Chapter 17

"Y/N-ssi, Im Nayeon is here." The maid said to Y/N who is just hanging out with Chaeyoung and Tzuyu in her study at home.

"Im Nayeon? Why does she keep coming to our house, aish." Chaeyoung said.

"She's been here only once, calm down." Tzuyu laughed.

"Let her in." Y/N said and the maid obeyed.

"Nayeon-ssi? What brings you here?" Y/N questioned as she welcomed her.

"Girls, can you leave the two of us alone?" Y/N asked her cousin and sister and luckily the two agreed.

"I heard that my dad came to your company yesterday." Nayeon said once the two girls left.

"News spreads fast, huh?"

"What did he want from you?"

"Nothing. I think he found out about the buildings and I'm pretty sure he'll give Jin the money." Y/N smiled.

"Really?" Nayeon smiled as well.

"Yes. Mr. Kwang called me today and said that apparently Jin has the money ready. Once I tell him to sell it, he'll sell it."

"And when will that be?" Nayeon questioned.

"Within a couple of days. I told Mr. Kwang to make the situation a bit difficult so that Jin gets stressed out."

"You're really something else, Chou Y/N." Nayeon said in admiration. Y/N really knows what she's doing.

"Is that why you came here? To ask me about my conversation with your dad?" The CEO asked.

"Yes." Nayeon lied. Well, it is partly why she came here but the main reason is she wants to find out more about Y/N especially her past. She thought that maybe there would be clues in her house.

"Is that you?" Nayeon pointed to a picture that was on Y/N's desk.

"Oh yeah that's me." Y/N said in a sad voice.

"Who are the people next to you?"

"That's Jihyo. The girl from the restaurant and those are her parents."

"You seem to be close to Jihyo. Are you two childhood friends?" Nayeon asked.

"Yeah, you can say that. That picture was actually taken about 10 years ago in front of the restaurant we went to." Y/N smiled as she remembered.

"Is that why you know the neighbourhood that well? Because your friend lived there?" Y/N already knows what Nayeon's intention is. She knows that Nayeon has been trying to dig into her past and she also knows that Nayeon couldn't find anything.

"Actually, no. The reason I know that neighbourhood so well is because I lived there as well." Y/N confessed.

"W-what?" Nayeon is confused. That neighbourhood is for middle class people. People who are way below them.

"You seem shocked." Y/N laughed. "I wasn't always rich, Nayeon-ssi. I was just a normal kid from a normal family. My mom actually comes from a poor family and my dad had just enough money to take care of us." Y/N explained. The reason why she's telling this to Nayeon is because she wants Nayeon to trust her. Telling her something about her past that not many people know will surely make Nayeon trust her a bit more.

"How did you become rich?"

"My dad attempted multiple businesses ever since I was a kid. Many of them failed and we even went bankrupt once. When I was 19 he finally started Chou Holdings and success came after that."

"Oh wow, that's quite impressive. I mean ImTech has been around for 50 years, but Chou Holdings is only six years old?"

"Yeah, we really came from the bottom." Y/N laughed. Now Nayeon gets why people always call the Chou family outcasts. Now she also understands why the Chou family acts so different than most rich people.

"How are Jihyo's parents?"

"Ow, euhm, they're not alive anymore. They died eight years ago." Y/N informed.

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that." Nayeon looked down. That must be the reason why Y/N helps out Jihyo and her grandma that much.

"Unnie?" Tzuyu knocked on the door.

"Yes, Tzuyu?"

"I'm sorry for disturbing but I need you to sign these quickly. It's the invoice of the furniture that we ordered for the office." Tzuyu handed her the invoice.

"Sure." Y/N signed them quickly and handed it back to Tzuyu.

"Thank you." Tzuyu smiled and left.

"Are you moving your office or something?" Nayeon questioned.

"Oh no, Tzuyu asked me for an office in the company. So that furniture will go there."

"Isn't she still studying?" From what Nayeon remembers, Tzuyu is still in college.

"Yeah, but she keeps asking me for work and she'll graduate next year so I thought it would be good to give her her own office."

"What if she wants to become the CEO of Chou Holdings just like you?" Nayeon is curious about this.

