Jaejoong had forcefully whisked Yunho out of the party. In a secluded area that was free of the noise of the event, Jaejoong rammed Yunho against the wall and began interrogating. "Where is your father?" He asked.

            "He should be in the party." Yunho replied, feeling a little uneasy looking at Jaejoong's unstable demeanor.

            "Well, he's not." Jaejoong retorted. "And neither is Minji."

            Concern suddenly appeared on Yunho's face. "Are you saying that they went together?"

            "That is highly possible." Jaejoong said between clenched teeth, trying to control himself. "Everyone else who is acquaited with Minji are in the room. And surprisingly, everyone on the guest list is here besides your father."

            "They might have gone to grab some fresh air outside." Yunho suggested. "Or they needed to talk about something privately."

            "But where?" Jaejoong asked again. "Don't worry, Minji is safe with father."

            "NO, SHE'S NOT!!!" Jaejoong blurted.

            Yunho stopped speaking and eyed his friend suspiciously. "What do you mean, Jaejoong?" Yunho suspected where his question might be leading to.

            Jaejoong looked at his friend with pitiful eyes. "Song Jaehee is responsible for the death of Song Jaerim and his wife and for the attempted murder of Song Minji."

            Yunho gaped. And then denial took over him. "No." His voice started to shake. "My father wouldn't do that. How can a man who cared for me for nine years kill his own family?"

            Jaejoong took out his phone and put a picture on the screen. It was the one that he had taken at Taehee's school. "Your father conspired with Lee Sangwoo to kill them even before we entered the picture, Yunho." Jaejoong explained. "This is a picture of Sangwoo and Taehee during their school days. I was wondering who the second guy was. When I showed this image to Sangwoo during interrogation, I discovered that it was Minji's uncle. And at the sight of this image, Sangwoo confessed to everything he ever did, like a mad man."

            "But..."

            "I have no time now to give any other further explanations." Jaejoong intercepted. "Do you or do you not know where he might have taken Minji to?"

            Yunho gulped. He didn't know whether to believe that his father was a murderer or not, but he knew that Minji could possibly be in danger. And that was what was top priority at the moment. "I think I know a place. And I'll tell you on one condition." Yunho said in a serious tone.

            Jaejoong turned to his friend in fury. How could he request at such a desperate time. 

            "Take me along with you."

                        Haeyoung eyed the boy who had walked into his room. Was this Jungwoo? But Jungwoo was never this sulky. He was never this spiritless. "What happened? Did you get dumped?"

            Slowly, Jungwoo shook his head. His head was bowed low, hiding any painful expression he may be showing on his face. But still he walked up to his one friend and then reached out for the blanket that covered Haeyoung's frail body. His hand gripped onto it tightly, trying to force all his thoughts on the strength in his one hand.

            His strength, however, only reminded him of how weak Jungwoo really was. He wasn't even able to keep his father alive. "He's dead." Jungwoo said softly.

            "What?" Haeyoung had not heard his friend earlier and insisted that he repeat himself.

            Jungwoo looked up at his friend and that was when Haeyoung saw the swollen red eyes and tear-stained cheeks. Haeyoung couldn't help but feel a pang of pain in his chest at the look of his friend's face. He didn't know what it felt like to lose someone, because he had never lost anyone before. His father had disliked him for as long as he could remember.

            "My father's dead, Haeyoung!" Jungwoo cried and more tears streamed down his face. "He died before me and I couldn't do anything about it. I'm so weak!"

            "Weak, my !" Haeyoung interjected. "You're not the one who has to lie down on a patient bed for almost six months now."

            "Haeyoung!" Jungwoo's voice turned cold and stern. "You shouldn't swear."

            "Well, you shouldn't be telling me off for something like that when you're father has passed on."

            Jungwoo was silenced.

            "Haeyoung. I'm scared." Jungwoo said after a long pause of silence. "What is going to happen to me? I'm an orphan now and nobody wants me."

            "Why don't you come and live with me?"

