track 06 - A Thousand Years

"rest well, okay? i gave you some pills to help you sleep." said her mother's doctor, packing up his things.

"miss, may i have a word with you?" he said.

"sure"

then doctor left the room. soojin's mother muttered something. soojin sat on the bed and leaned over.

"what'd you say, mom?"

"i told everything. they all know about the past now."

"now they know who i am?"

"except for that"

"all right, but why did you do this, mom? can't you listen to me for once?"

"i just want you to give up and drop this whole thing before it gets any worse."

"i can't"

"why? you can't hide for long. they'll find you soon-" she coughed and couldn't finish her sentence.

soojin gave her a glass of water, and helped her drink it.

"it doesn't matter anymore, mom. i have already learned enough in these two years. i don't have to hide any longer."

"your hate is eating away at you, it rots you from inside as my illness has done to my body for two years. you can't live your life like this, soojin."

"i have been carrying this hate forever mother, i'm used to it now."

"i'm so sorry, i'm really sorry i never was a good mother to you when you were a child. i've failed."

"don't worry, i'm taking good care of myself..." she kissed her mother on the forehead, "... now you get some rest, i'll come again."

the doctor was waiting in the living room. they talked and he told soojin there's nothing he can do anymore, so she should prepare. she left the house, her face was so blank and expressionless. she couldn't feel anything as if she had completely swallowed her emotions. the driver opened the door of the car for her, she got in. he gently closed the door after her, got in the driver's seat, started the car and asked, "home, miss?"

"no, take me to that company. it's time." her hands were shaking from stress.

they arrived, and she went straight to mr.cho's room, which is at the top of the building. she saw him reading a book. a man in a black suit was standing next to him. mr.cho looked up, "oh, soojin? what brings you here?"

soojin sat on one of the armchairs in front of his desk.

"i came to talk about an important issue."

"of course, is it about miyeon?"

"it's about your other daughter."

he was in shock for a moment but didn't show it, then put the book in his hand aside and took off his glasses, "i'm listening"

"i am ivy"

his eyes went, "what?"

"i want you to recognize me as your child."

he smiled nervously and said, "i should have understood."

"and you'll make me your sole heir."

he leaned back and sighed, "i'm afraid it's not possible, no."

"i knew you'd say that, so i asked my people to send you a copy of the file just before i came here."

"what file?"

"check your e-mail"

mr.cho signaled the man to come while keeping his confused eyes on soojin. then the man next to him leaned over the computer and opened the mail. mr.cho put his glasses back on and quickly glanced at the content of the file. then his face turned white right afterwards. in the file, bribery and corruption crimes within his company were listed along with concrete evidences. there were also some documents to suggest that mr.cho may have blackmailed tons of people linked with his work.

"how did you get this?!" he raised his voice.

"i'll give you 48 hours, you'd better be quick." she said and got up to leave.

"wait, give me at least a month. i'm in the middle of a very important business situation right now. so please?"

"two weeks"

"okay, okay agree!"

"but one mistake, and the whole world will get the file."

then she left the room. in the elevator, she leaned against the mirror and tried to calm down, thinking about the past conversation her mother had with their driver. they were in the car, on their way to the mansion. she was just a little kid back then.

***

he cheated on me numerous times, and now what? that is not fair... this little brat, this is all because of her. i should've had that abortion.

ma'am please, she's here.

so what? she should know she's the one to blame for all this.

i don't want to get involved, but didn't he say he filed for divorce because you lied about soojin being his daughter, for about a year?

i had no choice but to lie!

***

as she left the building, her driver saw her and got out of the car and opened the door of it. but soojin did not get in, she started walking instead. she took her phone out of her bag and found miyeon in her contacts. at such times she would always call her or go to her place to relax. but this time she couldn't. the fight came to her mind and she couldn't call her, "you don't need her, anyway. she's your enemy, soojin. wake up!" she muttered.

then, a number appeared on the phone screen. she assumed it was the leader - the leader of a team she formed to develop her revenge plan. so, she immediately opened it, "give some good news, i don't want to hear any bad news right now."

"well... i-."

"wait, who are you?"

"hello soojin, it's minnie."

"minnie-ssi? where did you get my number?"

"you gave it yesterday, don't you remember?"

"oh"

"actually i was going to text you, but thought maybe you don't trust unknown numbers, so i just called. save my number."

"okay"

"so, how  are you?"

"i'm fine"

"about miyeon..."

"i haven't talked to her yet. and i appreciate your concern, but there's nothing to worry about, we'll be fine."

"got it! but if you need someone to talk to, i'm here, okay?"

