Dara’s Point of View
:

“Dong-Won…” Eun-Seo began but was soon cut off my Dong-Won.

“Didn’t I tell you, you were forbidden in this house?” Dong-Won stared at Ji-Yong in such disgust, it made my heart shatter.

Ji-Yong seemed to be rendered speechless at this point because he didn’t say a word. Instead, he stared at his father in complete shock.

“Dad…” Si Hyun mumbled, feeling the tension build up amongst us all.

Dong-Won, however, ignored us all. “What do you think you’re doing in this household?”

Ji-Yong his lips. “Visiting my family. What do you think?”

“Family?” Dong-Won laughed. “What family?” He gestured all around him with open arms. “I don’t see your family around here.” Shaking his head, Dong-Won scowled. “As far as I’m concerned you’re nothing to us.”

“Dong-Won!” Eun-Seo yelled; her voice stern. “Don’t you dare refer to us all in that manner. He is my son—our son!”

“Not to me, he isn’t! After he became some thug, all respect had gone out the window.” Dong-Won yelled. “And the death of your sister was the final straw.” He stuck a finger into Ji-Yong’s chest.

“Don’t bring Mi Hyun into this!” Ji-Yong spat.

“Why not? It’s not like she’s here to stop it!” Dong-Won barked back. “You’re the reason she’s dead!”

“Dong-Won, enough!” Eun-Seo cried.

“I told you to leave and never come back, that was meant to be forever. I never once said I wanted to see your face again years from then.”

Ji-Yong’s chest moved up and down in anger, his face red, fists clutched at his side. “I know it was a mistake coming here.” Grabbing my hand, Ji-Yong pulled me up. “Come on Dara, we’re going.” Pushing past Dong-Won, Ji-Yong began making his way to the door.

“Do you see what you do?” Eun-Seo hissed. “He’s our son, Dong-Won!”

Ji-Yong abruptly stopped, the cries of his mother filling his ears and I knew that he didn’t want to leave her behind. “You know what?” Ji-Yong sneered, his eyes narrowed. “I’m not leaving.” He shook his head. “Not until you hear me out anyways.”

Dropping my hand, Ji-Yong walked over to Dong-Won as I followed close behind.

“I know you hate me…” Ji-Yong shook his head. “Trust me, I hate me too… but it wasn’t my fault.”

“Nothing ever is.” Dong-Won hissed.

“Let him finish.” Si Hyun cut in for the first time and each of us turned to face him in shock. Si Hyun ignored our gazes, keeping his attention on Ji-Yong. “Go on.” He encouraged. “We’re listening.”

I smiled softly in thanks. That’s all Ji-Yong ever needed. To be heard.

Ji-Yong his lips, nodding. “I ed up. I ed up big time and I know that night Mi Hyun died, it looked bad… but you have to understand, if I knew she was following me that night, I wouldn’t have gone in the first place.”

I bit my lip, feeling all the emotions he felt inside of me.

“When I realized she was inside the warehouse that night, my heart practically leaped out of my chest. I knew something could go wrong and I told her to leave. She didn’t listen and I’m not saying it’s her fault because I should have just taken her out of there myself… but,” He shook his head. “I froze when I heard someone walk in.” Ji-Yong gulped.

Confusion tinted Dong-Won’s brown eyes.

“It was Jason. Jason McCann… he had the warehouse wired down and there was no way out. If either of us moved, he would tear us apart with just one click of a button. I tried to talk him out of it but he’s ruthless. There was no getting inside his head. He didn’t even care that I was going to lose someone that I loved as long as he looked like some big tough guy in the end…” Tears whelmed up in his eyes. “I tried to think of so many ways I could have gotten her out so she could live and I would die.” The tension slowly died down but the emotions were running high. “That’s all I cared about,” Ji-Yong continued, “keeping her alive. I didn’t even care about myself.”

