Kwon’s Residence,

Yuri’s POV

Jessica and I looked at each other after my conversation with Taeyeon ended, like we were trying to figure out what we should do next. The only thing I was sure about was, our little kissing session was over…for today.

“Maybe we should also go and see Jessica” I wondered.

“Should we? Do you think Taeyeon will do something bad?” she asked me.

Oh Jessica…you still don’t know Taeyeon, do you?

“If bad means beating the hell out of Sungmin, then yes” I said.

“She won’t do that in a public place, right? I mean, not now with all the issues”

“I don’t think Taeyeon’s brain will function once she sees Sungmin with Tiffany” I said while grabbing my keys. “You can stay here if you want. I don’t think it will be nice over there” I warned her.

“No, I’m coming with you” she said.

We quickly left the house and drove to that ice cream shop. While we were talking in the room, Taeyeon was probably already on her way there. I’m pretty sure that we will arrive too late, but there is still a chance that Taeyeon controls herself and doesn’t do anything that might worsen her situation.

Ice Cream Shop,

Tiffany’s POV

I should have known that it will end up like this. Who was I kidding?

“Actually, what about…you break up with Taeyeon…now? Call her and do it now” Sungmin suggested.

I didn’t have any reaction after he told me that the only condition I had to fulfill to save Taeyeon was to leave her. Why was I so naïve? I knew it wouldn’t be easy, I knew that at the end of my meeting with him, someone will have to suffer…but not to this point.

“You know what? You can use my cell phone, it will be…easier” he added.

Sungmin took out his phone and put it down right in front of me. I stared at it like it was the scariest thing in the world. How am I supposed to do that?

“You really want those proofs, don’t you? Just one phone call and everything will be fine” he continued, but his words were like a quiet whisper to me. I heard them but they couldn’t properly reach me.

I simply stared at the phone, waiting for something, for someone to help me. I knew I wouldn’t regret this, because this whole nightmare was coming to an end. The only thing was…how could I do that?

“Are you backing off Tiffany? I guess you don’t love her as much as I thought” he put more pressure on me.

Slowly, my hand shaking a bit, I took his phone and searched for Taeng’s number. At this moment, I realized that I wasn’t afraid of how much it would hurt her, but how much it would hurt me. Can I go on without being by her side?

“Do it Tiffany” Sungmin said one last time.

“Yeah…do it Fany…”

That voice…even among million of voices, I would recognize it…even if it was only a whisper from afar, I would hear it.

I immediately looked up and saw that my biggest fear was coming true. “Taeyeon…” I whispered.

“Taeyeon?” Sungmin looked at me before slowly turning around.

Then everything happened extremely fast.

*Noise of chair falling down*

As soon as Sungmin turned around, he got punch by Taeyeon and fell on the floor.

I was startled by the sudden turn of situation. “Oh my god. TAEYEON!” I screamed out before rushing to her side.

It was quite fortunate that I reacted quickly this time, because Taeyeon was ready to hit him again. I stood in front of Taeng and tried my best to not let her jump on Sungmin, who was still on the floor. I can’t imagine what would have happened if I hadn’t stopped her on time, even a second late and the result could have been a disaster.

“Taeyeon, please calm down…” I tried to calm her down, but I knew that I had no right to do that since I was the one who caused her anger.

She was staring at Sungmin, her eyes full of hatred. “Enjoy yourself as much as you can Sungmin, because soon…your life will be such a nightmare that you will come and beg me to stop it” she said…with a smile.

Out of nowhere, I was afraid of that Taeyeon. There was nothing wrong with her threatening him since he deserved it, but the way she said it, the tone of her voice, her stare and finally her smile at the end, all of that combined brought a chill down my spine.

For a moment right there, she wasn’t the sweet and innocent Taeyeon I came to know, she was just…another Taeyeon.

“Let’s go home” Taeyeon said coldly while grabbing my hand and dragging me out of the shop.

