Deer Godess

39

No, old lady Im didn't die, relax. But she sure would have been better off if she had. What happened was, the woman was being followed by the police, trying to validate a hint they got form a very powerful thai boss, who was untouchable by the law. The man had provided photos of a meeting between Im Jinhye, millionaire fallen from grace since her husband's death, known for trying to meddle on her daughter's life and have been escorted out of Im corp and Kim corp numerous times when trying to enter said companies without permission.

The police department hated the woman, really, she would resist being led out of buildings she screamed belonged to her, when her daughter was the one calling the cops to try and get her out. They were happy like kids in a candy store when there was a real reason to send that nightmare away for life, and wasted no time in tailing her, hoping an encounter would happen soon. Little did they know, they were about to arrest a group that had been plaguing narcotics for months too, the five who were working with the woman had been stealing from Buramuk and he despised treason with a passion.

Old lady Im was convicted of conspiring for murder, trafficing, leading a cartel (Buramuk threw a freebie and framed her for that too) and embezzling money from Im corp. That was enough to get her in jail for the rest of her life, and with her assets frozen, the big bad lawyers vanished, they didn't want their firm nor their names related to any of that. Nayeon and Dahyun obviously denied help or involvement, their alibi steel solid, as were everyone else's, so they were exempted from everything. Jihyo, Jaebum and Sana were the victims, and were being supported by Nayeon, Dahyun and Jackson completely.

When they had arrived in Jeju, the police had been tipped, and began their investigation. Jungkook called when the investigators showed up the next morning and was told to cooperate completely and give them access to everything. Risky, but it's not like they had anything to hide, and their meeting a few days back had been properly hidden and there was nothing to worry about at all. Disclosing everything to the police would only help further prove their complete lack of involvement with whatever old lady Im was up to.

Once they landed from Jeju, it was already a media circus. They managed to get the girls away with Momo and Chaeyoung, while the rest posed for the cameras and answered whatever questions were being thrown at them and they could pick up among the screams. Tzuyu popped in that day, Elkie wasn't too far behind, and both goddesses came to comfort Jihyo, Jaebum and Nayeon especially, they had taken it worse, being the focus points in all of this, despite the deities knowing things were only going to get better from there.

It did take a few months, but they were free from Im Jinhye for good faster than they could register and everyone was breathing freely in no time. True to her words, Nayeon made sure to include the Parks back into her family tree, she had to swear secrecy about the name Jaebum had chosen for their youngest, it was a surprise for Jihyo, but she wanted to make it official as soon as possible and made a mention to the girl, who would be included when born, on the official documents.

"And why are we keeping the name a secret?" The youngest Im asked, they were having some coffee, it had been their weekly thing.

"Because, sister dearest, it's the name of Jihyo's mother."

"Right, and why haven't we heard of Jihyo's family? Like, ever?"

"Because she was raised by a single mother. Her father died in the army, a bad grenade accident where he saved his entire squad, they lived with his pension to help out, but Jihyo's mom did have to work to be able to provide for her properly. The woman died from pneumonia on her first semester in college."

"Oh." Is all Nayeon could muster.

"Don't worry, she's not bitter about it, nor does she hold any grudges." He pats his sister's head.

"I bet she doesn't. Jihyo's heart is too big and she is too good to let something like this bring her down."

"That, and she knows they went when their time came. No use holding on to what ifs, but always remembering them both fondly."

"Everything makes sense now." Nayeon exclaims as if she had just experienced a life-changing revelation.

"What makes sense of what, now?"

"Why nothing was ever even a question for you. Back when I found out, I let mother and father talk me into believing the things we had were important. You had already learned from Jihyo that none of that really mattered at all, and that's why it was never a question when you turned your back and left everything behind."

"Well, now you know." Is all he says, and they bask in the silence while finishing their coffee.

"I just had a thought." Nayeon breaks the silence after a few minutes.

"That would really be a surprise." Jaebum chuckles and gets a glare.

"I'm being serious. If you don't want Jihyo to know the name, how did you manage with the doctor? You kind of have to tell them the name, no?!"

"Yeah, that. Dr Lee knows, she swore secrecy, though. So I'm having to trust her on this."

"I'm sure Jihyo will love it."

"I think she might banish me to the couch for a while, though. That woman hates not knowing things, especially good things."

"How about you tell her of that vasectomy you want to get, then?"

"I will. Tonight I will. Just got the go ahead from my insurance today."

"That's great, then. I must admit I'm kind of sad I'm not getting any other nieces or nephews."

"You could always have another one yourself, you know?!"

"Yeah, no thanks. I already have two, and my eldest is giving me too many headaches already." She lets out a dejected sigh. "How I wish Mina would be little forever, that way I wouldn't have to fend off the boys and girls that will come running after her."

"Trust me, Sana will chase them all away if she so much dreams that Mina felt uncomfortable."

"I really don't want to consider chasing my niece away, though." Nayeon chuckles, a little dryly. "Don't test me, Jae, I will fend her off when it comes to Minnie."

"Wouldn't expect anything less from you." Jaebum stands up. "Now, let's get going, Jihyo will not hesitate to kill us both if we aren't back in time for dinner."

Nayeon couldn't help the knot in her throat, the tears that were threatening to fall but she had been fighting to keep inside, the warmth in her heart and the loving smile that spread across her face. This was something she missed, just being with her brother, no need to have any plans or anything to do, just be in each other's presence. She noticed it was something she had been missing even before her fit, they hadn't done this since she entered highschool and her parents talked her into believing she was supposed to use her time to make connections and place herself within the ones they deemed important.

Now this was something she could get used to.