Chapter 20: Hachiko is back

***

“Hyun, are you okay?” sooyoung asked her niece, worriedly

“Yeah” Joohyun absentmindedly said while eating her cereal. Her eyes were still slightly puffy even though it was already covered by concealers. The young doctor didn’t feel like working but she had a surgery today so she toughened herself

“Where is Seungwan? How could she leave without saying anything?” Seulgi who sat across her was very upset, once again she thought her friend had left her

Meanwhile, Jennie was quietly suspecting that something had happened between Seungwan and Joohyun while they were sleeping last night, and it was a bad thing considering Seungwan left without words and obviously her sister cried her eyes out last night.

The main door suddenly opened from outside and Seungwan walked in with her eyes looking tired like she didn’t sleep at all last night. Well yes she didn’t, she stayed at a 24 hours C.U store near the neighborhood, huddled in the corner with a cup of coffee that she didn’t even bother to drink, she was too occupied with her own thoughts and guilty feelings towards Joohyun.

“Seungwan!” Sooyoung greeted her “You look terrible, are you okay?”

“I'm okay” She forced a smile

“Where have you been? Wait, were you even sleeping??”

“Somewhere, I just need to think”

“Come have breakfast after you freshen yourself” Sooyoung told her but Seungwan shook her head

“I think I will just take my bag and leave. I have to be present in the concert hall in an hour for rehearsal”

She glanced at fuming Seulgi and then to emotionless joohyun

“I’m sorry”

**

Sooyoung knocked the door of Jennie’s room

“Seungwan, I have sandwiches for you”

The young pianist opened the door and there was her friend looking at her worriedly

“How are you feeling?”

“I'm feeling horrible”

Sooyoung put the tray on the table “What happened, why did you leave last night?”

Seungwan didn’t know where to start the story “I...well, there’s a girl and I came to realize that I really like her when I was in Vienna. We kept in contact for months but my situation became complicated and I was a mess, so we became apart. It was my fault because at that time, I didn’t explain my situation clearly. She cut our contact and since then I decided to focus on Minjeong”

Sooyoung nodded and urged her to continue

“So I came to Korea and of course I met her once again. I thought I was ready to let her go. But... turns out I’m not, especially when she’s around me, haunting me with her presence”

Seungwan sighed “She makes me want her more and more, for once I really want to claim someone as mine. And this is bad”

”Bad? Why?”

“Because she’s engaged to someone else”

Sooyoung blinked her eyes

“Do I know who this girl is?” Sooyoung had a feeling but she needed to ask her

...

...

“Seungwan, who is she?”

“I think I’m in love with Joohyun” The young pianist had spent all night to gather her thoughts and so she concluded that she was indeed in love with Joohyun, there was no other explanation with the way she grabbed and kissed the younger girl last night out of anger and jealousy

“I see” Sooyoung nodded with a small smile on her face

“I’m surprised that you are this calm and what’s with that smile, Soo?”

Her friend shrugged “I’m more surprised that it took you a long time to realize your feeling”

“I’m not the brightest in this department and I always mess up my own chance, it happened with yoona and once again with joohyun” Seungwan said sadly “Now I need to conceal this feeling, I just…don’t know how to”

“Why would you need to conceal your feelings?”

Seungwan frowned “Why? Are you aware that she is already engaged?”

“Hyun is engaged, not married, she’s still free to choose whoever she is going to marry. Don’t hold yourself” Sooyoung patted her shoulder “Did you know she liked you way before you left for Vienna?”

“Yes, she confessed to me before I left that’s why we kept in contact because she wanted to wait for me but I broke my promise but I can’t believe you’re encouraging me to steal her from her fiance”

“God, she confessed to you? She was still in high school back then. Wow, she was so bold”

“Yes, she was but I was not ready for her” Seungwan smiled sadly, she remembered how the younger girl was so sure in conveying her feelings, so genuine and it really touched her heart.

