Soojung got out of the car, her brows knitted together in confusion. She instructed her driver to be on stand-by, then watched as her car drove away. The houses in this street looked ordinary, certainly nothing as big as the mansions in her neighbourhood. Everything in this street looked almost... cosy. She didn't understand why Kai had told her to come to this address. She looked at the box of macaroons in her left hand, then turned to look up at the house behind her. It slowly dawned on her that perhaps this house was where he lived; she felt angry with herself for not realising it sooner. She took a deep breath, swung open the small gate and knocked on the wooden door. She only had to wait three seconds, when it swung violently open. She jumped back and stared at the space in the door frame, then her eyes drifted downwards to the tiny boy. She hesitantly smiled, before he let out a loud scream, "JONGIN HYUUUUUNG! YOUR GIRLFRAN IS HERE!!!!" 

 Soojung heard a mad scramble, then about six pairs of legs rounded the corner and bounded up to her. She let out a small yelp, then took a discreet step backwards as she prepared herself for the tackle. She counted seven heads; five boys and two girls. All were staring at her with wide eyes, unblinking and curious like an owl's. She heard a familiar voice screaming at them in the background, "Out of my way! Get back in the living room!" She stifled a laugh as she saw Jongin fight his way to the front, pushing the others to the back. Groans and wails were heard, but the attention had shifted. Jonging gave the small boy who opened the door a shove, then slammed the front door behind him. He looked flustered. "Sorry. That was... my family."

 "All of them?" Soojung asked in surprise. He nodded with a sigh, then looked at the box in her left hand. His expression brightened.

 "Hey, are those macaroons?!" 

 "Yeah, I got a box of twenty four but..." she remembered the quantity of people. "I should've got more."

 "Eh, it's okay," he took the box from her and bowed in greeting. She did the same. "It's not like they'll find it." With a mischievous grin, he opened the front door once again and stepped aside to let her in first. The seven people sat on the staircase, staring at them as they walked in. The littlest boy was whispering to a tall girl, and he looked curiously at Soojung.

 "Jongin hyung, what's your girlfran's name?" he spoke with a slight lisp. The others looked pleased with his question, and showed the pair identical smug grins. 

 "Sehun shut up! She's not my girlfriend," Jongin said, brushing past Soojung. She noticed his cheeks go slightly pink. "Just ignore them, we like to give each other a hard time when guests come over."

 "No not really," Soojung looked up to see the one who spoke, who was sitting near the top of the stairs. He regarded Soojung with a wide smile, then his eyes flickered to Jongin. "We just like to do it when we have girls over." His giggling was followed by the other kids, and Soojung noticed Jongin's cheeks go a shade darker. She felt her own cheeks warm. She sent them a polite bow in greeting.

 "Come on, let's go to the kitchen," he muttered, and shot a fiery glare at all his siblings. Soojung noticed how clean the place was, but it was still a little small by her standards. She's never found herself in this kind of house before, and she had immediately taken a liking to it. It was neat, but it still showed signs that there was a large family who lived here but most of all, it felt like a true home. The kitchen was a lot larger than the rooms she has previously seen, with a counter island in the middle and a large dining table to one side of the wall. A man and woman was working on the dishes side by side, and she heard the sound of running water. 

 "Umma, Appa!" Jongin called out. "This is Soojung-ssi, she'll be joining us for dinner." The couple looked back and found Soojung, then immediately smiled warmly at her. She felt herself smile back; it was so easy to be friendly to these people. The woman turned off the tap and rushed forwards, enveloping Soojung in a warm hug. She felt herself stiffen, as she didn't know what to do. The woman pulled back and her smile grew wider.

 "Hello darling! My name is Hyosun," she motioned to the man by the sink, who was putting away the last of the dishes. "And that is my husband Kangin. It's so nice to finally meet Jongin's girlfriend-"

 "She's not my girlfriend!" Jonging interrupted, throwing his hands in the air and glaring at his mother. Hyosun ignored him. 