"Oh, I never thought about that actually." Y/N is taken aback by the sudden question. Tzuyu was only 19 when their dad got a burnout so Tzuyu wasn't a candidate to become the next CEO but now that Tzuyu is going to graduate soon and now that she's older she might want to have the same position as her older sister.

"I mean what would you do if she suddenly tells you that she wants your position?" Nayeon can see that Y/N never thought about this.

"I wouldn't say no. After all she has equally as much rights in the company as I do. I'm sure we would figure something out. She's my sister, it's my job to give her everything that she wants. If she wants to become the CEO then I'll step down if I have to." Y/N answered and Nayeon became sad upon hearing that. Y/N is such a good big sister to Tzuyu and also a great cousin to Chaeyoung. She takes care of them well and the three have a very good relationship. Nayeon never had that with Jin and she probably won't have it in the future either.

"Y/N? Oh Nayeon-ssi, you're here. I'm sorry for disturbing you guys." Y/N's mom apologized when she opened Y/N's door after knocking.

"I was about to say that dinner is ready. How about you join us Nayeon-ssi?" It would be rude to not ask.

"Oh no thank you, I should go." Nayeon rejected the offer.

"No, please have dinner with us. I won't let you go without eating." Y/N informed.

"Yeah, me neither." Mrs. Chou added.

"Well, okay." Nayeon gave in and the three went to the dining room where Chaeyoung, Tzuyu and Mr. Chou were.

"Oh Nayeon-ssi, it's nice to have you here." Mr. Chou smiled.

"Thank you for having me." Nayeon bowed lightly and she sat down next to Y/N. In front of her was Chaeyoung and the girl kept glaring at her.

"Why is she having dinner with us?" Chaeyoung asked with her mouth full.

"Because I asked her to. And don't speak with your mouth full, please." Y/N glared.

"Whatever." The girl rolled her eyes.

"Art school changed her appearance a bit but not her attitude." Tzuyu chuckled. Chaeyoung looks a bit neater now that she goes to college but her attitude is still... Well it's still rude and shitty.

"Art school?" Nayeon raised her eyebrows.

"Oh yeah, Chaeyoung started going to art school not so long ago." Y/N informed.

"You seem a bit surprised, Nayeon-ssi. Believe me we were too." Mr. Chou noticed.

"Oh no it's just, art school is..." Nayeon couldn't find the words so Chaeyoung finished it for her.

"Not for rich people like us right?" Chaeyoung asked and Nayeon nodded slowly. Nayeon knows Chaeyoung's family and they would never accept something like this so how did she start going to art school? Besides why is Chaeyoung even here and not at home? She was here last time when Nayeon came too. Nayeon is sure that there's more behind it.

"Anyways, Tzuyu do you like your new office?" Y/N's mother saved the awkward situation.

"Yeah, it's amazing. Thank you, unnie. Now I really feel like I'm part of Chou Holdings." Tzuyu smiled to Y/N.

"Of course anything for my little sister." Y/N messed up Tzuyu's hair which Nayeon found adorable.

"Yah, unnie, why do you always do that?" Tzuyu got mad.

"It's because you look cute when you're mad." Y/N laughed and her parents joined. Chaeyoung on the other hand is till glaring at Nayeon. In Chaeyoung's eyes Nayeon is just a spoiled brat that gets whatever she wants and she hates people like that. She also thinks that Nayeon is just using Y/N for the sake of her project.

The dinner continued and Nayeon was feeling uncomfortable. She doesn't even know Y/N's parents that well and it's clear that Tzuyu and Chaeyoung don't like her. Y/N saw that Nayeon was feeling uncomfortable so she held Nayeon's hand under the table and gave it a light squeeze to assure her that it's okay and that she can be comfortable. Nayeon was taken aback by Y/N's sudden action. She hates it when Y/N makes her feel butterflies in her stomach.

"I should go now. Thank you so much for having me and for the dinner." Nayeon stood up and bowed.

"No problem, Ms. Im. Come by anytime you want." Y/N's mother said.

"I'll show you out." Y/N also stood up and the two went towards the exit of the big mansion.

"Thank you for dinner." Nayeon smiled when they arrived in front of Nayeon's expensive car.