I could hear the whispers of the other clients commenting on the scene, a few of them recognized Taeyeon since I heard her name a couple times before we got out of the shop.

Taeyeon was holding my hand possessively as we walked to her car. I didn’t say a word, I didn’t dare to.

During our ride to home, her expression remained exactly like it was back in the ice cream shop, while she was looking at Sungmin. And once again, I felt scared.

What did I do?

Ice Cream Shop,

Jessica’s POV

When we arrived to the Ice cream shop with Yuri, Tiffany and Taeyeon were nowhere to be seen. Instead, we came face to face with Sungmin.

He was sitting at a table with a bag of ices on his nose, which was a proof that Taeng did came.

When he saw Yuri, a smirk appeared on his face. “Kwon Yuri, you are late. Your crazy friend already left and looked at what she dared to do” he told her while showing his nose.

“Feel happy that she didn’t destroy your whole face” Yul said coldly.

For a moment, I feared that Yuri would run to him and break another part of his face. Maybe she would have done it if the reporters hadn’t stormed in the shop.

“Is it here that Kim Taeyeon got into a fight?” a reporter asked one of the clients.

Yuri’s face turned angry at this. “Reporters? You freaking call the reporters? What the hell is wrong with you?” she said angrily while walking closer to him.

I quickly grabbed Yul’s hand and stopped her front going near him. “Yuri, we shouldn’t stay here” I told her.

“Excuse me Miss, did you witness the fight that took place here?” one of the reporter asked me.

“Me! I’m the one that got beaten by Taeyeon” Sungmin suddenly shouted out of nowhere.

“Oh you!” Yuri tried to reach Sungmin but I stopped her again.

“Let’s go Yuri!” I pulled her toward the door.

“I swear you’re going to regret this” Yuri shouted at Sungmin before we left the shop.

I let go of Yul’s hand and gave her some space while we walked back to the car. “Damn it!! Damn it!!!” Yul was angry. “I can’t believe I didn’t send him right to the emergency room!”

I’ve got into some heated argument with Yuri in the past, and I’ve seen her very angry before, especially when a certain Donghae was involved in the conversation, but this was the first time that I saw Yuri being so angry that she could use violence against someone. Sungmin is indeed good at making people go crazy.

Kim’s Residence,

Taeyeon’s POV

Tiffany and I didn’t exchange a single word during our ride back home. I don’t know if it was because I was too angry with her or with myself for letting that happen. Since we got together, the only thing I was confident about was that I could protect her, keep her safe. But I can’t even do such a small task.

When we got home, I went straight to my room. I thought Fany would just leave me alone for a moment but no, she followed me. I didn’t want to ignore her, I just wanted to avoid a fight. I was really angry at me, at her, at Sungmin and I knew that sooner or later, I would end up screaming at her.

“Taeyeon…please talk to me” Tiffany said in a pleading voice as we entered my room.

I walked to the window and looked outside, trying to calm down.

“I’m sorry…I’m so sorry Taeyeon” she continued.

The more she was apologizing, the angrier I got. She made a huge mistake by seeing Sungmin, but who started all this? ME.

“Please talk to me. Scream if you want but say something” she walked to me and forced me to look at her.

So I stopped holding back. “Why Tiffany? I just…why?” I asked her.

I knew she did it for me, she wanted to help…but why? I just couldn’t understand why she ended up doing such a stupid thing. There was no way this could have ended well.

“This…this was the only thing that I could do for you. I…I just wanted to…”

“To help me? You really thought that putting yourself in such situation would help me? Would make me feel better or something?”

“Taeyeon…”

“Why do you think I didn’t tell you it was Sungmin from the beginning? Because I knew Fany. I just knew something like that would happen if I told you. And guess what? I was right!” my voice kept raising at that moment.

“I had to…I just had to try…”

Suddenly, something came to my mind. “Were you…were you going to do it?”

“Huh?”

“Whatever he asked you to do in exchange…were you going to accept it?” I asked her.

