FLAME - EPISODE 10

Authoress POV

Mrs Jung arrived home and slumped helplessly on the sofa as she thought of how things came to this. She is sure she hasn’t done anything bad to offend anyone.

The door opened and Ara walked in and was shocked to see her mom home by this time. A feeling of dread crawled into her mind.

“Mom…what is wrong?”,she asked cautiously,scared of the answer her mom would give. She has already told her friends about the promotion her mom is about to receive and how she intends to milk her mom dry using ‘college’ as an excuse. She has even made a list of the dresses and bags she wants to get.

“Mom,are you down with any sickness?”,she asked.

‘That would be why my mom is home early,right?’,Ara asked no one in particular.

“I wish I am”,her mom voice came out lifeless.

“Mom”,Ara whispered in fright,”you are scaring me”.

“I just got dismissed from work without any reason”,Mrs Jung voice came out so raspy,like someone who has stressed her throat in shouting.

Ara eyes almost bulged out of its socket. Her facial expression can’t be explained.

Ara did not expect whatever her mom said to be that she got sacked. What will she tell her friends? Won’t they mock her? She has already boasted about all the things she will do and even promised to take them out for dinner to celebrate.

How will she face them?

“Why?”,Ara stuttered as her eyes glistened in tears.

“I don’t know..my daughter….I don’t really know”,Mrs Jung broke into tears.

This is the scene Aera met when she walked in.
……………………
After getting discharged from the college sick bay Jung Aera managed to leave the school without drawing attention to herself. She dragged herself to the bus station and boarded one home,ignoring the splitting pain at the lower end of her rib.

Upon getting home,the scene she met wasn’t something she was expecting to see in her lifetime.

JUNG AERA

“Mother what happened?”,I rushed towards her but got no response.

“Why is mother crying?”,I turned and faced Ara whose face is pale,like someone who has seen a ghost.

“Mother lost her job”,Ara voice came out weak as she could barely hold her weight.

“What? How?”.

“Its all your fault”,Ara rushed towards me but I swiftly dodged it and she fell to the floor.

She looked up at me with shock and I looked down at her with determination.

‘This is the feeling Jim-in is talking about. When people dread you after seeing they can’t pick on you’,I mused.

“We should be looking for a way to help mother,not Causing a scene”,I told Ara who is still laying on the floor.

I turned and faced my mother and knelt close to her knee. “Mother…you can write another application letter to other companies and I can help you drop it off at the office. It is not the end of the world”,I said trying my best to console her.

“My daughter is right”,my mom snarled.

Uhn?

“If I didn’t adopt you,my life would have been on a smooth sail. Once you came into our life,you brought your ill fated catastrophe with you. My husband died,I lost my job,I lost a golden opportunity to become the CFO of my company and very soon I’ll lose my life because of you”,she said. Her words were spiteful

‘Does she have to heap blames on me?”,I wanted to ask.

Before I could say a word she already kicked me,right on my lower abdomen where I have a splitting pain.

I stumbled back and rolled on the floor as the pain became extreme.

Ara took the opportunity and pounced on,not sparing any part of my body of her painful beatings and kicking. In anger I raised my hand painfully and slapped her and pushed her off me ignoring the pain that came as a result of the energy I exerted.

“This will be the last time you would hit me”,I warned her and tried to stand but my mom came rushing to me.

“How dare you hit my daughter?”

“You bastard!”

“Ungrateful being”

“After causing me a big time loss and misfortune…you dare raise your voice and hand on my delicate flower”.

‘I would bare since she is my mother’,I mused and will always wince whenever any of her torrnets of beating lands on my lower abdomen.

LEE JIM IN
After the lecture I rushed to the college sick bay which is quite a distance from my faculty so I had to use my car.

“She already got discharged”,the nurse on duty told me.

I frowned. “What time?”

“2pm”,she answered.

I glanced at my wristwatch and its already 3:30. She forgot her drugs and she will need to taking them from tonight.

I called Tae to ask for her address which he gave me.

My phone rang and its my dad…I didn’t pick.

Nothing good comes out of my dad whenever he calls.

My mom called me and told me to come straight to the LEE ancestral mansion immediately,that something came up.

I agreed.

LEE ANCESTRAL MANSION………

I walked in and I was greeted with a slap from my dad.

“How dare you”,my mom yelled at him.

“Hit him one more time and I promise you will be spending your day being bar”,my mom threatened my dad.

“You’ve spoilt him beyond help”,my dad glared at my mom.

“Have you heard his side of the story”,my mom fired at him.

“So incompetent”,she scoffed and sat back on the sofa.

“Order!”,my grandpa voice came out stern and it made everyone shut it.

