Chapter 7

"Mommy!" the young boy cried, holding onto his mom's hand. "Don't go, Mommy!" He watched as the small shack they used for a home burned bright red and orange in the dark midnight sky.

Covered in burns, his mom cringed as her son squeezed her hand tightly. She had managed to get him out safe, but couldn't save herself soon enough. Now she knew she had very little time left.

"Hyun Joong..." she whispered with what was left of her vocal chords. "Don't be scared... I'll... always be with you, okay? Don't cry..." She wiped his falling tears one last time and smiled reassuringly.

"Mommy?" The little boy's eyebrows pulled together and fear filled his face as he felt his mom's hand slip from his own. She was gone now, and he was all alone.

"MOM!" Hyun Joong jerked up in bed, gasping for air. It had only been a dream, but it felt so real, and the pain was as real as could be. Hyun Joong clutched his chest and squeezed his eyes shut. "I miss you, Mom..." he whispered hoarsely.

It was over an hour later when he finally calmed down. Hyun Joong dragged himself out of bed and went to the kitchen where he saw Ha Neul sitting at the dining room table. She was staring intently at some large photo.

Suddenly he realized: the photo was of her fiancee.

How did she get that? he asked himself, then looked down the hall to see that the door to the back room was open. He sighed internally. He should've kept it locked... Why did he trust that she wouldn't go in there?

Angry, Hyun Joong walked by and snatched the photo from her hands. "WHY DID YOU GO INTO THAT ROOM?" he shouted, but this time, she was unaffected by his loud outburst. Her eyes were still staring at the space where the photo had been.

"Who are you?" she asked. This time she wanted a clear answer.

Heaving a sigh, Hyun Joong pulled out a chair across from Ha Neul and sat down. "I'm the person who saved your life," he answered flatly. "Or have you forgotten that?"

He was still upset with her. He knew she had lost her memory due to the blood loss from her injury months ago. He remembered that the bullet from Kyu Jong's gun had made its way clean through her arm, hitting a main artery. He was quick enough to save her life, but not her memories.

But why couldn't she just stay the way she was and be happy living with him? Why did she have to insist on knowing everything all over again?

"I haven't forgotten!" she shot back angrily, then yanked the photo back from Hyun Joong's hands. "But you're hiding something from me! Why won't you tell me? And who's in this picture?" she pointed to man who had jogged her memory last night. "What is he to me? Why do I feel... like I don't know myself?"

Tears began to flow down Ha Neul's face as her emotions ran out of control. She plopped back into the chair and hugged the picture, afraid that Hyun Joong would take it away again. She was frustrated and lost... why wouldn't he explain?

"You really want to know?" Hyun Joong suddenly said, looking directly at her. "Fine." He could feel his rage boiling up inside him, knowing that she would soon leave him. But what else could he do? "That man," he pointed to the photo in her hand. "That is your fiancee."

Obviously he, who had saved her life, meant less than some man in a photo she barely remembered.

Ha Neul's bewilderment seemed to cease for a moment. "And you?"

"I..." He couldn't bring himself to tell her. She would hate him, never forgive him.

"What do you have to do with this?" she prompted.

Hyun Joong stared at her for more than a minute before finally forcing the words out of his mouth.

"I killed him."