Kim-Hwangs



“People, people, come get your revised itineraries! Time is of the essence!”, Taeyeon bellowed, a subtle show of spit spraying whenever she uttered words that started with a P.
She began handing out the entire days’ schedule as people lined up to get out of the door.


“Mr. Horvejkul---here’s your copy of the itinerary. Nichkhun and Victoria---you two are sharing, Fany---I’ll hold on to ours and, Hyoyeon---?”

“Here! Hold on, honey. I gotta go; I’ll call you back in a second” Hyoyeon ran towards to Taeyeon to snatch the paper before flipping her phone off.

“You better not be on the phone 24/7 like last time…”, Taeyeon warned as her sister giddily skipped to the van, managing a carefree smile at Taeyeon.


“And Sulli…where’s Sulli?”


“Still upstairs sleeping”. Yoona lied.


Taeyeon gave her a weird look before resuming her itinerary passing.


“Seohyun, here’s your copy…Yoona, you’re sharing with Sulli”, Taeyeon said when she got to Yoona. 


It was obviously a last minute change.


“Where’s Sulli?”, Seohyun asked Yoona. 


A groan coming from the top of the stairs let her know that the unwilling teenager was now on her way---as slowly as possible, of course.


‘Great, I’m stuck with a spoiled teenager’


As if to confirm her horrible fate with Sulli, Seohyun whispered a warning to her, “Just watch out for her. She can be trouble at times”


“Now, I'm gonna activate the alarm. It'll go off in T minus 30 seconds. Make sure you exit the vicinities by then”, Taeyeon warned as she furiously entered a sequence of pin numbers on a security pad perched on the wall almost as if she had rigged it to self-destruct. Everyone left the house in a hurry, scrambling to get to their van. She was a special agent, after all; Yoona didn’t doubt that it could so she rushed out along with everybody else until Seohyun stopped her.


“It's cold out”, Seohyun said, well aware of her girlfriend’s illness. To make sure, Seohyun pressed a palm on her forehead, confirming her suspicions correct: Yoona had a slight, growing fever.


“Here, take Sulli’s jacket”, Seohyun handed her a coat from the coat rack.


“It’s fine Seo. I don’t think I need it”, Yoona said although Seo was already helping her put it on.


“Hey, Sulli, I'm lending Yoona your jacket, okay?”, she informed as the unwilling teenager dragged herself down the stairs.


Without a glance, she answered, “Yeah, whatever”


YoonHyun exited the house together with Sulli trailing behind. Sulli dug her jacket pockets to shield it from the cold wind, the unusually expansive space alerting her that something was amiss. Only then did she realize that it was missing.


‘Did I drop it while I was out?!’, Sulli freaked out, frantically looking around her just in case. 


‘OMG, if anybody sees it…I’ll be dead!’


Sulli continued to fumble around her coat pocket until she remembered she wasn’t wearing her usual jacket…


‘….It’s with Yoona!’


“Let's go, Sulli!”

-----




Activity 1: Fitting




Taeyeon drove with Tiffany and Hyoyeon in the passenger seat while Mr. Horvejkul and KhunToria sat in the middle seat, leaving Seohyun, Sulli and Yoona with the back seat. Seohyun went in first and before Yoona could take her place besides her girlfriend, Sulli beat her to it, placing herself right in between YoonHyun, much to the two’s silent disappointment.


The ride to the tailor’s was a particularly torturous one, especially with Sulli breathing down Yoona’s neck---literally. Paired up by none other than Taeyeon (almost as if she knew Sulli would cause her problems), the teenager made it a point to sit excruciatingly close as they took their spots in the backseat.


Occasional bumps and potholes on the road ‘accidently’ sent Sulli onto Yoona, although the latter didn’t fail to notice her hands subtly feel for something in the coat. Seohyun took quick glances at the two, knowing full well that the trouble maker was once again up to no good.


‘Teenagers are so weird…I’m never having children’, Yoona thought as she pulled herself away from Sulli politely, assuming the girl was just a bigger ert than Krystal.

