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Chapter 5: The Loss of Happiness

“What?! No!” Kyuhyun finally reared up, shooting to his feet beside Sooyoung and speaking for the first time since he entered the office. “No, I refuse!” He had fire in his eyes and looked absolutely livid. The sudden emotion displayed was a stark contrast to his usually stoic persona. Beside her father, Choi Younghwan spoke now, a low and quiet threat. “Kyuhyun," was all he said. That was all it took. Sooyoung could pinpoint the exact moment Kyuhyun withdrew into himself. Straightening up, his mouth closed; his jaw tightened as a familiar coldness settled over his features once more.

That was all it took.

He did not argue again. He did not raise his voice or even speak. His eyes faded into blankness and there was no more to it. The brief flame of what might have been pure and untainted emotion she had seen from him was snuffed out almost immediately; there was no longer any fight in him and the change was alarming. Watching his robotic submission truly sent her mind reeling amongst the nightmare that was unfolding in her life.

What was wrong with this man?

Yet she had no time to think on it any further—there were more important things she struggled to grasp after this bombshell.

“He will,” Jungnam agreed, bringing his attention to Sooyoung. “And so will you.”

“Oh, that!” Sooyoung spat. Turning on her heel, she snatched her purse and marched straight out of the office. She ignored the little squeak Ms. Byun gave a small and frightened squeak as she slammed out of the office and stalked straight to the elevator and rammed her fist against the little down button. “Sooyoung.” It was the voice of that man, her father, that rat-bastard. The elevator slide open and she was about to step on when he spoke again. “By all means, refuse but don't you worry about what will happen to your little Happiness? 

She halted against the elevator’s threshold, hands gripping at metal door panels.

“Tell me, how has business been? It would be such a shame, if such a charming little shop were to shut down because of a few unpaid bills, wouldn’t it?” He said bitingly. Realization slammed through her veins and she cursed herself for being such a blind fool. Everything pointed to this—to him. The elevator door had long since closed and Sooyoung’s blood boiled, her hands curling into fists as she spun on her father.

“So, it was you...” She growled dangerously. “You’re the one who’s been screwing around with Happiness!” Of course, he had! How hadn't she seen it before? This had his name written all over it.

“Sooyoung, I’ve always told you that a family with trajectory always has to move up and you, my dear…” Her father’s face turned to disgust. “You have been dragging this family down.” She stared at him in a repulsed state of disbelief. “I'm not even a part of the Choi family anymore! You think you can just shuttle me like some chess pawn to get married to some stranger I don’t even know like you own me?!” She yelled lividly.

He took fast steps towards to her now. “Yes, I do own you! You are my little chess pawn because you are my daughter. I am your father. It is my right.” He stated with a tone of sickening self-entitlement. How could she know this man? How could she even be related to such a man who believed so deeply in his wealth and power to think that he owned her as if she were chattel as opposed to a human being; as opposed to his only daughter?

She stared at him in sheer disgust. “You’re sick.” She shook her head in disbelief. "You're out of your ing mind."

“I’d watch my mouth if I were you.” Her father snapped. “You were always so fond of being independent, my dear so this is your choice. Agree and your pathetic excuse for an existence remains but if you refuse this marriage...” He paused to give her a cruel smile like the soulless bastard he was. “And I’ll destroy your Happiness and the little that goes with it….”

She froze and felt her heart drop.

He looked amused now. “What? You didn’t think I haven’t been watching my precious daughter, did you; working in that disgraceful hovel like some peasant? If you agree, you will have no association with that place or anyone in it. You will resign your ownership, should I permit that piece of trash to remain standing—should you accept and obey me.”

Her and Tiffany’s Happiness…there were just one payment away from eviction and foreclosure. Happiness would be shut down forever. All of her dreams and Tiffany’s dreams—the shop of her beloved grandmother—would be torn apart. She was no fool, she knew that even if they managed to open another café like Happiness, her father wouldn’t stop—he would never stop. He would ruin them and all that they loved forever. Happiness brought joy to customers, to young Taemin and the rest of their staff. To Tiffany; the thought of the heartbreak they would all feel with its failure crushed her soul.

“You will give me your answer now. You will pack your things tonight and not a moment sooner. But because I am a kind man,” he said ironically, "I will let you say your goodbyes first. Cherish it well, because you will never see your little friend or that disgusting little coffee shop again. ”

            The familiar feeling of being a caged bird returned to her once more; a trapped creature was she. Every hope for a simple and happy life was slipping away in front of her eyes; crumbling into dust in the wind. She could not marry a stranger; it was all she had ever feared—a life without love and yet…she couldn’t be selfish; the decision was hers but the consequences were shared. Her shoulders slumped in defeat. Feeling her heart die within her, she faced the scum that was her father and fought back the tears that threatened to fill her eyes. She raised her chin, still maintaining what little dignity she had and agreed.

Thunder rumbled in the distance, warning the world of the oncoming storm as Sooyoung finished packing her last suitcase. Her mind was reeling.

            Her father had been preparing this for months…maybe even years. All the arrangements have been made. He had plannig, plotting and waiting while she stupidly believed she was in the clear. She thought she had broken free, but she was still in the palm of his hand. As she dragged what luggage she could carry out into the living room, she felt a dull sort of awareness for the world around as she gazed out the window to the leaden sky. The pain eating away at her heart made her forget everything else; she almost didn’t hear Tiffany when she called out. “Oh, Sooyoung is that you? I’m home!” On a normal day, Sooyoung would scoff at her friend’s inquiry. After all their years of living together she never failed to ask the same question as she walked through the door.

