She was gone.
She was really gone.
No more random calls in the middle of the night, asking how my day was. No more home cooked meals whenever I came home. There wasn't even a home to go to now.
Because I never wanted to set foot in that house again.

I never wanted to see my sorry excuse for a father ever again.
And if he so much as shows his face around me, he better run as if his life depends on it.

The rage coupled with the crippling sadness and emptiness I felt all at once overtook me again and a new wave of tears fell down my face.
"Mom," I touched her face on the big picture they used for her funeral, feeling the tears splash onto the back of my hand, "I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry I didn't come sooner. I'm sorry I couldn't save you. I'm so sorry..."
I knew what she would say to me at a time like this.
She would tell me that it wasn't my fault. That I shouldn't blame myself.
But I couldn't help but to beat myself up for not being able to help her when she really needed me.

"Stop blaming yourself," Mark's husky voice whispered as he took me into his arms. We were still at the funeral house and there were still a few people behind us, but I didn't care. I lost my composure and all my tears onto Mark's shoulder. He didn't even flinch or back away. He stood there with his arms around me and a hand on my head, gently it.
"It's ok. Everything's going to be ok. Thing's will get better."
"How do you know?" I cried into his jacket, "How the hell would anyone know that? What if things don't get better?"
"No, they will. I promise," he responded, his voice low and serious. 

He promised.
Usually I would believe him whenever he would say those words but this time, I wasn't so sure.

"______________?" I heard a voice calling my name over my congested ears and turned around. A tall, lanky man in a black suit was holding a briefcase and walking towards me. Something about him gave me chills. Not sure what it was but it probably has something to do with the fact that I had no idea who he was but he knew my name.
Like creeper much...

"Yes?" I pulled away from Mark and took a step towards him.
So did Mark.
And so did the rest of the guys who were still huddled in a group by the rest of the chairs.

"I'm Mr. Jeong, your mom's lawyer. First of all, I just want to say I'm so sorry for your loss. She was a great woman and it must be hard for you to see her off so soon like this."
I nodded, trying to fight back the fresh tears that were starting to creep up on me again.

"Secondly, I was told by her that if anything were to happen to her, I should give you this," he opened his briefcase and pulled out a large manila folder. My eyes immediately locked onto the big red letters scrawled on the front that read "CONFIDENTIAL".

My mom didn't have any secrets.
At least not any that needed a huge warning sign.

"What is it?" I took it from him, holding it gingerly in my hands as if it was going to fall apart any second.
"It's your mother's will," he answered as the rest of the guys joined Mark, all of them standing behind me with their heads leaning in.
"Why would my mother's will look like something out of a James Bond movie?"
Mr. Jeong shrugged, "I'm not sure. I was only told by her to keep it safe and to give it to you if anything were to happen to her. Oddly enough, she gave me this only 3 weeks ago."

She knew.
She knew something was up.
She knew he was coming after her so why didn't she leave before he got there? Why did she let herself be killed by that of a father?

"She did tell me this though," Mr. Jeong's voice broke into my train of thought. He leaned in so closely that I could see the stubble growing on his face. "She told me to tell you to open this in a private place. Whatever is written on that will is meant for your eyes only."

Author's Note
chapter title: Goodbye-Hyorin [x]