Mr. Kim slammed the newspaper down upon the mahogany desk and cursed at his absent children. “Stupid Jaejoong. Stupid Tae Hee. What did they think they were doing?! ?! They know PERFECTLY WELL that that cannot be tolerated in our world. The media will just contort it to make it more juicy!”

“Stop blaming our children! It’s your fault you decided to invest in Home Depot Inc. I mean, SERIOUSLY! We’re a software company for goodness’ sake! Why invest in a home improvement place? What is wrong with YOU?!” Mrs. Kim retorted in similar anger.

“WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME? YOU ASK, WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME?! THE BANKRUPTCY OF OUR COMPANY IS WHAT’S WRONG! IF THE MEDIA HADN’T FOUND OUT ABOUT TAE HEE AND JAEJOONG’S THING, I could have SAVED the company. NOW, because of them, we’re facing bankruptcy.”

“Stop passing on the buck! It’s YOUR fault. Not THEIRS.”

“WTF ARE YOU IMPLYING WOMAN? THAT IT WAS I WHO CAUSED THE DOWNFALL? WHEN I KNEW PERFECTLY WELL THAT---“

A knock sounded at the door as Tae Hee stepped in meekly. “Umma...Appa...”

Mr. Kim shook with anger but remained quiet.

“Where were you?” Mrs. Kim asked.

America. The hospital. Oh, how she wanted to tell them. “It doesn’t matter. But, I came home after I found out the news. Is there any way we can...recover from this?”

“NO. BECAUSE OF YOUR AND YOUR BROTHER’S SMART ACTIONS, it isn’t possible.”

Tae Hee cringed. “Can’t we go clear it up with a press conference or something?”

“DO YOU REALLY THINK WE HAVE THE MONEY TO HOLD A CONFERENCE ANYMORE?” Mr. Kim retorted angrily.

Mrs. Kim shook her head slowly. “Just go, Tae Hee, just go. I’ll calm him down.”


“But...”

“Just go.”


But you still don’t know about Jaejoong.



*****


“Miss Kim, are you ready?”

Tae Hee nodded confidently.

But her confidence soon disappeared as the needle gleamed in the light.

No, you can’t back down. This is for Jaejoong. Jaejoong. Jaejoong.

Her eyes closed after a last glimpse of Jaejoong.


*****


The doctor stood, looking grimly at her.

She gulped nervously; her eyes darting from the bandages on her arm to the IV inserted into her hand and finally to the doctor’s solemn face.

“So, how are you feeling?”

“Ok?” she replied.

He frowned, “I guess I’ll tell you when you’re better.”

“No! No! I’m all good now!” she protested.

“You’re not ready.”

He walked to the door before turning his head back. “I’m sorry.”

“Wait! What are you sorry for?” she shouted at his shadow. “We didn’t match up, did we?”


*****


“TAE HEE! OH TAE HEE!” Seung Yeon cried as she burst into the hospital room. “JAEJOONG HAS A MATCH! HE’S GOING TO BE CURED!”

Tears of happiness cascaded down Tae Hee’s cheeks. “Was it me? Was I the match?”

She grimaced. Why didn’t she see this coming? “Tae Hee...”

“Who was it then?”

A moment of hesitation. “...It was Sung Hee.”

Shock permeated through her body. “Sung Hee?”


*flashback*

A man pulled her into a dark hallway.

“WHAT?” Tae Hee yelled. But he covered with his hand before she could say anymore.

Quickly and quietly, he whispered, “This is for your own good. Don’t take any tests whatsoever. School exams, physicals, but most importantly, any test relating to blood.”

He gazed into her eyes briefly. “Remember. It’s for your own good.”

And then he disappeared into the darkness.

Leaving Tae Hee in confusion.


*end flashback*



And to think she had ignored the stranger.

Tae Hee closed her eyes in disbelief and inhaled deeply.

She had a disconcerting thought.

A VERY disturbing thought.


And the worst part was....

That it was probably right.



“Yeah. After we found out that you didn’t match up, Sung Hee volunteered to be tested. And... she tested positive.”

To think that everybody had thought that Sung Hee only wanted Jaejoong because of his money. Everybody had thought wrong. Apparently, she had really liked him. Or why else would she volunteer to be tested?

“Do you know what’s going on, Seung Yeon?” Tae Hee questioned quietly.

Who was she kidding? Nobody knew. They were all just too happy that Jaejoong would survive. They still hadn’t seen the big picture yet.


“Seung Yeon, can you bring me to Sung Hee? And also, get the doctor and Jaejoong?”

She nodded. “Ok.”


*****


The nine of them [Tae Hee, Seung Yeon, Younha, Sung Hee, Junsu, Changmin, Yoochun, Jaejoong, Yunho] stuffed themselves into the claustrophobia-inducing doctor’s office.

“WHOA!” the doctor exclaimed as he opened the door --- to find Changmin’s back. He mumbled to himself as he squeezed through the crowd to his desk. Taking a seat, he declared, “I’m hoping you are all prepared?”

A sea of nods.

“Amongst the nine of you, we have been blessed because we were able to find a suitable bone marrow donor for Patient Kim Jaejoong.”

