Chapter 8 - Dark Secrets Revealed from an Angel 

  “Who was that boy?!” Dara’s aunt screeched as she raised a fist. She didn’t like the way how Jiyong barged in the room and saw the state of their home. “Who was he?!”

  Dara flinched by her words, but said nothing. There’s no way she would reveal Jiyong’s name, knowing her aunt would never let her see him.

  “Dara!” She slapped her across the cheek. “Tell me or I’ll kick you out!”

  “I don’t care!” She burst and clenched his fists. “I don’t care if you’re kicking me out because I’m going to be eighteen next month! I’m not a minor anymore! I can move out and live with someone else! I could live with Bom if I wanted to! You’re lucky I stayed with you all this time because without me, you could be in jail or killed for all I care! I didn’t have to take all your beatings and insults, but I did. You’re part of my family but it’s hard to believe it after all you’ve been doing!”

  Those words were like a bullet straight to her aunt’s heart. She fell to her knees and immediately sobbed. Her voice was strained and weak when she spoke, “Your mother was also strong like you. Our mother cherished her more than me and I understood why. I was always the one causing trouble, but I still took care of my sister. When I learned about the accident, I just lost it.” Her voice faded. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry for doing this to you. I took out all my anger on you.”

  Dara didn’t know what to do. She could hear the sincerity in her aunt’s voice, but it was hard to forgive her so quickly. She heaved a deep sigh and held her aunt in her arms, hesitantly. Her grip was very light as Dara whispered comforting words to her.

  Being slightly drunk, her aunt continued to cry until she fell asleep.

  Dara laid her on her bed and kissed her forehead before leaving the house. She may be early to meet Jiyong, but she had to see him now while she has the chance. Who knows if her aunt would wake up and start screaming at her again? She was drunk before she fainted.

  Dialing Jiyong’s number, she continued to walk out of the neighborhood. “Hello?” She said as she no longer heard the ringing.

  “Dara?” It certainly was Jiyong.

  She smiled as tears fell down her cheeks. She loved hearing the sound of his voice. It was completely different from Seunghyun’s but it was still soothing to her ears. “Jiyong,” she said softly. “I would like to meet you now.”

  There was silence on the other end before, “Okay. I’ll meet you at the park.”

  She bit her lip. “I’ll see you there.”

  “Bye, Dara.” He hung up.

  Dara hung up and stuffed her phone in her pocket before pacing to the park. Whatever business Jiyong had with her, she wanted to hear every moment of it. Even though Seungri had told her not to meet him, she didn’t care. She didn’t want to lose another person she cherished with guilt.

  The moment she reached the park, she walked towards the fountain, thinking Jiyong would be there, but he wasn’t. In her mind, she wanted to walk around more, but her body told her to stay because he could be looking for her too. Why didn’t they say an exact meeting point?

  After waiting for ten minutes, Dara spotted Jiyong walking and looking around. She kept her eyes on him, but never said a word. He was holding something in his hands while there was a sign of nervousness in his face.

  Suddenly he saw her and went towards her with a frown. He took a deep breath and said, “I have something to tell you about Seunghyun’s death.”

  She held her breath as she was frozen on the spot. “Wh-what is it?”

  He sat at the edge of the fountain and Dara followed. Jiyong held her hand and placed the item there, but didn’t let her go. He didn’t want to reveal what it was just yet. With another deep breath, he explained the events of that night.

  “The night Seunghyun died, I actually had a feeling something was going to happen, but I wasn’t sure of it. I mean, I usually get those intuitions but I didn’t listen to them this time. Maybe things would turn out better if I did.” He sighed. “But then I wouldn’t have confessed to you…”

  Dara remained silent and listened.

  “Anyways, I told him I had a bad feeling, but he didn’t listen to me and tried meeting with you. But the next phone call I received wasn’t from him. It was from his parents. Hearing the news, I rushed to the hospital and found him still breathing. I thought he would be fine but after I saw the wounds, I wasn’t if he would. He was losing too much blood, faster than they can put back.

