Traitor
Family? You & Me
"It's weird, but I missed Hangook* (Korea)"
Jihye mumbled, grabbing her luggage as it came out into the conveyor velt of the baggage claim.
Incheon Airport was always a busy place-
A person hunting spot for celebirities.
The two girls knew so well that their impossible mission was to slip out of practically everyone's sight and exit the airport as unnoticably as possible.
Minhee was nervously glancing back at the long line of reporters, who were all waiting to take pictures of B.A.P -
The one of the entire purpose why Minhee asked Manager Kang to let her depart for Korea together, thus dragging them to L.A, so that B.A.P can create a distraction enough to let Minhee go on by unnoticed.
It sounds ridiculous, but it works.
If anybody caught her in an airport, many issues would get out of hand-
"National Heiress visiting brother? Or someone else?"
"Korea's perfect princess caught coming home after an overseas clubbing"
Oh the articles that will rant on about such fictional fantasies made to fit the title.
But one ridiculous article could bring down her business company's investing stock rated and image publicity in a matter of one viral click.
This is one of the reasons why Minhee didn't go overseas.
But when Daehyun asked her then and there with the most sincere tone of pleading, she couldn't have said no.
So she risked everything by sneaking around the world.
The only way it was possible was by lying to her Mother that she requested a full-privacy vacation from the media, with the help of her Father who always wanted his daughter to go beyond the tiny country of Korea and explore bigger lands.
Then again, there was a very important purpose as to why Mrs.Jung let a blind eye pass over her daughter's dangerous misbehavings.
Minhee, tugging on her bookbag, remebered the reason she went to the States-
A box.
The box that Uncle Ji gave her.
Feeling an eery twinge in her guts as she kept tugging on her light backpack, Minhee slide down the strap and pulled out the backpack's opening to check its contents.
Her gut feelings were right.
Gone.
The box is gone.
"J-Jihye-"
Minhee stuttered, getting the assistant's attention.
"What's wrong?"
Jihye asked, carefully watching the B.A.P members as they filed on through the crowd of roaring fans and eager cameramen.
"The box is gone."
Minhee gulped, not knowing why she was panicking so much-
She felt like she lost an important piece of her life.
"Mwoh?* (What?)"
Jihye blurted, and opened all their travel properties as unnoticably as possible, finding no traces of the box.
Jihye's movements were panicked and disheveled, as if from fear-
a trait that Jihye never showed.
"I never ever took it out- not even to look at it. Nobody else was in our room except you and me Unnie- What should I do?"
Minhee panted heavily, feeling edgy and panicky about losing the box.
Again-
Why did she panic so much about such a cheap material composed of old painted wood?
Even if Uncle Ji had told her to care for it like a treasure, even if the calm and collected Jihye was acting out of character,
it was more than that.
She had loved the box the moment she laid eyes on the mysterious thing.
But.. Why?
All the while Minhee was on the verge of tears, Jihye was in a mental struggle as well.
Because Minhee didn't know all the truth-
Someone else did come to their hotel room.
~~~ Back in Detroit Hotel (Chapter 11)__ ~~~~~
~~~~ Jihye's POV ~~~
Minhee left to run her errands, and I had my own to carry on.
Calling business presidents after company CEOs, my mind was full-on business mode, working non-stop until all the delayed meetings and discussions were held and completed over the phone.
When I was finally done, I dropped to the bed face-first, tired of seeing the same four walls of the hotel room for I don't know how many hours-
After all, I have been working ever since my feet touched solid ground.
*Knock Knock*
My ears perked up at the noise, but I was too tired to answer the door.
It's probably the cleaning maid-
Well, hope she doesn't think I'm dead when she walks in.
After a few moments, I heard the card key slide in and unlock the door, yet I remained planted on to the fluffy bed.
For all I know, someone can be breaking in.
But for all I cared right now, I needed to relax my brain a bit before it over works itself and forgets how to let me breathe.
So I wasn't in my right mind to have my upper torso planted face-down on a bed while my legs were standing, putting myself into a bent position with my sticking upwards, which sadly was covered in the mercy of tight mini yoga pants.
To top that off, I had a loose tank top on.
"Jihye-ssi."
A stern clearing of a man's throat startled the out of me, and I literally raised my torso up , turning to face the intruder with only tight and skin-revealing clothing on.
I panicked and tried to cover my legs and shoulders, backing into the bed to cover myself with the sheets.
"Hi-Himchan-ssi- What are you doing here?"
I stuttered, blinking as Himchan's face didn't seem startled a bit-
He didn't even seem embarassed-
Only cold, demanding, and judgemental.
It only made my body flare up a few more degrees.
"Sorry to barge in your room without notice, but I just wanted to set some things straight."
Himchan walked closer, and I kept my eyes on him.
"Uhm- I wanted to properly apologize for my actions on the plane. I acted out of desperate needs and couldn't find myself to think straight. Will you forgive me Jihye-ssi?"
