CHAPTER ONE: 

Inheritance

Anong gagawin mo kapag nasa iyo na ang lahat pero parang may kulang pa rin?

(Katarina Jimin Yoo remembers the start of this untimely chaos to be the day of the will reading, where everything went wrong.)

"Are you nervous?" mahinang tanong ni Yuno Jaehyun Jeong, kapatid niya from another father and someone who's been there for her for as long as she could remember.

"Hindi," mahinang sagot ni Jimin habang nakatingin naman sa kanya si Aeri Uchinaga na parang mas kabado pa sa kanya. "Bakit naman ako kakabahan?"

"Girl, you've never been here since you were seventeen," maarteng sagot nito habang naglalakad na sila papunta sa main hall ng mansion ng pamilya Jang. "It's normal to be nervous—"

"I'm not," Jimin clarifies. "Besides, ano naman ang iiwan sa akin ni Lolo? We've never interacted for a very long time, noh?"

(Jimin Yoo still wonders up to this day why things turned out like that.)

"Si Ate, pupunta ba?"

Jaehyun shakes his head, and Jimin wonders why she asked in the first place.

Ang ate nilang napakalayo na ng narating, and she only sees her once a year. Jaehyun sees her frequently since their fathers are technically business partners, pero hindi si Jimin.

Irene Joohyun Bae. Yuno Jaehyun Jeong. Katarina Jimin Yoo. 

Siblings from different fathers, each differently unique. 

Her Ate Joohyun inherited Bae Industries, ang kumpanya ng tatay niya which happens to be their mother's first ex-husband at kinikilala pa rin na asawa nito. 

Jaehyun is set to inherit Jeong United, kumpanya ng tatay niya na second ex-husband ng nanay nila and partner company ng Bae Industries.

Samantalang si Jimin… Wala.

She never even knew her father, so why would she inherit anything?

As far as family ties go, siya ang anak sa labas. Why would their late grandfather even invite her to a will reading, much less include her in one?

"You're being pessimistic," Aeri always said whenever she talked about how she always felt like the black sheep of the family. "Tito Younghoon (Jeong) always treated you like family naman, 'di ba?"

But that isn't enough, Jimin always told herself, They all have fathers that take care of them. 

Bakit ako wala?

That's the reason why she cut herself from the big and glamorous Jang Family when she turned eighteen. She moved to a city far enough from the big mansion, away from the riches and status she didn't feel entitled to.

She's not a Jang, she's a Yoo.

Kahit na 'di niya alam kung sino, basta hindi siya magiging kasama sa pamilya na iyon.

When they entered the main hall, lahat ng tao na nasa loob agad namang napatingin kay Jaehyun, especially kay Jimin na gusto nalang umalis agad if not for Aeri holding her hand tight. 

The three siblings were mentioned specifically to come, at walang minention na ibang relatives. Their grandfather basically put the spotlight over their heads, and Jimin hated him for it.

The three of them chose to settle into the back, at enough na ang masamang titig ni Jaehyun at ni Aeri para hindi lumapit ang kahit sinong kamag-anak nila para magtanong ng kung ano man. 

“Whatever happens, we’re here, alright?” 

Jimin could only nod at that. A few minutes later the event finally started, the family’s lawyer entering the premises and sitting in front of the long table. 

Mahigpit ang hawak ni Jimin sa kamay ni Aeri, while Jaehyun protectively puts his arm around Jimin’s shoulder as the girl leans back on him. Habang binubuksan na ng lawyer yung envelope na naglalaman ng will ng lolo nila, hindi maiwasan ni Jimin na kabahan na parang buhay niya ang nakasalalay dito. 

It was a long wave of silence from the audience as the lawyer reads the different introductions and other rights from the written will, and Jimin imagines their grandfather writing it himself in his office before his death—

Or did he plan this for so long already? 

"...ang kumpanya at ang lahat ng konektadong pag-aari ay mapupunta kay Katarina Jimin Yoo. Ang kayamanang pera at iba pang uri ng kayamanan ay mapupunta kay Katarina Jimin Yoo… ang farmhouse kong natira na nasa San Juan ay mapupunta kay Katarina Jimin Yoo. Ang ibang naiwang kayamanan na hindi nabanggit ay siyang paghahatian ng dalawa pang anak ni Jooyoung Yo