The Virgin & The Tattoo Artist

Part 27

Y/n POV
"Annyeong hashimnikka Abeonim. Long time no see." I bow at him.
"Y-Y/n? Y-You're alive? B-But-" Abeonim turns to Lawyer Park,who looks equally shocked, for an answer.
"Yes, I am alive Abeonim. Are you disappointed?"
People begin to notice my presence & stare at us in curiosity. Realizing this, Abeonim clears his throat & quickly regains his composure.
"Of course not! I'm beyond ecstatic to see you again. It's just that my daughter is suddenly back from the death, aren't I allowed to be surprised? Where have you been Y/n ah? Do you know how much your old man grieved for you?" He steps closer to me & attempts to touch my face, but I dodge his hand.
"I'm not here to watch to your pretentious act. We need to talk in private." I sternly say.
Irked by my commanding tone, a slight frown knits the space in between his brows. However, it disappears as swiftly as it appears.
"Sure. Lawyer Park, please prepare a room for us. I need to talk to my dear daughter." His face breaks into an open smile, even though the tension in his voice doesn't escape me.
"Y-Yes, Sajangnim. This way please." Lawyer Park signals us to follow him.
"You guys need to come too." I turn to Taehyung & Taehee, who are so stunned by my unexpected appearance that their mouths form a persistent O.
"O-Ok. Let's go Taehee ya." Taehyung finally snaps out of his daze.
We enter the attorney lounge & Lawyer Park immediately closes the door behind us.
"What the hell happened? I clearly saw your body got cremated. So it wasn't you? Did you fake your own death? Where have you been hiding all this time? Who helped you? Jimin?" Abeonim shoots the question rapidly. His surprise has turned into rage.
"I thought you said that you were happy to see me." I scoff sarcastically & cross my hands in front of my chest.
"Just answer the damn questions, Kang Y/n!" He raises his voice & bangs his fist on the table.
"I'm here today not to answer your questions, but to give you a second chance." I look straight into his eyes, acting brave, although my confidence is faltering. He still has that effect on me even when I'm not under his control anymore.
"What second chance?" He frowns.
"I want you to plead guilty on all charges they are pressing against you & repent for your sins. Only then, I'll forgive you & not expose what you did to me & my baby."
"Baby? What baby? Holy mother of- You got her pregnant?! You son of a bitch!" Abeonim widens his eyes as the realization dawns on him & lunges towards Taehyung.
"Sajangnim, please calm down. There are security cameras in this room & people outside might hear us." Lawyer Park hurriedly says to him.
"Yes, I was pregnant when you pushed me. I lost the baby, your grandchild, so please stop. Get down from your high horse & admit your mistakes. Do you even realize how much blood is on your hands? Mine, my baby's, Taehee's baby, eomma's-"
"E-Eomma's? What are you talking about? Your mother left us & ran away with another man!" He yells, but I can hear the underlying fear beneath his righteous tone.
"Stop lying! I know everything. I know all the atrocities you did." I scream back.
"Omg, they have brainwashed you. Did Jimin tell you that I'd hurt your mother? Y/n ah, can't you see? They're all trying to take advantage of your innocence by feeding you lies so that you'll turn against me. You've fallen right into their traps. Taehee here was just an employee of mine who fell in love with me one-sidedly. I didn't reciprocate her feelings so she fabricated all this story to slander me. She's crazy! Do you really think that I would fall for a girl who's the same age as you? Besides, there are so many other more eligible & beautiful ladies around me. Why would I pick her?" Abeonim throws a side glance at Taehee & scoffs.
Taehee lets out a sharp breath at his shameless remark, her eyes glistening with tears.
"Kang Jihwan, you-" Taehyung exclaims in fury & raises his fist, but I quickly grab his hand & stops him.
"And about your mother. I don't know what Jimin has told you, but I didn't harm your mother. She just took off one night without saying anything & never came back. Jimin, that bastard. To think that I trusted him.." Abeonim ignores Taehyung & keeps talking.
"So according to you, you've done nothing wrong?" I'm desperately hoping that he will recognize his mistakes, that there's some good left in him..
"Yes! You have to believe me, Y/n ah. If you come home now, I'll forget about all the troubles you've caused, although I absolutely will not back down from this trial. These frauds need to be taught a lesson."
But I'm disappointed again..
"No matter how evil you are, you're still my father. That's why I'm giving you a chance to redeem yourself. Now that I know that you truly are unsalvageable, I have no other choice but to unveil your wicked side to the world." My heart sinks deeper to the bottom, all hope lost.
"Wicked? Everything I did was for your own good! Why can't you understand?!" He flails his hands in the air & shouts exasperatedly.
