Treacherous | Lee Seokmin

7.

CHAPTER 7

"WHERE IS IT??"

"Oppa! Get back to your senses!"

CLINK!

The window was broken. Aeri came close to her brother to calm him down.

"STAY AWAY FROM ME!" he made a lunge at her. It caused Aeri to fall and her hand onto the broken pieces of glass. It was bleeding.

But Seokmin had no heart. He just stood there to see her hurt, and scampered off.

Frankly, things weren't even getting better. Days passed by and everything was getting worse. Seokmin's condition was getting bad. He started throwing tantrums in a heartbeat if anything clutters up his emotion. Aeri tried to apprise her aunt. She told her she was already called the medical team. But they never came.  Seungcheol, he became useless.

"I have no power," was the only thing he ever said. It wasn't that he was not trying to help, but he didn't have the courage to go against his own mother.

Until that one faithful evening, an intruder disguised as one of their butlers.

"HELP!!!" a scream was heard downstairs. The maids called for security. Aeri and Seokmin rushed downstairs. To see what was happening, they couldn't believe their eyes.

The intruder had Mrs. Choi in his arms and a knife around her neck. How could this suddenly happen? Weren't the security in the mansion was immensely sophisticated? Aeri's thoughts were lost as she witnessed the scene.

"Don't even go fucking near!" the man yelled. He pulled her even tightly.

Seokmin, who once went through such experience, remained calm, though he was critically unstable. He slowly went down the stairs.

"I just want to talk,"

"I DON'T want to talk! A fortune is more worth than this bitch's life!" the knife was almost touching her neck.

Seungcheol where are you? Aeri spoke in her mind. Mr. Choi? Forget it. He's only back home once a month. It was intense. The police hadn't even arrived. Soon, she quietly making steps down the stairs behind. Seokmin tried to distract him. Her eyes caught on a tall vase. Cautiously, she reached for it and hit the man's head from behind. It broke into pieces. But the man collapsed and blood flowed from the back of his head to a pool. He lied there on the floor, only God knows he was still alive or not.

"OH THANK YOU!" Mrs. Choi suddenly hugged Aeri tightly. She was never been so grateful of Aeri's presence until that moment.

She turned around to look at Seokmin and back at Aeri.

"I'm really sorry. I know I've been such a bad person and treated you poorly. I promise to do better. But thank you again for saving my life," She hugged Aeri back again and her tears were flowing. Real tears.

Aeri wasn't so keen on her. But she was glad that she realised what she had done. Seokmin just looked at them and then to Aeri. Aeri just stared at him too, with a bemused expression. 

A few minutes later, the police arrived and surveyed the area.  There weren't a lot of things to explain, since there were surveillance cameras. Aeri sat beside Seokmin still in bewilderment. She just couldn't connect or relate anything what had just happened.

Suddenly, Mrs. Choi sat beside her. She took a deep breath.

"This might be a feeble thing to say, but I'm so sorry. For everything. I know you're still mad at me. I don't mind if you're still giving me a cold shoulder. I've been thinking too. I guess what's in the past stays in the past and it will never change. What can be change is the future. Our future,"

Yeah right, Aeri thought as she looked away.

"Just to let you know, you haven't just lost a mother. But I also had lost...a sister. She was the only one I had. My family," she continued as her voice shake, holding the tears.

Aeri remained shut. Seokmin couldn't speak out a word. He was too tired. Exhausted. Of everything. Soon, she turned around and hugged her aunt. She started sobbing and slowly whispered, "We all lost her,".

The pulled each other away and wiped their tears. Mrs. Choi smiled wryly at Aeri, showing she was being strong to the ordeal.

"I want to show you something. I'm taking you somewhere where we used to go when we were kids. It was a good memory I wanted to share with her precious daughter," she softly spoke.

"Where is that?"

"Geojedo,"