I only own my OCs.
Spoken English is underlined.
I've been too hasty lately.
"How much longer until we're at the airport?" I asked our driver. Hopefully, Suyuri wouldn't argue with a ride from the airport. I still needed to find a place for her to stay. Could she stay at our mansion? Would that be asking for trouble?
"Around 20 minutes miss." He assured me. 20 minutes for me to think of a plan; now that my initial plan was starting. There wasn't any turning back now.
My worries have kept me from thinking straight, but it's hard to know what the right choice is when you're quickly running out of them. Despite my confidence in the success of my plan, I wasn't sure it was the right one.
The documents Ootori Akito gave me confirmed my suspicions- Soo Jin or Suyuri is our half-sister. The rest of the story I gleaned from emails that were saved on my father's drive.
Our father, apparently, had a heart when he was younger and was a romantic. His parents had sent him abroad for university, Yale to be precise, in order for him to meet his future bride. Instead, he met Kwan Jin Ae, a pretty but penniless Korean woman who had high ambitions for herself.
They fell in love according to the email threads I found. I think Father was truly in love with her to have saved all their correspondence. However much in love he was with her, he was also practical. He arranged for her to find work with a good company in South Korea and worked in his family's South Korean branch while his marriage was being finalized.
Maybe he was trying to build up her reputation, or maybe he felt bad knowing what was going to happen next. He married our biological mother, but not before arranging to keep seeing Jin Ae who seemed to be under the impression that he would divorce our mother to marry her.
Unsurprisingly he didn't. Once she told him she was pregnant, he all but disappeared. He sent her money but didn't fly out to see her. I suppose he realized that he should have at least made sure he had legitimate heirs before having illegitimate ones. After we were born, he began seeing her again and moved her and Soo Jin/Suyuri back to Japan.
Our biological mother died while he was with her. He stayed away again; remarried another woman three years later that wasn't her and she finally had enough and told him to leave her alone.
He did until my siblings were kidnapped. This time she came to see him and wrote him a proposal- one that he did act on.
Suyuri would inherit everything if we were ever deemed unfit or absent. The lawyer I had looked over the paperwork I found concluded the same thing I did. Our father had a spare if we all turned out to be disappointments.
Jin Ae was supposed to use the money she was sent to give Suyuri the best schooling and to train her, much like we were being trained and she did for a time. Then she moved back to South Korea and met someone else. She married and had Min Hee, and then tragically, her husband died. Jin Ae died about a year ago and left everything to her eldest daughter.
Suyuri quit school to raise her sister and to my knowledge, father hasn't even tried to communicate with his past lover in the past 5 years. He gets periodic updates from the South Korean branch on Suyuri, but from what I can tell he hasn't done anything with it.
But I did realize that several things lined up with my father's rages. When my siblings disappeared, he went to her. When she died, he made us all come back to Japan.
He's been deeply unhappy ever since they moved to South Korea and he's been drinking more and more since Jin Ae died.
Our mother, his legal wife, has done her best to stay away; she's content to be left alone. Her agreement with our father is that as long as she's allowed to work on her own projects, she doesn't care what he does. I think he had planned to divorce her at one point; he had some email chains going with a famous divorce attorney but after we all scattered to other parts of the globe he stopped.
Ben asked what good it would be if we told Suyuri all of this.
I have a rather stupid plan.
First, I needed to know if she was loyal to my father. I wasn't sure how Jin Ae raised her daughter to think of her father. It turns out she also thought it wise to keep his identity a secret.
Second, I needed to know how good of an option she would be as an heir. Going off her work performance and grades, she seems like she would be decent but would she even want that?
Third, if she wasn't loyal to Father and didn't seem like a good option I wanted to convince her to work with us.
She's listed as a possible heir only in the case of father dying. If we forced his hand and made her existence known along with the will, we may be able to convince the board that he's not in his right mind to be leading the company.
Father has been erratic lately, buying into industries that we have no firm footing in and expanding our empire without maintaining the companies we started with. He made a lot of progress with his marriages, they had firmly established businesses, but he's trying to buy up suppliers related to our businesses and that's been...well, it's been largely successful but it's also irresponsible. For everything he perceives as a personal slight, he goes to war with the supplier.
The stupid part of the plan is to make everything go wrong at once. Get my marriage agreement in jeopardy; somehow make the Suohs find another candidate that's more attractive than me. Leak documents that will sow discord with the board of directors; make them aware of some of my father's hasty purchases. Finally and most dangerously, get evidence of my father's drunkenness; showing that he's a danger to himself and others.
Hopefully, I can do that without harm to me or the people I care about.
The best-case scenario would be to have Kyle lead while we went to college. He'd never agree and I could never ask him to do that. Not after he's sacrificed so much for our family at the expense of neglecting his.
