28^th August 2014 11:43 am

Breaking News: Wife to the heir of Taeshin Group is accused of murder!

28^th August 2014 9:12 am

“Kim Taeyeon, right?” The youthful woman who looks a little too young for her age nods. Her face covered in expensive creams and lotions and her body adorned in designer brands all serve to make her look younger than she actually is. Her darting eyes and slight fidgeting tells the investigator that she does not want to be here. Her hesitant smile and slightly erratic breathing spell out that she is nervous and scared, yet trying to stay composed – a perfectly natural reaction for one who is currently being interrogated as a prime murder suspect. And who was also once a pick-pocketing delinquent.

“Do you know why you’re here?”

Taeyeon looks up at the detective, “Yes.”

“And why is that?”

“You suspect me of murdering Mizuhara Kiko.” Every syllable falls out of flawlessly and gracefully, as though she has been born with such grace and it only needed to be nurtured as she grew. (The detective almost forgets that before the woman in front of her married into a chaebol family, she struggled more financially than most of the nation.)

“Yes.” The investigator flips through her notes. “Mizuhara Kiko died between 9 to 10 pm on the 12^th March 2013 in her hotel suite at Pacific Hotel. Cause of death was far too many sleeping pills.”

“Is that not suicide then?” Taeyeon interrupts her innocently, déjà vu of what she said a year ago.

“Of course but we investigated further and found that Mizuhara Kiko had no reason to die. She had everything: fame, money, admirers – what could she possibly be upset about? We have reason to believe that she was murdered.” The detective paused for a moment, studying Taeyeon, the woman that the upper-class society of Seoul claims is a gold digger.

“New evidence has come about since the last time we questioned you.” The detective briefly glances at Taeyeon, hoping to see a crack in her perfect and innocent façade. (Her gut instinct tells her that there is more to the woman than the tabloids say and the eye can see.) “A video footage surfaced of you entering Pacific Hotel at approximately 9:11 pm and of you leaving the hotel at 10:42pm. This puts you at the crime scene.”

For the first time during the interrogation, Taeyeon really looks into the investigator’s eyes. “I was visiting a friend who dropped in town at around the same time. She was staying there.”

To the disappointment of the detective when she looks down at her notes, the story that Taeyeon gave a year ago when this investigation was first conducted is exactly the same as the one as she is giving now. There are no discrepancies in the suspect’s alibi. This can only mean that when she leaves the interrogation room, she will have a frustrated chief to look forward to sitting down with. But years in the police academy with boys has taught her that she cannot give up so easily when she hits a dead-end. She must simply use a different approach.

“Yes but you have motive. You were once a trainee, correct?” Taeyeon only nods as she begins to fiddle with her diamond ring.

“But you gave up and quit. Mizuhara Kiko has everything. She is famous and you are not. You are jealous of her and what she has and you murdered her by stuffing full of pills.”

Taeyeon looks thoughtful for a moment, “That seems like an extremely weak motive for murder.”

“Ah,” the detective smiles. “Weeks before you were bound to get married to Kwon Jiyong, Mizuhara Kiko came to Seoul and told your husband that she was pregnant with his child. Naturally, this does not sit well with you because you are his fiancé. Your husband is willing to take care of the murder victim and his child; however, you find out that Mizuhara Kiko isn’t actually pregnant and that she lied to you and your husband. So you go to her hotel room and knock on her door, demanding to see her and then, you murder her.”

The trophy wife simply shakes her head repeatedly. “I would never do such a thing to anyone. You can’t really believe it when the tabloids say that I am cold and merciless.”

She sighs.

A dead-end.

. She was so going to get it when she reported back to everyone.

28^th August 2014 10:38 am

Jiyong’s heart is pounding as his brain tries to hurriedly comprehend and process the fact that his beloved wife is currently being accused of murder. There is absolutely no way that his wife would murder someone – it was out of the question. His wife is innocent and Jiyong would do whatever it takes to prove it.

