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mayhembunnywrites · 3 years

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Chapter 9: Splintering Glass

Su-Ryeon was overwhelmed. She could feel herself breaking as if she were a teacup, chipping away with time under the pressure of her current situations.

From the new appearance of a man in close vicinity of her children, not to mention his similarities to Logan Lee, to the betrayal of the man she had married, Su-Ryeon had been under unimaginable amounts of stress.

She had been getting more and more ideas as information on Dan-Tae came in, not to mention the fact that she had been thinking about Logan Lee. The handsome man was not to be trusted, and she knows that.

She finds herself wishing for a companion these days, someone that she could speak to without hesitation. Su-Ryeon wishes for a second chance with her first husband, but at the same time she knows that, if ever offered the chance, she wouldn’t take it.

Her family wouldn’t be complete without her twins, Seok-Kyung, Seok-Hoon, and Hye-In all equally the brightest stars in her galaxy. Two faded stars watch over her, she knows, Seol-Ah and her late husband both.

‘At least they can be together now,’ she thinks with a sad smile, warm cup of chamomile tea in hand.

It had been her favorite drink as of late, and the blend itself was a gift from her twins, which meant that it was the next best thing to the nectar of the gods to Su-Ryeon.

Already a week had passed since Logan Lee, or Gu Ho Dong, had appeared in her life following the death of her daughter - Min Seol-Ah.

The only saving grace from the entire week was the presence of her darling twins, the siblings settling into a new routine after having picked up on the sadness of their mother.

The two of them knew she wasn’t their birth mother, and she had done her best to show them the pictures of them as babies with Na Ae-gyo, but they still claimed her as their mother, and she was eternally grateful.

Her days were spent with household chores and quiet meetings with her private investigator, the man having proven to be well worth what he was paid.

Details on Seol-Ah’s adoptive family had emerged as time passed by, as if Su-Ryeon had conveniently stumbled upon a knot holding all of the information that she needed and asked the investigator to pull a string and unravel it.

The information she had received had sent her blood boiling with rage, the lack of care that Seol-Ah had received truly horrifying to the grieving mother.

She could never give Seol-Ah the love she had deserved, and had never been given the chance to recognize her daughter.

Dan-Tae was the cruelest fate that could have befallen her and her loved ones, she now knows. She lays awake at night most of the time, Dan-Tae’s physical needs lessening as his schedules get busier and he begins to deepen his sordid affair with Seo-Jin, and she dares not let the tears fall anymore.

She would shed no more tears until she had caught her daughter’s killer.

But, she knows that no iron bars would ever be able to restrain someone with political power or wealth beyond measure, and so she thinks.

Su-Ryeon thinks of a plan. She dreams of them, she dares not write them down for fear of her controlling husband searching her things as she was certain he would do if he had cause to.

The plan had come to her in a spot of brilliance, and she knew that there would be no fault in it with the help of the private investigator.

The man had gotten the layout of the unfamiliar building, and had confirmed that the person who she wanted to confront was there after all.

Soon after the plan was set in stone, the time to put it into action arrived.

Su-Ryeon donned her black sun hat, her all black outfit doing nothing to hide her graceful nature, instead hiding her claws and teeth from plain sight.

For she would not let the person she was about to meet see that side of her, knowing it would be too dangerous to underestimate her opponent.

And so she steps into the lobby of the hotel and gracefully moves to the waiting elevator, going to meet the man who had possibly murdered her daughter.

Min Seol-Ah’s formerly adoptive brother, Logan Lee.

#the penthouse: war in life #the penthouse #mayhembunnywrites #fanfiction #fix it fic

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mayhembunnywrites · 3 years

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Why am I struck with inspiration at 4AM? Why did I start watching a new show? Oh well. My Name is super fun to watch btw.

I just want these two to get as happy of an ending as is humanly possible.

#fanfiction #mayhembunnywrites #my name

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mayhembunnywrites · 3 years

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Interlude: Spooks and Candy | A Halloween Special

A/N: I’ve been addicted to anime recently, everyone. This is an issue! But my favorite time of year is today - Halloween! Here is a small fluffy fic about Su-Ryeon taking the twins trick-or-treating when they were children.

Su-Ryeon couldn’t have resisted the urge if she tried. Bringing the kids to America in October came with the ultimate temptation: Halloween. Dan-Tae may be busy, but she was there with the kids due to Hye-In’s visit to a hospital in the USA.

The family, sans Dan-Tae, was staying in a local home that she had purchased. The trip was going to last a month, and this was only the first of the holidays that she would be having her babies experience.

She had to pull out the camera she kept for such occasions when she saw them walk out of their shared room, the twins having both insisted that they could get dressed by themselves. Su-Ryeon had let Seok-Kyung and Seok-Hoon choose their own costumes, and she had struggled to push down a laugh when she saw what she had chosen.

Seok-Kyung had chosen a simple black cat costume, proudly exclaiming that she would be Luna for Halloween, her favorite character from her favorite show, Sailor Moon. Seok-Hoon had happily leaped at the chance to dress up as his favorite character as well. The little boy had dressed as Spiderman, and he was running around pretending to climb on walls and everything.

‘Well,’ she thinks to herself with a smile as she watches him run around, even as his sister starts chasing him and meowing ‘At least I’m getting good pictures out of the mess he’s causing.’

Su-Ryeon happily retrieves the small candy baskets she had bought at the local supermarket, her kids ‘helping’ as much as they could, even if their help was just eating candy that she had bought for them.

Although she preferred to have the kids eat more healthy foods, she knew that it was also good for them to have some candy and snacks once in a while. To just let them be children for once was her greatest joy in life. Hye-In had been in the hospital, but she knew she didn’t want her twins to be forced into living in a hospital as well.

They deserved a chance to live their own lives, and to experience childhood to the fullest extent. She had been allowed that freedom as a child, and those carefree times had always been her happiest memories. She would not deprive them of those memories, as well.

She adjusts their coats as best she can while they’re practically jumping off the walls, two energetic six year olds who were shouting ‘Trick-or-Treat’ with enthusiasm. Su-Ryeon takes their hands as they leave the house and look for the porch lights that signal homes with candy in the neighborhood.

Su-Ryeon, dressed like a witch with a floral theme, got complimented along with the children as they went from door to door, always coming back and excitedly rambling in a mixture of Korean and English about the handful of candies they had received.

By the end of the night, the twins were curled up in bed under fluffy blankets after warm baths, baskets full of candy put on the highest shelf Su-Ryeon could find. Memories aside, she knew that if the kids ate too much candy then she would never get them to bed.

Su-Ryeon sits in her comfortable nightgown and robe, slippers cast off her feet in favor of settling completely into the plush armchair she had chosen to sit in. Exhaustion was mixing with joy, joy at knowing that her children were all doing well.

Hye-In’s test results were looking good, and her twins had been full of energy with the excitement of visiting another country. She knew it wouldn’t always be this way, and that tough times would come one day, but for now Su-Ryeon was overjoyed. Curling up in her plush bed and under fuzzy blankets only helped to further her enjoyment of the evening.

