Chapter 19

Taeyeon

I look at Sehun and he is still fast asleep. He looks peaceful and at ease. I hate to leave him but I want to get out of the apartment for a little bit. I give him a kiss on the lips and get up for an early morning run. Before leaving, I write a note for Sehun, so he doesn’t worry. After quickly throwing on my nike sweater and yoga pants I head outside. The sun is starting to rise and it’s beautiful out. The air is calm and peaceful. I start running and it feels good to be outside. I empty my mind of everything that happened and decide It’s time to start all over. No more GD or crazy drama. The hospital hasn’t called me and I don’t want to ask my dad for any updates. I hope that GD will find his way and his own happiness. I feel bad and tightness goes through me. I wish I could understand how he turned so quickly and without any warning. I shudder and turn my mind away from GD.

I run through town and think about all the positive things in my life. I have Sehun and my friends. My family is doing well. I will be graduating soon but still something is troubling me. What is Sehun’s connection with Lunatic? We haven’t had a chance to talk and a part of me is nervous to find out. What if he is behind the reason I was selected? I don’t know what I will do. I don’t know if I feel betrayed or happy. After running about seven miles, I get back to the apartment. I feel gross and sweaty and all I want is a shower. When I get inside, I see Sehun and Kris pacing the kitchen. 

“Ah, hi?” What is going on and why are they just standing there?

“Are you okay baby?” Sehun runs to me and picks me up into his arms.

"Baby I’m fine. I just went out for a run. What happened?” I wasn’t gone for that long and wonder what is going on.

Kris comes over to us and puts his hand on my shoulder.

“Tae, your dad called and GD was over there looking for you.”

I look at Kris shocked. “What?” This is unbelievable! Why is GD doing this? We’re done! We’ve been done.

Sehun brings me closer to him and presses his lips to my head. “I know you went out for a run but from now on please don’t be anywhere by yourself.” The plea in his voice makes me worry. I don’t want to feel trapped! This is insane!

“Yeah, of course, is my dad okay?” I don’t want anything bad to happen to him. I start thinking about all the different scenarios and tremble with fear.

Kris pats my back. “He is fine, just worried for you. GD was acting crazy but your dad talked to him. He asked him to let things go and to leave you alone.”

“Alright well, I’ll be fine you guys.” I give Sehun a kiss before heading to the shower. I let the warm water flow over my body. I stand there and place my hands on the shower wall. I just want this drama to go away. I’m sick and tired of hiding. Sehun needs to understand that I cannot hide in here all day and all night. I finish up in the shower and get ready for the day.

After finishing up, I come out and see Jessica at the island eating.
She swings her legs to face me and seems giddy, 

“Morning, sunshine!”

“Hey!” I give her a hug. “Where are the guys?”

“I don’t know. Kris told me to come over and when I did they said to stay here with you.”

I sit down next to her and grab a muffin and apple. “That’s so weird.”

There was a knock on the door, “Are you expecting someone?”

She shakes her head. I walk to the door and open it. There is a man standing in front of me wearing what looks like a delivery uniform. 

“Can I help you?”

He looks at me with an annoyed look. “Miss Kim Taeyeon?”

I look at the mysterious man again, “Yes?”

The deliveryman hands me a clipboard, “Sign here, please.” After I sign at the dotted line he hands me a rather large box, “Have a good day ma’am.”

I close the door and put the box down. “What is that?”

“I don’t know.” I start to open the box and see an envelope. I slide my finger across the top and start reading the letter:

Taeyeon,
Please accompany me to my dad’s company gala this evening. Everything will be explained then. Inside you will see a dress that I would like you to wear. Someone will be coming over at 12pm to do your hair and makeup. Please accept this since I never took you to our senior prom. I will be at your room at 6pm sharp.

I will see you soon.

Yours forever,
Sehun

Jessica starts shrieking. “I cannot believe he did this for you!”

I pull out the dress and my mouth drops. It’s a beautiful Chanel champagne colored Grecian style evening dress with frills going from the waist down. 

“This is so beautiful. Oh my God I can’t believe he did this.”

I hear the door close and wonder who is home, “Kris is that you?”

“Hey, Tae,” he comes to the kitchen and starts smiling. ”I see you got your gift.” He smirks, 

“Hey, babe.” He moves to Jessica and gives her a kiss on her cheek. I tilt my head and smile. Jessica smiles and puts her arm around his waist, 

“Hey, you. What is shaking?”

