Shadows of Abyss

Chapter 16

Author's Note:

Hello readers, here is Chapter 16!

From this chapter onward, parts of the past will start to be revealed. I will indicate these sections by marking them with the word "PAST" in bold to signify that they are flashbacks. Scenes that are not marked as "PAST" are set in the present, so please don't get confused. I won't be repeating "past" or "present" again and again, as it will make things messy. Only the past parts will be clearly marked with PAST.

Happy reading!
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Past

"Where is my eomma and hyung?" A fifteen-year-old boy yelled as he searched the entire house.

Desperately, he made his way to his father's room, only to find him slumped over in a drunken state. Grabbing him by the collar, the boy shook him violently, demanding answers.

Jeon Dawoo, his vision blurry and disoriented, looked at his handsome son with half-open, half-closed eyes.

"They ran away, those bitches your eomma and that hyung! Hahaha...they ran away," he laughed, freeing himself from the boy's grip and erupting into a fit of drunken laughter.

Jungkook's onyx eyes burned with rage and hate.

"Tell me the truth, or I swear I'll make you regret it" he shouted, kicking the nearby table in fury.

Countless times, his father had gambled away his innocent hyung to fuel his addiction. Jungkook worked day and night, resorting to illegal means to earn enough money to buy back his eomma and hyung's freedom.

But a few days ago, he had to leave for another city with his boss. Now, after returning home and finding no sign of them, he had lost his mind, storming up to his father in a frenzy.

"Do whatever you want they ran away! Those wretched two ran off when they saw me like this" his father snarled, struggling to lift himself off the bed.

Jungkook was starving. He had been running all day doing errands for his boss, yearning for the food his eomma cooked, only to find an empty house taunting him with its silence. All he found was his appa, wasted and sprawled near the bed. Every fiber of his being wanted to destroy everything in sight.

"Tell me, Appa, I'll give you money alot of money. J..Just please tell me where they are!" He pulled out a fistful of cash, his voice breaking as memories of his hyung's innocent eyes and his eomma's teraful one filled his mind. His eyes welled up with tears.

Dawoo's eyes gleamed at the sight of so much money.

"Give...give me that money...and go check the Jeong House" he slurred, reaching for the cash. Jungkook pulled back his hand, causing his father to fall face-first onto the floor.

"I'll ask him. If anything has happened to my eomma and hyung, don't consider me your son anymore. I'll make you beg for every breath" Jungkook growled, his voice laced with pure hatred.

He despised his father. A man lost to alcohol and gambling addiction, who would beat his wife and son without reason when the drugs wore off. Who would sell his innocent son to anyone to pay off his gambling dept. He used to beat Jungkook too, but as he grew older, taller, and stronger, his father began to fear him. Yet, he took out his frustrations on his wife and other son in Jungkook's absence.

Stuffing the money back into his pocket, Jungkook stormed out of the house. He was sure that, like always, jeong Im-hyun-shi would have saved them from his appa's wrath, and they would be safe at his house.