“My name is Im Seulong, and to be more specific, I’m your brother.”

Seulong mentally slapped himself for being so straight forward when he saw Chansung’s and Yoona’s crazy expressions, but decided it was best if they knew the truth right away. Yoona felt her pulse quickening, in fact, she thought she’d have to check her blood pressure later. There were way too many surprises for one day. Chansung, on the other hand, looked stoic. Mr. Im had never mentioned having an older son, at least not to him. He didn’t take it exactly as a bad thing; maybe he’d get along better with this guy than he did with Yoona.

“Mwo?! That’s just a lie… Or maybe you’re just confusing him with someone else! It can’t be appa.” Yoona insisted, her voice trembling. Seulong sighed sadly and shook his head.

“The man I’m looking for is none other than Im Hyunseuk.” He answered firmly. Chansung decided to step forward just like Yoona.

“There must be a chance of you being wrong… Mr. Im—Appa has only been married once.” He explained politely. Seulong lowered his gaze.

“The answer to that is simple; my mother and your appa were never married.” He explained quietly. After considering, Chansung was almost sure that this young man in front of them was telling the truth. Yoona just remained unmoving, glaring at Seulong.

“We’ll call our appa and ask him to come. You can come inside and wait.” Chansung said as he stepped away and gestured Seulong to go in. He had suddenly become the reasonable sibling. Seulong bowed and was about to comply, but Yoona stood right in front of him, preventing him from doing so.

“Oh, no, you’re not going anywhere, Seulong-ssi. Not until I’m sure you’re telling me the truth. What if you just want my appa’s money? We’d be letting a thief go into our house.” Yoona said, staring deeply into Seulong’s darker eyes. Chansung just rolled his eyes, but decided to keep quiet.

Seulong sighed deeply to calm himself. He was offended by Yoona’s words, but he knew this was no time to fight with anyone.

“I can wait outside in the cold for as long as you ask me to. Just call your appa and ask him to come and he’ll tell you the truth. And about his money, I’m on college with a scholarship, so that is the least I’d want from him.” Seulong said firmly. The determination in his voice made Yoona’s defensive mode lessen.

“Then what do you want from him?”

“I want the truth, and nothing but the truth.” He answered, determined. Yoona’s body language changed drastically.

“Good. So do I.” With that, she stepped away, letting him in. Seulong looked around the ample house, noticing it was fairly different from the one he had grown up in.

“You can sit, Seulong-ssi.” Chansung offered and sat down as well on the couch. The two fell in an awkward silence since Yoona went to call Mr. Im from the hospital.

“I only heard that my father had had one daughter. I didn’t know about you…” Seulong trailed off. Chansung half-smiled, already used to that question.

“He adopted me.” Seulong immediately regretted his previous words. “My sister’s name is Yoona. You two will get along just fine when Mr. Im—I mean, appa clears things up. I’m guessing she’s just defensive because she thinks that appa cheated on our umma.” Chansung explained quietly so that Yoona wouldn’t hear. Before things could get too awkward, Yoona came back and approached them.

“He’s coming. I didn’t tell him that our lost brother had appeared out of nowhere, I just told him it was urgent. He’ll get quite a shock.” She said, with a hint of sarcasm in her voice. She let herself fall on the opposite couch, mentally and emotionally drained. Seulong just stared at her, glad that she was at least more open to the whole situation. “You can go, Chansung, we don’t want to keep Seohyun waiting.” She added bitterly.

“Are you sure? I don’t want you two killing each other while I’m gone.” His words betrayed what he felt, because he just wanted to see his girlfriend more than having to deal with this drama.

“You’re good to go. Seulong-ssi and I will get to know each other in the meantime.” She assured.

“If you don’t mind me asking… Who is Seohyun?” Seulong asked shyly. Yoona smiled bitterly; she could go on for days explaining who Seohyun was.

“She’s my girlfriend. We’re going out on a date.” Chansung said, not being able to keep the smile off his face. Yoona bit the inside of her cheeks to keep herself from making rude comments. The slightly older boy bowed as he left, giving the two a final glance.

Once Seulong and Yoona were left alone, the air became much thicker. Yoona was still angered, but decided that the only one who owed the both of them an explanation was her appa. She was now convinced that he wasn’t after Mr. Im’s money; the suit he was wearing was probably the most expensive she had ever seen anyone wear. He was well put together and was very articulate. If he came from a poor background, she wouldn’t know. If he was lying, what would he want then?