She falls asleep and dreams of her children all playing together, the three kids happy and healthy. She wishes it wasn’t just a dream, but it would do until her dreams came true.

She didn’t realize that those dreams weren’t going to make it into reality.

#the penthouse: war in life #fanfiction #fluff #fix it fic

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mayhembunnywrites · 3 years

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Chapter 9: Suspicious Characters

Su-Ryeon has to force down the shocked expression when she recognizes the new teacher despite his disguise, the man from the picture clearly in a wig and with the fake facial hair, but the resemblance made it crystal clear to her.

The man disguised as Gu Ho Dong looked almost exactly like Logan Lee, and she couldn’t help but be suspicious of his presence immediately after Seol-Ah’s death. Why had the man appeared at this specific moment? She could not allow herself to ignore the man that had so suddenly become a teacher at the school where her children were.

The man in front of her was an obvious threat, in her opinion, and she did not miss the way he looked at her as if he was the angry one before he had covered it up. This man was experienced in masking his expressions, that was certain.

But it was also obvious that he underestimated her. He had judged her by her appearance, the character which hid the true woman known only to herself and her twins, and it was a fatal mistake on his part.

Just as he knew how to wear a mask, she did it even better than he did. She had hidden her true feelings from her husband for years, not able to trust the man with anything he could use to abuse or control her children in the future. She had been playing the part of the sweet, innocent, trusting wife for so many years that the character came naturally to her now.

He would learn the hard way that she was a woman who could defend her children with her own life, that she had changed from the woman who was so trusting. She had been proven wrong twice by the same man and she would not let her children pay the price again.

As she greets her children, she silently reassures herself of their safety, bowing politely in farewell to the new teacher who she knew she could not trust.

It was all she could do the entire time to not run away from him, to take her children out of his reach.

-----

It was during the next day when the private investigator contacted Su-Ryeon again with more information pertaining to Seol-Ah’s adoptive family, the new updates on them and their movements confirming her suspicions.

Logan Lee, Seol-Ah’s former adoptive brother, had taken a flight to South Korea and seemingly had taken up the role of Gu Ho Dong. She wondered what his purpose was, if he had discarded his sister after using her for the marrow transplant all those years ago like the rest of his family.

She feels anger when thinking of the event, despair at not being able to care for her daughter and prevent her pain. She knew she couldn’t change the past, no matter how much she wishes she could, but she still dreams of it.

A life with her four children, Hye-In included, full of happiness and love. In her dreams, they live a life without Dan-Tae and in the coastal village with the beloved cottage that holds all of their memories. Her children are happy and healthy, all of them with bright futures ahead of them and no major troubles.

Then she would wake up to the terrible reality of everything, one child dead and three threatened. Her twins beaten by their terrible excuse for a father, her biological daughter ripped away without her knowledge and murdered, and her adoptive daughter laying in the ICU. All of her children were unfortunate in fate, but she could only promise herself to make sure that they could all forge their own paths in the very near future.

She knew that Seok-Hoon might stick with his chosen musical path, that of a pianist, but Seok-Kyung wasn’t interested in music in the least. In fact, all she had figured out about her future was that she didn’t want anything to do with the music industry. Her beautiful daughter could take so many paths in the future, she would make sure of it.

All Su-Ryeon had to do to secure a future of freedom for her children was take down Dan-Tae.

And that was easier said than done.

#the penthouse: war in life #mayhembunnywrites #fix it fic #sbs penthouse

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mayhembunnywrites · 3 years

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Chapter 7: A Mother's Strength

A/N: Sorry for the delay everyone~ It hurts to sit right now but I am finally scheduling this chapter to be posted on here. Chapter 8 will be scheduled for the usual day at the usual time for this week!

Grief and joy flowed in equal measures through her entire being, the sight of the twins and Hye-In mingling in the small hospital room meaning that her entire world, or what was left of it after Dan-Tae had broken it to pieces, was together and whole for once.

The absence of Seol-Ah was glaringly obvious to Su-Ryeon even in the still and nearly silent room, the twins and Hye-In lapsing into comfortable silence even while playing on their phones. The visits between siblings had been tense at first, the twins only knowing of Hye-In and with them having never seen her before.

The first visit had been quieter than ever, not a single sound being heard other than the whirring of the machines. They had eventually settled in, and then it became their quiet space, a safe space.

It was a space that was fully secure, a space that they soon realized their father couldn’t touch them in. It was the one area that he couldn’t control, they quickly realized, and the once empty room began to fill with laughter and talking.

Su-Ryeon had never been as happy as she was at that moment, her children together, safe and happy. It was more than she could have asked for.

-----

She had known that her son was keeping something from her, but she hadn't realized that the thing was a human.

Her son had fallen for Bae Rona, the daughter of Oh Yoon-hee. It was easy for Su-Ryeon to do the math once she had found out Rona's basic information, the knowledge of Ha Yoon-Chul and Yoon-hee's romance being the obvious link.

Su-Ryeon also realized that Yoon-Chul and Seo-Jin were married by the time of Rona’s birth, which meant that either Yoon-Chul didn’t care or he didn’t know about his eldest daughter.

Interesting, Su-Ryeon thinks to herself, making a mental note to look further into the matter. She knows that she might be paranoid, but she has learned by experience to not entrust her children to anyone, no matter how close to her or her husband they may be.

Shim Su-Ryeon would no longer allow herself to be oblivious, to ignore the dangers others would pose to her children. No, she would do what it takes to keep her children out of harm’s way.

Which is why, when she asked Seok-Kyung and Seok-Hoon what they were interested in doing for their future careers, she had a perfect thought. It would keep her children safe and it would enable them to grow their careers, after all!

It would happen after she had gotten her divorce from Dan-Tae, which may mean his death, but she would ask the kids about how they feel about living in America.

-----

With her decisions cemented into her mind, Su-Ryeon only had a few major issues to take care of before having the conversation with the kids. The main issue was discovering who had murdered her daughter.

Dan-Tae was the prime suspect engraved in her mind, knowledge of how much he had despised the girl now within her grasp. She had seen him glare at her before Su-Ryeon had distracted him, and she now knew that he would cross any moral line to control her.

No doubt he had gotten nervous when the girl had approached the family, even in the form of a math tutor or a classmate of their children, with the true knowledge of who Seol-Ah was. Su-Ryeon has no doubt that he had kept track of her, his controlling nature not allowing him to dismiss someone so easily.

No, she could not imagine him losing an important pawn such as her biological daughter, who he would and could have used as a weapon. She could, however, imagine him realizing that her daughter had been placed in a position dangerous to him, the key to beginning to unravel his web of lies, and murdering her due to it.

She felt determination and white-hot rage burning in her, the knowledge of her children, all three remaining, in danger at the hands of the man who had controlled everything.

From Su-Ryeon’s clothes to assassinating her husband to get her, to even potentially killing Seol-Ah, she knew she had to send the kids away from the reach of Dan-Tae, away from the danger that loomed over them.

She could not spare another moment, she knows with ever-growing anxiety. She had to move quickly and carefully, in the shadows. She could not risk getting a prison sentence herself, knowing that the children would have no other place to go.

