He crushed the newspaper in his hand and threw it on her face.

“You really did it this time, you stupid !”

Aeyoung fixed her hair and glared at her father.

“Don’t ing look at me like that. Do you even realize what you’ve done?”

“It was a joke!”

“Well, your dumb joke made us lose forty shareholders this morning. Do you realize how much money we’ve lost?”

“It’s fine, it will blow over!” Aeyoung crossed her arms, “Why don’t you go yell at Nayeon too,” she mumbled.

Upon hearing that, he smacked her across the face; hard.

“Kyungjoo!” his wife protested.

Her two siblings watched as chaos ensued in their home. Chanyeon was going to step in, but Sangwon stopped her.

“Ae needs to face her consequences,” he reminded her.

“Dad,” Chanyeon gently chimed in, “I know what Ae did was wrong but you don’t need to hit her, please.”

“You be quiet. It’s because we’ve been too soft on her that she thinks she can do whatever.” Kyungjoo shifted his focus back to the culprit, “One hundred. We had one hundred shareholders and your stupidity made it drop to sixty. Half of them were part of our biggest and you managed to it up, you stupid .”

“Yes, I know I messed up but no one was ever supposed to see it! If anything we can sue the reported for invasion of privacy or something.”

“It’s too late! No one’s going to believe that. We’re gonna look so much dumber and we’ll only lose more money! There’s video evidence of you forcing that roasted lamb to Nayeon’s face!”

“Honey,” Chunah pat him on the shoulder, “calm down a little okay? Think about your health.” She turned to Aeyoung, “Darling, what were you thinking?”

Sangwon rolled his eyes at his mother’s gentle calling to his younger sister. All her life, Aeyoung was the golden child to his mother. He understood that nothing Aeyoung could do would be wrong in his mother’s eyes.

“Mom,” Aeyoung pouted, “it was just a joke. Nayeon was just being dramatic like always. I bet she plotted that reporter there. Can’t dad yell at her too? She’s just at fault as I am.”

Sangwon had enough of it. The fire in his chest was boiling. 

“Will you quit it already?”

His family’s eyes were on him now.

“I’m so sick of this ! Why are you babying her? She’s 26 for crying out loud!” 

Sangwon glared at his older sister, “Why, Aeyoung? Why did you cross the line and kill her pet, again! You know, I always thought that maybe it was just a phase with you. That maybe you’d grow up and grow out of that bratty little phase of yours.” He scoffed, “Turns out you’re just a .”

“Sangwon!” Aeyoung screamed. “How can you disrespect me like that?”
“And what about Nayeon? You’ve bullied her her whole life why won’t you just leave her alone?”

“Because she’s a disgusting mutt that’s worshipped by the whole nation! If I don’t humble her, no one will.”

“What the does that even mean? Where is the logic in that?”

Kyungjoo waved his hand, “You guys are making my head hurt.” He stood up and looked at Aeyoung, “You’re not in charge of XX anymore. Chanyeon,” he turned to his oldest daughter, “find a team and fix this mess.”

“Yes, father,” Chanyeon obediently replied.

“Aeyoung, you’re cut off from the company’s finances. From here on out you’re gonna restore our name by doing as many charity and volunteer work for as long until you’re well received from the public eye.”

“Daddy! That’s not fair!”

“Then maybe you should have thought about that before you created this atrocity!” Kyungjoo stood up, “The mall is opening up soon. I expect to see none of you until opening day. Until then, be on your best behavior and don’t end up on the news unless it’s something good to bring onto the family name. Now leave my house.”

All three children agreed to their father’s terms and waited for him to leave. Chunah lovingly pat Aeyoung’s shoulder before leaving as well. Sangwon cursed Aeyoung’s deed under his breath as he quickly shuffled out of the mansion. Before Chanyeon walked past her younger sister, Aeyoung held her hand.

“Unnie,” she said in a little voice, “won’t you help me?”

“Sangwon was right. We’re all adults now; you need to start acting like one.”