 "Dinner is at four, so in the mean time, why don't you introduce her to the rest of the family?" Her eyes spied the box in his hands, then her expression brightened like Jongin's. "Hey! Are those macaroons?!"

 Jongin's eyes widened, then he looked torn as his mother took it from him. He looked like he was deciding whether he was going to wrench the box from her, or keep quiet and accept he had to share. "Hmph, fine. Come on, I'll show you around the house." Soojung bowed politely to his parents, then followed him to the living room. They couldn't go any further however, because the entrance to the rest of the house was blocked by his siblings. She saw his eyes narrow, then stepped discreetly in front of her like a shield. "Get out of our way."

 "You have to introduce us first!" a girl to the far left chimed, holding the little boy called Sehun in her arms. Jongin sighed loudly, then accepted defeat as he walked over to her. He pointed a finger, and with a solemn expression, started to introduce all his siblings. 

 "This is Taeyeon noona, she's the most ancient among us," he said. "She's also the shortest one out of all of us." The girl shot him a glare, but kept shut. 

 "This little guy here is Sehun, he's four," she introduced, smiling widely at her as she bounced him in her arms. He stuck up four fingers and grinned widely, as if his age is an accomplishment. 

 "Baekhyun and Chanyeol are twins," he pointed at the two identical boys on Taeyeon's left hand side, who cocked their head to one side and grinned simultaneously. "Yoona noona, the other girl," the girl with delicate features looked displeased of his description of her. She opened , but Jongin cut through her, "Luhan hyung and the tall one over there is Kris hyung." Both boys bowed low to her, and the tallest one came forwards, took one of her hands and placed a kiss on the back of it. Soojung was taken completely by surprise as he drew her in, an arm slung carelessly over her shoulder.

 "Ditch my dorky little brother and go out with a real man," he said, staring down at her with handsome almond shaped eyes. She laughed at him, then a hand appeared at her elbow and wrenched her from him. Jongin was seething, glaring up at his older brother as he smirked.

 "Stop screwing around you grumpy old man," he said, earning a round of 'Ooooh' from his siblings. Suddenly a voice from the kitchen called them for dinner, and a stampede ensued. Soojung was swept by the current and found herself back in the kitchen, facing the dinner table. It has been laid out with a large quantity of food, with a large bowl of steaming white rice in the centre. Noise was growing as they fought for food, and she sat herself down to the nearest chair. She was beside one of the twins, who passed her some kimchi. 

 "You need to be quick around here," he whispered, glancing at his siblings. Soojung vaguely remembered him to be Chanyeol, but she wasn't sure. The twins are hard to distinguish. "These guys are like a pack of animals when they eat." Then he proceeded to gobble up his food using his hands. 

 "We're not really known for our table manners," Jongin said beside her, drawing up a chair and smiling. "Help yourself. You need to be fast too."

 "I've never seen so much food in one place before," she said looking around the table. 

 "Tell me what you want, I'll serve you," he took her plate and piled on some food as she requested. By the time she said 'Enough', the entire table went quiet. Even his parents were staring at them. Jongin looked around the table, picking up his own plate and scooping kimchi in. "What?!"

 A few moments silence. "You just served a girl." The family then cracked scarily identical grins, all directed at the pair. 

 "Oh my God, leave us alone," Jonging said in despair, his eyes avoiding Soojung. She smiled at him, then proceeded to eat her food. She was still aware that the family gave them glances, but she didn't mind. She has never sat at a table, surrounded by a family who clearly loved each other. The atmosphere was so warm, and she couldn't remember a single family in her lifetime that was this close to each other. She has only formed a friendship with Jongin a few weeks ago, and he has told her that he had a large family, but she couldn't figure out something. Despite its size and obvious clash of personalities, she didn't know how they still managed to be so close to each other. Attention was on her today though, and she answered all the questions fired to her. She laughed at the many antics the siblings did, and told a few jokes of her own. It was so easy to blend in with the family, and she felt herself tighten with jealousy. 

