29 ~ Identity

Mihi sat across from the troubled man with a glass of lemon tea in her hands. He had lost the dramatic demeanour he usually adopted and was quietly sipping on his iced Americano.

Himchan had insisted on going to a café further away from the company than hers so that the chances of running into someone from the company were slimmer.

He let out a deep sigh. "Where do I even start…"

"How about with why you were at the company Daehyun works at?" she suggested.

He stared out the window silently as he let the thoughts in the head run. What should he tell her? The truth? A modified version of the truth? Or a complete lie? It wasn't like she would've really caught onto anything substantial just by seeing him at the company. He could easily spin up a little white lie on the spot.

He turned his head to look at her. Mihi could sense that something was definitely wrong and was looking back at him with a worried expression.

*No… I shouldn't hide it from the siblings any longer* he thought to himself. *It's not a secret that can be kept under wraps forever anyway.*

"There's… something I haven't been entirely honest to you and your brother about, Mihi. It's about my identity."

Mihi nodded as encouragement for him to keep going. She had figured as much.

Himchan fixed his gaze on the Americano in his hands. "I'm... actually the eldest grandson of the Kim family. The founder of the entire enterprise was my grandfather."

He looked up at the now wide-eyed Mihi. She couldn't hide her shock from the revelation. This was something she had not at all expected.

*The eldest grandson…?*

A thought suddenly struck her.

"Hang on…" she started. "Then does that mean that you're related to the CEO, Kim Myungsoo-ssi?!"

Himchan begrudgingly nodded in response. "My father is the older brother of his father."

*So they're cousins* Mihi thought to herself while being careful to not say the word aloud. It seems that like with her brother, Himchan did not have a good relationship with Myungsoo.

It became easier for Himchan to tell her about his background as he just let the words flow. Mihi learnt that his father, being the elder brother, was originally meant to take charge of the company following his grandfather's retirement. After all, the younger brother - who was also Myungsoo's father - was an incompetent buffoon (in Himchan's words) who did not have the capacity to take on such a responsibility.

Himchan's father  eventually became the CEO of the company, but this was short lived. Not long after his grandfather had passed away, Myungsoo's parents started pulling strings behind closed doors. They formed alliances with the other shareholders and figures of authority at the company and performed a complete reversal in favour of their son, Myungsoo, taking the top position. They kicked Himchan's father out of the company to remove the threat in its entirety.

Mihi frowned as she listened to his story. How could anyone do something like that to their own family?

"I convinced my father to pass his shares over to my name so that they would stop harassing him," Himchan continued. "And then I left to become an instructor at an arts college in the States. As long as I was out of their sight and away from the company, they didn't bother with me despite me having a large stake of the company."

"Then why did they call you back so urgently this time?" Mihi asked.

Himchan stopped as he hesitated to answer. The negotiation regarding the shares was confidential to only top management after all.

"Ah, it's okay," she piped. "I understand that there are some things you can't disclose to others." She shot him a smile. "It's okay, really."

