Yoona POV

I am late.

For the very last ceremony that my sister will ever have here on Earth, and I am late.

I curse under breath as I pull into the already crowded parking lot. The place is packed.

There are people from all walks of life, all with the sole purpose of honoring my older sister.

I see that some are crying, others try to calm themselves down, and there are those like me who just keep staring at others. There's still a lot of processing that needs to take place. It's too much of a shock.

I knew I had to calm myself down. After taking several deep breaths, that is when I finally notice the strange cars that seem to be following my own.

Sh*t... the paps followed me all the way here?! Crud, what am I going to do??? I don't want to distract everyone from Hyoyeon unnie's service. And how am I going to sneak into the church without them noticing?

I could already see the headlines for tomorrow's paper. 

Actress and Author Im Yoona attends heartbreaking funeral!!!

I let out a sigh of relief after seeing that the security at the funeral home decided to stop the cars behind me. Someone must have told them I was coming to the service. I mentally noted to thank them later and I rushed out of the car, not forgetting to put on my sunglasses.

I sprint up the steps and sneak into through the back door of the church.

The room is filled with so many people that I do not even know. There are a few faces here and there that I recognize. But mostly are strangers, who I assume are from Hyoyeon unnie's and Hyuk oppa's dance studio.

They all silently stare at me as I walk in.

There are some hushed whisperings and several gasps. I can already hear some of the teenaged girls squeal and the teenaged guys are craning their neck to take a better look at me...

The fame that can never escape the Im Yoona. 

"YOONA! Over here!"

I turn around to see my best friend, Sooyoung, waving frantically at me. I bow in apology to the people in the room and quickly make my way to Soo. 

"Where were you?!?! We've been waiting for AGES now!!! We had to have all these people wait! What took you so long Yoong?" questions Sooyoung.

"I appologize, but the paparazzi were behind me the whole way here and that was after the staff messed up the CF I was filming."

"Where are Jessica and Tiffany?!"

I shake my head, "They can't make it to the funeral. They had business to deal with. They said they would be here for the burial though."

Sooyoung gave a sort of grunt and quickly led me through the crowd of people.

"Well whatever the reason... you're late! There's someone who you need to meet, like NOW!"

That was right, I was going to be meeting her now... my niece.

This would only be the  fourth time I would be seeing her.

First: on the day she was born, second: the Christmas when she was born, the third: her first birthday, and finally now.

I had missed her second birthday since I was overseas and let's face it: I'm not a family people type. I mean she has parents right? What use is there for her to have an aunt, a famous one, to show up rarely never? Plus I didn't want to bother Hyoyeon unnie's and Hyuk oppa's happiness. So for the last few years of my life, I basically pretended I didn't have family, only sending the occasional holiday card and phone call.

I wonder if she'd hold that against me? Afterall I am technically her guardian now. How big had she gotten? Was she well behaved? Does she look like Hyoyeon unnie? Hyuk oppa? Will she hate me? Can I raise her?

"She's adorable," said Sooyoung as if she were reading my mind. "She's perfectly well-behaved for a kid her age."

The shikshin turned around to look at me and whispered, "She looks just like you and she's absolutely beautiful."

We walked along in silence as Sooyoung left me alone to my thoughts.

*Sigh* Hyoyeon unnie.. what WERE you thinking when you made me her guardian???

*Flashback*

"Hello?" I groggily pick up the phone. It's 3 a.m and I had just fallen asleep an hour ago.

The line on the other end spoke, "Is this Miss Im Yoona?"

"Yes , that's me."

"Ma'am I'm Officer Kang and I'm sorry to tell you this but your older sister, Lee-Im Hyoyeon, and her husband, Lee Hyukjae, were in a massive car accident several hours ago. I regret to tell you that they both sustained fatal injuries. My condolonces to you."

For moment I forgot how to breathe and function...

Hyoyeon unnie? Dead?! And Hyuk oppa?! How is that even possible????

"Ma'am, are you still there?" The police man asked, breaking me away from my thoughts.

"Yes I am... Ummm... Where are they now?"

"We'll ma'am they're being held at the morgue at the moment. Their close friends are already planning their funeral... Did you want to have them stop? After all she is your sister, I would understand if you'd want to plan everything."

"No sir, that'll be quite alright. I'd like to know the address so I can make my way down there as soon as possible."

"Yes ma'am. And another thing, we've also read their will and we have some items that now belong to you. They left you their house as well as everything in it."

"Alright, that can just be handed to me at the police station correct? Or can I have it mailed directly to me? I'm a busy person, so I don't have time to waste..."

"We'll be able to send you the keys and documents via priority shipping. I'll have my men do it tomorrow morning. "

"Thank you officer,"

"Um ma'am, there's one more thing they've left you."

"Yes?"

"They've left you as the guardian of their only daughter as well..."

The night mimicked the silence that overtook both ends of the phone lines.

*End of flashback*

So here I am. The Im Yoona amidst her crazy schedule, attending her only sister's funeral and also becoming a legal guardian of a minor. Life can do crazy things to you.

We finally arrived at a smaller room filled with less people, although all these people were literally flat out sobbing. I peered around the room, only to notice that I recognized most of these people. Hyuk oppa's brothers, close friends of Hyoyeon unnie, and few more.

Sooyoung made her way through the sea of people, while dragging me along by the arm. That's when I finally saw her. My niece.

You couldn't miss her. She was directly in the front of the room, sitting in front of the enlarged picture of Hyuk oppa and Hyoyeon unnie. She clutched what appeared to be a Rilakuma plushie dressed as a strawberry. And unlike everyone else in the room she wasn't dressed in black. She was wearing a bright yellow dress.

What took me more by surprise was that she also wasn't crying. She stared longingly at the pictures of her now deceased parents in front of her, but she didn't shed a single tear. 

Sooyoung nudged me to say something as I continued to stare at my niece.

I knelt down and cleared my throat.

"Urmmm... Minna-ah?"

The little girl turned her attention away from the pictures and directed it towards me. 

Sooyoung was right, she was cute and she looked just like me.

She had very round doe-like eyes and long black hair, which was held back with a bright yellow headband. Minna held onto her Rilakuma more tightly as she also stared back intensely at me.

I tried to smile. "Minna-ah, I know you don't know me and I don't really know you either. But I'm your aunt. My name is Im Yoona and your mother, Hyoyeon unnie, asked for me to take care of you now. You can call me Yoona-unnie."

Minna's face slowly turned into a smile as she took in what I was saying. 

"Umma told me you'd come unnie."

Minna suddenly ran over to me and of pure instinct I held my arms open as she snuggled herself into my embrace. I carefully cradled her head and gently her soft hair.

For once in my life, I did something without over thinking it.

Although I knew raising Minna would be a challenge, I couldn't help but feel as if this were somehow meant to be.

I know I'm not the best person for this job, but so help me God, I'm going to try my best...