Rule #42: The moment when you start to give up is the same moment when your skills will begin to die

"So how long have these headaches been occurring, Mrs. Tuan?"

After hearing Mark, Saera and all the police officers call her Mrs. Xiong, she wasn't used to  people calling her by her married name.

 "I've been getting a lot of periodic headaches for years but it's only gotten worse within the last two weeks." She said to the doctor that Mark had recommended.

Little did she know that this wasn't the first time she met with this doctor.

No.

This was the same man who erased every memory she ever had of her son.

The doctor chewed on the inside of his cheek as he scribbled some notes down, "How bad?"

"It hurts a lot. I can barely stand up or move. It's just pain, like someone's stabbing my brain." She said while massaging the side of her head.

"How long does the pain last?" He inquired.

She paused for a minute, "The longest has been 15 to 30 minutes."

"Okay, I can prescribe you with some pain killers but it seems like you just need to rest. The headaches could be from a lack of sleep or stress." He said while ripping out a prescription and handing it to her.

Mrs. Tuan frowned, "Doctor, have you ever had a patient who had flashbacks during migraines like mine?"

The doctor stiffened, "I don't believe I have witnessed a case like that. Why? Have you been having these flashbacks?"

"Just…just memories that I don't remember having." She said softly as she thought back to the mysterious Yi En.

It was such a beautiful name.

It did things to her heart.

The doctor raised his brows, "And how do you feel when you experience those memories?"

"Well, you know when someone gets a limb amputated but after the surgery, they still sometimes feel like the limb is still there?"

The doctor nodded, "Phantom limbs, it's a common occurrence."

"That's how I feel. Like something is missing but it feels like it's still there." Her hands absentmindedly touching her stomach, but the doctor picked up on it.

"So are you angry about these memories, as you call it, resurfacing?" He asked casually.

"No." She said incredulously, "I can't explain why I feel like this, but I feel sad and guilty. Like I've done something wrong."

The doctor stopped writing and looked up to meet her confused and broken eyes. This was not the first time that he'd had patients with minor memories resurfacing from the therapy.

But this was the first time that a patient expressed regret.

Given, Mrs. Tuan hadn't recovered nearly enough of her memories to make a serious conclusion, but it still took him back.

"Take the prescription and in the meanwhile I'll look into what might have been causing these flashbacks." He said while ripping off the memo and handing it to her.

She nodded and stood up, "Thank you. I know it all sounds a little bizarre."

"I'm sure it'll all be fine. Don't stress over it. Just rest up." He said as he walked her to the door.

Mrs. Tuan nodded and just as she went to reach for the exit door, the doctor spoke up.

"Oh and Mrs. Tuan?"

She turned and tilted her head expectantly.

"You know that limb analogy you used? What if you chose to get your limb amputated because you thought it was the right thing to do? Would you still be allowed to miss it?"

She blinked at him, partially confused and partially surprised. She took a moment before she figured out her response.

"Yes, I believe you are allowed to miss it, but you might spend the rest of your life regretting amputating your leg in the first place if you realized that the surgery wasn't worth it to begin with."

-----

"You ing idiot!" Yoo Chang roared as he slammed the door shut behind him.

Saera's eyes were wide in fear as her heart raced. She could feel the blood pumping in her ears as she slipping the knife out of the cabinet and hid it behind her back.

Sang Min flinched and curled himself tighter into a ball as his eyes flickered around. Yoo Chang walked closer, his face red with fury.

"I left you alone for 10 minutes and you've managed to everything up! You were stupid enough to let her out, I knew I shouldn't have trusted with something this important. You're so pathetic. You were never good at anything. You're absolutely useless. What would you have done without me, huh? You would've just let her out and everything would've fallen apart." He exploded.

When Sang Min didn't respond, Yoo Chang slammed his boot into his back before grabbing his head and slamming it against the tiled ground. Sang Min whimpered in response and closed his eyes, his face turning red.

Yoo Chang stood up and went to grab Saera and just as he reached his hands out pull her up, Saera swiped him across the face with the knife.

"You !" He screamed in pain as he held the side of his cheek as blood gushed through his fingers and onto the floor. When he stumbled in the pain, she pushed past him and ran to the door, but not before making sure that she stepped in some of his blood first.

She wanted some of his DNA on her in case something bad happened to her.

Just as she reached for the door, she felt a harsh tug on her hair that sent her falling back.

"You're just like your whorish mother. Why do you have to ruin this for me? Why are you just like her? I won't let you do this." He garbled, blood dripping down his chin.

When she attempted to swing the knife back at him again, he was quicker and dodged her attack, knocking the knife out of her hand.

