Eight
Remnants Of The Heart
*banner by eyna2020kr
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Without even blinking, Jiyong fired the gun. Dara screamed as she saw and felt Seunghyun’s body jerked backwards. Jiyong fired another. “Nooooooooo!” Dara cried. “STOP!”
But it was as if Jiyong didn’t hear anything as he pulled the trigger for the third time, targeting Seunghyun’s hand this time as the latter tried to shoot him as well. Aiming well, Seunghyun dropped the gun to the floor as he fell down to his knees in pain. Dara immediately picked up the gun and stood over Seunghyun, hiding him from Jiyong’s view.
“No. . .” Seunghyun breathed. “Dara, step aside. . .”
With trembling hands and with tears in her eyes, she pointed the gun at Jiyong. He only smirked in return. Tilting his head to the side, he spread his arms wide, challenging her to shoot him, no, mocking her.
He was stalking towards her direction, his steps sure and confident, even arrogant at some point. Shoot him, a voice inside her head was shouting. With her tears rolling down her cheeks, all she ever did was stare at his bruised and beaten face.
“Liking what you see?” he asked. “It might be the last thing you’ll ever see in the world: my face, my sweet little traitor.”
She felt frustrated because she can’t seem to have the conscience to pull the trigger. Crying harder, she lowered her arms weakly. “Do what you want,” she said. “Just please. . . don’t hurt Seunghyun,” she begged, looking up at him. Anger flashed in his eyes that made her close her eyes and bow her head down. She held her breath as she felt the hard and cold end of the gun in her forehead. She waited, mentally preparing herself for the gun to fire and explode her head. The words I’m sorry for lying were her last thought before everything went black.
Dara’s body sagged and Jiyong let her fall to the floor with a loud thud. Seunghyun grunted, two fat tears rolling down his eyes. He was flat in his stomach as he tried to crawl towards Dara. He was both trying to reach her hand and the gun lying a few inches away from her. But then, Jiyong stepped on his wounded and blood-covered hand making him grunt in pain. Jiyong then bent down and picked up the gun. With a smirk, he whispered some words in Seunghyun’s ear, making Seunghyun’s eyes widened in disbelief.
Satisfied with Seunghyun’s reaction, Jiyong straightened up and yawned out lazily. Then, he started whistling as he bent down again to pick Dara’s body from the floor. He then flung her body over his shoulder, carrying her like a sack of potato. Still whistling, he started heading towards the door, leaving Seunghyun behind.
Reaching his car, he went first to the compartment, opened it and threw the girl’s body carelessly and unceremoniously to it. He then slammed it shut and went to the driver’s seat. He then his car stereo and a loud pumping music filled the car. He nodded to the music and brought his car to life. His lean fingers were tapping the steering wheel along with music as he started driving. He then turned the volume louder. Sooner or later, he started going along with the music, his voice can be barely heard from the loud music. It kept his thoughts away from the body inside his compartment.
When he reached his destination – one of his uncle’s properties, he turned off the stereo. He closed his eyes and leaned his head against the headrest. He felt so tired, like he lived a hundred years and would just want to let go of life. His body was still aching for all the beating it suffered. He knew the rules, of course. He should be grateful that his uncle had given him another chance. What he did was punishable by death.
With a weary sigh, he opened his eyes and stepped out of the car. He then went to the compartment of his car and opened it. The girl lay unconscious, looking innocently like a child. He could only smirk at the thought. No, Sandara Park was not innocent. Seeing her chest rise and fall steadily, he felt a big punch in his gut. This girl betrayed him, ran away from him and went to Seunghyun’s arms. He should have killed her a while ago. But no, what he did was just hit her head with the handle of the gun, leaving her unconsciousness.
I need to ask her something first, he told himself. I want to ask something before I end her life.
He picked up her body and carried her towards the cottage-like house. Not glancing at the interior of the shelter, he headed straight to one of the rooms, deposited the girl in the bathtub. He then went out again, removed his jacket and took one of the stored refreshments of his uncle from his little bar. He was underage yes, but he never lived like one. His uncle always treated him otherwise, although his aunt treats him like a child, he never considered himself a teenager. He took a swig of alcohol and breathed out. Bringing the bottle with him, he went to take out his silencer and went to the bathroom again. He sat on the bowl and took another swig while watching the girl lying unconscious in the tub.