Who else would it be? Regularly, she would smile but today was no regular day at home—today was the last homecoming before she would leave the only home she ever knew. “There’s going to be a pretty serious storm, soon! I hope it’s not scary bad though. I hate it when it thunders,” Tiffany murmured, stepping into the living room but took one look at Sooyoung’s pale face and the luggage at her feet and her elegant brow furrowed.

“Sooyoungie, are you okay?” The raven haired girl asked her friend worriedly. “You look terrible. Did something happen? Are you going somewhere?” Sooyoung managed a stoic shake of the head and tried to walk straight to her bedroom before Tiffany marched alongside her and stopped her before she could make her escape. Sooyoung knew that Tiffany would never stop, never give up on her this way…and Sooyoung needed her to do just that.

“Hey, Soo...what’s happened?” The unease in her voice made Sooyoung feel so tired but her father’s conditions to their deal repeated in her head.

You are to move out of the hovel you live in. You are to resign your share of ownership of your little Happiness and you are to never speak to that girl, that trash you associate yourself with. You are to cut off all ties with this independent life of yours. You will no longer live like a worthless commoner like the one you have so eagerly befriended. Nothing of your life after you left the Choi will remain.
 
            Her Happiness, her memories, the life she had built with her best friend Tiffany was crumbling before her and she couldn’t stop it. The guilt she felt for what she was about to do ate away at what little of her remained in this moment. Taking one look into Tiffany’s big brown eyes full of concern, Sooyoung clenched her jaw and hardened her heart to her best friend. “This happened…” She cast her glance around the room, “this life here with you. It was a mistake. All of this was nothing but one huge mistake” She could not bear to look at her friend that had done so much for her for so long in the eye; the shame was unbearable.

I’m sorry, Sooyoung thought. I’m so sorry.

“…What do you mean?” Tiffany asked in pained confusion

“I mean this stupid café, this damn apartment, everything; it’s all worthless. I’m moving out.” Sooyoung murmured to the ground.

 There was an alarmed pause from Tiffany but she spoke again, seemingly taking her time to choose her words carefully.

“If this is about Happiness, Sooyoung, you don’t need to be so troubled over it. We can overcome this right? It’s just like you said—we can do it. Together.” There was a quiet eagerness in her soft voice. Sooyoung clenched her fists and cursed her father, her family and her name to the deepest pits of hell. Lifting her head high, she glared straight at Tiffany and became the nightmare she feared her whole life. “I am an heiress; one of South Korea’s wealthiest heiresses.” She used every ounce of her concentration to keep her voice from cracking, willing herself not to cry.  Did you honestly think that I would spend my whole life living like a commoner—like you?” She spat.

Tears formed in Tiffany's eyes, her voice shaking as she spoke, "You don't mean that...I don't believe you."

"Look around Tiffany!" Sooyoung gestured to the room for emphasis, "It's done. This place is sunk; it's going into the ground! Did you honestly think I'd stay and pick up the pieces with you? to waste my time scraping and bleeding over your incompetence as a manager? Of course not! I'm leaving before things get anyworse."

Tiffany stared back at her in shock and anguish but she continued; her words as sharp as daggers that sliced into her friend’s heart almost as deeply as they sliced into her own. I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, she chanted miserably in her head. This was how it had to be. Tiffany was too loyal, too good a friend to let her go without a fight if she knew what she had agreed to. No, Sooyoung couldn't risk her getting involved. She had so much to lose: her job, her cafe that meant so much to her, her only tie left to her passed grandmother. She had no choice but to hurt her; she would hurt her to save her. Tiffany was her best friend and she knew that her father would be only too happy to destroy Tiffany's happiness even more than Sooyoung herself was about to.

Sooyoung laughed without humor. “If you ever thought that you were more than a means to an end to me, you’re an even bigger joke than this dump you call a café.” The brunette did not even need to look at her friend to know how deeply her words had sliced her.

“I’ll send for the rest of my stuff tomorrow.” Snatching her luggage off the floor, she brushed past Tiffany, not even grabbing her coat before she pulled open the door. Pausing only for a brief moment, she spoke softly but no less cold, “Goodbye, Miyoung.” Just like that, Sooyoung swept out the door not daring to look behind her at the one true home she ever had, at her friend who stood silently inside. Down the stairs of the building and through the doors, she left Happiness just as the rain began to fall.

            The downpour has heavy and unforgiving—as if heaven itself were punishing her. She hailed a cab on the side of the street, grateful for the rain that masked her tears and as the cabbie loaded her luggage into the trunk for her, she slipped into the back seat of the car and choked back quiet sobs. She let a few burning tears run down her cheeks but saved the rest for her night at the hotel room she was instructed to go to. That night, she cried with the pain of all the day had brought her…but most of all, she cried for what it had taken away from her.
 

Author's Note:

Married, oh me, oh my!

Apart from feeling obviously upset for Sooyoung, I honestly feel so awful for poor Tiffany as well. Poor Tiffany, poor Sooyoung--even poor Kyuhyun.

In the next chapter, we'll finally get a full account of events from Kyuhyun's point of view.

Please look forward to it!