‘What is going on’,I let my gaze travel around the huge living room and I saw Yeong Rae bin with her father.

I smirked.

“Is this the emergency?”,my lips curved upward and my eyes twinkled in delight.

“Does it look like a social gathering”,my dad sneered at me.

I collected a wine glass filled with wine and sat beside my mom. Twirling my glad slowly without a care and let my gaze land on Rae bin.

“You called me here because of her?”,I asked and took a sip of my wine.

“I won’t seat here and watch your son talk to me without an ounce of respect for me and also disrespecting the ‘Yeong’ name”,Rae bin dad spat fire.

“Hmm”,I nod my head,unaffected with his rage.

“Son,what happened?”,my mom voice came out soft.

I told her everything and my mom hugged me and then turned to look at my dad.

“Shouldn’t we be celebrating that at least our son isn’t a gay”

“Mom!”,I gasped.

“Sorry”,she smiled cheekily at me.

“Helping a poor lady……is it worth the celebration?”,my dad mocked my mom.

“You are so narrow minded and dim witted”,my mom scoffed.

“So..”,I started and gained everyone attention.

“I was called because a spoilt brat decides to run to daddy and cry”,I sneered and faced my father with my expression,stone cold.

“So without hearing my side of the story…I got slapped”.

I stood and and walked up to where Rae bin sat and her eyes held fright.

“Are you scared?”,I chuckled.

“Be rest assured that the Lee’s will protect you”,I scoffed and before anyone could react,I have already yanked Rae bin by her hair.

“This is all I did and she ran home crying?”,I shook my head and pushed her off,making her fall of the couch.

Everyone sat still and was shocked at my act. “I didn’t do anything to her compared to how merciless I do act. Once I pick on you…I’ll disgrace you and send that name Yeong to hell”,I said calmly and walked up to her father.

“Lee empire will be withdrawing from all business contract we are holding with you and don’t worry we will pay the amount for breeching the contract”.

Immediately I said that,his face drained of color and my mom burst into laughter.

“Ohh!! My son is the best! Whoever said I didn’t train him well is a pile of poop”,my mom giggled while staring at my dad.

“Actions speak louder than word and that is what my baby showed them”

“Instead of you correcting your prideful daughter and warn her to stop picking on the lowly,you came here to seek favors and boast of your last name ,Jim in mom kept rambling.

“Since you want to boast of the last name you carry,I’ll make sure that name crumbles and then I’ll be happy to know what else you’d boast of since Lee empire will be withdrawing from the contract where you’d have a billion as profit”,I smirked and looked at Rae bin who sat on the floor like a lost cat drenched in rain.

“No! You don’t have the power to do that. You are not the CEO until next year”,Mr.Yeong still took his prideful stance.

“That doesn’t mean I don’t weld certain power”,I snapped at him.

Called out of the trance he went into,my dad raised his hand to hit me but I held his wrist tightly.

“I am still respecting you as an elder….don’t overstep your boundary”,I glared at him.

“Lee Jim in”,my dad called my name in shock not expecting me to react this way,worse still in front of a guest.

“Like what you see?”,I left his hand as I smiled at his reaction.

“You have changed and its the influence of those barbarians you call friends”,he roared.

“Wrong!”,I shook my head at him.

“You never knew the real me. You only know the Jim in you sculpted but that’s not who I am”,I said.

“I have somewhere important to be”,I announced and left with my mom following suit.

The last word I heard was from my grandpa.”I can rest on in peace knowing the company is in capable hands”.
…………

I arrived at the location Tae sent to me and I have already gathered attention with the car I drove in to this area.

I knocked on the door and it was opened by Aera and she looks like someone who has been through hell and back.

“Jim in”,she whispered my name in fright.

“What are you doing here? You have to leave”,she pleaded with me.

“Who is there?”,another voice came up.

Aera pleaded with me with her eyes but I didn’t move from where I stood. I didn’t move because I noticed a swell on her forehead and a red mark below her neck…that said all the whole story.

Her back is bent slightly and I could tell she is in pain.

I didn’t wait to say anything before walking in and I met a woman and her look alike sitting and facing the door.

“Who are you?”,the older lady asked.

I calmly walked and held Aera hand to follow me. I sat and pulled her hand gently to seat beside me.

I don’t know why I always act on impulse whenever I am close to her. I never acted this way! I always think things through but right now I am throwing caution to this wind and acting carelessly. AGAIN!

“I said who are you?”,she repeated her question buy this time looking at Aera for answer.

“I am Jim in and I am the one that got you sacked. I am the higher up”,I explained with a lopsided grin.

The remote control fell with a clang on the floor.