And then everything happened in a flash. Endless phone calls. People barged into her house. Her mother looking so lost in the middle of the storm. And she, could only look worriedly like a spectator, like she wasn’t part of the play. She wanted to save her mother, to snatch her out of the raging whirlwind of dust and dirt, but she couldn’t. Because she didn’t know anything. Nothing.

Juhyun bit her lips nervously as she peeked at her mother from the dining room. Her mother was in the living room with some executives from her father’s company. Several officers from the prosecutor’s office were rummaging her house searching for additional evidences while some tax officers were seizing their valuable stuffs. The legal team of her father’s company had arrived half an hour before and was discussing something in her father’s study room with the representative of the prosecutor’s and tax office. Juhyun and her mother could only sit silently and trust everything to the legal team. Their faith, especially her father’s, was in their hands.

Juhyun felt stupid for losing sleep because of such trivial matter like Jung Yonghwa and Lee Jonghyun, when on the very same night, her father was arrested for embezzlement. She couldn’t believe she didn’t even realize her father’s absence that night. She felt guilty for spending the night dating when only God knew what the prosecutors did to her father that night. And she felt even worse because nothing she could do about it. Not to prevent it, not to solve it as well.

Stupid, stupid, stupid Seo Juhyun.

She was so caught up in her own guilt that she almost didn’t see the commotion in the living room. Juhyun immediately stood up and craned her neck to find out what happened, and that was when she saw her mother lying unconsciously on her seat, surrounded by the gentlemen.

“OMMA!” Juhyun screamed then ran over the crowd. She kneeled beside her mother as tears flowed down her cheeks.

“OMMA!” Juhyun shook her mother’s arm gently. Panic and fear rushed over. A voice in her head kept asking her what to do. And she couldn’t come up with anything to answer it. The only thing she could do at the time was only praying that please God, help me.

Suddenly like a response from the sky, she heard a familiar voice saying “It’s alright,” and then a firm grip on her shoulder. She looked up and saw his face, her fiance, Jung Yonghwa. His expression was solemn but his gaze were steady.

“I’ll move Omuni to her room, she’ll be alright,” Yonghwa said almost in whisper as he brushed her tears. Instead of stop crying, his gesture only made her want to weep even louder, for she felt secured and grateful then that he was there. But Juhyun knew better, so she held back her cry and nodded before standing up to give room for Yonghwa.

~o0o~

Yonghwa took Juhyun’s mother in his arms and carried her to her bedroom on the second floor, Juhyun followed closely behind him, still sobbing. Mrs. Im, the head of maids of Seo household was moving efficiently preparing the bed. After he laid Juhyun’s mother down, Juhyun immediately helped Mrs. Im making the bed comfortable then sat beside her mother as Mrs. Im walked out of the room to get water and medicine.

Yonghwa took a deep breath to calm himself then touched Juhyun’s shoulder to get her attention.

“Stay here with her,” he said as she stared at him helplessly, “I’ll take care of the rest,” he added. Juhyun then started sobbing again making him kneeled in front of her as he tried to calm her down.

“Come on, Juhyun, don’t cry,” he said as he wiped her tears away, “we need you to be strong.” Juhyun nodded vigorously trying hard to contain her sadness before all the sudden she leaped into his arms, hugging him tightly, holding on to him for dear life.

Yonghwa stopped moving since he was startled.

“Thank you,” Juhyun whispered. Slowly he put his right hand on her head and caressed her hair wordlessly.

After one minute that felt like forever, they let go of each other. With one last look, Yonghwa then walked out of the room and Juhyun tended her unconscious mother. Yonghwa walked back to the living room where some men he didn’t know, probably people related to the embezzlement case, gathered. Yonghwa, just like any other citizens, found out about the arrest that morning from the TV news. He was having breakfast with his family when he saw through TV how Mr. Seo was dragged by some people from the prosecutor’s office to their vehicle, and he read the title of the news “President of SK Corp Arrested for Embezzlement.”

The news sent a shock to the room and his father immediately called his secretary to check the validity of the news. When he was sure about the shocking development, as instructed by his grandfather, Yonghwa’s father sent him to Seo mansion.

“Be my representative and help Mrs. Seo. I am sure they need our help. Update me of whatever happen there while I discuss the matter with my trusted people,” that was his father’s request. And so, Yonghwa drove to Juhyun’s house as fast as he could.

“Gentlemen,” Yonghwa started as he stood in front of those foreign people, “My name is Jung Yonghwa, the son of Jung Jaeyong from Taeyang Group, the fiance of Seo Juhyun, which I’m sure you know who Seo Juhyun is,” he continued.

“As you all know, Mrs. Seo is not available right now, and so is her daughter. That’s why I am here to act as their representative, as well as my father’s, to handle this problem. Now, since none of you here is familiar to me, can you introduce yourself to me before you tell me your involvement in this case?”

~o0o~

Juhyun watched over her mother as the latter was sleeping soundly. Their family doctor had come and treated her mother. He had given her mother sedative through IV injection so that her mother could rest in peace. Juhyun held her mother’s hand tightly under the blanket, but her mind was with her father.

