Forbidden Love ➸ Taekook ✓

- Fifty-fourth -

Hyeri couldn't believe her ears, it was as if the world was collapsing around her. No, she simply couldn't believe it. She couldn't believe that she had lived a life of lies. That all her sacrifices, all her remorse, all her guilt, were based on betrayal. Betrayal by her own blood.

She turned to her son, who had moved away from her. The woman was trembling, her eyes both empty and wide. And when she sought her child's gaze, he only shunned it.

"Jongsu, it's not true, is it? You couldn't have done it? I... I saw it for myself, you were ill... and the doctors... you couldn't pretend... I saw the results of all your tests..."

Jongsu gritted his teeth. He was completely screwed. He'd never had his back against the wall like this. How had things got so out of hand? He'd approached Kwan because he was a powerful man, feared by everyone. How could he have known that the only man Lim feared was Kim Seojoon? The father of the man he had sought to destroy all those years ago?

The absurdity of the situation was driving him mad. He was this close to succeeding. He could have been finally happy. But Jungkook had ruined all his plans again. And this time there would be no next time. It was so horrible, so sudden, that he didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

He buried his face in his hands, still under his mother's devastated gaze, rubbing it nervously, before nervously running them through his hair. Then a laugh escaped his lips. It was only a chuckle at first, but another followed, and soon he was bursting with laughter. An uncontrollable, hysterical laugh.

"Don't look at me like that, Mom..." he managed to whisper between laughs. "It was so easy to fool you, you really are the biggest idiot..."

The woman widened her eyes even more, tears forming in her eyes. She wanted to remain in denial, but the violence of her son's words quickly brought her back to harsh reality.

"Jongsu, w-what are you saying..."

"Yes! It was all a lie! I've been better for a long time now! I've managed to overcome this weakness in my body! And yet you saw nothing, I was able to use you again and again!"

"You mean that, that operation..."

"It was fake! I never had an operation! I got all that money back!"

"But the doctors!"

Jongsu couldn't contain another laugh.

"A bit of money and that was it. Thanks to Lim, who helped me a bit in the beginning, I was able to bribe all the doctors you'd hired for me! And after that, it was just child's play."

This was too much for Hyeri, it was like being stabbed in the heart. Her son's words were hurting her so much that she couldn't think straight. She momentarily lost her balance as Jungyung rushed to catch up his wife.

"Jongsu..." he sighed. "We've sacrificed everything for you... How could you do this to us..."

"Oh please, don't talk to me like that, Dad... You've done nothing for me... And all that money was rightfully mine."

Taehyung could feel Jungkook ranting next to him. The rivalry between the twins had always been obvious, and over the years it had developed into a deep hatred. But Jungkook never thought his brother would go this far.

"You really are scum!" Jungkook suddenly spat, drawing all the attention to himself. "You've always had everything! Our parents always gave you everything, unlike you I had to fight constantly to get what I wanted, and you wanted to destroy everything! You've always wanted to destroy everything I've fought so hard to get! When are you going to stop being so self-centred?!"

That was the last straw for Jongsu. Of all the people who could lecture him, Jungkook was the one he didn't want to hear. He had no right to.

"Sorry?!" he shouted back. "I've always had everything? You must be joking! I never got to have a normal schooling, unlike you and Jin! I never got to make real friends, unlike you and Jin! I never got to go and play in the park, like you and Jin! I never got to spend an afternoon out, eating ice cream, unlike you and Jin! I never got to go to the amusement park, unlike you and Jin! And the list goes on! Because my mother was paranoid, I never got to do anything as a child! Whereas you could go and play outside, live your life as you wanted, I was constantly locked up at home or in hospital! I wasn't ill, not as ill as she thought! But every time the doctors told her I was fine, that it wasn't serious, she called them incompetent, fired them, and looked for new ones who would prove her right! I didn't have a life because of that crazy woman!"

He paused, pointing an accusing finger at Hyeri. The woman was shocked, unable to utter a single word hearing her son's accusations.

"You've accused her of favouritism all your life, when the ones she was favouring were you! She favoured you by freeing you from her attention! She's a sick woman, I've never been free because of her! I thought that when I grew up things would get better, but it got worse! When Jin refused to take over from Jdesign, I finally saw the light at the end of the tunnel! Dad would take me under his wing, teach me business, and I could finally taste freedom! But she was against it! She convinced Dad that it would put my health at risk! He preferred to give his company to the one who didn't want it, rather than to me!"

The boy felt tears running down his cheeks.

"Getting rid of you was the only way for me to be finally free. After you married John, Lim was to give me half the shares in Jdesign. With that, I could finally be free of her influence. But you ruined everything. It was my only hope. And now what? Will I rot in jail? Disowned? Nothing the future holds for me is good. At this point, I'd be better off taking my own life."

No one dared reply. The house fell dead silent, all eyes riveted on Jongsu, who had burst into tears. And for the first time, they were sincere. For the first time, everyone was looking at the real Jeon Jongsu.

"You know, Jungkook and I really wanted to be close to you." Jin suddenly admitted, breaking the silence.

Jongsu turned to his older brother, surprise evident on his face.

"When we visited you in hospital at first, we did it without Mom's permission. We wanted to keep you company. But when we saw that it put you in a bad mood, we stopped. And over time, we began to hate you. If you'd told us, if we'd known, things would have turned out differently..."

"Don't make me laugh!" replied Jongsu. "You say that now, but I know it wouldn't have changed anything!"

"Cut the crap!" interjected Jungkook.

He approached his twin and grabbed him by the collar.

"You were our brother! My twin! Do you really think we'd have abandoned you if you'd opened up to us?! That's what we were waiting for! But you preferred to lock yourself away in your scepticism, and turn Mom against us! We could have formed a team, the three of us against the rest of the world! But you preferred to go it alone!"

He released him, as more tears rolled down Jongsu's cheeks. Jungkook took a deep breath, trying to quell the anger burning inside him.

"We couldn't have guessed what you were going through, what you were feeling. Everything would have been very different."

He glanced at his parents, his disgust for them even greater than before.

"I'd be the biggest asshole if I used the evidence I have against you to send you to jail, or even ruin your reputation. And I'd be even more of an asshole if I pretended nothing had happened and left you in that family. The company is yours, Jongsu. I don't want it, and I'd probably have sold it once Dad had left it to me. So it might as well go to someone who will take care of it."

Jongsu's eyes widened.

"R-Really?"

"Hm, really. I don't want to owe anything to anyone. When I walk through that door, all this will be behind me. As far as I'm concerned, the Jeons will be dead. I'll marry the man I love, become the painter I want to be, and you'll have your freedom."

We'll both finally be free.

~🍁~

So? What are your thoughts about Jongsu now? I'm really curious!

Also... Well... I know you will not really like this new but... Next chapter will be the epilogue...