Su-Ryeon is distracted by the buzzing of her phone, the message notification going off as the news was delivered to her.

And, with a mix of shock and joy, Su-Ryeon looked at the sunset outside of the penthouse window. ‘At long last,’ she thinks to herself with a heavy sigh, ‘my horizons have broadened.’

She looks at her phone and opens the message from the private investigator she had been in constant contact with, her mission to find out more about her daughter’s life only beginning. She stares down at the photo that had been sent to her, her eyes filling with tears that would only fall once she was in the safety of her own room.

Tears that would fall for the daughter she had never known.

#the penthouse: war in life #the penthouse #fix it fic

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mayhembunnywrites · 3 years

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Home alone for dinner tonight! Korean dumplings and galbi with a side of inspiration for writing means that chapter 7 and 8 of my Penthouse rewrite will be up this weekend!

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mayhembunnywrites · 3 years

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Chapter 5: An Unbreakable Family

Su-Ryeon can’t help but smile as her children embrace her, Seok-Kyung and Seok-Hoon gladly greeting their mother as if they hadn’t seen her in a thousand years rather than a few days. The energy of her twins was not to be matched by any others, their mere presence seeming to lighten her heavy burden.

After drying her tears and making a mental list of things to take care of, Su-Ryeon had quickly gotten into her car and driven to the small cottage where the children were staying.

It was a cottage left to her by her father, the place having been secretly kept by her since his death. A two story cottage on the coast, in a very sleepy town known only by a select few people who grew up and lived there, the village was nearly self-sufficient when it came to resources. It grew bigger, she notices, but it was clearly still a very quiet and cozy place to rest.

With a garden and four bedrooms, it was the perfect hide-away for the kids and herself, the little village relaxing and comfortable to be in. She would often take them there as they were growing up, the twins playing with the other children in the village only when urged to.

Instead, the children had chosen to play together and within sight of their mother. Su-Ryeon kept a close eye on the children during their childhood, always to be found around them and caring for them.

The children were hardly ever ill thanks to their mother’s care, the two of them hardly experiencing pain until their first beatings at the hands of their father. Looking back on it, Su-Ryeon feels fury and guilt fill her as she holds her children in her arms, the two of them now grown even though it doesn’t feel as if 18 years had passed since they had first entered her life.

Although the twins were not hers biologically, Shim Su-Ryeon had known from the moment that she had held the babies in her arms that they were her children. The connection was instant, and their bond had only grown stronger as years passed by, visiting Hye-Rin and taking care of the twins occupying most of her daily schedule for the entire span of time.

Su-Ryeon had allowed herself to be swept into a whirlwind at the hands of her manipulative and abusive husband while watching over her children. Her children were not angels by any means, she knows, but she knows that at least they’re better than their father.

Not that they thought of him as such. No, the twins had privately confided in their mother that Dan-Tae was nothing like a father to them in their hearts, the children having no doubts that their father only loves them when he needs to use them.

At first, the kids had forgiven him after a smile and sweet words, but the pair had soon seen through his sweet facade and instead turned their own smiles into masks that fool even their father. Those same masks had turned into masks that would be used for the rest of the world to view, as well, their guard only being let down when in private or around their mother.

Su-Ryeon knows that the time is here, really, to destroy the man who had destroyed her own life. She spends the day watching as her children sit on the sand, the two of them soon laughing and running around the yard.

The evening is spent as most are here, with Su-Ryeon calling her husband and making an excuse for their absence, knowing that it’d be worse for the kids if he had to ask, and her making dinner for their small trio.

The three of them sleep in a large bed, and she lays awake as she looks at her children, the two of them sleeping so soundly. It was the only time when she could fully relax, her family nearly complete except for two members of it who would more than likely never be able to join.

Seol-Ah’s death had made Su-Ryeon realize that she was willing to do more than anything to keep her remaining children alive, and that would include the deposing of Ju Dan-Tae. She knows, as Seok-Kyung dreams of a future beyond her father’s reach and Seok-Hoon dreams of a romance beyond control of politics or power, that his fall will have to come sooner than she originally planned.

The man would never be allowed to mess with her children again. She pulls up the burner phone she had picked up from the private investigator on the way, the two meeting up on a back road in the middle of nowhere after she had stopped to get cash, and she pulls up the one contact in the phone, selecting the text option.

“Find out all you can on Ju Dan-Tae. Be thorough, be careful,” she finishes, smiling a bit once she receives the positive response of an acceptance of the job.

Soon, she knows Ju Dan-Tae will meet his end in one form or another, she just had no clue that it would be at the hands of someone else.

She had no clue that her future was waiting around the corner with an open hand, instead of a closed fist.

#the penthouse: war in life #the penthouse #fix it fic

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mayhembunnywrites · 3 years

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I'm watching a C-Drama called Forever Love and I'm already frustrated with the male lead, holy shit, I really hope this gets better. Also I am absolutely completely behind the SML instead of the ML! I have a bad feeling that I might one-shot a rewrite quickly to fix this for my own sanity.

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mayhembunnywrites · 3 years

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Interlude: Grief

A/N: I feel like the story didn't focus nearly enough on what Su-Ryeon's thoughts were over all, but especially considering the fact that her daughter just died and clearly she would have to grieve. I wanted to rectify that.

Grey.

Su-Ryeon’s world is grey.

The sky in the coastal village she arrived in during the very early hours of the morning was covered with clouds, the moon not shining her brightest despite her best attempts.

Su-Ryeon sits and watches the ocean. She doesn’t know how long it has been since she first arrived, the passing of time making a minute feel like it was no time and forever at once.

Thoughts of her daughter -- My daughter, Seol-Ah, Su-Ryeon thinks as she closes her eyes and sobs, seeing the bright smile and what would have been a bright future ahead of them if not for whoever had murdered her daughter.

The recent revelation that had revealed Ju Dan-Tae’s web of lies was still sending Su-Ryeon reeling. The possibilities were haunting her. If he would go as far as to replace her seemingly healthy daughter with a sick daughter, then what else would he have done?

There were many questions waiting for answers from Su-Ryeon, and she knew she would have to uncover them herself. She allows her thoughts and theories to consume her, the numerous thoughts taking place over her grief and gracing her with a moment without tears.

The anger wars with grief, anger on behalf of Hye-Rin, Seok-Kyung, Seok-Hoon, and, ultimately, Seol-Ah. All of her children were victims of her husband’s manipulations and treachery, his obvious need to control everything around him, including her, now blatantly out in the open.

From abusing her children to possibly having murdered her first husband, it was now crystal clear that Ju Dan-Tae was willing to go through whatever necessary methods to get Su-Ryeon in the first place. The thoughts of Hye-Rin still flow wildly through her mind, wondering where Hye-Rin’s biological mother was.

Had Dan-Tae murdered her as well? How had he acquired her daughter? ‘Goddamnit, Dan-Tae, have you no limits?’ she asks herself, already knowing the answer.

Dan-Tae will have to be taken down soon, Su-Ryeon realizes with a heavy sigh as the weight of the world drops further onto her shoulders. The man had gone too far, and she could not, would not, risk her remaining children with the deranged man. He had revealed his obsession with Su-Ryeon, and she had no doubts that he would do whatever it takes to further control her.