He spun her around, his grip still tight on her hair and cupped her face, blood smearing over her face before he growled like an animal.

"I'm going to kill you, just like I slaughtered your brother."

Sang Min's blood ran cold as he slowly turned his head to look at Saera and Yoo Chang, except instead of staring at Yoo Chang in hatred, his eyes landed on Saera.

In that moment, all he saw was Jinyoung.

Jinyoung and the little sister that he would go on and on about when he snuck out of the orphanage to visit him.

The little sister who he cherished more than himself. The little sister who he was no longer around to protect.

Something in him snapped.

His eyes grew darker, his face tensed and his muscles locked up.

Alpha Sang Min came out.

Just as Yoo Chang began dragging Saera back into the room, Sang Min flung his body at the pair, sending Saera sliding across the floor and Yoo Chang falling against the wall.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" He screamed as he stared at his docile puppet.

Sang Min punched him across his cut cheek, sending the man screaming in pain as he collapsed against the door, "You killed him. You never loved me, you just used me. You just wanted me to take the fall. I was just a pawn. I was never your son, Yoo Chang."

That was the first time he ever used his real name instead of sir.

Yoo Chang's eyes flinched before they shot over to Saera who was watching the whole thing in befuddlement.

"What did she tell you? You know you can't trust her, I told you before. She's just trying to save herself. She's tricking you. Everyone is just trying to trick you and use you. Everyone except for me. No one cares for you like I do. Trust me. She's just like the other girls. A faker, a sinner, don't fall for her words. You know better." He said firmly.

"I don't know what I know." Sang Min hissed out.

Even in his current state, his words screamed dominance, "I raised you. How could you believe her over me?"

"You made me kill." Sang Min breathed out.

Saera's eyes scanned the house as she tried to pick out vantage points.

Yoo Change let out a scoff as he pushed himself up, "I didn't make you do anything. Every victim, every cut, every scar and every message was your doing. Yours. You need to take the blame for your actions."

"I KILLED FOR YOU!" Sang Min screamed.  

"No, you killed for yourself and your own values. I never made you kill. It's not my fault that you thought I'd love you more if you did. You can't put that on me." He said with a cynical laugh.

Unlike before, Sang Min's face was void of emotion, unshaken by the harsh words, "Why me? Why did you chose me?"

Yoo Chang spit out blood before smiling at him, "Because you were the weakest and you were the most broken which meant that I could pick up the pieces and put them together any way that I wanted. You had an illness to you that I spotted from a mile away."

"I…I'm not broken." He said back, but it didn't sound that assuring.

Yoo Chang caught that small uncertainty, "You're sick, my son. You're a sick twisted boy and no one would ever love you. Look at Jinyoung, you loved him and now he's dead. Everyone you love will eventually die because that's how badly they wanted to escape from you. You're a monster. I healed you. I fixed you. I gave you a purpose. You owe your life to me."

"I'm not a monster. You exploited me. You knew I wasn't well." Sang Min's voice shook in anger.

Yoo Chang smiled, "That's doesn't make you any less of a monster. It only means that you're a broken monster."

"I'm not broken and I'm not a monster." Sang Min repeated as he kicked Yoo Chang over and shoved his face against the floor.

But the man only laughed as if he was impervious to the pain, "What that orphanage staff did to you over the years moulded you into the perfect candidate for me. It made you cynical, distrusting, angry and vengeful, but most of all, it made you desperate for affection and love."

"Why are you doing this? Why do you kill?" Saera said as she stood behind Sang Min.

"For you." He growled. "It's always been about you. My only daughter was my doll and I wanted to add more to the collection. I was a collector. One wasn't enough for me. I wanted more."

She felt disgusted, bile filling up as Sang Min grabbed the man's collar and pulled him to his knees before kneeing him in the jaw.

 "You did this to me." Sang Min grumbled while pressing down on Yoo Chang's head. "You turned me into this."

Saera's eyes landed on the knife that Sang Min had dropped, but just as she was about to crawl towards it, Yoo Chang had expertly pushed Sang Min down, as if he was waiting for the perfect timing.

He knocked his head against the floor, passing out cold, giving Yoo Chang the opportunity to slam Saera against the wall, his fingers digging into the flesh around her neck.

"You . You think you can ruin everything we have? You think you can shake what I built? Do as much damage as you want, it wouldn't do much when you're dead." He hissed.

She clawed at his hand, running dry and her head getting dizzy when suddenly the front door was kicked open.

Chief Kwon stood with his gun pointed at Yoo Chang.

"Don't move! Step away from her." He ordered.

Yoo Chang stared at him in shock, before he started laughing, in a split second, he whipped out a small knife and pulled Saera in front of h