001
All You Need is Love
[ Chapter 001 ]
Idiots.
That’s what men are. A bunch of heartless idiots. All they ever care about is money and playing with girls hearts. Once they’re sick and tired of their girl, they throw them away like worthless trash and move on to the next. Men like those disgusts me the most.
Oh wait... All men are like that. Especially a certain man that I will never, ever, ever forgive even when I’m dead. It’s all because of that man that caused my life to shatter. It’s all because of that man that turned my mother silent. It’s all because of that man that my mother and I had to live like this. It’s all because of that man that I became like this. It’s all because of my father that I came to hate men.
“Gaolee-ah...” My mother’s sick voice interrupted me from my thoughts. She gave me a weak smile, “You don’t have to go, you know? Your father might get angry-”
I clenched my fist and hissed, “I don’t care if he gets angry. It’s all his fault that we had to live in this dump.” Then, I softened and added, “I promise I will get the money this time, umma. You’re sick and we really need the money.” I got up and kneeled next to the bed, grabbing her warm and gentle hands, “Please, just hang in there. I’ll go ask Auntie Pinghai to come and watch you.”
My mother was hesitant at first but because of my stubbornness, she finally surrendered and let me go. Auntie Pinghai was a very kind woman that lived next door. Every time we are desperately in need of money, she would always offer us her money but this time, my mother had rejected, saying, “Pinghai-ah, you and your husband worked very hard for this money so please just keep it safe somewhere.”
I called for Auntie Pinghai and asked her if she could watch over my mother while I’m gone. She happily nodded and went inside my house. I sighed in relief now that Auntie Pinghai is with my mother. I exited the rundown gate and nearly tripped on a piece of metal that was sticking out. I frowned and forcefully kicked it with my foot which caused the metal to break away from the gate. My eyes widened slightly, “Oops... Stupid gate. It’s not my fault you were in the way and all rusty looking.” I glanced back at the gate and muttered, “I’ll just tape it back together when I come back.” And with that, I continued my walk to my father’s house.
Or should I say... mansion.
Yes, that’s right. A mansion. He lives in a freaking mansion with his freaking 2nd wife and her freaking kids, who I will never, ever, ever freaking accept as my siblings. Meanwhile, my mother and I live in an old rundown house. I took a sniff of the air and frowned, “Even the air smells evil here.” Without any hesitant, I rang the doorbell.
A few seconds later, a familiar maid ran over and opened the gate for me. She smiled and greeted, “Hello, Gaolee agashi! How are you and Mrs. Yang doing?”
I gave her a small smile, “Hi, Suluan. My mother and I are doing fine, thank you for asking.” She giggled and led me towards the door, “That’s good to hear. This way, please.” I gladly follow behind as she led me into the living room where the smell of evil was even stronger. And that smell of evil was busy cutting fruits to notice me come in. Suluan gave me an encouraging smile and disappeared back outside. I scanned the house before clearing my throat. She stopped cutting fruits and looked up. Instantly, a deep frown was on her face, “Gaolee. What are you doing here?”
I raised an eyebrow, “I’m here to see my father, of course.” Are you stupid or something? But, of course, I only added that part in my head. She frowned even deeper, which made her look even uglier, and got up, “And what business do you have with your father this time?” Then, realization hit her and she chuckled, “Oh, I see. You’re here to beg for money again, aren’t you? You beggar.” She snickered.
My eyebrow twitched. I swear, this will never miss the chance to pop a vein in my head. I don’t get what my father sees in this nasty two face . Before I could retort something ugly back, my father came laughing down the stairs with his daughter next to him. She had her arms hooked around his. But the moment my father’s eyes landed on me, his smile was wiped off his face. He raised his eyebrows, “Gaolee, what are you doing here?”
“My mother is very sick.” I simply answered.
There was a flash of worry in his eyes but soon disappeared. His daughter helped him down the stairs and gently let go of his arm as he sat down on the couch. My father looked at me, “Then take her to see a doctor, Gaolee.” I frowned, “I would’ve done that a long time ago if it weren’t for the lack of money.”