Himchan sat down on Minhee's bed, right beside mine, and I stared into his contrite expression to catch a false flaw or a miniscule slip out to indicate that he's just lying about it all.
But I found none.
Zero.
Just absolute perfection of an apology.
I nodded, adverting my gaze to the wall beside me to clear some air.
Why does he have to look even more perfect, even when he was crushing his pride to apologize to some girl he almost out of desperacy?
"Well then, since that's settled, may I ask for your time to get to know you better?"
Himchan chuckled, his eyes showing a tint of warmth I wasn't able to detect all this time.
"B..but aren't you supposed to be filming right now?"
I asked, suspicious of his true intentions.
"We just wrapped up, and I came back alone to find some time to present my apology to you, and I thought you'd like to talk with a human being after being on the phone with cold money-making dealers for so long."
Himchan only replied, shrugging casually.
A smile crept up my lips at his remark, and I replied,
"Yes I would like a conversation with a K-pop celebirity."
And so we talked about our lives, dreams, pasts, and goals, and the time just flew by even before I knew it did.
Himchan left after hearing Daehyun's chuckle as Minhee and Daehyun entered the hotel building, and left me smiling in all the good talks we had.
~~~~~ end of flashback ~~~~~~
And who knew?
Himchan could had easily slipped out the box from Minhee's backpack from all the times Jihye laughed with her eyes shut, a habit she had from her Mother.
Jihye hightly doubted the sweet man that evening would have committed such a sin, but it certainly wasn't an impossibility.
"Don't worry about it, Minhee. I'll try to find it."
Jihye comforted the fidgety heiress, and eyed the 6 men as they walked out of the airport so flawlessly.
One of them carrying a stolen evidence of a fatal flaw.
----------•-----------•------------•-------
"Himchan-ssi."
Jihye's cold voice spoke over Himchan's phone, her formal tone overwhelming to his preferences a bit too much.
Was he being too comfortable when he thought they were off calling each other by -ssi?
"Yes Jihye?"
Himchan kept his voice low, not wanting to wake his sleeping members in the moving van that was heading to their dorm.
"Where's the box?"
Jihye asked flatly-
The suspects are Minhee, Jihye, and Himchan.
Minhee's a victim, Jihye's an innocent bystander, so the guilty party should be-
Himchan.
"What box??"
Himchan couldn't help but tilt his head at the unfamiliar object being referred to here.
Jihye's deduction skills were clear, and it came down to what she feared the most-
Himchan's innocent.
The important piece of evidence may be lost forever-
Unless....
"Himchan-ssi.. Is Youngjae-ssi available right now?"
Jihye calmed herself down, swallowing a lump in -
This situation was getting worse than anyone suspected.
Himchan understood the question wrong.
"Available? No, he's not open for dating Jihye. He never will be."
Himchan scorned, quite serious about restricting Jihye's potential interest towards his band member.
"No Himchan. I meant to ask : may I talk to him?"
Jihye sighed, trying to ease herself-
After years and years of successfully staying silent, she was about to face something she didn't know if she could handle.
Because she held what was too much of a secret to reveal all at once, and she was planning exactly to release the truth.
"You called my name right. And Youngjae's sleeping right now."
Himchan chuckled-
He liked annoying Little Miss Tough.
"Can you call me when he's awake and ready to talk?"
Jihye asked matter-of-factly, not seeing why Himchan's words and responses have gotten longer and more open to affection.
"Why can't I call you anytime I can?"
Himchan countered, his "sassy" side slowly breaking his cold image into a large margin of a personality change.
Jihye and Himchan continued bickering, and Minhee only tried to think about where she had last seen the missing object.
*In my bag- And then... To the Cheesecake factory with Daehyun oppa- Did I ever use the restroom and leave the bag with him?*
Minhee questioned and inferred, going back to the time of the events and rewinding the happenings.
All she could remeber were Daehyun's smiles and laughs, his jokes and attempts at trying to make her laugh.
She can't ever suspect and doubt him ever again-
She wouldn't risk it.
Minhee let out a choked laugh, not being able to stand her ridiculous self who was going to lie to cover up Daehyun for her own sake.
*this is really stupid*
Minhee thought, already storming up a lie to tell her Mother in order to save herself from losing Daehyun again with a false accusation to blame him by.
"There's no choice Minhee. We're confisticating their luggages right now, and that's final."
Jihye fumed by the time she was off the phone, and her mind was set in stone.
Minhee knew she couldn't change her bulldog-headed, stubborn assistant when her mind was set on something.
"Unnie! We don't even know if they are even guilty of committing such an act!"
Minhee fired back, trying to edge Jihye's common sense back into her system.
"Ahjusshi, head to B.A.P's dormitory please."
Jihye commanded with a pissed-off attitude, not even bothering to catch the personal driver's odd look as he searched up the address on the GPS.