For now, though, Su-Ryeon allows plans to form in her mind, plans that would soon be put into place once her husband took his eyes off of her and the children that he had so, so carefully controlled. The children he would not hurt any longer.

She allows tears to fall down her face once more as she thinks of Seol-Ah, the child she couldn’t protect, wasn’t allowed to protect.

“I’m sorry, Seol-Ah,” Su-Ryeon whispers, bowing her head to the waves that formed and crashed against the sand.

The sun rises as the world spins on around her, and Shim Su-Ryeon sits, watching the waves as the grey skies are cast away to make room for the light. She knows she cannot bring back the child she has lost, but Shim Su-Ryeon knows that she can damn well protect the remaining children in her care.

And she resolves to do so, even if the cost of her children’s safety is her own death.

#the penthouse: war in life #the penthouse #fix it fic

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mayhembunnywrites · 3 years

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Chapter 4: Unpleasant Truths

It was with shock and growing hope that Su-Ryeon was forced to head back to Hera Palace, the knowledge that her husband would eventually look for her hanging over her head like the most ominous shadow.

“Min Seol-Ah, Anna Lee…” she whispers to herself on the way back, daring to hope that Seol-Ah would be available to speak with in the near future. She had spoken with her own daughter in passing, never realizing who she truly was...

She did not know, then, that the opportunity would never arrive.

The beautiful gown that Su-Ryeon had picked out would do nicely, she decided. It was a costume that she would wear like armor, beautiful and ethereal. She could only hope it was enough to distract her husband.

Stepping into the familiar elevator that would take her to the venue for the party, Su-Ryeon prepares herself for a moment, the quiet a welcome friend in place of the recent chaos. The fireworks distract her, beautiful in their many colors and taking her breath away as she watches them for a second until--

She watches in horror as the form of a girl is flung from a balcony, a scream involuntarily wrenching itself from Su-Ryeon’s throat before she realizes that she knows that face, would know it in her dreams and only then, because her daughter, Min Seol-Ah, was the one flung from that balcony.

The image of her daughter covered in blood, stretching out a hand to Su-Ryeon, would stick with her for the rest of her life. It would haunt her nightmares and appear behind her eyelids -- and the image of her daughter amidst broken glass and in the arms of Hera herself, the both of them covered in blood.

The shock overwhelms Su-Ryeon as she watches her daughter fall, and her breathing grows faster as she scratches frantically at the glass and then the door, trying her best to save her daughter despite hope.

It is with that hope that she collapses, the stress from all of what had happened over the past week catching up to her and causing her to faint.

-----

Su-Ryeon wakes up to a woman standing over her, the familiar face of the caretaker Dan-Tae had hired, not comforting in the least. The sensation of an IV drip wasn’t necessarily unfamiliar to Su-Ryeon, but it was unusual to wake up attached to one. It is then that she remembers what had happened--

The sight of her daughter -- Min Seol-Ah -- falling to her death, the girl obviously flung from the balcony. The memory nearly brings her to tears, but she represses them in favor of her concern.

‘You never know,’ she thinks desperately, ‘she could, after all, survive that fall...right?’ Su-Ryeon rushes past the woman, ignoring her obviously false pretenses and heading straight to the elevator after ripping out the line of the IV.

She knows that something has happened only after stepping out of the elevator and looking up at the glass ceiling to see if it was still there -- and it was obviously missing. It was the only thing she really noticed, and the party was obviously still in full swing for the Hera Palace residents.

The ‘concern’ shown for Su-Ryeon was obviously fake to her, the reassurances from her husband and him urging her to go back to bed. The love that was shown from him before no longer seems pure in intention, but more pure manipulation.

Soon enough, Su-Ryeon watches and applauds as her husband takes his place as the MC of the event, only...The statue she had seen earlier which was covered in blood was now spotless.

‘I’m certain she fell onto the fountain,’ Su-Ryeon thinks to herself contemplatively. Had it been a nightmare, she wondered? A terrible vision after her fainting? ‘Was it a dream,’ she asks herself.

Conversation seems to flow around Su-Ryeon, she notices absently as people toast to Hera and her husband interacts with various politicians. Her eyes wander around the room as if searching for some sign, any sign, of her daughter.

It is only then that she looks at her husband, pushing down the ever-growing ball of hatred she feels towards him, and notices the blood on his shirt. She does not dare comment, for Su-Ryeon is not a stupid woman by any means and she does not want to risk her life or the lives of her children over a simple comment.

She smiles politely, even as she recognizes the congressman from the photos with Seol-Ah. She mentally notes down his name for later as the man compliments her beauty, and she quickly is dismissed after that in favor of the congressman speaking with Dan-Tae.

She looks around the room carefully, as to not draw attention to herself, and it is then that she notices even more blood on the Hera Palace members. Blood on Yoon-Chul’s knuckle, behind Gyu-Jin’s ear. Su-Ryeon snaps out of her observations when the congressman points out a shoe that is ever familiar to Shim Su-Ryeon -- the shoe of her daughter, Min Seol-Ah.

“I think our kids were playing around,” says Dan-Tae to the congressman, laughing it off without hesitation.

‘I didn’t see it wrong,’ she thinks with horror, ‘I’m certain it was Seol-Ah.’ It is only when the Hera Club members start placing blame on the children -- her twins -- that she snaps out of it to approach the group of curious teens who all seem to have varied expressions, from politely confused smiles to carefully controlled masks of neutrality.

Su-Ryeon takes a breath before smiling brightly at the group of teens, her eyes resting on Seok-Kyung and Seok-Hoon for a moment as she checks them over, only relaxing completely once she confirms that they’re alright.

Seok-Hoon approaches his mother first, Seok-Kyung following behind him as they approach her. She takes them in, just for a moment, and opens her mouth to speak and ask them if they wanted to go home yet, but ---

“There was a fire in Bosuk Village?” the abrasive voice of the congressman says, catching Su-Ryeon’s attention with its volume. “Well, an orphan lived there alone, what can I do? Am I a firefighter or what?”

Su-Ryeon quickly grasps her children by the arms and leads them to the elevator with a smile and a nod to the crowd watching, ignoring all of them as she tries to stop the tears from falling. She stops in front of the elevator and looks Seok-Hoon in the eyes, the image of her nearly-grown son bringing her more comfort than ever imaginable.

“You and your sister should head to bed, Seok-Hoon,” Su-Ryeon says, a smile that would fool neither twin making its way onto her face, “I’ll be joining you soon enough, so just rest tonight, alright?” She waits and watches as her children quickly agree, the twins clearly realizing that something was wrong.

It is only then that Su-Ryeon leaves the lobby, ignoring the eyes that follow her out of the door and into the car. She drives to Bosuk Village with a heavy heart, already knowing what awaits her despite not having arrived.

The crowd surrounding the apartment complex easily gives way to the clearly distressed woman in the formal gown and coat, and although they give her strange looks, she ignores them in favor of approaching the cautionary tape that the police had placed.

