25.
Little by Little - because you stay -
This chapter is (supposed to be) rated M due to the possible disturbing plot concerning death.
I know perhaps it's not disturbing for most people but... better safe than sorry?
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Jung Aerin.
Her mother was the one who gave the name. That's one of the reasons why Aerin was closer to her mother than her father. While his father was busy with the world as a businessman, Aerin spent most of childhood memories with her mother.
She's just an ordinary girl who loved to read all the books her parents bought for her, believing in a pure happiness to treasure in life.
Until the car accident which took her mother's life happened.
She's only a high school student at the moment. Her mother was on her way to buy something for Aerin since it's a week before her birthday.
It was heartwrenching for her, losing the woman who always treasured her daughter, but it hurt Aerin more when her father started to blame her for his wife's death.
Aerin reminded him of his late wife so much that he started to become delusional. It killed him when he needed to remember that the last thing his beloved wife had before her death was a birthday cake for Aerin.
Unlike her mother, Aerin's father was a busy businessman. He didn't hate Aerin but he didn't care of her as much as his wife did. That's why the only thing he could do was to blame his only daughter.
Because he had no one else to blame.
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"Appa?" Aerin called for the man who just entered the house with alcohol smell. She was waiting for him to return until she fell asleep on the couch.
It's past midnight already and it's his birthday. He didn't return earlier to his house because he didn't want to see Aerin. She reminded him that he didn't have a wife who celebrated his birthday like last year.
So he spent his night alone in a bar, drinking until he lost his consciousness. He's still not sober enough when Aerin approached him at the top of the staircase, "Appa, I still... Happy bir-"
"Get lost," he shot her with the harsh words, feeling angry. He hated Aerin's smile. He didn't understand why Aerin could keep smiling while he was tortured inside. "You... If it's not because of you... She won't die!"
Aerin, despite the fact that she had been ignored by her own father for almost one year since her mother's death, still felt the hurt. Her heart twisted but she tried to ignore it, kept having the smile that bugged her father even more, "It's your birthday, Appa, and I have prepa-"
"I said get lost!" her father pushed Aerin clumsily, causing her to lose her balance and rolled down on the staircase. Her head hit the wall and she lost consciousness for a while.
Her father just stood there in silence before laughing like a lunatic. Seconds after, he fell on his knees and cried, "Why should I be here when I have nothing now?!"
Minute after minute. An hour passed and, when Aerin finally gained her consciousness, she was panic to find her father lied down on the floor, too tired of crying.
Aerin realized that something was wrong with her right eye but did nothing. She called an ambulance, feeling relieved that her father was fine but, when she got her check up, the diagnose of her traumatic optic neuropathy was out.
"Could it be... your father did this to you?"
"Oh my, looking from her wound, did he push her?"
"What kind of father is he?! We should report this to the police. Who knows what kind of torture he had done to her!"
Those whispers kept coming and Aerin felt scared. Scared that her father would hate her even more.
And she's right.
Even though she tried to defend her father, it's futile. Her father was sentenced to jail for serious child abuse case.
As if it couldn't hurt Aerin more, the last sentence her father told her during her visit was even worse.
"At least when I stay here, I don't need to see you. Didn't I tell you to get lost, eh?"
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Her father did suicide.
It's his last day on jail. He would be released the next day and no one could understand why he went crazy by taking the kitchen knife during the lunch break and cut his own wrist.
Aerin didn't know whether she should cry upon the news or not. The only thing she thought was it's because of her. Perhaps her father just didn't want to see her anymore that he chose to end his life like that.
No one ever knew the answer so there Aerin went, living the rest of her life with blind right eye and burden on her heart everyday.
She did her best to smile, to hide her crying heart from the world, because she thought it's her punishment. When she was finally adopted and met someone who she could call as a sister, for just a moment, she thought everything would be better.
Aerin tried to do her best in everything but, unknown to her, she ended up making Sooyeon jealous of her. She had no idea about it until Sooyeon's hatred landed on her.
That day she was just on her another attempt to melt Sooyeon's cold heart. Aerin noticed that Sooyeon forgot her keys so she rushed after her.
When she saw a man snatched Sooyeon's bag, Aerin ran as fast as she could to catch the culprit.
And she did.
Much to her surprise, he entered a public bank and Aerin talked to him politely, "I'm sorry... but I think that belongs to my sister."
The man looked up with surprise, definitely didn't expect a girl who chased after him would ask him to return the bag just like that, "Your... sister?"
Two of them stood at the corner of the bank. The crowd was unaware of what was going on between them at all.
"Tell your sister I'm sorry," the man said with a gentle smile. His hand slipped inside the bag, "I just needed something to put this little troublesome thing..."
He pulled a small knife, forcing a smile, "To be honest, I was thinking about taking all of your sister's money first and send it to my children but... Ah, I don't think they will like it."
Aerin knew it's not a good situation. She took a step forward but she was also scared. Did the man want to stab her, she thought to herself.
"I want to go to the beach with them...," the man looked at Aerin and she noticed his teary eyes. "I'm such a failure... I thought leaving them for a moment and tried my luck would be good but... All the debts... I... No wonder she left for richer guy..."
That's when Aerin realized that he won't use that knife to stab her.
He wanted to end his own life.
When the man dropped Sooyeon's bag and moved his arm to stab his stomach, Aerin tried to stop him, holding his wrist with both of her hands...
...but it's too late.
And in the eyes of everyone who witnessed the happening, it's Aerin who stabbed the man.
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"Why did you stab Jung Donghwa?" the police asked the reason why Aerin stabbed the man at the public bank, one question for what she didn't do.
She was in the police office, went through the interrogation but she had not said a word including why she was there at the first place.
Her father's face crossed her mind and Aerin couldn't help but to think...
What would his children feel when they found out that their father wanted to do suicide?
Embarrassed. She knew exactly how it felt. It's awful. It's one of the worst feelings in the world.
And she didn't want that to happen to anyone else but her.
"Just because," Aerin answered. "It's an accident."
Sooyeon's wallet was not inside because it's dropped somewhere, making Aerin's lies to go on without a problem.
It's her own bag and she always brought a small knife for self protection. She thought that man was a bad guy so she stabbed him to protect herself.
Even though her alibi was taken into account, the public didn't care about it. All they knew was a young girl stabbed an innocent man.
No one even cared if that man was still alive or not.
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Even after months, Aerin kept visiting the ward frequently, greeting the man who was still in his comatose.
Aerin offered to pay for his medical fee with the money she had from her father account. The law firm took it as her amend and she really took a good care of him. However Aerin also asked them to keep Jung Donghwa's identity as the victim until he woke up. She would meet his family by herself.
"His wound is somewhat serious but the critical phase has passed. We just need to wait for him to wake up."
That's what the doctor said but he didn't open his eyes. He's alive but unconscious.
It's because he didn't want to live anymore, Aerin thought to herself. He could open his eyes and see the world again but he refused to.
"Mr Jung...," Aerin held his numb hand, holding back her tears. It's one of so many visits she did by herself. "Please wake up... It's alright if the world accuse me but... Wake up for your children..."
She didn't know who his children were. She didn't know what kind of life they were living now without their father. All she knew was it hurt to lose a father.
She's hurt because of the hate she received due to the rumors. She wanted to cry because of how her stepsister always looked down at her. She couldn't do anything about the nasty comments on her.
But she took them all.
Just for one life who didn't have the courage to live.
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