Chapter 8

Thoughts were racing through her head as she stay in her room. Why did Jaejoong & Yoona bothered her so much? It wasn't like there was something going on with her & Jaejoong. It wasn't as if he was more than a friend. That was it. They were nothing more than friends but if they were just friends, why did Tiffany feel so hurt? Jealous even? ‘It's because you like him.’ A voice within her confessed. Her realization made her cry silent tears. She couldn't believed she had really lost Jaejoong. Worst of all, she lost Jaejoong to Yoona.

Tiffany sat numbly in her couch & stared at nothing in particular. The feeling of losing Jaejoong was much worse than all the pain of losing all her other boyfriends put together. Jaejoong was special. She started to recall when they first met in fifth grade. The times when he always threw paper airplane at her mid-back, black, wavy hair. She would never imagine herself liking him more than a friend but now? She just sighed. Her thoughts were suddenly interrupted when she heard screaming & yelling coming from her father’s study. Curious of what was going on, Tiffany leaned against the wall to hear better.

"What the hell?!" Tiffany heard her mom cried out loud in between sobs. Tiffany was becoming more curious of what was going on in the next room, "Youngae, calm down." Mr. Hwang said, trying to calm his wife down. His voice seemed strained, "I'm sorry." Tiffany heard a muffled voice from afar in the room. It sounded like her aunt, ‘What could be going on?’ Then everything went silent, “When did it happened?" Her mother finally spoke up. No one answered her, "One month before we got married." Mr. Hwang replied meekly.

The more she listened, the more curious she got, "I can't believe this." Her mother murmured, "So, are you telling me that my sister & husband had an affair?" Tiffany gasped. No one answered her. Mrs. Hwang let out a soft laugh. A laugh that clearly showed the pain in her voice, "Is Yoona Tiffany’s half-sister?" Still, no one asnwer her, "Is she?!" Mrs. Hwang demanded, "I...I'm so...sorry." She heard her aunt say. Tiffany couldn't believe what she was hearing. So, Yoona was her half-sister? Oh my god, Yoona?

She must have known all of this. Tiffany started to put the puzzle together. Tiffany remembered that day. The day of Yoona’s fifteen birthday. Yoona had probably walked in on the same thing as Tiffany had but poor Yoona, she was so young, so naive then. Tiffany couldn't imagined what was going on in Yoona's mind. Yoona, her poor younger half-sister. Tiffany wanted to reach out to Yoona & ask her what made her like this. Tiffany decided that she needed to talk to Yoona first. She opened her door & stepped out into the corridor.

Tiffany was startled of the image in front of her. Yoona had also been listening to everything in the hallway. When Yoona looked up, she was shocked to see a teary-eyed Tiffany looking back at her. Yoona couldn't hold it in any longer. She hated all those times when she tried to make Tiffany’s life miserable. She hated all those times of fooling around. She hated her family. She hated her mother. She hated her so-called father but also, she hated herself. Yoona wasn't like any other child with parents. She was just an accident during an affair.

"So, you know?" Tiffany broke the silence between the two girls. Yoona put up her cool facade in front of Tiffany. She didn't want to loses now. Not after Tiffany had found out the source to her humiliation, "Laugh if you had like." Yoona said cooly. Her voice was beginning to trembled. She hated being weak. First, she had lost Jaejoong to her older half-sister & now to have Tiffany find out her little secret. Tiffany just ignored Yoona’s comment & looked at her. The two girls were quiet for a moment until Tiffany finally spoke up, "Why didn't you tell me?" Tiffany asked her softly. Yoona let out a soft laugh. The same laugh that Tiffany’s mother had let out earlier.