“I really don’t mean to hurt any of you, Yoona-ssi, but I think I deserve an explanation.” Yoona met Seulong’s gaze, but didn’t hold it for long. The similarities between the young man and her appa were becoming more apparent to her, especially the slightly darker skin they both sported.

“So do I, Seulong-ssi. It’s just that taking this all in isn’t exactly easy.” Yoona remarked. The older boy smiled stiffly.

“It isn’t easy for me either, believe me. I swear I’ll leave as soon as I talk to him and you’ll never see me again.” Seulong promised. Yoona asked herself if she was really willing to lose contact with her lost and found brother just because she was afraid of change. Given the circumstances with Chansung, she’d probably wish she had another sibling later on; she was sure she was going to lose Chansung as a brother.

“Leave? Where to?” Yoona asked him.

“I was granted a soccer scholarship. My college is taking me abroad. I don’t even know where yet.” He answered.

“Well, that’s one thing we have in common. I play soccer as well.” Yoona said with a slight smile.

“Jinjja? Are you the team captain?” He asked, making Yoona chuckle.

“I wish…” She muttered. “How old are you and what are you studying?”

“I just turned twenty-four and I’m studying Material Engineering at Daejin University” Seulong answered with a beaming smile. Yoona felt a slight relief; if he was twenty-four, Mr. Im had had him before he got married.

“What does your umma think about this? Did she approve of you getting to know your father?” Yoona asked. Seulong’s expression darkened slightly.

“Actually, she died a few months ago. I grew up without a father figure, you see, my umma told me all about this when she was on her deathbed. She told me it was my choice whether I wanted to find him or not.” Yoona bit her lip.

“That’s another thing we have in common. Our umma died when Chansung and I were six.” Seulong sighed and put a sympathetic hand on Yoona’s shoulder.

“I’m sorry to hear that, Yoona-ssi.” He whispered. Yoona shrugged. There were a few minutes of silence between the two.

“Don’t do that.” Seulong’s head snapped towards Yoona. “If we really are siblings, we should stand by each other. Don’t lose contact with us, or at least with me.” Seulong’s face brightened. While growing up, it had only been his umma and him, so the idea of having a sister and a brother was a total new experience to him. He was about to thank Yoona when the front door burst open.

Mr. Im entered his house in a hurry, looking around for something that screamed ‘trouble’. Not finding it, he went to approach Yoona. He stopped dead in his tracks when he saw Seulong sitting right beside her. Even though he had never met this son of his, just by seeing him, he knew who this young man was. Seulong stared at the man in front of him. Was he the one who had made his umma suffer so badly? He stood up silently until he was face to face with his father. Yoona stood up as well, fully appreciating how alike the two were. Now, there was no doubt on her mind that Seulong was her brother. Yoona opened to say something, but Seulong put his hand up, stopping her. He took a deep breath and stared deeply into Mr. Im’s eyes.

“Do you remember this woman, Mr. Im?” Seulong started calmly as he took out a small black and white picture from the pocket of his suit. It was a woman wearing a nurse’s attire. Mr. Im’s legs wobbled visibly. His throat felt dry. He felt the urge to say no and kick the young man out of his house, but his father instinct kicked in, making him unable to do that. He nodded, not trusting his voice.

“Twenty-five years ago you got her pregnant. You promised her you’d marry her and things were going to be okay. You said you’d take care of both her and the baby. But that isn’t what you did, is it? You left all of the sudden. You never talked to her or contacted her ever again. You even quit your job at the hospital where you two used to work together. You let her go through a high risk pregnancy on her own, knowing she had no other family to take care of her but a sister.” Seulong’s eyes started welling up with tears. Yoona’s also did. Had she known all that from the beginning, she would have never treated Seulong the way she did. “How do I know all that? I was that baby in her womb when you abandoned her… When you abandoned us both. I grew up having to defend myself and stealing so that my umma and I could eat. She fell sick when I was just a teenager and had to quit working at the hospital. Now she’s gone and I want to move on with my life. I need an explanation, sir, I need a reason to stop hating you so much.” Seulong finished, wiping the stubborn tears from his face. Yoona took his hand, giving it a light squeeze as an encouragement. Mr. Im sighed deeply.

“I didn’t mean to do all those things, son. I think it’s time for you to hear me out. And you too, Yoona.”

Meanwhile.