So the plan is to destroy his reputation without imploding the company. So easy, right?
Even if the board were to oust my father, they'd pick an adult to lead the company. That's why I have been trying to gain support with our overseas branches. I wanted assurances that after college I could be considered for a leading role in our companies. There are branches of the company the board can't touch; our mother's spas and salons and our biological mother's industry (mostly pharmaceuticals) that will continue to give us a profit from the trust the earnings have been placed in. Her family took back control of them but gave us a generous nest egg for when we turned 25.
It's why I had been trying to secure my siblings' futures in case we lost everything.
If Ben gets signed by a professional team, he'll have another source of income and he may not even need the company.
Suzette has been slowly winning the praise of Hitachiin Fashions, I have no doubt Yuzuha would take Suzette under her wing and provide opportunities for her.
Sakura is going to be married to Mori after they graduate from university. His family already loves her as their own and would also do anything to protect her.
Susanna is talented enough that she'll land on her feet, plus again the Hitachiin family would take care of her.
It would take me a while, but I have confidence I would be fine if everything fell apart.
But Suyuri? I wish I had a better plan than I'd try to help her.
It's a stupid, reckless plan but I don't have a better one. I could have used the Suoh's influence to take over my father's company but my heart won't let me hurt Haruhi and Tamaki like that.
"Miss? We're here." The driver's voice jolted me from my musings.
"Thank you, please park and wait for me here. I shouldn't be too long." And I was no closer to figuring out where to put Suyuri and Min Hee. To our mansion they go then; I highly doubted Suyuri brought enough to stay at a hotel and father has been monitoring my spending lately.
I waited until he fully parked until I stepped out of the vehicle. Hopefully, Suyuri wouldn't mind too much that I came to pick her up despite her protests. The airport was bursting with people and I scanned the crowd looking for the two people I was expecting.
It's times like these that I wished I had someone other than Kyle to bounce ideas off of. A partner to confide in.
Thinking of partners made me think of Kyoya- my so-called business partner. He has been a big help with securing some vendors for sustainable packaging for our salon's care products. In exchange, I helped him get some medical equipment shipped for a reduced fee.
I could tell he has plans of his own to gain control of his family's business despite being the third son.
Memories of Haruhi and Tamaki telling me that I should ask him for help unhelpfully replayed in my mind. The thought of asking him for help irked me.
Somehow he always knew when I felt the most vulnerable and it unnerved me- like when he took me to dinner before I got the results that Akito gave me. He noticed too much for my comfort.
A short child in a bright pink shirt caught my eye; she reminded me of Min Hee but upon closer inspection, it wasn't her.
I needed to keep an eye out for her. I readjusted my face mask and hoped there weren't any celebrity photographers. Ever since my stunt at The Red Room, they had been following me; apparently, the tabloids thought Kyoya and I made "a handsome pair".
I scoffed, while still trying to spot the pair. If only they knew how insufferable he was.
Finally, my efforts were rewarded and I saw a nervous-looking Suyuri grasping her sister's hand as they struggled to maneuver their luggage through the crowd.
Ready or not, it was time.
(Suzette's POV)
Me and my big mouth.
While I texted Kyle to ask where our sister was, Stephen kept pestering me about what I knew. And while I guessed correctly, I don't think Sara would appreciate knowing that I unintentionally let her secret slip to our brother.
And after everything we've been through, I can't lie to him.
"Ben, please." I hold up a hand. "Look, I don't want to lie to you but trust me when I say that I can't tell you. It's not my place and you made me think the worst when you came rushing in here and pulled me away from lunch."
His lips twist into a frown. "That's a sorry excuse and you know it."
"I can't." It's physically painful for me to watch his expression shift from annoyance to worry. The truth is not going to help.
Plus I could not believe that Sara and Stephen went to South Korea and had met with our possible half-sister and didn't think to tell me. While I knew I was busy in Milan with Hitachiin-sama, they could have found the time to fill me in.
"You kept secrets from me too." I pointed a finger at him accusatorially. "If it wouldn't raise questions, I would insist on us leaving and going home right now."
Before he would respond, my cell phone rang. I quickly picked up the phone. "Yes, hello?"
"Suzette, thank goodness you answered." Kyle's voice sounded tired. "So Stephen told you?"
"Yes, he did and he's standing right next to me if you want to tell us both why you called." I turned the phone away from my mouth to tell my brother "It's Kyle."
He rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. "Let's hear it then."
"Sure why not, it'll be easier to tell you both at once." I placed him on speakerphone and looked around the balcony before realizing I should have checked our surroundings before doing that.
"Sara is picking up Suyuri from the airport. I think she means to have her stay at your house; I'm thinking we can say she's an exchange student that won a prize from your company. I can say the hotel fell through and Sara offered her a room with us since she's bringing her sister and I have my kids to play with her."
