50
Defence
Yoona glanced in to see the curly haired Mrs. Kim making her way down the stairs.
“Yoona!” the woman gladly greeted.
“Ah…” Yoona quickly glanced aside to find that Victoria had pressed herself against the brick wall away and out of sight.
“What are you doing here? Do you want to come in?” Mrs. Kim offered.
“Uh…”
Mrs. Kim moved toward the black door just near where Victoria was hiding.
“No,” Yoona quickly called, “it’s ok. I just wanted to peek in a little. I have to be going now.”
“Already? You just got here.” Mrs. Kim tried.
“Yes…I have to go now…” Yoona lied.
“You take care then,” Mrs. Kim said and started to turn around.
“Wait…” Yoona stopped her, “how are…Vic’s mom and dad doing?”
“Their health has gotten a lot better. They’re stronger and are moving a little more, but they’re always sleeping,” Mrs. Kim explained.
Yoona took a glance toward Victoria, whose eyes have suddenly become dark with bags.
“Mrs. Kim…could you…could you give me a greeting?” Yoona insisted.
Mrs. Kim looked at her confused. Her eyebrows suddenly drawn together.
“I’m…I’m making…a tribute for Victoria…could you say something…something you want to say to her?” Yoona half lied, half begged.
Even though Victoria looked like she was already in more pain than she could take, Yoona was sure that this was something she needed to power her up. This was something…she’d missed these past 14 years…and to hear it once more would make her happy as well…
“Victoria?” Mrs. Kim repeated with much affection in her voice. Pressing her lips together she shakily said, “The first thing I’d do when she comes back is to hug her, cradle her in my arms to sleep even if she is a big girl now. I believe she’s grown beautifully and is still as innocent as she used to be. I also hope the people she’s stayed with…has loved her and taken care of her as much as I would. And I’d want to let her know…” Mrs. Kim let out a small sob, “that we’ve never stopped looking for her. Inside our hearts…we love her very much. Her parents miss her more than anything in the world. The only thing we need before we die…is for her to come back to our arms.”
Yoona smiled near tears and nodded, “Thank you, Mrs. Kim.”
The old woman smiled back and wiped a tear. “I have to go back inside now. I don’t want the soup to burn because of me.”
“Go in, go in,” Yoona ushered.
The old woman nodded and headed up the stairs toward the door. When she disappeared from sight Yoona turned to look at Victoria who’d cupped her hands over , her hair drooping off her shoulders to block her tearful face. As a sign of her sobbing her head bobbed up and down while she tried to silence her heart wracking sobs.
Half an hour later they were sitting on the docks hidden behind tall fat trees. Barely anyone fished there anymore after a few boats had gone and never come back. The waves slowly swept in underneath them and splashed ashore loudly then retreated and came back. The sun was lying low in the sky ready to sleep and let the moon wake.
They were silent. After the trip to her home, Victoria hadn’t stopped crying until they were miles away from her home.
Yoona started, “Your room is still the same. Your parents haven’t removed anything. It's as if they're ready for your return any day…only you couldn’t make your way back.”
Victoria gulped down the soreness in and glanced at the dark waves.
“I was knocked out the entire time,” Victoria suddenly spoke, “even at 12 years old, we’re smart enough to know what this or that looks like and where that or this is. I couldn’t locate where I was. When I awoke, I was sleeping on a bare bed beside young girls and boys. They were bruised and half . It started when I woke up.”
Victoria darted her eyes toward her feet.
“I was dragged toward the cafeteria where I ate cold rice and fish heads. Then I was taken outside, I was assumed to have knowledge about combat…when I couldn’t do what they wanted they forced me to take memory lessons. If I couldn’t remember anything I was shown in ten seconds they threatened to punish me. In the end, I couldn’t memorize what I was shown. They took my clothes and tossed me into a cold cell where mice ran loose. I was there for a week and a half, crying because that was all I knew to do. I was fed a bowl of rice once a day…it wasn’t enough for my appetite…I was discovered chewing raw rat meat by a boy, who then gave me his share of meals.
“He told me that if I cried I would be killed there as so many others, who’d been kidnapped had. I was released then and he helped teach me the basics of combat and memory skills. Even though I was constantly harassed and picked on by the other boys and girls, he really did help me. I learned really quickly because of him.
“At 13, the men took me out…after they held our victim down I was forced to kill…my first shot at a human…was when I was 13. I was bewildered, I was about to go crazy because of my guilt, and because of that I was beat again. The men…had no mercy on me. Whether I was a girl, or just a child I was supposed to know how to kill and be cold.
“I became like that, finally, after they tried a gang on me. Because I killed seven of them…I became fearful. That’s how I became equal among the men. As much as I wanted to come back…I had no time to wonder about how anyone was doing. After three years there I forgot all faces of everyone I knew.
“The man who runs the base…even I don’t know him. But to be here, to still be alive is pretty much a miracle.”
“I wish you wouldn’t be like that,” Yoona said, “yes, they put you through hell. Maybe you do belong in hell…but I’m not going to let you go there because you didn’t deserve it in the first place.