Su-Ryeon only notices the body bag when she actually arrives at the front of the crowd, and it is to her heart-wrenching sadness that she notices her daughter, the daughter who had been practically under her the entire time, being zipped into a body bag.

‘Seol-Ah died?’ she thinks to herself, nearly unbelieving despite the now definite proof of Seol-Ah’s death. She is quickly taken out of her stupor by the detectives discussing the will they had found on the rooftop, the claims that her daughter had committed suicide only proven wrong to her with her knowledge of the situation.

She stands as her daughter’s body is taken away, and she watches it happen without chasing the ambulance. Rage mixes with overwhelming grief as she stands, and she stays standing until she is alone in front of the apartment. She leaves after everyone else has, even the police, and she climbs into her car and drives home, leaving broken pieces of her heart and soul behind her as she goes.

-----

The last time she sees her daughter is at her autopsy, the one she had bribed the medical examiner to perform on her behalf. ‘She is beautiful, even in death,’ Su-Ryeon thinks as a tear falls and she places her hand into Seol-Ah’s hand.

She listens attentively as the medical examiner speaks about the cause of death, “The cause of death is damage to her brain and cervical spine due to the fall,” the man says softly, as if concerned for the crying woman in front of him.

Su-Ryeon tries to hold back the tears for the sake of the medical examiner, the poor man obviously just wanting to get this over with and to get back to dealing with the dead instead of the living.

“There’s something unusual, though. I found this inside her body.” He holds out a plastic bag containing a USB stick, and confusion lights upon Su-Ryeon’s face.

“What is this?” she asks, taking the bag with caution as if it was a precious treasure unlike any other.

The man only pauses a moment before answering her question, “I think she swallowed it before she died.”

Su-Ryeon thanks the man politely, bowing to him despite her tears as he leaves the room. She waits to see the door close before turning to the cold, dead body of Seol-Ah and letting tears fall freely, putting the plastic bag in her pocket before taking Seol-Ah’s hand back into hers.

“Seol-Ah, I’m so sorry,” she whispers, “for coming too late and not recognizing you. I’m so sorry for leaving you all alone. Everything is my fault, I was too foolish,” Su-Ryeon continues, stroking her daughter’s hair with caution. “Seol-Ah, who did this to you?” she asks helplessly, “I’ll find out who did this to you and tear that person into tiny pieces,” she says before breaking completely, falling to her knees next to the person who she wished, desperately, could respond.

The room remains quiet.

-----

Returning home to find her husband drinking alone wasn’t all that unusual to Su-Ryeon, but to find him drinking with Cheon Seo-Jin in front of the glass windows that overlook the city was shocking.

‘Really, Dan-Tae?’ Su-Ryeon thinks to herself even as tears fill her eyes, knowing that she had ignored the signs of his affair desperately, and now she was confronted with the truth of the matter.

Her husband was clearly interested in Seo-Jin, a married woman. It was a fact that she wishes she could ignore as she watches the pair kiss passionately before they move to the couch, the pair laying down and completely oblivious to her presence. She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath before turning around, clenching the handles of her purse in her fists as she leaves the apartment with as little sound as possible.

Hot tears run down her cheeks as she gets into the main elevator of Hera Palace, alone for a rare moment.

Shim Su-Ryeon leaves unnoticed and no one chases after her.

‘At least for today,’ she thinks once she is in her car, tears running down her cheeks and stinging her eyes, ‘I can be alone for once.’

The silence that surrounds her hurts almost as much as the grief itself.

#the penthouse #the penthouse: war in life #fix it fics

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mayhembunnywrites · 3 years

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Chapter 3: Unravelling Webs

Su-Ryeon begins the day with her normal routine - breakfast, seeing the kids off to school, kissing her husband goodbye before he goes off for the day, and then going to the hospital to visit Hye-In.

The first sign that this was not going to be a good day was that Hye-In’s doctor had pulled Su-Ryeon over to the side before she entered the designated room her daughter had lived in for 16 years.

“Hye-In’s health is fading fairly quickly,” he had said with a neutral expression, glancing over the chart in his hand even while talking to her before meeting her eyes. “You may want to spend some more time with her while you can.”

Su-Ryeon had nodded absently, knowing that death had been waiting for her daughter for 16 years and that it was a miracle of medical science that had kept her daughter alive for so long. After that, Su-Ryeon had taken her usual seat beside Hye-In’s bed, gently holding her hand as she watched her chest rise and fall with each breath.

‘Hye-In, just hold on a little longer, please,’ she thinks to herself, tears growing closer and closer to the surface with each passing moment. A tear slips down her cheek before she can suppress it the way she normally does, and she takes a deep breath to calm herself before she kisses her daughter’s forehead and moves away, stepping out of the room with her phone in hand as she prepares to call the person she dreads most every day.

She finds Dan-Tae easily in her contact list, the controlling man always wanting to be the first thing on her mind at all times, and she quickly calls him before she can talk herself out of it.

“I’m going to be spending more time with Hye-In since her health is fading quickly,” she says with a sigh, simply listening as her husband agrees and says he’ll stop by the room later.

There is no time to think about him after that, choosing to gently clean her daughter with a soft cloth and gentle soap. Then she notices it...The machine that is obviously turned off, much to her confusion. She quickly dismisses it and moves on, only to be stopped only a moment later by a note slid under the door and the sound of quickly retreating footsteps.

She can hardly believe what the note is saying when she reads it, the words stylized as if written in blood that reads ‘You are being fooled by Joo Dan-Tae, Joo Hye-In isn’t your daughter.’

She rushes out into the hallway afterwards, a growing pit of dread in her stomach as she finds no one there.

-----

The decision to get a DNA test is an easy one for Su-Ryeon, wanting to prove the note wrong by all means;

She drops off a few pieces of Hye-In’s hair and her own, and she sits out in the hall of the genealogy center until the doctor returns.

“You are not her mother,” the woman says, having no clue that her words had just shattered Su-Ryeon’s entire world.

‘Hye-in...isn’t my daughter?’ is the only thought on her mind for the rest of the day, until-- ‘Wait, then where is my daughter now?’

The thought haunts her.

-----

Snooping through her husband’s study is a thing that quickly alters her life forever, the knowledge that she cannot trust her own husband, the man who saved her life all those years ago, had sent her reeling.

She doesn’t stumble upon anything unusual in the process despite going through shelves and drawers, frantically but carefully searching throughout the room.

She knew that she would find something, but what she ended up finding in the model of the building that was lit the moment she touched it nearly made her sick. The thought of her having married the person who plotted her husband’s murder -- The only one who could have taken his ring finger and preserved it.

Joo Dan-Tae...A monster unlike any she had ever imagined in her wildest dreams.

The call she received only a moment later only added to her shock, the person who had left the earlier note that, despite her hopes, turned out to be true, seemingly calling with a voice changer.

“Are you ready to listen to me now?” the voice of a man asks, sending shivers down Su-Ryeon’s spine.

In response, what else could she ask other than, “Who are you?” Who is the man who seemingly knows so much about her husband’s misdeeds, his now revealed crimes.