“Sorry for the lateness, by the way.” Chansung said, reaching to take Seohyun’s tiny hand. The maknae accepted the small form of skinship, knowing she had to make up with the older boy. She was thankful because he was acting quite pensive instead of impulsive, like he usually acted. “Yoona and I received a little surprise.” He finished as they walked along the Han River. Seohyun was immediately on alert when Yoona’s name was mentioned. Had something happened with Tiffany? Differently from what she promised, she hadn’t called Seohyun to let her know about what went on.

“What happened?” She asked, trying to act as indifferent as she could.

“Looks like we have a new sibling. His name is Seulong and he showed up at the house today. Both Yoona and him must be talking to Mr. Im right now.” He explained, not bothering to call Mr. Im his appa. Seohyun widened his eyes.

“Mwo?!” She asked, staring at Chansung to see if he was joking.

“I know, it’s so weird. I don’t know how long will it take for things to fall into place, but he looked kinda angry. I just wonder what Mr. Im has to say about this.” Chansung said, shrugging.

“Why don’t you call him ‘appa’?” Seohyun asked, finally noticing. Chansung furrowed his brow and his grip on the maknae’s hands became a little harsh.

“Because he isn’t my appa.” He answered, clenching his teeth. The maknae mentally face palmed thinking that she had made Chansung go back into his temperamental self.

“Arasso. Don’t get mad, please. I wanted to apologize for not answering your calls the other night. I know you’re upset because of it.” She said sweetly. Chansung relaxed visibly and smiled. Chansung stopped walking and took both Seohyun’s hands.

“It’s okay. Just answer next time, arasso? And tell me where you’re going.” Seohyun wanted to say a rotund ‘NO’ and rebel against the older boy, but she had no other choice. The least convenient thing to do now was fighting him and making him turn suspicious.

“Arasso.” She said, faking a smile. Chansung smiled big and gripped her waist with his hands. Seohyun’s heart churned at what she knew was coming.

“That’s my girl.” He whispered before leaning down and giving her a strong, breathless kiss. Trying to not remain too stiff because of the repulsion this kiss caused her, she put her hands on Chansung’s shoulders.

“Look who we have here!” They were interrupted. Seohyun was thankful, though Chansung was visibly bothered by it. They turned to look at Tiffany, who was there with a blonde girl that Seohyun recognized from the contest. Chanseo pulled away from each other immediately. Seohyun’s hard started racing because of Tiffany’s intense glare. She knew.

“Annyeong, Tiffany-unnie…” She whispered shyly.

“Annyeong noona, long time no see.” Chansung said politely. Tiffany barely acknowledged him.

“Spending time with your boyfriend, I see.” Tiffany said venomously, not taking her eyes off of Seohyun. Taeyeon was just watching the interaction between the two girls. She had asked Tiffany not to do this; she knew that in the end, it would only hurt her more, but the American girl was determined. Seohyun nodded, averting her eyes. “You’re lucky to have a faithful boyfriend. You must treat him just as faithfully.” She added, due to the maknae’s silence.

“She surely does, noona.” Chansung said, hugging the stiff maknae closer to him. Tiffany laughed bitterly.

“I’m certain she does…” Tiffany said, fulminating Seohyun with her eyes. The maknae felt a lump on . “I know her. She’s my best friend after all. Aren’t you, Hyunnie?” She asked, slightly stepping closer. Taeyeon lowered her gaze, knowing Tiffany was probably going too far.

“Yes, I am.” She said as quietly as she could, knowing that the tears would betray her if she raised her voice.

“I didn’t hear you.” Tiffany seethed. Chansung furrowed his brows at the strange scene in front of him.

“Tiffany, stop, they’re not worth it.” Taeyeon said, wrapping her arms around Tiffany’s shoulders and pulling her away.

“What is that supposed to mean?” Chansung asked, now slightly angered by Taeyeon’s words.

“Nothing, it means nothing. And we’re leaving now, aren’t we Tiffany?” The usually eye-smiling princess nodded tightly, knowing it was the best thing to do. As Taeyeon pretty much dragged her away, she bumped shoulders with Seohyun and lean in to whisper in her ear.

“You’ll pay for what you did. I’ll make sure of that.” She said before letting herself be guided by Taeyeon’s safe embrace. Seohyun’s whole body trembled in fear. Once they were out of sight, Chansung turned to the maknae.

“What was that all about? I know she broke up with Yoona, but she had no right to treat us like this…” He muttered, frowning. Seohyun swallowed the lump on .

“Chansung… I think there is something you need to know.”

…

Dun, dun, dun! Now we have two cliffhangers *smirks* and some more HellFany. Hope you liked this chapter, readers, and thanks for reading!