“Well.” His voice is shaky and I already know what is going to happen. I leave the room giving them some privacy. When I get to our room I start to dial Sehun’s number. The phone starts ringing, 

“Pretty girl.” His voice makes my heart flutter and I smile.

“Thank you so much Sehun. The dress is beautiful.”

“Anything for you, sorry about leaving all of a sudden, I didn’t want to be there when your surprise came.”

“It’s okay. When are you coming back?” I already miss him.

“I’m with my dad right now fixing some things but I’ll be there to come get you. I can’t wait to see you.”

I lay on the bed and could smell his musky scent on the pillow, 

“Me too.”

“Alright sweetheart I have to go. I’ll talk to you later. I love you.”

“I love you too. Have a good day."

“I will. Think of me.”

“Always.” I hang up with Sehun and smile. I can’t believe what he has done for me. I wonder what he has planned for tonight. I want to bring up Lunatic and his connections, but I don’t want to make things awkward this evening.

“I love your smile.” Kris comes to sit next to me. We sit there for a moment as I rest my head on his shoulder.

“I love to smile. Thanks for being there for me. Love ya.”

“Right back at you, Tae, I want to talk to you before I leave.”

I look at Kris and wonder what is going on. “Sure. What is up?”

“I just want you to know,” he starts to say as he my hand; 

“Sehun loves you Tae. You truly mean the world to him. Tonight is a big night and you need to go in with an open mind. Just understand his reasons.”

Wow... what the hell is going on? What is Kris talking about? I squint my eyes at him and try to read his expression. 

“You’re freaking me out Kris. What is going on?”

“Just please be patient and understanding. Please, Tae?”

His request is full of caution and fear. I know he is not going to tell me anything so I nod my head and give him a reassuring squeeze on his hand. 

“Alright, Kris I will.”

He leans in and kisses my forehead. “Thanks, Tae. Have fun today. I got to run but I’ll see you later.” He gives me a kiss on my forehead and heads out. I hear commotion in my old room and get up to see what is going on. When I look inside my room, I see all my clothes on the floor. “Ummmmm, hi?”

Jessica’s frantic. “Kris asked me to go to the gala tonight and I have nothing to wear! NOTHING!”

I start laughing. I knew exactly what dress she should wear. I go to the back of my closet and pull out a Chanel black evening gown I wore to one of my dad’s events a few months ago. The gown was a v-neck style satin dress. It’s fitted and has a plunging backside. I knew she would kill in this dress. 

“Here! Wear this.”

drops and starts laughing. “Kris’s going to die!”

We start laughing as someone knocks on the door again. I glance back at Jessica. “Looks like it’s time to get beautiful.”

By the time everything is done, I am polished, massaged, waxed,nplucked, hair sprayed, moussed, curled, and almost everything a girl needs to look like a princess. Sehun and Kris went all out to make sure we had a nice and relaxing spa day at the apartment. I put on the dress and it fit perfectly. I look in the mirror and feel beautiful. Its 5:55 pm and I start panicking. I grab my chanel silver clutch and throw in the necessary things I need for tonight. Lip gloss, oil absorbent sheets, a mirror, mints, my ID and phone.

I go into the other room and see Jessica putting on last minute touches. She looks amazing in the dress and I know how happy she is with Kris. They’re finally official and it makes me happy to know my two best friends are dating.

There’s a knock on the door. “Here we go.” 

I give myself a final look and take Jessica’s hand as we open the door. Sehun and Kris are standing before us looking y as usual. They are both in Armani black tuxedos, a black bow tie and crisp white button downs. When I look up at him and see his delicious smile, I forget to breathe. 

“Hi,” is all I can say.

“Pretty girl.” He hands me the flowers and wraps an arm around my waist. I breathe in his scent and go weak in my knees. 

“You look absolutely beautiful.” He gives me a sweet kiss on my cheek. “Ready, baby?”

I’m breathless. I can’t talk so I just nod. He places his hand on the small part of my back and leads me to the elevator. As we ride down, I look over at Kris and Jessica, and smile. They look adorable together and the way he looks at her with such devotion is touching.

The elevator ride is quiet. There are so many questions racing in my head and I’m not sure when to bring them up.

“Whatever you’re thinking stop. Let’s just enjoy tonight.” He puts his hand on my cheek. “I just want you to have fun and to relax.”

