The drive to the Kim’s mansion is quite… Yifan isn’t sure how to put it into words. It’s always silent whenever he drives to their destination. Tonight is no different at all. The only thing isn’t similar is their feelings. Yifan is upset at her while Junhee is angry at him. He despises it the most if he’s accused of something he didn’t even do. Yifan is a man who keeps his words. He knows it’s no use to explain it to his wife because she will cut him off anyway.

So he keeps his mouth shut all the way to the Kim’s mansion, appreciating their current silence. Even though he knows Junhee still must be thinking that he spilled  about Jongin’s matter to her mother, he says nothing about it as he lets it be. He did nothing wrong. He’s very certain he did nothing wrong. Junhee has a frown all the way to her parent’s residence. She’s very sure Yifan must have told her mother about Jongin.

If he said yes to her mother to keep her away from seeing her own friend, how can she believe him now? Besides, he was the only one present when Jongin told her what happened between him and Kyungsu. The butler requests Junhee’s presence to the pantry as soon as they enter the house. Junhee spots her younger brother who has his head ducked lowly, his body slouching as the latter is seated on the stool near the aisle.

Their mother is there. She’s seated across Jongin. Their father greets them with a weary smile before taking Yifan from her side. Junhee pays no attention to the males as she strides to the pantry, the butler following behind with a safe distance. The silence is unbearable. The tension is so thick until a knife can cut through it. Madam Kim flops the magazine on the table top of the kitchen aisle after Junhee stands next to her silent younger brother.

The mother fixes a stern gaze only to her youngest son, “What’s the meaning of this.” They know their mother isn’t questioning them but she’s demanding an answer from them. “I didn’t know any of these because neither of them reached our house. Did you bribe our butler, Jongin?” Another magazine is on display, where Kyungsu has short and it’s her first appearance to the media after marriage.

Junhee is totally thrown away by this piece of information. She thought Yifan broke the news to her mother. She gives a perplexed look towards their family butler before swivelling her head to the lounge. Her husband is talking with her father, not knowing a thing on what’s happening here. Something heavily pierces through her chest until she feels her insides constricting very badly as she glances at Yifan.

Guilt.

“Answer me. Both of you.”

“It’s not Jongin’s fault,” Junhee rests a hand on her younger brother’s slumped shoulder, “It was never his fault.” Their mother quirks a very curious and a judging brow towards her way, her arms crossing aginst her chest, “Explain why Kyungsu is resuming her career, then.” Junhee frowns at this because it’s obvious, “Because she wouldn’t have been hurt only if you let Jongin marry the person he wanted.”

Kyurin’s expression changes in a split second to surprise before she’s back to looking grim, “Is it true, Jongin?” Junhee defends her younger brother before he can even open his mouth to speak, “Don’t ask him. You should’ve known from the start, Mom.” Her mother’s stern gaze intensifies as she isn’t fond of the way her daughter is speaking, “Don’t talk to me like that, young lady.” Jongin slips a few tears, never daring to raise his eyes to look at his mother.

He shouldn’t have been in this family. It’s breaking his heart to see and to hear his sister and his mother like this. They always fight because of him. It’s been always like this ever since he was a young boy. He hopes nothing will happen today. “Jongin reflected, Mom. He didn’t have any flings after he met Soojung. Why haven’t you trusted him back then?” That seems to finally have his attention.

Jongin lifts his head to look at his sister before witnessing their mother’s look of disbelief. “I don’t want to hear that name in my house—” “If you only let him marry his girlfriend, only let him to marry the girl that he really loves, none of this would’ve happened!” Their mother clutches her chest through the fabric of her top, startled by the sudden raise of her daughter’s voice.

Jongin clearly acknowledges this isn’t going to end well.

He gently gives a nudge on her arm, “Noona—” “I’m not done yet,” Junhee hisses towards his way, completely shutting him up before eyeing their silent mother, “You should’ve believed in him, Mom. Or else he wouldn’t have broken two people’s hearts and himself. Look at what you’ve done?” Kyurin is unable to hold in her gasp, a hand automatically covering , tears misting her eyes.

As a mother, she have done a rightful thing to marry off Jongin early so that he won’t sleep around, so that he won’t tarnish their family’s image. She also gave him a high post at the factory where the magazines are produced. This is what her daughter will say after she has done good deeds to her youngest son? “Noona, that’s enough,” Jongin tugs onto her light purple blouse timidly, not wanting them to argue any further.

“I’ve cared for you both, raised you both with my own and this is what you say to me?”

Junhee snaps, “You didn’t even let me to pursue my dreams, Mom, so I understand how he feels inside. You always do what you think it’s best for our family’s image, but not for us,” She deadpans before leaving them both. Jongin becomes flabbergasted by his sister’s bluntness. He knows how straightforward she can be. As Yifan continues conversing with Mr Kim, he accidentally sees his wife marching to the exit of the mansion.