"No problem. I'm sorry if they made you feel uncomfortable. We're just not used to having guests." Y/N informed.

"That's nothing really. I was the one that came without informing first." Nayeon smiled. And for the first time it seemed to Y/N that Nayeon's smile was genuine. Y/N can see a fake smile from miles away and Nayeon always had that smile on her face but now her smile was different. It was a smile that reached her eyes and the more Y/N gets to know Nayeon the better she sees that Nayeon is putting up an act. At first she thought that it was because she's actually a brat inside and pretending to be not on the outside, but Y/N is slowly starting to realize that Nayeon is actually hurt inside.

Y/N saw the look on Nayeon's face when she was messing around with Tzuyu and laughing with her parents. It seemed like Nayeon was sad about it.

"It's okay, you can always come but I might not be at home you know. So maybe you should inform first. Unless you want to hang out with Chaeyoung and Tzuyu?" Y/N smirked.

"I don't think they would like that." Nayeon laughed and once again it seemed genuine.

"Anyways I should go now." Nayeon unlocked her car. "Call me when the buildings are sold."

"Of course, I'll let you know." Y/N nodded and Nayeon was about to enter her car but Y/N stopped her holding her arm.

"I know we're just business partners but if you ever need me for anything else then please let me know. I don't care what it is." Nayeon didn't really understand what Y/N meant by that but just nodded anyways.

Y/N watched Nayeon's car drive away and went back to the dining room.

"Why are you all looking at me like that?" Y/N asked once she got back.

"I can't believe you got so close to Im Nayeon." Chaeyoung shook her head.

"Chaeng-ie, we're just business partners."

"Y/N sit down. We need to talk." Her dad said in a serious tone and Y/N obeyed. Her dad rarely uses this tone and when he does, it means it's serious.

"What's going on?" Y/N asked.

"Can you tell us the real reason why you invested in Im Nayeon's project?"

"I already told you the reason. It's not like this is the first time we're investing in ImTech's projects. Why are you guys so surprised by this?" The CEO questioned.

"This is different, Y/N. We know there's something behind this. Why don't you share it with us? We're a family, Y/N. We shouldn't keep secrets from each other. You always say this yourself. If we want to survive as a family we should stick to each other and never keep secrets from each other." Ms. Chou reminded.

"Tzuyu told me that Mr. Im was at the company yesterday. She also said that you were talking about getting revenge on him?" Her dad raised his eyebrows and Y/N looked at Tzuyu.

"I'm sorry. I had to tell him. I just feel like you're in danger." Tzuyu worried.

"We already feel really guilty for making you do everything at the company and for taking care of this family. Whatever it is that you're struggling with please tell us, Y/N. Don't do this yourself. You have a family that's a 100% behind whatever you do." Her father said and Y/N's heart just sank at his words. They're always so supportive of her. She's very lucky to have them as her family.

"Okay, what's going on? Can someone tell me? I know I'm not part of this family but I also want to know." Chaeyoung said weakly.

"Don't you ever say that again." Y/N warned. "You are and always will be part of our family, okay?"

"Exactly." Tzuyu agreed.

"So Y/N? Will you tell us? What is it with the Im family that bothers you so much? What did they do to you for you to take revenge on them?" The man asked.

"I actually thought that you would know, but you seem like you have no idea at all. I know you didn't steal that money back then. You just plead guilty because all the evidence was pointing at you right?" Y/N asked suddenly and her father was taken aback.

"Honey, what is she talking about?" Mrs. Chou asked.

"Dad, didn't steal the money. It was a crime that someone else did. They faked evidence and made dad look guilty. Meaning he spend two years in prison for something he didn't do."

"Dad, is this true?" Tzuyu asked and he just kept quiet.

"W-why? Why would you plead guilty?" Mrs. Chou doesn't understand.

"You never looked into who actually did it, did you?" The CEO asked and he shook his head.

