Chapter 29: The Sister of the Bride

“Umma, I'll be going out”

Hyunjung said from the kitchen arch way as she put on her scarf and checked her bag if she left anything. Youngmi quietly sipped her coffee, she was having breakfast with her mother on a Saturday morning.

“Where are you going?”

Their mother asks her, Hyunjung barely even looks up as she answers

“Just meeting some friends”

“This early?”

Youngmi asks, taking a biscuit and putting it to

“Yes, business waits for no one just as time does”

Her sister gives her a sarcastic smile before grabbing the keys and walking out of the door. They both heard the door close, Youngmi sighed and nodded her head sideways before picking up her cup and taking another sip. Her umma turned to her with a questioning look

“Youngmi-ah, did you two have a fight?”

Youngmi turned to her mother and sighed

“Aniyo umma, don't worry... Unnie is probably on her period already, that's why she acts that way... I'll take a bath now”

Youngmi smiles and gets up, taking her cup of coffee with her as she makes her way upstairs. She continuously took sips as she walked to her room, along the way she heard a faint sound and it sounded like it was coming from Hyunjung's room. Without another thought, she opened the door to her sister's room where the sound became louder and eventually found her sister's phone ringing on top of her dresser.

Curious, she walked over to the dresser, the ringing stopped and a message popped up;

FROM: CLIENT H.R.

I'm already here at ******; where are you?

'Looks important'

Youngmi thought quietly to herself; she looked at the clock, it was nearly 8 already. Since she and Hyunjung got into a pretty bad argument, maybe she can make up for it by bringing her, her phone. It sound awfully important after all. Quickly, Youngmi picked up her cup, Hyunjung's phone and rushed to her room to take a shower.

When she was done, she got dressed and trudged downstairs.

“Umma, I'll be right back! Unnie left her phone and there's an important message here”

“Araso ~ be careful, okay?”

Youngmi smiled and ran to the kitchen, giving her mother a quick hug before running off, grabbing the keys on the way.

-

Hyunjung parked her car and grabbed the keys, afterwards got out and made her way inside the restaurant. A waitress walked over to her and asked her if she had an appointment, with a smile she said

“Uhm... Song Hye Rin”

the waitress nodded her head and lead her the way; she was lead to a table, not quite visible from the entrance and there she saw her client. The waitress left them both with a bow, she sat down on the opposite chair as Hye Rin.

“Took you awhile”

Hye Rin said, taking off her sunglasses and setting it aside as he waved over for a waiter to take their orders. Hyunjung opened the menu and began to take her pick. She asked Hye Rin

“Why'd you call me anyway?”

Hye Rin gave her orders to the waiter and turned her attention back to Hyunjung who also gave her food orders; the waiter listed it all down, nodded and then left them both.

“Your sister... I never thought she'd be such a stuck-up ; I mean, who even knew she'd have the guts to speak up to me?”

Hye Rin nodded, taking a sip of her glass of water; Hyunjung didn't look so surprised. Youngmi has been acting rather, fierce, these days.

“Well, that's her... what about the wedding?”

Hye Rin smiled gleefully

“SM Entertainment will take care of that; I'm going to see Heechul in a couple of days and remind him of some things, you can make your sister see us on a purposeful accident you know”

Hye Rin chuckled; Hyunjung sighed and leaned back on her seat

“Look, all I want is for this wedding to stop so my sister won't have to go through dying young and besides, he's bad influence for her, Hye Rin”

“Who's a bad influence?”

a gasp escape Hyunjung's lips, she jumped from her seat and turned around, Hye Rin's eyes were also wide in surprise.

-

Youngmi parked the car, she smiled when she saw her unnie's car. She grabbed her unnie's phone from her bag and closed the door of her car then walked into the restaurant. She walked further inside, looking for her sister and alas, she found the girl she was looking for, sitting with a stranger.

She walked over but as she got closer she began hearing her name, her wedding and the name she called her companion.

“...bad influence for her, Hye Rin”

So that was Hye Rin; she had brown hair with dark brown streaks, her face was like that of a model's, she was... undeniably pretty; she hadn't noticed that when they first crossed paths in the hospital; she changed. Youngmi bit her lower lip then with a shaky breath, she spoke

“Who's a bad influence?”

Hyunjung jumped from her seat and Hye Rin's eyes were wide in great surprise.

“Youngmi...”

her sister was at a loss for words; she diverted her gaze to Hye Rin who sat still in her seat.

“You're Hye Rin?”

she asked the girl; Hye Rin smirked and stood up from her seat, she wasn't as tall as Youngmi had pictured, they were of the same height.

“Deh... nice to see you again, Dr. Nam”

Youngmi took a deep breath and harshly tossed Hyunjung's phone on the table.

“So I see, one of my maid of honors works with you... This is great; thank you unnie”

Youngmi then her heel and began to walk away; Hyunjung was at a loss, she didn't know what to say

“Y-Youngmi”

-

she didn't know what hurt more... the fact that Heechul was not within her contact at the moment, that her wedding is in great jeopardy or that she just witnessed her sister working with her fiance's ex-girlfriend to stop her wedding from happening. She quickly drove away, back to her house and the moment she got there, she went upstairs to her room, took out a duffel bag, threw some clothes in and rushed downstairs.

She set her bag down by the doorway and called for her umma, she walked out into the backyard and found the lady gardening.

“Umma”

“Deh?”

her eyes were glistening

“I'm gonna leave for a few days, I'll call you, okay?”

“B-bwo? Why? Did you give your sister her phone?”

she sniffled a bit, her nose was attempting to go runny already.