 "And now for the dessert!" Hyosun called out, standing and retrieving the box Soojung brought. She placed it in the centre of the table, free of the previous plates and bowls and sighed as she took off the wrapping. The siblings all sighed in amazement, then a mad scramble ensued for the few macaroons. Soojung refused the offer of one, and simply watched as they started to eat her gift. She would gift them a box of a hundred every week, she resolved. In gratitude for such a wonderful dinner, and accepting her.

 She was preparing to leave, and had a good time with the Kim family. She received another hug from Hyosun, who smiled warmly at her, "You can visit us any time you want my dear." And a phone number from Kris, which she took with a cute smile. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Jongin glowering at them. As she was about to leave, she felt a tug on her skirt. She looked down and saw Sehun, who motioned for her to come closer. When she knelt down, he pressed a kiss to her cheek, squealed loudly and ran up the stairs. She laughed behind him and rubbed the cheek he kissed, while she waved goodbye to the others. Jongin walked her to her car.

 "God my family are embarrassing," he grumbled, his hands in his pocket. Soojung regarded him, then thought him rather silly. He was the luckiest guy in the world, with the most endearing and embarrassing family she has ever met. 

 "I think you're lucky," she answered. He looked at her in confusion. "My own family isn't nearly as embarrassing or warm. And between you and me, I'd rather have yours."

 Jongin looked at her for a moment, deciding whether he should press her for details. She waved a hand, putting a fake smile on her face. "Don't worry, I won't burden you with the depressing details." She saw her car approach and halt slowly in front of her. "Oh and uh," she said, as she opened the door. She grabbed his arm and pressed a kiss on the corner of his lips, lingering over his as she looked up at him. His eyes were wide in shock and delight. "Just in case you were jealous of Sehun." She giggled and got in the car, slamming the car door and speeding off.

 She felt her text vibrate, and she pulled it out to see a text from him: Sehun should be jealous of me.
 Her smile widened.

 "You hit the Park heiress!" her father screamed, slamming down a folder. Soojung didn't flinch, nor did she feel scared. She was so used to this side of her father; his violent, aggressive and abusive personality is all she's ever known in her life. She has never seen him react any different, save for one person. And she was no longer here. "You hit her, Soojung! Why the would you do that?!"

 "She angered me."

 "EVERYONE WILL ANGER YOU AT SOME POINT IN YOUR LIFE!" Jung Daedong roared, gripping the handle of the chair. "Learn to control yourself! You are the only heir I have now. Face up to your responsibilities!" he let out a loud sigh, then pushed his greying hair back. He smoothed down his suit, before approaching her slowly, his hands behind his back. He stood in front of her, looming over her in his tall posture. Soojung stared back at him, her eyes the mirror of his. "When will you learn? When will you finally get it in that thick skull of yours, that there is no one else here that will inherit the company?"

 Suddenly, a wave of anger and anguish swept over Soojung. It wasn't her fault. She had not wanted any of this. "It's not my fault Sooyeon is dead!"

 Slap.

 Soojung crumpled to the floor, the force of her father's slap sending her on her knees. She choked on her sob, feeling her cheek well up as she clutched it, looking up at her father. He looked livid, but he didn't move. His stance was stiff, as if he wanted to lash out but couldn't. His eyes were burning with an intense hatred, but she also saw sadness. And she knew it wasn't because he hit her. He would do it again, a hundred times over, if it meant it relieved the pain he felt in his heart. "Don't you ever... mention Sooyeon in such a way."

 "I can't act like she never existed!" she cried out.

 "DON'T TALK ABOUT YOUR SISTER IN FRONT OF ME!" he roared once again, charging for her. Soojung let out a petrified scream, and scrambled to her feet and sprinted out of the room. She burst into the elevator and slammed a hand on the ground floor button, before she sank to her knees and sobbed. She could never gain the approval of her father. She would never be the same person as her sister. And she hated herself, despite the fact that there was nothing she could do about it. 

 "Don't cry Soojung," she said softly, smoothing a hand over her hair. 
The little girl continued to sob, her tears wetting her shoulder.
She pulled back and took her small face in her hands, and smiled kindly at her. 
The only person in the world who did so.
"Tomorrow is a brighter day."