Yong-Sun kept staring at the roof. Baek-Hyeon was lying next to him. A few minutes ago, all were sleeping peacefully but everything changed all of a sudden. It was a shocking night for everyone. The truth came out as to why Young-Jae was always angry at and rude to Young-Soo. Everyone thought the reason would be business-related but the reason was a different one, a shameful one, one that needed to be hidden. He had a child out of wedlock and left a woman in some other country without marrying her. Now that child was all grown up.
Marriage was a big deal in the conservative mind of Young-Jae. He was old-school, he believed in traditions and old customs. So, for him marrying a foreigner was a complete no-no and a kid out of wedlock was a reprehensible crime. He had been punishing his son by giving him a small position in his handicrafts company 'Susegong'. It was a small division in the Park Conglomerate.
No one was able to sleep that night. The sound of tossing and turning on the bed was coming from every room except Bong-Cha's and Chin Sun's room. They were too excited to be angry or sad. It was a shocking night for Yong-Sun too. He kept thinking and exhaling loudly.
The truth came out tonight, the secret was out. The girl he had a crush on was the sister of his best friend. If fate would have been on his side, they would have grown up together. But if she would have grown with him, would she have been his crush then? Would she have been a famous designer or would she be working in the family business? Would he pursue her to work with him?
He was angry at all the elders as they knew everything but never told any of the youngsters. For more than 25 years they hid a huge secret from their own kids. The youngsters kept talking about Ashma in front of everyone, but no one even tried to tell them the shocking secret they kept hidden. They would just forbid them to discuss topics related to her, like India, marriage, Harabuhji's anger.
Same as everyone, he could not sleep well. He kept tossing and turning on the bed. He could tell that Baek-Hyeon too was awake but he was still, completely motionless. No one knew how to digest such a piece of news. There was a woman whom Young-Soo loved and had a child with her. But he got married to Eun-Kyung and they were parents of two kids. Should he feel sorry for that child or those two kids? Should he feel sorry for the woman in India or Eun-Kyung? He had no idea what happened years ago but one decision resulted in disasters in many lives.
Both Yong-Sun and Baek-Hyeon exhaled and turned to their sides. Their eyes were closed. They opened their eyes together at the same time. Both of their faces were too close to each other. A scream escaped from their mouths and they tried to create some distance between themselves but ended up falling from the bed.
"Ow!" exclaimed Yong-Sun. He kept caressing his behind to ease his pain from the fall.
"Ouch!" shouted Baek-Hyeon. He stroked his arm as he fell on his side.
"Why were you so close?" scolded Yong-Sun.
"Why were you so close?" enunciated Baek-Hyeon.
They couldn't even smile at each other. They just stared at each other and exhaled loudly. The sadness and defeat were visible on their faces.
"What are you thinking?" asked Yong-Sun.
"Nothing," Baek-Hyeon exhaled again.
"Hyeon-na!"
"I don't know what to think. I don't know what to say. I have another sister, my elder sister. And I have no idea how to react. I should be sad, angry because our parents lied to us all our life. I should be happy that I have a Nuna. But I don't know her, I have never met her. What if she is cruel? What if she is arrogant, what if she is a brat? Has she lived all her life in poverty whereas we were living in luxury? She never knew about her father, we spent all our lives with her father. What will happen to her if she gets to know about that? How will she react? Will she accept us? Should we really approach her? Is Bongie's decision to bring her here a right one?" said Baek-Hyeon in a single breath.
"Woah! Woah! Woah! Chill! Chill!" shouted Yong-Sun.
"I have so many questions and no answer, Hyung. And what about you?" he looked at Yong-Sun with sad eyes.
"What about me?" asked Yong-Sun, shocked.
"Why were you rolling on the bed like an empty casket?"
"Hey!"
"Well, that's true. You were changing sides too often. What were you thinking?" inquired Baek-Hyeon.
"I am just feeling sorry for her."
"Father?" asked Baek-Hyeon.
Yong-Sun immediately realised that everyone in the household was thinking along the same lines. "Father. I think everyone is thinking about her lack of a father. I knew my dad. He died. It hurts. Just imagine she never knew her father. Her father has another family away from her. I cannot even imagine how she will feel when Bongie tells her."
"Do you think Bongie should tell her and not someone else? Maybe one of the elders?" suggested Baek-Hyeon.
"No one else can control harabuhji. Only she can bring her here. You know that," explained Yong-Sun.
"Oh no!" suddenly Baek-Hyeon stared at a wall and exclaimed.
Yong-Sun looked behind him but there was nothing, no one. He asked, "what?"
"He listens to his sonnyuh. He will have another one soon. If she comes here he won't even look at me."
"He hates her," assured Yong-Sun.
"How do you know?"
"Why do you think he hid her from everyone? And he hates your father."
"Right."
"What do you think happened in India? Why was she hidden from the world?"
"Maybe because of that stupid notion that firstborn cannot marry a foreigner," indicated Baek-Hyeon.
"That is a strong point," nodded Yong-Sun.
"But then how come dad has a daughter? It means she is out of wedlock."
"Is that a crime? They loved each other."
"No, it's not a crime, but I am furious. I always looked up to harabuhji and ahpaa. But they destroyed someone's life without any reason."
"Well, there must be a reason, we just have to find out."
"What will happen to you?" questioned Baek-Hyeon.
"What do you mean?"
"You love her. What if she comes here?"
"Shut up! I am not in love with her," rebuked Yong-Sun. But his shyness was clearly visible. His cheeks turned red and he kept avoiding looking directly at Baek-Hyeon.
"Oh right! It's just a crush," mocked Baek-Hyeon.
"It's just a crush," repeated Yong-Sun in a teasing tone.