Frozen Memories➔ps.ff

Chapter 13

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Weeks had passed since that fateful night, and once again, Sunghoon and Sarang were the pride of their school.

Sunghoon had been plunged into an intense training regimen following the announcement of the survival show. When he shared the news with his mom, she was elated, urging him to work hard and pass the evaluations.

Yet, a strange tension had crept into his home. His parents, once the epitome of stability, seemed to be drifting apart day after day, their interactions tinged with an unfamiliar edge.

Sunghoon brushed it off as an adult matter, something he didn't need to concern himself with—until the day he couldn't ignore it any longer.

One night returning home from a grueling training session, drenched in sweat and exhaustion, Sunghoon heard raised voices from his parents' bedroom. Instinctively, he wanted to eavesdrop but then remembered Yeji and bolted upstairs to her room.

He knocked, but there was no response. Panic seized him, and he barged in, only to find his little sister crumpled on the floor, tears streaming down her face. His heart shattered at the sight, and he rushed to her, pulling her into a comforting embrace.

"They've been arguing for an hour," she sobbed, her voice trembling with fear. "When I tried to intervene, Dad pushed me away."

A wave of fury surged through Sunghoon, a disappointment he had never felt before rising like bile in his throat.

The arguments became a nightly occurrence, each one more intense than the last.

Sunghoon, raised to respect his parents, had never interfered, believing it wasn't his place. But the situation was escalating, and he could no longer stand idly by.

One day, as he stepped into the house, the sound of shattering glass and his mother's cries jolted him into action. He sprinted to their bedroom, fear clawing at his chest, and threw open the door.

The sight that greeted him was worse than his nightmares—his mother was on the floor, the corner of her mouth bleeding, sobbing quietly, while his father stood over her, his face contorted in rage.

"Get out, Sunghoon," his father commanded, his voice cold and unyielding. "This doesn't concern you."

But it did concern him. His heart pounded in his chest, and anger like he'd never known flared within him. "Did you hit Mom?" he demanded, his voice shaking with emotion.

"This is between your mother and me," his father replied, his tone dismissive.

Sunghoon's voice rose in fury. "It doesn't concern me that you're hurting Mom? Are you out of your mind?"

His mother, her voice weak and pleading, tried to intervene. "Sunghoon, honey, I'm fine. Please, don't worry. We were just discussing—"

"Discussing what, Mom?" Sunghoon interrupted, tears stinging his eyes. "How could you defend him after what he did?"

His father, now fuming, took a threatening step towards Sunghoon. "You don't know anything, Sunghoon. Shut up and leave this room."

But Sunghoon stood his ground, his voice filled with determination. "You think I'm going to leave her alone with a monster like you?"

The next moment, his father's hand connected with his face in a brutal slap, the force of it sending Sunghoon staggering back.

"Don't you ever talk to me like that!" his father roared before storming out of the room, and slamming the door behind him.

Sunghoon, his cheek throbbing from the blow, rushed to his mother's side, helping her onto the small couch in their bedroom.

That's when he noticed Yeji standing at the doorway, tears streaming down her face. She hurried to their mother, wrapping her arms around her in a tight hug, and Sunghoon joined them, the three of them clinging to each other in the aftermath of the storm.

"I'll get some ice and the first aid kit," Sunghoon said, his voice hoarse.

His mother warned him to be careful of the broken glass as he left, returning quickly with the kit.

He gently applied ointment to the corner of her mouth, his anger rekindling when he noticed the small scratches and the faint outline of a slap mark on her face.

"What happened, Mom?" he asked softly, his voice thick with concern.

She shook her head, her eyes filled with worry for him instead. "I'm fine, honey. Are you hurt?"

He shook his head. "I'm okay, but why did he hit you? What's wrong with him?"

"Don't talk about your father like that," she whispered, her voice trembling.

He scoffed, his heart breaking at her defense of the man who had hurt her. "I don't care what you call him, but he's no father of mine."

The night passed in a tense silence. Sunghoon's father returned home two days later, but the atmosphere in the house was icy. No one spoke to him, the rift between them now a chasm too wide to bridge.

Again a few days later, Sunghoon was getting ready to leave for training when he heard his parents arguing again. Fear gripped him as he rushed towards the sound, terrified of what he might find.

But what he overheard made his blood run cold.

"Why would you do this to me? To your kids? To our family?" his mother's voice was filled with anguish.

"How could you? We've been married for twenty years, and now you're cheating on me with a girl young enough to be our daughter?"

Sunghoon's world tilted on its axis. Rage and disgust bubbled up inside him, and before he knew it, he was in the room, his fist connecting with his father's jaw in a single, powerful punch.

His mom stared at him, shocked into silence.

"You're a disgrace," Sunghoon spat, his voice trembling with fury. "How could you do this to Mom? To us? You're disgusting, and we don't want you here anymore."

His mother, shaking and crying, tried to pull him back, but he wouldn't be deterred.

"There's only one thing you can do for us now," Sunghoon said, his voice steely with resolve. "Leave. We don't need a father like you."

His father, knowing he was in the wrong, didn't argue. Hours later, he was gone, the door closing on their once-happy home with a final, resounding thud.

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Sunghoon knocked on his mother's door later that night, finding her sitting in a daze on her bed. He sat beside her in silence, the weight of everything that had happened pressing down on them.

"I'm so proud of you, my brave boy," she whispered finally, her voice breaking.

"You defended our family like a man." She spoke.

He leaned into her side hug, feeling the soft kiss she placed on top of his head.

"You're not going to stay with him, right, Mom?" he asked, his voice barely a whisper.

She took a deep breath before responding, her voice filled with quiet determination.

"I've already called my attorney. I'm filing for divorce."

Guilt washed over her face as she continued, "I'm so sorry we couldn't be the perfect parents for you and Yeji. But I'll protect you both, no matter what."

Tears welled up in Sunghoon's eyes as he shook his head.

"You've done nothing wrong, Mom. It's all his fault. You've always been there for us, and that's more than enough."

His mother smiled weakly, her eyes filled with a mixture of sorrow and pride.

"Where are you going now?" she asked, noticing his training bag.

Realization hit him like a truck. "Shit, I'm late!" he exclaimed, bolting out of the house and rushing to his training session, where he received a stern scolding from his coach later when he arrived.

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