Story of my lives||LeeJooyeon||

6

I placed the pads of my fingers on the door and leaned my ear to lie on the hard wooden surface. I thought I was ready to face him again after all these years, but the rapid thumping of my heart betrayed me and instead, I felt like the weak and scared girl I used to be. I had tried many times to kill the person I once was, but every time I would close my eyes I would see him, and reliving that terrified me. Every time I look down at my hands I could still see his blood. At night when I try to sleep I can hear the wheezing as he tried to breathe but couldn't. I always see him dying, taking his last breath as his eyes closed forever. Even as I train I could see him training. The way he would hold his sword and how he always looked so focused when fighting. Everything I would do and see, I would always see Jooyeon.

I swallow thickly as I whispered a short prayer; if god was even still listening to me after all this time. As quietly as I could I pushed the door open and a wave of relief washed over me when no noise emitted from the door's old and rusted hinges. The room Seungmin had been placed in was small, dimly lit by a single lit candle, and smelled of cheap alcohol. The back wall had a shelf that went from the ceiling to the floor, and every level was stocked with every kind of liquor you could think of. I waited and in the flicker of the candlelight there his shadow was. He stood with his back facing me as he looked out the window. It was a clear night and you could see how the stars scattered all over the dark sky, the moon gave enough light to see all the farmland that resided in the distance and into the horizon.

He turned and walked to the wall of liquor and poured himself what looked to be another drink. When he walked away to stand back in front of the window I caught a glimpse of him, and he looked awful. His shirt which was usually tucked neatly into his pants was instead messed up and looked as if he put it on in a rush; maybe he had visited the brothel just down the way before coming here. His eyes were rimmed like he was crying, his hair was a mess. My lip curled in disgust as I drew my knife. I made my way to the darkest corner and pulled my hood over my head.

I had grown accustomed to hiding in the shadows, and I have learned to love the darkness and the stealth it provided. Seungmin stood and looked to be in thought before he looked in my direction. I felt my heart stutter and my breathing stop as he sipped his drink before setting it down on the nearby table. Our eyes met and I shut mine; those foxlike eyes of his will always be disturbing to look into. In his eyes, all I could see was death, and all the heartbreak he inflicted into people's hearts; mine included.

"Princess, you can come out. Now." He spoke in a menacing whisper. I felt my throat go dry as I took a step out of the dark. I know I'm going to regret this, but either way only one of us would be leaving this room. It was going to be me. I tried to conceal my knife, but that's the first thing he noticed as he allowed his eyes to trace my figure with slow and careful eyes.

"You haven't changed a bit. You're still as beautiful as I remember Scarlet." There was a hint of an alcohol-induced slur in his voice as he tried to approach me with his arms extended out to me. I grimaced as I pushed at his chest, sending his swaying body to the floor. A low thud echoed throughout the almost empty room. The tension I had felt only built up as the seconds went by making my nerves go haywire.

"Don't you dare try and touch me?" My tone shocked him but then his shock was replaced by that same look that had haunted my nightmares and memories for the last five years. His eyes darkened and narrowed at me. His mouth turned up right into something demonic and sadistic looking, and I noticed the way his hands clenched at the bottom of his shirt. I felt every ounce of my being feeling petrified of the man in front of me. I froze as he got back up and grabbed my wrists when I tried to punch him. He turned my body around and I felt his chest press up against my back.

"You don't tell me what to do princess." He seethed. The hand that he was using to grip my waist slithered up my body until it reached my jaw. Seungmin gripped me and forced me to look at him over my shoulder. His brown eyes had looked black from the lack of light, and inside them, though the room was dark, I could see myself. I could see how scared I looked; my eyes widened in horror and my lips were trembling in fear. I didn't see Arla when I looked into the black pits that were his eyes, instead, I saw Scarlet. That scared little girl who was too scared to do anything for herself, who let herself get walked all over. Who wanted more out of life, but wouldn't do anything and let her life go on as it always had. Who was weak and vulnerable.