Kim Seo-yeon nibbled at the croissant and looked around. Everyone here this evening was of high status, many even exceeding her own. There was a low chatter across the room.
Clink! Clink!
Someone tapped a wine glass with a fork. The woman who clinked the glass was dressed in a wine-red silk dress with her back exposed.
She raised her glass and started giving a speech which Kim Seo-yeon wasn't interested in. The woman wasn't the main character of the evening and very few people were focused on her.
The evening was a celebration of General Jung's 70th birthday. He was a former veteran who had served the people of Korea and was being celebrated in the neighboring city.
Kim Jae-jun had been given an invite and he gave it to Kim Seo-yeon with thumbs up. He, like Kim Ye-sol, wanted to see his baby girl walk down the aisle. Although he wasn't as obsessive as Kim Ye-sol, he acknowledged that his puppy had grown up and she needed to go.
Kim Seo-yeon had been here for a while. During this time, some men had made advances at her, but she turned them down. They did not fit her taste and she had no interest in dating anyone.
There was commotion at the door and Kim Seo-yeon turned to look.
From her line of sight, she saw the shiny leather shoes and long legs walking in. The man carried with him a dominant aura and looked like a king looking down on everyone. He was nearly 1.9 meters tall with broad shoulders and a slim waist. One of his long hands was inside his pocket, and the other hand wearing an expensive watch was resting naturally by his side.
Kim Seo-yeon looked at his face and her heart stopped for a second. Was this person real? How could anyone be so handsome? He had thick black eyebrows, a straight nose, black eyes and scarlet lips. If not for his distinct straight black hair, Kim Seo-yeon wouldn't have thought this man was Korean. He looked slightly Roman, like a foreigner.
He also carried an oppressive aura, as if he was treading on everyone. That combined with that devilishly handsome face, he looked like Hades had walked into the room.
Park Tae-yong walked with confidence that rivalled the unhidden and stark gaze of the people present. He was used to this, because he was the kind of person who couldn't be ignored no matter where he went.
Kim Seo-yeon quickly recovered her usual cold expression after a moment. He was just very handsome, nothing much.
She looked to his side and nearly fell over her feet. She saw Kang Eun-ho walking with the effortless grace of a man who was born in money.
Kim Seo-yeon quickly hid away. Luckily, Kang Eun-ho had not seen her.
After a few minutes, the room regained its calm. Although a lot of people wondered who the man was, no one dared to go up to him because he carried a cold air that kept people away.
Kim Seo-yeon was talking to a friend when she felt a hot gaze on her. She ignored and nodded at the friend. The friend was soon gone, but the gaze was no longer on her.
Kim Seo-yeon walked away to the balcony to get away from the noise of the hall. She put her hands on the railing and took in a deep breath. She looked up at the full moon. Suddenly, the smell of smoke wafted in her nose.
Kim Seo-yeon looked around and saw that at the posterior end of the balcony hidden away in the dark, was a man. He leaned on the railing and was smoking.
"You know it's not proper to smoke at such a celebration." Kim Seo-yeon said, keeping her gaze fixed on the moon.
Park Tae-yong turned his head and looked at the woman in the black dress. Against the moonlight, she looked like a flower that had just bloomed.
"Kim Seo-yeon, I happen to know how Yeon Ji-a died." Park Tae-yong said.
Kim Seo-yeon's hands on the railings tightened.
"What did you say?" Kim Seo-yeon asked.
Park Tae-yong smirked and did not speak.
Kim Seo-yeon walked to where he was and stopped when she was a few steps away from him.
"What do you want?" She asked, her eyes spitting fire.
This wasn't the first time someone had told her they knew the circumstances surrounding her sister's death. It made her frustrated that she had been in the dark for a long time while a lot of people had been playing the cards behind the scenes. If she'd been aware like these people, she probably would have been able to save Yeon Ji-a.
The man she was looking at seemed very well off. She was a fashion lover and she recognized his suit as soon as he came in. It was a work of the Italian, Emilio. It wasn't easy to get hands on and this man was in one. He was also walking with Kang Eun-ho who happened to be one of the richest people at this event. This man was definitely very rich. He couldn't want money.
"Do you think anything you have can satisfy me?" Park Tae-yong asked in his refined voice.
"Then why are you speaking to me?" Kim Seo-yeon asked coldly.
"I'll get straight to the point. Marry me and I'll clear the mist." Park Tae-yong said blankly like he was discussing the weather.
"Hmm. You sure have wild perceptions of what women are. What could I have done you found pleasing?" Kim Seo-yeon asked.
