Chapter 9
You Said Remember Me II
/ / / / /
Victoria checked her phone a dozen times and still there was no message from Donghae. When she’d finished with classes and tried calling him she was sent straight to the voicemail. After an hour of waiting she finally grabbed a cab and made it home.
Her uncle was coming down the stairs with a suitcase just as she got in.
“Oh, you’re back?” he greeted.
“Where are you going?” she asked taking her shoes off.
“I have a business meeting in Australia so I’ll be gone for a week,” he replied starting for the door. “You and Donghae take care of yourselves now. I bet he’ll be glad that I’m gone.”
Victoria smiled, “No he won’t.”
“Don’t see me off,” he patted her shoulder before walking out the door.
When the door closed, Victoria sat around listlessly. She the TV, walked around, read a magazine, and started an early dinner. However, there was still no Donghae by the end of the day.
When the sky darkened and Victoria drew the open curtains to a close, the doorbell rang. At first she wondered if it was Donghae, but why would he be ringing the bell when he had his keys? Was it a visitor? But she wasn’t expecting anyone.
She started toward the door feeling uneasy and when she opened it she found a police officer standing on her front doorstep. Confusion and fear both integrated through her mind.
“Are you Victoria Song, Lee Donghae’s wife?”
“Ah…yes…” Victoria’s pursed lips fell apart.
His arm moved forward and Victoria glance down at the burnt jacket he was handing her. Yet, Victoria couldn’t quite digest what was happening.
“There was an explosion at the criminal investigation firm this morning,” he started off, “the fire burned down everything, both Lee Donghae and Chief Kang’s bodies are missing, their secretary, Sasha, was found shot outside of the building. She’s currently in the hospital in critical condition.”
“Missing?” Victoria grew frantic. “What the hell does that mean?! How can my husband be missing?! What the hell does that mean?!”
“I’m sorry,” he apologized and she knew immediately what he meant by that.
“No, no, no!” she shrieked punching him with her fists. “You go back there and look for my husband! Don’t you dare step onto my property unless you’ve found him, do you hear?”
Taking a step back Victoria slammed the door in his face as she took in large breaths of the air. Her eyes were b with tears that she didn’t want to fall out. Feeling her legs collapse under her she clutched onto the burnt jacket and cried.
/ / / / /
“Hyang Soon-ah, eat your breakfast,” Eunhyuk told propping the baby onto his lap, “here you go.”
The door opened and Hee Sun walked out to get the morning mail. She picked up the newspaper and stared at the headlines before rushing back into the house.
“Oppa! Oppa!” she shouted.
Eunhyuk looked up with the baby spoon in his hands surprised with her shouting.
“What?! You’re scaring my nephew,” he told.
“Did you watch the news?” Hee Sun asked.
“No, who has time to watch TV now?” Eunhyuk sarcastically remarked.
“Donghae oppa, oppa,” Hee Sun suddenly became breathless.
“What is it?” he asked confused and reached for the newspaper.
Once he glanced at the headlines he felt his heart stop.
The drive to Seoul was a quick one as he sped majority of the way there. When he reached the quiet house he spotted Victoria’s car untouched and sitting alone in the driveway. Donghae’s car was no where to be seen as well as his uncle’s. Did that mean Victoria was alone? Suddenly feeling very worried and concerned he started toward the front door and rung the doorbell numerous times, but no one came. Where was Victoria? Had something happened? What if Ren Gei had gotten to her while she was alone?
Eunhyuk lightly hit himself on the head. Why was he thinking of the worst case scenarios at the moment when he should be looking for Victoria?
Stepping off the front doorstep he started toward the window and tried to get a glimpse through the closed curtains. It was a fail, because the curtains were too dark of a color for him to see through it. Turning around to gaze around and make sure no one was watching he strutted around to the back of the house where he knew the kitchen window was. He recalled Victoria telling him once that the window had no lock and because it could be easily accessed from both inside and outside it scared her sometimes.
Just thinking about it brought memories from discovering the open window in her house just last year. Shaking his head again to throw the thoughts out he glanced at the wooden frame of the clear glass window against the lively whiteness of the house. Reaching his hand up, he grabbed the bottom of the window, and hoisted it up. In no time he pulled himself up and was in the house within a matter of seconds.
“Whew!” he sounded dusting the dirt off his shirt and looked up to find Victoria lying upon the couch clutching onto what looked like a rag.
Wondering if she was sleeping he slowly started toward her to find that she was. She had a calm expression on her face even if her knuckles had turned white from clutching the burnt jacket. Getting down on a knee before her he found himself gazing at her for a few seconds before reaching his hand up to place it upon hers. He hesitated halfway and glanced at her sleeping face again.
What would Victoria do without Donghae now? They’d gone through so much together just to come to this kind of ending?
Eunhyuk gulped down the pain he felt for her and brushed aside the hair falling across her face. Victoria slowly opened her eyes and he smiled when they landed on him.
“Hey,” he greeted.
Victoria averted her eyes elsewhere and he could tell that they were immediately watering up.
“I stole my way in through the window,” he explained, paused, then asked, “how are you?”
Her face immediately contorted into an expression full of despair. A sob escaped her before she threw her arms around him and cried. His brows furrowed into deep pain for her and he patted her back to comfort her. It must have been hard for her to be alone all this time.
An hour later, Eunhyuk turned around from the freshly hot stove to take a look at the lifeless Victoria who was sitting in her chair without a word. She hadn’t spoken after crying. Her eyes were still red and swollen and he couldn’t imagine the pain ripping through her.
