015
And You Are?
"I lived with my sister and dad. My mom died when she was giving birth to me. My sister was three years older than me. According to my sister, my dad got very sad and got in a depression after my mom died. He started doing drugs and became an alcoholic. This went on until I was five. We were used to him coming late at night or sometimes not even coming until the next day. But one day, he came home after not being there for about 2 days. He started yelling at my sister, saying she was worthless. My sister didn't say anything back, but she was very mad. Then, all of a sudden, my dad hit her." Jonghyun closed his eyes as the tears fell down his face.
"He didn't stop. When I tried to stop him, he hit me too. He hit us until my sister was unconscious. Then he left. I pretended I was unconscious so that he could leave. When he left, I crawled over to the phone and called the police. I don't even know how the officer understood me; I was crying and couldn't even talk right. When the police came over, they took both of us to the hospital. After that, they took us to an orphanage. They told us they caught my dad a few miles away from our house."
"After about a year of living in the orphanage, my sister told me she was going to run away. She was going to run and come back for me when the time was right. She never told me where she was going or with who. But the night she left, she gave me a hug and with tears running down her face she told me, 'Jjong, I'll be back. Don't worry about where I'm going. I'll be safe, with people who care about me. I'll be back. Be good. Don't get in trouble. If anything happens to you, just remember that Noona will come back. I'll always be there for you. Don't forget that. I'll be back. I love you.' I remember every word she said, really. After that, she jumped out of the window. I ran to the window and saw her run with five other people."
"Years pasted, and I never saw my sister. But one day, when I was 10, a girl came by to the orphanage and talked to me. She asked me if I believed in myths then explained to me about how the stories in Greek Mythology were real. I didn't believe her. She left after that but then came the next day. She told me her name was Victoria. But mortals would know about her by the name Artemis. Victoria explained what happened to my sister. She said that about a week after my sister left, Victoria had told her about whom she was and if she wanted to join her and her hunters. My sister said yes and ran away with her and the other hunters. Victoria said my sister was one of the bravest girls she had ever met. She said she was so good at being a hunter that she became Victoria's left hand. But one day, when they were in battle, my sister was caught by surprised and was shot with a poisoned arrow. Victoria said that before my sister died, she made her promise that she would come find me and give me the power my sister had."
"Victoria, being the goddess, said at first she declined my sister’s promise. Saying how could she go and find me, a boy, and give me power that doesn't belong to me. But, at the end, she came and found me. That day, I got my powers. She took me away from the orphanage and took me to a small village. There, she taught me how to use my powers. When I had finally learned how to change into an animal and change back to human, she sent me off to her twin brother, Apollo. Or in this case, Jinki hyung." He smiled a little and wiped some tears off his face with the back of his hand, "Which is weird because Victoria and Jinki are nothing alike. I 'lived' under Jinki hyung's rules for a while. Victoria would come visit me from time to time, and even if she denies it, I know she had a soft spot for me. Then one day, Jinki hyung said he was going to leave. He said he was sick of being a god and wanted to live as a mortal. So he left me and I suppose went to you, Key."
I blink back some of the tears that threatened to fall down my face. "But before he left, I told him that I wouldn't forgive him for leaving me alone. Like how my sister did. He ignored what I said and left. I stayed in the place I lived after Jinki hyung left until last month when Victoria visited me and told me I had to go to school. She told me she has a small house in the city and would let me live there until I graduated high school. Then I moved in here and went to school. And that is my story."
"That was a sad and long story, Jonghyun." I whispered, afraid that he would take it the wrong way and get mad at me. But instead, he ruffled my hair and laughed.
"Yes it is Key. But, it's the past. You can't change the past." I nodded. When I reached up to fix my hair, I forgot I had the cup of coffee in my hand and spilled it all over Jonghyun. We both jumped up at the same time.
"Oh my god! I am so sorry! Here, let me get a napkin!" I started to walk to the kitchen when I felt him grab my wrist to stop me. I turned around and found myself looking into a pair of sad puppy eyes.
"Key."
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