“But Nayeon–” 

“No Ae,” Chanyeon removed the younger’s hand from hers, “this was all you. You’re the one at fault, not her.”

This quickly made her defensive. 

“So I’m the bad one, right?”

Chanyeon knew her tactic. It was one she learned to use often ever since they were little. She liked to make herself the victim and try to guilt-trip everyone. This time, Chanyeon wasn’t buying it. She was exhausted always being forced to choose one or the other.

“Yes, you are, Ae. You really messed up this time.”

She walked away regardless of the shouts she was receiving from her younger sister.
 

She didn’t know why but she was nibbling on the nail on her thumb; like a child would when distressed. Well, to be fair, she was in distress. She feigned a cough then reached for the tea in front of her, avoiding eye contact with the stoic woman in front of her. Nayeon shifted her gaze away from the busy traffic and to the woman.

“You know,” Nayeon said in English, “I’ve been in New York for a couple of days now, and, uh, I really like it.”

“That’s good,” the woman commented, “How are you today, Nayeon?

“I’m sorry,” Nayeon said in Korean, “can we continue this in Korean? I would feel so much comfortable and articulate.”

“Of course,” the woman said in Korean. 

Nayeon paused for a second to observe the room. “I’m sorry, I’m not very good at this.”

“It’s okay, take your time,” the woman assured.

“My husband’s friend actually referred me to you. Park Sunyoung?”

“Ah, yes. I love her, she’s very fun,” the woman said with a bright, smiling face. “We went to university together before I got my Master’s and Ph.D. here, in the states.”

“Ah, I see,” Nayeon nodded, “what a small world.” She looked down on her lap. Her legs were shaking up and down and her heart was racing but she didn’t know why. “I don’t know why it’s taken me so long to get here; in this room with you.”

“Why is that?”

“I don’t know. I think it’s because I’m scared to find out there’s something wrong with me.”

“Why do you think that?”
“Because, you know, back at home we don’t really have these things.”

“Therapists? Or openly talking about mental health?”

“Both I guess.. I don’t know I never really thought I’d be here.”

“So why are you here, Nayeon-sshi?”

That struck something inside of her. She exhaled and immediately started to cry. Slowly and silently at first, then deeply and remorsefully. She cried so hard that the weight in her heart began to spread and lift off of her shoulders. Nayeon wiped her face with her sleeve.

“I’m tired,” she confessed, “I’m tired of being mistreated for reasons I don’t know.”

Nayeon hiccuped a thank you as the therapist handed her a box of tissues.

“I just don’t know why my family hates me so much. It’s like they’ve deliberately agreed to punish me.” Nayeon took a deep breath, “A couple of weeks ago when I was still in Korea, my sister held a launch party for her cosmetic company. She gave me the lamb I modeled with to keep. Then she had it slaughtered and presented to me; even try to force it in my mouth. I just,” Nayeon began to cry again, “I don’t know why she would do that to me. I was so scared,” she began to fan herself, “I was just shaking from fear and, and, disgust, and, just so many things.” 

“I can’t even imagine how you felt at the moment.”

“And the worse thing is,” Nayeon blew into the tissue, “this wasn’t even the first time she did something like this. She did this to my pet rabbit when I was eleven. At that moment at the launch party, I felt like the little girl who’s pet rabbit was served to her at the dinner table. I had to watch my family eat the animal I loved and cared for. After then, I never ate meat again. The eyes of my rabbit and now of Baby still haunt me.”

She finally looked at the therapist.

“Aeyoung was so nice to me before all this. When she asked me to be the face of the new line, I truly believed that this was a new page for us; that we’d finally go back to being loving sisters. I had my doubts but I was so in love with having our sisterhood back that I blindsided myself.”

Nayeon took a deep breath.

