I'm Too Afraid To Break It Off ( So I Lie Again)

CHAPTER 3

Once I finished, he took my hand and subconsciously began to caress it, as if he were deep in thought. Then he sighed and said, "It's all true. I felt bad for him; that's why I helped him."

I looked at him in confusion, wanting to ask what he meant by that, but he shook his head. "I can't tell you. There are things in this place that you shouldn't be involved with."

Somehow, that made me angry. I turned away from him.

"You do this all the time! You never tell me anything!" I shouted, angry tears streaming down my face. "

You just say I shouldn't be involved! Okay, fine! But even if I try not to be involved, I still end up in it! Why does no one in this stupid family trust me enough? Why do I feel like an outsider here, too?"

I heard a gasp and turned to see that Joshua was crying as well. But while Jeonghan's tears were filled with anger and hatred, Joshua's were just...sad.

I subconsciously reached toward his face to wipe his tears with my thumb, just as he had done for me countless times.

He grabbed my hand that was on his cheek and whispered, "I pray every day. I go to church whenever I can, and I pray for one thing only...do you know what I pray for?"

"I pray to God, 'Save Seungcheol. No matter what, please save him.' I wish I could tell you more, but I can't. It will put you in more danger."

He gasped through his tears. "And I... I can't let you get hurt. It's okay if you hate me, but I'd rather be hated than lose you..."

"Just promise me... that you'll be safe," he said, his eyes serious as he asked me to promise. I whispered that I did, but even to me, my words felt empty.

For the second time in a month, I was left completely speechless. Just what is this family hiding?

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#ENTRY-12

The monotonous life I had been living, caged in the big mansion, shattered on a Sunday evening.

Everyone was in the mansion that day. I had gone out for the first time in months to see my halmeoni. No matter how much I disliked my family, I loved my halmeoni dearly. She would always give me treats and kiss away my tears after harabeoji punished me. I knew she couldn't have saved me from harabeoji's cruelty, so I didn't blame her.

She was staying at a villa near a Buddhist temple. I met her, and we talked for hours. After having breakfast together, I returned to the mansion in the afternoon and fell asleep because I was so tired.

I woke up to shouts and screaming. I immediately got up and opened the door to find utter chaos. I rushed to where the sound was coming from and ran up the stairs to the fourth floor.

The sight that greeted me was horrifying. Seokmin-nim was lying on the floor in the hallway near his room, blood pooling around him from a deep wound to his head.

Dr. Jeon was already there, trying to resuscitate the older man, while Junhui-hyung was calling for an ambulance. The others stood around, looking at Seokmin-nim with worry, but everyone made sure to steer clear of the potential crime scene.

Seeing the man who was like a father to me—lifeless and lying in a pool of his blood—made me feel nauseous. I staggered, and the entire room seemed to tilt around me. I managed to stay on my feet through sheer willpower, all the while praying that Seokmin-nim was still alive.

Eventually, Dr. Jeon, who was frantically examining the older man, shook his head and said, "No pulse. He's dead."

Mingyu began to sob, and Minghao-nim along with a few others rushed to comfort him. Joshua called the police while I stood there, shaking and feeling sick to my stomach.