“I asked if you believe that Joo Dan-Tae has been fooling you,” the man asks, tone not shifting despite the personal question, as if he doesn’t know that he broke apart her belief in the man she thought she could trust in just a single day.

“How can I believe you when I don’t even know who you are? Who are you?” Su-Ryeon says, anxiety creeping into her tone as the emotions of the day seem to overwhelm her all at once.

Her heart stops at his next words. “Don’t you want to find your real daughter?” he asks, so casually that a person might think that he was just talking about the weather.

“My daughter?” she nearly whispers, the question taking her by surprise even further and sending tears flowing down her cheek, eyes wide, “is she...still alive?” She asks this reverently, as if in fear of his answer. “Where is she?”

“You should find her,” comes the man’s cold reply, “If you want to find her, do as I say. If you do anything rashly, Joo Hye-In and your daughter will both die, just like that man in the United States.”

“Did my husband really kill him?” Su-Ryeon asks, knowing the answer already. She had figured it out the moment she found the finger of her late husband, the wedding ring only highlighting the fact that it was, in fact, the man who had fathered her only biological child. The love of her life.

The man does not pause to answer. “Believe what you want to believe, what’s important is that Joo Hye-In’s heart will stop beating soon. If that happens, the truth about Joo Dan-Tae will be buried forever.”

Fury and concern suddenly flood into Su-Ryeon like a crashing wave, the threat against her daughter almost too much to bear. “How dare you try to kill her?” she asks heatedly, “Hye-In is my daughter. I will kill you if you even lay a finger on her.”

The sound of the call ending brings a stop to her rant, but only restarts the flood of emotions. It’s with these emotions that she initially approaches her husband, choosing a statue as her weapon of choice as he blissfully remains unaware, lost in the sound of what she has no doubt is classical music. The only thing that stops her from killing him is the thought of her daughter, or any child of hers, dying due to her rash actions.

She returns to her room quietly, sitting on her bed only to receive a text, obviously from the person meaning to play her like a puppet on a string.

‘Go to Hope Orphanage in Yeongdeungpo. Look for a child who was wrapped in a blue jacket in December 2004.’ And with that, Su-Ryeon feels a bit of hope...Even if it is from a completely unknown stranger.

-----

“A complete dead end,” she hisses to herself, sitting in her car on a sunny day. The trip to the orphanage hadn’t revealed anything at all other than that the director of Hope Orphanage had shut it down completely after selling the building and had changed their number. “The building was moldy with no air conditioning…” she mutters out loud, baffled by the lack of humanity even after being married to Joo Dan-Tae.

‘Goddamnit,’ she thinks to herself, knowing what she has to do next. The decision to go to Aram Detective Agency came easily, but working it out with the detective...Was not as easy as deciding to go there.

“I’ll pay you generously,” says Su-Ryeon, “the sooner the better.”

“You said it already closed down,” the man says, picking at the inside of his ear, “How will I find the director?”

She sighs and pulls out her back up plan -- the man picks up the bulging envelope of money, his expression clearly changing and his attention suddenly fixed on the previously very unassuming, although beautiful, woman in front of him.

“I’ll pay you twofold if you find him today,” she says casually, “If you find him by the evening, I’ll pay you threefold.” It’s with shock that the man quickly agrees, and she smiles as she leaves the office.

-----

Su-Ryeon lays down as her husband dresses for the party that evening, Dan-Tae choosing to keep an eye on his wife under the pretense of a loving and devoted husband. She can only open her eyes and smile gently when he approaches, asking if she wants him to stay with her.

“No,” Su-Ryeon says in response, the knowledge of what this man has done to her family -- to her -- nearly making her lose her pleasant mask. His hands seem to be always present now, those bloody hands that had clearly murdered and manipulated his way into getting whatever he wanted from her making her want to pull away in disgust at his touch. “You’re in charge of the event, you should go.”

The response of “Then I’ll go ahead, you can take your time,” is expected. Her husband, for all of his flaws, has always been good at pretending to care, and this time is no different.

“Okay, I’m sorry for worrying you,” Su-Ryeon responds, smiling gently. ‘Keep at it for just a bit longer, Su-Ryeon,’ she thinks to herself. Only her children stop her from completely losing control, their safety worth more than the most precious gems to her.

“Don’t say that,” he responds, that well practiced smile lighting up his face, “you’re all I care about.” He leans over and kisses her before leaving, and all she wants to do is push him away.

She is relieved when he finally leaves the room, and she rushes over to where her phone lays, quickly contacting the private detective she had met with earlier. Joy fills her with his words of delight, no doubt the thought of more pay driving his skills to new heights as he had searched.

-----

Su-Ryeon watches patiently as the former director curses at the golf range, only pausing to think about it after swinging.

“Year 2004? You probably won’t be able to find any records,” he says, turning to her with a happy smile, “I discarded the kids’ personal information as I stopped running the orphanage. Did you leave your kid at our orphanage?”

Su-Ryeon pushes down the irritation at his responses, choosing to change the subject instead. “Why did you stop running the orphanage? What happened to the kids?” She asks with concern.

His response of “Do I owe you an explanation?” makes her no happier, the clear avoidance of the topic irking her to no end, “I took care of abandoned orphans my whole life and contributed to the social welfare of this country, it’s time I get some rest. You’re the one who abandoned her kid,” he says with no hesitation, “Stop being such a nuisance all the time.”

The rage boils up inside of her, and she can’t stop herself from throwing down her purse angrily before grabbing the golf club out of his hands and smashing it on the ground before throwing it into the green. “How could you afford to build a driving range in Gangnam after selling an orphanage in the suburbs? Can you tell me where you got all that money? I can easily look into it. Do you want me to?”

She leans closer to him, watching as fear creeps onto his face as she continues, “I’m going to come here every single day. I won’t give up until you show me the kids' records, so go ahead and fight me if you’re willing to risk everything you have?”

She smiles as she follows him to the shed, the man cursing under his breath all the while as he stomps his way over to where he had hidden the records. She couldn’t care less when he makes remarks about her keeping up with the privacy laws, ‘No doubt to save his own skin,’ she thinks with a laugh.

Knowing it wasn’t safe to bring the records anywhere near her home, she decided to go through them right there. The man wouldn’t have hidden records anywhere that had security cameras, she had no doubt.

‘Where are you, my baby?’ she thinks as she quickly combs through the records. Blue jacket, December 2004-- the thought repeats over and over until she finds the record.

When she finds it, she can hardly breathe when she reads the name on the paper, her eyes growing wide in shock due to the knowledge just provided to her by only a name.

A name that she knew she would never forget coupled with a picture of a little girl in a blue coat. She stares at the file and greedily takes in the information provided, the little amount feeling as if it wouldn’t be enough.

She closes the file when she has memorized all of the information, and she leaves it behind with the hope of a new life -- a safe and happy life for all of her children.

But Shim Su-Ryeon knows best of all that a happy ending does not come easily in this life, and so she really should have expected something to happen that would ruin her happy fantasy.

A/N: And so the web Dan-Tae has spun is beginning to unravel, leading our heroine to some unfortunate truths. Everything happened to her in such a short time, it would be very difficult to imagine her thoughts.

