track 14 - Secrets

"huh?"

"i am a royal descendant, but i kept this fact hidden from everyone around me. i wanted to prove to myself that i could stand on my own two feet, without relying on my family's wealth or status. my mindset was clear - if i wanted to feel proud of my accomplishments, i had to know that i had achieved them all on my own. while i acknowledge that i was born lucky, i didn't want to rely on that. that's why i took no money from my family and worked hard to get here."

"damn, that's a lot to take in" exclaimed shuhua, taken aback by the sudden secret reveal of her friend, before asking, "are you still in touch with them?"

"i usually talk with my brother, mac, to learn how they're all doing. and my mother calls and talks to me every once in a while. whenever she calls, it's either to offer me money or to constantly nag me about coming back home, but i've been standing firm and saying no to both every time."

shuhua listened carefully and then sighed, "i see but, i wish you had told us earlier, unnie. it's not about the title or the money, it's about our friendship. i feel like you didn't trust us enough to share such an important part of your life, but we can't undo what's already been done."

"no, i really trust you all. it's just that i wanted you guys to see me as just another commoner. it helped me to feel more grounded and connected to you. maybe i was wrong, i'm sorry."

"no, don't be, that's okay. i'm glad you did eventually tell me. and i'm proud of you for doing your own thing." 

"thank you, shuhua. i mean it."

"don't mention it. now tell me how exactly things ended up you slapping that poor girl."

"well, she keeps making mistakes with her decisions about miyeon and all. at first, i just tried to warn her and want her to see the real soojin inside her. i was talking about love you know, but i guess i was kind of prying into her family stuff, so she felt like she could do the same to me." said minnie, pausing a little bit to let out a sigh, "there's this thing going on with my parents that i've been trying to ignore. they're about to divorce. she used it against me, eventually calling my parents pathetic. next thing i know, i lost it and slapped her without thinking."

"oh, wow... okay, i'm not saying what you did was cool or anything, 'cause it definitely wasn't. but i gotta admit it's weird that she knows all this stuff about you. she must have gone digging to find out. seems like she's just really obsessed with getting revenge. there is a possibility that she's done research on anyone who's been in contact with miyeon and her family."

"oh, there might be. you got a point."

"but whatever the reason, the slap was not it."

"i know, i should apologize to her the moment i catch her."

just then, soyeon slammed open the door and barged in, "shuhua, you're coming with me."

soyeon thought it was not a good idea to go to china alone, especially since she doesn't speak chinese. she figured it would be much more difficult to find yuqi without any help. that's why she came back after talking to hwasa. and shuhua wanted to go anyway. minnie, on the other hand, wouldn't be able to accompany them as she had ongoing works to do at neverend. she'd be helping them out from a distance.
 

***

after her last thing happened with miyeon, minnie had received neither a text nor a call from her. even though she had wanted to call miyeon many times herself, she thought it would damage her self-esteem to do so because according to her, miyeon was continuing the see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil game. minnie felt guilty about kissing miyeon on the same night that she had introduced her as the best friend to hwiyoung, her fiancé. kissing each other, being caught up in the moment could ruin a friendship that might last a lifetime. now, the possibility that she would never see miyeon occurred to her while she was at her desk, working. she couldn't focus on her work. just then, hwasa came over and snapped her out of her thoughts.

"how's it going? did you get the things done i asked you to do?"

"it's half done. i'm doing my best."

"good then. you think you can come over during lunchtime? there's a few things i wanna chat about."

"for sure"

after hwasa left, minnie stared at the computer screen for a while. it can't go on like this, she thought and picked up her phone. she was going to text miyeon. she opened the app and noticed that miyeon changed her profile photo with the one minnie took that night. since when? feeling butterflies in her stomach, minnie searched and found the photo miyeon took of her that night in the gallery and set it as her profile photo. then, she started typing.
 

but deleted it as it sounded pretty ridiculous. she thought again about what to write.

she threw the phone as soon as she sent the message. she was trying to fix her breathing, which had accelerated with excitement. miyeon, while she was home making herself a coffee, heard the notification sound and looked at the message. she noticed minnie's new profile photo right away.

she stared at the photo. her heart began to flutter and her cheeks turned a bright shade of pink. she couldn't help but feel shy. however, as she kept looking at it, she wondered if it was a coincidence or if minnie had changed it in response to miyeon's gesture. despite her excitement, miyeon couldn't shake off the feeling of confusion. she was now feeling both giddy and uncertain at the same time. she considered texting about the photo, but then she hesitated, thinking it might be awkward. then she also thought of asking her why she hadn't called or texted until now, but she held back because she didn't want to come off as interrogating. it seems that it would be best to answer the question directly.

minnie was surprised both that she received a quick response and that her offer was easily accepted, even without a question. maybe their situation wasn't as bad as she thought.

later when it was lunchtime, minnie went to hwasa's office. the work was getting so much exhausting these days, or minnie was feeling like it was. she sat on the sofa as hwasa was walking on the treadmill.

