Broken • Choi Yeonjun

Wiped

Today was the day, I would say goodbye to my family...

All of them kept giving me glances as we headed to my family's house. They had called them, acting as if they were cops, letting them know they had some information about me. 

My heart was aching, it felt like someone was restricting its movements. The closer we got to my childhood home, the tighter the hold on my heart got. I take deep steady breaths as I keep my eyes locked on my knees, I did not want to succumb to the anxiety that was churning in my stomach. 

This is to keep them safe, you don't want to keep losing them to death, do you? No, I didn't want them to die at the hands of a demon because of me. This was the best way to keep them safe. 

I feel the car slow to a stop, making my heart thump faster. My eyes shoot up and realize, we were just at a red light. I let my breath out as quietly as I could, I didn't want them to pick up on my panic. My eyes meet Yeonjun's in the rear view mirror. His eyes held nothing in them as usual but, for some reason, I couldn't look away. He pulled his attention back to the road just as the light turned green.

The ride to my old house felt so long yet, so short at the same time. Dread was seeping into my bones as I saw the old house, nothing about it had changed but... soon enough it would become someone else's home. 

I follow them out the car, sticking to the back like they had instructed. We had to wait until we were inside before my family saw me, not wanting to gather attention if they were to yell out from seeing me.

As soon as this was over, "my body" would be found conveniently floating in the river by one of the city's busiest roads. That way, when my family up and moved a week later, it would seem as if they just didn't want to stay around where their daughter was found. They planned to make it look like it was an accident. 

I grab the back of Beomgyu's shirt as one of them rings the door bell. My heart was beating so hard I could feel it in my temples. I felt like I was going to throw up and faint at the same time. 

"Are you the cops...?" I heard my step dad's voice ask, a hint of doubt in his tone. "Come in."

I knew Taehyun had flashed some type of magic to make him accept who we were. 

I follow so close behind Beomgyu, I had to take tiny steps, as to not trip him or myself up. My grip on his shirt was so tight, my knuckles were white. 

"Honey, the cops are here." My step dad called to my mom. I heard hurried shuffling coming from the hallway. 

"Go back to your room honey." My heart clenched so tight at the sound of my mom's voice, I was sure it had stopped working. 

"Actually, we need you all in here." Again, Taehyun used magic to make them comply. 

My breathing was becoming uneven as I heard them all settle down. I can't do this! 

Just as I was sure I was going to turn and run away, I felt someone grabbing my hand, pulling me to the front of the group. 

My eyes meet my moms first. 

"Evelyn...?" She asked so softly, I almost didn't hear her. 

"Mom." I couldn't hold anything back, even if I tried. As soon as I saw them, I broke down. "Mom!" I let out with a sob as I stepped closer. 

She jumps up and runs to me, throwing her arms around me as she sobbed just as hard as me. Before I could say another word, we fell to the ground, clinging on for dear life. 

"Where have you been?" She asked, not pulling away even an inch. 

"I can't say." I say with deep regret. There was no need and adding more details for them to have to remove from their memories. 

"Evelyn?" I hear my little sister Cassiy call out. 

I pull back and see both of my sisters standing together, holding one another's hand. 

I hold an arm out, letting them know they could join the hug. Without another moment of hesitation, they rush over, tucking themselves into mine and our moms arms. I looked at my step dad, offering him a tearful smile, also letting him know to join in as well. He gets down on his knees on the other side of where my sisters were, wrapping his long arms around all of us. 

"We thought we lost you." He whispered into the group hug. 

"I know, I'm so sorry." I bite my lip to try and calm the tears that wouldn't stop. 

After a while of us hugging on the floor, we all pull away and take seats around the room. 

My family all sat on the couch across from the love seat I was in with Taehyun. 

"I came here..." I take a deep breath as I feel my throat start to burn again. "I came to say, goodbye." 

"What do you mean?" My mom started looking over the men that were standing in her living room, trying to see if they were a threat or not. 

Taehyun whispered something in a language I didn't understand, and my mom sat back, looking calm. 

"They have to wipe your memories of me... it's to keep you all safe." I failed at keeping myself together as I saw the sadness in my family's eyes. They all stayed calm thanks to Taehyun but, their natural emotions would still show in their eyes. 

To say my heart was breaking, would be an understatement. I felt it getting ripped bit by bit, heart string by heart string, was slowly being peeled away as I took them all in. This would be my last memory of them. I wanted to make sure I had all their faces etched into my mind, I never wanted their faces to fade from my mind. I needed to remember them, since they could not remember me. 

"I love you all so much." I stand up and give them all one last hug. I whisper how sorry I was to them as I held them tight for a few seconds. Those were words they would never remember but, I had to say them. 

I stepped back as Taehyun, Yeonjun, and Huening Kai, stepped forward, all of them having the power to take away memories. 

I watched as the sadness left their eyes, replaced by a look of calm and contentment. I watched as they forgot about me, forgot all the times we spent together. My mom forgetting her pregnancy with me, forgetting the name she gave me, the first time she saw me, held me. She was forgetting the whole life of her oldest child. My step dad was forgetting how he had been so nervous to meet the daughter of the love of his life, forgetting how he had helped me fix my bike more times then either one of us could count, forgetting that he was there for me when I had a fight with my real dad. My sisters were forgetting about a big sister who was always there when they needed her, a sister that had held them when they got hurt, a sister that had done their makeup, dressed up with them, made forts with them, and never acted her age around them. 

A lifetime of memories, wiped away... as if they meant nothing. 

It was all gone in a span of a few minutes. 

~~

Low-key this hurt to write.