Paradise || Jeong Gu Won ✓

sᴇᴠᴇɴᴛᴇᴇɴ

𝙰  𝙽𝚎𝚠  𝚆𝚊𝚛  𝙷𝚊𝚜  𝙱𝚎𝚐𝚞𝚗

The past two days were hard for Ji Hu mentally.

First, she went to the police to get an official autopsy done on Madam Ju, but since Ji Hu wasn't legally Madam Ju's daughter, they had to officially get word from the family. Yeah, that went over as well as Ji Hu thought it would. Seok Min ripped up the official request and when Ji Hu went to intervene, Su Ahn slapped her and shouted abuse. The words Su Ahn shouted at her didn't hurt her anymore – she heard them all before. Even when Su Ahn told her she was just father's fuck up, Ji Hu just took the words and planned on using them against Su Ahn one day.

Second, she almost wasn't allowed to walk through the building to honor Madam Ju. It was Se Ra's idea, apparently. Ji Hu knew that wasn't the truth, it was all Seok Min speaking through Se Ra. Thankfully, Seong Min refused to accept that, and Ji Hu walked alongside him. She was further away from her siblings than necessary, but Seong Min didn't want a bigger fight than they were already going through. Gu Won walked in the back, carefully looking at the employees and then at Ji Hu.

He saw Seong Min's arm around Ji Hu's waist. Ji Hu's side was pressed into his, protecting her from anything that could be said from around her if someone wanted to whisper about what happened. Seong Min's grasp on Ji Hu's waist was tight, but Ji Hu didn't seem to mind one bit.

Third, like Do Hee, Ji Hu wasn't allowed to stand by the family to watch Madam Ju's coffin roll away. It was hard to watch from behind the rest of the family. Ji Hu kept her head high, proving to her family that she wasn't going to back down from this war that was created by Madam Ju herself. Sure, they were already at war, everyone in the company knew that the four of them, Do Hee included, were at each other's throats one way or another.

As much as Ji Hu was ready to say goodbye to Madam Ju, her eyes looked over the people who knew about Madam Ju's allergy. She was trying to figure out their body language – who looked the stiffest, who seemed just out of place, who was putting on a sad face when Ji Hu knew they were all so happy that Madam Ju was murdered.

Seong Min stepped forward, watching the final moments with Madam Ju.

Ji Hu thought about what Madam Ju wrote. She wanted Ji Hu to be happy, to find someone she trusted enough to stand by her side while she took over as chairwoman. Ji Hu had to pick wisely – yet the only person Ji Hu could think about marrying was Gu Won. For obvious reasons.

Ji Hu sat in front of Madam Ju's tombstone, pouring some soju on the ground before pouring a glass. Ji Hu drank the glass before setting it back down. Ji Hu sat there for a few moments, collecting herself. The rest of the family had paid their respects and went off like it was just another day. When Ji Hu finally stood, she remembered that Gu Won was still behind her, waiting for her to finish up. "I understand your intentions, Madam Ju. But you trust me, don't you?" Ji Hu took a deep breath. "I can manage well on my own."

Ji Hu was lying to herself.

But it was time for Ji Hu to show that she could manage all her tasks on her own. She couldn't let her family win.

-

Ji Hu rolled her eyes at the article written about Madam Ju. Despite what Ji Hu said, Su Ahn's influence was able to get the articles to say a fucking heart attack instead of murder. Ji Hu looked at the image used; you couldn't even see her. You could see part of Do Hee's head, but it was just an image of the direct family. Hell, one of the twins was in the picture.