If I can't have you

Chapter 17

Min-jun had a feeling that this was going to be a very bad day. He couldn't explain the feeling that was bubbling away in his gut but it was the same feeling that he had gotten just minutes before he had the call from his parents to say that Nico had been in a car crash that had almost killed him. So God help him if he was going to ignore this feeling again. He knew it probably had something to do with his sister. It had been great when they had all been younger. They had been the perfect example of siblings who got along and enjoyed each other's company. That had all changed when Min-jee had turned 18 and their parents had taken her into a room by herself, sat her down and told her something that changed the dynamic of their relationship entirely. He can remember that for days afterwards Min-her would be lying in her room, crying and screaming at her brothers.

Something had changed in Min-jee that day and she had never let it go. She refused to tell Min-jee or Nico what they had supposedly done. All they knew was that whatever it was it was enough to make her want to make their lives a living hell. It had started out small, slashing car tyres so they couldn't get to work or school on time before escalating to physical violence wherever their parents were not around. She'd given them burns, scars and any manner of psychical pain with the twisted logic of whenever they asked why, replying that she wanted them to feel an ounce of the pain that she had been feeling on a daily basis.

And now Min-jee was almost certain that she was up to something. He didn't know what but he knew that he couldn't under any circumstances let it happen. Nico was already in enough pain and suffering enough to have his sister cause any more damage to his broken body. He couldn't even sit up properly without his pain being visible to everyone in the room. Min-jee had to protect him. His sisters twelve year reign of terror was finally going to be over. Min-Jew was going to be sure of that. And he had to start where it all began. With the people who had started this in the first place: their parents.

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Aida Kim blew on her steaming coffee before cautiously sipping at it. Wincing as it came into contact with her tongue, she turned towards her husband of forty years and gave him what could only be considered to be a insecure smile. She reached for his hand with her empty one and gave it a reassuring squeeze. She knew how much he hated being here. How much he hated being in hospitals. How much it reminded them both what they had lost. But they had both needed to be strong because their son needed them and if that meant having to be in a place where they had seen so much pain and heartbreak then so be it. Moving to stand up from the small table in the cafeteria where they had been sitting, Aida saw her oldest son marching towards her with what seemed to be the angriest expression she had ever seen on him. She tried desperately to think of any reason as to why her son may look as if he was seriously considering murdering his parents in the middle of the hospital cafeteria. Only one thing came to mind and Aida tried to reassure herself that this couldn't possibly be the explanation for Min-Jee's actions. He couldn't know, could he?

While all this was racing through her head, Min-jun had marched up to the table where she was sat and angrily flung himself into a seat opposite his parents. The loud screeching of the chair as it scraped along the tiles brought the attention of several other customers to their table and Aida plastered a smile on her face that would have been picked up as a smile that was hiding something from a mile away. The customers muttered among themselves, seemingly for an age, before giving up and turning back to their own conversations. Min-jun during this time had pulled his chair up to the table, rolled his sleeves up his arms and was leaning on his elbows, clearly expecting his parents to answer some questions they clearly knew. After a few minutes of stoney silence, Min-jun was clearly getting frustrated and eventually was unable to maintain the silence and burst out with something that neither Aida or her husband was expecting, "what did you tell Min-jee all those years ago. When she turned eighteen. What possible reason could she have to suddenly start hating Nico and I. What on earth did we do?"

Aida swallowed, not wanting to admit the answer to her son. She glanced at her husband and she sensed Min-jun tense up. He clearly sensed that this was an answer that he didn't want to hear but when she turned back to look at him, she was on the receiving end of one of his hard stares. She finally responded with something that she knew would change her sons life forever: "Min-jee was adopted. Her parents died when she was little. You and Nico were responsible for it."