68
Defence
How was she going to make it up to her? How was Victoria going to fix everything? What did she mean by it? Why hadn’t Yoona listened?
Hurrying back to the car she opened the cabinet inside and reached for her gun. In seconds, she was wildly running through the thick trees.
Running up the steps to the chambered factory Yoona quickly hid for cover behind the large door when she heard a man’s voice shouting inside. Victoria was definitely there because he was obviously cooing her name in a sickly way. Half peeking in she saw through the dark shadows a man. She felt like a little kid eavesdropping on her parents. What a silly thought at the moment.
In a split second, a loud shot rang in the air and her eyes widened in shock as something tumbled from above and landed against the ground. A woman’s shout.
Victoria!
- - - - -
A shockwave swarmed through her right arm before she felt pressure against her left arm. When she looked up she realized that Jung Min was stepping on her arm with his spiked boots.
“Are you going to cry? Are you going to scream?” he teased. “Go ahead and scream. I want to hear you scream.”
Victoria bit on her tongue in hopes of lessening her pain.
“So you’d rather play hard?” he teased reaching for his automatic electric gun.
Victoria’s eyes widened.
“Do you want to hear a story?” Jung Min asked.
Victoria gulped. She couldn’t move. The pain from falling had seemingly paralyzed her body for the moment.
“That night of the assassination,” Jung Min confessed, “So Young and I followed you. As we all well know So Young at arms combat but I, on the other hand, excel in aiming. Don’t you know about all the shooting classes I’ve been to?”
“What are you saying?” Victoria asked feeling her heart thud.
“Easy,” Jung Min went on, “you don’t get it, you twerp? Well I guess it’s kind of mean to call you that since you’re not really a twerp but on the other hand I’ve got the best aim in our group. Better than you.”
Victoria frowned. The pain in her body subsiding slowly.
“I did it,” he confessed. “I made that shot and set you up for it.”
He smiled.
“You!” Victoria tried to get up but he stepped on her chest pinning her down.
“I’ll slowly strip your meat apart one by one,” Jung Min said releasing a shot.
Victoria screamed as she felt the skin in her hand tear apart and quickly become wet with silky blood. Awful pain throbbed from her hand up her arm immobilizing her from further movement.
“No!” a scream from elsewhere sounded in her ears.
Victoria gathered all her might and searched around wondering what was going on. Her chest lightened and she realized Jung Min had stepped off her and was now gazing around in search of where the voice had come from. Lifting her head up, Victoria noticed a head peeking out from behind the large door. A girl…long hair…a girl with long hair equals Yoona.
With large eyes in panic and finally being able to transmit everything through her brain, she shot up weakly from the ground. Grabbing Jung Min from behind she pushed him into a lead pipe. Summoning all the energy she had left she beat him like a punching bag with her numb right hand. He cried against her helplessly and she heard the gun land with a light thud on the ground. His body half limped forward and she ceased her attacks huffing for air.
“If you dare kill anyone else but me in here, I’ll haunt you till you pee in your pants every night, until I scar your soul and watch you roam the land helplessly,” Victoria threatened. “Do you hear me?”
Jung Min didn’t reply. Bitter feelings enveloped Victoria when she realized everything had only happened because of him and So Young. Those two fools who were always trying to stab her back…
Angry bittersweet tears reached the corner of her eyes when she reached for her gun. However, her right hand shook so much from the effort of punching him so roughly that she dropped her gun on the floor clumsily. With this chance, Jung Min pushed her to the ground and reached for the electric gun. Battling it out on the ground, Victoria struck out her feet and swung it against his toppling him down. Reaching for his gun, Victoria slung her elbow across his face, however, his grip on the gun was too strong. Joining her left hand with her right hand she pounded the of the electric gun against the ground hoping that maybe Jung Min would let go, but he didn’t. Finally regaining control, Jung Min got up to his knees and pulled Victoria up along with him.
“Die!” he shouted as he swung her into a thick pipe.
