A Normal Day?

"Hye-jin don't take too long. The house already looks perfect okay and nobody will enter the studio."

"Ah, yes, yes I was just checking these documents that you left here, and I did not know that the Daesung Group was involved with…"

"Involved with what?" Min-jun interrupted, his voice suddenly tense. I looked up from the papers, surprised by his sudden change in tone.

"I am not sure, there is something in these documents that seems… off. It reminds me of something I came across during an investigation before leaving the press, but I can't quite put my finger on it.

Min-jun seemed to relax a bit but was still visibly on edge. "Well, you know how it is. These big corporations have connections all over the place. It's probably nothing to worry about."

I nodded, not entirely convinced but not wanting to press the issue further. "You're probably right. Maybe I'm just anxious, it's the holidays and you know how I get in these days, plus your family is coming over for the Christmas dinner today."

Min-jun smiled and came over to me to hug me. "I know my love, don't worry everything is perfect already, they will be here in less than an hour ."

I smiled back at him, appreciating his support but still feeling a nagging sense of doubt in the back of my mind.

"I will close the door before the kids find you."

"Thank you," I smiled, trying to push away the unease that settled in my stomach. As he left the room and closed the door behind him, I got lost in my thoughts.

Life had always been kind to me, or at least that's what I believed. I went to live with my grandma after the death of my parents. My childhood, at least, was a normal one, but it always seemed to have an empty space. I was always jealous of other kids and how they would go into the park with their parents holding hands, while I was just there, existing.

My parents' death was classified as just an accident, but I know that was not the truth. I was there when everything happened, just eight years old at the time. We were on the way to one of my dad's corporate retreats at Christmas. He was a high-ranking official of one of the biggest conglomerates in South Korea when suddenly a truck pushed us over the edge of the road and caused my dad to crash into a tree.

It was snowy and the impact was horrendous; my parents were severely injured but my dad was still conscious. He tried to pull himself out to help my mom and me but something happened before he could react. I remember seeing a shadowy figure with something on his hands and after that, I just remember two loud bangs.

The next day I woke up in the hospital, and miraculously was relatively unscathed, just some cuts and bruises. My parents, however, weren't as lucky. The report said that they were taken to the hospital, but despite the doctor's best efforts, they didn't make it. The police concluded it was a tragic accident, but something about their explanation didn't sit right with me. I tried to speak with the police about what I witnessed, but of course, I was just a child, and no one took me seriously.

Ugh, it has been so many years, but that never will leave the back of my mind; the memories of my parents' deaths still haunt me. Still, I'm really surprised to see the name of the corporation that my dad used to work in and above all the name of that man. The same one who had been suspected of illegal activities within the corporation during my project investigation before I left my job. My blood ran cold just thinking about all the things I uncovered during that time.

"Why is Daesung Group involved with that company?" I mumbled, mostly to myself. Min-jun, who was passing by the studio, poked his head inside.

"Did you say something?" he asked. I shook my head, forcing a smile.

"Just talking to myself," I replied, placing the folder back on his desk. Before I could leave the studio, the door burst open, and Ji-hoon, our eight-year-old son, came rushing in, crying and upset.

"Mama, mama! Jeong is trying to eat the cookies, the baby is crying, and Papa is talking on the phone."

I quickly wiped away the tear that had trickled down my cheek and put on a reassuring smile as I knelt down to Ji-hoon's level. "Oh, no! That sounds like a crisis!" I said, trying to lighten the mood. "Let's go save those cookies and calm the baby down, shall we?"

Ji-hoon nodded, his eyes still watery.

Thinking now, at thirty-five years old, deciding to focus on my family rather than my career was one of the most challenging decisions I had ever made. There was a part of me that regretted leaving it all behind, the thrill of the chase, the satisfaction of exposing the truth. However, after losing my parents at such a young age, having a family of my own was incredibly important to me. I felt it was my duty to be there for my children in a way that my parents couldn't be for me. Balancing my personal and professional ambitions was a constant struggle, and I occasionally wondered what my life would have been like if I had made different choices.

But after meeting Min-jun and having our children, I decided that my family was the most important thing in the world to me. After being an orphan, I closed the gap in my chest and felt fulfilled after building my family, and having my own tiny people; I was no longer alone.

Haa, I'm too sentimental today, is definitely the season. Entering the living room, I found Jeong, my 4-year-old, with a cookie halfway to his mouth and the baby, Soo-min, crying in the highchair with crumbs over all her face.

Min-jun was on the phone, speaking in hushed tones, his brows furrowed in concern.

I gently took the cookie from Jeong's hand. "Remember, sweetie, we need to wait for our guests before we start eating the cookies," I said softly. He pouted but nodded, and I gave him a kiss on the forehead.

"Min-jun are you watching the kids?" I said, trying to keep my voice light and cheerful. Min-jun ended his call and looked at me apologetically.

"I'm sorry, Hye-jin. It was an important call from work," he explained, coming over to help me clean up Soo-min.

I nodded understandingly, although I couldn't help but feel a twinge of annoyance. It seemed like work was always calling him away from us, even during the holidays.

"Mama, is Grandma and Grandpa coming?" Ji-hoon asked, his eyes brightening at the thought.

"Yes, they will be here soon, along with your Aunt Yoo-jin and Uncle Hyun-woo," I replied, wiping Soo-min's face with a napkin.

Jeong clapped his hands excitedly, and I couldn't help but smile at his enthusiasm. Despite everything, I try to make the holidays always a magical time for the kids.

As I settled the children down and started setting the table, the doorbell rang.

"That was fast," I muttered, a knot of unease tightening in my stomach.

"I'll get it," Min-jun said, seemingly unfazed. As he opened the door, a sudden loud bang echoed through the apartment, sending a shockwave of fear through my body.

"No, no, no!" I screamed. My heart felt like it stopped as I watched my husband crumple to the ground, dark blood oozing from a wound on his head.

Men dressed in military black clothes stormed into the apartment, guns in their hands. Panic set in as I screamed for the children to run and hide. I tried to grab the baby from the highchair, but it was too late. Before I could even comprehend what was happening, shots were fired.

Tears blurred my vision as I let out a scream, the sound tearing at my throat. I fell on the floor with my baby, praying that this was just a terrible dream.

"Storm the place, you know what you have to do."

I clutched Soo-min to my chest, trembling with fear and grief as the men tore through our home. As one of the men approached me, gun pointed at my chest, I couldn't help but wonder where it all went wrong. Ha, the irony of life, it was snowing outside, and once again, my world was shattering into a million pieces. A hysterical laugh bubbled up from my chest, spilling out of my mouth in a torrent of despair and incredulity. The absurdity of it all was too much to bear. Here I was, in the middle of a nightmare, laughing like a madwoman as my world crumbled around me.

Hot tears streamed down my face. The man shot his gun, and the bullet pierced my chest but the pain was nothing compared to the agony of losing my family. As darkness closed in, my last thoughts were of the happy moments we shared, and the life we built together, now destroyed in an instant.