• extremely long final chapter ahead, guys! this is the last of it, so enjoy! •

Baek Ha Rim

mr. chae and hyungwon were finally able to come closer to me after i've calmed down in changkyun's arms. together, they surrounded us and went down on one knee to get to our level and to assess my current state up close.

my eyes were all heavy and swollen from the crying and my body trembled because i still couldn't believe the violence that i was capable of. it finally sunk into me that my actions weren't right and it made me carry the guilt. throughout years of my life, i was made to believe that revenge was the answer.

little did i know, i was just used to fulfill mr. baek's failed attempt of bringing mr. chae down.

if mr. chae was gone, however, that wouldn't change a thing. mr. baek was still a loser who couldn't dare to show his face to the world anymore. he has dirt all over him now.

"why did it only take today for me to know?" i finally managed to speak up.

"i-i'm sorry... i sincerely am. my judgement was clouded and i shouldn't have done that." i brought my head down to apologize while my voice was growing weak.

mr. chae exhaled deeply as he looked at my pitiful state. he was also trying to calm himself down and cope with the events that have just occured.

gaining my consciousness, i felt the most apologetic to him.

"mr. baek had been raising you with all his lies. although you pulled off something so dangerous, i have to say that i understand how it led to this because of how he conditioned you. i'm just glad changkyun came at the right time." he spoke.

the way he analyzed and understood my reaction to the situation astonished me. i didn't handle things well, and i was pretty sure mr. chae was still wary of me after what i have done. however, he seemed to have no intention to hold any grudges. he was very different from mr. baek and i saw that clearly.

"i still can't believe you're here. you're seo ha rim, and you're a reminder of your parents' existence. your parents and i were good friends back in the days, and i've never forgotten how they supported me in all my endeavors." he spoke once again, looking at me with awe in his eyes.

"when you went missing, it was hard to investigate the case. it got buried, and no one dared to dig into it up to this day. i couldn't get any witnesses to speak up and they would disappear, or if not, they'd suddenly change their statements. no one knew who was behind it." he spoke.

"but because no one found your body, deep in my heart i carried hope that you were alive. never have i ever expected it would come this day that i would find you. but you've suffered a lot too, and it shows."

mr. chae's words washed my shame and guilt with a sense of comfort. without realizing it, tears have already been running down my face. slowly, hyungwon extended his arm to wipe them away with much care and gentleness. i turned to look at him in the eye to let him know how much i appreciated him.

"how are we going to catch mr. kwon and mr. baek now?" hyungwon brought up.

indeed. i guess my ill-fated relationship wasn't with chae hyungwon. it had always been with kwon eun gyeol and how we always seemed to clash. from hyungwon, my problem with her family goes deeper and traces back to her father who made it all go downhill for me.

"mr. kwon mentioned that he had been messaging mr. baek. i guess he's been sending threats and blackmailing him with the actions they've done from the past. i just have to get his phone and i'll take charge of this issue." changkyun spoke.

i felt relieved. finally, we were seeing the light in this situation and there was a way to put it to an end.

"and i can also turn myself in." changkyun suddenly revealed.

our eyes widened in surprise upon hearing his words.

"what do you mean?" i turned to look at changkyun.

"mr. baek will be investigated for all his criminal involvements anyway. he's been dealing with drugs, ha rim-ssi. i've known that all along yet i continued to work for him because i've always felt indebted." he lowered his head.

"what?" i reacted.

"the gangs going after him weren't just any random people who wanted to attack him. mr. baek has been cheating on people and committing crimes, so i take care of those who impose a threat on his reputation."

"what? changkyun, i've been involved too. mr. baek has allowed me on a few occasions to come with you so i could execute what i've trained for, isn't it?"

"well, i've always made you believe that we simply give a physical fight to teach them a lesson. we end up shooting them on points of their body that aren't critical for a scare, but the moment i tell you to go back inside the car, i stay behind with other men to dispose the people we encounter and kill them entirely." changkyun revealed to which i gasped in disbelief.