His footsteps falter for a moment as he rushes to his wife’s temporary cell. The guard, sensing his urgency, hurriedly fiddles with the key to open the door. Jiyong automatically thanks the guard quickly, a habit which he adopted from his wife, before rushing to her and enveloping her in a hug. She hugs him back immediately. He can tell from the tremors in her body she is cold. He could tell from the way she clings to him tightly she is scared. He pulls back from their embrace and places his hands on either side of her waist. She opens to say something but he interrupts her first, “I believe you. You would never kill someone.”

He parts her fringe and kisses the top of her forehead when he hears her speak, “What if I’m falsely accused? What if I have to go to prison? What if-“

“It doesn’t matter,” he reassures her. “I love you and we will stay together no matter what. Besides, they wouldn’t dare to put you behind bars. You’re not the murderer.” He pauses as he finds himself drowning into her brown eyes again, falling for her every time. “This is just another obstacle, and we’ll overcome it like we always do.” He gives her a smile and she gives him one as well (because the sweetest smiles hold the darkest secrets).

14^th Febuary 2011 7:11 pm

News Flash: Heir of Taeshin Group has a new girlfriend!

8^th April 2012 11:35 pm

Her sobs shake her body and Jiyong can only pat her back somewhat comfortingly. He doesn’t really know what’s wrong or why she’s crying and he doesn’t really know what to do when a girl is crying. Granted that his older sister does cry but this is different. His sister is different to his girlfriend. “Taeyeon, what’s wrong?”

She simply turns away from him. Her head is still in her arms but she seems to have calmed down a bit. Her body isn’t as shaky anymore and her sobbing seems quieter. He grabs her hands and while she protests against his strength, he knows that he is stronger. He turns her body so that her head is buried into his chest (he remembers reading somewhere that girls liked it when guys did this). Before he can do that, he forgets that his girlfriend is an idol trainee for SM Entertainment and with her improving dancing skills; she has faster reflexes than he does. She manages to stop him before he can envelop her in his arms and kiss her forehead.

Taeyeon looks at him, sad tears running down her cheeks. The sight makes him feel helpless because he isn’t sure what to do now that her crying has temporarily stopped. He stares into her eyes; her brown eyes that he finds himself helplessly falling into. He’s so stuck drowning into her eyes that he almost doesn’t hear her voice. (“I don’t deserve you.”)

Her words almost tear him apart. His heart is slowly melting away because in his eyes, she is his saviour. In his eyes, she is everything that he isn’t and can never be. In his eyes, she is the angel and he is the devil. In his eyes, she is perfect. In his eyes, he is the one who doesn’t deserve her, someone as innocent and beautiful as her.

Before he can rectify her statement and convince her otherwise, she continues with her head down to the floor. “You are everything that I’m not and so much more. You don’t deserve me. You deserve so much better.” (She was right; he probably did deserve someone better.)

He wipes her tears with his thumbs. “That’s not true. I’m the one who doesn’t deserve you.” He brings her into his arms, letting her small arms wrap around him, giving him the warmth that he has long craved for but has never been able to receive until now. “Don’t let anyone else make you think any differently,” he whispers gently into her ear.

He pulls away from the embrace and is met with her smiling face. Her eyes are swollen and her nose a tad red but in that moment when she smiles at him, he thinks that amongst all the beautiful things he has seen in his life, her smile is by far the most beautiful thing he has ever seen.

(But the sweetest smiles always hold the darkest secrets.)

21^st June 2012 6:49 pm

“What did you say you worked as?” The cold and ruthless man that Jiyong has for a father asks her. She freezes because Jiyong’s parents are used to their son dating socialites and young daughters of wealthy businessmen and politicians. She hesitates in answering the question because she knows that both of the elder people in the lavish dining room will not like her answer. The raising of a perfectly groomed eyebrow on Jiyong’s mother’s face prompts her to answer.