He then placed the empty bottle on the tiled floor and stood up. He splashed water across her face and she jolted up, gasping for air. She looked disoriented for a moment, confused even. She blinked several times, taking her surroundings in. Then, she looked up at him.
Her initial reaction was to touch his bruises and ask him what happened. But the memory of Seunghyun flashed across her mind. “Where’s Seunghyun?” she asked.
He smirked. “No need to look worried about him; you’ll never see him again anyways.”
“What did you do?!” she breathlessly asked.
Anger flashed in his eyes again and he pointed the end of the silencer device in her forehead for the nth time. “Don’t go demanding on me girl,” he hissed. “You should be praying for your life and begging me.”
The memory of Seunghyun falling to his knees and his gun-shot wounds suddenly made her brave. “Dream on,” she said through gritted teeth.
He smiled, it was off, but he still smiled. “You know, I prefer your snappy attitude than your cry-baby act.”
“Just get on with it and kill me.”
He clicked his tongue. “So eager to join Seunghyun?”
Her heart ached. No, he’s not dead. He can’t be, he just can’t be. “I hate you!”
“Thank you,” he said. “I’ll take that as a compliment. Before you join Seunghyun, I want to know one thing.”
She just glared at him in response.
“I’m confused, you see,” he said. “One day, you’re so comfortable with me then the next, you go on running to Seunghyun. So, what is it, really?”
It was the girl’s turn to smirk. She didn’t care anymore if she’ll get him so angry that he’ll end up pulling the trigger. “I lied to you,” she said with so much emphasis and anger in each word. “I lied to you in hopes to save my life. I never liked you and never will! It has always been Seunghyun and no one else!”
“You lied,” he repeated, as if not fully grasping the meaning of her words. “I see.”
“Do you?” she asked in a mocking tone. Her tone seemed to snap him back to his senses because the tip of the silence dug in deeper in her forehead.
“Very well,” he said. “I guess it’s time to say goodbye to the world.”
She closed her eyes. How many times did she closed her eyes, held her breath and waited for him to take her life?
Minutes passed, but nothing happened. Then, Dara felt the absence of the silencer from her forehead. She slowly blinked her eyes open, not understanding what’s happening. She looked up at him. He looked angry, his face was red and the bruises in his face seem to pale to the redness of his face. To her surprise, he suddenly punched the tiled wall then walked out, banging the door closed.
She started breathing again as she started hearing him swear all swear words there ever is loudly. Then, she flinched when she started hearing crashing sounds from outside. It was muted but still, loud enough for her to hear. He was shouting with obvious frustration in his voice. Loud crashes followed again and until it went totally silent.
Her grip on the tub’s edge tightened. She bit her lower lip, confused and unsure of what to do next. Not really thinking about it, she felt herself standing up. Her knees felt a bit wobbly that she swayed a little. She leaned her hand against the tiled wall to steady herself and took mouthful of breaths before stepping off the tub. She must be crazy as she started walking towards the door. She opened it and peered outside. It was a bedroom, a nicely-lit bedroom. A bed was set at the far end corner. The walls were covered with flesh-colored wallpaper. There seem to be no damage to any part of the room so she slowly went towards the other door at her left side.
The living room was a total opposite of the room she’s currently in. everything was thrown over, thrashed and damaged. It was a total chaos. She roamed her eyes around and saw Jiyong at one corner, punching the innocent wall relentlessly. From where she was standing, she can see the blood-stained wall.
He seemed distracted and she should take advantage of it, escape and run. But no, what she did was what a crazy person would do. She walked towards him, placed a trembling hand to his shoulder and pulled him away from the wall. “Stop,” she said.
Jiyong stopped, his whole body tensing under her touch. Then, he suddenly grabbed her waist and pinned her against the wall. He rested his palms on the wall, on either side of her face. He leaned in, too close that she can see every detail of his face. “Are you happy now?” he whispered huskily. “You can run away and go to your beloved Seunghyun and stay beside him until he heals.”