  “He saw me and told me to come close. I did, crouching next to him and heard what he had to say, ‘I’m sorry.’ His voice was weak. ‘I should have listened to you.’

  “I was near tears by then. ‘What are you trying to say?’

  “All he did was smirk. ‘It all happened in a flash, but I noticed something.’

  “‘What?’

  “He leaned closed to my ear. ‘The car was familiar. It was as if I’ve seen it before.’

  “My eyes widened upon hearing those words. ‘What?’ I didn’t understand at that time, but I do now.” Jiyong paused, thinking whether he should tell her, but he decided not to. He didn’t want her to be involved in his troubles, so he continued with the story.

  “I waited for him to explain further, but he doesn’t. Instead, he said, ‘I want you to give Dara something.’

  “To tell you the truth, Dara, I was hurt by those words.” Jinyong bit his lip. “At that time, I was attracted to you. At first, I was scared of you but as time flew by, I was less afraid.” Jiyong stared at her and squeezed her hand, feeling the item in both of their hands. He continued the story. “He told me to give this to you.” Jiyong released her hand to reveal a ring with the infinity sign.

  Dara’s eyes widened as tears streamed down her cheeks. It’s been so long since she has cried like this. She held the ring close to her chest and kissed her knuckle. Oh how she wished Seunghyun was there.

  Jiyong saw her actions and his heart dropped. He could see she was still in love with him, but he could wait. He could wait for an eternity until she sees him the same way as Seunghyun. If not, Jiyong wouldn’t know what to do.

  Dara gazed at Jiyong and hugged him tight. “What else did he say?” She whispered without letting him go.

  He gently pushed her away and stared at her clenched fist. She still loves him, he repeated in his head. Without another wait, he told Dara the last words Seunghyun had said to him, “He told me to tell you, ‘I’ll always be there for you.’”

  At those words, Dara burst into tears. She could no longer hold all the emotions she has been holding on for so lone. She even told her aunt off today! What was going on with her? She hated being weak, but the tears wouldn’t stop. She missed Seunghyun so much, but he was gone. He can’t be brought back.

  Jiyong wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close to his chest. Rubbing her back, he remained silent and let her cry until she felt better.

  Dara pushed him this time and looked straight into his eyes. Hers were glittering from the tears, but Jiyong thought they were beautiful. Oh how he wanted to kiss her soft lips once more with more meaning. However, he knew her mind was on Seunghyun.

  Dara’s grip on the ring lessen as she began to relax. Her eyes were fixed on Jiyong as he stared at her with worried eyes. She didn’t know what to do after she learned more about Seunghyun’s death. She closed her eyes and let the ring go.

  The ring fell with a clank and landed right in between them.

  Jiyong was shocked and confused. Why did she do that? Is there something wrong with the ring? “What’s wrong?” He asked.

  Tears suddenly came back. “I’m scared.”

  Scared? Since when was Dara scared? It was hard for him to believe the person who he had called the Devil is actually scared of something, but what? “What are you scared of?”

  “I’m scared of the memories coming back. I don’t want to remember all of them,” her voice came weak.

  He understood that. When he had broken up with Chae Rin, he didn’t want to think about her even though she still came in his mind. “It’s inevitable. Memories will come to you no matter how many times you want to forget. Sometimes the memories you want to forget are the ones you remember the most. Cherish them because the next time something similar happens, it won’t be the same thing.” Jiyong choked on his words as he felt like crying, too. He hated how sensitive he was and Seunghyun would also about it. Swallowing air, he held his tears.

  She managed a weak smile and muttered. “Thank you.” She took the ring and placed it inside her pocket for safe keeping.

  Jiyong smiled back at her and took her into another hug.

  “This is very touching and all, but…” Seungri’s voice came, interrupting the two. There was a click and he held out a gun out to them. “This is where it ends.”

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  Yeah.... I'm not that great at angst,  action, or suspense that much, but I'm trying to experiment on my genres >.<