Quest for Joy

Chapter 1

"Are you really not going to class again?" Sunny asked the girl sitting across from her.

"Nope. I won't be attending any college classes starting next week." Taeyeon replied as she collected her bag from the table at their regular morning café.

"You are not?"

"Mr. Jung said studying is taking up a lot of unnecessary time and I will be better off working."

Sunny sat up to listen, not sure she is hearing things right. "Aren't you just an intern? And are you sure about this, there are a lot more you can learn from school."

"Of course! He said I will have everything I need there."

"Really? That is really good news!" Sunny exclaimed, feeling happy for her and frankly a bit envious. At this rate, anything is possible with her friend. Next thing you know she could be starting her own company and she would not be surprised. "But isn't this too early for Mr. Jung to make a decision? You barely graduated high school!"

"Isn't great!? More time to earn money!" Taeyeon gleamed at the thought of potentially getting more money now that she's full-time at the company. She started counting money in her head. "What's with the face? It's not like it's a stranger, it's Jessica's dad, Sunny."

"I know. But does...Yoona and your father know?" She asked this question very carefully in the end, knowing things had not gone so well within Taeyeon's family.

...

This is not a perfect world. But everything Taeyeon has would seem perfect from an outside perspective — from getting an intern right out of high school to being promoted to full-time within the first semester of college. Not only that, but she was mentored by Mr. Jung, the very CEO of the company.

Who wouldn't wish that they were in her shoes and had a set career path at the age of 19?

Despite all the things that are going well for her, Sunny knows that Taeyeon's life is far from perfect. In a way, if anyone were to take her spot, they would feel miserable and wish they had never even thought of the idea. How Taeyeon can cope with her situation is beyond what Sunny can or will ever understand. A daughter who lost her family twice. Yet, Taeyeon is living like nothing had happened, with no signs of sadness, anger, or any emotions for that matter.

---A few months ago---

It all started on the day when Taeyeon and Yoona's mother fainted in front of them on a morning walk. For the weeks after, their mother got admitted to the hospital, and deep down, both knew their mother is at the final stages of her disease. And more than likely, Mrs. Im will spend the rest of her days at the hospital before leaving her two daughters behind.

Yoona spent days and nights at the hospital next to her mother, taking care of her from making her comfortable, talking to her and running to the nurses whenever her mother needed help.

Her mother's condition only worsened daily and to a point where her basic needs were assisted by 3 to 4 nurses at a time.

At the end of each day, Yoona would pray to whoever was listening to give her mother strength so that she could talk to her for one more day. Every morning, she would jerk awake and stare anxiously at her mother for any signs of chest movement.

Their father tried to convince her daughter to take a break, but she would not let go no matter how much he tried to pry Yoona off her mother. As if she leaves for a second, she could miss her mother's final moment.

What if mother wanted to tell me something and I wasn't there? The thought repeated persistently in her head. Any second could be the last moment that she could see and talk to the person she loved the most.