Chapter 65 - Jiwon's Persistence

After a while, it was time for everyone to go to bed. Jiwon quickly stood up. He decided to talk directly to Hyun Jung regarding the situation at his home. Even if they were not on good terms, Jiwon wanted to extend help in any way he can. When his sisters abused him, no one came forward to aid him. The least he could do was to extend his hand to someone else who was going through the same thing.

He headed towards their room and changed into his nightwear. Jiwon sat on his bed, waiting for Hyun Jung. After thirty more minutes, Hyun Jung strolled into the room. He did not look at Jiwon but headed straight into the bathroom to freshen up. He emerged from the bathroom, wearing a pair of oversized t-shirt and pyjamas.

He was about to get into his bed when Jiwon spoke up.

"Where did you go today?" Jiwon asked in a casual tone.

"Why does it matter to you?" Hyun Jung yawned as he reached for the blanket.

"I saw you going to that run down house outside of the village," Jiwon said out straight. He was not going to mince his words. It was best to discuss these things out in the open.

Hyun Jung's hand froze in midair. 

"What did you just say?" he demanded with a quiver of fear in his voice.

"I said that I saw you going to that run down house outside of the village," Jiwon repeated calmly. 

"What did you see?"

"Enough to deduce what's going on in there," Jiwon said, not flinching under Hyun Jung's angry gaze. "Your mother is being abused and I suspect, you also faced abuse! That man who was beating your mother...he was you father, wasn't he?"

"It's none of your business!" Hyun Jung snapped. "Stay away from my matters!"

"I'm not getting involved," Jiwon said. "I'm just telling you to stand up for yourself!"

"As I said," Hyun Jung gritted his teeth. "It's not your goddamn business!"

"So you're just gonna let your mother face the violence?" Jiwon questioned him. "He will kill her someday! While you're at the comforts of school, your mom is suffering! Call the cops and get him arrested."

On that note, Hyun Jung let out a sarcastic laughter. Jiwon was confused at his reaction. He kept on laughing till tears formed in his eyes.

"Call the c-c-cops," he hiccupped as he laughed.

"What's so funny?" Jiwon frowned.

"Nothing much," Hyun Jung said. "It's just that, my dad is a cop. You don't think we haven't tried to have his arrested? We did! We called the cops many times but every time they let him go with a slap on the wrist. They won't arrest their colleague! In fact, they made my mother to be a mad woman who only sprouts lies. They won't believe her at all."

With that, Hyun Jung kept on laughing as he got into the bed and pulled the blanket over him. 

Jiwon stood there, dumbfounded. The cops would not help the victims but instead decided to side with the abuser. The very thought of it made Jiwon feel sick. Is that how the real world works? He wondered. 

Letting out a deep sigh, Jiwon decided to call it a night. The day's events were tiresome for him and he felt his eyelids getting heavier.

However, as he was climbing his bed, Hyun Jung's voice rang out.

"If you tell this to anyone or follow me to my house again, I'll break you jaws. Do you hear me?"

Jiwon gulped. He had not revealed this to anyone but there was something about Hyun Jung's expression which unsettled him. He did not want to offend his roommate but he did not want the crime to go unpunished either. 

Later, he decided. I'll look into this matter more deeply tomorrow.

With that, he drifted into an uneasy sleep.

….

"So you two hated each other at school?" Mirae asked. It was baffling. She assumed KJ and Hyun Jung were friends ever since they met. 

"Yeah," he admitted sheepishly. "We did not get along. He was a neat freak while I was quite messy with my things. He was popular while I was very nerdy."

Mirae snorted. It was hard to believe Hyun Jung to be nerdy. Even if he was not as good looking as KJ or Ash, he still had a raw charm. His masculine aura would definitely attract some ladies. 

"So...how did you two become friends," Mirae asked, pointing from the unconscious KJ and then back to Hyun Jung.

"It wasn't an easy start," Hyun Jung went on. "KJ was able to attend the school based on recommendation from his grandfather whereas the rest of us had to go through sleepless nights to get a chance at that school. After all, the Academy of Alternate Development was not a school every kid could get into."

Mirae, who was taking a sip of water, choked. She let out a series of violent coughs. Hyun Jung slapped her back as she composed herself.

"What did you say?" she asked, still recovering from her chokes. "Which academy did you go to?"

"Academy of Alternate Development," Hyun Jung said, frowning. "Did you know anyone from there?"

Mirae did not answer. She glanced at KJ. Nowhere in his records or interviews was it mentioned that he went to the same school where her mother was the headmaster.

"So, both of you went there?" Mirae asked, masking her curiosity. 

"Yeah," Hyun Jung said, going back to his tale. "I used to be so jealous of Jiwon. He always had it easy there. He had good grades, his music was amazing and he was popular. On top of that, he was trained in fighting by Sung Sohee herself."

Mirae froze at those words. KJ was trained by Sung Sohee? Her mother was KJ's mentor? 

Mirae's head was full of questions. She looked into her parents' death but always reached a dead end. They were on some sort of secret mission given to them by the old man Kwon. No matter how much she tried to look into their deaths, she could not find out the details of their top secret mission. Was it something to do with KJ?

"CEO?"

Hyun Jung's voice brought her back to reality.

"Huh?" she asked distractedly. 

"What are you thinking, CEO?" Hyun Jung asked.

"Nothing," she lied. She needed to probe Hyun Jung to continue his tale. It will reveal some of the answers she was seeking. Maybe, all the answers to her problems were in KJ's past. She must dig deeper.

"How did you two become friends?" Mirae demanded.

"After the first day," Hyun Jung continued. "Jiwon decided to take a little walk towards an old house…"