"That's not a terrible lie." I mused.
Stephen's frown deepened. "But it's not a great one either."
"So what? Sakura and Susanna are too wrapped up in their own lives to question it." I shrugged. "I think it could work."
"If you have a better excuse I'd love to hear it."
"I don't." My brother grumbled. "That doesn't mean I love this suggestion. What is Sara thinking?"
"Probably oh shit oh shit what have I done?" I meant it as a joke, but I couldn't make the effort to lighten my tone. What was our sister thinking? If she wanted to keep this a secret from our father, she shouldn't be bringing them to our home.
"I don't know. She's been a little, well, a lot actually secretive with her thought process. But ultimately, I trust your sister. I'm just here to make it work. It would help if you mentioned it casually to your sisters, Suzette."
I nodded. "I'll mention it to them." Stephen was still sporting a frown, my poor pouting brother. "You're not great at subtle hints brother dear."
"I'm good enough." He shook his head, "But I'll leave this to you. And don't think I'm going to forget about the other thing."
"What other thing?" Kyle demanded. "What else is going on today?"
"Nothing." I cut off my brother's attempt to speak with a glare. "Just school things. Do you know if Sara will be back at all today?"
"I'm guessing she won't be. Don't let any of your Host Club friends over either, Stephen. I hear they're prone to checking in on your family at inconvenient times."
He scoffed, "I'm not an idiot you know."
"No, but you don't redirect them well either," I said, trying to say it as kindly as possible. "Just don't mention anything to them. And as much as I hate to say it, we should leave Sara alone for now. If this is part of her plan, I can't follow it and I don't want to interfere...for now."
"See, this is why I like you, Suzette. So level-headed." I could hear the smile in Kyle's voice. It made me feel...proud? His approval meant a lot these days; after working with him more closely I realized why Sara kept him around. Not only was he smart, but he was encouraging and gave good guidance. I was learning a lot from him and while our businesses never interested me before, I had a greater appreciation for the work that went into them and now I cared a lot more about how the department stores were run.
Stephen made an indignant sound that I can only describe as something between a gasp and a wail. I tried to keep myself from giggling, by saying "Save it for the pitch."
The murderous glare I got in return was so worth it. This time I did laugh and from the phone, I could hear coughing. I knew I was hilarious.
"How was your scout call the other day?" Kyle asked. "Are they any closer to offering you a deal?"
Stephen held his glare for a moment longer before answering, "My agent says that Arsenal's U-18 team is interested, but hasn't made a firm offer yet. Right now the club team offers I'm getting are below the Premier League level and my agent thinks I should be aiming for at least Premier academy level playing. The training camp definitely helped but when I took that break I got rusty. I need to practice more and play more competitive teams than Ouran's league has to offer."
"Hmm. Let's see where Japan's U-18 team trains." Kyle said. "Is your agent Japanese or English?"
"English."
"That may be why they're just waiting to see. Great pull though, they must see a lot of promise in you. If you'll let me, I think I can figure out how to get you to play with more competitive teams here."
"That...would be brilliant thanks." My brother's sour look dissolved into one of surprise. "I was looking into it, but I was distracted by this nonsense."
"You guys need to rely on others more. Your father may have spies but he's not omnipotent. Don't be like your sister; I'm here and I can vet others to work with you all. You don't have to do things alone."
I nodded, remembering how he encouraged Yuzuha-sama to come to me with the Milan opportunity. "We will. You've done so much for us, Kyle. We are so grateful for your help."
"Aww, I'm blushing! I'd burst if Stephen admitted he was also loving having me here too."
"Not on your life, but I thank you for your help. Sara looks much more rested when you're around." Frowning, he added. "And somehow you never lose energy."
"Your sister has a problem with delegating, I don't. It saves me a lot of sleep. Take your football problem: I know absolutely zero about Japanese soccer, but I also know if an English team is interested in you, then there's no way the Japanese national program wouldn't be interested in you too. Which means you're about to have two agents; I'll interview them on your behalf while you're in school and if I think they're worth your time I'll arrange a meeting for you. I can even come if you want."
"I'll take you up on that offer." Stephen's crossed arms loosened ever so slightly and I couldn't help but beam at my brother. He worked so hard and I was thrilled that he was going to use Kyle's help to his advantage instead of being proud and trying to do it himself.
"Bon!" I clapped my hands, as best as I could while holding my phone. "Now, our lunch break is almost over. Do you think you can have some agents for us to meet by the end of the week?"
"Us?" Stephen repeated along with Kyle.
I nodded firmly, "Yes, us. If we're trusting another person to work with you we need to actually trust them. I want to hear about who will represent you."
"Fine, meddlesome sister." He tugged at my hair. "Does the end of the week work for you, Kyle?"
"Yep, totally doable." He said in English.
