Time
The Next Queen to BeHalmeoni stood up from her chair and walked around her room while staring at the picture of Jiyong and CL. "Wait a second hold up!" She shouted in confusion. "So you and Youngbae both knew Chaerin before you came to live with us?"
Jiyong nodded slowly as he lowered his voice, "And I just recently remember this myself."
She looks over at him now even more confused. He looked down at the floor, "There was an accident that made me lose my memory." He put his hand on the side of his head, "Let me tell you from the beginning halmeoni..."
She slowly walks back over to him and sits down curiously. "I'm listening Jiyong..."
He let out a sigh before continuing. "I met her when I was fourteen and she was thirteen. I helped my father out in his bakery shop a lot that year but he was gone on a business trip for like a week when I met her..."
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~5 years ago~
Jiyong bowed to the older woman after he gave her a bag of some sliced bread, "Thank your for coming ma'am." She gave him a sweet smile along with a bow before heading out.
Jiyong stretched his arms out in front of him a bit before going to the back of the bakery shop to get the box full of freshly made mini cakes. It had been raining really hard that day when a young girl walked into the bakery, soaked from the rain.
She had bruises on her arms and a busted lip. She looked like she had been crying for awhile, also she had scars all over her wrists. She walked around the bakery slowly and when she saw no one, she grabbed a bag of bread from one of the tables in the middle of the store and opened it. She grabbed a slice of bread and ate it like she hadn't eaten for days.
Jiyong brought the box out into the front of the store and sat it down. He looked over at the girl and shouted, "Yah! What are you doing?!" He walked over to the girl quickly and snatched the bread from her. "You have to pay for this!"
She just stood there quietly and Jiyong looked her up and down while noticing the bruises and cuts on her. His eyes slightly widened and he bit his lip, "Are you okay miss?" When she didn't answer, he ran back behind the register and called the police. The girl continued to stand there while just staring at the floor.
"The police are on their way!" Jiyong informed the girl and she ran for the door. "Yah, miss!" He ran after her quickly and grabbed her wrist tightly then pushed her to the wall, putting one hand on her side so she couldn't get away. When he did this, the girl screamed out in pain and shoved him away from her.
His eyes widened at her scream and she slid her back down the wall holding her side. He saw blood seeping through her shirt from her side and she put her head down holding her side. Jiyong became nervous as he stared at the girl, now hearing the sirens getting closer.
When the police arrived, they were ready with their guns as they burst through the store. "A report for a robbery?!" One officer shouted and Jiyong ran to them shaking his head. "No sir, just this girl...she needs medical attention!" He was protecting the girl, he couldn't send her to jail after seeing her like this.
The police nodded and soon an ambulance arrived. When the paremedics approached the girl, she did not speak or move. She just stared at the floor and when someone tried to touch her side, she would scream in pain. Jiyong bit his lips as he stared at the girl, he was worried about her.
He has never seen someone in this condition before, well at least not in person. "What's you name miss?" One of the ladies asked the girl but she didn't respond. "Do you have family, where's your parents?" Yet still no response.
"Um, can I try?" Jiyong questioned the police and paremedics and they slowly moved away from the girl. He bit his lip and slowly approached the young girl who is sitting in the floor with her knees to her chest and her back on the wall. He kneeled down beside her and gently moved some of the hair out of her face. She was shivering a bit because she's still soaked from the rain.
Jiyong took his jacket off and put it around her gently and then looked at her. "Miss?" She wouldn't respond to him either. He glanced back at the police and then he stood up and grabbed a cold water and a bag of bread. He sat down in front of her and opened the water for her. "Are you thirsty?" He asked the girl sweetly and she nodded slightly as she swallowed the dryness in .
He handed her the water and she took it, taking gulps of it at a time. He then opened the bag of bread for her and gave her some. She slowly took it from him and began to eat it quietly. Everyone watched her while Jiyong gazed at her. "My name is Jiyong," He smiled at her a bit and she just looked at him. He tucked a piece of hair behind her ear and gently touched her busted lip. "Your name?"
He pulled his hand back and she slowly parted her lips, letting out a faint voice, "Chaerin..." He now smiled at her fully and nodded, "Nice to meet you Chaerin." He looked at her side still seeing some blood on her shirt. "Do you have family?" She slowly shook her head at him and he frowned slightly. "I only have my appa, but he's out of town for the week."
The girl continued to eat and drink her water while looking at Jiyong. He stared at her side for a bit before speaking up, "Can you allow these nice people to take you to the hospital? We're worried about you." Chaerin looked at all of the people in fear but when she looked back at Jiyong, she felt safe near him. "C-could you come with me?" She asked sweetly and he chuckled a bit.
"Nae, I can call my friend to come close the shop for me. I'll come with you okay?" He smiled at the girl and she nodded slowly. The paremedics started to walk towards her but she whimpered lowly and Jiyong put his hand up to stop them. "I got her..." He very slowly and gently slipped one arm around her waist and the other under her legs. When she didn't scream or whimper, he carefully lifted her from the ground and carried her out to the ambulance.