"think about it. you've shot people yet you've never killed anyone. you couldn't even get yourself to do it today. that's why i've always been with you even back at chae's couture's celebration. i've never fully shown you what i was capable of."

i was horrified of how mr. baek has exposed changkyun to impunity. changkyun lived doing all the dirty work for him, so he's getting dragged down to the bottom now that we had to seek justice.

i had to make up my mind and stand firm on the justice i was wanting to get.

"it's going to be a long and tedious process which we both have to go under, but i'm ready for it. i can also take the consequences of my actions if i have to because i'm associated to mr. baek." i finally resolved.

_____________________________

a hectic two months have passed since the incident that led me to find out the truth about my parents' death. with the help of hyungwon's family, changkyun and i were able to achieve what we've longed for.

the case on my family was reopened and i received a lot of support as we were able to present sufficient evidence. news about it was broadcasted all over the country, gaining attention and exposing the cruelty of mr. baek and mr. kwon. a long process was undergone because the two have been involved in many other anomalies needed to be investigated.

i felt empowered and a huge burden of being the only one who survived my childhood tragedy was lifted off my shoulders. but as changkyun had promised, he wanted to serve time in prison righteously to pay for his actions. although it pained me, i couldn't do anything but to let him go. he was doing what he thought was best.

i sat down waiting for mr. baek on the other side of the glass. i wanted to speak to him because it was just today that i finally gained the courage to do so. it had been long since the time i managed to escape our house when he locked me in the storage room out of anger.

after minutes of waiting, i finally saw him entering the booth where we could talk. the moment he found me, i saw his face growing flustered yet irritated as he sat down. i took a few moments of silence until i finally decided to speak up.

"i came because i wanted to define how things are between us now." i spoke.

"i'm grateful for the time you spent keeping me alive and allowing me to grow into the person i've become. despite that, knowing the truth washes it all away now. you took me in not because you cared for my life but because you cared for your personal gains. i can't see myself forgiving you for deceiving me and turning me against the people who were dear to my parents. i can't stand how shameless you are to even look me in the eye when you were the reason i became an orphan in the first place."

"i have nothing to say to you. what's happened has happened." he spoke.

i paused in disbelief. it seemed like mr. baek wanted nothing to do with me any longer, and i could see that he wasn't going to be receptive.

"you dont even show remorse? you truly are selfish and so is your family. i've never felt like i belonged there; i've always wondered why there was a wall between me, wonho, and your wife. changkyun has also given his service to you and i hate how you've reinforced a mindset that we owe you. in fact, you owe us for taking away precious things in our lives. i hope you spend a good time reflecting upon that in jail." i glared at him and quickly stood up from my seat to leave in an impulse.

walking away, i didn't bother looking back anymore. the only way was to go forward and move on knowing that everything was now in good hands. it was suffocating being around mr. baek and it disgusted me to see him now with his true colors revealed. it frustrated me and made my heart heavy.

as i let my feet take me away from the place, i suddenly spotted kwon eun gyeol from afar making her way inside just as i was leaving. i slowed down and looked at her intently until she finally noticed my presence. as expected, her calm eyes grew mean the moment she laid them down on me.

"what are you doing here? did you come to threaten my dad?" she frowned, walking a few steps towards me.

"i don't want anything to do with your father. i came for other reasons."

"you know what, you're a walking misfortune in my life. i rely on my dad a lot yet you dragged him to prison. i can't believe you. do you really want me unhappy? is taking chae hyungwon not enough?!" she raised her voice.

"i took nobody from you because he never considered himself yours. besides, what happened to your father is deserved. you don't know how many years i've suffered all because he was the root of it. your father made a failed attempt of manipulating the people around him. he couldn't get the chae family's power, so in the end, he got himself in prison." i shot back at her.

"and i don't understand why you're so against that, too. maybe because you hate me, but it's not unfair, eun gyeol-ssi. if you can't see what your father did wrong, i won't expect anything better from you. after all, i heard you were happy having met hyungwon during the burial of my parents. such a nice thing to say." i sarcastingly remarked.

