✔ 𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐖𝐁𝐄𝐑𝐑𝐘 𝐓𝐎𝐔𝐂𝐇

Chapter 34

"I still can't believe it..." Sooji said with an awestruck tone in her voice. She, Gumi and Yeonah had gathered in Gumi's cozy room several hours later after the release of the music video to discuss the exciting events of the past few weeks. Sooji couldn't help but express her fascination with the latest developments in Gumi's life.

Yeonah nodded in agreement and grinned. "This is so exciting! The world is open to you, Gumi. And the best part is that we can take this journey together."

The girl, wrapped in her fluffy blanket, beamed like the sun itself. The warm words touched Gumi and she snuggled up to Yeonah. "I'm glad to have you by my side." And she hadn't given the sisters this much affection for a long time. After all, their lives were a rollercoaster.

Laughing, Yeonah tousled her little sister's red hair, then put her arm around her and pressed Gumi's head to her chest.

The eldest needed no words to express her affection.

"We're glad to have you too," Sooji replied with a grin. "Do you remember mom and dad's wedding? Who would have thought we'd be such a great family?"

The girls' giggles filled the room with warmth. "You didn't even want to play with me!" Gumi complained with a joking undertone. She could still remember standing there and being upset that Yeonah only had her magazines on her mind.

"But that's changed, hasn't it?" Yeonah remarked, winking at Gumi. "Now we're the unbeatable trio."

Sooji laughed and added: "That's true. And we've been through so much together, which has made us even stronger."

"Oh man, we've become really emotional women," Gumi sighed and theatrically put the back of her hand to her forehead. "Dad would be proud to see us so close," she said, realizing that she was already back on the subject of her father. He kept coming back to her mind and she hadn't had much time to think about him in the last few weeks.

Sooji jumped up as if stung by a tarantula and looked at her sisters with wide eyes. "Shall we visit Dad?" she suggested spontaneously.

"Today?"

"Yes, today. Right now," Sooji replied, a little confused by the question. "When else?"

Blinking, Gumi squatted up on the bed, got into a sitting position and eyed her sister. "Okay, let's go to the cemetery then," she replied, the place not being very inviting for anyone involved. But she wanted to tell her dad about what had happened where he was staying.

With a cautious nod, Yeonah agreed. Although the thought of the cemetery and their father's grave was not exactly cheerful, she felt that it was important for the girls to tell him about the recent successes and developments in their lives. The sisters got up and headed out. Gumi reached for a fresh flower that stood in a vase on their bedside table and held it tenderly in her hand. They had learned to overcome life's difficult moments together, and this moment was further proof of their close bond. Together they left Gumi's room and made their way to the cemetery to visit their dad, safe in the knowledge that he was looking down on them from above and proud of his daughters.

When they arrived home a few hours later, the mood was lighter.

Everything felt more intimate between the sisters, and they chatted away about trivial topics as they made their way to the cemetery. But as soon as they entered the house and came into the living room, the girls discovered their mother, Areum. Her expression was slightly worried, and there was no mistaking that something was bothering her. She was sitting on the couch, her laptop on her lap and her face seemed weighed down by a burden.

"Mum, what's wrong?" Yeonah asked immediately, knowing that worried expression all too well. Her mother only showed it at the worst of times, and it gave Yeonah an idea that something terrible must have happened. She took a step closer to Areum and put a worried hand on her shoulder.

"Someone apparently found out who Ttalgi is and posted it on the internet," the single mom began, turning the laptop in the girls' direction so they could see the pictures. It showed Gumi twice. The first picture showed her entering Qiqi Entertainment at the back entrance and the other showed the youngest daughter in the building. Together with Taehyun. "And today this note was slipped under our door slot. I don't know how long it's been there, but I read it. Honey, I think it's for you," said Areum, holding the note out to Gumi.

Startled and with a trembling heart, Gumi took the note. However, her gaze lingered on the pictures, which clearly showed her red hair. The fact that someone had photographed Taehyun also scared her, even though her music video had only recently been online. "How is it possible that someone has seen me? We've always been careful," she said, her voice shaking. Gumi took the note with trembling fingers and looked at it.

›'Come to Qiqi Entertainment. We urgently need to talk.‹

Her eyes wandered back to the pictures on the laptop. The thought that someone had been watching her and Taehyun made her heart race. But what could she do? Who was this stranger who seemed to know so much about her?

Sooji put her hand on Gumi's shoulder and asked worriedly, "What should we do now, Gumi? That looks really scary."

The girl nodded weakly and looked at the note again. It was messily written, rather hastily and a few Korean characters were indistinct. But who else would send her a note? Only he and her family knew about it and Gumi was skeptical. Nevertheless, she wanted to be on the safe side and dialed Taehyun's number to ask him about it. But even after ringing for a while, there was no answer. The last choice she could think of was Kai. But he didn't seem to be using his smartphone at the moment either.

"Damn," Gumi muttered barely audibly, "I have to meet Taehyun and tell him about this."

"It's possible that Kai turned off the sound," Sooji said, tapping Gumi on the shoulder several times excitedly, "maybe you should write to him?"

Yeonah nodded in agreement.

So Gumi sighed and typed a message, but it didn't give her any peace either. She was nervous about the pictures and hopped from one foot to the other. She needed Taehyun's voice to calm her down and grabbed her bag, which she had hung in the checkroom earlier. "I'll go ahead and hopefully get an answer on the way there," she let the girls and her stepmother know.

"Wait, Gumi," Yeonah said with a furrowed brow, "do you really want to go alone? Wouldn't you rather I drove you?"

"I don't want them taking photos of you too. They're everywhere and I should be careful who they see me with," Gumi clarified, placing a hand on Yeonah's shoulders. "Thanks for the offer, but as soon as I get there, I'll call you guys. Okay?"