Chapter 9: Confrontation
Divided[Flashback]
"Jihyo, stay here and keep quiet."
"Eomma, what's wrong?" The 8 year old asked as she was pushed into the closet. There's someone else in the house. She can hear her father talking to the person. No, not talking; they're shouting. She could hear the rage in her father's voice and it scared her. Her father was a kind man and being this enraged was definitely out of the man's usual nature. Jihyo was young but she was old enough to know the severity of the situation.
"If anything goes wrong, promise me you'll look for uncle Im." Her mother grabbed onto her shoulders and looked at her straight in the eyes, making sure Jihyo understood every word she had said. The child nodded and threw her arms around her mother who returned the hug. Pulling away, the woman kissed her daughter's forehead one last time before shutting the closet and joining her husband downstairs.
Hugging her knees, the young girl sat quietly in the corner of the closet. The shouts were louder now, incoherent but loud. Then, she heard footsteps. Someone was climbing the stairs. Peeking through the gap between the doors, she could see a masked man walking around, looking for something: looking for her. He was looking at the closet now, quickly approaching. Jihyo closed her eyes, hoping that if she couldn't see him, he wouldn't see her. The doors flew opened and she felt herself get lifted by the back of her collar, taking her downstairs.
"Leave my daughter out of this!"
She opened her eyes, terrified at the scene. Her parents frozen in shock, armed men surrounding the family. Tears were streaming down her face as she silently cried. Her mother did the same. She watched as a man spoke beside her. His beady eyes were dark and his gaze was cruel. The men raised their guns and her parents ran forward, tackling the men holding her captive, pulling her into their arms in a last ditch effort to protect her.
"I love you, Jihyo. I'm sorry we can't watch you grow up."
Those were the last words she heard as their bodies crashed onto hard floor. Jihyo swore she could hear her skull cracking as it slammed onto the ground, covering the floor with red. Darkness flooded her sight before she passed out to the sound of gunfire.
The next time she awoke, she found herself in the hospital with the Ims. Nayeon held her as her father relayed the news to the distraught girl. Jihyo's parents were gone, they said, killed by a gang. But she couldn't remember anything except the cruel eyes that still haunt her dreams.
--------------------
Reading through the contents, Jihyo was shocked at much thought had been put into the assassination. Her memories of the murder were faint, having hit her head during the attack. She could remember the days that followed the incident. How her relatives had turn their backs on her in her time of need. How the Ims had taken her to their home as she was left alone after the funeral. How she had sworn to follow in her parent's footsteps and get revenge on the man who murdered
But, revenge was no easy task. Unable to find enough evidence, the case was thrown aside as unsolved; destroying the hopes of the young girl the victims left behind. The contents of the file sparked the determination she had lost after all her leads went cold and she immediately left to get the case files from the archives.
File after file she searched; the information bringing back the memories lost through the years. Scenes flashed through her eyes, faces became more and more distinct. She even checked for the news online and compared the reports, noticing the many changes that have been made to hide the involvement of many important figures, many missing and assumed dead. One particular name caught her eye and she finally knew why the file was so valuable.
Her phone rang, interrupting her research. Freezing as she saw the contact, she picked up the call, trying her best to keep her emotions in track and mask the hatred she had for the man. As the call ended, she sank back in her seat, questioning what her next move will be. Once her mind was set, she picked up a file and left the room.
It was time she confronted the man who killed her family.
--------------------
*Knock knock*
"Come in."
Jihyo walked into the Director's office. The man sat at his table, eyebrow raised as his least favourite officer stepped into the room, a folder in hand. The girl saluted to the higher ranking official and stood at attention in front of him. He still had the same beady-eyed, cruel gaze he he had when he murdered her parents. But she knew she couldn't be afraid anymore.
"Do you know what time it is Park? Took you long enough. Now, where is it?"
She slid the folder in front of him. His eyes never leaving the folder as he picked it up. The Director however, was no fool, he could tell from the way she stood that the young captain had seen the documents in the file and was pretending she had not. She, like her father, were terrible liars. Discreetly, he leaned forward, hand reaching under his table to press a button. He dismissed the girl with a wave of his hand. She saluted but didn't move, finally finding the guts to confront him.
The doors burst open before the young captain could say a word and she suddenly found herself pushed into a kneeling position on the ground. Armed men held her at gun point as one held her on the ground. The director calmly stood from his seat and approached the girl. Bending down, he lifted the girl's face, making her face him. The smirk growing as he saw the young woman glare at him.
"You know Jihyo. You're exactly like your father. A Foolish." He threw a punch at her. "Pathetic," another fist went towards her gut. "Bastard," her face was met with a kick. She continued to glare at the man, anger surging through her veins. "Don't speak about him like that!" The Director brought his knee to her face, breaking her nose. "Take her away." Her sight was getting blurry, her head throbbed from the pain, and she gave in. Like a rag doll, she allowed them to take her as everything went dark.
A/N: Here's chapter nine. Sorry it took longer than usual to update. Exams are coming up so my schoolwork is beginning to pile up. Thank you to the new subscribers and also for the comments. Hope you guys enjoy the update and I'll try to update as soon as possible.
Comments