****


‘Damn it! So close!’, Sulli cursed as they exited the van and into the shop. With Seohyun eyeing her like a hawk, she couldn’t possibly get close to Yoona’s pockets.


But another opportunity presented itself when everyone tried on their wedding attire for last minute fittings, leaving their coats, more specifically Yoona’s, unattended at a nearby chair while they changed. 


When everyone was too engrossed doing their own thing, Sulli snuck out of her fitting room and tip toed to the coat, occasionally looking out for any prying eyes.


Clear.


She reached out and quietly dug into the pockets, her hand encircling her target. Sulli partially retracted as she looked around for a trashcan to dump the item in but before she could so much as move, a sudden hand on her shoulder caused her to jump.


“How’s that dress fit, Sulli?”


“Aunt Tae, it’s---“


“What’s that in your hand?”, Taeyeon asked as she removed her hand on her niece’s shoulder to inspect the item closer.


She motioned for Sulli to show it to her, the latter hesitantly uncurling her fingers to reveal her palm, the thing she wanted to hide resting in the middle for all to see.


“I-It's a candy I found in Yoona’s jacket”, Sulli stuttered with an unbearable amount of aegyo which Taeyeon immediately grimaced at. Whether it was the aegyo, the item or a mixture of both, disapproval was evident on her expression.


“This isn't candy, Sulli.”


“Really?”, the teenager piped innocently although Taeyeon scanned her for any signs of lying.


“Not mine…It's not!”, she defended, almost cracking under her intense gaze.


Although Taeyeon knew Sulli had a knack for trouble, she refused to believe that a 17-year old, her callow and troubled niece at that, would possess a package of condoms.


Yoona on the other hand…

***


Yoona watched as Seohyun helped her sister into her wedding dress. Although her girlfriend’s white dress was simple compared to her sister’s extravagant ones, Yoona couldn’t help but stare in awe of her beauty. If anything, simple dresses like the one she was wearing now only accentuated her magnificence as it focused the attention to her natural beauty. She looked simple, elegant, graceful, angelic and very innocent although her quiet demeanor gave her a strong independent vibe.


It wasn’t until they locked eyes and smiled at each other did Yoona suddenly feel the need to shower her with love kisses.


Forget the rules. 


Forget Taeyeon. 


Forget the whole world.


Without breaking their intense eye-contact, Yoona slowly made her way to Seohyun, however, unexpectedly halted when the image of her girlfriend suddenly disappeared, only to be replaced by Taeyeon’s chest. Yoona’s yearning immediately dissipated at the sight.


She tried not to show her disgust and disappointment when she mindlessly blurted in a frustrated whisper, “AWW What tha Fuu---”


Taeyeon who had unknowingly intersected her path could only tilt her head in confusion.


“Can I talk to you for a minute?”, the older woman shrugged it off and asked, although it was more of an order than a request. She didn’t bother waiting for an answer when she pushed Yoona into a fitting room and commanded her to take a seat, closing the door behind her.


“Sit down”


Yoona immediately complied, fear for this woman returning as the short mother now towered her while she sat.


“Did I not clearly explain the circle of trust to you, Yoona?”, Taeyeon says with arms crossed, her teeth in annoyance.


“I…yeah, I think I got it…”


“Then is there something you want to tell me?”


Yoona thought hard.


“Mm, l-l don't think so…”, she says hesitantly, now doubting her answer. 


Taeyeon on the other hand wasn’t amused by her oblivious act. The supermarket incident clearly displayed Yoona’s player-like inclinations…and her existing attraction to men.


Is this what this is about? Sulli’s ‘discovery’ of Yoona’s sly possession of condoms didn’t bode well for the latter at all. Cheating wasn’t a farfetched idea by this point especially since she refused to answer the cheating question during her interrogation. Unless…Yoona had plans to ‘engage’ in more activities with her daughter despite Taeyeon’s warning…


Either way, both scenarios didn’t seem too appealing for Taeyeon.


“Didn't we have a discussion yesterday about this?”, the overbearing woman said, referring to her talk with Yoona in the basement regarding pre-marital relations.


