secret tape - penthouse

ix

italics = english

it wasn't until they reached their apartment that kang jisoo's frustration was truly shown. he tugged at his tie so that it now hung loosely around his neck as he rushed towards his bedroom, door slamming loudly behind him. though he was constantly stressed, he was rarely ever this frustrated.

"michelle, you're free to go home." he said to the maid, who had rushed over to greet the family. michelle nodded, leaving silently with only a quick bow and a smile sent yebin's way.

"don't worry, he's more stressed about this getting out than he is mad at you." he said, hoping that it would provide the girl with some sort of comfort. but the back handedness of the comment did little to help, and yebin knew that his use of english was a way of not letting jisoo in on what he was saying. "apologizing was the right thing to do, and i hope that something like this won't happen again." he gave yebin a quick peck on the forehead before heading off after his husband, leaving yebin with only her cat to keep her company.

needless to say, the next morning was a rough start for the couple. joo dantae had called another hera club meeting, first thing in the morning, and it was there that they found out min seola was tied up in the mechanical room.

"don't you think that tying her up was going a little too far?" daniel asked, causing some people to nod along in agreement.

"do i have to remind you that her phone is key evidence for what our kids did? or is yebin's future not something you care about?" joo dantae's response was enough to shut off anyone's objections, and jenni's mom spoke up in agreement.

"we can't let our children get hurt! their lives are on the line."

"but still, this is practically kidnapping. if word of this gets out-"

"it won't." jisoo's rambling was cut off by joo dantae before he could even finish voicing his concern, "i'll find a way to shut her up."

"where is suryeon?" cheon seojin questioned, only addressing joo dantae. and with that, the topic was dropped, the rest of the meeting consisting of more reassurances and party plans.

☁

with the upcoming party, yebin found it easy to keep her mind off of things. her whole day was spent with eunbyul, the two girls were granted the opportunity of skipping school and spending the time getting pampered instead. their day consisted of facials, mani pedis, and expensive snacks that only hera palace had to offer. they only went their separate ways to get ready at home, excited to meet up once more and show off whatever expensive dresses they had bought just for this occasion.

with the knowledge that this event would be bigger than any party hera palace had had before, kang daniel put his fashion expertise into play and chose a dress for yebin. it was a velvet material, and a deep shade of purple that contrasted nicely with her pale skin. though it was a bit plain, the silver accessories it was paired with made her stand out more. she topped it with a black fur coat and a black chanel clutch, and she was ready to go.

the second her parents saw her they both gushed over how pretty she looked, complimenting her as michelle put silver clips in her hair.

the party started off with a bang, fireworks lighting up the night sky as everyone cheered. not only were they celebrating the one year anniversary of the hera palace, but they were also celebrating the little hera club's admission into cheong ah arts high school. there was a different fireworks show every hour, paired with specific treat made to better capture the theme of it. despite the party being specifically for the residents, it was still packed with people, and everywhere yebin went she was being congratulated and complimented. it was a bit weird for her, especially since her parents had left to join some v.i.p. room that was specifically for adults, but she stuck by eunbyul's side as much as she could.

though she didn't say anything, eunbyul herself seemed odd. from the beginning of the party, she was nervous and jittery, and it seemed like something had happened during their time apart. but whenever yebin tried to bring it up, eunbyul brushed it off, saying that she's just really excited about the party. around an hour into the celebration, eunbyul went off, claiming that she needed to go get her portable charger from upstairs. yebin offered to go with her, but oddly enough, eunbyul denied, saying that she wanted yebin to save some of the snacks for her when they came. she assured her that she wouldn't take long, and she went off, leaving yebin alone with the rest of the group.

☁

a/n a few changes were made to the last couple of chapters, and though they're not really h u g e changes, it might be nice to go back and read them?? idk??

i was also wondering how you guys would feel if i started writing shorter chapters, i don't think it'd really effect how often i update, but i just feel like the chapters can be too long or too boring to read at once. let me know what y'all think ^^

also let me know if u guys liked seeing things focused on her parents a bit as well, like the meeting in this chapter. i'm not sure if i should include what they do, or if i should keep things kinda centered on yebin like i've been doing. i think it'd be fun to write about them a little more, but it also doesn't make much of a difference for me personally since i kinda build these characters up in my head, but maybe you guys want to know since the adults play a big role in the drama.

SORRY FOR THE LONG ASS A/N BUT I LOVE HEARING FROM Y'ALL