By now, Eun-Seo was crying quietly to herself and Si Hyun was in awe, tears in my eyes.

“He didn’t even think twice before pressing the button that blew us all up.” Ji-Yong finished.

Dong-Won stared over at Ji-Yong, at a loss for words, clearly not knowing that part of the story.

“When I woke from the explosion, I looked around and thought that Mi Hyun was taken out by one of the paramedics so I got out myself. I was taken to bechecked out when I realized Mi Hyun wasn’t anywhere to be seen. I had a really bad feeling and I went looking for her despite my condition. I looked around everywhere for her, thinking that she was being taken care of just like I was but I didn’t spot her and I refused to think anything bad has happened so I tried to go back into the warehouse but it was already too late. The fireman said that there were no more survivors.”

Si Hyun choked on the tears desperate to fall from his eyes.

Biting his lip, Ji-Yong looked into his father’s eyes. “When I found that out, I knew you’d never forgive me… I knew you’d hate me and wish it was me instead of her and trust me, if I could go back in time, I would find some way for that to happen. I’d give my life away in a second just to have her back…”

“Don’t’ say that…” Dong-Won whispered. “Please.”

“I’m sorry dad.” Ji-Yong broke down and for the first time, I had seen him let his guard down. Ji-Yong didn’t care; he actually let himself feel something. He released all of his emotions and broke down his barrier. Ji-Yong wasn’t the badass he portrayed himself to be… he was a human. He was a kid that ended up losing his family at a young age and brought into a lifestyle he had no way out of.

“Come here, son.” Dong-Won opened his arms.

I cupped my mouth, blocking out my cries. You could see the surprise that held itself in Ji-Yong’s eyes. He never expected those words to come from his father’s lips. Ji-Yong didn’t even hesitate before leaping into his father’s arms, hugging him as if his life depended on it.

“I’m sorry.” Dong-Won whispered. “It was my fault… I shouldn’t have just jumped to conclusions.”

Ji-Yong shook his head. “I would have done the same thing.”

“I should have let you explain.”

“You had just lost a daughter… I wouldn’t have been in the listening mood either.” Pulling away, Ji-Yong wiped at his face. His eyes were bloodshot and so were Dong-Won’s.

Grasping his shoulder into his hand, Dong-Won shook his slightly. “What made you decide to come back now?”

Ji-Yong shrugged. “I was reminded of why family was important.”

Dong-Won pulled him into another hug, his hands patting themselves against Ji-Yong’s back. “Are you back for good or is this temporary?”

“I live back in town but I will visit more often. Possibly even everyday if I can after school.” Ji-Yong softly smiled.

Dong-Won nodded, rubbing his eyes free of salty tears. “Well, I’m starving. Anyone care to have some dinner?” He chuckled.

Ji-Yong smiled, taking a seat next to him and I knew he was happy to have his family back.


Ji-Yong’s Point of View:

As we each sat around the table saying grace, I silently prayed in my head, thanking God for having my family back.

“Amen,” We each stated in unison before digging into our food.

“So, Ji-Yong, care to tell me who this young lady is seated across from me?” I turned to see my dad smirking at me, his hand gesturing over towards Dara.

She looked up, blushing slightly. “Me?”

I grinned. “That, dad, is my girlfriend.”

His eyebrows shot up. “Girlfriend?”

I chuckled, nodding my head. “Yeah, girlfriend dad.”

“She’s pretty,” He nodded.

“And sweet.” Eun-Seo added. “She’s perfect for our son.”

“You seem to have the approval of everyone here,” He paused, his brows pulled to meet in the middle.

Dara.” She smiled.

Dara,” He finished while nodding. “Well Dara , if everyone here approves and my son here likes you then I guess your worthy of my approval as well.”

“Dad,” I groaned with a roll of my eyes.

“What?”

“Just don’t.” I scowled, shooting Dara an apologetic look.

