Defence

44

- - - - -

He dropped the newspaper down on his desk. The picture underneath the headline was too obvious. Little Victoria and Big Victoria looked exactly the same. He heaved another loud breath and sat down on his bed feeling tortured by his mother's words.

"So what? If what she told was a lie then I might quickly agree to a marriage proposal. Or if she's just really someone from the street then you can give up hopes of ever seeing her again." she told turning her head away in a snobby manner before turning back to him. "So, what is it you want?"

It was the truth he had to admit. His mother was the best at tempting him. Without answering her he had taken the newspaper and walked away.
Heaving another sigh he attempted to sort out his short thoughts. Marriage? It sounded good. To have her by his side every single day was something he'd like, but all in all it wasn't fair for her. As he knew Victoria wasn't the kind to get close at first sight and make a decision easily. He was aware that she still had many personal problems to sort out and those problems would entwine with his own life as well. If he rushed into a marriage proposal he feared that it'd become a failed wedding as it had been with Yoona.
Instead of pondering on he picked up his phone and immediately found Yoona on his contacts.
"Hello?" her voice on the other line sounded as if she had been drinking something.
"It's me."
"I know. How did things go?"
He was reluctant to say it but said it anyway, "Mom wanted to know if Victoria was really the daughter of Chairman Song."
Yoona was deathly silent.
"Is it true?" he hesitated to ask.
Yoona debated. To go with the lie Victoria had already set out or to go against her words. To protect or not protect?
"No, she isn't." Yoona said feeling regretful with her answer, yet glad.
Donghae eyed the little girl's photo underneath the headline. "Ok. That was all I wanted to know."
"Wait, wait," Yoona called before he had a chance to hang up, "your mother must have said something else. She wouldn't have just ended it there."
Donghae bit his lower lip, "If Victoria is the daughter then she'd agree for a marriage."
- - - - -
Yoona felt her heart half sink before hanging up. In the end his mother had tried pressuring him. What to do if Donghae actually fell for it? What would happen if Victoria's identity was suddenly exposed?
Yoona was worried because Victoria had tried hiding it so many times. For the first time she suddenly agreed with the thought that Victoria had wanted her identity hidden. There had to be a certain reason why she never wanted to go back home.
She debated silently with her inner will before grabbing her car keys. Suddenly she wanted to clear it out with Victoria. And if Victoria didn't comply, handcuffing her wasn't too big of a deal. Though she was sure that Taecyeon would go crazy over it when it happened.
- - - - -
Taecyeon walked in lugging the grocery bags slung on his arms to the kitchen. After setting them down with much care he began on the task of setting them away. That was when the doorbell sounded. Setting down a couple of the canned foods in hand he poked his head out of the kitchen.
Still half angry, half flustered with the way Victoria had been earlier he ignored the doorbell assuming that it was her and returned to the canned foods. The doorbell rang again ever more impatiently.
"Aish! That girl! If she lost her keys..." he muttered heading toward the door. "What are you..." he began loudly when he opened the door to see a young girl standing there. A mocking smile on her face.
"Good evening." she greeted.
"Who are you?" Taecyeon began before she threw him back with a kick.
Taecyeon flew back to the ground struck amazed by her strength. When he was able to look back at her he realized that the menacing glare in her eyes was one Victoria had started giving after she'd told him she had been there the night the of the assassination.
- - - - -
Along the empty pavement Victoria met with the glare of various headlights every few minutes. It was as if the cars themselves were angry with her. Yes, she knew she should be feeling bad and she was feeling sorry for having been so tough on Taecyeon. She'd always been rough on him ever since revealing her identity bit by bit.
As the full moon glowed from above she felt the wind try to toss her hair back and forth. Even though she hated to admit it she knew he was right. She hadn't thought about her parent's feelings nor Yoona's. Instead she held the grudge that they must have lived a fine life even without her. Look at Yoona, who was now a Deputy Sherriff. How could her parents be off any worse?
But yes, she did have an inner desire to go back. Even if she were to stare from afar...
A tiny feeling pricked her from the back of her head that even if she were to meet her parents again or if she were to come face to face with Yoona again, neither party would be able to understand the other. Too much had happened during those 14 years. Too many things were unexplainable in words. Though, Victoria was sure they each had suffered in their own ways.