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#the penthouse: war in life #the penthouse #fix it fics

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mayhembunnywrites · 3 years

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Chapter 2: Breaking Apart

TW: This chapter contains mentions of child abuse and fighting.

A/N: This is where it gets really different from the show. I have always felt like Soo-Ryeon would do anything to protect Seok-Kyung and Seok-Hoon, and she would probably intervene in the beatings.

Fighting with Seok-Kyung is normal for Soo-Ryeon, but not like this. For having two teenagers in the house, she knows she is fortunate to get along with both of her children normally. The twins were the envy of most of her friends, the both of them seemingly well behaved and disciplined in public.

If only others knew what Soo-Ryeon knew, and what she wished so badly that she could stop. All she could do to help her children was secretly buy medicine to help them heal after Dan-Tae, the monster that he is, beats them. She would often look after them and their injuries, and she knows she will do the same again tonight as the music rises into the air.

Soo-Ryeon rests her forehead on the locked door to Dan-Tae’s study -- the only thing separating her and her children -- and she lets a tear fall for a moment, but only for a moment, before going to Seok-Hoon’s room and bringing out the box of medicine she had stowed away for times like these tonight.

Times when they would be beaten and she could do nothing but watch and wait patiently for it to be over.

And so, she waits.

Time passes in a blur, her thoughts whirling around with concern for her children as she sits and stares at the wall, and she only returns to herself when she sees Seok-Hoon and Seok-Kyung coming through the door.

“Mom,” Seok-Hoon says in a low tone, almost a whisper, as he seems to try to focus his vision which was blurry from pain and blood loss. Soo-Ryeon gets up and rushes over to her son, embracing him and stroking her daughter’s hair when Seok-Kyung can no longer wait to join the embrace.

Helping her son over to his bed to take off his shirt is the least she can do, and she goes through the motions of quietly applying the medicine to his wounds, some new and some scarred over.

Later that night, when she lays in her bed, she will have nightmares of her children dying at her husband’s cruel hands, and she will wake up with fresh tears on her face, knowing what she has to do to keep her children - all of them - safe.

-----

Hearing the news of Min Seol-Ah, her children’s tutor, being selected as the top singer in the classical audition for Cheong-Ah Academy of the Arts was something like being trapped in a nightmare.

There was no big confrontation of Min Seol-Ah by her children, and she knew she had raised them well, but she knew her husband wouldn’t stand for it.

Most importantly, she realized that her son couldn’t take another beating in place of Seok-Kyung, no matter how much he would insist on it.

“Seok-Hoon,” she heard herself speaking quietly before she realized she had even opened her mouth, “Why don’t you head to the summer house by the lake? Take your sister with you.”

She watches absently as her son, quiet and strong, takes his sister by the hand and leads her out of the front of the building, her husband too busy watching Seol-Ah with the intensity of a shark smelling blood in the water to notice as the kids left the building.

Soo-Ryeon smiles apologetically as she carefully approaches her husband and gently touches his arm to draw his attention, the shifting of his gaze onto her accompanied by an angry shout from him.

“Honey,” she begins, quietly speaking as if they were the only two people in the room, ignoring all of the eyes watching her and her husband discreetly, “why don’t we head upstairs? Let’s spend a night alone together, hmm?” She watches as his happy mask falls into place once more, the expression flawless after years of practice.

She smiles as he agrees to her plan, linking her arm through his and only turning back to wink at Seol-Ah as Soo-Ryeon walks away with Dan-Tae, not knowing what would come next. After all, Soo-Ryeon is the one who knows best that she is sleeping with a devil tonight.

And she fully accepts that it is the price she pays, the price she would always pay, to keep her husband happy, and her children safe.

Soo-Ryeon knows that she may die to keep her children safe, and she feels at peace even so. So long as my children are safe, she thinks to herself.

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#the penthouse #the penthouse: war in life #fix-it fic

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mayhembunnywrites · 3 years

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Chapter 1: Sinking Ships

A/N: This will be a different story from the show. Soo-Ryeon will be less passive and more protective of her loved ones, and she will be more observant and notice things that the show seems to think she’d ignore. I hope you guys enjoy!

Dinner starts out relatively normally at the party, pleasant conversation being exchanged around the table, the pecan pie Soo Ryeon made hours earlier being a total hit among the guests despite Seo-Jin’s cold reception.

The night continues as wine flows, laughter and joyful conversation filling the room along with her husband speaking to her as he always does when he’s in a good mood, so kind that it makes her heart melt. It’s certainly better to let him be happy at times like these, and so she does not pull away.

Seo-Jin and Yoon-Chul arguing as Soo-Ryeon looks for the bathroom is a bit of a shock, the argument familiar to her own ears as Yoon-Chul drunkenly argues with Seo-Jin. The cold reception Soo-Ryeon receives from both parties is enough to let her leave them both alone and drop the topic.

At first, Soo Ryeon thinks nothing of the glances between Dan-Tae and Seo-Jin, believing it was nothing more than her imagination. She never imagined, however, that she would be distracted by a drunken Mari nearly knocking her over with a wide smile and boisterous laughter. Soo Ryeon smiles and laughs with the drunken woman for a moment before leaving to search for her husband.

She isn’t sure what she expected to find when her calls of “Honey” receive no response, and her search for her husband turns up dry at first. She smiles when seeing Seo-Jin in her new dress, and she turns away to continue her search.

Soo-Ryeon ignores the fact that Dan-Tae comes up from behind her after a moment, ‘He was just in the bathroom, of course,’ she tries to convince herself.

She ignores the pit of despair in her stomach which grows with each passing second, and she chooses to ignore the way Seo-Jin’s eyes linger on her husband. ‘After all,’ Soo Ryeon thinks to herself desperately, ‘He could have been in the bathroom.’

Later that night, in her bed and separated from her husband, alone after sending the children off to bed, she does not cry. She refuses to let him take any tears from her.

--------

Soo Ryeon has a good day until the party. Seok-Hoon and Seok-Kyung went off to school nicely, and she is sure that her children have aced the test that they studied so hard for. The party goes smoothly at first, polite conversation being interrupted by the arrival of Seo-Jin in her skin tight dress.

‘She looks pretty,’ Soo Ryeon thinks to herself before brushing the thought away with the text that arrives soon afterwards.

‘Come quickly, your daughter is going into shock,’ the text from Mr. Yoon reads, sending Soo Ryeon’s thoughts into panic. The rest of the night is a blur for her, her husband sending her off and the hospital staff calmly moving as a unit to save her daughter, the girl in the ICU for an indefinite amount of time.

She doesn’t even notice the person filming her as she presses herself against the glass, wishing more than ever that she could hold her daughter and see her smile and laugh freely.

The night passes quickly and slowly at the same time, and it is spent outside of her daughter’s hospital room. She returns home in the morning and prepares breakfast for her family, making sure to wave them off before she goes to bed.

That way, none of them see her tears fall.

The next part

#the penthouse: war in life #the penthouse #shim soo ryeon #fix it fic

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mayhembunnywrites · 3 years

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Sabrina's Adventures Pt. 3: Drawing a Crowd

Looking for the prologue or part two? Click the links then!