The , or known as Mrs. Yang 2, burst out a ‘hah!’ and crossed her arms as she gave me a glare, “So you’re here to beg for my money?” It’s a good thing I was born with calmness in me or else I would’ve snapped her neck right off her body. I raised an eyebrow, “I’m not here for your money. *You ugly .*I’m here for my father’s money.” I crossed my arms as if challenging her. I wasn’t scared of her at all.
She frowned and opened to scream at me when my father signaled her to stop with his hand in the air. He gave her a glare as if to say, ‘Shut the up before I kill you’ and turned to me, “What about the money I gave to you last time? What happened to those?” He raised his eyebrows, waiting for my answer.
“We used it to pay the house bills.” My mouth formed into a thin line. The next thing I knew, my father and I were arguing back and forth. He said to me that my mother and I are horrible at saving money and using money. He even dared insult my mother, his own wife, and me, his own daughter. And I, being the stubborn me, insulted him right back. One of my insults stabbed him right in the heart and he was breathing heavily while his daughter’s trying to calm him down. This time, the cut in, “Gaolee! Don’t talk to your father like that! You should know better than-”
“Go get the whip.” My father cut her off. He spoke through gritted teeth, his hands clenched into tight fists. And I could tell that he was beyond furious. My stepmother blinked with open, “W-What?” My father glared at her, “Go get the whip.” Obediently, she disappeared upstairs without a word.
His daughter gasped, “F-Father... You possibly can’t....” Her voice trailed off and she turned to me with horrid in her eyes, “Gaolee, you better go.” I frowned and hissed, “I’m not going until I get my money.” I stayed firm in my spot.
A few seconds later, my stepmother came running down with the horse whip in her hands. She looked at me before giving it to my father, “Here, honey.” My father took the whip and stood up. Slowly, he walked towards me, “Now, what did you say earlier?” He looked at me threateningly. His daughter went over to him and grabbed his arm, “Father, please don’t do this. Violence is never the answer to a problem!” But my stepmother tore her away from my father and said, “Sweetie! Get away from them!” She dragged her daughter to the side and watched.
My eyes were burning with fire, “Go ahead. Hit me! Hit me all you want, father!” I nearly shouted. My father’s eyes widened, “Do you really want me to hit you?!” He was screaming now. Instead of being intimidated by him, I puffed out my chest and screamed right back, “Well that was what the whip was for, right?!”
Finally, my father lost all his senses and he whipped me hard. I let out a bloody scream and fell down on the floor. He raised his arm and whipped me again. Over and over and over and over and over again. Pain was all over my body. I lifted my head and the whip came flying at my face. My left cheek had a long red and bloody line as well as my neck, my arms, my body, and my legs. All around my entire body were red bloody lines from the whip. And each whip, I couldn’t help but scream in pain. My stepmother’s carpet was now covered in little dots of blood and she gasped, “My carpet!”
That’s it.
I sat up, breathing heavily, and glared at her, *Of course, she would care about her stupid carpet.* My father stopped his whipping and he, too, was breathing heavily. Tears were threatening to fall out of my eyes. Not from the sadness in my heart but from the pain of the cruel whipping. My father noticed my watery eyes and he let go of the whip with shaky hands. He looked at me with wide eyes, not believing that he had just whipped his own daughter. I gritted my teeth and slowly stood up, “Well? Is that all you got?” *Yang Gaolee, are you asking for a death wish?* I scolded myself.
His daughter quickly came to his aid and helped him on the couch. I blinked back the tears, refusing to let my father see me cry. I will never cry in front of someone like him. I will never let him see my weak side, ever! I spat on the floor and said, “Well, old man? Is that all you got? Huh?” My father pointed at me, “Why you-”
“All I wanted was money to help my sick mother. That was all I wanted and this is what I get instead?” I glared at him, “And you even dared whip your own daughter, you cold blooded man. You don’t even deserve to be called a father. In fact, you don’t even deserve my loving mother. She cared for you all her life and this is what she gets. You-”
My stepmother cut me off, “Yang Gaolee! Enough! Who taught you to talk like that to your father?” This time, I glared at her and hissed, “Shut up, old hag.” My stepmother’s eyes widened and she let out a dramatic gasp, “Why you!” My father got up, “Enough! Gaolee, apologize to your stepmother right now!”
