Running Away and Complicated Bygone

"That wasn't part of the plan?!" Hye Su looked terrified, "Kyung-mi don't! Please! I beg you! I'll do anything, just don't tell anyone… I'll…. I'll do anything you want! I won't tell Jung Hwa… I… I wasn't… wasn't going to either!"

I looked back at Kyung-mi, whose face had hardened, "And you just made him more suspicious."

She got up and walked towards us in a calm yet threatening way.

"You both are pitiful humans. Lookdownable." She scoffed. "I don't like pitiful humans."

She looked around, as if looking for something- which gave me a strange type of déjà vu.

"Choi Hye Su. I'll give you 30 seconds to save your petty boyfriend." She chuckled, still looking around.

Hye Su looked at me sharply. "Jung Hwa. Run Away. As far as possible."

Of course I did the opposite. I stood there, baffled.

Her expressions look frustrated, "I'll be fine, just leave, you idiot!"

I could see her nose getting red, an obvious sign she was going to cry.

Wait… Hye Su was crying?!

Either she was faking it or she was-

"Time's up!" Kyung-mi said, with a rod in her hand.

Of course, a metal rod. What did I expect?

I was paralysed.

Hye Su grabbed my wrist and started running.

I had never realised how fast she was at sprinting. I could barely catch up.

I finally got my voice back, "Hye Su… I… This is overwhelming… What the hell is happening?!"

"Later."

Kyung-mi wasn't even following us.

The time she stopped, we were in front of my house.

We went inside and she fell on the sofa immediately, panting heavily.

I ruffled my hair. "What is even…"

"Kyung-mi is a psychopath."

What a good time to joke around.

I chuckled and walked towards the kitchen, ready to boil water for some tea.

"I'm not joking." I could feel her eyes shooting daggers towards me, but I didn't turn around.

"I… Honestly, I don't wanna be associated with any of this anymore." I said, biting my lower lip. All I wanted was to live quietly, go out with Hye Su and work at the office.

I turned off the gas and poured the tea in a cup.

I suddenly felt someone hugging me from behind.

"I'm sorry. I… I know it's hard. You don't want all this. Neither do I." There was a crack in her voice, followed by uncontrollable crying.

Then it hit me.

Nothing made sense.

Why had I never thought about it before?

Memories flashed through my mind like a movie.

The adoration in her eyes when I gave her the necklace as a gift, the regret flashing on her face when we sat down at the funeral, and the terrified look when we were in the alley-way…

She leaned in and whispered the most horrible things.

I stood there with wide eyes.

All of it was a poorly constructed lie which I was too blinded by trust to see.

I felt angry, then betrayed. Then sadness took over me and I felt weak.

But for once, I felt someone was going through something I too went through.

I held her hands firmly, which were still wrapped around my waist, trying my best not to shed some tears too.

"People keep pushing you around and you keep getting pushed. That… that isn't life, that's torture." I took a deep breath, "you need to fight for yourself, while also being seen as an idiot. It costs your dignity but that's the only way to live. That's what I learnt the hard way."

There was a faint noise in the background while we stood there silently.

As it got louder, I realised what it was.

My head was completely empty and all I knew was I had to run from the police.

~~~

We crouched on the ground in a dark alleyway, short of breath.

Was there any way I could save Hye Su from this?

All we needed was evidence that she was-

"I think I have some proof." Hye Su suddenly perked up, and some hope returned to her eyes.

And we were off again. Running through the streets as if nothing mattered.

We could've gotten into a taxi- or maybe a bus, but none of us had any money on hand, and it was pretty obvious we were being chased.

The next time we stopped walking, we were in front of an abandoned scrapped building.

I recognized it almost immediately.

It was the one I went in and got tangled in this mess. The building in which I discovered Hye Su's dark history. Which was well, a lie.

~~~

Few years back- High School

"You're buying us lunch, aren't you, Jung Hwa?" I heard one of my classmates chuckling at me.

I nodded cheerfully. It didn't matter to me. As long as they gave attention to me. As long as they stayed my friends, it didn't matter.

I had enough money on hand to buy lunch for all of my classmates. And my family had enough to buy the most expensive restaurant branches.

Despite my family's immense fame, my identity was hidden. People only knew me as a child who was born into a good earning family and with an ordinary life.

I was constantly ordered around by my classmates or so-called 'friends' but deep down, I knew they were just with me for the money. Everyone was. But I learnt to lie to myself. Force myself to believe something didn't happen. Later on, I realised I couldn't remember whether a memory was real or just a perfect figment of imagination I once made myself believe.

Getting into a new high school was probably the best decision I ever made. My life almost changed when I found a new set of people. A set of people who actually cared about me. They were all types of odd people but it didn't matter to me.

A nerdy-looking guy who was actually the coolest person you could meet, a happy virus who always gave her all to care for people and then finally, a girl who was super shy but turned out to be very outgoing once I got closer to her. I was especially attracted to this girl. Maybe because she could look right through me when I was down, even if I acted happy.

I was super glad to have all of these people around me as they treated me like a friend and not a wallet.

I was no longer pushed around by people and could bring up my opinions in front of my friends.

But at home it was a completely different story…

…

"Exactly what were you doing this wednesday at 4PM when you were supposed to be at your academy."

I quivered, afraid to meet the madam's glance. She was my mother but I was taught to call her madam.

After a painful silence she spoke again, "I'm afraid I'll have to change your school again. Those petty friends you've made are too much of a distraction. And that filthy girl you like? If it was a rich business man's daughter I would've even considered it!"

Whenever she said something, she made sure to do it.

But things had changed. I had learned to speak up.

"But they're my only friends. Other people use me and order me around all the time."

Her cold look became even colder, "I'll make sure one of your friends ruin that girl's life if you don't leave them. You wouldn't like that, would you?"

I got reminded of why I never fight back. She wasn't human. There was no way a human could be this cruel.

My father was no different. He had a heart of ice. He forced me to focus on nothing but the family business, which I had no interest in.

…

...

Few years later

I was now a college student. Everything was perfectly fine. Except my social life. I ended up with no friends again, and it was hard to keep in contact with my old friends due to my parents. I could never get over the regret when I remembered how badly the girl I liked was bullied. I couldn't even say a proper goodbye to her. She probably hated me for that.

It was one normal day, when I got home and received the most unpredictable message.

I had lost my parents.

That didn't shock me.

What did was, the news somehow didn't quite affect me.

I had no time to reflect on it, as the whole business was now upon the dead owners' son who couldn't care less.

I sold the business to someone my father was close to and stored the huge amount I got. It was enough to survive for years.

And for once, I felt I could now live a free life. Struggle like other people and make it through college. Then finally get a normal job and live like anybody else. I was no more 'Jung Hwa- the son of the Rim family' but Rim Jung Hwa, a normal sophomore who was trying his best to make it through college.

…

...