“I… work as the waitress of a café.”

“Oh, and you are a trainee?” Taeyeon nods timidly in answer to the woman’s question, not having the courage to look at her in the face. Underneath the table, Jiyong squeezes her hand reassuringly.

The older couple look at each other and a silent message is communicated between them. This only makes Taeyeon even more nervous. She should have partially known beforehand that meeting Jiyong’s parents would result in this. They would not like her and would immediately disapprove of her as their only son’s girlfriend. They do not need to speak of their disapproval; the look of disdain is clear in their eyes and facial expressions.

This time it is his mother’s turn to question her. “What do your parents work as?”

She freezes once more because Jiyong’s parents are not used to hearing the answer that she has for them. She hesitates because she knows that both of the elder people in the lavish dining room will not like her answer. “My parents…” for a moment she struggles to find the right words, “they’re dead.”

“I shall correct myself: what did your parents work as?”

“Really, mother? You don’t have to know.” Jiyong immediately exclaims in a loud voice, angry that his parents know no shame.

His father swiftly turned his attention towards him, “Jiyong, let the young lady speak for herself.”

Taeyeon could feel the overwhelming pressure from both of Jiyong’s parents. Their high expectations were evident in their eyes as they waited for her answer – her answer which would only allow them to make another dig at her and her background, “It’s personal information and… I would appreciate it if you did not ask me questions about my parents.”

“Well, the lady needs her privacy,” Jiyong’s mother announces mockingly to the table, an indirect insult intended for the young girl before her who audaciously labels herself as her son’s girlfriend. “Don’t you agree, honey?”

(It comes as a surprise to the rest of the table when her husband looks down at his plate of food and keeps silent for the remainder of the night.)

30^th July 2012 4:17 pm

The silence between them is comfortable and Taeyeon feels at peace. She is at peace from the vicious statements that are thrown at her casually, as though the demons who fling it at her face believe that their weapons could not possibly cause any harm at all. She is at peace from the relentless guilt that tears at her heart every day, sculpturing it into something utterly small and irrelevant. Now she isn’t sure if she is doing the right thing anymore.

She sighs.

“Something’s wrong,” he tells her. She finds it funny how he now knows her so well that he knows something is wrong before he even looks at her. But he is right; so much is wrong. She keeps her gaze ahead and doesn’t look at him. (She’s scared that she’ll break down if she so much as glances at him.)

“The other trainees whisper behind my back.” She can feel him move beside her as he gives her his full attention. “They say I’m a gold digger. They say I’ll only debut because I’m your girlfriend. They say I’m a and a…, because apparently, I would sell my body to anyone.” She can feel the tears forming in her eyes.

He wraps his arms around her. “They’re lying,” he whispers into her ear.

“But they’re not the only ones who say that,” she turns to him this time but her eyes are half-blurred. Right now, she doesn’t care if she'll break down in front of hom because she knows she will anyway. “Everyone says it. Your parents do-”

“Hey,” he shakes her shoulder, “my parents have never said such a thing.”

“But they think it,” she protests in return, “and so does half of South Korea.” She lets a tear escape from her eye. “Maybe we should break up.”

His voice is determined when he speaks to her, “No, we’ll stay together.” He wipes her fallen tears and says to her softly in a soothing voice, “If those comments bother you, maybe you should quit being a trainee.” His eyes are hopeful and she thinks that her eyes look like that as well. He pulls her into his chest and she wraps her arms around him.

(Secretly, she wonders if she is doing the right thing.)

2^nd October 2012 10:45 pm

“Taeyeon,” she is shocked as she watches her boyfriend, “I know that after two years into this relationship, I love you. I love you with all my heart and with every fibre of my being and I know it every day.” Taeyeon can feel her eyes holding back tears. “You are my saviour; you are my angel and the love of my life. I know that we have our struggles, our ups and downs but I love you. You are my soul mate and you are the only one for me. You are an amazing person and girlfriend, but I don’t want you to be my girlfriend anymore.” Taeyeon can feel the tears freely fall from her eyes because she cannot be anymore happier. (Her dreams are coming true before her very eyes.) “Taeyeon, will you marry me?”