            The two boys turned to see someone somewhat familiar standing a few metres from the bed. It was obvious that Minji's uncle had heard every word they had said.

            "What do you want?" Haeyoung said in annoyance. It was already diabolical having Dr. Song visit him everyday, but now he had to see that doctor's brother as well.

            "You heard me. I want Jungwoo to come and live with me." Jaehee turned away from Haeyoung and looked at Jungwoo. "I will help you become stronger, Jungwoo. You can have everything you want. I will help you grow so that you can protect the people you care about. It isn't just your father that you want to protect, isn't it. There is someone else, isn't there?"

            Jungwoo and Haeyoung already knew who that someone was. Song Minji.

            Haeyoung glared at the man. He somewhat found the man quite manipulative. "Just what are you thinking?" He asked Jaehee without any formalities.

            "I have taken quite a liking to you too, Haeyoung." Minji's uncle admitted. "We share common thoughts."

            "Well, I hate you." Haeyoung stated. "Because you have something to do with that doctor."

            The man laughed even more. "My fondness is only growing." The older man beamed. "How did you ever come to detest such angels?"

            "Angels don't exist in this world." Haeyoung protested.

            Jaehee shook his head in disagreement. "Angels do exist on this Earth, Haeyoung, but they are not supposed to." He then turned to Jungwoo. "Now what do you say, Jungwoo. Would you like to become my son?"

                        "Why?" I struggled to speak as I clung on for dear life. "Why are you doing this?"

            "Why did I want to kill you and your family?" My uncle towered before me. The grimace he wore made me shiver. "I already gave you my answer."

            "No!" I bellowed. "That can't be all. My father was your blood brother. My mother was your beloved in-law. And I-" I choked at the thought of my uncle's true intentions. Was he as sincere as I thought he initially was? "I was a niece you treated as your own daughter."

            My uncle chuckled once but the hollowness still lingered in his eyes. "Sounds like three wonderful people who are be loved by many." He chirped. His tone however turned into a malicious sneer. "Don't you think you've got enough love from everyone. Why do you need me to care about you as well?"

            "What-" My voice was shaking. "What do you mean?"

            A side smirk appeared on my uncle's face. "You got two perfect parents who had everything. They were both smart, intelligent and admired. What difference would it make if I didn't show my admiration for your family?"

            "It makes all the difference in the world!" I yelled at my uncle. "You're my uncle and I care about you and what you do. Never did I want my uncle to become a murderer."

            "You greedy little !" My uncle snarled at me. "You and your family have taken everything away from me and you expect me to love you. No way!"

            I trembled as my palms grew sweaty. I looked down to see darkness below me. How long will I be able to hang on? I turned back to my uncle and gave him a determined look. "What did we take from you uncle? I will give it back to you."

            My uncle crouched down but still positioned over me. "You're father took away my hospital. Your mother took away my heart." I felt a spark. This man before me, had once loved my mother with all his heart.

            "And you, Minji?"

            I gulped.

            "You took away, Gu Jungwoo."

            "Uncle." My voice was almost inaudible.

            "Don't 'uncle' me!" He snapped. "Your heart may be made of gold but it shines too bright, Minji, so bright that it dulls everyone around you. Just like your parents." His explanation hinted the loneliness, the discrimination and the heartbreak that had been consuming him for so long. "So don't linger upon this Earth, your goodness isn't doing as much good as you think it is." 

            No! I couldn't leave this world knowing that I was leaving my uncle in this state. I used the strength I had left to elevate myself for a short while. At that point, I put a hand around his ankle. He jerked up into a standing position.

            "I'm not leaving you, uncle." I managed to say, struggling to keep my hand around his leg. "I have to stay here and protect you. I need you to know how much my parents loved you. How much Yunho respects you. And how much pain I feel to see you doing these kind of things. Please stop, uncle. I don't want you to kill anyone anymore."

            My uncle crouched down again. His slender hand gently my cheek...

            And then he gripped my throat hard! I tried to catch my breath but at the same time, I grabbed at the dirt more ferociously.

