chapter-4
1058 Words
That's impossible."
"I wish it were."
Juhan shook his head.
"Why would she do that?"
Taejin looked directly at him.
"Because she blamed my family."
"Your family?"
"Yes."
"For what?"
Taejin didn't answer.
Juhan stepped closer.
"For what, Taejin?"
Taejin's eyes darkened.
"My father was driving that car."
Juhan stopped.
The room suddenly felt colder.
"He..."
Taejin nodded.
"That night wasn't an accident."
Juhan's lips parted.
"What are you saying?"
"The brakes were cut."
Silence.
Juhan stared at him.
"Someone tried to kill us?"
"Yes."
"Who?"
"I don't know."
"You've spent all these years looking for them?"
"Yes."
"And me?"
Taejin's expression softened.
"I never stopped looking for you either."
Juhan felt a strange pressure in his chest.
"But why didn't you find me?"
"I did."
Juhan frowned.
"When?"
Taejin looked toward the windows.
"Three years ago."
"Then why didn't you come to me?"
Taejin's voice became almost a whisper.
"Because I saw you with your mother."
Juhan's stomach tightened.
"And?"
"She was warning you about me."
Juhan's eyes widened.
"What did she say?"
Taejin looked at him.
"She told you that if I ever found you..."
He paused.
"...you should run."
Juhan's phone suddenly rang.
The sound cut through the room.
He looked at the screen.
It was his mother.
His hands began shaking.
Taejin noticed.
"Answer it."
Juhan hesitated.
Then he pressed accept.
"Mom?"
For several seconds, there was only silence.
Then his mother's frightened voice came through.
"Juhan?"
"Yes."
"Where are you?"
"Why?"
"Listen to me carefully."
Her breathing was uneven.
"If you're with Taejin, leave immediately."
Juhan looked at Taejin.
His expression had become completely still.
His mother continued.
"Don't trust him."
Juhan swallowed.
"Why?"
A long pause.
Then his mother whispered words that made his blood run cold.
"Because Taejin wasn't the boy who saved you that night."
Juhan stared at Taejin.
Taejin's face changed.
His mother began crying.
"The boy who saved you..."
Her voice broke.
"...was his twin brother."
The call ended.
Juhan slowly lowered the phone.
The room was silent.
He looked at Taejin.
"Your twin?"
Taejin didn't answer.
Juhan took a step backward.
"You lied to me."
Taejin's eyes remained fixed on him.
"Yes."
"Why?"
Taejin walked closer.
Juhan instinctively stepped back.
Taejin stopped.
Then he said quietly,
"Because if you remembered my brother..."
His voice broke for the first time.
"...you would remember who killed him."
Juhan stared at him.
And suddenly, somewhere inside his mind, a door opened.
A face appeared.
A voice.
A name.
His eyes widened.
He whispered,
"Taehyun."
Taejin went completely pale.
Because that was the name of the one person who had been dead for seven years.
And Juhan had just remembered him.
His mind was filled with fragments.
A boy laughing beside the lake.
A hand grabbing his wrist.
A voice telling him not to look back.
Blood.
Water.
A scream.
And two identical faces.
He pressed a hand against his forehead.
“I can't remember.”
“You will.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“Because your memories aren't gone.”
Taejin's eyes met his.
“They were buried.”
“By whom?”
“My family.”
Juhan's expression hardened.
“Why?”
Taejin walked toward the window.
“My father had enemies. Powerful ones. After the accident, my family became convinced someone had tried to kill us.”
“And my mother?”
“She knew more than she told you.”
Juhan stared at him.
“What did she know?”
Taejin remained silent.
“Taejin.”
“She knew why the brakes were cut.”
Juhan felt cold.
“What was the reason?”
Taejin turned.
“Because my father was supposed to die that night.”
Juhan's lips parted.
“But he survived.”
“Yes.”
“And Taehyun died.”
“Yes.”
Juhan looked down.
A strange grief filled him.
He didn't know Taehyun.
At least, he didn't consciously remember him.
Yet hearing his name hurt.
“How did he die?”
Taejin's expression became empty.
“He pushed you out of the car's path.”
Juhan froze.
“He saved you.”
The words echoed inside his head.
“He was standing between you and the car when it crashed through the barrier.”
Juhan closed his eyes.
Another memory appeared.
Taehyun smiling.
“Don't worry. I've got you.”
Then darkness.
Juhan opened his eyes.
“He died because of me.”
“No.”
Taejin's voice was sharp.
“You survived because of him.”
“That doesn't make it better.”
“It isn't supposed to.”
Taejin walked closer.
“You were sixteen. You didn't choose what happened.”
Juhan looked at him.
“Then why did you hate me?”
Taejin stopped.
“I never hated you.”
“You watched me for years.”
“Yes.”
“You followed me.”
“Yes.”
“You entered my life without permission.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Taejin's expression changed.
“Because I couldn't lose you twice.”
Juhan's heartbeat stumbled.
“What does that mean?”
“I lost my brother.”
He swallowed.
“I wasn't going to lose you too.”
Juhan didn't know what to say.
The man standing before him had frightened him from the moment they met.
But now, for the first time, he could see the grief beneath Taejin's obsession.
It didn't excuse what he had done.
But it explained it.
At least partly.
Suddenly, Juhan's phone vibrated.
A message.
Unknown number.
Ask Taejin what happened after Taehyun died.
Juhan's eyes narrowed.
Another message appeared.
Ask him why your mother disappeared for six months.
Juhan looked up.
Taejin had seen the messages.
His face became pale.
“Give me the phone.”
“No.”
“Juhan.”
“What happened?”
Taejin didn't answer.
“What happened after Taehyun died?”
Silence.
“Why did my mother disappear?”
Taejin closed his eyes.
When he opened them again, there was something dangerous in them.
“Because she was running from the people who killed my brother.”
“And you?”
“I was looking for them.”
“For seven years?”
“Yes.”
Juhan stared at him.
“Did you find them?”
Taejin's answer was almost a whisper.
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