There were lots of people outside of the shop curiously watching the scene but also worried because they had thought Jiyong had been hurt. He's the city's sweet heart. Everyone knows him and everyone loves him. He carried Chaerin into the ambulance and gently put her down on the stretcher.
After awhile when they had finally reached the hospital and the nurses and doctors had treated Chaerin, Jiyong called his father while in the waiting room. He did not answer and Jiyong let out a sad sigh but left a voicemail, "Appa? Are you there? ...Mianhae, you're probably busy. I'll call back in later...Love you appa." He ended the call and rubbed his face.
Just then, another young boy along with a young girl came running in. "Jiyong oppa??" She ran to him and hugged him tightly, "Are you okay? What's happened?"
Youngbae approached Jiyong as well with a worried look on his face. "I'm fine Jieun," Jiyong reassured the girl and hugged her back. "What happened then?" Youngbae questioned Jiyong in a concerned way.
"This girl, she came into the bakery soaked from the rain and she was hurt badly." Jiyong rubbed his forehead and Jieun gasped lightly. "Is she okay?"
He nodded, "Yeah the doctors said she'll be fine. But she has no family and I'm worried for her..." He looked over at Youngbae and he blinked. "No Jiyong..."
"Please hyung?" He begged him until Youngbae finally gave in. "Fine she can come stay with me and Jieun at my apartment..." Jieun was like Youngbae's little sister. After Youngbae refused to see his family anymore, he moved away and got his own place a year ago. He may be young, but he knows how to take care of himself.
Jieun had known Youngbae for a long time and when her grandmother had died from sickness, Youngbae let her come live with him.
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Halmeoni was staring at Jiyong who was rubbing his eyes a bit because they were a bit damp. Halmeoni couldn't believe the words he's saying to her. "Oh my god..." Halmeoni covered and Jiyong finally brought his eyes back up to look at her.
"And then my father died..." Jiyong nodded slowly as he bit his lips. "There was uh, shoot out in Europe where my father was at the time for business. He was caught up in it and they killed him instantly...It was an accident but still. He died the night I was in the hospital with Chaerin, he didn't answer the phone to me because he was gone already when I called..."
Halmeoni was now in tears. "And so Youngbae allowed me and Chaerin to come live with him and Jieun because Chaerin had no where else to go and I didn't have anyone anymore. My father was all I had left."
"How did the hospital let you take Chaerin away?" Halmeoni asked in confusion.
"We uh, we got one of our other friend's cousin who was in his twenty's to come to the hospital and say he was Chae's father." He nodded slowly. "And they allowed Chae to go with him."
"And Chae? How did she react to this, I mean wasn't she afraid?"
Jiyong nodded, "She was afraid of everyone except me. I had come to visit her the day before she came to stay with us, I let her know everything that was going to happen and she made me promise that nothing bad would ever happen to her if she came with us. And she only trusted and believed me, after awhile she became to love Youngbae like a brother and Jieun as a sister. But me, I never understood it. I don't get why Chaerin would only allow me to help her and why she only talked to me the day we first met. But I know when I first laid eyes on her, I had to help this girl. There was like a magnetic pull between us. I couldn't be without her..."
Halmeoni smiled, "That's nice Jiyong...I'm glad you were there for her." He smiled back before rubbing his face.
"But wait...did you ever find out why she came into the bakery looking like that? Like why she was so hurt?"
He slowly closed his eyes and nodded, "Yeah...After she told me her story, she refused to be called Chaerin anymore. It was either Chae or CL...that was her new name..."
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~Now 4 years ago~
It was late at night when the four young teenagers had just finished dinner. "Aish oppa!" Jieun pouted when Youngbae ruffled her hair with wet hands because he had just finished washing the dishes.
"Awe you'll live," He chuckled and she groaned at him then poured water on his head. "Yah!" He shouted, "You're so gonna get it!" He chased after her throughout the apartment while Chaerin chuckled and headed to her room. Jiyong came out of his room and grabbed her wrist gently before she entered hers, "Hey Chaerin?"
"Hmm?" She looked at him. "Something wrong oppa?" He bit his lip and pulled her in his room. She allowed him to pull her in and he closed the door behind him. "Oppa?"
He sighed and went to sit on his bed. She slowly followed and sat beside him, "Jiyong?" She reached out to his hand and tilted her head slightly. "What's wrong?"
"You remember when we first met?"
She nods a bit, "Mmm, yeah why?"
"What had happened to you before you came into the bakery shop?" He looked at her worriedly and she slowly pulled her hand back. "Why do you want to know this..."
"Because it's killing me, I was worried about you then and I still am. Your lip was busted with bruises all over you and scars on your wrists." He looked down at her wrists and gently took them in his hands. "Which are still there...I want to know your story Chae."
She closed her eyes slowly. She had never told anyone her past but she felt she could tell Jiyong anything and he'd understand her and never judge her. She let out a shaky breath before speaking, "I was abandoned at birth. I never knew my father or mother. I have no family or anyone who cares about me except you, Youngbae and Jieun."