I didn’t hear much when I stepped in the shop earlier. When I arrived, all I saw was Tiffany holding on a phone and Sungmin talking to her. It was only when I got closer that I heard him telling her to do it. To do what? I had no idea but knowing Sungmin, it couldn’t be good.

“I…” Tiffany looked down at her feet and couldn’t say anything else. I knew what that meant.

I was about to scold her again when my phone rang. I didn’t want to answer but since it was Mr. Henney, I had to. “Yes?”

“Turn on your TV on channel news. Now.” He told me in his usual serious voice.

Before I did as he said, I kind of knew what I was about to see on TV.

“Oh no…” I heard Tiffany whisper to herself as she watched the screen.

I hung up on Mr. Henney and watched the breaking news…about me.

Kwon’s Residence,

Yuri’s POV

“Don’t you think we should go to Taeng’s house and look for them?” Jessica asked me as we came back to my house.

“I don’t think they want to be bother right now”

We were going to head to my room when I heard noises coming from the living room. My whole family was gathering around the TV and watching the news. It didn’t took us long to realize what the news was about.

“I’m sure he is lying. Taeyeon unnie wouldn’t do that…” Seohyun said while Sungmin was being interviewed in the news.

Yoona, who was seating next to her, patted Seohyun’s back gently. Taeyeon has always been a sweet and great role model to her little cousin, so I could understand how difficult it was for Seohyun to see Taeyeon in such a bad light.

“I can’t believe this is the same Sungmin I saw growing up…what a shame” my father commented.

My mother was calm until Sungmin mentioned my name on TV. “There was also Kwon Yuri, Taeyeon’s best friend. She came right after Taeyeon left. She was very aggressive and wanted to attack me but you guys came so she didn’t.” he told the reporters.

“How can he drag my little baby into this? I’m going to call his parents” she said angrily.

“Mom…” I said, drawing their attentions to me.

“Baby Yul, were you really there?” she asked the question that everyone wanted to know.

Now they were all focusing on me, waiting for me to confirm or deny what Sungmin has said on the TV.

“We were there but we arrived after Taeyeon and Tiffany left so I don’t know what exactly happened” I just said.

“But you didn’t try to attack him, did you?”

“Not like he described it…” I answered.

“Kwon Yuri!” my dad scolded. “What did I teach you about violence?”

“I think Sungmin deserves it Daddy” Yoona tried to defend me.

“That is not the point. Violence doesn’t solve anything, it makes things worse only” he gave us his usual speech on the subject.

“Why would Taeyeon fight with him in a public place? This doesn’t make sense” my mother wondered.

Besides Taeng’s people, Jessica, Tiffany and me, no one else knows that Sungmin is the one behind the scandal. At this point, there was also no real reason to hide it from my family anymore. So I took the decision to tell them the whole story.

Kim’s Residence,

Tiffany’s POV

I couldn’t believe it. I’ve never thought things will turn out this way. It wasn’t supposed to end up like that. How did the media learnt about this?

“Great…just great…” Taeyeon said annoyed, before turning off the TV.

I really thought she was going to throw the remote control at the TV, but luckily, she threw it on the bed instead.

“I’m sorry Taeyeon…I really didn’t…” I stuttered again, unable to say a full sentence since we got back.

“Forget it” she said.

“I know you’re angry at me for doing something like this but…”

Then finally, Taeng let all the anger out. “I’m not angry Tiffany. I am MAD!” she started screaming. “I’m mad that you thought such a stupid idea would work, I’m mad that instead of talking to me you went and met him behind my back, I’m mad that you not only tried to negotiate with him but also accepted whatever he proposed to you. But you know what’s worse? I should only be mad at you and Sungmin but NO, I’m also mad at myself for letting that happen!”

I dared to take a step closer to her. “This isn’t your fault Taeyeon. This was my own decision…”

“A decision that you made because of me…” she softened a bit.

