Vendetta

Chapter 13

Blood bubbled up around the blade of the knife as it sunk deeper into Chan's flesh. For a moment, that bubble of crimson, Chan's pleas, and the feel of his nails raking his arm felt thrilling. That feeling lasted for mere seconds, but Jeongin still felt a strong pang of shame. He wasn't going to become like Chan and his father. This was only for revenge, even though killing him wouldn't bring Minho back or give his siblings a chance at a fully normal life.

    "Jeongin, you don't know what you're doing!" Chan cried with a grimace, his face contorted with agony as the knife was slowly pressed deeper. "If you kill me, all of you will die! You won't have anyone to feed or take care of you. Please...Innie...I promise I won't lay a hand on any of you if you let me go. We'll leave this behind us and start over. Does that sound good, Innie?"

    The knife paused in its position in Chan's stomach, blood leaking around the sides and staining Chan's pale skin. Chan's pained expression morphed into one of ugly hope as he watched Jeongin think over the suggestion. He knew Jeongin didn't have it in him to kill anyone. He would get out of this alive.

    "Maybe you should have done that from the beginning," Jeongin said chillingly. "You can try to start over all you want, but you'll never erase the damage you've caused. I've made my decision, so how about you think about being a better person the next time around?"

    Chan screamed, reaching for Jeongin's arm which was just out of reach. Chan would feel his pain in ten fold. With a blank expression, he sawed the knife up Chan's stomach, watching as blood poured out of the open wound and stained his hand with warm crimson. Chan looked up at him pleadingly as the knife sawed up and down in an agonizingly slow rhythm. The screams and cries that filled the air were Jeongin's indicator that he was doing his job well.

    "Minho left me subtle instructions on how to end you," Jeongin said slowly, dropping the knife and grabbing each side of the long wound that cut through Chan's stomach. "Please forgive me for being messy. I couldn't read half the words on the page."

    Jeongin felt a shiver run up his spine as he felt the raised pieces of skin beneath his fingertips, blood covering his fingers and making it hard to grip onto the flesh. He tuned out the sounds of Chan choking out repetitive pleas, his voice growing softer and weaker by the second. Jeongin didn't want to leave his revenge half finished. If he wanted it done correctly, it had to be done quickly.

    Taking a deep breath, Jeongin stuck his hands into the wound and pried it open, wincing as Chan's blood curdling screams tore through the air. For a moment, Jeongin considered stopping, but the damage had already been done. He fought back a wave of nausea, thinking about his siblings happily playing above him, unaware of their haunting pasts. This was for their good.

    "J-Jeongin, don't...don't do this," Chan begged, tears of agony streaming down his face. Jeongin ddin't feel the slightest bit of sympathy, knowing that he had done much worse to Minho and the others. He deserved a far more painful death, but this was the best Jeongin could do.

    Feeling bile rising in his throat, Jeongin grabbed part of a thin, brown organ, assuming it was what he had read about in the textbook. Chan screamed and thrashed wildly against his restraints as Jeongin pulled out a string of intestine just long enough to reach Chan's head with some left over. The intestine was slimy beneath his fingers and it didn't help that Chan was hyperventilating and clinging to the hem of Jeongin's shirt for dear life.

    "You deserve far worse than this, but I'm feeling kind," Jeongin said through gritted teeth as he wrapped Chan's own intestines around his throat and pulled. "I'd like you to think about what you've done and what you could have done differently. My siblings and I will be happier than ever without you."

    As Jeongin pulled back harder, Chan slowly stopped resisting, his face a light shade of purple and his eyes almost fully rolled back in his head. He wasn't sure if strangulation or blood loss would be what made Chan meet his demise, but he wasn't picky. As long as he could escape without interference and go through with his revenge, it didn't matter. Just as long as Chan was dead.

    "I...love you, Jeongin," Chan choked out, the words coming out as more of a painful wheeze. "I love...all of you. D-Don't forget that."

    "I loved you, too," Jeongin replied emotionlessly as Chan's body went limp, his chest rising and falling for the last time. Chan was dead, but he didn't feel the triumph he expected to feel. Instead, he only felt empty with the knowledge that his vendetta had been fulfilled.

    Jeongin swore he could feel two hands on his shoulders as he backed away from Chan's corpse and took the keys to the front door off the wall. The odd sensation only grew stronger as he passed Minho's corpse, not daring to look down at it one final time. Minho was still with him, even if not physically. He had done the right thing and his other siblings would know it soon enough.

    "Innie! What happened to you?!" Hyunjin cried, rushing over to him as soon as he entered the living room. His eyes surveyed Jeongin's blood-crusted hands and clothes before sinking to the couch, his entire body trembling.

    Wordlessly, Jeongin hearded his siblings on the couch while he took his place in front of them, racking his mind for the best words to convey the situation they were in. His eyes landed on each of his remaining siblings in turn, all of them having equally alarmed and terrified expressions.

    "I won't sugar coat this," Jeongin began, his voice wavering as he spoke. "Minho is dead and so is Chan. Our life has been a lie, our real ones stolen away by the Bang family who only wanted us for their twisted projects. I'll explain in detail later, but we need to get out of here. There's a breathtaking world out there waiting for us. It's not too late to reclaim the life that was stolen from us."

    He was greeted by expressions of varying disbelief and fury as he scanned through his siblings once more. One by one they began to pack up their belongings, which included only one other outfit besides the one on their backs and a few miscellaneous possessions. A few of them were apprehensive to leave behind all they had ever known, but the promise of a better life lying just beyond the front door was too tempting to resist.

    As Jeongin unlocked the front door, his siblings rushed out ahead of him, their laughter filling the air. Jeongin stood back, watching as they felt sunlight on their faces and a gentle breeze blow through their hair for the first time that they could remember. He had cleaned himself off, giving them all a moment to enjoy their newfound freedom before they began their journey to the city.

    Minho's hand was on his shoulder once again, enjoying the view right beside him.