"Tell you?" Yoona asked, as she raised her eyebrows, "Tell you that I'm nothing more than accident during a goddamn affair?!" She demanded. Her eyes showed anger & hurt at the same time, "Why do you always get everything? A loving father. My father, too?" Yoona then, broke down in tears. This was the worst day of her life. She had lost the two men she treasured most to Tiffany. Tiffany, her older half-sister. The one that had everything. Love, money, family & friends. Yoona, on the other hand, had nothing. She didn't have any friends except for ruthless guys who just wanted her for , her mother was too ashamed of her & her father couldn't even look at her.

"I'm sorry, Yoona." Tiffany said. She couldn't believe everything that she's just heard. She never knew the secrets that went on around her family, "Sorry?" Yoona echoed, & laughed again, through her tears, "Sorry for what? For having a perfect life?" It broke Tiffany’s heart to see her like that. Even if Yoona was always a cunning woman, Tiffany knew that at heart, she was still that angel that she once was, "Yoona?" Tiffany whispered, "Can we talk?" Yoona just stood there, motionless.

Suddenly, the door of the study opened. Their father looked startled to see the two girls with teary-eyed looking back at him. The way they looked at him, he was certain that they knew everything that was being discussed in the study, "Girls." He began. Tiffany didn't looked as hurt as Yoona did. Yoona gave him a ‘Why’ look & ran out of the house, "Dad?" Tiffany started, "Why didn’t you tell us?" Soon, her aunt & mother stepped out of the study, too. They were both equally shocked to see Tiffany. She just stood there & gave them all a hurtful look, "Go get your sister & we will talk." Mr. Hwang said solemnly, & stepped back into his study.

Out in the garden, Yoona’s cheeks glistened in the moonlight. Tiffany looked around & searched all over for Yoona but found her beside the garden's pond. Yoona didn't seem to feel Tiffany’s presence & continued crying. Tears of sorrow spilled alongside her cheeks, "Yoona." Tiffany murmured. Yoona looked up at Tiffany, her eyes filled with tears, "What do you want?!" Yoona replied harshly. She didn't want Tiffany to laugh at her, worse, she didn't want Tiffany to pity her. Tiffany took a seat next to her.

"Why didn't you tell me about it?" Tiffany asked her. Clouds were beginning to fill the sky, covering the moon. Perfect weather for the occasion. Yoona looked at her & laughed in disbelief, "There was no point." Tiffany shook her head, "Yes, there was." She said, "If you had told me, we could have both went to our parents." Yoona laughed again, "What help would that do? I will still be an accident." "Is that what’s bothering you?" Tiffany asked.

"You think you are an accident?" Yoona didn't answer. She quickly wiped an evidence of her crying off of her face. When Yoona didn't answer, Tiffany spoke up again, "Is that why you are acting like this?" Tiffany asked again. Yoona was still silent. The breeze rustled the leaves on the tree, creating the only noise at the moment, "Acting like what?" Yoona said flatly, "Like a ?" She replied, to her own question. Tiffany gasped, "I didn't mean it like that!" Tiffany explained, "You don’t have to mean anything."

Then she silence cover both of them. Yoona just stared off into space, leaving Tiffany really confused, "You have changed." Tiffany said suddenly, "Please tell me?" She begged, "Why are you like this?" Yoona let out another laugh, "It doesn't matter why I'm like this." She told Tiffany, "I don't deserve to live." Tiffany was shocked at Yoona's reply, "What are you trying to say?" Yoona looked at Tiffany intently, "Why do you care so much?" Tiffany wondered why, too. Yoona was the one that was always after everything Tiffany wanted. Yoona was the one that always tried to terrorize her life but why does she care for her now?

Then the answer came to her, "Because blood is thicker than water." Tiffany told her. Yoona looked at Tiffany, shocked. She didn’t expected that answer. Somehow, Tiffany’s answer touched her deeply, causing her to go through another fit of sobs, "Tiffany...I." Yoona was speechless. How can Tiffany be so nice? After all those times Yoona had stolen all of her boyfriends, she still forgave her? Tiffany threw her arms around Yoona & pulled her in for a hug, "It's okay, Yoon, you are my sister." Tiffany assured, "Now, me everything. Starting with the day of your birthday."