A sea of smiles.

But the doctor grimaced, “However, during the bone marrow testing, I’ve discovered something rather...”

A sea of frowns.


“...interesting. As you might not know, bone marrow tests are similar to DNA tests. Therefore, while testing the bone marrow, we were simultaneously observing the DNA.

“And because of that, if the bone marrow doesn’t match up, there’s a 97% chance, the donor isn’t related to the patient. And if the bone marrow DOES match, there’s a 97% chance that the donor IS related to the patient.”

Tae Hee bit her lip. She didn’t like where this was going.

“And so we tested Miss Kim Tae Hee’s bone marrow with Mr. Kim Jaejoong.” He took a breath. “And it was negative. Obviously, we retested and analyzed the bone marrow and DNA just in case we made a mistake. Unfortunately, we didn’t [make any mistakes]. I’m sorry to inform you, but Tae Hee, you are not blood-related to Jaejoong.”

Heads turned as somebody collapsed.

“Umma!” Tae Hee cried before she could stop herself. No, not umma. She was Mrs. Kim now.

“Tae Hee. Jeong Hee. Where is my daughter?” she whispered desperately.

“She died,” somebody spoke up. “Jeong Hee died at the age of 7 from a gang shooting.”

Tae Hee looked up. It was that mystery stranger again.

“Yesung?” Jaejoong said in disbelief. “But you said. You said. But Tae Hee’s my sister!”



Yesung looked at the floor in shame. “But she isn’t. You threatened that I wouldn’t be able to step foot in Asia if I hadn’t found your sister. Tae Hee just happened to be a girl who fit most of your sister’s characteristics. And so I made her your sister.”


With sweat on his clammy forehead, Jaejoong rose himself from his seat and looked his private investigator in the eyes. “Do you know? DO YOU KNOW WHAT YOU HAVE DONE TO ME? TO TAE HEE? TO ALL OF US? All because YOU believed my stupid threat. WHAT THE .” He fell back into his chair limply.

Junsu spoke up, “Then what about Sung Hee? Seung Yeon said she tested positive.”


The doctor nodded. “Yes, in fact, Miss Kim Sung Hee was positive. And we analyzed her DNA too.”


Tae Hee clenched her teeth.

What if Jeong Hee hadn’t died? What if Yesung was lying again?

What if Sung Hee was really Jeong Hee?

Oh God.


“Remember? I said there was a 97% chance. Don’t forget that other 3%. Sung Hee belongs to that 3%. Jaejoong was just lucky enough that Sung Hee’s marrow matched because they aren’t blood-related either.”

A chorus of sighs of relief.



*****


His parents stood beside his bedside, with Tae Hee right behind them.

“Jaejoong,” Mrs. Kim whispered, tenderly brushing his silky bangs aside with her fingers. “Why didn’t you tell us earlier? Why’d you choose to break the news NOW---when your chances of survival are slimming?”

A smile crept upon his face. “Well, I’ve got a cure now, don’t I? I won’t die, Umma, I promise.”

“Son, mianhae,” Mr. Kim apologized. “It’s been all about the business lately. We’ve totally ignored you.”

A glint of anger shimmered in Jaejoong’s eyes. “It’s not just been lately. It’s been all my life,” he snapped back.

“I know, Jaejoong. And we’re sorry,” his father continued.

“No, you’re not.”


He inhaled deeply. “We’re filing a bankruptcy. It’s the end of our company. I know we’ve been horrible parents to you. So we’re going to leave.”


“What?”

“We’re going to tour the world. Settle down in some far off country. Disappear from your life.”

“What?”

“Without us to impede you, you can go follow your dreams. Become a singer. Go marry Tae Hee. Be successful in the area you’re most passionate about. We’ll be rooting for you.”

Tae Hee blushed.

Mrs. Kim turned to Tae Hee. “And Tae Hee.” She smiled. “I’m very sorry for all we’ve done to screw up your life. Calling you Jeong Hee. Forcing you to company functions. Tearing you from your other family. We’ll be supporting you too. TAE HEE FIGHTING!”

Jaejoong smiled. Perhaps the dust was finally settling. “Thank you, Umma, Appa.”


*****


A knock sounded on the hospital door.

Sung Hee smiled. How awesome could that be? Being able to save her beloved boyfriend AND finding out they weren’t related. He owed her---big time. “Come in.”

“Hello, Kim Sung Hee. We haven’t spoke in a while, have we?” the speaker chuckled; his/her face still hidden by the shadows of the doorway.

The smile was automatically wiped off. It was that voice again. Why? Of all times? Why did it have to come and haunt her when she was most happy?

She stuttered. “What do you want with me?”

“After the bone marrow transplantation, I want you to leave. Leave Jaejoong. Leave Korea. And settle elsewhere. Preferably somewhere nobody knows of. Perhaps Luxembourg or Palau? Or even Qatar,” the speaker ordered.

“You can’t do that. I’m getting married to him whether you like it or not. Who are you anyway? What gives you the power to order me around like this?” she objected.

“Money is power, dear.”

The speaker stepped from the shadows and into the light.



Sung Hee gasped. “Jang Ri In?”