“Okay, I can do this,” Brenda says with a deep breath, trying to give herself confidence to no avail as she immediately slumps forward with a sigh. She gathers her strength and sits up straight, getting ready to face the music as she turns back.

“We’ve got this, Sabrina,” says Brenda to the toddler, receiving a gummy smile in return from the barely one year old girl as she babbles in her carseat joyfully. Brenda picks up her phone and shoots off a quick ‘We’re here’ text to her father before stepping out of the car and quickly moving to take her wiggling daughter out of her carseat.

The happy babbles of the one year old girl make Brenda smile fondly, the darling toddler with doe eyes always seemed happy and almost never cried. ‘I’m so happy,’ Brenda thinks to herself absently.

“Alright, Sabrina,” Brenda says in an excited and energetic tone which is met with a flurry of excited feet and hands as Sabrina reaches for her mother happily, settling once in Brenda’s arms. In Brenda’s distraction she forgets to look around, to observe her surroundings, and so she doesn’t notice the crowd of people emerging from Pillbox next door.

The first thing that Brenda notices is the unsettling feeling of unfamiliar eyes watching her, causing her to stiffen a bit and embrace her daughter a little more securely. The second thing she notices is the growing crowd nearby, a mixture of familiar and new faces staring in shock at the familiar face of Brenda, and the unfamiliar face of the giggling toddler in her arms.

The arrival of Ducksworth to her car could not have better timing, the man rushing down in his excitement only to pause in front of Brenda and hold out his hands excitedly for his granddaughter, not caring even in the slightest about the crowd watching in shock. He only pauses when he notices his daughter is stiff, withdrawing into herself under the watchful gazes that fall upon the happy trio and readying herself to protect her family if need be.

Ducky’s gaze turns solemn as he shifts Sabrina’s weight in his arms, holding her on his hip while resting a hand on Brenda’s shoulder.

“Don’t worry,” he says confidently, causing her to look back at him and relax slightly, “They won’t do anything if they know what’s good for them.” With a nod Brenda turns away from the crowd, finally embracing her father and daughter while still wary of her surroundings.

As if on cue a familiar figure in a blue plaid shirt steps forward, shock and confusion in his every feature before he begins speaking, OTT’s voice hesitant as he speaks. “Brenda, is that you?” he asks, causing her to stiffen and turn around, confident with the strong figure of her father backing her up.

“Hello, OTT,” she says in a cool tone, watching him with hostility in her icy gaze that makes him feel ten degrees colder than the already snowy streets of Los Santos. OTT visibly gulps as she looks as him, clearly scared and yet his curiosity pushes him to try to speak to her, his once friend had changed and he wanted to know why.

His curiosity overtakes him, stupidity taking the forefront as he immediately tries to push for answers.

“Brenda, what happened?” OTT asks, confusion clear in his tone and expression, “Why do you have a toddler? Who’s kid is that?”

Brenda’s icy gaze seems to pierce through OTT as he finishes speaking, hostility clear in her stance and expression as she stares at him. “‘That kid,’ as you call her, is my daughter. What happened is none of your business, either,” she finishes before turning her back to him, the roaring of car engines coming within earshot much to her obvious delight as a smile breaks onto her face at the sound of her family swiftly approaching.

The familiar red and black cars pull up to the curb with swiftness and the people inside the vehicles swiftly step out and close the doors of their cars with smooth movements that seem at odds with their soft appearances, fuzzy sweaters and casual jeans paired with combat boots gracing all of the familiar figures.

Tony takes the lead as the group charges forward with Tori close behind him, the group of people quickly assessing the situation and rush over to Brenda, Tori embracing her best friend immediately while Tony and the others took a protective stance in front of her, facing the ever-growing crowd of people watching with shock as the baby with Saab’s familiar features rests happily in the embrace of her grandfather.

OTT couldn’t help but look back and forth between Brenda and Sabrina for a bit, dumbfounded at her cold response to his question before his gaze was broken by a figure he knew well, Tony moving to block his view of Brenda protectively before Buddha, Ellie, Curtis, and Denzel step behind Tony with a united front.

“OTT, turn around and go,” says Tony in a dark tone, the words more than a suggestion to the man in front of him.

OTT begins to stupidly open his mouth again before Ellie cuts in, quickly shutting him down. “Come on OTT,” she says, “Don’t be an idiot, just turn around and walk away.”

OTT gulps nervously before puffing out his chest with false confidence, “B-but,” he begins, “What do you mean, Brenda? You have a daughter?” His words are met with exasperated expressions before Tony steps forward threateningly, sending OTT stumbling back nervously at the sudden movements.

“I said back off, OTT,” Tony says before turning away, “You’re a waste of bullets, I’ll spare you this time,” he finishes before turning around. “Brenda,” he says, a gentle edge in his tone as he speaks to his friend, his sister, and she turns around to grace him with a soft smile, “Let’s head inside now.”

Brenda nods, turning around and gesturing for Ducky to lead the way as she and Tori wrap their arms around each other’s waists, the best friends not yet ready to be separated.

The group swiftly moves into Integrity Apartments to avoid any idiotic members of the crowd that would decide to interrupt the group’s Christmas Eve celebration, moving to Ducky’s apartment happily.

The door closes and they relax, Ducky setting down Sabrina as Tony finally hugs Brenda, Ellie close behind while Curtis and Buddha move further into the apartment, settling onto the couches and making light conversation in the comfortable atmosphere.

The crackling of the fireplace is accompanied by the light of the small Christmas tree in the apartment, the smell of a holiday dinner wafting through the air as the family makes their way through the apartment and into the living room, laughter and conversation filling the air with comforting warmth as the group catch up with each other happily.

Later that night Brenda looks out the window of the apartment with Sabrina safe in her Aunt Tori’s arms, content with a rare glass of wine and the low hum of after-dinner conversation. She looks at the moon with a sad smile on her face, noticing how one of the stars seemed to glow brighter than all the others, and she would smile at the thought of her late fiance watching over their small family from the other side of the veil.

‘I still miss you,’ she thinks to herself, ‘But I see so much of you in our daughter every day...You might not have known her, Saab, but I know you’d be proud.’ Brenda’s thoughts are broken by the giggles of her daughter, happily in the arms of her grandfather as he plays with her. She turns around and watches with a fond smile as her daughter smiles and laughs. ‘Keep watching over us, Saab,’ Brenda thinks as she watches the diverse family in the apartment, ‘I might still miss you, but I know that we’re supported by our family, and that means we’ll be okay.’

Brenda moves over to Ducky’s side, laughing as Sabrina excitedly babbles to her mother and rests in her grandfather’s arms comfortably. She leans back as she watches her family with a warm and fuzzy feeling, content in the knowledge that she and Sabrina would be well taken care of by the group in front of them.

Her family had never let her down before and she knew they never would as long as they drew breath, their protectiveness over her and Sabrina had been proven just a few days before when Otto’s accomplice in Saab’s murder, Joe, was found dead, shot through the heart by a single bullet.

#braab #nopixel 2.0 #fanfiction

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