She shook her head slightly but she still intended to tell Tiffany. Her eyes brimmed with tears, "Oh my god." She sobbed, "This is going to be so embarrassing." Tiffany smiled at her encouragingly, "It's okay, just say it." Yoona nodded, "I'm not sure if you have ever noticed this." Yoona began, "But you have always been the one that the family cherished. The one that they think is blessed. You are the angel in the family." She let out a deep sigh & began again, "For my whole existence, I have done nothing but try to impress them. I got the perfect mark, top athlete but still, they didn't acknowledge me." Tiffany stared at Yoona. She had never realized this.

"I thought if I behaved well, they might even realize that I was there." Yoona stared off into space as if she was thinking of what to say next, "But on that horrible day." She broke into sobs, "Your birthday?" Tiffany asked. She nodded. "It was so horrible. I went into father's study room to call him down for the cake but...oh my god." Yoona covered , "It was so disgusting. At first, I didn't know what was going on. Who can blame me? I was only fifteen at the time. When I walked upstairs, I started hearing screams. It was from my mom & she kept screaming for more." Tiffany looked at Yoona to see any sign that she was lying but she wasn’t.

Tiffany’s stomached started to churn, she knew what Yoona was getting to, "Then suddenly, they stopped. “‘We have to stop’, dad said, 'I don't want things to turn out like the last time'. Then my mom laughed, she laughed a really evil laugh. I can still remember it. 'Oh?' she said, 'So, are you regretting that night fifteen years ago?' She had asked sarcastically. 'If you weren't so goddamn drunk & decided to me, that brat Yoona wouldn't have been here!’.” Tiffany noticed more tears coming down Yoona's eyes as she continued to talk, "Then they went silent. It seemed like hours before they spoke up again. 'Yoona was an accident.' dad had said. When I heard that, I nearly died on the spot. I was just an accident. In there eyes, I wasn't a child, just an accident during an affair. I wanted to confront them, I wanted to scream at them but I couldn't. I'm not sure if it was fate or what but the study door opened slightly. I took a quick peek inside." She paused, "You couldn't believe what I saw. My mom was lying on top of our father, toying with his hair. I never knew she was such a woman." Tiffany gasped. Now, she felt like puking.

"I couldn't move at that moment. I felt like my legs were paralyzed. They didn't know I was outside so they kept talking. 'You know, after all these years, I can't possibly look at that girl’ dad said to my mother. She laughed again. 'Why? Feeling guilty now?' he nodded, 'I can't look at her without feeling guilty.' 'That's because she's not Tiffany? Your darling precious Tiffany?' my mother had said heatedly. I can tell she was getting mad. 'Well just think about it this way,' my mom spoke up, 'Just see her as a floating shadow. Just don't acknowledge her presence & you will be fine’." Yoona looked up again.

Tiffany gasped, "Then why did that turn you into this? Why did it turn you into?" Tiffany's voice just trailed off, "My mom?" Yoona finished her sentence for her, "I thought if I behaved like her or even get in trouble, they would actually notice me. You know, see me as a human being? That's why I always try to get in trouble. Remember that time when I robbed the grocery store?” Tiffany nodded, "It was for their attention but they still didn’t care. Then, I decided to steal guys from you. Since they thought of you as heaven, I decided that to get to them, I had hurt you."

She laughed, "But surprises, that didn't work." Tiffany looked at her sister sympathetically. Never in her whole life would she thought Yoona's life would be so hard. Tiffany embraced her sister. Soon, the two girls were crying in each other's arms, "It's over now, Yoona." Tiffany whispered, "I'm here for you." The two smiled at each other, "Let's go inside. Our parents have some good explaining to do." Tiffany murmured, & stood up. Yoona nodded her head in agreement. They two girls, for once, walked back home together.