No matter what people said, she just couldn’t believe that her father embezzled money from the company. She didn’t know the detail, she hardly understood what those people in the living room said. All she knew was that her father was arrested last night because he embezzled trillions of won from the company’s account and transferred it to an account in a bank in Switzerlan. They said it had happened for years but only been found out that night.

Things that made her sure of her father’s innocence was first and foremost, her father, Seo Kangho, was an honest and hardworking man. It was impossible for him to steal. And lastly, her father didn’t have the motive. Why would he steal when he was doing well as the president of the corporation? Juhyun was sure something was wrong. Maybe the prosecutors made a mistake. There had to be a mistake. Because her father just had to be innocent.

~o0o~

“Aboji,” Yonghwa said through the phone before sighing, “things don’t look good.” He was sitting on one of the chairs in the dining room after the people he talked to before left the house.

“Why? What happened?” his father asked from the other side.

“All of the evidences found by the prosecutor clearly proved President Seo’s crime. They have the evidences of President Seo modifying SK’s financial statements all these years, as well as the audit reports, they can even prove that there was bribery to the auditors involved. And the bank account, they have witnesses that stated that the account was indeed owned by President Seo.”

“Hm,” his father could only responded.

“Their legal team has talked to the prosecutors but they refused to let President Seo go before the court proceedings. The Director of Investment of SK Corp was also here, and he said most of the stockholders has pulled out their investments, they even sued President Seo for fraud,” he sighed again before adding, “And the tax officers have marked and listed most of the valuables in the house due to the tax evasion suspicion, and it will only be a matter of time before the banks do the same.” Yonghwa waited a moment for his father to say something, but when the latter stayed quiet Yonghwa continued, “Aboji, their legal team said that, by the speed of how things escalated...they might have to file for bankruptcy.”

“I see,” his father said after a few breaths.

“What should I do, Aboji?”

“How is Juhyun? Is she alright?” Mr. Jung asked instead. Yonghwa slumped on the chair.

“She’s – not fine, but she’s holding on. It’s Omuni, she fainted awhile ago,” Yonghwa answered.

“Fainted? How is she now?” his father sounded worried.

“I don’t know, I haven’t checked. I called you right away after I talked to these people in her house. But judging by how quiet Juhyun is right now, I’m sure she’s getting better,” Yonghwa said as he closed his eyes.

“Listen, take your fiance and her mother home. Tell all the employees in her house to take some days off, at least until the situation quiet down. I’ll do what I can do to fix this problem, OK?”

“Alright. Anything I can help?”

“For the meantime, not yet. Just take care of your fiance and her mother, OK?”

“Algesseubnida.”

“And Yonghwa-yah, good job, son.”

~o0o~

When Yonghwa entered the master bedroom, it was around 2 p.m., Juhyun’s mother had awakened and was having her first meal of the day. Yonghwa then relayed his father’s wish for her and her mother to stay in the Jung mansion for the meantime which was gratefully granted. It was clear to Juhyun how her mother struggled to hold back her tears and stay strong, made Juhyun even sadder. But Juhyun refused to cry because she, too, had to be strong, for her mother. Juhyun immediately went back to her room to pack, while Mrs. Im packed for her mother.

“Need help?” the familiar voice broke her chain of thoughts. Juhyun turned her head around and found his figure on her door.

“No, I – I’m fine,” she said nervously.

“Can I come in?” he asked again. Juhyun looked back at him again.

“Yeah, sure,” she said unsure. Yonghwa then took a seat on her study desk. She could feel his stare boring her back. And as usual, silence stretched between them. But this time, Juhyun found it familiar and reassuring. 

“Oppa,” she called out tentatively without looking at him, “How is my father?” she asked.

Seconds flew by before Yonghwa answered her question, “He’s still being interrogated by the prosecutor, but I heard he’s alright.” Juhyun nodded to his words, relief washed over her. She had been curious about the wellbeing of her father all day. She was worried sick, especially after her mother fainted. She wanted to ask someone, anyone, but didn’t dare to. She was thankful that Yonghwa came and stayed.

“What will happen to us, Oppa?” Juhyun asked again. Yonghwa took his time again to answer.

“I don’t know,” he said. “But whatever happen, know that I’m here, Juhyun-ah,” those words made Juhyun looked at him.

Yonghwa held her gaze as he continued, “Me and my family.”

Juhyun wanted to cry again. The warm words elicited complicated feelings inside her: gratitude, guilt, relief, embarrassment, happiness, helplessness, hope. It also reminded her of what happened the night before: their break-up. And she finally remembered the fact that they were no longer engaged, that he didn’t love her, and was in love with someone else instead.

Yet he had stood by her.

Juhyun stopped packing and started thinking. He must have had no choice but to help her, since he hadn’t told his family about their break-up. She hadn’t either. And because of it he had to prolong his act as her fiance. It might have been her luck, or probably his bad luck. But whatever it might have been, Juhyun wanted to hold on to it. Just a little more time. Because at the moment, she needed him more than ever. She wanted to lean on him just for a little while longer. No matter how unfair it might have been to him, no matter how selfish she might have been. So intead of apologizing, Juhyun then said, “Thank you”.

(to be continued)

A/N

thank you so much for the warm welcome, so happy to meet you guys again...

thank you for the comments and upvotes, thank you for subscribing and reading it...

I'll do my best not to disappoint you guys..

P.S.: anyone willing to make the poster of this story?