She giggled, grabbing a few pasta bits into her fork while taking it into and swallowing. “The food came out amazing, Eun-Seo.”

“That’s because you helped me.” Mom smiled.

“I‘m surprised nothing got burned.” My dad chuckled while taking a bite of bread.

I laughed loudly. “That’s what I said.”

“For your information, if it wasn’t for us, you wouldn’t even be eating right now.” Dara pointed out.

“Mhm, exactly. Maybe next time you and Ji-Yong come over for her dinner, we should have them cook.” Eun-Seo countered while pointing over to dad and I.

Dara nodded her head. “Definitely then we’ll see who are the ones burning things.”

Our faces fell. “I don’t cook.” I stated monotonously.

“What do you eat then?”

“Take out.” Ji-Yong shrugged.

“That is unhealthy for you.” Mom scolded.

“It keeps me alive. I didn’t die yet.”

“Yet.” She emphasized with a shake of her head.

I rolled my eyes, continuing to eat the food my mom made when I felt my phone vibrate endlessly in the pocket of my jeans.

I decided to ignore it being that my mom would kill me if I answered it while eating. I took another bite of salad when my phone began vibrating again. I sighed, dropping my fork against the table. “Can I be excused for a moment, please?”

“Sure, sweetie, but why? Are you okay?” My mom stared over at me in confusion.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Someone’s just trying to get a hold of me. I’ll be right back.” Standing up, I wiped my mouth on a napkin before walking out of the dining room and into the kitchen.

Slipping my phone out of my back pocket, I slid my thumb across the screen pressing it to my ear. “Hello?”

“Ji-Yong?”

“Young Bae?” I furrowed my brows together, confused as to why he would call now. “I’m kind of busy right now. Can’t you call back--”

“We’ve got ourselves a situation and we need you back here right now.”

My stomach churned painfully, knowing that something had gone terribly wrong. “What kind of situation?”

“The cops are on the lookout. They found Parker’s body out in the woods this morning. Turns out that they had been searching for something else and ended up with a surprise instead.”

“Parker?” I paused. “As in--”

“The guy you killed?” Young Bae finished for me, when I didn’t respond, he did for me. “Yes.” 

Everything around me froze in place. “Are you ing kidding me?” I spat.

“Just come back here as soon as you can. The cops are out looking for you.”

“,” I rasped, running my other hand through my hair, pulling at the ends. “I’ll be right there.” Hanging up, I punched the air in aggravation before my lips and trying to calm myself down. “ing hell,” I rasped, shaking my head.

I slipped my phone back into my pocket, pacing the floors while running my hands up and down my face, trying to relax so that I didn‘t do anything stupid.

After I had slightly calmed down, I rushed back into the dining room. “Dara, let’s go.”

Her eyes widened, taken back by my sudden outburst. “What? Why?”

“What’s going on?” Eun-Seo asked.

“Turns out something happened back in town and I need to leave now.” I turned to see Dara still seated in her chair. “Dara, now.” I hissed.

She sprang to her feet, wiping her hands on her napkin. “Uhm, thank you for the lovely dinner Eun-Seo. It was nice meeting you all.”

“You too?” Dong-Won questioned, at a loss for words on what was going on.

Grabbing her hand in mine the moment she made her way over to me, I walked around the table, giving Si Hyun and my dad a pat on the back before planting a kiss on my mom’s cheek. “Love you guys.”

“Love you too.”

“I’ll see you guys soon, promise.” And with that, I pulled Dara alongside me, out the door, down the porch steps and over to my car. Unlocking it quickly, I looked all around me, making sure no one saw us before seating myself inside, Dara doing the same.

Starting it, I didn’t even wait before pulling out of the driveway and onto the street.

“What the hell was that about?” Dara asked the moment we were half way down the street.

“The cops found Parker’s body and now they’re out searching for me.”

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i Know , This chpater is shorter than usual ! but i hoped you guys liked it (:

-Myung_Joon