The silence in Kiara's office was almost stifling, it can wear on you after hours of unsaid things and unexpressed frustrations. Sitting at her desk, the glossy surface reflecting the modernity of her company's headquarters, Kira scrolled through an endless stream of emails. Each new notification felt like another task on a calendar that was already overburdened with things. Dark brown eyes that usually shone with sharp intelligence now looked vacant and distracted. The weight of responsibility, the pressure to work constantly, was eating away at her from the inside.
Then suddenly her phone's ringing pulled her out of her thoughts. Her fingers froze on the keyboard, instinctively avoiding the call, but the name on the screen was impossible to ignore: Kim Seo Jin.
Her fingers trembled when she picked up the phone. "Stop calling me," she said, her voice shrill and irritated.
Her older brother. The one who never understood what a complicated world she was now caught up in.
There was a pause on the other end, then Seo Jin's familiar voice filled the silence. "Is this the first time you've responded to your elder brother like this? Aren't you even curious to know why I'm calling?"
Kiara's lips pursed into a thin line, and she leaned back in her chair, a bitter laugh forcing its way out of her. "Big brother? Still using that title? You think I'll laugh at your jokes now?." Her voice was much colder than she'd liked, but the frustration welled up in her chest, making it hard to filter.
I just wanted to check in, that's all," Seo Jin said, the concern in his voice palpable. "There is dinner party tonight in Appa's House, if you want.
"Yes, I'm fine. I understand. Don't call me again." She abruptly hung up, a heaviness once again settling on his shoulders.
But Kiara, already drained from the day's pressures, wasn't ready to entertain old family ties.
Kiara sat there, the phone still ringing in her hand, but she couldn't bring herself to answer it. Why have they all changed so much? she thought.
Just because I inherited Appa's business? Her chest ached and her mind began to race. I didn't ask for this...
Her gaze fell upon the city below, but it seemed distant. Foreign. Like she was watching her life through a glass window. I don't even recognize myself anymore.
*Knocked*
"Come in, Jiwon."
"This is the file for your 11 o'clock meeting," she said, handing over the file with a respectful nod. Jiwon, Kiara's ever faithful assistant, entered the room carrying a file.
Kiara looked up, but her attention was elsewhere. "You did what I told you to add to it, right?" she asked in a low voice, her mood is pale and sadder.
Jiwon had looked confused, but instead of saying something, she passed over another paper. "Yes, and this is the confirm from the European textile business; they agree to the deal; we just need you to be good with it to send to them."
Kiara didn't see what was printed on the paper; somehow the words ran together. Things meant nothing anymore. She whispered quietly, her voice like it was far away, "Yeah, send it. Say we are fine with this.
Jiwon nodded and exited the office, but Kiara didn't feel the customary satisfaction after signing off on an agreement. She just felt more exhausted, as though each agreement pulled her farther away from the woman she used to be.
*Kim Mansion*
At Kim House, things were different. His wife and Kiara's mother, whose name Kim Hye Sun, yet couldn't remember during the turbulent times, was also there sitting at the same table at breakfast. Smiling lightly, trying to break down the tension, he took coffee from her into his lips. The countenance on his face remained indecipherable as he seemed to absorb the coffee into him.
"You're not nervous about tonight, are you?" she asked playfully. "Family all gathered in one place, after so long. Feels like it's been years."
Kim Jung Hoon's gaze darkened, though he didn't show it outwardly. "I don't know what to expect anymore. The family's not the same."
The words hung between them, unspoken but understood. Kim Jung Hoon hadn't yet accepted the changes in his family, but his wife, in her gentle way, still clung to the idea that they could fix things. But it was already too late, wasn't it? Hye Sun thought, her chest tightening.
*Kiara's Board Meeting:*
11 A.M. The clock had just ticked. Kiara stood before the board of her company with a heart that was racing increasingly with every passing second. The men around the table-the majority of them were more experienced, older, and, on various occasions, dismissive of her expectations-watched her keenly, waiting for her to falter. The pressure was unbearable, yet Kiara was not ready to give them that pleasure.
"I don't have to justify my decisions to any of you," Kiara said, her voice a scythe through the tension in the room. "This project will continue, like it or not."
Her younger brother fidgeted in his seat, not looking at her. Han Tae-yang, her fiancé, sat beside her, with a blank expression but definite support. He didn't have any hand to play in the battles between corporations but he was an anchor of sorts, steadying her on unstable ground. They were not in love, but he had always stood by her, after all, the dependable business man.
But loyalty had nothing to do with muting the snide remarks of the board members.
"Kiara, you cannot expect us to take this risk," one of them said, with condescending voice.
"Watches and waits," Kiara returned, coldly, inflexibly. "If you are not aboard, step aside. I do not need your sanction.
The meeting ended in tense silence. As the others filed out, Han Tae Yang leaned over. "Breathe, Kiara. They'll come around."
But Kiara was beyond patience. "I'm not here to make friends, Tae Yang," she snapped. "I'm here to lead."
It is at this hour that the working day was over. Kiara found herself alone in the office, staring at the window outside. There were lives and activities of people that bustled in the city, yet she didn't seem to be part of them. Her phone was ringing once more. But she wouldn't take the call. It's dinner time. Family again. Same old faces. Same tired, taut conversations.
She could already hear their voices in her mind: the stern lectures of her brothers, the casual disinterest of her Sister-in-laws, and the fake smiles they all wore when they saw her. Why should she even go? The very thought made her stomach churn.
But as the evening drew closer, so did the weight of her decisions. She couldn't hide any longer. She had to face them, even though it meant enduring the discomfort.
"Perhaps I should go." She rose from her desk, picked up her coat, and stood up, hesitating on her way toward the door. Perhaps I'll go out there, confront them. Maybe everything will be all right.
*Gangnam Grand Estate: Kim Mansion*
Kiara's car pulled up to the quiet, upscale neighborhood, and she felt a wave of nostalgia and dread wash over her. The house stood before her like a ghost, reminding her of everything she had lost. She stepped out of the car and walked to the front door, where her mother greeted her with open arms.
'My precious Kiara' as she said giving her a tight hug, "I really missed you so much."
For a brief moment, Kiara allowed herself to relax in her mother's embrace. She had missed her too. "I've missed you, too, Mom," Kiara whispered, feeling the tears she had been holding back threatening to spill.
But then his voice boomed out from the living room and she knew the peace would not last. "When is it that you hugged your old man?" he joked and Kiara smiled gently and felt a warmth in her heart that could be felt even over everything.
She moved toward him, embracing him tightly. "I have missed you too, Appa," she said, her voice husky with emotion.
It had not started yet: the dinner, that was. But Kiara arrived early. For important talk with her father. Business. When they meet they Always talk about their businesses.
Kiara, her mother, and her father were sitting in the hall; the smell of dinner being prepared in the kitchen drifted to them very faintly. It was a quiet peaceful moment, when suddenly, from nowhere, a loud knock echoed at the front door. Sharp, deliberate, it burst into their stillness like a storm.
"After all these years, we're all here, in the same place, meeting again, right, Kiara?"