The Virgin & The Tattoo Artist

Part 23

Jimin POV
"My father, Park Dongil, used to work as your father's assistant. He was Kang sajangnim's right hand man, handling everything from business to personal matters, while your mother was my father's childhood friend. She was the most beautiful woman in town at the time. Everyone wanted to get her attention, including your father. And he successfully did. Knowing Kang sajangnim's true nature, my father tried to warn your mother, but she refused to listen & accepted Kang sajangnim's marriage proposal. The wedding was the most extravagant event that this town had ever seen & your mother had become a real-life princess overnight. She thought that she had gotten everything that she'd ever dreamt of, a handsome prince charming, a magnificent castle, a happily ever after. She became even more over the moon when she found that she was pregnant with you. But soon, your father's jealousy began to lurk its ugly head out.
He forbade her from meeting her friends, controlled  her every word & gesture, just like what he's doing to you now but worse. He continuously dissected her every move & groundlessly accused her of cheating on him. She couldn't take it anymore & asked him for a divorce a few months after you were born. He was furious, again accusing her of having an affair with another man behind his back. They had a huge fight & she told him that she was going to take you & leave right away. That enraged him, so he- he-"

"He what?" She asks, body eagerly leaning forward.
"He killed her."
"You're contradicting yourself. If he killed her, then who was that lady on the phone earlier? See? You're obviously lying." She scoffs.
"Let me rephrase that. He hit the back of her head with a vase. There was so much blood & she stopped moving so he thought he'd killed her. Panicked, he called my father & asked him to take care of the body. My father was shocked & angry, but he pretended to obey your father's command & carried her away while planning to report the incident to the police. However, he discovered that she was still breathing, albeit very faintly. So he took her out of town to my grandmother's house & asked for help. Fortunately, my grandmother used to be a nurse during war & under her care, your mother survived. My father then came back to the mansion & lied to your father saying that he had buried her body in the nearby mountain. He also said that someone possibly saw him when he was doing the deed, so he wanted to leave town to avoid problems. Scared about being implicated, your father gave him a bunch of cash & told him to never come back here again. Afterwards, my father brought your mother to a remote village so that you father wouldn't know that she is still alive."
"If she had survived, why didn't she come back? Why did she abandon me? Why did she leave me suffering alone? If she had done nothing wrong, why would she hide? Why didn't she go to the police?" She shoots the questions at me, voice trembling.
"If you were her, would you come back to live with the man who tried to kill you? You know how powerful your father is. He could easily manipulate everything & made it seem like it was your mother's fault, just like what he's been doing all these years. Feeding you lies, manipulating you to make you hate your mother & obey him completely. Besides, your mother didn't abandon you. Both she & my father have tried multiple times to get you out of here, but you're always surrounded by assistants & bodyguards. They couldn't even come anywhere close to you without being found out. They needed someone, who they trust & your father doesn't suspect, to help them get to you & that person is me."
"Wait. So are you- are you my brother? Did your father marry my mother & have you?" She asks hesitantly.
"No, I'm not. My mother passed away when she gave birth to me. Your mother & my father never got married, but she took care of me like I was her own & I'm very grateful for that. That's why when my father passed away & told me everything, I agreed to help them to take care of you."
"Why didn't you tell me anything when we first met?" She still sounds skeptical, but not as much as before.
"Would you believe me?"
"No.." She mutters lowly.
"I planned to slowly gain your trust & then tell you about who I really am. But things got messed up, so I'm telling you this now because I have no other choice. We need to leave as soon as possible before your father marries you off & finds out about your pregnancy. So what do you think? Do you believe me now?"