Il Kook hid her in the basement of his house. They promised to let her hide until it’s time for them to leave for the States. In less than two weeks, then they will be able to escape.

Seong Im didn’t want to return home. The thought of crossing paths with Bolin makes her skin crawl. She often had nightmares about the vent over and over again. She would cry in there but no one could hear her, only Il Kook.

Every day he would bring her food secretly and talk with her. Every night, he would hummed a tune for her to sleep. Sometimes, he would lay in the bed next to her as tremble in bed and cry in her sleep and hold her close, whispering the tune in her ear. He made her feel safe and sound, his arms was her haven.

To help her overcome her fears, he brought her pencil, paper, paints and a blank canvas.

[ Listen to à Major Lazer- Be Together ft. Wild Belle (Vanic Remix) ]

“Draw it.” he handed the pencil in her hand. “Let it all out.” he looked at her as she stare at him with her doe eyes that shimmer in the light. “If you keep it in…it will only hurt you. And it hurts me too. To know that you are in pain.”

Seong Im took the pencil and touched the papers. Yet she couldn’t draw it. He held her hand and replaced the pencil with a paint brush. He stood behind her and held her gently and pointed the brush to the canvas.

The brush of yellow paint touched the white canvas and brushed along the space. She let him freely move the brush and sees the painting.

The stepped back and moved the brush as the canvas showed a sun. Seong Im turned to look at him.

“Shine brightly like the sun. Cheon Seong Im, please become my sun again.” He smiled at her, his angelic smile that mesmerized her. “I will blow away all the clouds that tries to cover you.”

Seong Im’s lips curve up and she took the brush and started painting. She busied herself with the drawings and arts that created colors. Il Kook was happy that she took the initiative to get out of that trauma.

The rest of the days that counted down, Seong Im would busy herself as Il Kook would play the guitar for her. She became her cheerful self again with his guidance. He told her about what was going on in reality but always assure her not to worry about her mother.

“Everything is going to be fine.” he always told her.

****

Today was their last day to stay in Wongju, they were leaving tomorrow. Il Kook head out to buy something for Seong Im as his family went out to prepare events for his departure..

The door opened as little Seong Im held the pencil in her hand. She was still afraid but Il Kook had been helping her hide in his family’s basement so well no one could find her. They helped keep it a secret from the neighbors after he told his family about it and promise to reveal it after he and Seong Im had left.

The door creaked open.

“Il Kook oppa, can you please give me the paint from the shelf?” She asked as she sketched the portrait of Il Kook. It was handed to her from behind. “Thank you.” She smiled happily and started painting. “You must be shock right? This is how you look like, I wonder why there are so many girls after you.” She chuckled but something was off. She felt him coming by her ear.

“Draw me too.” She dropped the paint brush as she immediately recognized the voice. She turned back to directly have eye contact with Bolin who was leaning towards her. She dropped the paint palette and started to back up, her eyes wide open.

“W-what are you doing here?” she backed up. He grinned at her darkly as his aura dreaded her. She started to tremble again.

“I should be asking you that question.’ he scooted her until she hit the wall. ‘Why are YOU here?!” he shouted at her, making her jump. He slammed his arms to block her from moving from the wall.

“Why are you in this b*st*rd’s house?” he whispered angrily. She covered her ears as he punched the wall. Seong Im’s shoulder shivered and shuts her eyes. She doesn’t want to see or hear anything. She tried to do what Il Kook had been teaching her to do.

She started to hum a tune in her head although she was trembling uncontrollably. She wanted to push him away but her legs won’t move and became wobbly. He kicked the painting over, tearing the canvas. He grabbed her wrist and pulled her out of the basement. She tripped on the stairs as he forcefully dragged her out, making her stumble. She screamed for help and grunted in pain. They were almost out of the door when Il Kook opened it. Upon seeing them, Il Kook went to grab Seong Im. They fought over her and started kicking and punching each other, shoving Seong Im out to the living room, almost out the door scraping her knees.

Hearing them hit each other, yelling and toppling things over made Seong Im even more afraid. Il Kook was pushed around the room and Bolin was thrown against the wall. Glasses were shattering everywhere with their faces becoming bruised and bloody. Bolin slammed Il Kook on the dining table and darted towards Seong Im. She tried to get up and run out as Il Kook ran behind Bolin and grabbed onto his leg, making Bolin release Seong Im’s hair.

“Run!” Il Kook commanded her. “Seong Im run!” He clutched onto Bolin’s leg with his mouth bleeding. A crazy Bolin turned to kick Il Kook to let go of him but he refused and choke out the pain.

Seong Im was almost out the door when she turned back to see the helpless Il Kook on the floor. He got up to Bolin’s height and pulled him back into the kitchen, the hallway. “Run now! Don’t ever look back! Do you hear me?! Don’t look back!” Seong Im whimpered and ran out barefoot. She couldn’t bear to look back as what Il Kook told her. She reached the gates when she heard the hustling and fighting quiet down. She was almost out when she turned back to look.

She was so shock, no voice came out of , only horror. Il Kook was stabbed by Bolin. Her legs were like jelly. She wanted to run back to Il Kook but he turned to her, blocked the entrance of the door as red blood gushed down from his chest, and yelled one last time.

“R-run!” before he fell down and hit the floor. That was when she decided to run without looking back. She took Il Kook’s words to heart and kept telling herself not to look back and to keep running.

She reached her house when she was running away. She saw her mom by the orange booth and ran to her. She ran behind her quickly as her mother was very shocked to see her again. She hid for a few weeks but now she’s suddenly here.