Jiyong listened to her and took her hand while caressing the back of it with his thumb.
"Well I thought I had some type of family with my aunt and her husband but I do not refer to them as my family anymore. After I was abandoned at birth, my aunt took me in. She never told me who my mother or father was though. She was already married and when I was two years old they had their first child, Minji. She was my cousin then, but as the years went by, Minji's father started being very hateful to me. He seemed to be disgusted by me and whenever Minji and her mother went out he would..." Chaerin closed her eyes tightly as she looked down.
"He'd never let me go out with them. He kept me locked in the house all of the time with him. During these times he would beat me and..." She lowered her voice into a faint whisper. "He ually abused me until I was thirteen years old. I cut my wrists to ease my pain...I couldn't take it anymore. I waited for the next time Minji and her mother left the house and I was alone with him."
Jiyong bit his lips hard and moved closer to Chae. He put his arm around her waist and continued to listen to her.
"On that day it was raining really hard and he also had a drinking problem so he was of course drunk. I remember he came into my room and started touching me. I was finally at my breaking point when I started to fight him back. He beat me and beat me until I was on the floor barely moving. I couldn't breathe at all after he slit my side with his knife. That's why I was bleeding on my side that day..."
Jiyong lifted Chae's shirt up slightly to reveal the scar on her side. He sighed and pulled her into his chest and ran his fingers through her hair. She rested her head on his shoulder and continued on...
"He dragged me throughout the house by my hair. I was screaming and kicking everything that I passed. When he finally released me, he grabbed another beer from the fridge and chugged it. I crawled away from him and he just laughed watching me. I knew he was going to kill me if I didn't get out of that house. I finally got enough strength to run down to the basement away from him. Of course after a bit he followed after me."
"Why did you run to the basement?" Jiyong asked. "Why not out of the front door?"
"Because..." She closed her eyes. "I had to finish him..." Jiyong bit his lips and hugged Chae tighter to him.
"They had a lot of weapons down in the basement. I never understood why but they did. I was hiding behind a bunch of boxes when he came down. I had a hammer in my hand and he was just humming. He started screaming and getting more pissed when he couldn't find me. He started telling me how pathetic and useless I was and that nobody wanted me."
"When he was right in front of the boxes, I charged at him and beat him with the hammer to death in his head. I climbed on top of him when he was weak enough and started punching, slapping and clawing his face. I screamed loudly as I finished him off. After a few minutes of me sitting next to him crying loudly while holding my side that was bleeding, I stood up and grabbed gasoline. I walked throughout the entire house pouring it everywhere. But not before I made sure to pour a lot on him. I lit the house on fire and got out before the police arrived."
"I ran so far away from that house until I couldn't run anymore. That's when I came into the bakery and found you..."
Jiyong's eyes were filled with tears, "I'm so sorry Chaerin..."
"No." She said coldly. "My name is not Chaerin. From now on, I am CL."
He nodded slowly. "Alright..."
"You know, later I found out the police just said his cause of death was just the fire." She chuckles lightly. "His skin was completely burnt away and the doctors were stumped. They couldn't put their finger on what caused his bones to be broken so they eventually gave up."
Jiyong wiped her tears that we falling slowly. "But..I don't understand, how come Minji and her mother never looked for you?" He looked at her confused and Chae just stared back at him. "Because they didn't care to."
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Halmeoni wiped the tears from her eyes after listening to Jiyong. He wasn't in the best state either. He was biting his lips to keep tears from falling. His face was buried in his hands.
"I can't b-believe this.." Halmeoni whimpered to herself. "Minji never said anything about this to me..."
"It's because she doesn't know what really happened. Her and her mother just think Chae ran away before the fire happened. They never cared to look for her or care for her. That's another reason why Minji is so afraid of Chae, she worries if and when she'll get her revenge on her too."
"Years went by and I fell in love with Chae. I promised to never let anything ever happen to her again. It was about three years ago Chae had come in contact with Minji and Minji's mother again. She came to me upset and begged for me to just leave Korea with her. She said she didn't want to live in Seoul anymore because of all the bad memories. So I agreed to leave with her."
Halmeoni was wiping her tears, "Where were you two going to go?"
"She wanted to go to America. We were planning on settling in California." Jiyong nodded as he leaned back in his chair. "But then there was a problem..."
Halmeoni looked up at him now worried again. "What?"
"We boarded the plane early in the evening and five minutes in to take off, the plane crashed."
Halmeoni's eyes widen in shock.
Jiyong nodded slowly while letting out a sigh and some tears fell. "Not many people survived...four or five people I believe lived. So many lost their lives that day....Chae left that scene with just a few minor wounds while I left with a serious head injury that caused me to forget her and everything for the next three years..."
*SOBBING!!!! OMG ;~; I cried writing this chapter. Please comment and tell me your thoughts on Chae and Jiyong's past. Pleaseeee I need to know. I want to know! #crying
I gave you guys a long chapter and a quick update now puhlease give me something in return! <3 *
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