Happy Ending

Every day, Taeyeon wakes up with her hand on the door. Sleepwalking was another disorder she had whenever she was under stress. It got better when she quit her show the first time, but probably came back because of first day jiffies.

It was a little over two weeks after Taeyeon recovered from her fever. She was thankful of that; but at the same time, worried, because her head keeps hitting the door while she's in the middle of her sleep.

The first time it happened, she had no idea she was sleepwalking at all. She was in the state of mind that she thought she was awake and that she was resuming her daily activities. Tiffany even tried to pry the door open when she hit the door, but they both had their hands on the knob. Their pushing and pulling was equal enough for the door to appear stuck.

Two weeks straight. Her body has never failed in trolling her.

She focused her attention to the huge amount of paperwork Jessica gave her earlier. It was full of red circles and notes. Taeyeon can feel her head ache from all this reading. There were so many things she had to fix, a lot of things she needed to change in order to bring her listeners back. It was hard for her to understand why her advices were rated as something that didn’t help at all.

One of the biggest issues Jessica had pointed out came from one of her callers. This particular man was confused if whether his best friend preferred his company or that of her new boyfriend. Taeyeon asked him to ‘let her experience meeting new people’. But in the end, the girl got beat up and he wasn’t there to protect her.

It turns out, the new boy was extremely insecure of the best friend and it fed on his ego, eventually leading to his aggression in the frustration that his girlfriend preferred being with the male caller. It was a common problem of couples but Taeyeon had failed to set boundaries on how when it was right to step up as a man.

Taeyeon felt the pressure of being a local celebrity during these times. It was because people believe in you that you have a following; but if this keeps happening, how can she even believe in herself? She was human, right; but being looked up by people did not permit her to commit mistakes.

Jessica entered the room and sat beside her. Taeyeon kept her head down.

“Did you read through all of it?” She asked.

“Yeah.”

“What can you say about it?”

“... Mianhamnida.”

Jessica took stapled paperwork off her hand and whipped a pen out of her pocket. “That’s not enough anymore, Taeyeon.” She sighed and she looked through it, scribbling additional notes in margins. “People tune in to you, so you have to think about what your words might mean to those who are listening.”

Taeyeon nervously tapped her pen on the table.

“I’m taking you off live broadcast for the next month.” She continued. “We’ll pre-record your show every Wednesday and Thursday. Then review it before airing it in the weekends. We’ll fabricate your callers too.”

Taeyeon stared at her in shock. What did she mean by ‘fabricate?’ So now she wants to screen not only the callers, but also the questions? That didn’t seem right. This was her show! What would she do next, write the answers for her?

What kind of voice will I have then...?

“Taengoo.” Jessica continued. “You have this… Charisma. It draws people in; but you don’t know how to effectively use it anymore.”

Anymore? Did Taeyeon lose something she wasn’t supposed to?

“Look.” Jessica took a folder from her briefcase and filed everything in. “I’ll take care of your career, but we have to help each other out. Unless we fix this, I can’t have you broadcasting live. It’s too risky.”

Jessica pointed at the paper they worked on with her pen. "This is too risky."

Taeyeon nodded. What is it that was lacking in her judgment? She thought she was mature enough to understand how relationships work, but at times like this. She doubted herself. She wanted to tell everyone that, she too, was figuring out what love is. She was eighteen. What exactly gave her the right to speak behind the high tech condensers of Seoul Radio anyway?

Charisma? No. She knew that wasn’t it.

Jessica held the smaller girl’s hand briefly. She slipped a yellow note in the confused DJ’s palm before she stood up and left her alone in the studio.

Taeyeon read the text. Lobby. Sony Vaio. You know what to do.

She balled the note in her hand. Sunny’s. She thought. Jessica hasn’t explained anything on top of what she said a few nights ago regarding Soonkyu’s hiding but she knew that all the notes she was passing was related to her.

It was something no one would ever notice. To the public eye, Jessica was only providing things Taeyeon needed to succeed in her field of work. It was an ingenious way for her to relay messages to Sunny without ever being traced via phone calls or e-mails. She figured it was something like that.

She locked up her studio and went directly downstairs to the lobby, where she picked up the brand new Vaio Jessica left and headed home.

•••••••

Jinkyu was signing contracts from investors who took interest in providing Seoul Radio with more stations to improve signals to provinces. It was a good sign that they were expanding. Although with technology as it is, people can just stream the broadcasts online.

She heard the sounds of heels walking toward her door. Her secretary called earlier and asked if she has time to meet with someone today. Jinkyu usually said ‘no’ during such occasions, but this person was special. This was a girl she was waiting to talk to ever since she found out Soonkyu was missing.

