"Hello?" Taeyeon answers the call from her mother, eager to know whether she has found out more about the attempted kidnapping on her girlfriend.
The police told them that the two men involved were known thugs, part of a small local gang that made a living by extorting people and being loan sharks. Why they wanted to kidnap Tiffany is a mystery to everyone since there's no apparent link between the woman and that gang. She never even knew that they existed and told the police that they could dig all they want into her past. She has nothing to hide.
The police speculated that because Tiffany made several lifestyle magazine websites and social media accounts as the girlfriend of one of the richest businesswomen in the country—thanks to the party they attended last week—the gang probably made her a target to get money from Taeyeon.
It sounded far-fetched but not unlikely considering this gang's past activities.
Because of this, Taeyeon decided to contact her parents to ask what they know about this gang. Somehow, her gut tells her that there's more to this than just some random decision to kidnap a rich person's girlfriend for money, especially because every gang in the country knows who her parents are and should therefore be afraid instead of plotting something like this against them.
"How's Tiffany?" asks her mother.
"Shaken but okay."
"Have you left the police station?"
"Yes. Care to tell me what's really going on?"
"It's best if I tell you in person. I'll meet you at the penthouse. Will be bringing the Hwangs too."
That surprises Taeyeon. "Why? What do they have to do with this?"
"Later."
Her mother hangs up before she could reply, making her even more curious.
"What happened?" asks the woman sitting next to her.
Taeyeon shrugs, puts her phone down and looks at her girlfriend. "She'll tell us in a person. At home."
Tiffany sighs and leans her head on Taeyeon's shoulder, closing her eyes.
"Your boss gave you a day off tomorrow, right?"
"Yes."
Taeyeon holds Tiffany's hand and kisses her hair. Sorry I couldn't be there for you. I hope whatever this is, it has nothing to do with my family because if it does... I'm scared for your safety. We're not even married yet and you already had to go through so much...
For the first time, Taeyeon starts to doubt whether she could really be happy and settle down with the person she loves without constantly fearing for their lives.
When they arrive home, they find Mrs. Kim in the living room, waiting for them. Mr. and Mrs. Hwang are there with her, tensely sitting on the couch.
Tiffany takes a seat on the chair at the furthest end—keeping her distance from her parents—with Taeyeon standing next to her. She has a feeling that the couple is going to drop another bomb on her like last time so she wants to be as close to Taeyeon as possible when it happens.
"Are you alright?" Mrs. Hwang asks her daughter who simply nods.
Mrs. Kim gestures to Tiffany's father to start talking. He clears his throat and apologetically looks at his daughter. "I think we might be the reason why they tried to kidnap you," he carefully says.
"What?!" exclaims Tiffany. "What did you do this time?!"
"W-we didn't do anything!" replies her father. "But the people who took you must have thought that we still have money."