Victoria felt her back crack as her back slammed against the pipe before landing on the ground with her knees and hands. Looking up she saw Jung Min aim for Yoona who was visibly clear in shot. Why was she just standing there?! Was she crazy?!!
“Run!” Victoria screamed.
Struggling to get back to her feet she rammed against Jung Min and landed with him across the ground.
“I thought I told you to die!” he shouted.
“Not before you do!” Victoria bellowed reaching for the gun in his grasp.
He grabbed a hold of her right hand and squeezed it. Victoria let out a solidifying scream that deafened his ears. She felt the gun hit her across the head before she landed against the ground.
She’d been beaten like this before at the base. Not by Jung Min but by her seniors, men beyond her age. This time she wasn’t about to let Jung Min treat her the same. He wasn’t her senior and she didn’t fear him. Creating her right hand into a fist she struggled to get up feeling her body shut down on her slowly.
“Are you tired? You look exhausted.” he commented half an hour later.
“I’ve always looked exhausted,” Victoria replied. “If you haven’t noticed.”
“Then I guess I never did,” Taecyeon smiled then picked up some meat and placed them on her plate. “Eat more when I’m not here, ok?”
Tears perked in her eyes. Why was she thinking of that now? She paused feeling time freeze at the moment.
That was right. Taecyeon would still want her to try even if she was at her wit’s end. To die so pitifully…did not suit her.
“Yoona…” Victoria mumbled as she saw Yoona grip onto her handgun with both hands. “Run!”
To her side Jung Min had already decided on his aim. Getting up to her feet…
“Because you killed So Young, I’ll kill your friend in return. We’ll be even then, don’t you think?” asked Jung Min, sweat pouring off his face, chest heaving up and down.
Victoria swallowed the pain shooting through her while her body limped pass Jung Min. During the moment he pressed the trigger, she thought she saw the bullet flying beside her as they both raced toward Yoona, their finishing line. It had all rung in slow motion when another shot came from Yoona going toward Jung Min. Yoona’s bullet flew pass her like a baseball. As she knocked Yoona down, she felt it ram through her chest and her body lurched forward from the impact. Victoria went colliding with Yoona toward the ground. In those few seconds, Yoona still continuously shot at the collapsing Jung Min behind her. Yoona’s gun flew out of her hand into the air and landed beside her when Victoria toppled over to the side.
Everything became silent. Victoria felt her eyes close. Was she dead? Had death finally come to her after her 10 experiences near death?
“No, no,” Yoona cried from beside her.
She hesitantly reached her hand toward Victoria’s bleeding mid chest. Had the bullet struck her heart? Had she really left or had she just simply passed out for the time being?
Yoona gently picked Victoria up, tears falling off her face, and landing on Victoria’s.
“Don’t die on me,” Yoona weeped, “not now. Not after 14 years when I finally found you again. Don’t let me be lonely. You said you were going to make it up to me…Victoria…you lied…Victoria…”
Victoria suddenly opened her eyes. The sight of Yoona crying wasn’t clear in her blurry eyes. Though her right hand had literally been torn, she still reached up to grab onto Yoona’s shoulder.
“It’s ok.” Victoria managed.
Yoona shook her head.
“Don’t hide, don’t be scared, don’t run off, and don’t lie. You shouldn’t feel guilty about any of this,” Victoria felt tears slide down her cheeks.
Yoona had said the same thing to her when they reunited by the water.
“I never meant to take Donghae away nor will I take Taecyeon away from you. He’s all you have now, isn’t he?” Victoria asked.
Yoona shook her head cradling Victoria in her chest, “No…no…why are you saying this?”
Why hadn’t she told Victoria sooner that Taecyeon had already rejected her? Why had she been such a coward to tell Victoria? Why had it been so difficult to even say that she’d been rejected?
“So…if anyone else interferes…don’t let them get away with it. Keep him close and hold him dear. Live like that,” Victoria told, her voice running out of strength.
Yoona had to almost lean toward her lips to hear her make out the words.
