CHAPTER 18: CLIMAX

An hour later we found each other sitting side by side on the white Rolls-Royce’s back seat while the driver was asking why we suddenly wanted to visit the summer villa in the middle of autumn, and on top of that, on a school day. Bin quickly explained we had a day off because we had a group project and that we would do the project at the villa. Clever of him, kind of. I felt myself trembling with fear and nervousness the whole ride. I had no idea what was waiting for us at our destination, and I regretted promising to come with Bin. But if I couldn’t prevent him from going, I needed to at least go with him. I didn’t want to live in unconsciousness. Bin seemed to notice my trembles and placed his hand on top of mine.

“We will be alright”, he whispered. I wanted to believe him but I could hear the hesitance in his voice. I took a deep breath and looked out of the window.

I stared at the landscapes rushing past us, the car leaving them behind. I wished I could leave all of this mess behind and start anew. Of course I knew that wasn’t possible. I usually wasn’t the type of person to avoid trouble, but this situation might have been a little bit too big for me. I glanced at Bin, who was nervously throwing his phone from one hand to other. I raised my eyebrows. It might be wise to inform Minhyuk’s father at this point so that the police could send some backup for us before it was too late. I took my phone from my pocket and was about to call him, but then realized the driver would hear everything. He would probably realize the whole situation and turn around right away. I frowned a little bit before changing the plan and writing him a message, including the villa’s address. I felt a bit more comfortable as the message was sent. Now we didn’t have to be completely on our own. The reply came quickly.

What you’re doing is extremely dangerous. I recommend you return home immediately. The police will take care of this.

I sighed and locked the phone. I didn’t want to reply. Going back home wasn’t an option for Bin, so it wasn’t an option for me either. I turned to look at him and we exchanged sad, worried looks before I rested my head against his shoulder and closed my eyes, trying to calm down.

After about an hour we arrived at the villa. I stared at the big house with widened eyes – it wasn’t as huge as their actual house, but this one looked like the mansions you see in historical TV series. I couldn’t admire the sight for long though, as Bin rushed to the door right away and I had to follow him. I saw a black sports car parked next to the driver’s Rolls-Royce and I immediately knew it was Mr. Moon’s. He had really been in hurry to escape, seeing that he had used the car by himself and not used a driver.

We entered the house and I couldn’t not notice the stuffed animals all around the house. I had never liked them, they made everything seem so creepy – like the animals would jump off the shelved any moment and attack us. Their eyes looked like they were following us as we walked through the house, looking into every room we passed by, searching for Mr. Moon and Sunhee.

“Are you sure they’re still here?” I whispered as we reached the second floor, and still hadn’t even heard a sound.

“They have to be here”, Bin said through his teeth, glaring around. “Dad’s car was in front of the house.”

I sighed and looked around. Then I suddenly heard a muffled scream and a thump. I turned to look at Bin and we nodded at each other, walking further into the hallway, getting closer to a room that’s door was slightly open. Bin glanced into the room and letting out a sigh, pushed the door open.

“Why did you come here?” he asked.

“To spend some quality time with your mother”, I heard Mr. Moon’s voice reply from inside the door.

Bin’s hands clenched into fists. “By hitting her?”

“That’s none of your business”, the man said quietly.

Bin glanced at me and motioned me to stay where I stood, and then stepped into the room. I stepped closer to the room so that I could see what was happening from the small gap in between the door and the doorframe. I almost gasped at the sight. Sunhee was sitting in the floor, covering with her hand, clearly crying, all bruised. She had also injured her knee, probably while falling down on the floor.

“How dare you?” Mr. Moon hissed and slapped the back of Bin’s head. “How dare you betray me? There were police at the company, asking about me. Do you want to ruin your own future by turning your back on me?”

Bin frowned and grabbed his father’s wrist, stopping him from hitting his head anymore. “If I stay loyal to you, I might find myself turning into someone like you.”

Mr. Moon stared at his son, looking unbelieving and shocked. Then his expression darkened and he pulled his hand back from Bin’s grab. “I should’ve left you in that orphanage. You’re just as useless as your mother. She was just a lying who ripped me off some money and then ran away when I tried to get it back.”

I saw the rage forming in Bin’s eyes. Oh, if only looks could kill – he might have killed his father long time ago in that case. Mentioning his biological mother seemed to snap him out of his sanity and he let out a groan and rushed towards the man, punching him in the face once. I stared at the scene with widened eyes, feeling my knees shake and my breaths becoming shaky and unstable. I was terrified.

Mr. Moon was frozen in his place; he must’ve been just as shocked as I was. He stared at his adopted son for a while before sighing and then turning to look at Sunhee.

“My dear wife”, he said with a scarily soft voice. “Could you hand me the brass knuckles form the table?”

I let out a gasp. Was he going to beat his son into his death? I couldn’t let that happen. Without thinking, I gathered my braveness – and stupidity – and rushed into the room, letting out a loud disagreement. I stared at both Mr. Moon and Bin, and I believe I got twice the amount of stares back at me.

“You brought her here?” the CEO asked and chuckled. “Ryu Minji, was it? I heard you’re the one who told the police. You put me in a bad situation. Sunhee, bring me the brass knuckles, now.”