He returned a gentle smile as he stared back into his Iced Americano. "Thanks, Mihi."

~~~

Daehyun leaned back in his seat as he stared at the analogue clock on the wall of his office. It was 4.58.

*2 minutes left.*

The clock soon reached 5 o'clock as he turned off his computer and packed all the files he needed. He made sure to grab the empty lunch box that sat on the corner of his desk as he left.

Mihi had come by during the day to drop it off at the reception. He had rushed down to try and catch up to her so that he could see her for at least a few minutes, but saw that she had already left when he reached the ground floor.

His car stopped perfectly inside a parking spot outside of Tranquil Days. Daehyun stepped out of his car at the same time the driver parked in front of him did. He looked up at him. "Here to see Sujin?" he asked.

Youngjae grinned as he locked his car. "Of course."

The two were greeted happily at the door by Zelo. "Hey, Hyungs!"

Youngjae glanced up at the tall boy. "You seriously need to stop growing. I look like a midget next to you," he joked.

Zelo took in a deep breath and grinned cheekily. "The air up here's definitely nicer than usual."

Meanwhile, Daehyun was scanning the café for the person he was looking for. He saw Jongup serving a customer his order while Sujin was talking animatedly to a customer at the registers. But where was Mihi?

Jongup passed by with an empty tray in his hand and noticed him looking around. "Oh Daehyun-hyung, Mihi-noona went out to buy a few things a moment ago. If you go after her now then you might see her."

Daehyun thanked him with a smile and hurried after her.

Youngjae sat at a table and decided to wait until Sujin had finished taking the customer's order before going over to her. But soon it became apparent to him that she wasn't just taking his order. She was talking to him familiarly, and very happily too might he add. He felt a twinge of jealousy strike through him when he noticed that the customer was a guy around their age.

After what felt like an eternity, the guy finally left with a cup of coffee in his hand. Sujin waved him goodbye with a big smile, before seeing Youngjae at a table and going over to him looking equally as happy.

Youngjae gazed down at her brightly smiling face. Her cheeks became tinged with a slight hue of red when he stared at her for too long. He couldn't help the grin that appeared on his lips. She was always really shy when it came to him and only him, and that made him feel special to her. He decided not to ask her whether she knew the customer well.

But in the end he didn't have to, because she brought it up herself while they were talking.

"Guess who came in just then?" she asked.

Youngjae shook his head. He didn't know who it was.

"It was Haneul! Kang Haneul from middle school, do you remember?"

*Ah, him.*

Youngjae remembered him. And quite clearly, for that matter. He was one of the popular guys on the basketball team who hung around Sujin a lot back then. The whole school had figured the two would become an item one day. They never did though, to Youngjae's relief.

Sujin continued talking. "It's been awhile since I've met anyone from school so it was nice seeing again. He still keeps in contact with a lot of people from middle school and wants to host a reunion party of sorts. We should go and see what everyone's been up to lately." She beamed at him excitedly. "What do you say Youngjae?"

To be completely honest, he felt a little hesitant about going. But he also didn't want to see her disappointed expression, and those feelings completely overshadowed the former ones.

He pulled his lips into a smile.

"Sure thing."

~~~

Myungsoo's mother eyed her son as he passed by the living room to get to the stairs.

"Myungsoo," she called out, halting him in his place. "Come here, I need to talk to you."

He stopped a small distance away from her. "What is it mother?"

The woman sat with her legs crossed as she flipped the page of the magazine she was reading. She didn't bother looking up at him as she spoke. "I've been hearing some interesting news lately. Something rather unexpected, might I say."

He knew his mother was getting at something, but he wasn't sure what it was exactly. "What might that be?"

His mother's eyes flickered up at his with a hint of anger in them. "Who's that girl you've been seeing lately?"

Myungsoo stiffened the slightest bit at the mention of Mihi, but managed to maintain his composure. "She's a friend, mother."

"Just… a friend?" she asked deliberately.

Myungsoo's face darkened. "Yes."

She shot him a sceptic look. She clearly didn't believe him. The woman flipped a lock of her hair over her shoulder and brought her attention back to the magazine she was holding. "Stop spending time with that girl and cut all ties with her. Being seen with her doesn't do you any good."

His eyes intensified to a glower. "I don’t see why I should do that."

"You're the CEO of the country's largest conglomerate," his mother replied nonchalantly. "I'm sure you know what I mean."

"I won't do that," Myungsoo stubbornly replied.

The woman got up from the sofa and slammed the magazine on the table while glaring at her son. "Don't you think that I don't know who that girl is and who she's related to, Myungsoo," she growled in a low voice.

Shock filled his body. She had done a background check on Mihi.

"You knew she was the daughter of that man, yet you stayed close to her anyway," she spat. "Have you completely lost your mind?"

Myungsoo stayed silent as a million thoughts ran through his head. He hadn't prepared himself for this situation.

"And you dare to refuse my orders to not see her again? What is so good about that worthless, wretched girl?"

Myungsoo flared in anger. She could say whatever she wanted about him, but how dare she insult Mihi? Mihi was innocent.

He took a deep breath to calm himself. Showing anger towards his mother would only worsen the situation. "She is of no threat to us. Please just leave her be."

The woman scoffed. "Now you're actually pleading on her behalf?" She shook her head in disbelief. "Don't tell me you've actually fallen in love with this girl."

His breath hitched in his throat. He couldn't bring himself to deny it, because it was true. For the first time in his life, he had found someone he could love. Mihi was special to him.

"This is ridiculous!" she exclaimed in fury. She glared her son down. "Let me tell you this, you better cut all ties you have with this girl before I make you regret ever defying me."

She lowered her voice dangerously. "This is my first and final warning."

And with that, she left the room without even waiting to hear his response. There was only one answer she would accept, and if he couldn't comply, then she would just have to take matters into her own hands.

I actually started this story with an angsty theme in mind, but it diverged from that path pretty quickly in the beginning. I guess some of those traits are starting to appear now that we're building up to the of the story...? :P Anyway, hope you all liked this chapter :D