“So smile like you used to,” Victoria said, “and live with passion…not a will to find something you’ve lost. Let it all go, Yoona.”
“No, no.” Yoona managed. “Don’t talk anymore. I’ll call the ambulance…the ambulance…my phone…where’s my phone?”
Yoona frantically searched her body for her phone but stopped when Victoria grabbed her hand.
Victoria shook her head, “Let me go.”
Yoona felt a kid whine escape her lips as she began sobbing.
“You said we were going to make new memories, we were suppose to get to know the new us, we were suppose to be together until forever…why’d you lie?” Yoona asked leaning her forehead against Victoria’s.
“You’re making me cry,” Victoria’s faded voice said.
Her lips trembled and a cough rushed through her.
“Victoria…” Yoona cried.
Victoria clutched onto Yoona’s hand with a sudden turn of emotions, “I’m scared…I don’t want to die…”
Yoona let out a loud sob and tightened her arms around Victoria.
Victoria tilted her head up with one last try to get the words out, “Tell Donghae to keep smiling…and tell Ok Taecyeon thank you and I’m sorry. I won’t forget any of you…”
“No, no, no…” Yoona’s voice shook. “It won’t be like that. I’ll save you. I’ll bring you back to us all…”
Victoria’s grasp on her hand loosened and her hand slid to the ground before her body went limp. Her breathing became weaker and weaker as Yoona dialed for the cops.
- - - - -
Taecyeon’s eyes slowly opened when he heard music playing in the background. He thought he was back in his apartment sleeping late in on a Saturday afternoon. However, when he opened his eyes to look around he realized his body had gone stiff on the floor where he’d been knocked out almost a few hours earlier. Then…where was the noise coming from? Getting up onto his knees he searched around before realizing his phone was going off. Reaching into his pocket he grabbed out his phone.
Why was Yoona calling?
“Hello?” he answered.
A muffled voice spoke in panic. She spoke so fast in the middle of her sobs that he barely understood…however the name Victoria completely caught his attention.
His hands shook so hard from feeling nervous that he couldn’t keep the wheels straight on the road. Without locking his car he rushed into the hospital and made for the ER, his heart beating the fastest its ever beaten when he saw a bloody Yoona standing in front of the door. Tears threatened to swallow him before he was to hear the full story from Yoona in the morning.
However much as he wanted to step forward his feet refused to budge from where he stood. Yoona suddenly turned around to look at him and he saw that her face had become swollen from crying so much. Her face arched in pain and she let out an awful sob while she shrank to the ground.
“I killed her…I killed her…” Yoona cried hugging herself.
His eyes widened in shock before he rushed at her. Grabbing her shoulders he forced her up to her feet, “Victoria’s not dead! She’s not dead! She can’t be dead! No one killed her! You didn’t kill her! She’s not dead!!!”
“Sir,” a nurse walked up to him, “do you need to step outside for a bit? This is a hospital…”
“If this is a hospital where’s Victoria! Why isn’t she standing here?! What are you guys doing to her?” Taecyeon bellowed. “Get her out here right now!”
“We need you to restrain yourself, sir.” the nurse solidly ordered.
Yoona shrank from his hold and hugged herself on the ground as sobs tortured her.
An hour later after sitting on the chair feeling stressed out wondering why Victoria hadn’t taken him with her the ER doors finally opened. A doctor walked out and Yoona got up from where she had been sitting on the ground.
“How is she? Tell me she’s awake! Please, please tell me you saved her,” Yoona begged.
The doctor put a hand on Yoona’s shoulder, “I’m sorry. The bullet tore her rib cage and slightly tore a valve in her heart. Her heart stopped on the way here.”
***So Vic learns the truth behind the assassination. And who started this whole mess for her that tore her apart one by one? So Young and Jung MIn.
***Heartbreaking. It's so sad how Victoria confessed that she didn't want to go :( *tears*
***My eldest brother says that those who you really love are the ones you think of before you die.
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