153. Tough Choices

"I didn't think you'd agree to meet me."

"You should have called mom and dad to come instead, or Elric's mother." 'Do you have any idea how many lies I had to tell Stan and his parents just to get to see you?'

"How are Stan's parents?"

"They're okay."

"Figures. They get to keep you for the rest of their lives. Of everyone, I felt like they understood me the most from the beginning."

"Everyone empathizes with your situation. You've just refused to allow your own family to care for you and keep acting on your own."

"You'll never get it Yeon. I'm not like you to go about galavanting to the world my vulnerabilities." 'Accepting to be defeated in the presence of those that were used to seeing me excel makes me feel ashamed. I've never been this broken in my life and I don't know how to deal with this situation and I can't stand being pitied.

"My life was shattered don't you get it? My dreams, career, self-esteem, my dignity, reputation..!" 'You think I don't know how chaotic I am? That's why I worked hard in my career to make something of me and just like that, all my efforts amounted to nothing. Absolutely nothing!

"She made me beg, making me look so predictable, stupid and simple. She hurt my pride."'There is no light at the end of the tunnel in my life... Just the opposite. A tunnel leading me into utter darkness.'

"I don't belong here anymore little brother. I've outgrown my stay. Everything and everyone knows me and I hate it. I can't even walk the streets without nosy neighbors asking me of my marker let alone my past flings."

"What about Princess? Are you ever going to ask for her back?"

Mijin smirked. "Never. She has nothing to do with me and neither do I. Moreover, I'm afraid if I hear one more cry from her, I'll kill her then kill myself. That thing reminds me of so many things that haunt me."

'Fuck! I need so sticky. I need a cold shower to cool off my anger, a warm bed to sleep... I need to get my life together, leaf through job offers or a new employer in a place no one knows me.'

"How is Niel doing?"

"He and Elric are alright."

"I never asked you about that ugly mut. He took Niel from me right in front of my eyes."

"Mijin, just let them be. Do not interfere..."

"He looked so handsome the last time I saw him. He was a good shoulder to cry on Yeon and someone I relied on whenever I felt down yet right now, he is probably in someone else's arms... That fucking ugly Elric stole my man from me!"

'Why I'm I so unlucky?' "Wasn't Elric just fooling around like I was yet look at him now, married to the person I can't let go of and has stupid weaklings for children! They are probably as fucked up as Elric is. I hope they die."

"That is a very bad thing to say Mijin."

"You sound like mom Yeon. All of you have no idea what I went though. Mora watched as his brother took advantage of me..." Mijin hesitated. "I was so terrified. I tried pushing him away but he marked me and my heat took over me then I began to want him so bad I could die.

I despise that memory the most, calling out to him yet at the same time, detesting him touching me but eventually, I gave into a lust I've never experienced before.

When I woke up later, Mora said we'd gone on and on for more than a day. She intentionally kept us together. I didn't know why she'd done that until weeks later when I was told I was pregnant with that thing that I feel no attachment to, planted in me so I would grow it out of me."

Mijin glanced up at her brother, surprised to have opened up that much to him. It was the first time she'd shared her experience this much with anyone.

"Little brother, the truth is I'm no different from those locked up in here. I could have killed Mora if I wanted to. I could have gotten an abortion. I wanted to three times..."

"Why didn't you?" Yeon cut in.

Raising her chin up to look at the ceiling, Mijin fought the tears forming in her eyes, a futile attempt that only allowed them to well up enough to fall down her cheeks. "Deep down, I had this lingering feeling that the best revenge would be to see Hajin recover to piss Mora off. She'd wanted to end him and left him for the dead with not an ounce of scent yet currently, he is looking healthier by day and even got his scent back."

"How was he before?" Yeon asked. He felt glad to have his sister opening up and wanted to use this opportunity to better understand why she kept on acting impulsive.

"He has never done anything wrong to me. We never fought while we dated. He always had this laugh on him that was full of life and energy every time I heard it." Smiling absentmindedly, Mijin added, "Hajin wanted to commit while I wanted to just have fun. Maybe that was why he and Niel are so much alike. They both put up with me and cared for me regardless which character I played. Yet, here I am. Alone, unpaired, unfated and I've lost them both."

"Mijin, you may not know but I worked on your scents. Yours, Hajin's and Princess's."

"What?" Mijin asked seeming astonished. "When?"

"Stan's uncle brought to me samples from one of his friends. I don't know why he trusted me that much but upon studying the DNA, the number of identical segments was too much of a coincidence since they matched mine. I had my suspicions however, I didn't confront Stan's uncle over it. My point is I hadn't known I'd forgiven you until I worked on sent unifying your scents and that of your fated's. That's why I toiled day and almost the whole night pondering on how fateship can be saved and for a while, it worked. You two were able to absorb each other's scents faintly.

Anyway, long story short, if you'd properly shared scents with Hajin, you'd have scent unified to a percentage as good as say, five. However, seeing that you still reject him, the intimacy connection you both share would eventually wear off because your spiritual essence no longer bonds you together."