“I had the opportunity to help you so I took it. If I had to do it again…”

“You won’t.” she cut me off.  “Never again. You will never ever do something like this again, you hear me? NEVER” she raised her voice again.

“I LOVE U” It came out of nowhere. I just didn’t know what to say. I just wanted her to stop screaming and listen to me.

And it worked. Taeyeon was taken back by my sudden words and she stopped being angry for a moment, long enough for me to explain myself.

“I know it was stupid but that was all I could do for you. Once I knew Sungmin was the cause of all this, I just couldn’t sit back and watch him make you suffer. He did all this for a reason…ME. So in a way, I’m the one who put you in such situation” I gave her my point of view.

“You wouldn’t have regretted it if it had worked?”

“I would…probably forever but at least, you will be out of troubles” I said with confidence.

After a long silence, Taeng spoke again. “What did he ask you to do?”

I didn’t know if this was a good idea to tell her, but up to this point, it didn’t matter anymore. “He told me to…leave you…”

Taeyeon smiled sadly. “And you were going to do it…”

“It was a sacrifice I was ready to make. You have so much to lose Taeyeon, not only you but your family’s company too”

“And leaving me would help? Tiffany, wake up. Not only was this idea crazy but you nearly got cheated on. Do you really think that Sungmin would have kept his words?”

“He…”

“He is a liar. If he was able to do all this to get at me without feeling remorseful or anything then he definitely could lie to you too. I can’t believe you almost fell into his trap…”

I did believe him…I can’t believe I took his words without doubting him a second. “You think I’m stupid, right?”

“Yeah…because you don’t understand me Tiffany” she said like it was a lost cause.

I didn’t know what she meant by that. “I don’t want you to sacrifice to help me. I don’t even want you to help me. I didn’t tell you the truth to ask for your help, but for your support” she explained.

“Taeyeon, you can go to jail!!!” I blurted out.

Since we were back in Seoul, we haven’t really talked about her issue. Taeyeon told me to avoid the newspapers and even news on TV and I never asked her about how things were going because I knew she wouldn’t want to discuss it with me. Whenever Taeyeon wasn’t working, we tried to spend time together thinking about other things…anything but the scandal.

“You don’t want to stay with someone who might go to jail, right?”

*SLAP*

I wish I could go back on time and not do what I did. But it was obviously too late.

“I hate you…”

I wish I could take back those words…or maybe it wasn’t that bad that for once, I told her all my thoughts without holding back.

“I hate you for making me fall in love with you; I hate you for acting like everything is perfects…” with each word that I was saying, I gave her a little push. “…I hate you for being so secretive with your thoughts and I hate you for hiding your emotions and fears to me. But most of all, I hate you for doubting me! YOU ARE AN IDIOT KIM TAE YEON!!!” I shouted and pushed her away with all my strength before I ran out of the room, out of the house.

Kwon Residence,

Yuri’s POV

All of us were still gathering in the living room, discussing about Taeyeon’s issue. I was expecting my parents to be shock at what I have just told them, but they weren’t. Actually, both of them were expecting something like this to happen to Taeyeon.

“It was bound to happen, for years. I would have preferred if Taeyeon didn’t have to go through this but that might be positive for her in the future.” My father stated.

“That might be positive for her father too. Maybe it is time that everyone acknowledges Taeyeon’s problems. The poor kid has some issue she has to solve.” My mother added.

My parents were right. Taeyeon’s scandal might have some good effect on her own personal issues as well as her relationship with her parents. Maybe her parents will finally admit that their daughter is far from being the perfect kid she was presented as, since…forever.

“Do you have news about her parents?” I asked my parents.

“I haven’t talked with any of them for weeks, but I heard they were coming back because of this” my father said.

“My parents haven’t talked to them for a few days as well” Seohyun added.

That made me realizes that they weren’t in any newspapers since the scandal broke out. No interviews, no official statements, nothing. This only makes me more curious about how her father is going to deal with it. I hope this doesn’t worsen their already very bad relationship.