After heaving a sigh Victoria finally arrived to the apartment. However, she didn't move toward the door. She just stood out front staring up at the windows. Victoria hesitated again and again before finally making her way toward the stairs. It wasn't like she wanted to go back...she really had nowhere else to go.
Pushing open the door Victoria looked around wondering why Taecyeon wasn't in sight. She had expected him to start yelling at her the moment the door had opened but there was no soul to greet her.
"Ok Taecyeon?" she called glancing around before finally stopping by the kitchen entrance.
Turning her head she saw that there were still items on the table that he hadn't put away yet. He wouldn't have gone anywhere without putting everything away. It wasn't like him.
It wasn't until she noticed the mess on the ground. Grocery bags had been flung all over the floor making it look like a pile of litter. The packed ground beef he'd bought was torn half open on the floor like it had fell to its own death. The four chairs at the table were pushed in all different directions and she finally realized that the table angled out of order. Instead of standing in the straight line where it always did it stood diagonally toward the counter.
Something had happened.
"Ok Taecyeon!" she shouted running toward the bedroom to find that the room had been untouched.
She ran back out and into the kitchen. Who had barged in? Burglars? No. If they had, there was no reason for Taecyeon to be missing. Then her heart raced. Jung Min? So Young?
A white piece of paper from underneath the white grocery bag on the table caught her attention at last. She snatched it never minding the soup can on top which fell over with a loud thud.
"Behind the woods, I dare you to come." it read.
Victoria bit her bottom lip as she crumpled the piece of paper up.
"You guys want to mess with me?" she asked aloud.
Dropping the note on the ground she walked into the bedroom, reached for her bag, and took out the handgun she'd preserved. She hadn't planned on using it at all.
- - - - -
As soon as Yoona drove toward the apartment she saw a black shadow dart out from the door and toward the back around the gym. Turning off the radio she squinted her eyes realizing that it was Victoria. Where was she going? Without debating Yoona followed her with the car.
When she drove pass the gym she noticed that Victoria had disappeared into the trees. Quickly Yoona searched around for an opening where she could take her car. A quarter mile down she spotted a drive that turned left into the woods. Without debating she drove down the road.
It was a dark area. A place where only a few street lights helped light up the road. Why only a few? Probably because few people traveled there. The tall thin trees that stood on both sides of the road gave off a creepy feeling. Yoona became spooked once she began wondering about what to do if someone just ran out at her.
Then up ahead about a few miles down she spotted a square building, tall and high, peaking into the invisible clouds overhead. Was that where Victoria was headed? But why?
- - - - -
How far was it? A mile? Victoria could see her own breath freeze in midair before her as her feet trudged along the broken sticks on the ground. The leaves scuffled aside noisily. She held the gun close just in case.
Burning anger blazed inside her and she was determined to get Taecyeon back alive even if it meant twisting their heads around. She swallowed when she reached the high building towering above her.
Even in the dark, the building looked as black as the night. The yard around it was quite empty yet still full of tall thin trees looming around each corner like shadows. Victoria glanced around cautiously with her knees bent ready to duck for cover if she needed to. Every few seconds she made sure to look around her while she climbed up the stone steps toward the large arched shape door.
Pulling the door open she came face to face with a barren empty room. Pipes of various sizes ran from one side of the wall to another looking similar to a playground of monkey bars. Victoria assumed it must be an abandoned factory that hadn't been torn down after business had died.
The floor was piled with dust and dirt mixed together. Every step that she took, Victoria noticed dirt flying up to her face. The factory must be a hundred years old at least. Covering her mouth to stifle her coughs she walked in quietly moving behind the pipes to stay hidden.
As she furthered in she heard a female voice speaking. She recognized it immediately. To be cautious she turned on the safety lock on her gun and stuck it into the back of her pants covering it with the back of her jacket.
- - - - -
Taecyeon awoke with a dizzy head spinning in circles. He felt awfully sick as if he'd vomited earlier. Was it a hangover?
When his eyes opened and his sight cleared up he saw a woman standing in front of him then he suddenly remembered being attacked, then running around the kitchen to defend himself, but in the end he'd been knocked out with her heavy fist.
"How are you doing?" she greeted ripping the duck tape off his lips.
A loud gasp asking for air escaped his mouth before he started coughing wildly.
"Now, now," she said sarcastically patting his shoulder and came to stand by his side. She bent down a little so that they were face to face, "Be quiet."