"okay"

"see you later"

after she hung up, soojin stared at the screen, slightly tilting her head with inquiring eyes. then she waved her driver to come.

***

2 weeks later

it was a sunny friday, minnie was surfing the internet on her computer. after miyeon was caught on camera at the airport, she had never seen again. that's why the media lost interest a little and the news about her slowed down.

minnie got a message from lia. as soon as she saw it, she quickly went straight to soyeon's desk.

"fashion closet, now!"

"all right"

then they stopped by shuhua's office before going to the closet. yuqi was also there.

"shu, fashion clo -... uh, hi yuqi."

"hi, minnie unnie."

"fashion closet?" shuhua asked.

"yes, now."

"may i come too? i've always wondered about your closet meetings."

"it's usually just three of us talking nonsense, nothing special." said soyeon.

they all went to the closet together, and yuqi followed them with a childish joy. minnie got straight to the point.

"lia texted me. she wants us to meet at her home to do the interview."

shuhua rolled her eyes, "is this the emergency?"

"you don't understand, i'm nervous and don't know what to do."

"why though? just do the interview and shoot it with your phone." said yuqi.

"i'm still thinking about how hwasa said minnie unnie to do a video interview, by the way." shuhua said as she sat beside yuqi on the fabric bench.

"we all knew she was talking about filming the interview. why are you still stuck there?" soyeon asked.

"i mean she's always been very strict about the terms. that's not like her, you know. and plus, she's acting weirder than that lately. something is up."

yuqi whispered, "it's because of her love triangle. everyone's talking about it."

"what triangle?" asked shuhua out loud.

"come on, girls. respect other people's privacy." soyeon stopped them as she doesn't like gossip at all. then looked at minnie, "and unnie, trust me, nothing happens unless you want it."

"but i still feel weird"

"do you feel like cheating on someone?"

"hold up, what are you guys talking about?"

"yes, what are you talking about, soyeon?" minnie repeated after yuqi.

yuqi looked at shuhua, not understanding anything when shuhua said, "oh, i see now..." and chuckled.

"nothing, nevermind. but as i said, i'm sure there's nothing to worry about." said soyeon. then she suddenly snatched the phone from minnie's hand and ran.

"yah! what are you doing?" minnie shouted, and chased her.

"done" she stopped and gave it back. 

minnie looked at the phone and gasped.

"what did she do?" shuhua asked.

"texted 'okay baby' with a winking emoji? are you ing serious, soyeon?"

soyeon laughed, "i'm helping you be besties. gosh, you're so awkward. i also have an interview this afternoon, with jessica jung, yet i'm not nervous as you are."

"oh my god? jessica jung? former idol of girls' generation?" asked yuqi in shock.

"yeah?"

"soyeon unnie, please, please, please, take me with you. i'm begging you."

"nah, i can't bring a spoiled kid with me on a serious date."

"please!"

"fine. but don't make a single sound while i interview, okay? pretend you're taking notes or something."

"okay, yes!"

the anticipated afternoon came quickly and soyeon ended the interview without any problems, and yuqi was able to get her autograph. soyeon, after this last interview of her, was ready to start writing her article. it was getting dark when yuqi wanted to treat something to thank her. soyeon agreed and they stopped somewhere and both bought choco bubble tea. then they decided to take a short walk before going back to the car. even though they could not find anything to speak of, the calm silence between them somehow was calming for both. they were walking down the street when soyeon headed towards the garbage bins in a space between two buildings. yuqi was behind her. then, a cat jumped out of the bin just when soyeon threw her empty cup. she tripped over her own foot as she tried to turn and run, and yuqi rushed to catch her. soyeon fell over yuqi and yuqi fell to the ground with her. yuqi's back got hurt really bad. soyeon was on her, then took support from her elbows and lifted herself a little, "! are you okay?"

yuqi's hands on soyeon's waist, her back sore, she could only answer her with a nodding. but her back was the last thing she cared about at that moment. realizing soyeon was so close as if they were about to kiss, she got butterflies in her stomach, and the awkward tension escalated. then the same cat hissed from behind them, and soyeon gathered herself up and stood up, then reached out and helped yuqi get up. yuqi tried not to show that she had back pain.

"how about we buy some food for this cat? or it looks like we're gonna be the dinner."

yuqi liked that soyeon was actually caring about the cat while joking in a sarcastic way. and it caused a gummy smile on her face.

"all right"

they bought cat food from the nearest store, then fed the cat. they went back to the car afterwards.

minnie had finished her interview with lia, and as the girls said, nothing happened. she thought she was making a great fuss over nothing. when lia asked her to stay for dinner, she couldn't reject it. her housekeeper hadn't come home yet, so lia was going to make the dinner herself, but as minnie couldn't allow her to make it alone, they started cooking together.

minnie realized although lia looked sophisticated and tough, she had a very playful personality, she liked to play around, laugh and have fun. so after this fun and chaos-filled meal preparation process, dinner were almost ready. lia gave minnie a spoon of the sauce she made.

