Okay, so we are up for a ride today. Let me take you away from our lovely boys and into the mess of THE Park family. You might think there are two in our story, but they are the same one, our boys just don’t know it yet. The missing link between Sooyoung and Jihyo would be Chorong, the girl was their cousin and younger by three years, both knew her but never knew of each other, and their parents didn’t really interact, or even mentioned, each other. 

It was all Old Man Park’s fault, really, he was too greedy and just juggled the lives of everyone on a whim and left the unassuming person to handle the consequences. He had three kids, Chanyeol was the oldest, bartered at birth for a big merge with the Kims, very influential in the bank business, Seungmin was the second son and had been traded off for the Choi’s pharmaceutical empire, the youngest was Guyri and married off to a hospital group keeping Park as the last name, the Lees were hesitant at first, but got a good deal and conceded.

Sooyoung and Jihyo were the same age, but with Chanyeol making his father disown him, Gyuri was never able to really meet her nephew. Seungmin, always the wildcard, Old Man Park knew it and took it as being a middle kid thing, he mostly ignored whatever his son did thinking it was just to spite him. Gyuri, as the youngest and the woman was just supposed to stand there and look pretty, she wasn’t really disowned but might as well be, she knew Seungmin would inherit everything and her job was to just secure a deal when their father needed her to.

Chanyeol rebelled right after his wedding, when he was told by his father to have kids right away because there were some deals pending. He refused to comply and, within the week, had managed to secure his leave from his father’s clutches, all he had to do was piss the old man enough to get written off, it was important that he did. The Kims wanted to back off from the deal their marriage had secured and mr Kim was delighted to know his son-in-law wanted to be free from his father. Bora, Chanyeol’s wife, was still an heir and had her own name among the restaurant business, so she could take good care of her husband and future children if needed.

Sangmin, then, was put up as the heir and his wife’s family wanted the business relationship. He agreed to remain in his position but didn’t think twice when his big brother came to him for help. Chorong was never considered for this game, and old man Park had already stepped down, so the girl was supposed to be safe. The main reason Sangmin wanted to help Jihyo be released from this deal was because, firstly, he can’t even imagine how hard it must be for the boy to be legally bound to someone he never met and for the benefit of people who don’t want him at all.

When Gyuri approached her brother about it, Sangmin knew it was time to help out with everything he had. The problem was with the Chois, the family Jihyo had been (not so) legally bound to, they didn’t feel like they got what they bargained for and were refusing to undo the contract. Truthfully, they didn’t, but it was in the contract that they would be getting the shorter end, and old man Park gave them exactly what was specified officially. Still, old man Choi was insistent that he wasn’t happy with the deal and the wedding was still happening. 

With that, Sangmin started a legal action, he had tried to make it friendly, but that took too long, and now the Chois lawyers were fighting tooth and nail to stop it. But Sangmin had already agreed to give up on the investment Park corp had made in the Chois, they just wanted to annul the marriage, and the judge was inclined to agree with the Parks. It took a while, the Chois had appealed to any and all resorts the law allowed them and the process dragged on for a couple of years because of that. But now a decision would be announced and this nonsense would be over.

Chanyeol got a call from a number he didn’t think he would ever see, and was told to head to an specific address, it was Gyuri’s house and he had never set foot in that place, nor did he think he ever would. The man was weary, so he shared his location with his wife and told Bora to send help if she didn’t hear from him in a couple of hours. It was a private neighborhood and he was followed by the security car from the moment he entered, maybe coming here was a mistake, but if it was for Jihyo, he would go anywhere.

Gyuri was waiting for him at the door, she looked well, a bright smile on her lips seeing her brother after so long. Chanyeol didn’t really know what to feel, he missed his siblings, but he was also the disowned son and his life went on a completely different path he had nothing in common with them anymore. Chanyeol, to his sister, looked completely different, he had become bulkier, visibly stronger and more alive, his clothes were obviously cheap (for the Park standard) but had more personality and fit him better than the old navy blue suits. Sangmin, who had been waiting in the house, had grown out of his childish looks, and the playboy style was really nowhere to be seen.