Abruptly standing up to his feet, he glances to the huge kitchen’s doorway and spots her mother covering with Jongin calming her from the side. He then peers down to Junhee’s father. Yifan points out his hidden worry right in the elder man’s eyes. He bows politely to Mr Kim before he excuses himself to get to his wife. Yifan is relieved to witness Junhee standing next to his car which is parked right under the porch. He thought she would go further away to be alone.

He timidly approaches her, looking at his wife who’s covering half of her upper face, before he calls out, “Junhee?” Junhee feels her palm becoming wet. She feels bad, so bad both to her husband and to her younger brother. She’s upset too. She’s upset at her mother. How can she do this to Jongin? “Junhee, are you…” Yifan becomes mute as his wife meets his eyes. He’s stunned. He doesn’t know what to do as he just stares at the crying Junhee.

He never seen her shed a tear before. “Look,” She begins, avoiding his eyes as she peers down, “I want to say I’m sorry. I really am. I shouldn’t have accused you. I should’ve listened to you first. I’m really sorry.” Junhee kept mumbling how wrong and how sorry she feels, wiping her falling tears every second. Yifan almost panics when she lets out a loud sob. He takes a step to stand in front of her, a hand coming up to settle on her shoulder, his voice stammering, “I-It’s okay, Junhee. I—”  

“It’s not,” Junhee hiccups as she pushes his hand away not that harshly, raising her head to look at her husband. Yifan’s throat ties in knots once their eyes meet. Junhee then continues with her tears dropping, “I’m sorry that I jumped into conclusions. I really shouldn’t have accused you. It’s my fault—” “Junhee—” “I’m sorry,” She ignores him, back to cover her face with her palms as she sniffles. This time, Yifan doesn’t feel angry at being interrupted midway. He feels bad watching and listening to his wife crying like this.

He already forgives her the moment she apologizes. Yifan knows he must do something to comfort her. But will Junhee welcome his touch? What if she pushes him away? Another sob echoes through the silent night and Yifan confirms his decision. With a deep breath, he steps forward before moving his arms around her back and pulls her gently against him. His beating organ only thumps hurriedly as he cradles his palm on the back of her head, his other arm curled around her, his chin settling atop her head. 

He can feel the younger woman’s body pressed against him and it’s sort of calming despite his racing heartbeats. “It’s okay,” He croons softly, calmly patting her hair on the back of her head, trying to slow down his heartbeats and trying to soothe her at the same time, “It’s okay, Junhee.” His wife only sniffles more by the comfort but eventually, she quiets down as seconds pass by, unknowingly pressing her cheek against his torso. Yifan isn’t aware of this, too busy comforting her.

Kyurin stares at the pair from the main door, aghast. She doesn’t know what happened but from her perspective, it seems like they’re aware of each other’s feelings. Even though she’s upset with her daughter, deep down, she’s very happy for her now. Quietly heading back into the mansion, a very happy smile is plastered on her face, can’t wait to inform this to her husband and of course, to Heesul. She stops by the kitchen and the smile dies down. 

Her youngest son is still by the aisle, his body slumped as he cries silently. She ignored him earlier, storming out of the house to find Junhee but only to find out the pair are having their moment. Sighing, she heads to his side, preparing herself to apologize. She sits next to him, startling Jongin as she places a hand on his shoulder. The mother gives him a small, apologetic smile to where Jongin only cries harder. For once in her life, she actually tries to listen what the youngest has to say.

+++

“Jongin used to sleep around with people he’s interested in… None of us could stop him even after he’s been found out. Mom sent him out to live at the campus and that’s where he just got worse. Dad totally gave up on him but Mom… She went berserk until she never wanted to see him. After a particular event where Dad brought me and him during his summer break, he met Soojung when he tried to mingle with everyone there.”

A smile comes up to Junhee’s mouth as she remembers how Jongin became a total blushing machine as he talked about Soojung. Yifan continues to listen in silence, eyes focused on the road. “He told me everything. I’ve never ever seen him like that, all stuttering and blushing as he talked about her. Much to his surprise and his utter delight, Soojung enrolled in the same uni as him. He was so happy…” Her face falls suddenly.

Junhee never loved anyone before but she could feel how Jongin feels. “He was even happier when she agreed to go out with him. Our parents didn’t know about this. After he finished his degree, that’s when Mom dropped the bomb. She found someone for Jongin and engaged him to her without his consent. Jongin begged her to cancel the marriage but… She didn’t. He had to break it off with Soojung,” Junhee sniffles.

“He came to me after breaking up with Soojung. He looked terrible and awful… I still remember him clinging onto me when he cried, said that he really loved her, said that Soojung is really the one… I felt so useless back then for not being the best sister for him… I didn’t even fight for him… If only he married Soojung, he… His life would be much different… Now he doesn’t want to let go of Kyungsu and I just let him do what he wants. I want him to fight for what he wants. I want him to decide on his own.”