“Oh, yes! You mean-- Yes! You mean me and Seohyun. Yes, I would love to talk to you about that!”, Yoona exclaimed, thinking she would finally get the chance to ask for Taeyeon’s permission. By yesterday, she had thought Taeyeon was talking about their interrupted conversation in the car on the way to the supermarket.


“We're not talking about Seohyun. We're talking about you. See, if I can't trust you, Yoona, then I have no choice but to put you right back outside the circle. And once you're out, you're out. There's no coming back.”


“Mm, well, I would definitely like to stay inside the circle”


“Well, then, tell me the truth.”


“Okay.”


Yoona patiently waited for the questions to start rolling…but they didn’t come. Taeyeon continued to look at her, her scrutinizing gaze overbearing.


Silence. So Yoona sat there awkwardly not knowing what to do or say.


When she could bear the silence no longer, Yoona broke it with a loud exhaling breath, “I don't know what we're talking about.”, she confessed.


Taeyeon was less than amused with her stubbornness.


“All right, now look, Kwon-Jung, I'm a patient woman. That's what 3 months in a North Korean prison camp will do to you. But I will be watching you, studying your every move. And if I find that you are trying to corrupt my youngest child, I will bring you down. Got it?”, bringing her index and middle finger to her eyes then pointed them at Yoona.


“I’ll be keeping an eye on you---like a hawk”


-----



YulSic



Jessica fumbled through the papers in her home office, looking for Yoona’s MCAT score.


Did Yoona even take it? She doesn’t remember. The girl never took anything seriously during her high school and college days although that didn’t hinder her from doing well academically albeit not her best.


She opened the vault containing her most intimate legal papers: marriage certificates, birth certificates of her children, etcetera etcetera, hoping to find it.


Jessica continued fumbling through the now messy vault, a ring falling out in the process.


She picked it up and before she could even begin to reminisce, Krystal’s voice from outside interrupted her: “Omma, can you help me with something?”, Krystal called out to her mother.


“Ask your appa! I’m doing something for your sister!”


“But you’re better than appa with this kind of thing”


Jessica sighed and shoved everything back into the vault, the ring included, “Alright, I’m coming”.

***


Jessica brushed her daughter’s hair with outmost care before beginning to braid it. Krystal was right; had she asked Yuri to do it, their daughter would end up looking like a beehive has just fallen on top of her head.


“Why are you so concerned about your hair? Do you have a date or something?”


“No. Why? Can’t I look nice without you thinking I’m trying to impress someone?”


“Because you usually don’t care about the way you look”


“Thanks”, Krystal glared at her omma who only stared back in a bored fashion, not the least bit faze by the little ice princess.


Jessica continued to her hair, admiring the stunning youthful glow Krystal was emanating.


“You’re so beautiful. Just like your appa”, she whispers, gently embracing her daughter. “And don’t tell her I said that”, she warned, adding her own doze of iciness.


“Ew. Stop being so sappy, mom”, Krystal laughed and poked fun at her mother.


“Shut up”. With a kiss on the cheek and kick on her bum, Jessica dismisses her daughter from the YulSic bedroom.


As Yuri was walking down the 2nd floor hallway, she passes Krystal who was running down the stairs looking like a pretty princess. She raised an eyebrow at her giddy child but resumed her quest to find the Ice Queen.


“Well doesn’t she look nice? What’s the occasion? Did you bribe her to take a bath?”, Yuri joked, entering her bedroom while giving her wife a slight smirk as she leaned on the side of the door.


“She said wanted to look good today”


“Why? Does she have a date or something?”, Yuri immediately furrowed her eyebrows at the thought. As Jessica was extra-protective of Yoona, Yuri was extra-protective of Krystal.


“That’s what I thought”


“Better not be a boyfriend”, Yuri replies distastefully.


“Better not be anybody. Period.”

