The dead silent office just got chilly, too, as Eunbi registers what she's been told. If Kwon Hokjae isn’t her father then who is he? Who are she and Joohyun? Is Joohyun even her sister? Countless questions and thoughts race through her head but she can only stare at Mira in utter speechlessness. Not only her mind but her nerves are anesthetics.

Out of reflex, she wants to tell Mira that the doctor is mistaken. That she is the second and youngest daughter of Hokjae and Siyoung. However, deep down, her guts tells her Mira wouldn’t lie to her. Although this is their second time meeting, Mira doesn’t have the eyes of a liar. Doctors, after all, cannot and do not lie.

In the end, Eunbi lets Mira carry the conversation all by herself, “Hokjae is your uncle. Your biological father is Hokjae’s older brother and the middle son of three, Howoon. Your grandparents, as you may already know it, passed away before you were born. Your father was a hardworking, patient, and wonderful man. He waited until both your eldest and youngest uncles got married before he proposed to your mother, Suyeon. Although they’ve been in love since fourteen. However, because the boys lost their parents at an early age, tempers were always high as they struggled to earn money and eat regularly.

Your eldest uncle, Haneul, wasn’t like your father. He was stubborn, selfish, and aggressive. To avoid raising his brothers, he was never home. He drank at an early age and hung out with older mischievous boys. It had been about three months after Howoon and Suyeon’s wedding, and Suyeon was pregnant with you, when Haneul called your father out...and shot him,”

Mira hangs her head as she couldn’t bear to see Eunbi’s teary eyes. “I’m sorry, Eunbi. Although Suyeon had asked me to take care of you. I-I was too greedy for a good life for my daughter and I. I-I thought your uncle, Hokjae and Siyoung would do a g-good job raising you. I knew that Hokjae wasn’t a good husband and father to his own Joohyun, but I thought at least Siyoung would do a better job than me. After all, you’re still a Kwon,” Mira was on her knees now, her hands hovering over Eunbi’s, “I was wrong. I shouldn’t have relied on what he was telling me. I should have checked on you and Joohyun first, I’m so—”

Eunbi rips her hands out from underneath Mira’s then she quickly moves away, tears pouring down her cheeks, “Don’t say any more! I don’t know who you think you are but stop lying to me! Why would my mother ask you to care for me? Why would you raise me in the first place?!”

Mira takes a moment to inhale deeply when she look up Eunbi can see that her face is also covered in tears. As calmly as Mira can, she softly answers, “Because after Haneul was taken to prison, Hokjae wanted the money your father worked for. The court said that if he raised you, he’ll be granted the rights to claim Howoon’s money as they would have been passed down to you,”

Eunbi shakes her head, “I don’t believe you,”

“Please Eunbi, you have to believe me—”

“Then where was my real mother? My father told me he was an only child and my mother backed him up. Why would they both lie to me?”

Mira takes another deep breath, “After your father passed away, your mother signed her rights away after you were born. She was afraid that if she had taken you with her, Hokjae would come after you both to obtain Howoon’s money. Your mother didn’t want to hurt you, Eunbi. And when she entrusted you to me, I was too young and blind that I trusted Hokjae’s lies. He persuaded me that he would raise you as his daughter and will never speak of the past until you were old enough. Your mother is still alive, Eunbi. If you just say the words, I’ll tell you where she is,”

Mira’s eyes were filled with hope and apologies but Eunbi shakes her head again. Her hands were in fists and her heart is beating like crazy. “I don’t believe it. Until I hear my father say it in front of me, I won’t believe it,”

Mira’s heart and expression drop when she reaches out a hand toward Eunbi, “Child,”

“Don’t touch me,” Eunbi seethes. “Just tell me where he is now,”

The older female shakes her head a little, “I’m not sure. He called me from a phone booth,”

Eunbi doesn’t say another word as she hurries out of the cold, yet, suffocating room. As she exits the hospital, she didn’t know what to do or what to think. The only thing she did know is that she misses Chaewon. 

Chaewon’s eyes are red when she looks into her father’s annoy ones. “How did you know to come here?” her father asks in a demanding tone.

“How long has this been going on?” Chaewon firmly questions.

“What are you going to do if I told you it’s been half a year?”

Chaewon scoffs then hears Goeun beg the older man to shut the door. When he turns back to holler at her, Chaewon kicks the door in. Throwing the man onto the ground by the foot of the bed. Then in the back, they hear footsteps and voices clashing with one another.

“Over there!” Someone shouts.

When Chaewon notices the party carrying mics and cameras running over, Chaewon casually steps to the side then slip out through another hallway.

Inside her car, she spares the window to the room one last look. Seeing how the camera flashes were still going, Chaewon is amused by the hotel’s poor security. Then she shifts her gear and heads to the shack.

Outside a small building, Chaewon is greeted by Mr. Oh and a few men in black. “Has he confess to anything yet?”

“He did, but how did it go at the hotel? Did the reporters manage to catch them?”

Chaewon smirks, “Except for Goeun, my dad was in a robe. I left the door wide open so there’s a slim chance they weren’t caught,”

“And his wheelchair?”