Junhee is such a great sister for Jongin, Yifan internally admits. He admires Junhee for that. He wishes he can know what it’s like to have a sibling. He had no one by his side except for his parents. He had no one to go to whenever he faced problems. He would bottle up everything to himself until one of his parents would notice his distress. He also cried a lot in secret, not wanting to be weak for his parents. That’s how Yifan grew up.

“I wish Mom will listen to what he says. She had hurt him a lot… She hurt me too…. Even until now…”

Yifan takes a glance on his wife as he stops on a red light. Her head is ducked low, her chin almost pressing on her sternum. He shakes her shoulder a little, “Junhee, your neck will hurt if you sleep like that.” She doesn’t listen as she’s already in her dreamland, not responding to any of his calls. Yifan stretches his arm to the back to take the neck cushion before gently sliding it around her the back of her neck, watching her strained sleeping face trasnforms into a peaceful one. His heart races rapidly for the second time that night.

The memory from last night washes away as Yifan’s ears immediately catches the treadmill buzzing once he steps into the house gym. He searches for the loud noise and spots his wife doing a run on the said machine. Ever since the last incident (where Junhee wore a revealing sportswear), Yifan has never seen her clad in that kind of tops again. He’s internally thankful for that. It was sure difficult to erase the memory of Junhee being in that kind of attire. 

Heading towards her way and hopping onto another treadmill next to her, Yifan parts his mouth to talk about yesterday after he turns it on but he closes it halfway when he spots earphones plugged in her ears. Yesterday, Yifan didn’t have the heart to let his wife sleep alone. He almost asked her whether she wanted to sleep with him but halted as soon as the thought felt wrong.

He didn’t want her to think the same so he just let her alone, staring at her figure disappearing into her room. His wife suddenly glances towards his way, pulling away from his trance. They share an awkward smile as they jog together. None utter a word. They stay silent like that until breakfast. “How’s your father doing?” Junhee begins, eyes trained on her meal, trying to break the quiet air between them.

Yifan blinks in surprise before he manages to regain conscious to give a reply to her, “He’s doing great.” She nods affirmative before asking, “Your mother?” Yifan answers too fast without his acknowledgement, “I miss her.” It takes a while for him to be aware that he slipped the secret out before he stammers as he receives Junhee’s blank stare, “I-I mean, she’s doing great too, yeah.”

Junhee tears her gaze away from her husband’s nonplussed face while she declares, “We can visit your parents this Friday.” Yifan’s expression brightens as well as his eyes, “Really?” Junhee lifts her eyes upwards only to spot soft pink on her husband’s cheeks. It’s an endearing sight. “Yes, really,” She gives him a genuine smile, pausing her hands to show him that she’s saying the truth.

“I’ll text her right now that we’re gonna come this Friday night,” Yifan is so excited to meet her until he doesn’t even realize he has spoken informally. Junhee almost slips out a chuckle at this, a soft smirk displaying on as she stares at her husband who’s now texting with a big smile on his face. This kind of Yifan is such a winsome sight to see. She hopes to see more.

///

Kim Minseok is close to lose his mind. It’s been only half a day and he’s already feeling pressured. Jongdae has been texting him about Baekri’s absence which annoys him to the fullest until he switches his phone off. Baekri is on suspension without a single warning which means he also has to do double the work. He wants to have his lunch but there’s one last person he needs to check on.

“Can I come in?”

Minseok questions after knocking the chestnut-colored door, his heart racing. The door opens and Minseok doesn’t meet the person he wants to see. Nevertheless, he greets the elder man politely, not wanting to show how disappointed he is, “Good afternoon, Zhoumi hyung.” The elder man being the Head of Sales and Marketing Department, only gives a pat on his shoulder before telling him, “See you both at lunch.”

Minseok blinks thrice, Both? “Minseok?” Said man becomes conscious after finally taking notice of Luhua’s presence in her office, “Hey—” “What happened to you?” Minseok blinks at the woman who’s now standing in front of him, looking at him worriedly, “I—” “You look kind of pale. Are you okay?” He catches her hands before they can even reach to his face, spotting Luhua’s cheeks are coloring by their current proximity.

Giving her a tired smile as he lowers her hands, he replies, “I’m doing fine. Anything happened?” She shakes her head curtly, “Zhoumi wanted to discuss some matters with me.” Minseok unintentionally frowns, “About what?” Luhua gives him a small smile, obvious of his envy, “He just asked my opinions on what type of advertisements would boost customers’ interest and our sales for the upcoming holidays.”

“I see,” A curve is formed on the corner of his mouth, “I’ll get going, then.” Luhua doesn’t let him go as she promptly asks, “Are you free this weekend?” Minseok turns around and spots the hope in her eyes. Oh how much he wants to say yes, he’