"you witch!" eun gyeol raised her arm in an attempt to hit my face but before she could even do so, someone had already grabbed her arm, holding her back.

i immediately looked at the person right in between us, and to my surprise, i found that it was no other than chae hyungwon.

"let's not cause trouble here, kwon eun gyeol." he firmly reminded.

seeing him appear right in front of me suddenly brought a rush inside. a nostalgic feeling spread across my senses, and i couldn't help but silently gaze at him in awe as i was finally realizing my feelings for him.

he was now here and he arrived at the right place at the right time.

________________________________

Chae Hyungwon

it was a sunny day; the weather i loved the most.

bright skies, warmth, productivity. these things reminded me of radiating joy and of getting work accomplished. there's simply a lot of things that could be done on a sunny day when the weather is good.

and on this day, i've chosen to see her.

within two months, ha rim had been busy on legal matters. i, on the other hand, have been busy growing my business and expanding chae's couture's collections.

since that day when tragedy almost struck on my father's very own birthday, ha rim asked for space. we offered her all the support and assistance she needed and looked out for her. i guess, like i said, my feelings can never change in a snap.

although she asked me to distance away from her so she could reflect upon things, i've always had my eye on her from afar. i tried to make her feel how much i still cared. ha rim never said the words i love you, but despite this, i knew her true feelings for me. i could see it in her eyes and in the way she acted.

because of that, waiting for her was something that i could do.

today, i was finally with ha rim once again. it was just the two of us, and it was a feeling that i had missed. we both felt renewed because things had been going well and the trouble had been eased. we passed by the bus stop where we first met and drove all the way to the cemetery where her parents have been buried.

"on the day we first encountered each other, i was here. i even talked to my parents about my plan of revenge against you." ha rim spoke, looking at her parents' grave.

i looked at their graves as well, reminiscing the time i was unaware of how these events held a much painful significance. a little girl like ha rim lost her parents and she wasn't even able to attend their burial.

"mom, dad.. i'd like you to meet chae hyungwon. i didn't get to hurt him as i had intended back then, but i'm glad things turned out this way. i wouldn't forgive myself now if i did." her lips softly curved up into a small smile.

"good afternoon, mr. and mrs. seo. i'm chae hyungwon and you may have already known me as mayor chae's son. i was here at a young age when you were both buried. little did i know, i would actually fall for your long lost daughter. thank you for guiding her to find the truth and for keeping her safe. i couldn't imagine life losing ha rim either. i really like her." i sincerely confessed.

"hyungwon and his family helped me achieve the justice i was longing for. i really hope everything is settled for you both now. mom, dad, you can rest in peace because i'm genuinely happy here now. but before that, i'd like you to know one more thing."

ha rim suddenly turned to face me. i gazed upon her beautiful face and looked into her eyes.

"hyungwon-ssi, although it took me a long time to think and to manage everything, i'm grateful that i had you and your family. i also know that it took me a long time to say but.. i love you, too." she finally confessed.

"this time, my feelings are clear to me. i've never lied to you back when i admitted my feelings. i showed you my most genuine self free from the pressures mr. baek's expectations. hyungwon, my heart is for you."

from hearing all these words, tears started forming in my eyes. i smiled and cupped her face because i was too happy to know her sincerest feelings for me. although, we've mostly left things unspoken, having her affirm me right in front of her parents was one of the greatest feelings i have ever experienced.

gently, i leaned closer to kiss her forehead. slowly breaking away and looking into her eyes as we smiled, i finally got the sign to go for it. tilting my head, my lips finally sealed hers with a deep kiss.

unlike that dark and gloomy rainy day when we first met, we're ending this chapter of our lives on a sunny and bright one. this time, ha rim and i no longer have to hide the truth. we didn't have to mask any intent or motives towards each other. being honest to each other and true to our feelings was something that we finally could be.

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END.