"Well, I did. I knew you didn't do it. I refused to believe it even though you kept telling us that you did. The ones that did this to you are Mr. Im and his son Jin." Y/N revealed. Like what was mentioned, the Chou family wasn't rich before but Mr. Chou was a smart man. He started multiple businesses but they all kept failing. It wasn't because he did it wrongly, it was because he was targeted by rich people especially by Mr. Im. Rich people in the industry couldn't stand that a poor man like Mr. Chou was becoming successful so they always managed to make all of his businesses fail. Then one day the Chou family went bankrupt and the police arrested Mr. Chou saying that he stole a lot of money. There was many evidence towards him so there was no way that Mr. Chou could escape. So he decided to plead guilty even though he wasn't.

He kept telling his family that he did do it but Y/N didn't believe it and started looking into what really happened. Soon she found out that the Im family was behind it.

"They're the reason why we kept failing. They're the reason why you spend two years in prison for absolutely nothing! They're the reason why mom got sick for God's sake!" Y/N raised her voice. Y/N's mom is actually a very smart woman but when Mr. Chou went to prison she wasn't doing well. She was at her lowest point and fell into depression soon. She's still not okay today.

"Why? Why didn't you tell us that you weren't guilty?!" Y/N's mom started crying.

"What if I told you, what would you have done? There was too much evidence that I just accepted defeat." The man sighed.

"Then why did you never look into it? Why didn't you find out who did this to you?" Tzuyu also raised her voice.

"It didn't matter anymore. I was targeted by so many people that it just didn't matter anymore..." The man said weakly.

"Is this why you want to get revenge?" Chaeyoung asked.

"It's not everything. If it was just this then maybe I could've let it slide and just ignored it but they did much worse. Jihyo..." Y/N said her friends's name weakly.

"Jihyo? What does Jihyo unnie have to do this?" Tzuyu is confused.

"After I found out that they were the ones that did this to dad, I wanted to get revenge. However that didn't go as planned. I got myself into big trouble and they were planning on killing me. Jihyo's parents found out about this and they wanted to protect me." When Y/N's dad was in prison, her mom wasn't capable of taking care of her and Tzuyu so Jihyo's parents and grandma helped them out a lot. Jihyo's parents were like Y/N's second parents, she was close to them ever since she was a kid.

"Then one day Jin was looking for the one that was threatening them all the time. They didn't know who I was or why I threatened them but they found my location. Apparently he left a message saying that he wants to meet me and talk to me. I never saw that message but Mr. Park did. So instead of telling me about it, he went to the location that Jin told me to come to along with his wife. And there Jin killed both of them thinking that they were the ones that kept messing up their plans." Y/N explained with a poker face.

"They died because of me and Jin is the one that killed them. I should have died that day! Not them! They died because of me!" Y/N yelled.

"Y/N..." Her mom cried and her dad didn't know what to say. They were all very sad when Mr. and Mrs. Park died because they were very close to them. A couple of days after their death an unknown man suddenly confessed to killing them, however Y/N knew it was not true. She found out soon after, that Jin was the one that killed them. He paid that man to confess to something that he didn't do, just to save his own ass.

"Do you know how guilty I feel ever since that happened? I can't even look at Jihyo's face because I feel so sorry towards her. I took away her parents from her. I'm the reason why she became an orphan." Y/N's tears started to flow. The guilt is really eating her up, especially at night. This happened 8 years ago, when she was 17 meaning that Jihyo was only 15 at that time. Y/N was young and stupid yet Jihyo's parents were the ones that paid for Y/N's mistakes instead of her.

"Unnie, why didn't you tell us?" Tzuyu caressed her arm as her eyes also got watery. They've never seen Y/N cry before, so seeing her cry makes them really sad.

"How can I? Two people died because of me. Because I was so fucking stupid, they died. They took care of me like their own child, they protected me and they even risked their own lives for me. In the end they died because of me." Y/N shed more tears.

"Unnie, don't blame yourself. You didn't even know they went there." Chaeyoung tried to comfort.

"I can't talk any further. I-I need to go" Y/N will break down if she keeps talking about this. She needs to escape this situation.

"Y/N, please..." Her mom pleaded but Y/N stood up and ran to her room. Chaeyoung was about to follow her but her uncle made her stop.

"We should give her some time. We'll talk about this tomorrow." He sighed and also left the scene.

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A/N: Y'all finally know why Y/N wants revenge. Do you understand why she wants revenge or do you think she's exaggerating? Please comment and vote!!