All of a sudden, the door clicks open & someone steps into the room.
"Don't you know how to knock-" Abeonim abruptly turns to the door to scold the person, but his words are cut short as his jaw drops to the floor.
"Y-You-" He staggers backwards, stuttering.
"What's with that expression? You look like you've seen a ghost." The newcomer says.
"Eomma? Why are you here?" I exclaim in surprise.
"To help you knock some sense into your father's thick skull. Jimin told me everything so I had to come." She steps closer to me & gently pats my cheek.
"But you're blowing your cover. What if-"
"Shh.. It's ok. I'm done hiding. I should've done this years ago before he hurt more people."
Abeonim says nothing, only standing there frozen in complete shock, which is understandable, since another dead woman in his life suddenly materializes in front of him again.
"Kang Jihwan, I thought you'd change after my supposed death, but you're still the same egocentric coward as years ago." Eomma turns to Abeonim & sneers.
"Hwang Jiyeon, you- How did you- Oh God. It was Dongil, wasn't it? He pretended to help me when actually he was deceiving me. And his son used the same trick with Y/n. How could I not see that?! Wait, is Jimin your & Dongil's son? So it was true that you'd cheated on me & it was with Dongil?" Abeonim gets over the shock & rambles.
"You saw your wife, who you'd supposedly killed years ago, came back to life & my fidelity is all you care about? To answer your question, Jimin is not my biological son. Also, no, I'd never cheated on you." Eomma scoffs in disgust.
"Then why did you fake your death?! Why didn't you come back?!"
"Because I didn't want to live with a monster who only cared about himself. Who tried to kill his own wife for voicing her opinion."
"I didn't hit you on purpose! Just like I didn't intentionally push Y/n. It was an accident, I swear! I loved you, both of you. I only wanted to protect & keep what's mine!" Abeonim shouts hysterically. And out of anyone's expectation, a drop of tear falls from his eyes. For the first time in twenty one years, I see him cry.
"No, you don't love us. You only love the idea of having us in your possesion. We're not your objects, Jihwan ah. We're humans with our own thoughts & feelings. You can't compel us to stay with brute force & threats. You may have our bodies, but not our soul. Haven't you learnt? Your method has only managed to drive us all away. For once in your life, stop being so selfish & do the right thing, Jihwan ah. That's all I can say as someone who once loved & cared for you." Eomma says calmly, despite the tears brimming in her eyes.
Abeonim heavily plops down on one of the chairs, eyes blank, mouth agape. It seems like Eomma's words have hit him hard.
"I hope you'll make the right decision so that I don't need to dig out our ugly past to fight you. Let's go kids." She speaks to Abeonim for one last time before walking out of the room. Abeonim doesn't even move an inch nor say a word.
"Eomma, you were so cool back there." I hug her arm & compliment her courage.
"Cool? My acting must be quite good then. I was so afraid that my knees almost gave out. I'm sorry kids. I couldn't be of more help." She turns to Taehee & Taehyung, & smiles apologetically.
"Please don't apologize ajumma. You've done more than enough for us." Taehee quickly shakes her head & says.
"Good luck. I'll be watching the trial later with Y/n. If he doesn't concede to his crime, I'll call the media right away & tell them about what he did to his own family. Jimin is preparing everything now, but I really hope that we don't need to go that far." Eomma takes Taehee's & Taehyung's hands & squeezes them encouragingly.
"Ajumma.." Taehyung bites his lower lip & hesitantly calls out.
"Yes?"
"I- I don't know if you're aware about what happened between me & Y/n. I just want to apologize-"
"I know. It was unfortunate but I understand your reason & I've forgiven you. Y/n has too, right? So let's move on from the past & look forward to a brighter future." She cuts him off & smiles genuinely at him.
He turns to me & I nod at him. We might have taken the wrong road & it got us to where we are today, but I believe that a bad chapter can also make a good story. Thus, I'm willing to forgive & forget.
"Thank you. Thank you so much." Taehyung bows at her.
"Come on. We still have a trial to attend, let's save our energy." She taps Taehyung's shoulder & says.
All of us enter the courtroom. Taehyung escorts Taehee to the front & comes back to sit with us.
"Phewww.." He lets out a long breath.
"Are you nervous?" I ask.
"Yes." He intertwines his fingers & clenches them tightly together.
"Everything will be ok." I wrap my fingers over his on impulse.
He freezes at my touch & stares at my hand with an unmoving gaze, which makes me feel embarrassed.
"The judge has entered the room." I quickly retract my hand & divert his attention.
The trial proceeds. It's time for Taehee to take the stand. She is about to rise from her seat when Lawyer Park abruptly stands up.