I don’t know how he does this to me. He makes everything seem so easy and carefree when I am a mess. I do my breathing exercises and just let my mind empty out. I’ll be okay I kept thinking to myself. We make it down to the first floor and head outside. There is a long black limo waiting for us.

“Good evening.” The tall man dressed in a black suit with dark glasses opens the door for us. Jessica and I get in first and sit comfortably with our men, as the door closes behind them. 

“You really look beautiful tonight, pretty girl.” Sehun puts his arm around me and lightly my arm.

Jessica pulls away from Kris and makes her way over to the mini bar. “Alright party people, let’s get things popping!” She takes out a bottle of champagne and starts pouring everyone a glass. 

“Let’s make a toast. Thank you Taeyeon for finally breaking up with your douche bag boyfriend.” We all laugh. 

“And to the guys for making us, feel like princesses.” We all clink our glasses and drink our champagne. It’s a sweet and crisp feeling going down and tastes good. The rest of the ride we all make small talk and before we know it, we arrive at the gala.

The building is enormous. It’s white with tall, white columns all over. There are lights all over and it astounds me. 

“Wow, this is beautiful.”

“Just like you, Tae.” Sehun takes my hand and we walk up the stairs to enter the building. When we enter the party room, my mouth drops, the room’s decor resembles a winter wonderland. Each table has white linen and white chair covers. There are silver ribbons tied on each chair and each table has a beautiful centerpiece of flowers and candles. The entire place is lovely. We make our way to our seats and I see Mr Oh and Mrs Oh.

“Oh Taeyeon, you look absolutely stunning.” Mrs Oh gives me a hug and a kiss on each cheek.

“You look amazing, mummy!”

“Oh darling, thank you. Hello, my lovely boys. How are you?”

Sehun and Kris both give her a hug and a kiss. 

“Fine mom. I want you to meet someone.” Kris brings Jessica over. 

“Mom, this is my girlfriend, Jessica.”

I look over at Jessica and she has a smile from ear to ear. Sehun takes my hand and we make our way to Mr Oh. “Good evening, dad.”

Mr Oh turns around and smiles. “Hello son.” They shake hands. “Taeyeon, you look beautiful. How’s my son treating you?” He gives me a hug and kiss on the cheek.

“I’m good, thank you for asking. Everything here is beautiful.”

“Ahhh yes, they did a nice job didn’t they? Well you two go mingle and dinner should be served shortly.”

As we start to walk back, I see Dr. Heechul talking to a group of people. I was going to go over and say hi but he looks busy. We make our way back to the table with Kris and Jessica. 

“I am so happy for you!”

Jessica starts to squeal. “I know! He is so sweet!” She gives my hand a tight squeeze. “Let’s have fun tonight. No drama.”

“No drama!”

The wait staff serves dinner to us, and everything looks amazing. We all have chicken and shrimp with Milanese sauce and grilled fennel with wild rice. Everyone is dressed so nicely and it feels great to be out in public. Right as we are about to finish dinner; Mr Oh steps up to the podium.

“Good evening everyone. I would like to say thank you so much for joining us this evening.” There is a light applause. “I created Lunatic four years ago and am proud to say we have expanded throughout the nation.” Everyone starts to clap. I can’t believe Sehun’s family owns Lunatic. A surge of anger starts to fill my insides. Why didn’t he tell me? After everything I told him and what we talked about, he kept this from me. I knew something was going on! I want to get up and leave but my body is stuck to the chair. I take in a breath and let it out slowly. I turn to grab my glass of water and see Kris staring at me. He raises his eyebrows and mouths, 

“Understand.” I take a sip of the lemon water and slowly turn to face Mr Oh. “Thank you, thank you. Now as most of you know, last year I suffered a heart attack. Without the prayers from all of you and the strength of my beautiful wife and sons, I would not be standing here before you. My doctor said stress was a main factor. Who knew? I would like to say thank you for all of your kind words and wishing me well, but I have decided to step down as CEO.” 

There is a gasp and everyone looks confused. I look over at Sehun and see a nervous expression on his face. I’m not sure why he looks nervous but I have a bad feeling. 

“Now I would like everyone to please put your hands together for my sons Oh Sehun and Kris, as they will take over the business.”

