yoonji
i was just in the middle of filing some documents when dean koo si hyuk walked into the office. i froze, feeling a mix of surprise and discomfort.
while he was my uncle, we weren't particularly close. our interactions were always formal, so ... it's all strictly professional.
today, though, he approached me with an unexpected warmth.
"hi, yoonji." he said softly, pulling me into a quick, awkward hug. i stiffened, glancing around nervously. this wasn't something we did, especially not in public.
"uncle, please—" i whispered, pulling away and smoothing my shirt. "someone might see."
he nodded, perhaps realizing the potential implications, then left me to my work. that was so random, ngl.
but then, with a hint of sadness in his eyes, "i was just thinking about your uncle jin young today. i miss him, you know? it's been years since he passed ... but he suddenly showed up in my dream earlier."
my heart ached at the mention of my uncle. he had died years ago, his life cut short by alcoholism. it was a painful subject for all of us.
but, given our family's reputation, we had to stay as silent as possible about it—and obviously, it's out of respect.
"i miss him too ..." i replied quietly, looking down at my hands. he was my favorite, mainly because he's always been open about me being his favorite too. "he was so proud of you."
uncle si hyuk sighed, leaning against the desk. "he was proud of you too, yoonji. he talked about you all the time; sometimes, i just wish ... i had been there more for him."
"but- you did what you could." i said, trying to offer some comfort, even though the words felt inadequate.
"family is important, yoonji," he continued, his voice growing softer. "we don't always get to choose the moments we share, but we have to cherish them."
"yeah." he's right. of course he is, being right runs in our family.
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"look: a photo of koo yoonji getting cozy
with dean koo ... wonder what she's doing
to stay in his good graces 😳😳😳"
i felt my heart drop. it wasn't long before more messages followed:
"wait, i know her! i got to be classmates
with her in first sem! i knew something
was off about her! LOL, WHAT A FAKE."
"😭😭😭 i heard all she does is ask for
money to shove it on everyone's faces that
she's born into some rich dirty money family."
"such a fucking fraud ... pretending to be
all hardworking and relatable when she's
got family connections 😊☺️🥴"
the comments were relentless. they questioned my integrity, my hard work, and everything i had achieved on my fucking own. but what hurt the most were the cruel remarks about my family-
"guys she literally hides her less impressive
family members to keep up appearances ..."
"must be nice to have successful relatives
to overshadow the rest."
"just did my research and apparently her
less-known relatives are either dead from alcohol and drugs or arrested from doing
even more illegal stuff 🤣🤣🤣🤣"
"who knows what that girl does during her
free time? the apple doesn't fall far from the tree."
"how fucking shameless of her to even be
an academic scholar ... is she even actually
smart or did she ask her uncle to rig the
school system?"
they didn't know. they couldn't understand. my family was everything to me, every single member. my heart ached for seeing how badly they're being talked about online. they didn't deserve this.
i wanted to scream, to fight back against the lies and the judgment. but all i could do was sit at my desk, tears blurring my vision, wondering how things had gone so wrong this quickly. this is literally my nightmare.
i sat there, feeling utterly defeated. the tears came freely now, and i didn't bother to wipe them away. everything felt so hopeless. i had worked so hard to prove that i can be successful on my own.
dms start to flood. all of the sudden, everyone's turned their backs on me.
+ ° . ๑・° ⊹ . + ° . ๑・° ⊹ . + ° . ๑・° ⊹ . +
ken
i was just finishing up my last lap around the track when one of my trackmates, han, called out to me. "yow ken! you might want to check the school forum. your girl's the current talk of the entire school."
i slowed to a jog, then stopped, panting slightly. "what are you talking about?"
han jogged over, his expression serious. "it's yoonji. there's some nasty stuff going around about her and the dean."
my stomach tightened. yoonji? what could they possibly be saying about her? fuck, did someone start publicizing about her being the dean's niece?
i grabbed my phone from my bag and opened the school forum. i couldn't believe what i was reading. these anonymous cowards were tearing her down, spreading lies ... they're even bringing up her entire family tree for fuck's sake!
my hands clenched into fists. i had to do something. i couldn't just stand by and let this happen. yoonji didn't deserve any of this.
i knew how much she had sacrificed, how much she had worked to get where she was. and now, her reputation's was being torn to shreds.
i turned to han, my voice steady despite all the anger boiling inside me. "i need to find yoonji. now."
i took off at a run, my mind racing. yoonji's strong, but everyone had their breaking point. and after everything she had been through, i wasn't sure how much more she could take.
i thought about all the times yoonji had been there for me, how she had supported me through my struggles. now, it was my turn to be there for her. to remind her that she wasn't alone.