“Seong Im!” Her mother turned to her who was hiding behind her shivering. “What happen to you? Seong Im-ah.” Everyone on the street turned to look at them in shock. Suddenly Bolin appeared in a blood smeared shirt as blood trickle down his hands. Everyone backed away from him. He slowly walked towards her. Her mother was really afraid now. Why was Bolin covered in blood and why did Seong Im run to her? Where has she been?

“S-son…” she stuttered. Bolin reached them as Seong Im started to cry and whimper. He innocently look at his step mother. He reached toward Seong Im and patted her head as she fumbled away and shoved his hand away. But he strongly gripped her arm and pulled her to face him. She was sitting on the ground. He smiled at her faintly.

“It’s oppa…You must have been scared right?” their mother looked him gently talking to Seong Im. She struggled to pull away but he pulls her into his chest.

“It’s okay. Oppa has already gotten rid of the monster. He will no longer disturb us, Seong Im-ah.” Seong Im hiccup and shivered at his words.

Gotten rid of the monster… It can’t be… Seong Im shoved him away with her last strength to see him smile grimly at her as there was a loud shriek behind the neighborhood. It can’t be….It…can’t…

Seong Im screamed in horror and pushed him away. Her mother tried to comfort her but she was pushing everything away, screaming crazily. He tried to get closer to her as he watched her shriek.

“Get away from me! You-Y-You are the monster! Stay away. Go!” She got up and started throwing things at Bolin. He endured her throwing the fruits at him while her mother and everyone witness her disturbing character. People ran to look where the shriek came from.

“Get lost!” She yelled out as she saw the police officer. “H-help!” The officer ran to see what was wrong and was agape when he saw Bolin covered in blood. He channeled the others to come take him away. Bolin ran towards Seong Im and tried to hold her but she fought his hands away.

“I hate you! Move! Help!” The officers removed him from her. Her mother pulled her aside.

“Baby, my baby, tell me. What happened?” She tried to hold the exasperated Seong Im. “It’s alright. Mommy is here. Seong Im-ah!” Seong Im started jerking uncontrollably.

“Omma, you have to go help Il Kook. He’s hurt. Please! Believe me.” she begged her mother and raised her hands to plead.

Bolin was wrestle down on the ground as he stared straight at her with tears in his eyes.

Bolin stared at her with tears forming in his eyes as the police dragged him away, not blinking at all. Seong Im shudder in tears and looks away from him.

His explanation for killing Il Kook was, “How would you feel if someone you love disappeared out of nowhere and you find them in the basement of someone’s house? Wouldn’t you have gone crazy too?” With that statement he was put under self-defense arrest and Seong Im couldn’t do anything as she had become cynical.

He was sent to prison for 2 years for committing murder as a minor. Ever since Bolin was sent to jail, her mother would yell at her and refuse to help her. There were rumors going on around that Seong Im had been a lewd person, living with another young teenage boy. His family hates her for causing the death of their son.

****

[Listen to à Kim Yoon Ah ft. Olltii – Lucid Dream]

Each day went by and Seong Im lifelessly stayed locked in her room. His gentle smile, his warmth, his scent still lingers around her. Every time she felt a gust of wind in her room, she would look around everywhere and called for his name. hurt from all the yelling and sweat over her.

She would cry in the middle of the night and call for Il Kook. She really liked him and missed him badly. At night she would hear him talk to her, telling her to be strong, making her talk to herself like a crazy person. Her mother would lock her in her bedroom alone when she had nightmares and start acting up again. Even when the day Bolin violated her slip out from Seong Im, her mother would refuse to believe it. She believe that Bolin would never do that to her, to please her peace of mind and her husband.

Months passed as Seong Im was slowly losing her sanity. She felt excruciating pain and fainted as she saw Il Kook walking away. Seong Im woke up later to find her mother beside her, still putting her in chains. There she put food and water that will last her a while. She never knew what happened while she was unconscious.

She started to gain her conscious, normal mind again but she refused to let anyone touch her her mother’s constant scolding and the arguments between her parents, about how it was her fault that her step brother had gone to jail.

Her mother would tell her. “It’s all your fault! You liar!”

One day, she found something on the end of the hall under the door as her mother left to go out. She saw a shadow, she recognized it, it was Il Kook. He went to the door and reached under the door. Curious, she slowly crept to the door and crawled on the floor and peeked under the door. A shiny sparkle was there. The key.

She stuck her hand between the small spaces and tried to reach for the key. Seong Im squeezed her hand desperately between the gaps, her finger tips almost touching the key. She pushed her hand through the gap and caught the key, the wood on the door rip the skin on her knuckles. She hushed the pain and quickly took the key as it got in her hand.

She scramble to unlock herself from the shackles.

Click. She was free now. Seong Im smiled in relief and look up to see Il Kook smiling at her gently before going through the door, vanishing from her eyes. She stumbled up and got the lamp in her room to knock down the door knob. After multiple times and as she groan in pain, the knob broke and Seong Im swung the door open.

She limped and dragged her feet as she had just been able to use her weak energy. Seong Im stumbled and bit her lips as she hurried down the stairs. She ran outside barefooted and rushed out as she saw Il Kook leaving.

Seong Im tried to run to him but every time she got closer, the distance between them would further. She felt her chest tightening, her feet hurting as she stepped on the pebbles and rocks along the ground.

“I-Il Kook-ah!” She called out his name. Tears trickled passed her face as the wind blew against her.