ALONE IN THE RAIN ✓

Chapter 21: The Truth Behind His Mask

Namjoon never expected me to ask such a question.

I held up his chin, forcing him to look through my eyes as they were filling with water. "Doesn't my question have an answer?"

I've never seen him like this. He seems broken. Where is that unbreakable, Namjoon?

"I've done something even worse," He replied with a low voice. "March 19th, the worst day of my life—"

Something blocked his throat as if he was about to cry. I held his hands tightly.

"Byun Haneul was my best friend; Byun Minjun's older son," He continued, letting a breath out. "Haneul had a girl friend. He loved her to death. He would do anything for her in order to see her happy. She was the same. She had the same feelings for Haneul, but Hojin was jealous for two reasons. The first was that Byun Minjun loved his older son the most and the second, well Haneul was running his father's company and he was living a better life than his brother. Haneul's success caused his brother's jealousy. Hojin's jealousy of his older brother was intense.
I hated Hojin from the very begining, because I could see how he was treating his brother, but Haneul believed that he was not treating him like shit on purpose."

"What happened next?" I asked, nervously.

"The next thing that I can remember is his girl friend's death," He replied as his eyes were filling with water. "Hojin told me that Haneul was betraying his girl friend. It was unblievable! I don't know why I believed that shit, but I somehow did.
I called his girl friend, telling her all I've heared from Hojin. She was on her way to his company, but her car swerved to the left and fell into the river. She couldn't survive that accident."

Poor Namjoon! He must've blamed himself because of her death.

"Haneul abandoned his father's company so that Hojin could take his place, but Hojin was young, so Byun Minjun still didn't believe in him.
Hojin never stopped encouraging his brother to commit a suicide. I always talked to Haneul, telling him that Hojin isn't a real brother to him. He just wanted everything for himself. He believed that the world is his kingdom, but Haneul believed that it's all because of the excitement of youth." He said, rubbing his eyes.

"Excitement of youth? Pathetic!"

"Maybe, you're right. Maybe, it was pathetic, but Haneul never stopped caring for his brother," He said, taking a deep breath. "One day, as I was reading a book at the library, Hojin called me. You know what he said? He said that Haneul has commited a suicide! Hojin was laughing. He was fucking laughing! I mean, what kind of brother laughs at his sibling's death?"

It's strange, I know. But, Hojin never seemed like a normal person to me.

Never.

Tears were running down Namjoon's cheeks. I reached out my hand to wipe them, but he pushed my hand away.

"After Haneul's death, Byun Minjun started taking control of my life. He said that he will never leave me alone and he will hurt the person whom I love the most," He continued, wiping his tears with his hands. "That's why I want you to stay out of my life. My world is a dark and dirty place."

Wait, does he mean that I'm the one whom he loves the most?

He stood up, looking down at me.

"I know you loved them, but you can't blame yourself forever," I shouted, gripping his wrist. "Listen, it was an accident, okay? You had nothing to do with it."