“Soo-Soojinnie…”

“What… What are you doing here? I-I thought…”

Baekhyun was fast on his feet to grab and embrace Soojin into his arms, but she swatted him off immediately and gave him a stern look that made him shiver slightly. It was the first time he has seen her so… Angry. Their jabs and derisions from the past were different. Soojin hasn’t looked this furious before. She was obviously stifling to prevent herself from going off, it was apparent with the way her hands were shaking and nose flaring.

“Soojinnie…”

Baekhyun whimpers.

“W-wha-what is… What is h-happening?”

Soojin started shaking, looking in between the three people in front of her.

“You…” Her feet then begun walking towards her older brother. “What are you doing here?”

Tears then pour from her eyes.

“Are you finally back? Because Father is dying? You can finally take over the ing company because your enemy is finally going to die, huh?”

Soojin pushed and punched on his brother’s chest but Seungmin was firm on his feet, just taking what his distraught sister is throwing at him.

“Did you know I suffered more now that I’m here than the last ten years of my life? DID YOU ING KNOW HOW BETRAYED I FELT THAT I’M SUDDENLY BEING GIVEN A RESPONSIBILITY I NEVER ASKED FOR JUST BECAUSE YOU CHOOSE TO RUNAWAY FROM IT?!”

Soojin was hysterical. She doesn’t care if she’s hurting her brother or herself, she doesn’t care who hears. All her pent-up frustrations are finally being set off. From how she feels she’s being betrayed by his own brother, the person who she thought was on her side. From all the she has to go through and still going through until now. The thought of losing his father, who even though wasn’t as nice to her as he used to be, he was still his father, the person who brought her into this world. Least to say that she is still thankful to him for being alive.

“Soojin, stop…”

“Shut up, Baekhyun!”

She cranes her neck back to look at Baekhyun. The anger is very apparent in her eyes, burning with passion.

“Are you in on this too, huh? What about you Mia?”

It was Mia’s turn to take her blow from Soojin.

“Are you part of this too?”

Soojin didn’t even give Mia a chance and begin attacking her brother again. Shaking, punching, hurting him in any way she can. Soojin was always against violence but her mind is so clouded with anger and despair, she doesn’t care. She doesn’t care that her actions are contradicting to what she firmly believes. It’s like she is being possessed by a scorned and forlorned ghost looking for revenge.

“Why are you all doing this to me—”

“Soojin, enough!”

Seungmin finally snapped, grabs both her wrist to stop her feat. Causing Soojin to wail in pain from the force he executed.

“Seungmin-ah, stop! You’re hurting Soojin!!!”

Mia snatched Soojin away from Seungmin, sitting her on a chair near her father’s bed.

“S-Seungmin-ah? Mia… D-Do you have something to tell me?”

“I- Sooj… Soojin-ssi—”

“Soojin-ssi?” Soojin huffs out a single humorless laugh. “You can stop pretending now, Mia. You’re clearly  behind all this along with those two!”

Soojin seethed while pointing at Baekhyun and Seungmin. Baekhyun’s head was bowed really low as his whole body trembles. He was obviously as affected as Soojin was.

Soojin’s heart sunk for a fraction of time, worried if her Baekhyun was okay but she shook her head, setting aside her feelings towards him for now.

“What’s your motive, Mia? I don’t even know you right now. I don’t know where you came from and who you are in my life. Is it for money? Was I not paying you enough? Was my father not paying you enough?!”

Mia started shaking, eyes b with tears as she went down on her knees, weak from the words Soojin let out. She couldn’t believe the words that’s spilling out of Soojin’s mouth, the sweet and always respectful Soojin was immediately gone the moment she saw her brother again. She thought everything will fall into place, but apparently not.

“DON’T ING TALK TO MIA LIKE THAT!!!”

“Hyung!”

Baekhyun held off Seungmin from advancing onto them. Mia now is a weeping mess in front of Soojin who was still jittering with anger, eyes crazy wide as she stares down at her personal assistant who she treated like a confidant, a sister even.

“Why not, Oppa? I don’t know who she was before all of this. How am I not to judge her when she’s suddenly in on this ?”

Soojin snaps her attention back to Mia, who was now looking up at her with such sorrow in her eyes.

“S-Soojin, I-I’m sorry, I—”

“Who are you exactly? Are you just one of the many people who also hates my father? Are you secretly smiling behind my back, behind my mother’s back because my father is in a coma?”

Soojin is making herself cry with her words, she gave all her trust to Mia but in the end, she was being betrayed by everyone.

“Soojin, no… I never wanted things to—”

“No, save it, Mia! I don’t wanna hear your lies!”

“Soojin-ah~”

Soojin, Baekhyun, Seungmin, and Mia all freeze into their positions.

“Soo… Soojin-ah!~”

There it was again, that weak and throaty voice. All of them snaps their neck in the direction of the bed, where President Seungho was.

Soojin’s father’s eyes are slowly fluttering open, hand shaking as he reaches up to nothing.

“ABEOJI!”

“APPA!!!”

Both Soojin and Seungmin ran towards the bed, towards their clearly already conscious father.

“Mia, call Doctor Hyerin… Now!”

Seungmin instructed.

“I-I-I… Y-yeah…”

Mia was shaking her head to clear her mind as she stood and grabbed her phone on the desk to call President Seungho’s doctor.

~  ~  ~  ~  ~

Everyone in the household, except Soojung and Sunmi, was woken up by the commotion. Soojin’s mother almost fainted when she saw that Seungmin was back. Thankfully Doctor Hyerin went with her complete entourage and Soojin’s mother was taken care of by two of Doctor Hyerin’s apprentices.

Doctor Hyerin said that President Seungho’s consciousness was expected, but it surprisingly happened a lot faster than they thought it would. The old man’s habit of daily exercise probably helped with his faster recovery. Hopely he would go back to his normal activities in a month’s time.

“Seungmin-ah, my son. Please tell me you’re staying. Please don’t leave us, not right now. Not when we need you here, more than ever.”

Soojin heard her mother cry the moment she got back inside the house after sending Doctor Hyerin and her team on their way out with Baekhyun in tow. Soojin immediately ran to her mother and wrapped her around in a protective embrace. She wasn’t sure why she did that, not that his brother will hurt their own mother.

“Mother, we don’t need him. He clearly doesn’t need us, not after he went away. He just got back because he thought Father was dying. Surprise, surprise Oppa, Father is still alive.”