one

The crowds screamed and chanted,

People from all around the world knew her name, she was loved by them, these strangers.

The feeling of love and admiration to hate and disgust.

"Miss. Han, it's time for breakfast."

The Korean-French girl opened her eyes, seeing a young woman standing before her, one of the Han Family's Maids, Yejin. Assigned to Jia, by her grandmother, who'd rather she have someone closer to her age to be of help adjusting to Korea. Yejin was hired at a young age due to her family's financial difficulties, so the girls were only a few years apart.

Jia was adopted into The Han Family at the age of 6, she couldn't remember life before the adoption. Her native French language stuck with her, as she had to learn Korean, now fluent. She learned many languages while living with the Hans, it was a privilege to be able to learn so much within a wealthy family.

Jia knew many musical instruments and was very talented in other arts such as singing, dance, and acting. After all, she made a career out of them. Most of Korea knew who she was, and she held a strong international fanbase. The girl was known to be 'Korea's It Girl.'

"Can I have another hour?"

Smiling down at the younger girl,

"Mr. And Mrs. Han are expecting you downstairs in 5 minutes. It's best to not make them wait."

"Just a few minutes."

They both knew that she wouldn't leave her bed anytime soon without force. Yejin ripped the covers off and grabbed the girl's ankles, pulling on her tall and frail body.

"Please, I just need a few more minutes."

"You don't have a few minutes,"

"I'm so tired..."

"I know, I'm sorry. It's their orders."

Jia threw her feet onto the floor, yelping at how cold it was, she quickly slid on her house shoes. Quickly stretching, she held onto Yejin, expecting to be carried into the dining area.

"Jia, I can't carry you. I am too weak and it is not on my list of things to do within my job..."

The girl continued to hug the maid, walking to the dining room where her grandparents were seated waiting for her arrival. They watched as their youngest grandchild acted childish with her maid. Doyun and Eungyeong were used to their granddaughter's behavior, they thought it added character and life to the quiet home.

"Thank you, Yejin. I love you."

The maid laughed at the girl, her cheeks flustered. Eungyeong waved the woman off once she placed Jia onto her seat across from the couple.

"Good morning grandma, grandpa."

They replied with their greetings.

Eungyeong is a stern woman, it seemed that she had a soft spot for Jia. Whereas she'd discipline anyone and anytime, only thought about her well-being, Jia was like her sign to become a better person. Although she had 4 children and 6 grandchildren of her own, excluding Jia, they'd not been up to her standards. She still loved them to some point, but Jia held her unconditional love despite not being of blood. It upset her that she could not leave everything she owned to the girl, instead having to follow traditions and give to her blood. She would leave her precious granddaughter something special if it couldn't be everything.

Doyun is an outgoing and less stern man, who also held a soft spot for the youngest of the family. He allowed Jia to be spoiled rotten as she grew up, thankfully she didn't become rotten, but she did become spoiled. The man had already been labeled a perfect citizen by the public eye of Korea as he was a star much like Jia when he was her age, by the early 2000's he called it quits. He was very fair, loving every member of his family his will had already been set and established, without speaking of it with anyone besides his lawyer. He made sure his family all had good fortune coming to them.

Before any more words were exchanged, the chefs brought out breakfast for the family. Eggs, pancakes, sausages, and beignets. They were Jia's favorite foods, and Doyun requested specifically for his granddaughter's favorite foods this morning. As it was a special occasion today.

"Beignets! I love these."

Jia grabbed one as they were being sat down in front of her on the table. Eungyeong smiled at the girl's actions, if they were in public she would've disciplined her and the in-house workers were paid well to not say anything to the media, or else there would be issues for their employees.

"Thank you!"

Jia thanked the chefs for making her favorites, she dipped them down in a sauce and then took a decent-sized bite. The head chef gave her a forced smile, which hid his disgusted expression at her existence.

Once they left the room, Eungyeong struck up a conversation with the girl, "Jia, are you busy today?"

The girl swallowed the last piece of her beignets, drinking a glass of orange juice to wash it all down before responding,

"I'm meeting up with my friends. Did you want to hang out today? I can make time for you."

"Oh, will you be available for dinner?"

"Yes, where should we go?"

"Your grandfather and I will wait for you at your favorite restaurant, at 7?"

The girl agreed with her, "Okay, I will be there."

"Finish up your food, take your time."