"Kim Jae-jun and Kim Ye-sol are not your biological parents. You are from the Duke Kim's family." Park Tae-yong announced. His voice was so bland, it was like what he was saying was such an easy subject.
Kim Seo-yeon paused. She laughed instinctively. What a funny joke! What a crazy man!
"Stop talking nonsense and wasting my time. What do you know about Yeon Ji-a?" Kim Seo-yeon said, her eyes cold.
Park Tae-yong stared at the woman who said he was talking nonsense with dark eyes. His dark eyes were so dark, he looked like he had seen hell.
"Your uncle, Koo Cheol-seo, knows. He's in love with Kim Ye-sol. The kidnapping set up by him was to separate Kim Ye-sol from you and was put in place before Yeon Ji-a was killed. He wanted to make Kim Ye-sol dependent on him before Kim Jae-jun returned. As for who killed Yeon Ji-a, you can only know that after agreeing to marry me." Park Tae-yong said and looked at the smoke circling in the sky.
Kim Seo-yeon's body shook the more she heard. She couldn't believe what the man was saying at all.
"Who... Are you?" She asked in a hushed tone, barely holding back the tears that had welled up in her eyes.
Park Tae-yong stubbed out the cigarette and moved towards Kim Seo-yeon. A gloved hand rested on her shoulder.
"Park Tae-yong." He said calmly and looked down at her. He was much taller than her. "I'll be waiting." He said and left Kim Seo-yeon.
Kim Seo-yeon stood for a while unable to process her thoughts.
She left soon after, no longer interested in the event. She didn't go to look for Park Tae-yong, but instead drove home.
When she was home, she acted the same. Cold.
Her parents did not notice anything unusual.
"Umma. Abeoji. I want to cook bibimpap with you guys." She said to them after she had changed to her nightdress.
"Right now?" Kim Jae-jun who was seated with Kim Ye-sol watching television, asked somewhat surprised.
"Yes! I remember gochujang bibimpap was our Ji-a's favorite food." Kim Seo-yeon said trying to sound as calm as possible despite her internal tremor.
Kim Jae-jun and Kim Ye-sol looked at each other and nodded.
"Alright, puppy. Let's cook bibimpap for Kim Ji-a. But you'll clean up afterwards, the servants are all already asleep." Kim Ye-sol said.
They went into the kitchen and Kim Seo-yeon started by washing the rice.
While cooking, they joked around and talked and laughed. Kim Seo-yeon nearly teared up. If these weren't her parents, she decided, her luck was simply cruel. They loved her so much and she loved them so much. She hated Park Tae-yong for ruining her day. She wasn't their biological daughter, so what? Why didn't he keep it to himself?
The bibimpap was done soon.
"Thank you Father for the food, we bring our Ji-a together with us with the food. We know she's in a better place. Amen." Kim Jae-jun said and opened his eyes.
He grabbed the spoons and opened the poached eggs allowing the yolks to flow into the rice as he stirred everything together until everything was combined.
Kim Ye-sol and Kim Seo-yeon picked up a spoon and tasted it.
"Hmm. Daddy, your cooking skills are still so good." Kim Seo-yeon said with her eyes shiny.
"Of course. Daddy is the best chef in the world." Kim Jae-jun said and patted his chest.
They all laughed and ate from the same bowl to their heart's content.
After they were done eating, Kim Ye-sol and Kim Jae-jun retired into their room, reminding Kim Seo-yeon to clean up afterwards.
Kim Seo-yeon carefully placed both of her parents' spoons into a plastic bag, before cleaning up and retiring.
…
The next day.
Kim Seo-yeon drove to the paternity testing center and gave them the spoons from last night.
She would only get the results tomorrow.
…
The file in the passenger's seat looked like an eyesore. She had not opened it. She didn't want to know what the results were. Kim Jae-jun and Kim Ye-sol were her parents. She didn't care what the results said.
Her eyes teared up again as she stopped the car.
She picked up the file with shaky hands. She did not believe Park Tae-yong at all. When had he gotten a DNA test done? Did he get one done? He was probably just bluffing her.
She swallowed and opened the results, flipping to the last page.
'Both are not related.' The line read in red ink. This report was only between her father and her. Had her mother betrayed her father? No. It couldn't be.
She flipped open her mother's own.
"Umma. Please be my umma." She pleaded internally, even though she felt she was being selfish. If her mother turned out to be her mother indeed, then her whole life wouldn't be a lie and she would only have the problem that her mother had cheated on her father.
'Both are not related.' Kim Seo-yeon's heart stopped.