We were all talking when the doorbell rang. Automatically, I stood up and went to see who it was.

“Tiffany?” I asked surprised when I saw the smaller girl behind the door.

Her head was down and I could barely see her face. “Y-Yuri, can…I…stay at your place, please?” she asked in a very low voice.

“Huh s-sure Tiffany” I immediately let her in.

That’s when I noticed that she has been crying. “We’re all in the living room but…you can go in my room if you want” I suggested.

“Thank you” she said before making her way to the stairs. “I will greet them later if you don’t mind” she quickly added before running up to my room.

Last time that I saw Fany crying was when she had that huge fight with Taeyeon. I hope things are still fine between them.

I went back to the living room and told them it was Fany. “She isn’t feeling well so I told her to rest in my room” I explained.

“Is everything ok?” Jessica immediately asked me.

“I didn’t want to bother her but I guess she might be happy to have you by her side” I told her.

Sica excused herself and went to see Tiffany.

“Something happened between her and Taeyeon?” my mom asked.

“I don’t know…probably. I think I better go check on Taeyeon” I said before making my way out of the room.

The last thing that Taeyeon needs right now is being away from Tiffany. I wonder what happened between them.

Yuri’s Room,

Tiffany’s POV

After I ran away from Taeyeon’s house, I wandered alone in the neighborhood for awhile. I couldn’t stop the tears from falling down as I sat alone in a park nearby. A part of me wanted to rush back to see Taeng, but I knew it wasn’t the right decision to make. So I stayed there alone, until there were no more tears.

It was when I wanted to call Jessica that I realized that I ran away with nothing on me, but my clothes. No cell phone, no money.

The closest place I could go to was Yuri’s house, so I went there. She was the one who opened the door and immediately, I tried to avoid looking at her. I didn’t want her to know I cried even though I’m sure that she noticed as soon as she saw me.

I felt impolite for not greeting her family before heading to her room, but I was quite a mess so it was for the better.

I barely sat down on Yuri’s couch that I heard someone knocking on the door.

“Tiffany? This is me Sica, can I come in?” I heard her sweet voice asking through the door.

I let out a sigh of relief after hearing Sica’s voice. “Sure, come in” I said.

Jessica opened carefully the door like she was afraid of what she was going to see. “Are you okay?” she asked.

I nodded and smiled to reassure her. “I know you’ve been crying…what happened?” she asked while sitting beside me.

“You can say it” I told her.

“Say what?” Jessica asked confused.

“I told you” I said, speaking about my huge mistake of meeting with Sungmin.

Jessica’s face changed and she turned her face away from me. “Actually, things might have worked differently if I hadn’t betrayed you…” she said softly.

“What are you talking about?”

“I’m sorry Tiffany. I was really afraid that Sungmin will take advantage of you so I told Yuri about what you were going to do, and she told Taeyeon” she admitted.

“I kind of knew you did it”

“Huh?”

“I mean…the fact that Taeyeon suddenly came into that shop was too much of a coincidence.” I stated.

“I’m sorry” she apologized sincerely.

“Don’t be” I took Sica’s hand in mine. “I’m grateful actually. I was about to sacrifice the most beautiful thing in my life…and for nothing”

It was true. I nearly left Taeyeon for someone I will never ever love, I nearly broke the heart of the person I cherish the most, but most importantly, I nearly broke Taeyeon’s trust again.

“Sungmin, what did he ask you?”

I went on and told Jessica about my meeting with Sungmin. How at that time, I was completely lost and didn’t know what I had to do. I was so close to do like he asked me to. Even now, I’m surprised at how far I was ready to go to make myself useful for Taeyeon.

“Were you really going to do it?”

“I don’t know…I really don’t know…but at that time, I really thought it was going to solve everything” I admitted.

I really thought it would end all of this. How stupid of me.

“I’m glad Taeyeon arrived at the right time then, because I don’t think you can trust Sungmin”

“I know, that’s what Taeyeon told me earlier…”

“Was she really angry?”