Jia smiled at them as she immediately grabbed more food onto her plate, the pancakes were soft and fluffy. They tasted the best once drowned in syrup...

Let's just say that they left a smile on the girl's face for the entire day.

Meanwhile, in a hotel, somewhere in Korea.

The Carter Family arrived in the country that morning. It had been a month since they found their daughter, and it was a struggle to get in touch with her. She was adopted into a family with connections and heavy security. The Carters did not have many connections to Korea, besides one, which helped them a lot to meet their only daughter.

She'd been under an Entertainment Company, which's CEO had been aquatinted with a good friend of theirs. Phone numbers and emails were exchanged plenty until The Carter's had got in touch with Julia's family she'd been adopted into. It was scheduled for tonight that they would meet her for the first time in 17 years.

The Carter Brothers were all very young since they last saw their sister, especially Ian and James, they were only 1 and 2 at the time. The two boys only knew what they were told about her within her 8 months of living with them, which was not much. Ezra, who was 6 at the time, had a very faint memory of her, he only recalls that she wasn't very loud and enjoyed the music. Cameron and Eugene were 8, and they remembered the most of her, Always waiting until she was found again to reclaim the missing memories they couldn't make together as siblings.

Mina, the mother of the kids, had slowly been recovering from her depressed state of losing a child. She kept herself together for 17 years to be a great mother to her other 5 children, now she could finally have her daughter back if The Han Family were considerate. She watched videos and admired pictures of Julia within the past month, her child had found her passions at such a young age and was able to live happily with a nice family to whom she was very grateful for raising such a beautiful young lady.

Elijah, the father of the children, had slowly been recovering from his enraged state of losing a child. He never bothered to keep himself together for 17 years for his other 5 children, as the years passed by he lost much of his sanity. He loved his family and never wanted any harm to come to them. The disappearance of his daughter led to him becoming more strict on his sons, removing them from the public eye to teach and train them himself when he was not at work. Eventually, Mina convinced him to allow the boys back into the public eye, as she noticed how depressed they'd become. Their only friends were each other and their cousins whom they saw once or twice a year. Elijah also was grateful to the family that raise his daughter, yet envious that it was them and not his.

While Elijah and the boys, did not know much Korean, Mina guided them around with Ian to help. South Korea was Mina's Home country, now she was a citizen of the US.

The Carters arrived at the restaurant 30 minutes before 8, reporters waiting outside of the door of the building. They managed to slip past them, as they were not whom they were waiting for. Upon entering, they spotted their host, The Han Family.

"I told you this was a good time to arrive."

Eungyeong told her husband in English, poking his arm while smiling at the Carters.

"Of course, my love."

"Thank you for allowing us to see my sister." Said Eugene, bowing to them with respect. One of the few things he'd learned while traveling over the seas.

"I would never keep family from each other, it is a human right to see family." Said Doyun, lifting Eugene from his dramatic action.

"Where is she?" Asked Cameron, who'd been quiet the entire trip, not sure of how to feel.

"She's quite busy, it's normal for her to run late."

"She's a 17-year-old girl, working isn't necessary for her at this age..." said Elijah, crossing his arms.

While Doyun didn't think anything of his tone, Eungyeong did, as she felt attacked by him.

"Jia is a talented and professional girl, she is very happy with her career. So, we let her follow her dreams...is that an issue, Mr. Carter?"

Mina smacked her husband on his back as he was being rude and hotheaded the entire trip, his behavior could jeopardize their chances of meeting their daughter.

"Of course not, I just want the best for my little girl."

Eungyeong nodded her head, "Mhm..."

"Your room is this way." A waiter said, gesturing for them to follow him.

The dining area was very modern, as the walls were white and glassy. The giant window showed them a view of the lightened-up city below them.

"Can I start you off with any drinks?" Said a waitress with broken English, trying to communicate with foreigners.

"We have another guest coming, we will wait."

The waitress left, and a conversation struck up once again.

Mina cleared her throat before speaking,

"What is Julia like?"

Doyun laughed, "She is a sweet girl, brings joy to our house ever since our kids moved out. I love her like my own."

"Not one bad bone in her, she respects her elders and takes care of everyone she meets. She isn't Korea's Sweetheart for nothing." Eungyeong smiled adding to her husband's words, that he chose to describe their granddaughter.

Ian smiled at their words, "I can't wait to see her."