I scowled, “Don’t tell me what to do. From now on, you’re not my father. I don’t have a father like you. I’m cutting all ties with you and this family. And I promise,” I held up my pinky, “I will never step foot into this cruel house ever again.” I grabbed my ponytail from the floor, that had fallen from the whip, and tied my hair back to a ponytail. I turned to go but stopped.
I turned back around and pointed at my father, “And don’t you come crawling to my mother and I when this dumps you. Because even if you beg for my forgiveness, I promise you, I will never, ever, ever forgive someone like you. You’ll regret it one day, old man.” I spat on my stepmother’s carpet and stormed out of the house.
I smirked when my stepmother’s loud cry echoed in the living room, “AH! MY CARPET!” *Take that, you ugly hag.* Suluan came running to me and asked if I was okay. I nodded and gave her a small smile. She bit her bottom lip at the sight of my new look. The lines were still there and probably will be there for a couple days. Suluan bid me farewell as I exited this house forever. I took a sniff of the air and smiled, “Now this is the right oxygen for me.” I frowned. *Wait... I can’t let umma see me like this. I have to go somewhere and clean up myself first.* I decided to go to a public bathroom and wash the blood away.
Finally, after what seemed like forever, I headed home. I made sure to cover my face and not let my mother see the giant red line on my left cheek. When I got to the broken gate, there was an old man and a girl about my age standing there with something in their hands. They were talking about something and pointing at my house. I blinked and walked over, “Um, excuse me. Who are you?”
The old man turned to me and smiled, “Ah, we’re very sorry. May I ask what your name is, Miss?” I nodded, “My name is Yang Gaolee.” *What did these people want?* The girl then stepped up with a bright smile on her face, “Ah! Yang Gaolee! That’s you! The winner!”
I tilted my head to the side, “W-Winner? Of what?” She chuckled, “Don’t you remember? Last week, you entered in your 100,000 coupons! You had the most so you won the reward!” I gasped, “Did I really?!”
The old man nodded and handed me a box. He smiled, “Gaolee, congratulations for winning 10,000 dollars!” The girl pulled me into a tight, tight hug and squealed, “Congratulations, sweetie! I hope you spend it well!” And with that, she and the old man left in a black car. But not before she send a wink my way. I blinked and my whole body went numb. I couldn’t move because the unexpected news was just too much. There was a loud clunk! as the metal gate broke down completely, snapping me from my daze. I shook my head and went inside, screaming for my mother and Auntie Pinghai, totally forgetting about the red lines on my body.
“What is it, sweetie?!” Auntie Pinghai came out of the kitchen with panic in her eyes. My mother tailed behind and the moment she saw my face, her eyes widened, “Gaolee! What happened to you?” She rushed over to me and cupped my face. I shook my head, “I’ll explain later. First, I have to tell you something!” I opened the box in hand and showed the 10,000 dollars in cash to them. Auntie Pinghai nearly collapsed on the floor but my mother caught her.
She looked up, “W-Where did you get this money?” I smiled, “Remember last week when I entered my 100,000 coupons?” My mother nodded and she gasped, “Y-You won?!” Tears were threatening to fall out of her eyes as she squeezed me into a hug. Auntie Pinghai literally bawled. I pulled her into the hug as well and we stayed like that for a couple of seconds in complete silence.
I broke the hug and decided to divide the money. I gave some to Auntie Pinghai who was shaking her head in denial, not wanting to accept the money. But my mother kept on insisting and shoved the money into Auntie Pinghai’s hands. She thanked us and kissed us both on the cheeks.
The next day, I took my mother to the doctor and they gave her a couple of treatments and medicine. Soon, my mother was healed. Auntie Pinghai, her family, and my mother and I celebrated in happiness. I also bought a bottle of medicine for the red lines on my body. But still, they weren’t disappearing any time soon. That night, my mother knocked on my door.
She came in and said something that I never, ever, ever expected her to say, “Sweetie... Let’s move back to Korea.”
Auther's Note:
Thank you, LoversQuarrel for making this wonderful poster! ^^
Really appreciate it! And once again, You are welcoming to make a poster for 'All You Need is Love'. And as promise, I will put your poster on one of the chapters. (Psst... Chapter 2 needs a poster) Just message me the link of your poster. Thank you! ~~ ^^ And don't forget to subscribe, comment, and or maybe upvote!
Lots of love, Daefattie<3
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