"Love cannot endure indifference. It needs to be wanted. Like a lamp, it needs to be fed out of the oil of another's heart, or its flame burns low."

- Henry Ward Beeche

CHAPTER 14

“Siwon? Let’s go, ajusshi is at the main gate” 13-year old Kangta called his kid brother, who was still playing with other kids on the school playground.

The school has all three levels of education, elementary, middle school and high school. The three divisions were located in a five hectare land, separated only by gates. Kangta went to the same school as his younger brother because he wants to watch over him. He adores his brother so much.

10-year old Siwon pouted. “But hyung, I still want to play. Can’t ajusshi wait?” the person they were referring to was their driver.

Kangta ruffled his brother’s hair. “we don’t want to get home late Siwon or we will miss mother’s perfect cooking.”

“but hyung...let me play just a bit okay? Pleeeassee?” he looked at his older brother with puppy eyes.

“no can do Siwon. Umma will cook your favourite food this evening, don’t you know that?”

Siwon’s eyes sparkled. “really?” he then held Kangta’s hand “let’s go home hyung.”

Kangta laughed at his brother’s cute behaviour. They were walking towards the main gate when a classmate called Kangta. The siblings stopped and turned.

“Kangta-shii, can I have a word with you?” Kangta nodded as a response.

The conversation was incomprehensible for Siwon’s ears. He saw the other boy offered something to his hyung, making Kangta lose his grip to Siwon. Impatient with his older brother, Siwon was beginning to walk towards the playground again, when something outside the main entrance caught his eye, a cartwheel selling random toys. Siwon then followed the vendor and his cartwheel.

Unaware of his brother’s flight, Kangta continued to talk to his classmate. It was a moment or so before he realized Siwon’s disappearance. He looked around the playground but he wasn’t there. He dismissed his classmate. He ran towards their car and opened it, hoping against hope that Siwon was in there, but the car is empty except for the driver.

“Ajusshi, have you seen Siwon?” he asked the middle-aged man, panting.

“No. I thought you were with him”

Kangta was shaking with panic. “I lost him. Ajusshi, please help me find him.

And the two went in opposite directions. Kangta searched the whole school but no trace of Siwon whatsoever. He then started to search the adjacent streets, trying hard not to imagine anything. He forced to calm himself.

Kangta sighed with relief when he had finally found his brother. Siwon was in the middle of a deserted street, in front of a cartwheel full of toys. The vendor was trying to shoo him away, but Siwon stayed put, fascinated at every toys he had laid his eyes on. Kangta walked towards him, smiling. When he was five feet away from Siwon, his smile vanished. It was replaced with suspicion, when he saw three large men approaching his brother. He ran, caught Siwon’s hand and turned around. But the other direction was blocked with two other suspicious looking men as well.

The men on all sides were gaining distance. The vendor of the cartwheel flew when he smelled troubled. Siwon looked at the men too, sensing that something is awfully wrong. He was scared. His two hands tightly gripped Kangta’s.

“Hyung...I’m scared...”

Kangta was looking at the men with sharp eyes. He is used to this. People were trying to take him away when he was still a kid, due to their wealth. As luck would have it, these people did not succeed. He then learned taekwondo to defend himself. He was always the target, but he would manage to get away. However, this case is different, as Siwon is with him and he’s afraid that these people will harm his little brother.

He can take the five men down, he was sure of it, but he will never risk the safety of his brother. If he fights back, they will harm powerless Siwon.

Kangta looked at them sharply and spoke, his voice deadly “what do you want?”

“You and you’re little brother.” A bald man spoke.

“You want to take us away? Where?” Kangta was buying time. Ajusshi might walk past them.

“Just come with us, and no one will be harmed.”

“No. you can take me away, but you will spare my brother.” Kangta ordered.

“No hyung...I will never leave you.” Siwon was crying.

“Our orders are absolute; we must take the two of you.” Another man from behind them spoke.

Before Kangta could respond, one man forcefully grabbed Siwon. Making the child cry harder and fell on his knees. This made Kangta so angry. Using the skills he learned, he smashed the foe’s head using his foot, and punched him hard on the gut. All hell breaks loose.

Two men charged at him. Punches were thrown here and there. Kicks were smashed from head to guts. Kangta was bleeding, but it was nothing compared to the blood that was lost in his enemies. Then out of nowhere, one of the men calmly spoke.

“Stop or I will not hesitate to pull this trigger.”

To Kangta’s horror, the man was pointing a gun at Siwon’s head.

He stopped. He looked at the man holding the gun. “Pull that trigger and I assure you, I will hunt all of you down and slowly kill you.” He meant all of the words he said.

One of them chuckled. “I will kill you first kid before you even do that.” And he charged, but the man with the gun stopped him. “We shall not harm these children.” He then looked at Kangta. “Come quietly.”