Dara frowned at him in confusion.
“I can’t kill you, can I? I want to, but I can’t. Why do you think that is, hmmm?”
“Jiyong. . .”
A grim smile curved his lips. He shook his head and let his arms dropped to his side as he took a step back. “Run,” he said. “You should run now.”
Dara blinked at him in disbelief. “W-what?” she asked in confusion.
“I said go,” he said. “GO AWAY!” he then shouted, making her flinch. He grabbed her arm ruthlessly and dragged her towards the main door. He opened it and shoved her out. The door then closed with a loud bang.
It was all confusing for Dara. She stared at the closer door for a long time. She had this weird urge to go back and yell at him, argue with him and fight back. But then, why would she do that? It wasn’t the right thing to do. She started retreating, watching the door, as if it would open again. When nothing happened, she turned around and started running, again.
She wasn’t that far yet when she saw a car approaching. Her eyes widened upon seeing who was driving it. Without having second thoughts, she ran back to the house, to Jiyong. She could not explain it but No Minwoo scares the life out of her. She ran into the house and straight to Jiyong who looked like he’s dazed.
“He’s here,” she told him, a shudder running through her spine. “He’s here,” she repeated, almost crying.
He looked confused at first. But then, understanding dawn on him. He inserted his gun behind him and went running to a room, leaving Dara standing there who was feeling rather like an idiot. She was about to follow him when the door opened. She froze and stared at the newcomer. No Minwoo was handsome, even beautiful. But there was something in the look of his eyes that repels his beauty. A small smile curved his lips upon seeing her, standing in the middle of the chaos.
She wanted to run but her feet were frozen. She could not even feel them any longer. He looked around the room and whistled. “Wow,” he said. “Had a fight with Jiyong?”
She didn’t say anything. She had this weird feeling that if she opened , she’ll just end up screaming. Jiyong then came back, wearing a jacket and a backpack. The sight of him made her want to laugh. He looked like a school boy but then, it was not the right time to laugh. Why did she even think of laughing at him when she’s in serious situation?
“What are you doing here?” Jiyong asked, facing Minwoo.
“He sent me,” Minwoo said. “Just to make sure you’ve learned your lesson. I mean, you’ve been beaten up for allowing her to escape and not killing her when you’re supposed to.”
Dara gasped, her eyes flew to Jiyong. So, he was all beaten and bruised up because of her, because he allowed her to escape? That was just so. . . “He didn’t,” she said, her small voice sounded firm. “He didn’t generally give me the permission to escape before. . .”
It was a surprise to her.
“Still, he failed his mission in killing you. It was punishable by death. He could’ve died already but he was given another chance. And yet, you’re still alive. I wonder why that is, hmm?”
Dara felt guilty. She’s probably the craziest person that ever step on earth for feeling guilty of how Jiyong ended up beaten and bruised but she is guilty.
“Now what?” Jiyong asked. “You’re going to watch me kill her?”
“Yes,” Minwoo answered.
Jiyong and Minwoo stared at each other down. “Fine,” Jiyong then said. “But what if I won’t do it?”
Dara’s heart thundered inside her chest.
“Then I have to kill her myself,” Minwoo then said.
Jiyong shrugged. “Go ahead and do it then.”
“No. . .” Dara said, looking at Jiyong in disbelief. Her eyes went back to Minwoo who was calculating Jiyong. “I. . . I want Jiyong to do it.”
“Aww,” Minwoo said. “Won’t you grant her dying wish, Jiyong?”
“Why should I?” Jiyong said. “A lying person like her doesn’t deserve to be killed by my precious hand.”
It seemed absurd but Dara suddenly felt annoyed that she flung herself at him and started hitting him everywhere she can reach with her small fists. “You stupid. . . person! You. . . .!” she shrieked.
Minwoo laughed as Jiyong tried to get hold of her flying fists. “Stop!” Jiyong ordered. But Dara was too annoyed to listen that she kneed him.