"mhm, it's so good."

"wait, you have a little bit of sauce on the lip... right there."

lia approached and wiped it gently. minnie was like a statue, and lia pulled back, giggling, "let's eat."

during the meal, the housekeeper came home, and while she was cleaning up the kitchen, minnie and lia finished eating. then the housekeeper began to put the dishes in the dishwasher when lia took minnie to her own little studio in the house. she played a few demos of her own songs for minnie.

"wow, excellent pieces."

"thank you, i have to work on them a bit more, though." said lia, turning towards minnie, "it upsets me i don't have my own songs in any of my albums yet, but i believe one day i'll share my own songs with my fans." 

"of course you will. you're so talented and i'm sure your producers know this already."

"yeah i guess"

"can i play something too?" minnie said then and sat next to lia. 

she played some of her songs and lia liked it very much. then they started playing and singing together 'a thousand years' by christina perri. lia made a mistake and her hand hit minnie's hand.

"sorry"

"it's okay," said minnie.

she stayed still, her hands on her lap, looking at the piano blankly, until the phone rang. shuhua was calling.

"i'll get some drink for us." said lia.

"mhm" minnie nodded her and answered the call as lia went.

"what's up?"

"i sent you a link, check it out, now." said shuhua and hung up.

minnie clicked the link and read an article titled 'cho miyeon's father officially recognized his illegitimate child seo soojin'. according to article, this new heir of the company causes a question mark in minds, and everyone's curious about who will take over the company. but more than that, there are some really bad rumors about soojin, and the hate towards her grows among miyeon's fans, and it shows that many of them are already soojin antis who have not supported miyeon-soojin friendship from the beginning. it's not known if miyeon knows any of this. there's still no word from her.

***

soojin was in his office again. she had that fearless face expression as if nothing can stop her.

"well, i did what you asked," said her father, "now it's your turn, do your part and destroy those documents."

"i never said i would do so. you have to understand me, sir, it's my insurance. but don't worry, i will keep it safe."

soojin was just leaving when her father suddenly apologized. she stood there with her back to him.

he continued, "i was very scared at first, i was very afraid that my wife would leave me and my reputation would be damaged. so i tried to ignore you completely. but you were always on my mind soojin. you won't believe me but all this time, you were on my mind..."

soojin laughed, didn't speak. mr.cho got up.

"... i'm serious soojin. how could i forget about my own daughter, my own blood. i regretted a lot and then tried to contact your mother to reach you, but your mother didn't answer. i even went to her door, but she never answered, and her men threatened me. she even changed your name, soojin. she left no trace of your past. she hid you like a precious jewel- "

"ugh, so noisy!" yelled soojin, surprising her father. and she turned around to face him, "you are disgusting. you think you are an angel, don't you? i'm disgusted. what did you think would happen if you found me? it's not about that, it never has been. the real problem is me. you shouldn't have made me in the first place."

"i'm so sorry. but soojin you have to believe me, i love you. i always loved you anyway, as the friend of my daughter. but now i love you more."

"no, no, no, don't!... i will never forgive you, i will never believe your so called love towards me. there is no such thing as love in my world. so keep these tales to yourself."

soojin had perhaps the first time in her life to give such a loud speech. towards the end, she got a bit shaky voice, but still she was loud and strong. she quickly left the building, trying to calm down. her anxiety was getting worse from coming this place often, she thought. but in fact, it's gotten worse since miyeon left. she got a message from her last, saying she'd come back as soon as she felt better. then no news. soojin thought this was very selfish and reckless, but she couldn't understand why she was being upset instead of getting angry. on their way, in the car, her phone buzzed and she took it out of her bag. it was the team leader.

"i don't get it. why are you still keeping the documents?"

"i don't have to explain this. you just do like you're told."

"i do, but i want to know why?"

"if it comes out now, only the owner will change or something, and they will get over everything with a few minor losses. i don't want that, i want to destroy that company completely. so be quiet and stay out of my lane. i don't pay you to think."

just then the car came to a screeching halt and hit a cyclist. their bodies jolted forward. but there was no serious injury as the driver could brake early. 

"are you okay miss?"

"yes"

she jumped out of the car in a rush right after the driver. they saw a girl sitting on the ground holding her ankle.