“...You’re good at everything except getting the girl you like” Sooyoung shook her head “Honestly, I really want you guys to be together”

“Why, you bad auntie” Seungwan smiled, her mood was lifted a little and she was glad to share her feeling to Sooyoung

“I don’t like her fiance, he has this arrogant aura surrounding him. Personality wise, you’re far way better for her, Wan”

“Seriously, you should stop encouraging me to steal Joohyun”

Sooyoung pouted “But I really don’t like him for her, so controlling, he keeps deciding everything for Joohyun. He didn’t even talk to Seulgi about his plan to marry her, didn't ask for her blessing, he decided everything on his own and Seulgi was very mad because of it but she refrained herself for Joohyun’s sake”

“Seulgi changed a lot, huh? She used to be so possessive towards Joohyun”

“She still does but she respects Joohyun's decision as an adult now, she only wants her to be happy” Sooyoung told her “But I know Joohyun is not happy, she looks more stressed now, well her job is quite stressful but I can feel there are other things that make her feel pressured and one of them is her fiance. It doesn’t feel like they’re in a healthy relationship even though Joohyun only tells us a bit of it but we can see it, we are not blind. You know, she changed a lot over the years, she’s even more reserved now”

“Yes and very stubborn” Seungwan sighed “I tried to explain and apologize to her many times but she didn’t want to listen. I just wanted to clear the misunderstanding between us and get back like before, even though only as friends”

“This is your last chance to fight for her, Seungwan” Sooyoung said to her seriously “The man is not good for her”

“Now I’m curious about him” seungwan frowned, jennie had said the same thing to her before, it made her worried

Sooyoung pursed her lips “Joohyun told me that he is currently handling all branches of Nature Republic brand in Japan, while he is also growing his own business there”

“He seems great, career wise” seungwan nodded

“Yeah” Sooyoung frowned “But still, I can’t shake off this odd feeling whenever he comes to pick or send joohyun home. Oh yeah his name is Kwon Seunggi or is it Park? I don’t remember I only met him once, he never formally introduced himself to us either”

Another Seunggi?

Why she always encountered a ‘Seunggi’ in her life

It couldn’t be her brother, right?

Because he swore to never come back to Korea again after taking Yoona to Japan

So it couldn’t be him…and with a different surname as well, it couldn’t be him

**

For the past two weeks, Seungwan was busy preparing for her concert and moving into her old flat.

It always hospital-concert hall-her flat-hospital-concert hall-her flat

Weirdly not once she met Joohyun in the hospital, either the young doctor avoided meeting her or she was just very busy. Seungwan needed to apologize for the kiss but she knew that Joohyun wouldn’t want to hear anything from her or be around her. She would try to talk to her after the concert after the younger girl cooled down.

“Mommy, can I watch your concert ?” Minjeong asked hopefully

“We need to ask Dr Bae or Dr Kim” Well, better ask Jisoo

Seungwan continued to cut an apple for her “Anyway you will have guests today”

“Who?”

“AUNTIE!” Jimin appeared on the door and immediately hugged seungwan’s leg

“Oofs, Jimin. Where’s your mum?”

“Mommy” Minjeong looked at Jimin intently “Who is she ?”

Seungwan carried Jimin in her arms “Jimin-ah say hi to minjeong unnie, she is my daughter. Minjeong-ah this is Jimin, my best friend's baby”

Minjeong nodded and beamed “Annyeong”

“Annyeong unnie”

“KANG JIMIN *hufft*hufft*” Jennie appeared on the door while panting so hard “I said wait *hufft* for me *hufft*”

Seungwan raised her brows “You okay, Nini?”

“I’m not okay, I need to sit first” Jennie plumped herself on the sofa

“OMO, she looks like Dr Bae!” Minjeong gasped and looked at her mom “Who is she mommy?”

“Meet Jennie unnie” Seungwan beamed “She is Dr Bae’s younger sister”

Minjeong's eyes twinkled in surprise “Is that so? Wahhhh annyeong unnie!”

Jennie quietly observed Minjeong, somehow the girl looked like someone she knew but she couldn’t pinpoint who.

Seungwan nudged the young Bae “Eh? umm annyeong minjeong-ah”

“Where’s Seulgi and Sooyoung ?”

“They…”

Sooyoung and Seulgi appeared on the door, bickering