“Yes!” She shouts as she nods repeatedly. He slips the ring on her first and she gives him a smile (it isn’t sweet but it is sincere). She rushes into his arms and he spins them around excitedly before they kiss.

6^th December 2012 11:26 am

The sweet flavours of soft vanilla cake with decadent icing contrast the rich taste of the chocolate cake with caramel toffee toppings. Taeyeon frowns because she is in a dilemma. She doesn’t know which to choose. Both of the cakes are delicious but she does not know which she would prefer as their wedding cake. She watches Jiyong’s face as he tastes both – he seems to like both as well.

“Jiyong?” Taeyeon turns in sync with her husband to the sound of the voice.

It is a woman and Jiyong stares at her confusedly for a moment. That is until she takes off her designer sunglasses. Her fiancé almost immediately recognises who the model-like woman is: “Kiko!”

The woman reaches Jiyong and they hug, something that Taeyeon has already learnt is a common greeting among westerners. “This is my fiancé,” Jiyong starts as he gestures towards her, pulling her forward and holding her waist, “Kim Taeyeon.”

“Oh,” the lady looks guilty all of sudden. She smiles quickly at Taeyeon, “Nice to meet you.” Taeyeon smiles cautiously in return. During the time that they were dating, it is inevitable that she would have to meet his friends and when she did, she realises very quickly that most of them do not like her. They do not approve of her and she knows that they think she isn’t right for him. So whenever she meets Jiyong’s friends, Taeyeon knows she has to be cautious and come off as someone who deserves Jiyong (because in truth, he does not deserve her – he deserves so much better.)

Kiko turns towards Jiyong, a tight smile on her face, “I have something urgent I need to tell you.” She glances at Taeyeon for a moment, “Preferably in private.”

“Whatever it is, you can say it to me in front of my fiancé.”

Taeyeon watches carefully as Kiko’s features tighten and she seems almost mocking, but that is only for a split second. She rearranges her face in the blink of an eye to appear worried and guilty. “Jiyong, I’m pregnant with your child.”

(Taeyeon’s cautious smile starts to freeze.)

6^th December 2012 11:36 am (1 hour later)

"What the , Jiyong?" She's seething. She's mad. She's pacing up and down. She can't keep her emotions in check.

He's a blubbering mess, "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, Taeyeon." He's on his knees in front of her. "It was one time. I swear."

"Yes one time was apparently all you needed." She finally stops pacing. But she's still furious at him.

He pipes up, "That's not fair. We weren't in a good place."

She scoffs at him, "That's your excuse."

Realising his mistake, he tries to backtrack, "Look, I know I ed up-"

"Yes, after you proposed to me. We were already engaged." She stared at him, exasperated. He bows his head, ashamed to look up at her. "Were you ever going to tell me?"

When he turns his head towards her, there's tears in his eyes. "I'm sorry, Taeyeon."

She looks around at their apartment, the place that she has called home for the past few months. She thinks back to all the good times when he comforted her and told her she was worthy of something, of everything, that she had the whole world in the palm of her hand. She thinks back to when he would pull her into his arms, the warmth of his chest, the love she felt radiating from him as he made her feel beautiful and cherished. She remembers all the times she felt guilty for using him, for not reciprocating his level of affection. She remembers that she was falling for him - that he had wormed his way under her skin and into her heart.

"But Jiyong," and this time, instead of hiding and pretending otherwise, she lets her true emotions show, "I love you." And she breaks. She crumples to the floor in a sobbing mess, clutching her chest.

As trustworthy as ever, he catches her as she falls. He wraps her up in his arms. He holds her to his chest. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, Taeyeon," he whispers as he holds onto her like she's the last precious thing she has, like she's all he has.