"are you all right?" driver asked. 

the girl did not answer and her hair was covering her face. soojin went right next to her, bent over and put her hand on the girl's shoulder, "you're okay?"

the girl flipped her hair and her beautiful snow-white face exposed.

"shuhua?!"

"oh wow, it's like a movie scene..."

"i'm so sorry."

"why are you sorry? you are not the one who smashed my bike." shuhua said, giving the driver a killing glance.

the driver apologized, "... but it was still green to us, when you crossed against the light-" 

"ok i got it, i know, it's my fault."

"we'll get you to the hospital." soojin said.

"no, i'm fine. you just take me home and i'll take care of the rest. and also i'll write a check for the damage."

"never mind the car now, you can't go anywhere like this."

"no, i have to be in busan before midnight and i still haven't bought a plane ticket yet. so please take me home, don't think about the rest." shuhua said and tried to get up, holding on soojin as she couldn't stand on her foot. soojin helped her get up and walk. then she opened the door of the car, made shuhua get in, and got in herself.

"what do we do with the bike?" driver asked before closing the door.

"it's foldable, just put it in the trunk." said shuhua.

the driver did as he was told. then he got in and asked shuhua to tell him her address. and then they were off.

"if you don't mind me asking, what is so urgent in busan?" soojin asked, on the way.

"tomorrow is my sister's birthday. i want to surprise her before midnight. and my mother knows i'm coming."

"i don't think your mother would be happy to see her daughter not being mindful of her health."

"i'm fine. i just twisted my ankle." said shuhua but she suddenly became dizzy and collapsed into soojin's lap.

"oh my god! hospital, now!" shouted soojin.

***

"you're fine except for a sprained ankle. it seems like you overworked yourself and fainted from fatigue. you need rest, proper food and iron." the doctor said.

"got it"

"we'll look after you for a while. you'll probably be discharged by morning."

he wrote something on the medical chart and left the room.

"is it okay if i sleep? i'm so tired." asked shuhua to soojin.

"of course it's okay"

"you don't have to stay"

"i'll stay"

"but-"

"go to sleep"

shuhua stopped talking and closed her eyes as soojin texted to her driver not to wait and come back the next morning. after an hour or later shuhua was asleep, but soojin was still awake. she noticed shuhua was looking docile and vulnerable while she was sleeping, unlike when she was awake. then she got a blanket from the cabinet, lay down on the sofa there. after tossing and turning a while, she fell asleep.

shuhua woke up early in the morning with a view of soojin sleeping in a dorky and adorable position. then she got up to go to the toilet, but as soon as she stepped on her foot, she got a sudden pain, causing her to squeal. it woke soojin out of a deep sleep.

"sorry i woke you up." she sat back.

"it's okay," said soojin, yawning. 

and only then did she think of calling minnie, "right, i forgot to call your friends." she reached out her bag but shuhua stopped her with saying "no, don't!" she tried to get up again, but just stood on her right foot, which is her good one, "see? i'm fine. no need to make a fuss."

then shuhua's phone buzzed before soojin could say a thing. it was on the bedside table, she reached and took it. then she ran her finger through her hair, closing her eyes with a sigh as she saw the 'mom' on the screen.

"shuhua?!"

"yes"

"are you okay? where are you?"

"i'm okay"

"why don't you check your phone then? i've been calling you and texting you, i was worried sick."

"sorry, i had something urgent."

"you could at least text me, shuhua? stop being irresponsible, self-centered and completely childish." she shouted and hung up the phone.

soojin had heard what shuhua's mother said over the phone. it was very normal to be heard because of her loud voice. soojin felt guilty.

"at least she didn't curse."

"sorry, it's my fault."

"no, don't worry and stop saying sorry. we're always like this. she shouts a lot but loves me as much as i love her."

"let me take you to busan. i'd like to help you with the surprise."

"don't feel like you have to help me. it was my fault after all."

"i can't relax until i'm sure everything is okay."

"aww, you're so thoughtful..."

"don't get me wrong, i'm just making sure you won't sue me."

"oh well, seems reasonable."

"yeah"

"okay, then, but i have one condition."

"what is that?"

"i will stay there for two days. though today was wasted. we can say one day. i'll be back on monday morning. if you promise to accompany me during this time, i can accept your offer of help."

soojin said nothing, just stared at shuhua. suddenly, shuhua screamed, "wait! that's right!"

soojin flinched, "oh, you scared me!"

"sorry, but i just remembered the news. is it true that you are cho miyeon's sister?"

soojin sighed, "you know what, if you promise you won't ask me anything about my private life, i'll accompany you."

"i thought you were the one who wanted to come."

"i wanted to come, help, and return, not stay there."

shuhua giggled, "you drive a hard bargain, soojin, but, deal!"