“Awwwwwwwww!” Minwoo clapped as Jiyong doubled over, clutching his in-between.
Grunting, Jiyong then crawled towards the wall and leaned against it. Minwoo looked down at him and shook his head in a pitiful way. “Oh well, I’ll do it then,” he said. He stepped forward, raised his gun and was about to pull the trigger when something hard hit his head hard, knocking him out cold.
Jiyong then started heading towards the back of the house, Dara trailing behind him. “Where are you going?” she asked but he didn’t answer, he just kept on walking until he reached the back door and went through it. “Hey! I’m talking to you!”
“I don’t like talking to liars,” he bluntly said, shutting her up.
“C-can I come with you?”
“No,” he said. “Go along your way. Seunghyun’s not yet dead so you can go and run to him,” he said, not sparing her a glance as he sneaked in between the barbed-wire fence.
“B-but. . . I don’t know how to get back there. I fell asleep on the way there before.”
“Well, it’s no longer my problem.”
“What if he wakes up and sees me?”
“Bad news for you, good news for him.”
Dara didn’t say another word but she followed him. He suddenly stopped and faced her, looking angry. “What are you doing?” he demanded.
His tone annoyed her. She ought to be scared but no, she felt annoyed. Defiantly, she held her chin up. “I don’t like talking to people who don’t want to talk to me.”
A look of frustration and amusement hit his face. Then, he shrugged. “Well, since I don’t like talking to liars and you don’t want talking to people who don’t want to talk to you, stop following me then.”
She balled her fists as he turned away and started walking again. “I’m scared,” she confessed. “I’m scared of him.”
He stopped. He turned back to her, a sarcastic smirk on his face. “And you’re not scared of me?”
“Well, no. You can’t kill me, can you?”
He grimaced. “How convenient.”
“Just. . . let me go with you until we can reach a place where I can take a cab or something.”
“No,” he said, giving her an evil grin.
“Well, you can’t really stop me from following you, can you?”
“What the matter’s wrong with you?” he then demanded. “First, you go on telling me –” he stopped and swore. Silence filled the night. With a frustrated sigh, Jiyong said, “If you can keep up then I might consider it. But if you fall behind, I’m not going back for you.”
“Fair enough,” she stiffly said.
He turned around again and started walking through the trees. She followed closely behind and she can hear him mumbling under his breath.
“Great, just great!” he breathed under his breath. “I’m the greatest cold-hearted murderer there ever is. What’s wrong with you, Kwon Jiyong? You’re supposed to be the best in the field. But what exactly are you doing right now? You can’t kill your subject and you even helped her escape from Minwoo. Now, you’re letting her tag along with you when all she ever does is annoy you.”
Weird yes, but she found herself smiling hearing him talk to himself.
As they walked, Dara had this weird suspicion that he’s actually letting her keep up with him. There were instances that he would suddenly slow down or bending down as if something caught up in shoes everytime she started to fall behind.
She thought it’d be an endless walk but then, he finally stopped. Even through the darkness, she can see that she was standing in what seem to be a cliff. He turned to her with a smile, an innocent smile. “We have to jump.”
“What?”
“Go on, you go first.”
Dara slowly walked near the edge and looked down. She almost had a heart attack. She staggered backwards and stared at him aghastly. “I won’t jump in there!”
“Oh well, then you will be left behind here.”
“B-but. . . but there must be some other way aside from that river!”
“There’s no other way,” he said.
Her eyes narrowed. He’s obviously enjoying her fear. “You’re doing this on purpose, aren’t you?”
“Choose,” he said, ignoring what she said. “No Minwoo or the river?”
She neared the edge again and looked down. She swallowed hard and closed her eyes. “I can’t. . .”
“You can’t?” he asked. “Aww, too bad.”
“And why is that?” she asked.
“Well, first, you’re not allowed to scream because if he’s now awake, he might hear you and second,” he paused.
“What?” she asked.
“You don’t really have a choice,” he said then pushed her all of the sudden.
An earsplitting scream was threatening to escape but she covered and tried to drown her scream down.
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