“It’s funny,” she began after a couple of sniffles, “how popular I am in Korea. I’m like this huge beauty queen who is loved and idolized across the nation. Yet I’m so...neglected by my family. It’s like I did something to offend them all that I wasn’t aware of; like my life was a mutual mistake between my family. I never really felt love by my family. The only person who really cared for me was my brother Sangwon. My father, my mother, and my two sisters; they were always so cold to me.”

She wiped her nose.

“I guess I never really understood why. I wasn’t aware until I was four years old. That’s when Aeyoung stopped playing with me. I remember we would play with each other, chase one another, even bathed and slept together. We were inseparable. I would even confidently say that she loved me and I loved her. Then one day it changed. I remember it so clearly. I woke her up one day to play with me and she forcefully kicked me off her bed. My head hit her dresser and I cried so hard when I realized the excruciating pain was from my head bleeding. It wasn’t even my mom who came to tend to me, it was our maid. From then on, I felt my life getting darker and darker. Her abuse towards me worsened. It began very pettily then it would get worse. Chanyeon was always just silently watching everything happen; like a bystander. Every time I was hit or yelled at or mistreated by my mom or Aeyoung, Chanyeon would just watch with her head hung down.”

“Why do you think she behaved that way?”

“I don’t know. I think it was because she was scared for me too. Like she was afraid if she did anything to stop it, she would receive the same treatment.”

“What about your brother, Sangwon?”

“He was the opposite of Chanyeon. Whenever something bad would happen to me, he would immediately try to find justice for me. He was my guardian angel and I think my mom knew that. It was like she would deliberately try to make his schedule busy so he wouldn’t be around to protect me.”

“Why do you think your mother behaved this way?”

Nayeon’s eyebrows burrowed up and she covered her tearful face. 

“I don’t know. I don’t know why and I can’t think of anything I’ve done to upset her.” Nayeon reached for another tissue, “All my life I’ve tried to be a good daughter for my parents, my entire family in general. I knew I wasn’t as loved as my siblings but I always said to myself that if I continue to do good, one day they’ll all love me again. That day hasn’t come yet and it breaks my heart.”

“Now let’s talk about Aeyoung. Have you ever communicated your feelings to her before?”

Nayeon nodded her head.

“At the moment of the incident, I asked her why she hated me and she said it was because I was pretty.” Nayeon scoffed, “Can you believe that? We’re sisters. How can one be prettier than the other? How could vanity cause such hate to develop at such a young age?”

Nayeon waited for the therapist to say something, but she never did.

“I feel like no matter what I do, my family still sees me as worthless. My marriage with my husband was to benefit the family’s businesses. It was an arranged marriage to conceal a business deal. Deep down inside I thought this would finally be the moment where my family would warmly accept me as their own. Although I haven’t received much contact from my parents, I feel like it made Aeyoung angrier towards me. Chanyeon’s making an effect to show me she’s trying to be a better sister, so I appreciate it and Sangwon, well. He’s still the best older brother to me. Always protecting me and letting my husband, Jinki, know that.”

The therapist crossed her legs. “Nayeon-sshi,” she began, “how do you feel about yourself?”

“I,” Nayeon paused. She’s never had to answer that question before; ironically since she’s been interviewed so many times. “I don’t know. I don’t know how I feel about myself. I feel like I’ve been so broken down that I don’t even know what my personality is like or what I even like.”

“Well, I’ll be the first to tell you that you’re resilient. You bounce back even when faced with trauma and emotional pushback. While your family is so cold to you, you still find to be optimistic that they’ll like you eventually. Often people are angry for the wrong that has been done onto them; yet you’re not angry at all. I don’t sense anger from you. Instead, I get the feeling that all you want is peace.”

“Peace,” Nayeon repeated, “that’s exactly the word. Peace.”

“I appreciate you opening up to me. I know this must have been such a strange and scary experience for you but you did it. I think we can be able to continue working together in helping you find that peace within yourself because you deserve it.”

Nayeon smiled in relief, “Thank you so much,” she paused, “I’m so sorry, I had completely forgotten your name. What should I call you?”

“Sulli.”