“We all waited and while waiting it was difficult to keep the faith, yet, we all believed you’d be back. Even though you’ve killed…even if you plead a million times for your innocence, I won’t let you fall down by yourself. After you disappeared, I had no one to go to. Your parents shunned me from their lives until the detectives reported you dead. Do you know how awful it was to hear that? To hear that a friend I lost was dead? No words can describe how guilty I felt.
“When I grew up, I was by myself. I couldn’t talk to anyone. It was hard to fit in. I was an outcast. But all that doesn’t matter now, because I did discover you. And now that I have the power, I can fight for you.
“Don’t hide, don’t be scared, don’t run off, don’t lie. You shouldn’t feel guilty. Don’t live like that Victoria. You don’t need to be like that. I’ll keep you safe, I’ll protect you, I’ll make everything up for you. Everything you’ve missed out on, I’ll tell you what you want to know. All your fears, cast them aside. All your needs, I can get them for you. I’ll do anything. So, just smile like the way you used to. As long as you don’t disappear…please stay with me. I don’t want to lose you again. I still need the friend from 14 years ago. It was so hard being alone…it’s so hard. Vic…I waited so long…”
Victoria felt heavy tears drop from her eyes one after another. She had waited 14 years too.
All the sadness, all the pain they had gone through just to get to where they were…it was all unexplainable. It was difficult to believe that majority of their problems were behind them now. The heavy blocks of memories in their hearts were slowly disappearing. Even though it was hard to forget…what really mattered was that they were there…together.
Reaching her arms out she hugged the crying Yoona beside her and together the both of them cried upon each other’s shoulders. The reunion Yoona had long waited for…finally came.
- - - - -
Taecyeon kept his eyes on the road. He watched attentively for Yoona’s car to pull up to the sidewalk. After a fifteen minute wait her car finally appeared and the two girls stepped out in high spirits.
“Did you two have a good talk?” Taecyeon questioned.
“It went well.” Yoona nodded.
He took one look at the fragile looking Victoria.
“We should be going now,” Taecyeon said then nodded toward Yoona, “you go back and get some rest.”
“I’ll see you tomorrow,” Yoona ended their farewell with a complete smle and got into her car.
Victoria watched as her car disappeared among traffic and finally turned to Taecyeon.
“What’d you talk about?” he wondered.
“Nothing,” Victoria replied opening the car door.
When they reached the apartment Taecyeon slowly followed the staggering Victoria up the stairs. After taking her shoes off Victoria sat down on the couch comfortably ready for a nap.
“Are you hungry?” Taecyeon asked. “I’ll cook something good food for you.”
“No, I’m not hungry,” she replied.
“Why? Did you eat out?”
Leaning back into the couch she looked up at him.
“Is something on my face?”
Should she say it or not…or should she wait for Yoona to tell him. No matter how she thought of it…it was best to say it herself. If he wouldn’t listen, Yoona would back her up.
“You should move out.”
“What?”
“It’s not a good idea for you to keep coming back here.”
“I own this place,” he pointed out, “and you’re kicking me out?”
Victoria took a breath of air, “It’ll be safer for you.”
“With you in this condition? I don’t think so.”
“I can fend for myself,” Victoria stated, “and I’m not saying as if you can’t return. You can come back to visit as much as you want…but you can’t stay here.”
“Is this for my good? Or do you have something up your sleeve again?” he assumed.
Victoria started to speak but he cut her off again.
“Forget it! I can’t talk to you when you’re like this. Get some sleep,” he told.
“Ok Taecyeon,” she started.
“We’re not strangers, why do you keep using my full name?” he spouted grumpily.
Pressing her lips together she ignored him, “I’ll say it out rightly then. You…don’t have to die for me. You shouldn’t have to. Don’t be a hero in front of me. I don’t want that.”
Taecyeon stared at her silently unsure if he were taken aback or if her words just simply silenced him. Questions and a mix of emotions flooded through him. He was confused about her worries, her feelings, his feelings, and why things were going the way they were.
- - - - -
The lights went out after the clock passed 11. Victoria lay there staring at the ceiling deprived of sleep. Finally tired and through with struggling to sleep she got up and pulled the door open. Standing from the doorway she glanced out to see Taecyeon sleeping uncomfortably on the couch.
Everyone had given her so much since her discovery. But among everyone else, Taecyeon had done the most. Dealing with her limited knowledge, feeding her, allowing her to stay, teaching her many things she didn’t know, and he bought her things without asking for anything in return. This naïve man, whom she’d threatened from the beginning actually turned out to be someone sensitive. Someone, who was almost like her.
It would have been nice if she could have freely expressed herself, to clearly say how she felt…but it was wrong. Whenever she glanced at Taecyeon, other than seeing the kindness that floated off him, she would see Yoona in her mind. The way she seemed disappointed and so lost around him…was so clear to Victoria. After finally reconciling…Victoria didn’t want to lose it over someone…
He slept so peacefully…so peacefully that nothing seemed wrong in the world at all. As if no evil existed in his dreams. Victoria found herself staring at him for the longest time. Every inch…every detail of his face became visible even in the dark. The way his hair crawled to the top of his head and stood out became engraved in her memory. Victoria was sure, then, that she would never forget his face.
She was…really, really, really thankful.
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