately closes the space between them to wrap his arms around Yeonhee and comfort her. “It’s not your fault. Her not eating and drinking anything before she came here and got into that physical altercation, that drained all her energy, wasn’t because of you. You're not responsible for this. Your sister isn’t a kid.” 

Yeonhee hates that he’s right, again, but she couldn’t help but feel that part of it is because of her. Because she can’t fight and protect herself, she always needs others to come to her rescue. 

She buries her face in his chest then winds her arms around his slim waist. 

Mentally to herself, she wants to do something, anything to help Minju. Since she can’t fight, the least she can do is find out who is behind her sister’s attackers. She’s confident she’ll find whoever did it and make them pay. 

The next morning, Yeonhee left early to gather any evidence that can put Minju’s assailants behind bars. However, before visiting the road Minju said it happened on, Yeonhee wanted some assurance. As much as her father hated her, Yeonhee wanted to consult his lawyer. A scrupulous man who thinks on his feet. 

In the crowded public bus, Yeonhee finds herself standing near the front. 

When the bus stops to pick up more passengers, a pregnant granddaughter and elderly woman catch her attention. Although they didn’t ask, Yeonhee felt obliged to find them seats. About two cushions back, she sees two young men sitting down. One is a stocky high school student and the other is smaller in physique and older but definitely in good shape to stand. 

Fighting through the crowd, Yeonhee confronts the two gentlemen politely. 

“Sorry student and mister, do you mind giving up your seats for a grandma and her granddaughter who just got on? The granddaughter is pregnant,” Yeonhee adds with a gentle smile. 

“What the heck,” the student swears under his breaths but nonetheless stood and traveled toward the back of the moving transportation. When the older man ignores her, she was reluctant to give in so soon. 

“Sir, sorry sir but can you—”

The man heaves a hefty sigh then roughly rubs his nape. Once he glances up to acknowledge her, she can see that he is extremely handsome. 

Two-thirds of his hair was combed in one direction and they were in shades of orange, red, and black. His jaw was so sharp it could cut glass and his skin was so smooth that any liquid would probably just run down his body without leaving any trails. The man is in a black leather jacket, red-and-black barred top—possibly long sleeves—and black jeans. His left ear is also pierced. 

For a brief moment, Yeonhee wonders if he’s an idol from a group she doesn’t know about because he looks the part. 

“I was here first,” he says, harshly, knocking her out of daydreaming about him. 

Clearing , Yeonhee gives it another try, “I’m aware, but you’ve been sitting there for a while. It’s fair to share since this seat doesn’t belong to you but everyone.” 

The man smirks, long enough for Yeonhee to catch and take offenses to it. 

“The next stop is in three minutes. They will get their turn when others get off.” 

Yeonhee furrows her brows. She’s never seen anyone so stubbornly disrespectful. Especially when it comes to the elderly and pregnant. 

“Sir—” 

“Sorry, but if you’re not going to sit in the seat you kick someone out of, can I have it? My feet are killing me.” 

Yeonhee tours the woman in heels up and down momentarily. She’s speechless. Do people not practice common decencies anymore? Shaking her head, Yeonhee wobbles her way towards the front again. 

“Thank you for trying,” the young granddaughter says when they lock gazes, “we really appreciate it but don’t worry about us. We get off after the next stop and we’re used to standing since it’s usually a full bus.” 

Yeonhee doesn’t know what to say but to smile at their generous understanding. 

When Yunseong wakes up, he notices Yeonhee isn’t on the loveseat where she spent the night. Sitting up from the ground, he hears a creak in the kitchen. It’s Minju. Her colors are back and she seems like herself. 

“Have you seen Yeonhee?” Yunseong asks. 

Minju closes the drawer and shakes her head, “She left a note on the table for you.” 

Yunseong scrambles out of his sheets then reach over to grab the piece of paper on the coffee table. 

‘Yunseongie, 

Sorry to have to do this to you on your day off but please make sure my sister eats breakfast when you’re both awake. I’m out running some errands and will be back later. I love you. 

- Your Yeonhee’

Yunseong smiles naturally at the note before hearing Minju ruffling through the kitchen drawers again. “Are you looking for something?” 

“A lighter or matches.” 

Yunseong blinks, “I thought Yeonhee said you quit smoking a few years ago?” 

“Yeah well,” Minju slams the last of them shut then quickly she goes through the cabinets. “After yesterday’s incident, I could really use a smoke.” 

The man doesn’t know what to say to her. All he can do was clean up his spot on the ground and stack the blankets back into Yeonhee’s closest. “How about breakfast? I’m a better cook than the last time we got together. Should I put together something hearty for us?” Yunseong asks as he folds the sheets nicely. 

Minju sighs, almost in annoyance. 

“That story about the calculator. Was it true?” 

Yunseong pauses for a minute. “Yeah, yeah, of course, it’s true. I saw it.” 