I stared in panic as Sunhee got up from the floor, looking very dispirited and submissive, and walked to the table. I felt like crying. She had been so sure about winning against her husband just a few days ago! How could she be this discouraged now? I couldn’t believe it. She took the brass knuckles from the table and walked back to her husband. I looked at Bin, who looked just as upset as I did, and he clearly couldn’t get a word out of his mouth. The only mother he knew, the only one in the family that he cared about, was now helping the bad guy to beat him up.

“Sunhee!” I cried out. “Don’t do this!”

She glanced at me with a hurtful expression. “You don’t tell me what I’m going to do.”

The words sent cold shivers down my spine. What the hell was she doing? Had she been brainwashed or something? This wasn’t the Sunhee I knew. She took one last step closer to her husband, handing the brass knuckles to him. Then she flashed a small, sad smile.

“You know…” she whispered with a shaky voice. “I’m pregnant. And I want the baby to be safe.”

The next sound that I heard was a clang from metal dropping on the floor. I stared at Sunhee. She had taken off her wedding ring and thrown it to her husband’s face. And now it was lying on the wooden floor, abandoned. Mr. Moon stared at her with a shocked expression for a while – not to mention Bin, and me myself, were doing the same. I felt proud under all the fear; she hadn’t given up after all!

“You…” the man said, voice shaking with hatred. “What do you think you’re doing?”

“I’m divorcing you, that’s what I’m doing”, Sunhee hissed at the man’s face.

“You ”, Mr. Moon yelled. “Do you think you can get away from me?”

At that moment Bin got enough, he grabbed the brass knuckles from his father and placed them on his own hand instead, and before anyone could react in any way, he had punched his adoptive father and the man had lost his balance for a moment. Sunhee let out a surprised yelp and ran next to me. I wrapped my arms around her shoulders, assuring her she was going to be alright.

“Do you get it now?” Bin asked. “How it feels to be beaten? I’m never going to do this.”

He threw the weapon out of the room, and while doing so, his attention was elsewhere so Mr. Moon had an opportunity to rush towards his adopted son and pay back, punching him into the face, then into the stomach, and while Bin fell down, he started kicking him.

“Who do you think you are to defy me?” the man yelled.

I stared at the scene, terrified by the sounds the kick and punches made, and wanted to do something – but what? I glanced at Sunhee who looked close to fainting. I sat her down against the wall and told her to stay there. Then I started looking around in the room. There were some swords hanging on the walls as decorations. I glanced at Mr. Moon who was immersed in beating up his son, and one glance at Bin’s bloodied face was enough for me to get a sudden adrenaline rush. I grabbed one of the decoration swords and ran towards the man, and hit it against his neck with all the power I had.

The sword wasn’t sharp so it didn’t cut, but it must’ve hurt anyway as the man let out a groan and lost his balance for a second. He turned around, glaring at me. Right then, I almost regretted doing what I had done, because I had no idea what to do next. The man started approaching me, step by step, and my natural reaction was to back away. His hateful glare got me captivated in fear, and I felt the sword slide from my hand, falling on the floor.

My back hit the wall and I was sure the man would hit me any moment. I started shaking and felt my knees go weak again. I wanted to close my eyes and scream, but I knew that wouldn’t help me at all. I took a deep breath. There was no escaping from this situation. I flinched as the man raised his fist, preparing to hit me. But right then Bin rushed from behind him and kicked him in the back, making the man fall down on the floor. I stared at Bin, who was barely able to stand, swaying from side to side. He looked so weak and vulnerable.

From that moment, everything became foggy and dreamlike. The door was kicked in, the police rushed into the room and Mr. Moon was pressed against the floor and handcuffed, while I saw Minhyuk’s father rush into the room, calling me by my name and looking extremely relieved as he saw I wasn’t injured.

“Minji!” his voice echoed in my ears. “Do you feel alright?”

I managed to nod as a reply. I wasn’t sure why I felt like this, like I was floating. Maybe I was in some sort of trance or shock. My eyes wandered to the other side of the room, where Bin was making sure Sunhee was alright, hugging her and calming the crying woman down. I needed a hug too. I heard his name leave my lips and he turned to look at me. He slowly got on his feet and still swaying from side to side, walked up to me. I was the one who pulled him into a hug. I could feel my clothes getting stained by his blood but I didn’t care. I hugged him tightly, but still carefully because I couldn’t know if he had any broken bones. I felt myself sniffing against his chest. Bin slowly backed away from the hug, placed his hands around my face and leaned in to kiss me. I was waiting for the kiss, but almost got a heart attack as his lips only touched my cheek before he collapsed, losing his consciousness.

“Bin!” I cried out as he fell on his side to the floor. “Bin, wake up!”

I looked around in the room full of policemen. “Somebody help!”

My brain seemed to stop functioning as I saw ambulance men rushing to us, putting Bin onto the stretcher and carrying him away. I felt my legs betraying me and myself falling down on the floor. I just looked around me in a trance. Everything was like in a slow-motion movie. I saw how the police walked Mr. Moon out of the room, out of the house, and I was left alone with Minhyuk’s father who kneeled down to take me on his arms and carry me out. I looked at him. Was it over?