***


Yuri was reading the daily newspaper when the doorbell rang. She headed for the door to open it with Minho trailing just behind, happy for new company as his usual entertainment, Sica, was currently taking a nap. It also didn’t help the fact that the other two inhabitants of the house weren’t paying attention to him as Krystal was nowhere to be found and Yuri was too engrossed in her crossword puzzle.


'Better not be the er', Yuri thought, only to take it a few seconds later when she realized Sooyoung would have no one to . Actually, she wanted someone to talk to since Jessica fell asleep in the middle of her daily venting, leaving Yuri puffing in discontentment on the side of their bed.


Imagine her surprised when a blonde haired boy greeted her…the same one she’s been seeing Krystal with every time she dropped her off to school.


With as much threatening demeanor as she could muster, she said, “Um can I help you?”


Before the boy could answer, Krystal was already out the door, dragging the boy out until Yuri stopped her in her tracks with a firm hold on her collar.


“Where do you think you’re going, young lady?”


For a split second, Krystal could be seen with a surprised expression. It wasn’t the first time she had gone somewhere unannounced…and her lenient appa never seemed to have a problem with it---until now.


“I’m going to the movies”


“Why spend money when you can just watch in the house?”, Yuri implied while Krystal widened her eyes at her care-free appa now turned frugal.


“But appa! We already bought our tickets!”


“I’ll refund it”


Finally realizing what her appa was up to, Krystal sighed, knowing Yuri couldn’t be persuaded in this certain topic.


“Fine. But we’re watching in my room”


Yuri had a defeated look and could only narrow her eyes at the nervous boy in warning as the two climbed up the stairs.


Minutes passed and still Yuri couldn’t focus on her reading. She’s been stuck on the same sentence for 10 minutes as she found herself thinking about the worse possible scenario regarding her daughter and the boy.


A room. 

A boy and a girl. 

A door with a lock.

A bed.




Oh dear God.


Before she knew it, Yuri found herself running up the stairs towards Krystal’s room.

***


Jessica woke up, dry. Omo, she fell asleep in the middle of Yuri’s insipid speech. Surely, she’ll be scolded to hell for it later.


She got up to head for the kitchen for a much needed rehydration session, until she spotted Yuri’s hunched figure pressed by the door of Krystal’s room.


“What are you doing?”


Yuri ignored her, a glass cup in hand with the open end pressed on the surface of the door, no doubt in hopes of amplifying the sound resonating from within Krystal’s room.


“…are you spying on Krystal?”


“SHH I can’t hear anything!”, Yuri hissed at her wife like a possessed obsessive stalker.


“Yul…are you serious?”


“SHH! There’s a boy in there with her”, Yuri mouthed.


Suddenly interested, Jessica takes a spot right next to her wife and presses an ear on the door, using Yuri’s waist as support. Sure enough, she heard two voices.


The majority of it was incoherent so the two spies pressed their ears closer, squinting their eyes as if it would help them hear better.


Before the two could do anything else, the door suddenly opened, sending Yulsic toppling all over the floor. After groaning and untangling their bodies, they briefly looked up to see Krystal glowering at them with hands on her hips. If there was anything more highly valued than public displays of love in the Kwon-Jung household, it would be privacy and respect for space; after all, there must be a balance to everything. The enforcers of this rule just broke it…and Krystal was fuming mad.


“Oh wow…well. I—uh…we…SICA! Why did you push me against the door!? Aish, you have no self-control! There are kids in the house!”, Yuri turned to Sica, dramatically pointing at the two teenagers as if she just realized they were there.


“WHAT?!”, Jessica gave Yuri an scowling glare, only to see a split second signal to play along.


“Oh…I-I’m sorry. I thought this was our bedroom~ Let’s take this somewhere else then, Seobang~. Sorry for interrupting you guys~”, Jessica said getting up and pulling her Seobang seductively by the collar.


“Uh I think I should go…”, the boy said uncomfortably, immediately heading for the door.


***


After hearing the door close downstairs, they heard Krystal’s growl growing closer, “APPA…OMMA!”


