𝗮𝗴𝗴𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗳𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗮𝘀𝘆 • 𝘀𝗲𝗼𝗻𝗴𝗵𝘄𝗮

ｅｉｇｈｔｅｅｎ

chapter eighteen:
"is it a coincidence that i want to rip that man's limbs apart?"

seola regrets it. she regrets arguing with seonghwa. she wants to see him, to talk to him so she takes measures under her hand. she walked in the silveria, the club is surprisingly more crowded today than any other day. she looked around the club, trying to look for one familiar face. she's hoping to see wooyoung or kyuwon—anyone. but none. she found no familiar face. "excuse me" she calls at the bartender she recognized. "hi, how may i help you?"

"is seongh—i mean, mr. park here?"

"ms. song?" she raises a brow, surprised that the bartender knows her. "you know me?" she asked. "of course. mr. park told me to watch you in case you come here. look, he wasn't very happy when he told me to watch over you. i don't think it's a good idea to be here alone" the bartender states. "why is that?" as far as she knows, silveria is the next safest place after seonghwa's home. although she was shot here, she still thinks it's safe around.

"i came to talk to him, is he up in his office?"

"no, he hasn't visited since his accident. i thought he was recovering but here you are, i guess he's fine now" the young man replied. "should i call him? wait, why don't you call him yourself?" she sighs before the bartender's nametag caught her attention. youngeun, his name is youngeun. "the thing is, we fought" she admits. she don't know but she just found herself admitting it to youngeun. "oh, my." the young man shakes his head. "is it bad?"

"i will go contact him, then"

"thank you, youngeun" she sincerely smiles. "pleasure. in the mean time, i suggest you not drinking or talking to any of those men. i don't think mr. park will the idea of you drinking or talking to those men, this place is basically a home of surveillance cameras. he can see you in any angle" she nods, planning to do as he said. "then, excuse me"

it was a few minutes of silence with youngeun away when she felt a presence behind her. "i didn't expect to see you here, seola" she turns her frame and finds youngho. talk about unlucky. "i guess your legs are fine. not gonna lie, i expect the least of you having a rich boyfriend" youngho shrugs. "i'm sorry but i'm uncomfortable around you"

"my apologies. i was trying to actually hit on you cause wonji said you're very single, turns out you're not"

"i must go. again, i'm sorry for the trouble i caused you. my sincere apologies if i did made you uncomfortable. see you around, seola" seola could only nod as youngho turned his expensive shoes and left to a table. she sighed pushing her hair back only for her eye to meet a pair of dangerous dark orbs. seonghwa.

she immediately grabbed her bag and sprint to the second floor where seonghwa is. she completely forgot about youngeun and just ran to seonghwa. "we need to talk" she said upon approaching seonghwa. "yeah, we do." seonghwa face her, his eyes dark and deadly, making her gulp thickly. "i thought i made myself clear i don't like that guy yet i found you here with him, it made me uncomfortable, your interaction i meant"

"i did not come here with him"

"it was a coincidence" she briefly explains. "coincidence" seonghwa scoffs. "is it a coincidence that i want to rip that man's limbs apart?" it wasn't an empty threat. something is definitely in that threat. "do you not trust me?" she questions. "i trust you. i do not trust that guy. his stare is as sticky as an adhesive and his face is still punchable as the first time i saw him. i should work hard on not letting jerks like him in silveria" seonghwa tuts. "seonghwa, i came here to apologize to you. can we talk somewhere private?"

"you don't have to apologize, i would never accept an apology from you"

"i would apologize thousands of times just to not hear you do one. anyway, let's go home. i'm taking you home" the male stood straight. "you seemed mad, i don't think it's because of me. what happened?" she frowns. "you notice" seonghwa huffs. "i think wooyoung is screwing me up"

at the mention of wooyoung, seonghwa remembers everything his friend said. from song kangmin, seola's relationship with that old man and how seola's parents were never dead. he wanted to open up the topic regarding her parents but he couldn't find an opening. he has to make an opening. "let's go somewhere" seola nods as he lay a hand on her lower back and lead her to the door where it leads them to the parking lot.

seonghwa turned off the engine upon arriving at the location he decided they should talk to. the ambiance gives them enough privacy. "so? i think you're mad but it's not because of me and what do you mean by wooyoung is screwing you up?" seola talked first. "he turned off all the cameras in my house" he stated. "enlighten me, mr. park"

"same day, same time and same moments. he asked my security guards to turn off all the cameras in my house"

"if i were to judge, this is enough evidence that wooyoung may be the one behind my shooting. he was the one who shot me but i'm not ready to admit it. wooyoung is very important to me. it will hurt me big time if he's really the one behind everything" seonghwa sighed, shutting his eyes but opening it right away. he needed a breather and more information. "why would wooyoung shoot you?"

"my exact question. why?"

"i asked him. i confronted him about this matter but he told me a very different thing." he replied. there it goes. he made an opening. "what did he tell you?" seola asked. "before i answer your question, what happened to your parents? i don't remember you telling me anything about it" he turned his frame and face seola. "they're dead. in my first year of college. my father was a worker in a law firm but he's not a lawyer. as for my mother, she died too. i never really saw her body but all i saw was a burned body. the forensic said it's her"

"i see"

•

seola enters the boutique with wonji. they had decided to go shopping as it is payday and it's been a while since they went shopping. apparently, they are both busy with things. well, busy with seonghwa and yeosang. "i was thinking of..." the rest of wonji's words enters and escape seola's ear when her eyes hit a woman she last saw ages ago. there she is. completely fine and is with a man. "excuse me, wonji. i'll be back"

seola approaches the woman and purposely stands beside her, hoping she would notice her. "i was thinking maybe this one will suit—seola?" it took every energy in her body to stop her from breaking down. her mom recognized her. seola gulps and meets her mom's eyes. "let mom explain" her mom forced a smile. "you recognized me"

"are you always around? how come we never met until now?"

"oh" she realizes everything. "you're hiding from me. i don't know what's the reason but i'm not upset. i'm more hurt" seola took deep breaths. "let's talk somewhere, seola. let mom explain everything, huh?"

seola walks alone in her neighborhood, she had gone back after talking to her mom. she should be relieved that she's well and alive but she's hurt. she suffers for years yearning for her disappearance yet none of it was true. she can't even bring herself to believe her mom's explanation. "seola"

she was thankful for seonghwa's appearance. she immediately ran to his arms, earning a grunt from him because of the impact but he did not question her and just hugged her back. her tears fell and she held in the sob, she can't breakout in front of seonghwa. "what happened? can you tell me?" she shakes her head, earning a nod from seonghwa. "it's ok. just cry"

that's when she broke. she bawled her eyes out, not holding her loud sobs. her grip on his shirt tightened yet seonghwa did not question her and just soothingly rubbed her back. it was painful. she felt betrayed. she spent all years mourning for her mother whom she thought is dead. turns out, she's well and breathing. her chest felt so heavy that she feels like her heart is aching to snap out of her flesh. it was too painful that she felt like dying. it's more painful than the shot she took weeks ago. it's the only thing she could think.

it's so painful.