"so, what is it you want to talk about?"

"i'm thinking about giving soyeon her own office."

"oh my god, that's great to hear!" exclaimed minnie.

"and i'll tell her to create her own team of writers."

"awesome!"

"yes she deserved that."

minnie agreed, "yeah..." but the atmosphere seemed to be getting a little strange. did she call me here just to say this? thought minnie and continued, "have you told her yet?"

"i will tell her after she comes back from her trip to china with shuhua." said hwasa.

the silence after made the strangeness even worse. minnie could sense that something was off with her boss. she couldn't help feeling like hwasa was keeping something important from her. but hwasa proceeded to talk about trivial things related to work, trying to seem casual and relaxed.

"okay then... so... is there anything else you want to say? i have a feeling you're holding something back," asked minnie. then she also kindly asked if everything was okay, hoping to provide a listening ear if needed. after a few moments of another silence, hwasa got off from the treadmill, took a deep breath and sat beside minnie.

"moonbyul is my girlfriend"

"holy !"

minnie was surprised by this sudden too much information. then she took some time to think. besides hwasa being her boss, she was also her friend. minnie saw that hwasa wanted to get it off her chest. the weight of keeping it a secret must have become too much to bear. she knew what it feels like. she was glad that hwasa trusted her enough to confide in her.

"i don't know why i'm telling you this but-"

"no i get it, i get it. i was just... i mean that was unexpected as you two never show it," said minnie.

"i couldn't even if i wanted to. we were trying to keep it lowkey. but things got messed up as you know. she was going to leave the company at some point, blaming herself. thanks to your help, things are all good now. and you must heard that i broke up with TJ. i should've done it earlier.  anyway, the thing is... moonbyul and i still can't find the courage to come out. this is the first time i'm telling someone about us."

as hwasa poured out her heart, minnie listened patiently, assuring her that she didn't have to hide who she truly was and that she was proud of her for being true to herself. she reminded hwasa that as long as she was happy and treated with respect, nothing else mattered. but in the end, it was up to her to reveal her relationship. she told her that she doesn't need to make a big announcement or something about being in a same- relationship. she encouraged her to act naturally and eventually people will catch on. and nobody has the right to judge her for who she loves. minnie's words brought comfort to hwasa, and she felt a sense of relief that she had finally shared her secret with someone she trusted.

after this heartwarming moment, minnie also wanted to talk about the things with miyeon and the situationship they have right now. she thought thoroughly if it was a good idea to talk about this. however, she was unsure of how to approach miyeon. so, she really wanted to talk it out and spilled the beans eventually, telling her what's been happening the whole time.

after listening intently, hwasa asked, "so she just said yes without a question?"

minnie responded, "yeah, i honestly don't know why i rushed and ask her to meet me though. we've been ghosting each other, you know. it was foolish and surprising, but her accepting without questioning was even more unexpected."

"well okay, i do think she has feelings for you. but the engagement is leaving me bewildered."

"yeah, same."

"all right, listen. i heard that after miyeon's father recognized soojin as his daughter and heir, he confessed to his crimes for some reason and was put in jail, and miyeon took over the company. a whole mess. and now you're saying she got engaged to hwiyoung, right?"

"yes?"

"it feels like she's rushing into things, and maybe there's a connection there. sometimes we do things we don't really want to do just to get things in order and keep the peace. and i think that might be what's happening with her, especially if her parents are putting pressure on her."

"that is possible," minnie said hesitantly, knowing very well that miyeon's family issues were complicated, "but i don't think her parents are pushing her into this right now. with her father in jail, it's hard to imagine they still have the power to force her into anything."

"well then, she's just confused and struggling to come to terms with herself. and we're just overthinking and getting a bit dramatic."

"or maybe she's the one putting pressure on herself to follow through with the engagement," minnie said, trying to make sense of the situation.

"why would she need to force herself to marry someone? because of her compassion for her family?" asked hwasa, confused.

"she's actually not on good terms with her parents. i don't think she would do something like that out of pity for them." 

"then, why?"

"maybe she made a kind of deal with hwiyoung" minnie's voice rose with excitement as a realization struck her, "to make her father suffer!" 

"what?"

"she doesn't see soojin as her enemy at all. she's actually helping her..." the thought escaped minnie's mind and she spoke it out loud without realizing it.