Stack It Up || Choi Hyunsuk from TREASURE

36

The following morning, Heeyoung woke up in a bad state. Her head was aching, her eyes were swollen, and she had no appetite for breakfast. Even if her father persuaded her to eat, she forcefully declined.

"Heeyoung unnie, you really need to eat. If you skip a meal now you're gonna get used to it for the next few days." Hyunjoo told her.

"I'm not in the mood to eat, okay?" She said softly while hugging the bolster pillow on the bed.

"At least have some toast, please?"

Heeyoung sighed. "Just one."

"Alright, peanut butter and cheese?" She nodded in response as her sister went out to prepare it for her.

A few moments later Hyunjoo came back in the room with a breakfast table with her. Heeyoung sat up from the bed as her sister placed the table in front of her. There were two pieces of toast and a glass of water.

"I told you I'd eat only one." She said.

"As if you'd actually do that, once you start eating you'd want more." Hyunjoo chuckled.

Heeyoung had a small smile on her face and took a bite out of the toast. "I might take a walk outside a little later, I don't really wanna confine myself in here."

Her sister nodded. "Mhmm that's a good idea."

2 hours after eating and laying in bed all day, Heeyoung finally had the courage to stand up. She stretched her arms and grabbed her hoodie placed on the chair.

"I'm going out." She called out to her mom who was watching TV and preparing the ingredients for their next meal.

Heeyoung walked around the small neighborhood where their house was located.  It's been so long since she last appreciated the feeling of the outside world. She sniffled as she started thinking about Haruto and Sei, they're spending time with their grandparents without knowing about the situation.

There was a small playground in their neighborhood and she wanted to stay there. She walked slowly cause of how cold it was, her legs were freezing despite her wearing pants. Her eyes just focused on what was in front of her as she wanted to move forward.

"Heeyoung?" She heard someone call out to her.

She couldn't turn her head well enough but the person already walked up to her. "Oh it really is you." Jaehyuk came to view with a smile on his face.

"H-Hi Jaehyuk." She greeted him with difficulty.

"What are you doing here? I didn't expect to see you." He asked.

"Oh, this is my hometown."

"That's nice to hear! I grew up here too, I just go to Seoul for school and work back then." He told her.

She couldn't reply well cause her body was getting stiff. He noticed it as she stayed silent. "Do you want to stay in my house for a while? You look like you're gonna freeze to death." He examines her pale face due to the temperature.

Because she was desperate for heat, she immediately nodded her head. They walked a bit before Jaehyuk opened the gate of a large house that looked very modern and stylish. The size was almost the same as Heeyoung's house and it was probably for a family of 5. Once Jaehyuk opens the front door for her, she could feel the heat of the floor cause of the built-in heaters he had.

She rushed inside and immediately felt comfort as the heat radiated her body. He laughed at how calm and relaxed she looked now. "Do you want some coffee? I don't have tea." He chuckled.

"No it's fine, maybe some hot water will do." He nodded his head and prepared their drinks.

Now that she was back to normal, she was in the right mind to look at the interior of his home. It looked empty but it had a few bits and pieces that filled some spaces here and there. There wasn't even a TV in the living room but it had the bracket attached to the wall.

Jaehyuk came back with two mugs that were steaming hot. He handed her one while putting his on top of the table in the middle. Heeyoung took a quick sip and placed hers down too.

"You should rearrange things here so it doesn't look like it's too empty." Heeyoung suggested.

"Oh hehe," He chuckled. "I didn't think you would notice that, is it really that obvious?"

"Mhmm." She nodded her head.

"I'll try, I'm not really good at arranging things." He laughed.

Heeyoung smiled a bit. "Well you can start off by removing the bracket on the wall, it doesn't even have a television on it." She laughed.

"Yeah, I sold my television and forgot to remove that." He chuckled.

"You sold it? Why, are you getting a new one?" She gets her mug from the table and takes a sip again.

"Uhm no..." He chuckles awkwardly. "I uhm, I sold it so I can have money to pay the investigator I hired before."

Her lips slightly parted. "Don't tell me you did that to your other stuff too?"

He laughed. "Yeah, it kinda explains why the house is empty."

She suddenly felt how eager he was to meet his kids, to the point that he would come to this extent.

"You would really give up on certain things just for the twins?" She asked carefully.

"Of course I will," He said. "I could sell and give everything up, just not this house."

"Hm? Why?"

He sighs. "This is where me and Wakumi lived. I was all alone here since I turned 20 and when she came into my life I didn't want to waste the chance to ask her to stay with me."

"How did you get your own place at 20? Were you hired by a big company?" Curiosity pushed her to ask about it.

Jaehyuk shyly scratched the nape of his neck. "Just an inheritance from my parents. We used to stay here during weekends so I can hang out with my cousins. They decided to let me live here once I was of legal age."

"Wow, the only inheritance my parents would give me are their shoes and clothes." She joked around. "Your parents must love the company of your relatives so much that they bought this in Yongin."

"Uhm... I guess you can say that? They just bought this so my Dad could hide from his business and all the work he needs to do from time to time." He chuckled.

"What's your business?"

He shifted uncomfortably. "N.Corps...?"

Heeyoung blinked continuously. "I heard that right, right? You just said N.Corps?"

Jaehyuk slowly nodded. "Wait, your Dad owns the biggest corporation in Korea but you're selling your stuff to hire investigators?" She furrowed her eyebrows.

"When I got Wakumi pregnant before I even reached 30, he got mad and gave me only a part of my inheritance." He explained. "He told me that if I get to support the kids on my own within 10 years he'll start giving my inheritance again."

"Wow... So you used everything for the twins..." She felt even sadder after finding out about what happened.

"I'd sacrifice everything I have just for them to be with me, it's too cliche to hear but it's the truth." He gave her a smile but she knew that he was in pain after looking straight into his eyes.