“Deh umma, anyway I'm leaving now”

“What, so soon?”

She gave the lady a quick hug and quickly walked back to the door

“Deh, I'll call you umma, it's an emergency... Bye!”

she grabbed her bag then dashed out of the door; she tossed the stuffed bag into the passenger's seat, started her car and then drove away just as Hyunjung arrived and exited her car

“Youngmi!”

but it was no use, she was pretty quick; the older Nam rushed inside the house, calling for her umma. The lady appeared, taking off her gardening gloves and saw her elder daughter

“Oh Hyunjung-ah, did you get your phone -”

“Where's Youngmi heading?”

she sounded frantic

“I-I don't know, she didn't say... waeyo? Did something happen?”

Hyunjung whispered a curse under her breath as she ran a hand through her hair; this made her mother worry

“Hyungjung, what happened?”

Hyunjung rushed out of the door

“I'll explain later umma!”

Out of the blues, the household phone rang and quickly, the lady remaining in the house rushed to get it.

“Yes?”

“Ah, yeoboseyo, umma, it's Heechul”

“Heechul-ah, where are you? Did something happen between you and Youngmi?”

“Mwo? I'm still in Gangwon, Youngmi and I haven't spoken to each other yet... I called to do so, waeyo?”

The lady was worried now

“Aigo ~ she just drove away, I'm feeling so worried about her”

“A-ah, alright I'll call her... I'll call you back if I get anything, umma”

“Aigo ~ araso, thank you so much Heechul”

“I'm hanging up now”

-

Unfortunately, Heechul's trip back home was moved the day after tomorrow and he couldn't do anything about it but wait 'til the following day. After getting off of the phone with his soon-to-be mother-in-law, he quickly called the dorms but not one was answering so he then called Leeteuk but he wasn't answering either, he called the rest of the members but the only one who had answered was Sungmin and it was already evening when he answered, Heechul has been calling them for hours but none was picking up.

“Hyung, I'm in the middle of a recording!”

“Youngmi, have you seen her?”

“Aniyo, Youngmi-noona dropped by the dorms a day ago though, she talked with Teuki-hyung but I don't know what that was about”

“Aish, I'll call you later”

“Is something wrong?”

“Ani, I'll call you later”

He ended the call and walked around his room, thinking of what to do. He looked at his phone and called her number but after some rings, there was no answer so he kept trying. The door to his room opened making him turn and he saw his sister.

“Yah, umma told me you were home and something about a problem too”

“Tch, I thought you were in Seoul assisting my bride-to-be?”

“Yeah, except your bride to be hasn't contacted me and I have work too”

Heejin entered his room and sat down on the edge of his bed

“So, what's this problem of yours?”

“Nothing that I can't solve but thanks for the concern, you should really dye your hair soon”

he said, trying to divert the topic. Heejin rolled her eyes at him then puffed some air out of to push her bangs away.

“Anyway... 5 months left before you officially leave your single life”

Heechul fell quiet; he turned his back on her and put the phone to his ear once again, listening to the ring on Eunmi's line but after awhile, there was still no answer. He turned back to his sister.

“Can I tell you something?”

he asked, Heejin snorted a laugh

“Yeah sure, I mean, I literally am your sister so... yeah”

Heechul looked at her bluntly, not amused but talked anyway

“Remember my ex-girlfriend?”

Heejin thought for a moment, then her eyes lit up remembering and turned back to Heechul

“Ah! That girl, the pretty one? The one who always wants to know about your whereabouts, what's her name again?”

“Hye Rin”

“Yeah her, what about her?”

Heejin gasped

“She's not obsessing on you still, is she?”

Heechul frowned

“I wish she isn't... Aish, anyway leave my room, it's already dark out and -”

Heechul was cut off when he heard his mom's voice calling his name then fast pacing footsteps came and one of his cousins came, knocking harshly on his door

“Heechul-hyung! Heechul-hyung!”

Heechul quickly got the door, opening it calmly and still clueless

“Bwo?”

He asked his younger cousin

“Auntie says you should hurry down, Youngmi-noona is at the door”

Heechul's eyes widened; he quickly ran past his cousin and down the hall, he reached the living room and saw her umma by the door, Youngmi stood beside her with her head hanging low and a duffel bag in her hands. His appa stood beside his umma.

“Youngmi”

he hurried towards her, her head still hung low. He looked at his umma and appa, they both nodded; his umma placed a hand on Youngmi's shoulder

“You go get changed dear”

Youngmi nodded then the two elder couple went away. Heechul held her shoulders as she continued to look down, her hair shadowing her eyes.

“Youngmi, what are you doing here?”

“I needed to get away... can I stay here?”

She merely mumbled; Heejin appeared and saw Heechul talking to Youngmi, their cousin standing behind her. Heechul didn't know how to react to what she said to he just sighed and wrapped his arms around her which brought the tears out of her eyes.

-

“Alright, thank you, take care of her well Heechul-ssi”

Mrs. Nam sighed as she put down the phone, Hyunjung appeared through the door looking tired and exhausted.

“Heechul called”

Hyunjung looked at her mother who had her arms crossed over her chest. She looked at the elder sibling and nodded her head sideways;

“Youngmi's in Gangwon and she won't be home until the day after tomorrow”

Hyunjung sighed and ran a hand through her hair;

“What did happen, Hyunjung?”

the elder Nam walked past her mother, letting out a tired breath as she pocketed her keys in her coat.

“Mom, can we talk about this some other time? I'm tired right now”

“But -”

“Mom, please... not now”