YulSic widened their eyes. Without warning, Yuri threw Jessica on their bed despite the latter’s protest before pulling up the blankets over their heads. As if that would hide them from the fury of the ice princess.


They heard her stomp into their room, stopping just inches from their bed as Krystal tried to yank the covers off of her parents only to have Yuri hold it in place with an iron grip.


“Yah! Were busy. Come back later!”, Yuri yelled, feigning irritation.


“Stop playing around! I know you guys aren’t doing it!”, Krystal yanked back.


“I-I swear. We’re not wearing anything under this blanket! Leave us alone!”, Yuri said, keeping the covers on them.


“Quick! Take off your clothes!” Yuri hissed in a whisper to Jessica.


“WHAT?! You’re out of your damn mind!”, she hissed back, slapping Yuri’s frantic hand away as it started peeling at her shirt.


Yuri’s grip loosened when she did, momentarily giving Krystal the upper hand and finally succeeding at prying the blanket off of her fully clothe parents.


Yuri smiled at Krystal sheepishly…then pointed an accusing finger at Jessica.


“It was your omma’s idea!”

***


When everything had finally calmed down…


“Who was that boy?”


“That ‘boy’ was Amber…my friend? You don’t trust me?”


“We don’t trust that boy---wait, he’s a girl?” 


“Duh…

“I can’t believe you guys… she’s not even my type! I like girls with long hair”


Jessica choked on a piece of food while Yuri sprayed the coffee from at the sudden coming out confession.


“Y-you like girls?” YulSic had always assumed that their daughter was straight as she only showed interest in the opposite gender…up until now---much like Yoona.


“Yeah…why, is that bad?”


“What? Uh no…obviously”, Yuri added, making it a point to put her arm around Jessica.


“What is your type anyway?”, Yuri asked with a raised brow, bracing herself for the information. At least this way, she knows who to keep her eyes on. Seems like all this time, she’s been looking out for the wrong gender.


YulSic wasn’t the least bit surprised with their daughter’s answer. As expected, it was based on her appa’s image, similar to how Yoona’s type was based on her omma’s.


“Bad -look and rebellious personality…but very affectionate”

----------



SulToria



“So what was that doing in your jacket?”


“What are you talking about unnie~?”, Sulli looked up innocently at Victoria who was changing out of her wedding dress.


“Stop that. Your aegyo might work on your appa and mine, but not me”, Victoria said with a sly smile.


“Okay then. What’re you talking about?”, she said in her usual tone. 


“You know what I’m talking about. Don’t mess around like that.” Victoria stopped what she was doing to lock eyes with her younger cousin, indicating she was dead serious. Although they were five years apart, Sulli got along a lot better with her than she did with Seohyun as she had more in common with the older unnie. Aside from having the same unruly personality, Victoria also had her share of trouble during her youth (continuing even now) so she understood Sulli a lot better than most people.


“What do you care?”


“You’re right, I don’t care.”


Sulli felt a pang of hurt at her indifference although she kept her tough façade. Victoria on the other hand saw through it and immediately understood.


“Well, I’m going to be calling Auntie if you don’t get your act straight. Unlike me, she does care”, Victoria added, also putting up her own detached façade although it was clear she cared for the girl like her own sister.


“You know…you got Yoona in trouble…”, Victoria continued, rummaging through her stuff. Deep down, she knew Sulli was a good kid; misguided, confused and angry, but good. Victoria knew Sulli never intended to put Yoona in any kind of compromising situations.


Victoria turned to face Sulli, expecting a half-assed apology but instead, she sees Sulli’s solemnly gaze on the floor.


“She doesn’t care about me. Otherwise she wouldn’t have dumped me away”

----



Activity 2: B.B.Q. at Best Man’s



The van pulls up a circular pavement pathway, leading them to the front of a beautifully decorated house.


“Where are we? I thought we were going to the best man’s house for lunch”, Victoria said, looking up at the unfamiliar mansion.


“We are, sweetie. This is his new house”


“Wow!”


“Oh, this is a crazy house. Not bad, huh, appa?”