“If only you had seen her face when she spoke to Sungmin, it was frightening. Then later at home, she screamed and I knew she was fighting the urge to break everything in her room.” I revealed to Jessica, while remembering how our fight went.

“I don’t think I can blame her this time for being angry”

“Of course, she has the right to be angry. I’m quite angry at myself too, but I wish that at least, she tried to understand me” I went on and revealed about the rest of our argument.

“You slapped her?!?!?!” she asked me. Surprised would be a very weak word to describe Sica’s reaction to my revelation.

“I couldn’t control it, what she said was too…I couldn’t believe that she would think like that, not even a second” remembering her words made me angry again.

But Jessica didn’t seem to be that shocked with Taeyeon’s reaction. “Well, Taeyeon is quite impulsive so she probably didn’t think before she speaks.”

“I don’t like that. I don’t like the fact that she doesn’t understand my feelings. Doesn’t she know how much she means to me?” I said frustrated.

“And you, do you know how much you mean to her?” Jessica asked me the same question.

That’s when I started to understand better. “Taeyeon is really protective over you, and I’m sure she loves you as much as you love her. So imagine how hurt she was, knowing what you were going to do because of her.” She explained to me.

She was right. All this time, all I thought about was my own feelings. I was so blind by my love that I forgot to think about hers, especially when I made my decision.

“What should I do now?” I asked.

“Wait a bit until she calms down and then go back talk to her”

“I created a big mess Jessica…I even got Yuri involved…” Because of my need to be useful, I dragged my friends into this.

“The one at fault is Sungmin, don’t blame yourself for something he did on his own”

“What is going to happen now? Didn’t I make everything worse for Taeyeong?” I asked Jessica, hoping she will have an answer.

“Wait…we can only wait now…”

That was what I thought too. All we can do is wait…wait for a miracle to happen.

Yoona’s Room

Yoong’s POV

After Jessica went to see Tiffany, my sister decided to go and see if Taeyeon was fine. Seohyun and I were left in the living room with my parents. I was worried about Seohyun because she had a hard time dealing with Taeyeon’s case.

“Kids, you want to eat something?” my mother asked us.

“Thank you but I’m not hungry auntie” Seohyun refused politely. I guess she didn’t have any appetite after that little news about Taeyeon.

“Let’s go in my room Seohyun” I stood up and offered her my hand, which she gently took.

When we walked by my sister’s room, I was curious to know how Tiffany was doing and I know that Seohyun was worried about her too. But both of us knew that it wasn’t the right time to interfere with our unnies conversation.

Once we reached my room, Seohyun let herself fell into my bed. I really feel for her. It must be very hard to accept that the always so perfect Taeyeon wasn’t so perfect after all. It is like a myth being tarnished, but in this case, the myth is her beloved cousin.

“Am I ignorant Yoona?” Seohyun suddenly asked me.

I went and sat down next to her. “I don’t think so, why?” I asked while gently stroking her hair.

“Because I didn’t know Taeyeon unnie could be like that…because I can’t accept that side of her…”

“It’s not being ignorant Seohyun. You believe what you see and you have never seen Taeyeon unnie like this, so it’s perfectly normal to not want to accept it”

“She is not a bad person…unnie has always been sweet and nice with me. I hate that people think she is only a violent and spoiled girl”

“You don’t have to care about what they say. Those people know nothing, their words shouldn’t reach you”

“I hate Sungmin…I hate him for ruining everyone’s happiness”

“How is your parents dealing with this?” I asked.

Since the scandal broke out, I knew it wasn’t easy for her family since reporters have been waiting outside of their house too.

“They are doing fine, I guess. I know they are worried, especially since they couldn’t reach auntie and uncle, but they don’t show it in front of us. Sunny unnie also hides her worries in front of me…”

“They don’t want you to worry and be unhappy. They’re just protecting you”

“I wish they wouldn’t. I wish everyone would stop doing that. I’m the only one who hasn’t seen that scandal coming. Everyone expected something like this to happen with Taeyeon unnie but me” she said frustrated.

