Hope You Are Happy

Crushing the empty can in his hand, Bryan dumped it in the trash roughly. His fists clenched until veins nearly popped out of arms. His bluish vein remained on the surface of his arm for a while until he calmed down.

"Why...Why do you have to be so kind hearted for? I should have taught you to raise your guards and have some kind of ranting habit with me! If I did, maybe you would have told me what your inner thoughts were! Maybe if I was more attentive to you during our video calls...I would see something wrong with your mood."

Reaching his heated cheeks, his hands covered his eyes as tears flowed like a leaking water machine. Gnashing his teeth together, his tears ran uncontrollably like a flood. The lump in his throat grew heavier than the first time he cried.

Taking in a few deep breaths, his eyelashes brimmed heavy with escaped tears on it. Closing his eyes as he faced the ceiling, he continued exhaling deeply. Circling around the painting slowly eased the tension he felt.

Once he settled down, he looked at the peaceful artwork with quivering lips. "Selina, if you are fine after that jump, then I hope you won't ever come back to this family. I never knew mother would hurt you bad enough to push you to suicide. If Alfred wasn't here to stop you that time, you might have died long ago."

Sniffling, his fingertip stroked the girl's hair in the painting. "If you are really...gone, then I hope you can smile happily wherever you are now. I hope you won't be crying nor hurting anymore. If I knew that the last time I hugged you and patted your head would be the last, then I wouldn't have left you alone for two years. I would have taken you with me."

"Or better yet, I would have stayed here and watch over you. I wouldn't have let you go through any of this alone. If I get another chance of being your brother again, I promise to protect you well this time. I will keep you away from mother...and other pests. I definitely won't forgive them.."

Wiping the trails of dried tears from his face, he saw Alfred shedding tears while drinking beer silently. Bryan sat by his side and took the can of beer from him. "For her, we must dig to the bottom of this."

"Definitely." The two of them bumped their fists together.

It's been a while since they've gone all out and drunk beers nonstop. Bryan fell asleep first, leaving Alfred the only one sitting around. He stood up and copied the way Bryan had touched the girl's hair in the painting.

"Before meeting you and your brother, I've never once known how having a family feels like. My mother ran off with another man when I was young, leaving me in my dad's care. My dad gambled away every cent he could bring home. As soon as I was old enough to work I found out about his debt, so I quit school. Even when I worked, nobody ever treated me nicely."

"Only you..Only you would stick up for me. You were the first person I knew who would help someone unconditionally. You'll remember the person's good and never keep track of their bad sides. You were also the first to smile and treat me like a person. After knowing you and Bryan, I've started meeting more people."

"It was fun being your brother for the past years and if I could, I wish I could protect you forever. I wish I could watch you find your happiness and get rid of unnecessary tears. Just like Bryan, if a miracle exists...then I too wish to be your brother again. I won't let anyone harm you. I hope you'll be smiling if we ever meet again."

While the brothers drank their sorrows away, Katrina nervously walked around the house with her cellphone in her hands. She had called Bryan numerous times already, but he didn't pick up her call. Suddenly, her phone rang, and she quickly picked it up without reading the caller ID.

"Hello? Bryan?" She almost smiled when she thought it was him giving her the call.

"Sorry to disappoint you. I'm not your son. I'm calling you to tell you that your son, Bryan is digging for me. He threatened Peter's family to hand me over or else he would sabotage their business. I don't know who he thinks he is, but if he dares lay one strand of my hair...the Han family won't let him off."

Shirley rolled her eyes when she heard Katrina's gentle voice.

"Please don't hurt him! I'll talk to him. I promise. I will tell him it had nothing to do with you. I'll tell him I'm the one who did everything that lead to Selina's suicide! I won't let him track back to you. But give me time. Just some time. Even if it means for me to lose him...I'll do it." Katrina panicked as she soothed Shirley's worries.

"You better admit to everything since it was your idea to begin with. If you don't clear things up, you know what would happen. You wouldn't want everyone to know about what you did twenty-two years ago. Of course, I wouldn't want to tell anyone about it either since it'll affect me. But...Your son's safety won't be a guarantee if he continues looking for trouble."

Shirley jeering laughter sounded awfully chilling. After the call ended, Katrina fell backwards onto her couch. Her heart raced and limbs began trembling. Covering her ears, she shut her eyes tightly.

"I'm sorry..I'm sorry Selina. Whether your spirit is in peace right now or restless, please give me some sympathy. Please forgive my past mistakes. You wouldn't want to see Bryan hurt, right? Then bless me. When I tell Bryan all this, please don't make him abandon me."

Gasping rapidly, she slowly breathed through her mouth. "You can hate me. You can punish me, but you can't take my child away from me. I'll return my debt to you in my next life. I'll willingly be your slave and let you order me around instead. Just this life...let me have my family back..Because of you, my life is mostly filled with regret already! You owe me it."