"Unnie! Are they even in their dorms? We can't just go roaming in like that!"
Minhee effortlessly whined, seeing no change in Jihye's expression.
"I am not going to sit around and watch you lie around for a theiving celebirity Minhee! You know better than that!"
Jihye snapped, shutting Minhee up in an instant.
The rest of their ride was silent, surrounded by the thick atmosphere they were forced into by the arguments.
Minhee was a millimeter from accusing Jihye of wanting to see Himchan.
After all, they have been spending an awful lot of time together-
Why couldn't she accuse her?
But as anger simmered down, Minhee felt shameful for even attempting to think of such a disrespectful act, especially targetting her unnie.
"We're here, Ahgasshi*s (lady)"
Ahjusshi announced, and Jihye unnie shot out of the car in an instant.
"Stay in the car. I'll do this alone."
Jihye unnie sharply spoke, and slammed the door inches away from my face.
"Miss Jihye is awfully angry today."
Ahjusshi chuckled, and I only repsonded with a disappointed pout, settling back into my seat.
_______ Jihye's POV _______
I didn't waste time-
I will apologize to Minhee someday for acting like a complete , but today's not the day.
Not right now.
I flew up the stairs, casually covering my face in case of a paparazzi/fanclub squad waiting nearby.
When coast was clear, I madly rapped my knuckles against the cold metal door of B.A.P's dorm.
As suspected, Himchan flew open the door.
"Jihye-yah!"
His eyes widened-
I didn't have time for this.
"I need to talk to Youngjae right now Himchan. Please."
I pleaded, and the earnesty in my behavior was enough for Himchan to make the lazy vocal's fly out of their dorm.
"I just need to talk to him in private for a moment. Thank you Himchan."
I managed a smile, and Himchan gave one back as he nudged Youngjae's back out the door.
I moved to the side of the building where it was out of a viewpoint and hearing range, knowing Youngjae was following.
A confused Youngjae was crossing his arms, not understanding why this assistant was so persistent on talking to him.
"Okay, Yoo Youngjae- listen."
I began, hoping he'd take this easy-
But the chances were low.
Youngjae was now fully awake and alert, for the girl was calling him by his full name, and was commanding him to listen.
"My name's Yoo Jihye."
I spoke.
"I'm your sister, and I need Mom's box."
As expected, Youngjae's eyes widened and his breath hitched.
His confused expression unfurled into a one of shock and
After years of keeping my identity away from him, now had to be the time for me to reveal the truth-
For we were so close to freeing our Umma now.
Youngjae, having Appa's smart-witted traits, quickly started firing questions.
"How do you know about my Mother's box?"
"How old was I when I started playing Starcraft?"
"I don't remeber a noona. She left me and Umma for a better life in the States. In Detroit."
I soaked it all in.
Umma's treasure box that contained our family photos and proof of a world secret-
How Youngjae tuned himself out of the miserable world we were put in by playing Starcraft-
I was around 13, and Youngjae was 10.
I did lie about moving to Detroit with our Uncle.
I had to, in order to make Youngjae forget about me and forget that he ever had a sister who failed him by falling in love with the enemy himself-
When I did love Minhwan.
"Youngjae-yah... I'm desperate to lift mom of her false charges. Time's running out and I need the box."
I spoke, gulping down a waterfall of tears that was welling up inside me.
Youngjae has grown into a wonderful man-
And I had stepped out from his life to benefit myself.
Looking into his sad eyes already made me regret everything I did.
"You're going to give it to them. You're going to give it straight to the people who arrested mom for what she didn't do, so they'll destroy all evidence of her past to make sure she rots in that jail cell! How can do do this noona?!"
Youngjae yelled, a tear running down his eye.
"Youngjae..yah..."
I muttered, speechless as to what he had said.
And speechless as I let him attack me with such raw words, making my heart bleed in agreement with every accusation.
"You did exactly what you did. You left me, you left Umma, and you're dead to me now. The Jihye noona I knew is already gone."
Youngjae roughly wiped at his tear, and turned around to leave.
I didn't deserve to say anything.
I didn't deserve to even see my little brother living so happily-
I shouldn't even be near him right now.
Shame and regret hit me like a tidal wave, and I stood stiffly, watching Youngjae disappear away into his dorm.
It was as if my senses came back to me after all the years I've acted like a prestigious assistant of the Jung family's heiress-
I was Yoo Jihye, who's Mother was jailed up by the very family she served.
Her little brother didn't want to even see her, and the love of her life had abandoned her for her normal title.
That was the cold reality, and I felt the cold glass shards finally unfreeze from mid-air and rush towards me mercilessly-
Cutting all the ties and knots I made to secure my image, and spilling out the true contents out for everyone to see.
I, Yoo Jihye, was a traitor on both ends, and yet shamelessly danced on both sides of the bridge.
Comments