The quiet of the Kang mansion was broken by the sound of a door slamming. Seo-jin rushed into the living room, her face a mix of panic and anger. "Soobin! Where are you?" she called out, her voice echoing through the halls.
Min-jae, still seated at his desk in the study, raised an eyebrow at the commotion. Setting aside his pen, he leaned back in his chair and watched as his sister casually strolled into the room, a look of feigned innocence on her face.
"You called?" Soobin asked, leaning against the doorframe with a small smirk.
Seo-jin turned to her, fuming. "What did you tell Yura?"
Min-jae's calm demeanor shifted ever so slightly. His piercing gaze locked onto his sister. "What did you do, Soobin?" he asked, his voice calm but carrying an unmistakable edge of authority.
Soobin shrugged, completely unfazed. "Oh, nothing much. Just told her the truth."
"The truth?" Seo-jin hissed, glancing nervously at Min-jae. "What truth?"
"You know," Soobin said with an air of nonchalance, "the truth about how you two got together. The engagement, the manipulation, the contracts… all of it."
Seo-jin's face paled. She turned to Min-jae, whose expression remained unreadable, though his jaw tightened ever so slightly.
"Soobin," he said, his tone dangerously soft, "you told Yura everything?"
"Not everything," Soobin replied, holding up her hands. "I left out some of the darker details. She's still a kid, after all. But she knows enough to realize her parents' love story isn't exactly a fairytale."
Seo-jin collapsed onto the couch, burying her face in her hands. "How could you?" she muttered.
Soobin crossed her arms. "Because she deserved to know. You've both been hiding the truth for years, acting like your marriage was some perfect romance. But it wasn't, and you know it. Yura's smart. She would've figured it out eventually."
Min-jae finally stood, his presence filling the room as he approached Soobin. Despite his composed exterior, there was a tension in his movements, a controlled power that always seemed on the verge of unleashing. "And what do you think you've accomplished by doing this?" he asked, his voice low and deliberate.
Soobin met his gaze without flinching. "I've given her the chance to understand you both. To see you as real people, not some idealized version of perfection. You may not like it, but she deserves that honesty."
Min-jae studied his sister for a long moment before exhaling sharply. He turned to Seo-jin, who was still visibly shaken. "She would've found out sooner or later," he said, his voice softening as he sat beside her.
Seo-jin looked at him, her eyes glistening. "But what if she hates us? What if she doesn't understand?"
Min-jae reached for her hand, his grip firm yet reassuring. "She won't hate us. She might be shocked, maybe even confused, but she'll understand. We've built a life together, a family. That's what matters."
Soobin cleared her throat. "And for what it's worth, Yura didn't seem angry. If anything, she seemed… fascinated. She loves you both, and I think she's starting to understand just how far you went for each other."
Seo-jin looked at Min-jae, searching his face for reassurance. He gave her a small, knowing smile—the same one that had disarmed her countless times over the years.
"She's our daughter," Min-jae said confidently. "She'll see the truth for what it is: that we loved each other enough to fight for this, no matter how messy it was."
Seo-jin nodded slowly, leaning into him for support.
Soobin, satisfied that the storm had passed, turned to leave but paused at the door. "For what it's worth, I think you two turned out alright in the end," she said with a smirk. "But next time, maybe don't make your love story so dramatic. It's exhausting to keep track of."
Min-jae chuckled, a rare, genuine sound that softened the tension in the room. "I'll keep that in mind," he said, his voice tinged with amusement.
As Soobin left, Seo-jin sighed, resting her head on Min-jae's shoulder. "Do you think she'll be okay with all of this?"
"She'll be fine," Min-jae assured her, pressing a kiss to her forehead. "Yura's stronger than we think. And she's our daughter—she was bound to uncover the truth eventually."
Seo-jin closed her eyes, letting his warmth and confidence soothe her nerves. Deep down, she knew he was right. No matter how their story had begun, it was the love they had now that truly defined them. And Yura, with her unyielding curiosity and boundless affection, would come to see that too.