***


“Maybe it was passed out during a ed. class Yoona was required to take and she just forgot she had it in her pocket? You know nurses have to be educated on that type of stuff too”, Tiffany said in a low voice to Taeyeon as the latter held her hand, leading her to the mansion’s door.


“Yeah, if you’re fine with her studying the anatomy of Seobaby…Honey, this kid has been lying to us from the moment we met her. And did you hear about her parents? They don’t even have time to have dinner together. You know what kind of family I think they are? Fugitives! Criminals! A family of liars…it only makes sense; the apple doesn’t fall from the tree after all…”


“Oh Tae, stop being so judgmental”, Tiffany gently scolded, patting her wife’s hand with her own.


Just behind TaeNy was Mr. Horvejkul, telling more of his lame jokes to Sulli who wasn’t even bothering to pretend to listen, Hyoyeon who was chatting away with her cellphone-husband, KhunToria who was silently linked by the arm and lastly, YoonHyun who was also having their own intimate conversation.


“How was the family bonding? I hope Sulli was behaving”


“Uh-huh, yeah, Sulli was fine. It was fun.”


Seohyun noticed how the girl seemed quieter than usual---probably due to her growing illness, she thought.


She sticks her arm out for Yoona to take, the latter taking it without hesitation.


“Listen, I hope this lunch isn't too weird for you”, Seohyun began.


“Why would ‘B.B.Q at Best Man's’ be weird?”, Yoona asked as she gently pried the itinerary from Seohyun’s hand.


It didn’t take long to get her answer; she wished she never asked.


“Yonghwa! Bro, how have you been?!”, Nichkhun yelled, momentarily pulling away from Victoria to hug the tall man at the door.


Yoona immediately snapped her attention at the front door at the sound of the familiar name, gawking at the two in disbelief before turning to Seohyun.


“Yonghwa---your ex-fiancé---is Nichkhun’s best man?!”


“They went to medical school together. It was Victoria and Nichkhun that introduced us…”, Seohyun answers with a hesitant tone.


Yoona continued to look at Seohyun in disbelief until she was interrupted.


“Hyun? Is that you?!”, the man Yoona recognized as Yonghwa butted in, much to her extreme distaste.


To make matters worse, the guy literally ran towards Yoona’s girlfriend with open arms, taking in the surprised girl in a tight and warm embrace. As if to emphasize just how much he’s missed her, he slightly picks her off the ground and twirls her around excitedly. And the worse: Seohyun wasn’t stopping him. Yoona could see a slight look of happiness when they hugged, Seohyun eventually reciprocating albeit more gently and controlled.


Yoona wanted to puke at the sight; it almost looked like a scene off of The Notebook. That was supposed to be her. She was unable to hold back the deadly glare than had subconsciously surfaced from her eyes, Superman’s laser beam suddenly paling in comparison.


Yoona would’ve ignored the seemingly normal greeting had she not been aware of the fact that Seohyun doesn’t hug just anybody; she only hugs people she loves---hopefully in this case, loved.



---------
Author’s notes:
Chapter 17 has actually been sitting in my hard drive for a day but the server issues from yesterday kept me from updating. But here it is! This chapter is dense with information---from subtle hints, to foreshadowing and indirect characterizations. If you’ve spotted it, GOOD JOB. If not, even better! There’s nothing better than a nice surprise!
Was that a blatant hint of JungLi or what? Just when you thought it was going to be KryBer D:
Well, things should get a lot more interesting with Yonghwa in the picture 
I foreshadow some intense update spamming in the near future since we’ve now gotten to a good part of the story and I’m more than motivated to finish this fic (if time permits it ;-. I think we’ve got like 8-10 chapters to go…if not less…> If I update like I did in July, we’d be done by the end of September!
I don’t think I can squeeze in Taeny moments since the future chapters will be heavy--and I mean HEAVY with YoonHyun-YongSeo. Unless you want me to cut back on Kwon-Jung? LOL nvm; I’m not making you guys choose between Taeny and YulSic.
Don’t worry, Taeny’ll have their own spotlight in stage 2 ^^