He stood up, walked toward the sobbing Siwon and carried him. “hyung...I’m scared.”

“Don’t be, Hyung will protect you even if I die.” He looked at the men. “Where now?”

“Follow us.” Then they walked away. Kangta followed them out, and went inside a white van. The two of them were blindfolded during the drive. Kangta never let go of Siwon’s hand.

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When the two siblings were securely roped on each of their chair, a man took off their blindfold. They were in a vast abandoned building and judging from the darkness of the surroundings, the sun had already set.

Kangta adjusted his vision. “Where are we?” he asked.

But the men did not answer.

“Hyung...what will happen to us?”

Kangta smiled bitterly. “Everything will be alright...Appa will surely do anything in his power to rescue us.”

“Oh yes, but I will kill him first before he can even say ‘hello’ to you.” A man came out of the shadows. He was in his early fifty’s, with bulging eyes and crazy demeanor.

“Who are you?” Kangta asked sharply.

The man walked to him and roughly cupped his cheeks.

“Who am I boy? Who am I? I was the person who you’re father had wronged, and now, he will pay the price.” And he laughed.

“I will not, but you will, Hyun-woo.” A baritone voice spoke. When the light hit him, Kangta was relieved to see his father. Siwon yelled, “Appa!”

Hyun-woo released Kangta’s cheeks. “Oh there you are, on time as always. I see you’ve come here immediately after seeing the photos of your children. How’s the business?” he sniggered, his smile full of malice.

“Quit this nonsense. What do you want? If you want money then I’ll give you a fair amount. Release my children.” Their father asked. Seriously pissed.

“no can do. I don’t need your money.”

“then what is it?”

“Your dead body.” And he laughed so loudly.

“Is this about me firing you for being such a greedy, insolent thief?” the father chuckled. “You brought it upon yourself. You are a shame to the company. You stole millions of dollars and put it on your secret account. However I probably went too much when I announced it to the world making other firms ban you.”

“YOU!” Hyun-woo wasn’t laughing now. “You destroyed my name! And now I will destroy you and your family!” he pointed the gun at Siwon’s head. Both Kangta and his Father shouted.

He sighed. “Leave my children out of this. Face me instead. What do you want?”

“YOU. You must die. You must die in my hands.” His eyes were bulging like crazy.

Without the guards noticing, Kangta had already broken loose from the ropes that tied him. They didn’t even notice the police surrounding the abandoned building.

“You will never regain your reputation back even if you kill me.”

Hyun-woo was silent, then his eyes lit up with malice. “Yes, you’re right. But what I’m about to do will hurt you like hell.” In one swift movement, he aimed his gun at Siwon.

Kangta quickly rose up from his chair, and stood in front of his younger brother. Siwon heard the scream of his father and two loud bangs.

Siwon stared at his brother’s face. It was plastered with a bitter smile. Then Kangta slide down to his knees, his upper body fell at Siwon’s legs. Blood was oozing from his brother’s back.

Siwon, so devastated by what he saw, looked up. It was then that three large bangs echoed in the abandoned building. Hyun-woo was shot by the policemen out front. While his father, his loving father looked at him, clothes drenched with blood. He then fell to the ground.

He looked back at his hyung. Siwon wasn’t crying, instead, the tears were replaced with a bottomless pit of emptiness. His eyes were hollow with unbearable agony and shock.

“hyung...Appa...”

He saw, with his own two young eyes the demise of his hyung and father.

Siwon remained in the same position. He did not move, or even blink, even if the police had unclogged him, even if his mother had arrived and cried so hard. He remained still in his seat, holding his hyung’s bloodstained sleeve.

The pain swallowed him whole. His eyes were void of any sort of emotion....

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Siwon was trembling from relieving the past. “...it was painful...so damn painful...that up until now it still feels like the pain is eating me whole...”

Yoona did not respond. She was so dumbfounded at his revelation she didn’t realize she was already crying. She stared at Siwon. He was looking down and was pulling his own hair.

Without thinking, Yoona held each of his two hands in each of hers, keeping him from hurting himself. He looked up, and there she saw that his eyes were welling up with tears.

“Siwon...”

“...It’s my fault; it’s my entire fault... if I had not wandered around in the first place...”

Yoona felt the pain he had been through. She did the only thing she knew that would somehow ease the pain. She put her arm around Siwon’s shoulder and pulled him close, embracing him.

She touched his head. “It was nobody’s fault...shhhh....” her voice cracked.

Siwon continued to cry in her arms, as she is crying in his shoulders. She was crying for her parents, who she had lost in an accident, for Siwon’s brother and father, for herself, and for Siwon.

She was crying for the sorrow the both of them had suffered.....

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What a long chapter..hope you don’t mind! :D thanks for reading!