He turned back to the stove and stirred the food he was making her for. Donghae had left so fast that it had felt as if he hadn’t left at all. His childhood friend was no dead. The thought left a hard lump in his throat which he couldn’t swallow away. It was impossible to conjure up the feelings of grieving for him. It couldn’t have happened…Donghae couldn’t have died just like that.
What would he do without his friend? They should have fought some more, gone out together some more, and just chilled as friends talking all night long as they had…but Donghae hadn’t made time for him. What kind of friend was he to just leave silently like that? Eunhyuk couldn’t accept it.
Pressing his lips firmly into a line, he told himself that if he cried on the spot Victoria would go crazy as well.
Clearing his throat he placed the freshly cooked food onto a clean plate and set it in front of Victoria. He pulled a seat to the end of the table and sat down.
“Eat,” he told.
Victoria was silent. Her lips were shaking, her face was pale, and her eyes were immediately getting wet again. Eunhyuk lightly clenched his hand into a tight fist to hold himself back from crying as well. For a second he felt that if Victoria let loose on the spot he might start bawling along with her as well.
“Please eat,” he tried again.
“I haven’t had breakfast with him at this table the past week,” Victoria started as a tear strolled down her cheek, “I should have been nicer to him. I should have spent more time with him.”
A sob caught itself in . With no words to say, Eunhyuk turned his face away as a tear strolled down his face.
/ / / / /
It was cold. The surface of the bed was rough, hard, and cold. Their bedroom smelt weird. Had Victoria left something strange in the room? Where was she? Why couldn’t he feel her warm presence near him? Or had she gotten up early again?
A painful cough escaped him before he moved and felt something weird with his hands. He couldn’t move them apart. Confusion swept his mind before his face began aching as well as his stomach. What had happened? Had he fallen down the stairs at home?
Why was it so dark?
“Donghae?”
Why was Victoria’s voice so thick and deep? It wasn’t like her at all.
“Victoria?” he half whispered.
“Donghae, are you awake?”
What was wrong with Victoria? Within a few seconds he hard someone shuffle over before he was pulled up from the ground.
“Donghae, wake up,” the person shook him.
His mind swirled in circles unable to get a grasp of reality.
“Are you alright?”
Donghae’s eyes lightly furrowed and let them relax when he felt the pain fly through his face. Moving his bounded hands forward he felt Chief Kang’s face.
“Ch…Chief?” he muttered after trying to look at him through the pitch black darkness.
“Donghae, get a hold of yourself,” Chief Kang urged.
“Uh….?”
Chief Kang shook him harder this time.
“Donghae, you’re not home,” Chief Kang deepened his voice into serious mode. “They’ve stuck us somewhere.”
All of a sudden everything came flashing back. Victoria had kissed him before leaving then he’d arrived at work…
“Ah….” Donghae half lurched forward recalling his broken ribs from a year ago and how painful it’d been for him.
“It’s not safe here, we need to get out somehow,” Chief Kang explained.
“Where are we?” Donghae asked still gasping for breath from the pain lurching in his stomach.
“No idea,” Chief Kang told, “those guys are dangerous.”
“Guys?” Donghae repeated then remembered that more than one had appeared at the investigation firm.
A loud noise erupted before a bright white light escaped through the crack of the doorway. Both Donghae and the Chief turned away as it burned their eyes. Shadows flocked the floor one after another and footsteps paused in front of them.
“Looks like our guests have woken up looking neat and well,” Leo crossed his arms.
The woman beside him smiled.
“Ah…look at this handsome fella,” she commented chewing on her gum.
Donghae and Chief Kang turned to get a look at their faces. There were 5 of them.
“He’s mine,” a voice appeared from the back.
A tall figure walked through the door around the group and stopped in front of Donghae. However much as Donghae tried tilting his head up to look at the man’s face, he just couldn’t quite make out his features through the darkness. The man bent down onto one knee placing a hand on his shin and smiled at Donghae.
“We meet again, Lee Donghae,” Ren Gei smiled.
Donghae’s heart began pulsing faster than normal. The fight he’d had with him in the basement of the house Victoria had been kept inside appeared in his mind. The blood red roses, the anonymous cards, and the sight of Victoria’s windows which were always left open came fluttering back like a nightmare.
Donghae gulped.
“The last time I saw you was when you sent me off in a police car,” Ren Gei chuckled, “I knew we were destined to meet again.”
Donghae stared at him quietly.
“Has my dear Victoria been well?” Ren Gei asked.
“You’re not in a position to be asking about Victoria,” Donghae said.
Ren Gei grabbed the collar of his shirt pulling Donghae toward him, “I’ve been waiting for the chance where I can beat you to a pulp. Victoria’s been mine, she’s always been mine!”
Donghae watched in fear as Ren Gei’s eyes dilated.
“Watch what you’re doing,” Yong Jo warned, “I’m not fixing up a prisoner.”
After a hard staring contest, Ren Gei finally shoved Donghae back into the metal wall. The pain sprung through Donghae’s back, but he was unable to express it at the moment.
“Lets go,” Ren Gei called walking pass them.
The group followed with chuckles and murmurs before shutting the door close encasing the two in darkness again.
“Are you alright?” Chief Kang asked concerned.
Donghae pressed his lips together upset.
“I don’t like it, when he talks about her,” Donghae muttered.
spring semester ends this friday and i'm off for summer break :D i'll get back on track with YSRMII
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