December 23, 2009

This rattles the man as he tries to recall. What could he be talking about? He owes him? As a teenager, buying and selling drugs was never a problem since he had wads of money. Besides, before leaving Jeonju, he made sure he settled every debt and concealed every scandal. And if it was money, Yifan could’ve just written him a letter. Why go through the trouble of coming to Seoul? What exactly does Jongin owe Yifan? “If you need money, all you had to do was ask.”

“No. It’s not money,” He tucks a hand into his pocket, looming over the two. His eyes darken. In one swift, startling movement, Yifan pulls out a gun with his free hand, points it at Kai, “It’s your life.” and shoots him in the right shoulder. “That’s for giving my sister a shoulder to ‘lean’ on when I told you to stay the away from her!”

His body recoils at the ferocity of the shot, his screams echo through the night. For Jongin, it was as if everything slowed. From the moment he saw Yifan’s hand reach to his shorts to the minute the bullet went in and out of his shoulder. It was as if he was watching through a high-speed camera. Then came the pain. The unspeakable, searing pain that overwhelmed him and his senses, his mind slurring from the intensity, came and triumphantly left him taciturn, stupefied. The bullet burned his skin, his muscles, his tendons—everything it passed through. Fire consumed his insides, his blood serving as its fuel. The man could barely make out what Yifan just said as he howled, unwillingly numbing out everything including the thought of his wife. For a moment, all that mattered was the bullet and he.

Horrified, Hyunsu lets out a blood-curdling “No!” as she watched her husband fall at her feet. She couldn’t believe it. One moment they were celebrating their love and devotion and now her husband lies before her, blood slowly seeping out of his shoulder. But before she could do anything Zitao rushed to her, putting a hand over while painfully gripping her hands to her back.

Yifan mockingly imitates her screams, “Oh boohoo, Mrs. Kim! He’s not dead!” He then shouts, the gun still point-blank at Jongin. He’s starting to feel good. “I barely even started yet.”

“Damn you!” Jongin says through gritted teeth, putting a hand over the wound, a hopeless attempt to keep it from bleeding. His mind tries to focus but it fails him, he had no idea what to think of at a time like this.

“Oh no, Kai. Damn you! Damn you and your ing pheromones.” Yifan shoots him again, this time at Jongin’s left shoulder. The man lets out another yelp, the sensation slowly overriding even his cognition. The smell of his blood nauseates him as it sprays, staining his face, his coat and even the floor. He is now disorientated, confused, on what to say and what to feel as the two raw wounds compete for his attention. Tears are now cascading his blood-splattered cheeks; his only consolation was that his wife is still (somehow) unharmed.

Hyunsu is crying, muffling sobs through Zitao’s sweating palm, flailing her body every now and then for the hope of freeing herself. She felt her whole world slowly crumble into pieces as she helplessly watched her husband twinge and seize with pain. They exchange a look, Jongin nods his head once as if it to say, “Better me than you.” because despite his eyes swimming with anguish, there is a hint of relief.

“Tell me Kai, when you walk to your precious ballet company or shop for groceries, do you sometimes get the feeling like you’re being watched? That’s probably me.” Yifan stands above Jongin’s shuddering form, the gun. “You have no idea how great this feels. How fulfilling. How satisfying. To avenge my sister.”

“I-I know nothing… I don’t e-even know what happened t-to Meifen…” Jongin struggles to speak.

“Oh, right. Because you left before she could tell you!” Yifan pulls the trigger again, this time at Jongin’s left thigh. The man screams once more, its volume and vehemence increased. “And don’t say her name! You have no right to say her name so nonchalantly! I mean seriously, what kind of idiot wins a girl’s heart and unintentionally crushes this?!”

Hyunsu closes her eyes, not bearing the sight any longer, h