Eungyeong noticed something about Ian and Jia,

"You and Jia have the same smile, how adorable."

Mina rubbed her son's shoulders, "Oh, I see it too."

Ian blushed, glad he already shared something in common with his sister. Ezra pinched his reddened cheeks, reacting to his actions with a squeak, and slapped the boys' hands away.

"In here, Miss. Han."

The Carters looked to the door, watching as a tall girl walked into the room...

She came to a pause, with a confused expression before seeing her grandparents at the end of the table,

"Ah, I thought I walked into the wrong room."

The girl laughed it off, she greeted the strangers she did not know and her grandparents. Jia took a seat next to her Grandma and a pretty woman with long, waist-length dark brown hair.

"Sorry, the girls and I were caught up with the album."

"Is it going well?" Doyun asked her.

"Yes, almost finished."

Jia looked at the strangers once again, watching them as they watched her. Their eyes looked so sad, all of them. The energy had become awkward, even Jia was unsure of what to do or say...

"...Hi, I'm Jia."

Her introduction seemed to break them out of their lost and saddened state, while the boys around her age introduced themselves first.

"Hello, My name is Ian."

"I'm James."

"Ezra."

She smiled in reply, as she looked over to the others for their introductions.

"..."

"That's Cameron, I'm Eugene."

"Hello, I'm Mira, it's so nice to meet you."

"I'm Elijah Carter, great to see you."

Jia kept her smile up despite the awkwardness,

"Nice to meet you all..."

The girl turned back to her front, staring down at her empty plate. Everything was left to The Hans, they were not sure if it was time to tell Jia the truth or not. Their baby was next to her birth family and did not know, it pained the couple to reveal what needed to be revealed. They were unknown how she would react to such a thing...

Doyun announced, "Jia, these are the Carter's. Your birth family..."

The elder man decided to rip the band-aid off, rather than just saying it now than feeling guilty later.

"Quoi? Pourquoi? Comment? Mais..."

The next minutes were silent, Jia was lost for words. The woman next to her, Mina, had tears running down her face. The boys held sad smiles on theirs, Jia wasn't very happy about the situation as they were.

"It was nice meeting you, can I leave?"

"Jia, listen to what they have to say."

"I was left in an orphanage in France, it was terrible. I'm happier than ever now, I have everything I could ever want. No words are going to change that!" The girl surprised herself at her raised voice, she did not intend to shout at her grandparents.

"Don't you ever scream at me, you hear me? Listen to what they have to say, you will leave after dinner."

"Okay, I'm sorry."

Eungyeong rubbed her granddaughter's hair, soothing the girl's nerves as they both looked at the Carters. Specifically, Elijah, who seemed to be the leader of the foreigners.

"We didn't leave you, I promise. You'd been taken from us while you were just 8 months. I have been looking for you ever since. Please, give us a chance to be a family?"

Jia felt guilty for some reason, but she couldn't trust them just yet. She met them 10 minutes ago, without a warning.

"Where is your proof that I am your daughter? Or whoever you say you are? How would I know that you aren't lying?"

Mina pulled an envelope from her bag, giving it to Jia,

"Perhaps this is enough?"

Jia accepted it with two hands, pouring the insides onto the table. DNA tests, baby photos with future references, legal information like birth certificates, and other paperwork the girl didn't understand.

"I still can't believe it. All of these can easily be faked. Grandma, Grandpa, do you trust them?"

"Your grandmother has better tuition than me, I will agree with what she says."

Jia turned to look at her grandmother, who suddenly held everyone's attention. Eungyeong glanced over the family of 7, along with Jia and Doyun. She watched the pleading eyes of the birth family of her grandchild, everything depending on what she decided for Jia to believe.

"I don't trust your family's intentions, but I will believe that you are telling the truth. Jia, what do you want to do?"

The girl glared at the documents and then closed her eyes,

"...I can't, I have a life here."

"I wish to catch up with my sister that I never got a chance to grow up with." Said Ian, who smiled at her.

Jia stared at his smile, there was something she believed, they had the same lips.

She looked at the family once again, making note of their features, "I want to as well, but..."

"Would you come with us back to America?" Elijah asked his daughter.

"No, I have a job."

"We can offer you much more than your company ever could..."

"I don't care about that, I've gotten this far on my own. I don't want anything from you."

Elijah realized that his daughter was very stubborn, as she wouldn't leave to live with her birth family even for a while.