SHADOW ➵ 𝘈𝘛𝘌𝘌𝘡 ✔️

006

" oh now, holding this pain "

handong, dreamcatcher - deja vu

Haewon's POV
time is quite a difficult conundrum, you don't know how much of it has passed or how much of it you have left. seconds can turn into minutes, and minutes can turn into hours without end. and within those seconds, a terrible event can occur and you won't even expect it until you see it before your own eyes. in this case, this is what happened to us.

I was only twelve while Yeji was sixteen. During the Christmas break, my family and I enjoyed a splendid home meal together while conversing on school life and future plans. My mother, Minhee was proud of both our career choices; Yeji wanted to become a lawyer while I wanted to be an artist.

Our prosperity came from the constant love and support from my mother. She kept us in check and made sure we were on top of everything, while rewarding us and pushing our drive forward every time.

One thing that did make me question though, was the secrecy that went on; every few weekends, she would go out and only come back the day after or maybe two. Sometimes Minhee would have bruises on her hands, but she said they were from cracking her knuckles too hard. A bullshit excuse, but enough to make an adolescent believe in it.

It kept on going until that very night. That night was the night that completely twisted the mindset of both my sister and I.

Everyone had cleaned up their dishes as night fell, I was about to sleep when I heard a light tap to my bedroom door. It was my beautiful mother, dressed in complete black.

"Haewon, I will be going out tonight." she said softly, walking over to my side and holding my tiny hand.

"Why do you always go out? Especially at night, I don't think it's very safe." I stated, pouting.

"Dear, I'm sorry there hasn't been much said on my actions but please do know that I will always be safe and that I love you truly, with all my heart and soul."

Before I could answer, a sudden ruckus came from the kitchen. My mother sprung up and placed her ear on the door, listening for who knows what.

"Stay here and no matter what you hear do not come downstairs." she commanded, leaving the room and locking the door.

Minutes later, I could hear a mixture of shrieks, glass breaking and objects being thrown. Worry built up as the sounds grew louder, short silences between each resound.

I honestly wanted to stick by my mother's order, but I couldn't. Curiosity was too strong for a child. Slowly leaving my bed, I stepped towards the door and unlocked it; making sure every movement was minimal. Pulling it open rather quietly, I took a good scan at the hallway - it was dead silent.

Yeji was still asleep, knowing she is a heavy sleeper, there wasn't any need to disturb her so I left her how she was. Exhaling with nervousness, I tiptoed to the stairs and began going down as lightly as possible on each step. The spine-chilling silence made my palms sweat in a inhumanly manner.

And that was when I saw the trauma flash right in front of my eyes.

The front door had a large hole in it's centre, window smashed inside and handle stained with ruby that dripped from the doorstep into the living room. My jaw was stuck as I placed a hand over my mouth, holding back tears. Questions seeped everywhere, but the main one was "Is my mother safe?"

Hesitating to get off the staircase, I picked up the courage and landed on the bloody floor. It wasn't very heavy, but certainty told me it would leave a mark on my fluffy slippers.

Looking down, I noticed there was a trail. It was leading directly into the kitchen and that's when the unnerving feeling returned.

Making my way through the mess, my eyes could not believe what they were seeing.

A corpse lying face down on the now ichor marble counter, it leaked in every direction possible. A sizeable blade left struck through the back, indicating multiple stabs had been delivered.

No.

The outfit placed on it told me enough.

My body was numb, my expression confused and my heart burning. Nothing came out, so the only thing I did was cry. Not just cry, but wail, scream,
bawl. Excruciating wasn't enough to describe the feeling. Taking out my emotions on everything in sight, I didn't stop even when tired, even when my vocal cords were failing, when my head was pounding with ache; until my body physically gave up on me and I fainted.

The rest was a blur. All I did recall was waking up in the hospital with my sister beside me praying for my recovery. Till this day, I still ask myself who had the fucking nerve to take my only parent away from me. But that's just how the corrupted intellect of the evil work. They don't care, they do as they please and hurt who they want, my mother was a good woman and I know that she was. So why do the evil choose to take away the good? To cause more death and pain? Out of spite or jealousy? I will never understand.

The police spent years and years trying to find the murderer, but they failed. No solid evidence was brought to light so they left the case as an unknown murder mystery.

After my fast recovery, physically I was fine. Mentally? I was traumatised, broken and damaged. Numbness was all I ever felt, I barely ate or went to school; my grades dropped drastically and I did not care.

Yeji, taking the role of a strong motherly figure, continued to strive and work hard. It led her to finishing school early, getting a high payed job as a lawyer and being able to buy us a house. She never showed any emotions or liked to talk about feelings, so along all these years i've been puzzled to how she truly is doing inside.

You may be wondering "what about my father?" That is simply a story for another time.

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a/n : the backstory of haewon and yeji🙂
i've purposely skipped out details as it will all make sense at the end. this is part 1/2 and part two will be chapter twelve. thank you for reading <3 - LV.