She doesn't stop him. Even for a moment, she decides to cherish what she has come to find so precious. She allows herself to bask in his embrace. As she lets her emotions get the better of her and her weak heart win, she tells herself that this will be the last time. Her resolve hardens. She will not be fooled again. 

She might delude herself for now that she loves him, but she vows to herself that she is never going to trust him again. He doesn't deserve her trust. He doesn't deserve anything from her. She would take her heart back from him.

(By the time they say "I do," he's nothing more than a ticket to a better life.)

31^st March 1997 10:57 pm

She can hear their screams echo through their termite-infested halls. Their yells are loud in the neighbourhood as the little girl snuggles into her thin blanket in order to block out the sound. She briefly wonders how no one else is up and knocking their fist on the door in an attempt to get some sleep tonight. Her little hands cover her ears as hard as they can, but it is not enough. Her little hands are not enough for her to block out all the curses and the shattering of cups (or rather anything her mother can get her hands on).

Their words ring so loud and clear in her ears. “Where is the money? What happened to the money? What did you do to the money?”

The young girl tells herself that when she grows up, she will be rich and will never be poor. She will never have to argue about money with anyone. Money will never be a problem and she will never have to live for days with little food or no hot water.

(Years later, she tries to debut as an idol group member – it doesn’t work.

Not even two months after quitting as a trainee, she is engaged to Kwon Jiyong, heir of Taeshin Group – it works.)

12^th March 2013 9:36 pm

“I would greatly appreciate it if you stayed away from my husband,” Taeyeon begins diplomatically. She looks up at the woman across from her, the infamous Mizuhara Kiko. Her half-cousin, Kim Hyoyeon, stands behind her and gives her the physical support if the need arrives (that is if Kiko decides to attack her or the other way around). “Jiyong is willing to take responsibility for you and the child but I want you to stay away, the further the better.”

For a moment, Kiko laughs in her face, “Why would I do that? I’m not even pregnant.” The smirk that triumphantly gleams on her face has lit Taeyeon’s anger fuse and it has lit Hyoyeon’s too (too bad Hyoyeon has been diagnosed as a psychopath at the age of ten.) Kiko laughs once more because in this moment, she is the winner. “Don’t look so surprised and angry. I only said it so he would come back to me.”

Taeyeon can feel her face get red from anger. How dare the betray Jiyong’s trust and fool him like that? How dare she deceive everyone like that? How dare she try and steal Taeyeon's chance of happiness? How dare she? Her blood is boiling, but Taeyeon is patient and rational and sensible enough not to act on her anger. Instead, she tries to keep as calm and composed as possible. “Do you know who my guest is, Kim Hyoyeon?”

The Japanese model shakes her head, confused as to where this conversation is going. This time it is Taeyeon’s turn to laugh as she sees her half-cousin move around the spacious hotel suite towards the model. “She’s my half-cousin,” Taeyeon continues calmly, “and she has been diagnosed as a psychopath at the age of ten.”

The immediate fear that grows increasingly evident in the model’s eyes shows that she knows where this is going to go. She slowly starts to move away from the couch as Taeyeon follows her like a predator would to its prey.

“I’m sorry,” she begs, the desperation in her voice is clear. “I’ll go back to Japan,” she promises hastily (but she can't keep it).

It is too late.

(Hyoyeon has already forced half of her sleeping pills down Kiko’s throat.)

29^th August 2014 8:52 pm

Jiyong holds his wife’s hand tenderly as he leads her out of the police station where they have kept her in custody for roughly thirty-six hours. They have released her now and Jiyong is relieved to know that South Korea’s justice system, at the very least, has a good sense of judgement.

“I love you, Taeyeon.”

His wife looks back up at him, her brown eyes threatening to drown him once more. “I know,” she smiles sweetly.

(Don’t the sweetest smiles hold the darkest secrets?)