There was no second thought when Shu Hwa saw the look on Hong Eun-hye's face. She immediately got up from bed and dressed herself up before hitting the door. Even when her hair was still a mess, she didn't stop walking towards the lobby. As soon as she got out, she took a cab back to her home.
Home. Even the thought of it sent her stomach churning. Where she was heading, it was not home. It was a cage, a prison adorned in luxury.
She still recalled of that day where she had come face to face with her mother, Hong Chae-won. She had looked her straight in the eyes and asked her, "Is it true? You're going to keep me, your daughter, captive if I don't do the surgery?"
She had hoped with all her heart that this was just her older sister's mischief and her mom...well, was still her mom. But never could she imagine in her wildest dream, it had all been true.
"Yes," Hong Chae-won had said to her that day. "I give you a choice. You take your pick."
"But why?"
"Your sister wants to become an idol and she needs your face. But it'll be bad later if they know about the surgery. So..."
"So, you came up with this idea." Shu Hwa's voice had been desperate, but most of all, she was utterly and irrevocably heartbroken.
Yet, her mom had only shrugged it off like it was nothing. "You've always been a good sister and an obedient daughter. I've always been proud of you because of that. Are you going to disappoint me now? Your older sister has a big dream and you should be supportive."
Remembering her mother's reasoning now only sent Shu Hwa laughing. She giggled and giggled until droplets of tears started trickling down her face. That was when the cry escaped from her lips, but she swallowed it down immediately. Shu Hwa held her sobbing in her heart and the intensity of her sadness crushed her entirely.
How did one supposed to feel when their mother chose to sacrifice them for the other?
How did one supposed to feel when their dream did not matter but their sibling's was?
She had a dream too, once upon a time. But, it all went down, cascading like a falling leaf, all battered and dried up. After that, it took only a sentence to rip the leaf apart and gone every hope I had left.
"From now on, you will stay inside the house."
Shu Hwa used to love listening to fairytales when she was a kid. Rapunzel was one of them. All she had known at that time was how beautiful the princess' blonde hair and how enchantingly magical her singing was. But Shu Hwa never knew all that came from her sorrow, the betrayal, and the broken promises.
The princess' singing was, in fact, a desperate cry for help. All the beauty and the magical string, they all came to her at the cost of her broken wings.
All those days watching from behind the window as the sky brightened and darkened and then brightened again, only to realize, the day moved on but Shu Hwa never did. Her time froze inside the big mansion of the Hong family.
Snapping out of her memory, Shu Hwa raised her head and wiped her tears. She glanced at the traffic on the road ahead. She was out, right now. This was it.
This was her only chance.
Though trembling from head to toe, she told the driver another address. "I'm sorry, sir. Please take me to Dongdaemun instead."
The cab driver knitted his eyebrows and turned to her with an irritated face. Shu Hwa was a bit nervous when she met the Ahjussi's glaring eyes. "I'm sorry," she apologized as she bowed slightly at him. He only responded by shaking his head.
"It'll take a while since Dongdaemun is on the opposite direction," he told her. Then, he glanced at her through the rear-view mirror. "That means the price will be doubled."
Shu Hwa closed her eyes and leaned back on the car seat. "I'll pay whatever the fee is. Just take me there," she trailed off, "Please."
In the end, she could only plead. Her voice was quivering as she tried to swallow the cry that threatened to escape. She was desperate...so desperate to escape this nightmare. When she opened her eyes again, she took out her phone and broke the sim card.
'I'm sorry,' she whispered in her heart. She bit her lower lip. 'I'm so sorry, Min Jae. I need to go. I can't do this anymore.'
When Eun-hye, her older sister, had entered the room just now and saw her with Min Jae on the bed, she already knew it in her heart that it was all over. She needed to walk away despite everything between her and Park Min Jae. But still...
'I'm sorry for hurting you...'
Shu Hwa buried her face into her hands.
'But most of all, I'm sorry for all the lies.'
She could only hope that one day in the future, when they did meet again, he could find it in him to forgive her. Because after all she had done, Park Min Jae had always been the choice that she never regretted. She lifted her head and looked over her shoulder. There lied Gangnam, the place that used to be in front of her and now, it stayed behind her.
******
(Dongdaemun, Seoul)
Hong Shu Hwa stood in front of an apartment door with plate number 413 attached on it. For a while there, she hesitated. But then she thought about it and she felt that at least, he had to know.
He had the rights to know.
So, she raised her hand and knocked on the door. It didn't take two minutes before the occupant appeared in front of her. And when her eyes met the face that was almost similar to her, she immediately broke down into his arms and cried her heart out.
"Dad," she muttered.
Choi Byung-joon was completely shocked by the sudden meltdown of his daughter. Nevertheless, he held her tight and stroked her head as if she was a five years old kid.
"What happened?" He asked gently, even though deep down, his fury was already building.
However, Shu Hwa did not answer his question. She only grabbed him and said, "I want to go."
"W-w-what?"
Shu Hwa smiled bitterly. "Daddy, I wish to get away from here."
"W-wait, I'm still trying to process this. What happened?" Byung-joon was both confused and nervous as he held on to his daughter's hand. Shu Hwa watched as the expression on his face alternated between anger, sad, and worry.
He was completely devastated but, she didn't have any choice beside this. So, with her eyes closed, she let go of his hands. She remained smiling albeit the falling tears.
"Dad, I'm sorry but I will go alone."