⋆✩⋆ ɪʟʟᴜsɪᴏɴ || ᴏɴɢ sᴇᴏɴɢᴡᴏᴏ ⋆✩⋆

Chapter 26 ✔️

I felt the light drain out of my face, as I beheld the person standing in front of me. To say I was shocked was an understatement. A laugh echoed across the room, the filthy sound coming from his mouth.

"Why are you so shocked to see me?"

I shook my head, unable to answer. My tongue felt so heavy in my mouth, preventing me from talking.

"Come on Lilli why are you so shocked to see your own father?"

Joe. Joe stood before me, mocking me. The father I saw in him was gone, replaced by someone different, something different. Gone was the kind face, the kind voice, the kind Joe. Standing in front of me was something harsh, vicious, something full of hatred.

"Cat got your tongue? Well in that case I'll let you listen, and maybe then you can understand why this is all happening. Though I do believe you already know part of it." The eyes that were once so caring and understanding were nowhere to be found. Instead I found myself staring into the eyes, the cold and harsh eyes, of a complete stranger.

"You Lilliana Amorrete Cho, are the cause of what will happen to you and others too." I winced inwardly, when he used my middle name, the name which my mother gave me.

"I didn't want to foster you, I had no time for such a thing. But when I was assigned to look after you, I was in no position to decline. Jessica was more than happy to take you on. I, on the other hand, hated the thought of it." I gulped, hearing his words was like a stab to my heart every time he said something.

"Your case was quite an interesting one, with your mother. The Tower were worried about you, worried that your past would affect your actions. And they were right, it seems, to be worried. I was assigned to keep an eye on you, to make sure nothing went wrong, and if it did, I was to report it immediately." Assigned. That word felt so contaminated to me. The fact that I was something to be researched on, to be observed. All I ever wanted was a proper home. When I had thought I had gotten that, it was ripped away from me. 

"Of course, I did my job properly. Unlike you. You were foolish enough to declare your relationship to the world, that it was hard not to get caught." Joe threw some photographs on the floor, in front of me. I saw, painfully, that they were all of me and Seongwoo. The time where we were hugging right after I told him
about my mother. The time where we were at the amusement park. The picnic. There were even a few of us when we were at the cafe. He had been there all those times when I had stupidly thought Seongwoo and I wouldn't be caught. The foolishness of what I did was slowly coming to realization, but I never regretted being with Seongwoo. I will never regret meeting the person who woke me up from the life full of lies I had been living.

"This is just one thing. We have so much dirt on you. You are one stupid girl. Didn't you think it was weird that only you and I came to Seoul? When we couldn't find anything in Erilea, we brought you to Seoul, 100% sure you would do something foolish. As expected, you did more than one thing, satisfying the need to get you. And him."

Seongwoo. They had Seongwoo. My eyes and voice  held nothing but anger as I looked at the monster before me. "What have you done with him?" My voice was raspy, but the anger could clearly be detected.

"Don't you worry about that right now. I'd rather worry about yourself if I was you. Do you know what it was like to have people know I fostered the daughter of a rebel? Talks and whispers. Everywhere. I hated you for that. Every time we would go out, people would talk. They knew. I wanted to get rid of you the moment I took you home, but I kept it in. Now, I can finally complete what I had wished for the  second I had seen you."

"Why? Why... put on the father act? Why bother acting nice?"

"It would be less pleasurable if I saw you in less pain than how you are right now." Monster. He was a complete monster. They all were.

"Anything else you'd like to ask darling?" Joe purred and I moved my chin out of his grip.
The disgusting sound of his laugh filled the room, and he walked towards the door.

"I'll be back later."

As the door shut, I allowed the tears to fall. Everything I had once thought true, was a lie. To explain the heartbreak, the betrayal I felt in that moment would be impossible. It was as if I was being ripped apart into two. How could I have not seen this coming? I put Seongwoo in so much danger for my sake. I prayed, with every ounce in my body, that they would not hurt him. I prayed that I would be the one to suffer and not him.

After what seemed like years, but was actually an hour or possibly a few minutes, the door opened and Joe returned. The tears on my face had tried up, and fury pumped through my veins. Instead of walking towards me, he went straight to the wall on left, and pressed a button I hadn't noticed.

I watched, as the wall slid aside, revealing glass behind it. My breath caught in my through, as I saw what was behind the wall. Joe walked behind me and turned my chair, so I was facing the glass. So I was facing Seongwoo who's head hung low, hands tied, unable to move.

Seongwoo was right in front of me, and with a sinking feeling, I realized not only could I not reach him, but also that whatever was about to happen, they didn't want me to miss a second of it.