Minju scoffs, “Come on Yunseong. Did you see it or not?” 

“I...I didn’t. It was dropped and the screen was cracked.” 

Minju raises a brow and clicks her tongue when she finds a dark green lighter hiding among sauce bottles and seasoning containers, “I knew it.” 

“You don’t think Yeonhee made it up to get you back to Seoul, do you? Because she didn’t.” 

“Believe it or not,” Minju begins before striding towards the front door, “someone wanted me to come back to Seoul, it just wasn’t Yeonhee,” without another word, Minju steps outside to take a few puffs. 

When she’s finally let off the bus, Yeonhee stops in front of the one curvy road that leads to her father’s company. She takes a deep breath then mentally prepares herself to be rejected and denied.

Once she takes a step forward, she notices a familiar figure. 

The man who refused to give up his seat casually entered her line of vision. He looks extra arrogant with his hands in his pockets too. Then it hit her, maybe he’s a new trainee or idol at GoldMusic since he’s also rude like her dad. 

“Have something else to say?” he asks abruptly. 

Yeonhee can’t help but find him unpleasant. 

There were no follow-up greetings, introductions, and discussions, just a blunt ‘why are you following me?’ type of question. 

“Not necessarily,” she answers quickly, “but if you’re also going down this path then go ahead. I’ll wait for five minutes before I use it.” 

The man wears an amused smug but says nothing as he moves through the road surrounded by two high brick walls. Pursing her lips, Yeonhee scans the surroundings to kill some time. 

After a long time, Yeonhee finally reaches GoldMusic. 

“Kim Yeonhee,” the front desk assistant greets her with a grand smile, “if you’re here to see the President, he’s actually in a meeting.” 

“Oh?” Yeonhee hums, confused, “Sorry, when I texted his PA last night, he told me my father’s schedule was free until 11 in the morning.” 

“I see, apparently it was a walk-in. No appointment. Someone from out of the country President has been waiting to meet.” 

“Oh…” Yeonhee tries not to show it but the disappointment in her voice betrays her. “Do you know when they’ll be done? I need to talk to my father about an urgent matter.” 

“Sorry Yeonhee, the party arrived just a few minutes before you did. I’m afraid it’ll be a while.” 

Yeonhee falls quiet for a moment, “Okay then...I’ll wait for them...Oh, wait. Is this ‘someone’ my dad is in a meeting with a young man, though possibly older than me? Did he have reddish hair and piercings on his left ear?” 

“How did you know?” 

Yeonhee is wide-eyed, shock out of her mind, “Seriously?!” 

In one of the lounge’s chairs Yeonhee was slouching in, she keeps hearing the front desk worker’s words replayed over and over again in her head. 

“He is one of the youngest, most gifted, and successful music composers around the world. I heard his best bit was 5,000 USD a minute and there’s a rumor going around that your father was willing to give him 20% of the film’s budget even if the MV and song do poorly overall. He’s getting more than the producers themselves!” 

Yeonhee shakes out of it when she hears her father’s chortles getting off the elevator. 

“Welcome again to GoldMusic, Felix Lee. We look forward to working with you. And remember, you don’t have to go easy on us. Hit us with your best product.” 

“I’ll be happy to. Thank you again, CEO Kim.” 

“Kim Jinho or mister will do.” 

“Alright, then Kim Jinho. I’m afraid I have somewhere else to be and I’m sure you’re a very busy man yourself. Let’s have dinner some other time. I’ll surprise you,” the man known as Felix smiles. 

Once he turns his back to the CEO of the company and heads toward the lounge to leave the building, he catches Yeonhee at the corner of his eyes. 

Yeonhee quickly gathers her stuff and stands to greet him with a 90-degree bow. 

“Hello again,” she says, pushing her locks out of her face. 

“What are you, a fan? You surely don’t look like an idol,” he criticizes. 

Yeonhee scoffs, wanting to scream ‘no one asked for your opinion!’ but instead she lets it go with a bitter smile, “Have a nice day.” 

Before her father can retreat back into his office, Yeonhee rushes over to greet him near the elevator. Leaving Felix stunned and confused. 

“Dad, can we talk? Something bad happened and I wish you’ll grant me permission to consult Lawyer Choi.” 

“Now isn’t a good time. Go home.” 

“No time is ever a good time. I just ask that you give Lawyer Choi permission to advise me on what to do. Even if you don’t want to deal with me or hear about what happens to me, at least let the people you write checks to communicate with me!” 

“Exactly, I pay them so they only work for me! Whatever trouble you got yourself into, you can get yourself out without associating yourself with me or people who work for me. Understand?!” 

Quickly, he walks into the elevator and when she tries to get on with him, he shoves her out like nothing. 

“Dad, please!” she cries, but to no avail, the door closes between them and he’s taken up to the seventh floor while she’s left alone to remind herself that he will never accept her. 

No matter what.