“I think we are the rarest persons among Taeyeon’s entourage with whom she can be natural with. She isn’t afraid of opening up when she is with us and maybe that’s why we end up having a hard time accepting that other side of her, because we haven’t seen it with our own eyes before.”

“But you knew, didn’t you?”

“I knew Taeyeon unnie was involved in some fights in the past, because my sister told me. But I didn’t know it was such a big issue in her life.”

“What’s going to happen, Yoona? I don’t want Taeyeon unnie to go to jail…” Seohyun asked worried.

The reality of the scandal hit us both.

“Sungmin is the real bad guy, right? He cannot win. I’m sure they will find something, then we can all be happy again” I tried to reassure her.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem as easy as that. I don’t know how long this is going to last, I don’t know how much most of us have to suffer until it comes to an end. I’m really worried about Seohyun because school is starting next week and I’m afraid she will have a hard time dealing with the other students.

And I wouldn’t be there to protect her.

Kim’s Residence,

Taeyeon’s POV

I don’t know how long I’ve been standing here, holding my hurt cheek and replaying the whole scene in my head. That slap, I sure didn’t see it coming. But I definitely deserved it though. I said a lot of stupid and hurtful words in the past, but nothing as bas as what I said to her.

“Taeyeon? Taeyeon?” Suddenly, I heard Yuri calling my name from downstairs.

I pulled myself back together before going to see her. Yuri was standing in the lobby, waiting for me. I felt guilty when I saw her, because now, she was also involved in this big mess.

“Hey, what’s up?” I asked casually, hiding the pain in my heart.

“Don’t act like you are fine. You are a big mess Kim Taeyeon” she said straight to my face as soon as I came down.

I couldn’t help but smile at her comment. “I guess I am…sorry for what happened today” I apologized for dragging her into this mess.

“You can be! It ruined my little…moment with Jessica” she said before spacing out.

“Ya! Are you thinking about what you two were doing?” I asked while making a disgusted face to tease her.

“Of course not!” Yuri blushed a bit.

I laughed at her for being embarrassed.

“Anyway, I can’t guarantee it but…it’s going to be fine, I know it will” she suddenly turned serious and gave me a hug. “You know I’m here, right? We’ll go through this together Little Kid” she added before patting my back playfully.

But it made me feel even guiltier. All of them, they’re my family and they are good people, they do not deserve to be put in that situation because of me.

“All of us are supporting you Taeyeon, so don’t give up” Yuri said before we both turned our attention toward the door.

We both heard the noise of a car coming near the house. Yuri and I looked at each other, wondering who it was, but soon enough, we got our answer.

The door slowly opened and my face tensed at the sight in front of me. “Aunty, uncle it’s nice to see you again” Yuri greeted my parents as they entered the house, followed by some maids.

I lightly bowed at them before focusing on Yuri again. “Maybe you should go…” I whispered to her.

But Yuri didn’t quite understand what I said. “What?”

“Yuri, I don’t want to chase you away but I have to discuss something with my daughter, so if you can come back later?” my father said in his usual cold and detached voice.

I looked coldly at my father and was ready to say something but Yuri spoke up first. “Of course uncle, I will give you some privacy” she said politely before turning to me. “Taeng, Fany is staying at my place so don’t worry” she told me before leaving the house.

I let out a sigh after Yuri was gone. “Still so friendly I see…” I commented about my father’s behavior.

He walked toward me with a cold stare, but I didn’t drop mine. I stood there and looked right into his eyes, waiting for his next move.

*SLAP*

“Who do you think you are talking to?” my father asked, his voice colder than ever.

I clenched my teeth and held back the tears. I didn’t want to cry because it hurt, but because despite all the harsh words my father said to me in the past, it was the first time he ever lain his hand on me.

But the worse thing was that once again, he didn’t even try to listen to my side of the story…