THE SCARRED SOULS...
THE TALE OF TWO SISTERS12 YEARS LATER....
“You can’t escape me…” it was her aunt, Park Si Yeon.
“You’re the lowliest scum on earth, Aunt. You’re a murderer! You killed my father! You killed my father!” Shinhye shouted as her aunt was pulling her hair painfully. She was struggling so hard even though she felt as if her hair were being pulled from their roots.
“Shut up! I killed him because he won’t give me anything at all…he left it all to you. I served him as a good sister should be but he left everything to you! To you!” Si Yeon bitterly shouted back.
“If they found me dead, my sister won’t stop until she found out the truth. She’ll look for you and bring you to justice!” Shinhye said mockingly to her aunt.
Her aunt laughed…it was maniacal laugh…hallowed…devoid of emotion.
“Do you think Chae Won would find you? She won’t find you if you’re already in ion den in China. She can’t trace you there and if ever she would be able to trace you, there would be nothing left of you to save!” Si Yeon maliciously remarked as she looked at her with her fierce gaze.
“You’re going to sell me to the Chinese triad? How could you do that to me?” Shinhye said horrified at what her aunt told her.
“I need to pacify them because of the drug deal that turned sour and you’ll be the payment. With your angelic features, you’ll fetch a tidy some at any ion den”, Si Yeon replied as she continued to drag Shinhye to the deserted cemetery far away from the city.
“Aunt, please, don’t do this to me. I didn’t do anything to you…my father didn’t do anything to you”, Shinhye pleaded as she tried to pull herself from her aunt.
“I’m sorry, dear, it’s just business plain and simple”, Si Yeon said as she pushed Shinhye on the ground. She grabbed a rope from the pocket of her coat and a loaded gun.
Shinhye’s eyes widened at what she saw…her aunt would really sell her to the triad without any remorse. Her aunt then crouched in front of her and pointed the small 9 mm hand gun at her before she laughed and slapped her left and right…her lips and nose were already bleeding…her face bruised and marred by her aunt’s hand.
“Don’t try anything funny. I’ll shoot you on the spot”, Si Yeon warned her.
Shinhye saw her aunt unwinding the rope while holding the gun with her right hand. She saw this as an opportunity. It was a matter of life and death and she had to emerge out as the winner. She stood abruptly and jumped at Si Yeon who was taken by surprise.
“What the…” Si Yeon surprisingly yelped as she and Shinhye fell on the ground.
“I don’t want to die! I don’t want to die!” Shinhye said with determination…like a prayer in order to fuel strength to her tired and cold body.
“Stop it, !” Si Yeon shouted as she struggled to sit up and gained momentum over her niece but Shinhye fueled by anger and fear maintained her hold on the gun.
They tugged and pulled trying to turn the gun’s barrel to each other’s bodies. Shinhye being on top had the momentum needed to push the gun to the direction of her aunt. Si Yeon with all her strength tried to raise the barrel up but when she was about to turn it towards Shinhye…
Bang! The gun fired and Si Yeon’s hold on the gun relaxed. Her eyes opened wide looking at Shinhye with surprise.
“Ahhh…y-you s-shot me”, Si Yeon moaned in pain.
Shinhye’s eyes widened…she let go of the gun which fell on her aunt’s stomach which was already oozing with blood.
“I…I…I’m sorry…I didn’t mean to! I’m sorry I didn’t mean to!” Shinhye said as she rose from her aunt’s body…her knees wobbled…her mittens stained with blood…she was shaking.
“H-How d-dare y-you”, Si Yeon moaned and with the last of her strength tried to raise her right hand to grab the gun from her stomach and fired at Shinhye.
Shinhye saw blood oozing from her stomach and with a movement born of survival kicked her aunt’s hand and grabbed the gun with her trembling hands and pointed it towards Si Yeon.
“You can’t really kill me, Shinhye, you’re not really going to kill me…see you’re bleeding, too”, Si Yeon laughed mockingly while her blood continued to spread around her.
“No…I could…I hate you! I hate you!” Shinhye shouted as tears fell from her eyes.
“You can’t, Shinhye, you just can’t…you’re weak”, Si Yeon insultingly said.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Shinhye pulled the trigger three times…her rage fueled her…
“Now we’re a like…we’re both murderess…murderess!” Si Yeon said before she breathed her last…her eyes still opened blankly staring at Shinhye.
“Murderess…murderess…murderess…murderess…” the echo of her aunt’s accusation rang louder…louder…
“No! No!” Shinhye abruptly woke up…she was sweating profusely despite the coldness of her airconditioned room. She was clutching her soft blanket. She was trembling as she sat and hold on to her knees like a fetus. Her long hair fell on her as she put her face on her knees.
“Shinhye, Shinhye”, Chae Won called as she knocked on her door.
“Yes”, Shinhye answered in a still trembling voice.
Chae Won unlocked Shinhye’s door and entered. She also closed the door before she sat on the side of the bed facing her younger sister.
“Chae Won, I killed her…I killed someone”, Shinhye said as she raised her tear-stained face to her elder sister.
Chae Won did not say anything…she just looked at her younger sister…her expression pained.
“Come here, dearest”, Chae Won gently said as she opened her arms. Like a baby, Shinhye embraced her elder sister and burrowed her face on her chest seeking for warmth, understanding and love that only Chae Won who was her elder sister and mother figure role into one.
“I killed her…I killed her…” Shinhye repeatedly said as she cried in her elder sister’s embrace.
“She deserved it, dearest, they all deserved it” Chae Won consoled her younger sister.
“I didn’t only kill her, Chae Won, I also killed another two and you know that”, Shinhye said.
“I would have killed them if you hadn’t managed the feat and you know that, too”, Chae Won bantered back.
Shinhye looked at her elder sister, Chae Won’s chocolate brown eyes which used to be soft and warm were then filled with coldness and bitterness as cold as ice. A deep scar from below her eyes extending to her jaw marred the right side of her elder sister’s elegantly beautiful face…her complexion made whiter by the black night gown she was wearing.
“Chae Won, what have happened to us?” Shinhye asked softly as she touched her elder sister’s long healed deep scar.
“It just happened to us, dearest, it just happened to us”, Chae Won vaguely answered as she also raised her left hand to wipe the flowing tears from Shinhye’s eyes.
Shinhye caught the gleam of her elder sister’s wedding ring…it was a thick gold band.
“I know how you suffered for him, Chae Won. I know how he deeply hurt your heart. I know how much your husband pained you so much you wished to die”, Shinhye said in a broken voice as she held her elder sister’s left hand and rubbed the wedding ring there.
“It’s all in the past, Shinhye”, Chae Won consoled her younger sister.
“I’m sorry…” Shinhye said for a lack of better words to console her elder sister whose eyes were already wet with tears.
“Don’t, Shinhye, don’t be. You see we’re not much different…you and I. You said you’re a murderess for killing Park Si Yeon and another two but look at me…I’m a murderess, too. You fairly well know that I killed my husband…I killed him and left him to burn on his death…and believe me, dearest, I never felt a single remorse at what I did”, Chae Won said…her eyes much colder and her voice infused with steel.
“Yes, Chae Won, you and I are both murderess…we’re cold blooded murderess”, Shinhye agreed as she wiped her tears…her innocent eyes filled with the same coldness as Chae Won.
“Remember this, dearest, in the dangerous jungle we had been before only the fittest survives and we happened to be the survivors”, Chae Won said as she again locked her younger sister in her embrace.
Shinhye nodded knowing that she and Chae Won had survived but their souls were forever scarred…marred…by the blood of those they killed….
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