Chaewon smacks her lips together, “You’re getting too excited Mr. Oh. Just wait for the news later. Now, let’s get down to business. Do you have a bat to spare?”

With a grand grin on his face, Mr. Oh nods then gesture for one of his men to bring her one. Not to her surprise, it’s an aluminum one—hard and heavy. Chaewon swings it over her shoulder then leads Mr. Oh and three men into the shabby construction. Inside, under one squeaking ceiling lamp, Chaewon sees the same man from the picture Mr. Oh sent her.

He mutters some things before opening his eyes. When he sees Chaewon, his eyes and mouth were widen alike. “Y-you,” he begins.

Chaewon stretches her neck then smiles, “Looks like you recognize me but I don’t think we’ve formally met,” Chaewon bangs the cement floor with the baseball bat’s barrel, then with a grin says, “it’s nice to finally meet you, Kwon Hokjae,”

“H-how did you find me? E-even your coward of a f-father couldn’t,”

Chaewon shrugs, “He tends to overlook the people and places around him. I guess you can say he’s over-confidently stupid? He’s convinced that with his fearsome persona those who wish him bad and tries to bring him down ventures away from him. When in fact, they stay close so they can watch their target’s every move. Yet, I can’t figure out why you would linger and lurk around my sister. Who set you up to it?”

“Who do you think it is?”

When a smug crosses his face, it sent shivers down Chaewon’s spine. Hokjae isn’t only creepy but he seems to know more than he lets on. “You tell me,” Chaewon answers, flattening her eyes in case the answer came as a shocker.

The man chuckles evilly then mock, “You use to call her mommy. Her name is Kang Mira,”

Chaewon furrow her brows then presses the bat’s cap into the man’s covered chest, “The reason being?”

“Hyewon is my daughter,”

Chaewon blinks slow and hard. Her lips twitch in disgust. “So you stalked and harassed her because she’s your daughter?”

“Harrassed?” the man spits as if he’s been done wrong to.

“If trying to force your way into the home, smacking her when she wouldn’t let you in, and grabbing and pulling her when she wouldn’t follow you isn’t harassment then you tell me if this is,” Chaewon grabs a firm hold of the bat then swings it at one of the chair’s legs, breaking it immediately and causing Hokjae to fall and tip over on his side. Once he hit the cold, hard floor, he groans and curses.

“What the ! You’re ing crazy!”

Chaewon drops the bat, making him flinch, then she reaches down and grabs a handful of his greasy hair. “Listen here, I have the power to wipe you off the face of the earth but I’m not going to do it right now. Not because you claim Hyewon is your daughter nor because Mira is hiding you but simply due to the fact that your very existent drives my dad crazy. You allowed Jisun to die so know this, you’re only alive because I allow you to, got it?” Chaewon releases the man with a shove then she stands up to compose herself. “As much as I hate how my father had turned out, you owe him a lot and I can’t take that away from him,”

“Wh-what do you mean?”

Chaewon scans the room, dismissing everyone else in it. Once Mr. Oh leads them all out, Chaewon squats down next to Hokjae. In a low voice, she disclosed, “I saw the text that day. The day before Jisun left our house. The day my father lost his ability to walk. You sent her a message, telling her you wanted to have lunch with my father, to apologize for some crap so you called him out. But when you saw him vulnerable, an opportunity to hurt him, you tried to kill him with your car. You had told Jisun you’ve messed up and that my father had seen your face. Knowing that Jisun didn’t love my father, you coerced her to run away with you before my father regained consciousness. And she did it. She chose you and left. All she left for me was a petty letter,”

Hokjae coughs as the side of his face is freezing up due to the cold ground. Then with a smug, he tries to taunt her, “Do you know why she chose me?”

Chaewon carelessly blinks, “I told the doctor to lie to her that my father may not come back from this, and my grandparents had contacted the hospital saying they’ll sue the hospital and culprit if my father die. I knew Jisun had been trying to get away. She only stayed for me. However, at twelve I figured I wouldn’t need a mother like her if she does choose a man over me. But when she left, I was in a lot of pain. As I’ve predicted, I meant very little to her,” Chaewon then glares down at Hokjae, “What hurt more was the fact that she chose a criminal over her own daughter,”

Hokjae coughs again. 

When Chaewon regroups with Mr. Oh and his men outside, Mr. Oh tries to get a word in but they hear a ding coming from Chaewon’s phone. It’s a message from Kim Minju.

Minju: Your outlandish tip is finally giving me that promotion I’ve been begging for! Your sacrifice won't be wasted! Wait for the news! 

Below her text, Chaewon sees a picture attached to it. It‘s of her father trying to push reporters out, his robe coming undone, while Goeun tries to hide behind the sheet.

“Who is it, Miss Chaewon?” Mr. Oh asks.

Chaewon purses her lips, “A picture of the doer,”  

A/N: If you're still keeping up with the story then thank you! Thank you from the bottom of my heart! Now when will this story end? I'd say before chapter 25. We'll have to see though because honestly, I didn't expect the story to have lasted as long as it did. I'll try not to keep it running past the 25th mark so hang in there with me! xD