"So what?"

"Mijin, stop being hardheaded. Niel is no longer yours and maybe, just maybe you and Hajin could rekindle what you two had before Mora messed it up for both of you. You can't allow her continue to break you."

"I'm not that broken..."

"Yes you are. She isn't even here yet she power over your anger."

'"Fuck you." Mijin swore then laughed. "You're like my living conscience." 'I've never wanted anything more than to be like you even if you are nobody special. That doesn't mean that my life is pathetic does it?

But why did Mora want to ruin me this much because of you? Why bring me down this far? I should have run away and let that lawyer of her's finish what he'd started, ruining her completely. She deserves to die!'

The loud silence from his sister prompted Yeon to speak up. "I have my fair share of bad deeds. I'm not as good as you think."

"Compared to me, you are a saint. Compared to Elric, Mora, her stupid family and a lot of people you are a fucking saint so stop showing off."

"No I'm not."

Mijin chuckled, her shoulders shaking from holding in laughter. "See, this is why I hate you. You don't even know it yourself how unnerving you are. Maybe that is why Mora is obsessed with you."

"She is a psychopath just like her father. It's already been proven but anyway, you shouldn't have put yourself in this situation to begin with. Their property got burned down recently too therefore, all eyes are on them. Going after Mora was very silly on your part."

"I burned it down." Mijin confessed to which Yeon didn't surprised surprised. "That place represented the beginning of my trauma. The thought that there was a room I was defiled in existed made me furious. I wasn't going to give Mora the pleasure of having the last laugh so I brought everything down. You'd be surprised I hinted to Elric's mother of my plans some days back when Hajin was discharged but she either pretended not to know what I was going to do or she let me do it."

"With you being placed on remand, you've put her in a bind."

"I didn't get my hand's dirty little brother so it should be easy. That Eugene guy did everything on his own. I manipulated him into thinking I was helping him free Mora from the claws of her father yet despite our plan, I couldn't go all the way but that horny lawyer wanted more. They probably assumed Mora's scent lured him into marking her which is a shitty excuse but he may not be as dumb as I thought to have pulled his strings from inside."

"Mijin, you could be charged for many things..."

"Like what? I did nothing. They tested my blood, took my fingerprints and did a urine test and guess what? The found nothing. I simply told them I've been visiting Mora but was never allowed to see her except that day. It's no fault of mine that that lawyer had a thing for Mora. She knew he fancied her but was simply using him to run her errands just like her father."

Rubbing onto her forehead, Mijin added, "I guess I'm lucky the police believed me a victim when they saw the bump he gave me after shoving me aside."

" Mijin, what if you'd been badly injured?"

"Who cares what happens to me anymore?"

"I do."

"Lies. I refuse to believe you..."

"Are you still going to go after Mora?"

"Maybe I should. An incomplete imprint shared to exactly three people just like you were, she is trapped in the same state you were in. It's satisfying to know she's hurting even as we speak. The only thing I didn't take was her imprint."

There was a moment of silence between the two, Mijin lost in her thoughts while Yeon simply stared at her, wondering what else was spewing inside his sister's head.

"It will take years for her to recover. That could have been your fate that night if Stan wasn't fated to you. Trapped in a cycle of recurring heat and being dependent on suppressants for life. Still, it's not enough. I continue to remain angry." Looking up to face her brother, she asked once more. "What must I do for this pain to go away little brother?"

"I was lucky to have Stan and his parents care for me that I didn't need therapy in fact, I've never been better than I am right now." Yeon smiled then lifted his hand to his eye level, exposing the ring on his finger. "I even proposed to Stan. You've always known how much I wanted to be the one to mark my lover. Anyway, that night of my attack, my life changed for the better that I've began looking at the glitch in my eyes as a blessing."

Mijn chuckled. "You came to brag I see. I suppose I should tell you congratulations."

"My point here is to get to where I am, I had to admit I needed help then allow Stan and others to help me. Opening up is hard, being honest with others about your fears and how you feel is daunting but I did it anyway. Healing takes time and often times, you'll wonder to yourself why it's taking too long to forget the bad memories. You too can get where I am however, you can't do it alone. Additionally, healing doesn't mean you'll ever completely recover. I too still ponder over what my life would have been if that night hadn't happened. Perhaps Stan and I would have met under different circumstances.

"You sound like a therapist."

"You need one."

Mijin laughed in response then kept mum for a brief moment then her face became serious all of a sudden. "Okay little brother. I will, but not here. They can only hold me here for 48 hours for questioning and seeming that no one has found any evidence against me, once I get out, I plan to leave in two days. Tell mom and dad not to look for me."

"Where will you go?"

"Don't worry little brother. I'll text you once I'm settled. I can't stay in this place and hope to heal. I hate everything and everyone here."

Seeing that her brother was doubtful, Mijin said, "Tell me you trust me even if you don't mean it. There has to be at least one person who has faith in me that I'm not a bad person in this wretched world."

"I trust you big sis. Good luck wherever you decide to go."

"Thank you."