Hurt - Ali https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dz-Rhmfsnb8   --------------------- Narrator’s P.O.V:     The old, weary man avoided the heated stares of those in the room, and bowed his head in remorse.   “I am shameful to be facing all of you after you have learned so much about my story, especially to Miyoung, and to Jieun, whom I have probably caused great grief to,” the old man began. “I know it might not mean much, but I am deeply embarrassed…. I am sorry to have lied and hidden my past for so many years.”   L took a quick glance to Miyoung, who seemed frozen and unreadable. His gaze slightly softened in sympathy.   “It’s true – after Yooyeon and Byunghun told me that they were getting engaged, I was fueled with newfound anger. I was pent up with jealousy. I could see the love and fondness in your mother’s eyes for your father, and I wished greatly that that could have been me. Instead of feeling happy for them, I was furious.”   “As you know, I was already married and had a child – Jieun. She was very young at the time, and did not know about any of this. Neither her mother nor I had ever uttered a word about my past to her, because we wanted to keep her innocence. My wife, especially.”   “I remember I was in an argument with her mother on the phone while I was driving. She was upset because back in those days, I would constantly mention Yooyeon at home, and complain about her poor choice in Byunghun. Inside, I knew he was a good man, but I refused to admit it. I refuted endlessly, and it was then that I had accidentally crashed into a car. It was terrible.” He closed his eyes in remorse, remembering the incident. The bright flames of the fire… the innumerable shards of glass that littered the floor…. The innocent blood spilt that day…   “I cried for nights when I realized that it had been Byunghun that I had killed. It was an honest accident, but I knew that this had been caused in one way or another due to my jealousy. This was God’s punishment for me.”   “I was a coward, so I ran away when the police let me go. They declared it manslaughter – a mistake that involved an innocent death. I was afraid of facing my family, but I was even more afraid of facing Yooyeon. I hid in the western area of Korea and changed my name to the one I’m known by today – Chulsoo. I became a surgeon for those with handicaps. It was then I began to help out Sunggyu, a patient of mine, who had lost his right arm in a fire. My dream had been to become a famous inventor, just like your mother, but I ended up becoming a sinful, no-good stealer of your mother’s ideas. I became famous for something I didn’t even create. I was a fool.”   Sunggyu touched his right arm self-consciously, the one that the man had repaired, and Miyoung studied his movement.   “Because of all the frustration welled up inside, I caused a scene one day at work. All those years of isolation and lying finally caught up to me. Eventually, I found myself being admitted to a mental institute in the healer district for a few months. In all honesty, I thought I had really become a nutcase there. It was a terrible place.”   “Sunggyu,” his gaze flitted to the eldest, “visited me regularly. He was my one and only companion. I knew that it was only because of Yooyeon’s invention that he felt indebted to me. He was giving me gratitude for something I didn’t deserve. Still, I continued to hide behind my mask, and kept him close. I didn’t want anyone else to leave me.”   “Finally, after a month of talking to psychoanalysts, I was recommended to go see a hypnotherapist, who would take all of my sinful memories away. When I went for my appointment, I was shocked to see that little Hyungsoo, who had grown to become a fair man, was the person I was scheduled to meet. I was both awed and terrified to see him. What if he had heard the rumours that I had killed him? While I was preoccupied in my thoughts, I saw photos of you and your brothers on his desk, all grown up.”   “I don’t know how I knew that that baby I had seen for a split second before Yooyeon’s death had been you, but I could sense it. A gut feeling. I knew that you had grown up well under Hyungsoo’s supervision. When Jieun had come to live with me in the west and introduced me to you as her friend, years later, I knew you were Yooyeon’s child then, too – the same one in the picture frame that rested on Hyungsoo’s desk. It is easy to tell who your mother is – you are the carbon copy of her.”   Miyoung swallowed, despite herself. Her eyes softened a bit at the way he complimented her so fondly, but her heart was still cold towards him. He seemed pitiful, but she didn’t know if she could forgive him.   “Then Hyungsoo recognized me. I went rampant – as you already know, I was not in a stable mental state. My feelings were like a rollercoaster, and changed drastically. All of a sudden, I became scared of him. Scared that he would condone me for the things I had done before. Even now, I wasn’t aware of what I was doing. Then Sunggyu came into the room, and thought that Hyungsoo had done something to harm me. Sunggyu tried to hurt Hyungsoo. I wanted him to stop, but because I was so panicked and unstable, I threw things at Sunggyu, trying to stop him. I could only use my actions to tell him that Hyungsoo was innocent. My voice wouldn’t work. Eventually, I threw something sharp – I can’t remember what it was – at Sunggyu, finally crying out ‘stop, stop’. Sunggyu dodged the object just in time, an