I look over at Sehun, shocked. I can’t believe what I just heard. I quickly get up from the table and storm off to the balcony. Right when I get outside, I start crying. Was I chosen for the position on my own merits, or did Sehun convince his dad to bring me on? Everything makes sense now. Sehun always wanted to help me with my plans.

“Taeyeon?” He softly says. “Please don’t leave.”

I turn around with flames in my eyes. “What the hell Sehun! Why didn’t you tell me? Did you convince your dad to have Dr. Heechul hire me on?” I yell at him with such hurt and agony in my voice.

“Taeyeon, please stop and listen to me.” He walks toward me but I move away. “Taeyeon. I didn’t have anything to do with you being hired. You impressed Dr. Heechul; and dad and I monitored your progress. We all agreed to have you come onboard. Dad thought it best not let you know what was going on and I agreed. You have to believe me.”

I shake my head. “No.” I turn back around and start walking away when he takes my arms and pulls me to his chest. “Sehun let me go!”

“Baby, stop running, okay, I didn’t do anything wrong. Why are you being so complicated? I keep trying to make us work but it seems like you find any excuse to leave me. I told you tonight everything would be explained, and it has. I moved back because of what happened with my dad’s health, and to be with you. I’m here now and I’ve waited too long without you. You are my life. Why can’t you see that?”

“I do, but this all makes sense now. You lied to me Sehun.” I try to wiggle out of his arms.

“Baby, I didn’t lie to you. I just didn’t tell you because everything was under wraps. Please stop trying to find excuses to leave me.”

“I’m not making any excuses Sehun!” My voice is shaking and I feel betrayed. “You just don’t get it!” I push him away and start running down the stairs. I don’t know where I am going but I don’t care. I wonder what else he has lied about. All of a sudden, I feel arms around me lifting me up from the ground.

“let me go!” I try to wiggle away from him again. He carries me to a dark alley and finally puts me down. I shove him, “You do not get to treat me like a child, Sehun!”

He takes my hands and looks at me. He grits his teeth, “Then stop acting like one, Taeyeon! I did not do anything wrong! Yes my dad started the company and yes I am taking over, but you earned this position on your own!”

“Let me go now,” I seethe. “I don’t believe anything you have to say to me. I don’t want this anymore. I’d rather be alone than be with someone who lies to me.” I yank my arms from him.

“Is that what you want?” My heart breaks when I hear his voice. I turn around and see the hurt in his eyes. 

“You want me gone, Taeyeon?”

“No Sehun, It’s not what I want, but I don’t know what to do. I mean I feel like you purposely kept this from me or something.” I throw my hands in the air and give him an exhausted look.

“Sweetheart, I know you’re mad right now but can we please just go back to the party and talk about this later? Please baby?”

I sigh and realize I can’t make a scene at their party. He takes my hand as we walk back into the party. The night flies by and I stand by Sehun as several people congratulate him on his success. I put on a smile and pretend as if nothing happened.”

It’s hard but it’s what I have to do. 

“I’ll be back; I have to go to the bathroom.”

He gives me kiss. “Okay, pretty girl.”

I touch his face but I am still upset. I don’t want to keep fighting but he needs to understand how I feel. I open the door to the bathroom and walk over to the sink to fix my hair and makeup. I go into my purse to grab some lip-gloss. When I look up again, GD is right behind me. 

“GD? Oh my God, what are you doing here?”

“I saw you with him. You just broke up with me Taeyeon and now you’re kissing him.” He takes my hair and pulls me back. “You’re mine and always will be.”

I try to get out of his grip but he has a strong hold on me. I start to cry. “Jiyong, let me go please.”

He throws me on the floor and gets on top of me. “I told you that you can never leave me.” He rips off my necklace and throws it. I cannot stop crying and I am so scared. He starts to tear apart my dress. It takes every ounce of me to push him off. I get up and try to run out but GD is too quick for me. He takes my head and pushes it against the wall. I fall to the floor. GD starts kicking me in the stomach. The pain gets worse with each blow. I’m out of breath and try to push him away. I feel helpless. I scream as loud as I can but GD’s hand covers my mouth. I bite it, hard. That just makes him even madder. He punches me in the face a few times. My eyes are swollen and it’s hard to see.  

“You , you will never be anyone else’s!” His feet lands on my face and then I feel him get on top of me again. I open my eyes and suddenly his fist lands on me repeatedly. I start crying and whimpering but nothing is working to get him off. He punches me again and all I see is darkness.