Chasing in the dark

CHAPTER 6

As the bus passes through the different neighborhoods, Dae-Seong tries to keep his composure as he intently listens to "River Flows in You" through his earphones. He stares out the window, while watching the rain leave creases on the window. 

=Dae-Seong= 

I get off the bus and walk in the direction of my house. After the emotional turmoil I went through in a span of 12-hours, was way too much for one person to handle.  I have my earphones in, with "River Flows in You" playing on repeat. 

As I walk past the rubble left over from what used to be Mr. Han's Diner, I cannot help but get angry at the onlookers that would make comments underneath their breath. My mother always said, when people show you their true colors, believe them. 

Mr. Han's Diner wasn't doing so well in recent years, but his place like so many others, were the only remaining businesses from back in the day.

When life was simple. 

I sigh as I keep walking towards my house. 

How quick people are to forget. Now, he is nothing more than an afterthought, a mention around the bar, a piece of news you share with your friends... and the remains of black soot left over from a fire. 

As I turn the corner, I notice a group of guys hanging around near my house. His people! I can feel my shoulders constricting as I try to avoid eye-contact with them. As I pass them without acknowledging their presence, I turn down the music on my phone to hear their conversation. I can hear them talking amongst themselves. A small, lanky guy, with a nasty scar across his face, tells the rest that they don't need to worry about "him" and that he can take care of himself. 

I must have slowed down too much, because the small guy with the scar across his face, motions to them to stop talking and turns his attention towards me. 

"What are you looking at?" He says as he removes his knife from his pocket and points it at me. 

I clear my throat "Nothing". 

I break eye contact and rush towards my front gate. As I close the gate, I lock it and lean against the door, exhaling a long and stained breath. I open my eyes and look up into the sky. The clouds are finally starting to disappear with a slight ray of sunlight sneaking through. 

I take a deep breath and slowly exhale the tension in my body when I see my brother running towards me. He wraps his arms around my waist and buries his face in the mid of my stomach. 

"Woah... did you miss me that much?" I joke as I lift his face towards me. The side of my shirt where he buried his face, is drenched in tears. I fold his face in my hands "What happened?" I ask him. 

Then I hear it.

Screaming. 

Yelling. 

Plates breaking. 

The sounds coming from my house sounds like a bar brawl on a Friday night.

It's moments like these where I would've told my brother to run to Mister Han's Diner. 

I take him one side and talk to him calmly "hey, listen to me. I want you to go to my room and lock the door, okay? Can you do that?" He shakes his head "yes"

"Okay. My window is open. Go!" He disappears around the corner.

I leave my bag pack by the front steps and head inside. As I enter my house, the strong stench of alcohol fills the air.

My heart sinks as I see my mom sitting in the corner of the kitchen, with her knees pulled up to her chin, begging my father to stop. Her face is covered in blood, with blue and red bruises creating a painting, and my mom's face as the canvas.