The siblings were awkward with each other, it had been long since they had seen their older brother and both were really happy Chanyeol agreed to meet them like this, despite it being about his son. They moved to the office for more privacy, Gyuri’s family was home and Chanyeol didn’t really know if he wanted to meet them, this was already too much for him and Jihyo was the more pressing matter at the moment. He was really trying to not say something that would come out as rude or ungrateful, however., both were helping him out more than he could have hoped for.

“Channie, it’s good to see you.” Sangmin decided to speak up.

“It's nice to see you too, both of you.” Chanyeol greets, still trying to sound as nice as he could.

“You don’t have to sound so uncomfortable, you know.” Gyuri tries to ease the tension. “We are still your siblings.”

“It’s- I-” The eldest sighs. “Look, this is really uncomfortable. We haven’t seen each other for years and I don’t really know how to feel about this meetup. Don’t get me wrong, I’ll be eternally grateful for what you both did for Jihyo, freeing him from this madness, but -”

“You still don’t know what to do about us.” Sangmin cuts the rambling, they knew their older brother well, despite everything, and saw that he was very nervous from the moment he stepped out of his car. “It’s alright, honestly, I hoped this wouldn’t take so long and so many lawyers to undo, but I’m more than glad we could undo at least one wrong our old man did.”

“But Soyoung is also in a marriage deal, isn’t he? I kind of feel like I’m taking too much.”

“The Kims are on board with annulling the marriage.” Gyuri tries to soothe her brother. “Taeyeon could be a great wife, but she is too into being the typical rich girl and Sooyoung has suffered enough. Changsub said he would work with Kim to undo the deal and they almost got it already.”

“I’m taking Sooyoung doesn’t know about that yet.” 

“We decided to not make him worry about this. If we failed, we didn’t want to give him some false hope. And Taeyeon would spiral out of control if we told them, that could only bring more pain.” The woman lets out a bitter laugh.

“That’s fair, I see how bad it is for Jihyo to love someone and not be able to do anything about it. I can’t imagine how it is for my kid to decide to commit to someone who plays around and tells him about it.” Chanyeol decided to put his arm around his sister’s shoulders, she looked like she needed some comforting.

“I’d say I’m glad I’ve always been the wild one, then.” Sangmin tries to lighten up the mood. “Chorong came late and stayed out of daddy dearest dealings.”

“That she did. How is the kid, byt the way?” The eldest decides to show some interest. He loved his niece and nephew, no matter what was going on in the family.

“She’s great, she’s joining highschool next year, skipped a grade.” Sangmin is very proud of his daughter. 

“Glad to know she is a smart one.”

“Don’t talk like Jihyo isn’t a genius either. Why hasn’t he skipped any grades?” Gyuri tries to sound annoyed.

“He didn’t want to. We asked when he was offered, but he said he wanted to be with Wannie and never accepted.”

“Wannie?” The younger brother sounds confused.

“Son Seungwan, Jihyo’s best friend, brother from another mother, platonic soulmate. I usually stop listening after this one.” Chanyeol chuckles fondly. “They’ve been together since before birth, and I really see the Son kids as my own by now. They are good kids, and they have always been there for Hyo.”

“You sound very fatherly.” Sangmin points out. “It’s a bit disgusting.”

“I’ll take that as a complement. But now I should get going, I need to call Bora and ask her if she can be home tonight to tell Jihyo.”

“Channie, we would like to do this again.” Gyuri’s voice is small and hesitant, but she needed to ask.

“Maybe we could.” The eldest agrees. “But, I need some time to digest everything. It’s just- I just need to think a little.”

“Whenever you are ready. You have our numbers.” Sangmin hugs both his siblings with a joyful laugh.

Chanyeol says his goodbyes and leaves as discreetly as he could, Changsub was in the living room and both wave at each other with polite bows, but don’t talk. He sends his wife a simple text that reads:

Jihyo is free. Can you be home tonight?

The woman answers fast that she’ll go home right away, and make some special dinner for them so her husband could deliver the good news. Jihyo would be over the moon just like the couple was already, and they could finally see their son be whoever he wanted to be with the person he loves. They knew how much not being able to properly date Dahyun was hurting both kids, and they were relieved to finally be able to let them express themselves freely.