Three knocks, then the door opened.

Jung Soojung.

“Well, if it isn’t Soyeon’s dongsaeng…” Jinkyu smiled. “What do you want from me today?”

Krystal walked towards her. There was tension in the air. Intimidation and aggression was present on both sides. They never took their eyes off of each other from here on out.

“We don’t know where Soonkyu unnie is.” Krystal said, heading straight to the point. “So please stop pressing my sister for it.”

Jinkyu sighed and opened the drawer to get a folder. “Soojung, we both know what your sister is capable of doing.” She laid it the brown file in front of the younger girl. “Before we start, I think it’s better for you to know what I have.”

Krystal opened the contents. Various pictures of Jessica in compromising positions with men spilled on her hands. Wide eyed, she closed the folder and threw it back at Jinkyu. “What is this, Photoshop? Since when did you take lessons?” The younger girl asked, trying her best to lie to the ends of the Earth.

She knew about Jessica being like this. She was the only person her sister confessed this to. How did Jinkyu get a hold of these pictures?

The older woman slammed the photos back on the table, her expression serious and demanding. “I do my research, Ms. Soojung. I’m thinking your sister might have buried her pretty deep somewhere. So I’ll give you a deal: your sister, for mine.”

Krystal shook her head. “You’re not fooling anyone with this.”

“Your sister is pretty dirty, y’know.” She continued. “She even paid for the room and the wine. She must really like being with boys that much. Talk about being classy. Ah! Jung Soyeon!” She opened the folder and took out one of the photos.

"… Yeppuda." Jinkyu mocked.

Krystal raised her hand to slap Jinkyu as hard as she could. It was excruciating to hear words like that about her sister. She wished she could’ve packed a gun with her so she can shoot the older woman in the face. Unfortunately, her opponent’s quick hand was almost as fast as Jessica’s and she caught it before it can make it across the table.

“I tail all of you very closely, Soojung. Know what you’re up against; especially after what your family has done to mine.” She said, her eyes burning with hatred.

What has our family has done to yours? Krystal asked. What was she talking about? The Jung’s and the Lee’s have been partners in business since their grandfathers. They were the third generation of famous icons in backstage media.

“You think you can walk all over us?!” Jinkyu raised her voice.

Krystal wriggled her hand away from the older girl before her grip got any tighter. The table in between them helped in providing the space she needed to feel safe before she spoke. “Unnie, what are you talking about?”

“Father was wrong. I understand that.” Jinkyu said, her eyes began to water. “But he didn’t have to die, no one had to!”

Krystal dug deep, trying to recall the memories of what happened as hard as she can. It was an accident. A big fire, was it from a vehicular accident? No, it was a burning building. Or... God, what was it?! She looked at Jinkyu again, trying to look for answers but she just couldn't see through the broken woman’s eyes. “I wouldn’t know anything about the accident. I was just a kid back then.”

“You’re the reason for everything, Soojung.” Jinkyu said. “You took my mother and older sister away from me and now YOUR sister is taking MY younger sister away. Tell me. Does it run in your blood to wreck lives or something?”

“What the hell are you talking about?!” Krystal shouted, unable to follow what Jinkyu was saying. Since when did she become a reason for a person’s death?

Krystal replayed their conversation in her head, hoping to piece together the words Jinkyu was feeding her.

I wonder where our other sister is…

That connection between us, what was it? Krystal racked her brain. This was the piece she was missing, the person who could explain everything to her. If she can find this 'sister' she spoke about, then maybe Jinkyu’s threats would actually make sense.

“I worked hard, Ms. Jung. Harder than you or your sister, just so I can make sure Soonkyu doesn’t have to deal with all of this.” She said as her hands crashed to her desk one last time. “Never late, never wrong, no mistakes.”

Jinkyu pointed at the door. “Get the out of my office.”

Defeated, Krystal walked away. She was right about something. There was nothing she can say about the hard work and dedication Jinjyu poured to the company. The sole reason Sunny can do whatever the hell she wants was because her sister never failed at any task given to her and has exceeded all expectations time and time again. Something Jessica has unable to accomplish, something that eventually plunged her to the world of media.

She closed the door. Behind her was the most powerful enemy she has ever come across, someone that challenged the security of everything she cared for.

Krystal noticed her Samsung light up from under her coat, it was Jessica.

“Ye, unnie?” She answered, knowing full well her sister was about to ask for some sort of favor.

“I need your help.” Right on cue.

“What is it?”

“Get me a pacemaker.” She ordered.

… Jessica unnie, what are you up to this time?