✓ WHERE IT ENDS | JAY

28 - Old Yet Unforgotten

"He had always thought that his sister was dead, yet you've been by his side for a very long time." He smirked, clearly amused by what was happening. 

"W-why..." Y/N stared at him with eyes brimming with tears. Her lips were quivering and her whole body shook. She was shocked, disgusted, and furious.

"I couldn't kill you... that day." Lee Kwang admitted. "I wanted to, though. But it was your birthday, and you grabbed my hand and begged me not to kill you."

"I don't r-remember! No! You're a fucking liar!" Y/N shouted as she threw the files in his face.

Lee Kwang stood up from his seat, making his way towards her before he grabbed her hand and pinned her to the wall. He glared at her, and she just cried and shouted harder, trying to get him off her.

"Of course, you don't remember." He said coldly. "I made sure you don't remember a single memory of the past. I paid quite a lot for that."

"You son of a bitch-"

"No, no, no. You're going to make me regret not killing you that day." He shook his head.

"Why didn't you just k-kill me!? Why!?" She shouted, hitting his chest with her fists. 

"I didn't pity you, Park Haneul. I just wanted to have more fun, killing you just like that wouldn't have been nice or satisfying. I gave you a new life, and money, and got rid of the bad memories for you. But that was like opening a birdcage to let the bird fly out, whilst all the while it's tethered by the leg, and freedom is only an illusion."

That was cruel. How could someone be this heartless?

"I h-hate you..." Y/N cried harder as she gave up struggling in his hold. She couldn't do anything anymore, what could she do anyway? That was her end.

"Of course... of course, you do." He smirked and shrugged. "But I don't give any fucks about it."

Before she knew it, two men grabbed her arms and pulled her as she cried and hit them. "I told you you'd regret it." One of them spoke, and she knew who it was.

"Fuck you!" She shouted, so ready to beat the shit out of him. She wanted to run away, but Lee Kwang would end up killing her if she ever tries to escape. She wasn't his daughter, after all.

"Why? Are you afraid now?" He laughed as he pushed her inside the basement, making her palm bleed as she fell to the hard ground. "I'm looking forward to seeing you begging for mercy." With that, he closed the door and left Y/N alone in that dark place.

She didn't care about being in the dark nor about her bleeding hand, all she thought about was that Sunghoon was her brother. How could that happen? Why was the world so cruel to them? They didn't deserve that.

She cried, for every lie she was told, for every death that left her half and numb, for all the time she was thinking that Lee Kwang was her father, for all the time she hated herself for being his daughter.

It was all too much. Her hand was bleeding and it hurt, but the pain could never be compared to the one she was feeling. No one could bear the heaviness of her heart, but her. She couldn't be weak, otherwise, she'd fall apart.

However, Y/N was haunted by memories that lingered like a softly uttered curse. Memories she didn't even know she had, hiding deep inside. 

What Sunghoon told her about the day his family died replayed right in front of her like a movie. Her smiling and being happy because it was her birthday, her big brother teasing her and making her laugh, her parents smiling warmly at them.

She remembered it all. But most of it, she remembered when everything was ruined. When Lee Kwang barged inside their house and killed her parents, stabbed Sunghoon, and took her away. 

Her head ached as she remembered the time when he took her to a hospital and when they injected her with unknown substances that she assumed were the reason for her forgetting everything.

But her memories were old yet unforgotten, hiding deep inside until she was ready and strong enough to walk through that dark place once again.

Y/N stayed there, broken and aching. She spent hours kicking the door and yelling for them to open it and let her out, but that was pointless. So, she just sat down and closed her eyes, letting her thoughts consume and ruin her.

But then, the sound of gunshots outside made her heart sink down. What was happening? Y/N quickly stood up, furrowing her eyebrows as she listened carefully to the loud noise out there.

"Fuck-" Voices were heard outside the door, making her take a step back. There was a loud cry before there was nothing. It was too silent, and the only thing Y/N could hear later was the sound of keys rattling. 

And then, the door opened. Her eyes widened as she stared at the person at the door. She didn't know if she wanted to cry or laugh, to go hug him or push him away to keep him safe. 

"Y/N..." Sunghoon took slow steps towards her, staring at her with a bitter smile. She could see a bruise next to his eye and cuts near his mouth and cheek. Before she knew it, he wrapped his arms around her and that's when she let out a sob. "It's okay, I'm here... we're here for you."

But Sunghoon had no idea why she was really crying, nor why she hugged him like there was no tomorrow. Like he'd vanish away from her arms. Because if he knew, he'd break apart and to pieces right there.

"Let's get you out of here." He said as he helped her walk out of the basement, but she stopped him.

"How did y-you... where-"

"He ran away." Sunghoon sighed heavily before letting a hand through his hair. "We were so close to killing h-" 

He stopped, looking at Y/N in worry. He still thought that he was her father, only if he knew. Only if he knew how much Y/N wanted to kill the person she always thought was her father, how much she wanted to rip him apart for ruining her life.

"Come on," He said as he extended his hand for her to take. "Niki and his men are outside, they had killed your father's men. The guys are here... Jay too." He smiled.

She was about to take his hand, but she stopped. She stared at him and the tears started brimming in her eyes once again. He frowned, staring at her in confusion and worry.

"D-deonghoonie..." Y/N called and Sunghoon froze. His eyes slightly widened as he furrowed his eyebrows and breathed heavily. He... he just couldn't believe it.

"What..." He spoke, too shocked. Because that was the nickname his little sister had given him a long time before. She was the only one who called him by that. But when Y/N called him by that nickname as she cried, his whole world stopped.

He didn't even realize that he was crying until Y/N wiped the tears off his cheek, smiling bitterly through her tears before she let out a chuckle. 

"I'm s-sorry for l-leaving just like that..." She said as she sobbed. "I-I... I'm s-sorry..."

"H-haneul...?" Her name left his lips like a whisper as if it wasn't true, as if it was just in his head. But it was indeed true, and when Y/N nodded her head and kept crying, Sunghoon felt his heart sink.

They stood there, staring at each other as they cried. "Haneul..." Sunghoon whispered. It didn't come out like a question, for he knew it was her. "You're h-here..." He smiled and slowly stepped forward, taking in her features as he softly placed a hand on her cheek.

And as his arms wrapped around her, tears flowed more freely. At that moment, there in his arms, she felt safe. Safe to cry and not be rejected. Safe to relax and let out her pain. She felt warm and embraced on every level of herself.

She had cried before, but this time, she let herself cry until she felt spent. Sunghoon's arms felt like security right then. They felt like a warm blanket fresh from the dryer on a cold day.

She had needed to cry, to really cry, and his gift of just being there for her as she did was a precious treasure.