            "Scared, aren't you?" My uncle sneered. "You should be. This is exactly how I have lived, Minji. You should be feel lucky that it isn't going to last too long for you. I had to struggle to breathe for my whole life."

            "Un- cle." I gasped a little.

            "Why? Why did Jaerim have to be better than me at everything? Why didn't Taehee love me? Why does Yunho love you so much?" My mad uncle huffed. "WHY?!"

            My vision was disappearing. My body felt numb; I didn't even know if I had a strong hold on the cliff or not. I could hear my heart pounding dramatically within me, but I could hear another voice. "Father." It said. It sounded exactly like Yunho.

            Suddenly, my airways cleared and I in cold, fresh air.

            "Father, did you really kill Minji's parents?"

            A bit of colour returned to my eyes. And then the picture became clear. Yunho was standing before his adopted father. His intense gaze was full of fury but my uncle couldn't look away from him. The foster child he had come to raise and love had witnessed him at his worse state. I couldn't imagine how horrified my uncle was feeling at this moment.

            "Yunho, it's okay." I managed to cough.

            My uncle gave me a deathly glare.

            "Freeze!" It was Jaejoong.

            Despite my situation, I lightened up at the sound of the voice. Jaejoong appeared from the shadows of the forest, with a gun in his hand directed at my uncle's head.

            My uncle chuckled coldly. "I know how accurate you can aim your bullets but do you honestly think that I fear death?"

            "No. You don't. You hate this hellhole." Jaejoong said. It seemed to strike my uncle somehow.

            Yunho took the opportunity to grab a hold of me and hoisted me up from danger.

            My uncle looked at his son in bewilderment. "Yunho." My uncle commanded. "Get out of here."

            "Yes, get out of here." Jaejoong smirked, walking towards the criminal. "But please take Minji along with you."

            "NO!"

            "Yes." Jaejoong spoke calmly.

            Yunho didn't have to think twice. He carried me, bridal style and walked out into the darkness.

            "Yunho, come back here right this minute!" My uncle ordered in the background. Yunho ignored him but I gave him a weak punch. "What is it, Minji?"

            I looked at him defiantly. "I am not going anywhere. My uncle and Jaejoong are both in danger. I'm staying."

            Yunho's saddened expression turned into one of shock. "You're still siding with your uncle, after what he has done to you and your family?"

            "My uncle has been suffering for a long time, Yunho."

            "But he killed your family. He manipulated Sangwoo to work as his underling, just so he could snatch away everything that is rightfully yours."

            "All the more reason that I cannot abandon him." I protested. "I need to get to him somehow. I have to make him stop this madness of his or else he is going to regret it for the rest of his life."

            Yunho sighed in sheer agony. "I hate to admit it but father is a lost cause."

            "No he isn't." I wiggled out of Yunho's arms and landed on the damp frosty earth. Then I ran back to my uncle.

            "Minji, what are you doing here?" Jaejoong spoke with true terror in his tone of voice.

            "She has come to die of course." My uncle sneered.

            I ignored my uncle's rude remarks. "I want to know how my parents died." I stated bravely.

            Out of nowhere, my uncle grabbed Jaejoong's gun and rammed it into my chest. "Well let me show you." My uncle said with a domineering smirk.

            "NO!" Jaejoong screamed. He tried to push me out of harm's way but I felt a bullet penetrate the top of my left shoulder. I fell the to floor and tried to muster the pain. Jaejoong looked at me with excruciating eyes then turned to my uncle who was cackling with satisfaction.

            The younger boy disarmed the man and grabbed him by the collar. "I'm going to kill you!" Jaejoong was hysterical.

            "No, don't Jaejoong!" My voice was croaky. I was trying so hard to bear the pain and remain as conscious as possible.

            "No you won't. Minji told you not to." The older man still managed to chuckle. Jaejoong looked at me and I knew that he knew that I didn't want him to stain his hands, just like how my uncle had done in the past and was doing right now.