The bell chime alerted me to the time. "We do have to go, thanks Kyle!"
"Bye!"
(Susanna's POV)
I pursed my lips as I half-paid attention to Suzette's gushing over her newest creation and the sketch in front of me. I wasn't pleased with it and usually I preferred to dedicate my full concentration to my projects but when Suzette came into the art studio I realized that I hadn't been spending as much time with her.
The fountain sketch I did with Kaoru was turning out great, but I was never fully satisfied with how I captured his face. He's almost too dreamy to fully appreciate on paper so I always ended up taking too long on the details of his eyes and his mouth; he does this super cute twist of his lips when he's laughing where one side is higher than the other and-
I sighed happily and put down my paintbrush. "How wonderful."
"It is, isn't it?" Suzette nodded firmly. "It's like that contest our company has; shame about the hotel situation though."
Oh no, maybe I wasn't paying as much attention to her as I thought. "Yeah, a terrible shame."
My sister raised an eyebrow. "You know about the hotel losing the reservation of the contest winner?"
"Yes?" My voice squeaked. Both her eyebrows shot up and she inclined her head towards me; her blue eyes sparkling with amusement. She caught me so what was the point of lying? I threw my hands up in the air, "Fine, fine! I didn't know; I lost track of the conversation. I'm sorry, I was thinking about how to finish this project and I-" I shrugged, bringing my shoulders almost up to my ears and smiled helplessly, "-My mind wandered. Can you forgive me?"
Suzette shook her head and laughed, "Oh Anna. You have it bad."
Giggling, I put down my paintbrush and leaned over to her, whispering conspiratorially, "So so bad." I squealed and spun my chair around, holding myself as if all the joy would escape me if I didn't hold it in. When my chair faced her again, I put my hands on the table to stop it. "But I am sorry I wasn't listening very well. What is this about a contest winner?"
Suzette shook her head again, but she was still smiling. "Oh never mind, I'm sure someone will figure it out. Tell me about how everything is going. It must be going very well because I never see you and when I do, your latest project usually features a certain someone~"
I nodded. "So good. After Italy, I feel rejuvenated! And he's my muse. We're trying to be careful and I'm trying not to use him as my model but then I realized if I use him as my model maybe that's a good cover for why we're spending so much time together. But then-"
The lack of colors on my canvas told a different story; I was so distracted by my secret boyfriend that I wasn't finishing as fast as I normally would. While I loved having him as the subject of my projects, I really needed to focus on finishing them.
"Then what?" Suzette covered her hand with mine, looking concerned for the first time. "Are you worried?"
I shook my head causing pieces of my hair to fall out of my braid. "Oh darn." I reached up and tucked some back behind my ear. "My hair."
"I'll rebraid it for you." Suzette offered with a bright smile. "I miss spending time with you. I feel like I've been so busy lately. If I'm distracting you, I can go."
"No!' I grasped her hands and nearly pulled her over the table with my sudden enthusiasm. "Please stay! Maybe we can sketch together like we used to. I want you here, but I do need to concentrate on finishing this. It's due in two days and I've barely finished the initial sketching."
Suzette slowly retracted from my hands and laughed again. "Okay, Anna. First the braid and then our sisterly sketching time." She paused as if she just thought of something. "You don't think they'd use our house as a last resort, do you?"
"Who?" I asked, losing track of the conversation. Though this time I didn't think it was my fault for not listening.
"That contest winner. Didn't they used to use the second mansion for things like this?"
"Oh, the one that lost a hotel reservation." I frowned as I mused it over. It would be inconvenient to have another person stay with us while Kyle and his family were already there. "Hopefully not. Shouldn't our company have better resources than to use our home for something like this? I'm sure they'll find another solution."
Apparently, our company is terrible about finding other solutions.
When Suzette, Sakura, and I arrived home we were greeted by an extra two place settings at the dinner table.
Kyle cleared his throat as he introduced Suyuri and her younger sister Min Hee as our temporary guests while the hotel situation was being figured out. I hmphed as quietly as I could while Sakura, being the polite hostess she was graciously bowed to our guests and welcomed them.
Suzette elbowed me in the side as she welcomed them and invited them to eat with us.
Sara, well, she looked exhausted. "I'm sorry about your hotel again. I hope our home will be accommodating enough for you and Min Hee-san."
Our guest looked very uncomfortable as she held her sister to her side. "Thank you."
"Our chef cooks really well." I offered her a smile. "And we recently got a playroom for our other guests, I'm sure Min Hee would be welcome to play there."
Julia nodded vigorously. "Yes, of course! Mia is a little younger than Min Hee but she would love a playmate." She turned to her eldest daughter and said something in English that made the red-headed girl nod excitedly.
"You're all so kind, thank you." Suyuri bowed her head to us. "We'll try to stay out of your way as much as possible."