being with you has opened my eyes / could i ever believe such a perfect surprise

one

sometimes she felt as if she stared long enough at the sky, she would melt into it and leave no trace behind. and for a split second, she was free.

until reality hit, of course. in other words, her mother.

"seokkyung, get up," suryeon said in a patient but slightly testy voice. "i know you're still adjusting but school starts an hour earlier here."

seokkyung groaned, pushing off the swing she was currently lying on in the backyard of her new house. new mansion, she supposed.

she, her mother, her mother's husband, and their children had all packed up and moved from america to south korea just last weekend. her stepfather logan lee, loaded as he was, already bought a house which was a nice upgrade to everyone but seokkyung, who preferred apartments. it felt too secluded out here by themselves, with her having no one to hang out with but her own stepfamily who she was so used to avoiding.

so it seemed that her only entertainment would be at the prestigious cheong ah arts high school she was attending starting today.

"unnie! unnie! are you going to school today?!" seola shouted as she and hyein ran outside, still in their pajamas.

seola and hyein were both turning five soon, their birthday party already planned out, which seokkyung had to cater for, of course.

suryeon turned to the twins, the irritation on her face melting away into a smile. she crouched down and they leapt into her arms, kissing them all over.

seokkyung walked inside, pointedly ignoring logan who was on sitting at the kitchen table, drinking a cup of coffee.

"ms. lim put your uniform on your bed," he called from the sofa, drinking a cup of coffee, getting no response besides the sound of a bedroom door slamming shut.

-

okay. it wasn't like she hadn't tried to get along with them at all. but how else was she supposed to act when her mom divorced her dad when she was eight without giving her a reason, picked her up and moved with her to america after winning the custody battle, got married to the son of a billionaire when she was twelve, and had twins a year later who occupied all her time for the next five years until now.

it wasn't that she hated america, she liked living with just her mother in their nice apartment, where she'd go to school and anticipate the moment she could run home after school and tell her all about her day and go out to see a museum or a gallery together. even though her mother refusing to speak about her father was a weak point in their relationship, they were still super close and she had her mother all to herself.

but then she met logan lee. hot, young, eligible, billionaire son of the lee family who happened to visit her mother's art galleries and furniture stores several times, or as her mom liked to say it with a laugh, "a fated coincidence" or whatever. and the two got married right after she turned twelve and suddenly everything was about the engagement, the wedding, the baby shower, the people logan knew, the fancy parties she and her mother accompanied him for. she became famous in a way, the classical singer daughter of the chaebol shim suryeon and stepdaughter of the logan lee.

all of a sudden her life became louder. she never minded the importance but soon found out the people around her now were just clones of each other, which even then she didn't mind, it made it easier to stand out. but then she found that she couldn't be around her mother as much anymore. she was suddenly too busy with her parties, her art gallery expansion thanks to logan's family, her twin babies who arrived that spring, the perfect addition to her perfect family.

deep down, seokkyung knew which man's children she liked better. joo dantae, who brought a shadow over suryeon's face on the occasion he was mentioned, obviously she wouldn't favor his kid who was so much like him. but seola and hyein, two beautiful babies, the splitting image of their perfect father, the children who everyone said made her smile again and brought back the life in her. almost like she was suffering from living with just seokkyung for so long. and the worst part was, her mother didn't even deny it or bring her up. she just laughed and agreed with it.