            "But I'm not so stupid to follow the orders of a petty little girl." The criminal sneered. "I'd rather make someone so sickly pure and innocent, suffer." My uncle dragged himself and Jaejoong towards the cliff.

            "Minji!" Yunho ran to my side again when he saw me lying helplessly on the ground. "Are you alright? We have to get you out of here."

            But all of our attention was directed towards my uncle. "THEY HAVE TO FEEL WHAT I FEEL. THEY NEED TO KNOW MY PAIN!"

            He stared deeply at Jaejoong. His words gushed out of him like a river. "You knew it too, how it feels to suffer immensely. You were mistreated by your father and abandoned by your mother."

            He then turned to Yunho. "You too, Jungwoo. Your father died and left you to thrive in this world all alone."

            I saw my uncle's eyes meet mine. The piercing glare he gave me sent shivers down my spine. "But this lived a carefree life without a worry. It pisses me off so much."

            Jaejoong forced a fist at Jaehee's belly and the main spluttered. "Who did you just call a ?"

            My uncle could only smile. "We're dangerously close to the cliff. Doesn't the wind feel nice, Haeyoung?"

            Jaejoong eyed him suspiciously. "What are you doing?"

            My uncle looked at Jaejoong proudly. "My, what a catch I have here."

            "What are you talking about?" Jaejoong said furiously.

            In a split second, a smaller pistol than the first emerged from my uncle's coat into his hand. He pinned it at Jaejoong's head and clicked it into firing mode. "Let go of me." He commanded. Jaejoong did so. "Good. I have two choices for you, Haeyoung. You either go down with me into the depths of the ocean below, or you get your brains bursted in front of your precious Song Minji."

            My eyes started to well up in tears. "Uncle, please don't do this. Haven't you killed enough? I don't want you to be a murderer. I don't want you to die." I wailed. "Can't you please just come back and stand beside me, just like how you did when I was at my worst?"

            "Minji, don't move." Yunho pleaded. "You're going to make your wound worse."

            "I didn't even get the chance to show the world how grateful I was to have an uncle like you. I was going to tell everyone how my uncle had protected me for the past eight years. I was going to tell them how you have improved the Song Hospital. I was going to tell them how you had adopted my most cherished friend and gave him the most luxurious life anyone could have asked for."

            "STOP IT!" My uncle raged. But this time, it seemed like he lacked self control. He was still crazy but it was as if he didn't intend to break down vulnerably before me. "Don't you see? I kept you away from home to seize your inheritance. I only adopted Yunho to keep him away from you. It was hard to layout my murder with him in the picture. Jaejoong as well, I intended to make him leave you but he kept on stubbornly visiting you. I can't believe that you'd believe that I did all these things for you. You're pathetic."

            "No she's not!" Jaejoong grimaced. He eyed the man who seemed to be shaking. "If she can shake you, then she's not pathetic. She's getting to you, Jaehee, just like she did to me ten years ago."

            My uncle's teeth clenched. "No she's not!"

            Jaejoong shot his arm up swiftly, startling the man, knocking the gun out of his hand. Seeing that the man was once again disarmed, Jaejoong began to feel more satisfied. "I'm right, aren't I?"

            With his free arms, my uncle wrapped them securely around Jaejoong. "I'll prove you wrong, boy!" He screeched and dived off the cliff, dragging Jaejoong along with him.

            I pushed at the dirt before me and tried to reach the edge of the cliff to see down below. I needed to see Jaejoong once last time. He couldn't die on me like this, not when we were going to start again.

            But in time, my arms started to fail me. They slumped out of my control. My body felt numb. And one thought haunted me before I lost all of my senses. I had just witnessed the death of two people dear to me. My uncle, who had killed my parents and Jaejoong, the love of my life. 

            It was as if I was reliving the same night my parents had died. 

AN:

next chapter will be the last chapter

i know that the plot is quite confusing so if you guys have any questions, feel free to comment them below. 

i intend to answer them all in the last chapter. 

i don't know about you but i feel like the antagonist has a very interesting outlook of life. just saying.

and this concludes the penultimate chapter.

whitedreamm