Koala 2

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Chapter 9

Early next morning…

Jae Duc woken up from his deep slumber and went out to the living room. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes and was startled to find Si Eun and Jae Jung sprawled out on the carpeted floor.

“Si Eun! Jae Jung! What happened to you guys?”

Jae Jung woke up from Jae Duc’s yell and laid there half-awake, his eyes partially opening to look at Jae Duc.

Si Eun woke up immediately and pushed her hair out of her eyes. She edged towards the corner of the room and started to tell him what happened.

“Last night when Jae Jung ran away, I ran into that guy Ji Yong. He grabbed Jae Jung but later he tripped and killed himself when he landed on a rake. Then I heard his voice… Ji Won. He… he’s nearby…”

Jae Duc listened to the story in horror with the cold realization that Ji Won had finally found them. Mental pictures of bloodshed ran through his mind and his knees gave out on him so he had to sit down.

“How… how did you guys escape?”

“That man…”

Si Eun felt like retching. Her previous thoughts from the night before were coming back to haunt her. Her feelings were mixed and the confusion was killing her inside.

“Koala… he’s… he’s still alive.”

Jae Duc took a moment to absorb the impact of her words. His fingers gripped onto the arms of the sofa tightly until his knuckles turned white.

‘If Jae Jin’s alive, why didn’t he come see me?’

Jae Duc wondered for a fleeting instant that Jae Jin knew he was there but yet didn’t want to see them. He looked up for a moment and the family picture caught his eye. Something told him that it was the source of the problem. He had to correct it immediately.

“Jae Jung… that man you met in the fields, Jae Jin… he’s…he’s your daddy.”

“What are you saying, Jae Duc?” Si Eun screeched. “He is NOT Jae Jung’s father! You are!”

Jae Duc got up from his chair and went over to Si Eun’s side. He knelt down before her and grabbed her by the shoulders to shake some sense into her. Jae Jung continued to stare in wonder.

“Listen to me! Koala is Lee Jae Jin! Lee Jae Jin is Koala!”

“No… he can’t be…”

Si Eun shook her head in denial as she pushed Jae Duc away.

“NO! You’re Jae Jin! That man Koala is NOT Jae Jin!”

“I swear on my life that I am not Lee Jae Jin.”

Jae Duc raised his hand to make that solemn oath. Si Eun stared at him miserably, praying that this was a nightmare. Jae Jung started to whimper when he saw his mother’s distressed state.

“Then who are you?”

Jae Duc sighed.

“I haven’t lied about my identity. My name is really Kim Jae Duc, formerly known as Duck of Sechskies.”

“So you killed my family as well…”

Si Eun scooted further away from Jae Duc when she realized this morbid fact. She kept a protective arm around Jae Jung as Jae Duc tried to convince her of his doings.

“I know you must hate me right now but you must listen to what I have to say!”

“NO! You killed my family! Koala is NOT Jae Jin. He killed my family!”

Si Eun covered her ears with her palms. Jae Duc grabbed her roughly by the arm and forced her to face him. Jae Jung watched on with frustration, unsure of whose side to take.

“Si Eun, you have to listen to me! Jae Jin spent the next years of his life making it up to you. The only flaw Jae Jin has is his loyalty. He loved Su Won dearly but when he betrayed Sechskies, Jae Jin felt that it was his duty to punish him. He never knew you then and now, he’s brought upon the downfall of his former family for you. Can’t you see how much he loves you and treasure you above all else?”

“Nooo…”

She refused to acknowledge that the man she had intentionally tried to kill is Jae Jin. He is Koala of Sechskies. He killed her family. He couldn’t be Jae Jin.

“Si Eun, please… Jae Jin loves you…”

Si Eun looked up from her cowered position at Jae Duc. She raised up her hand to brush the tears in his eyes away. She had never seen him cry before. Somehow, she knew that today is the day for all the hidden truths to come out.

“Jae Duc…”

“Yes?”

“I just want to know….Did you ever love me?”

Jae Duc smiled. It was the same question he had been fretting over the last few years and wasn’t able to answer it back then. But somehow today, he finally knew the answer.

“I did. But I love Jae Jin more,” Jae Duc paused to take a deep breath. “Now we run before Ji Won finds us.”

“Too late. The girl dies tonight.”

Ji Won’s large frame blocked the doorway and the three stared at him in fear. Jae Jung jumped at him but Ji Won swatted him away like a little nuisance.

“Damn traitor…” he hissed when saw Jae Duc.

Jae Duc tried to attack him but one punch from Ji Won knocked him unconscious. His main target had been Si Eun. He yanked Si Eun upright by her hair and dragged her out of the rundown house.

“Everything is your fault! I lost my status and my gang because of you!”

Ji Won dragged Si Eun to a barren field near a cliff with a raging river underneath them. From there he started to strangle Si Eun. She tried to break free but it was no use. Ji Won was just too strong for her.

“Sechskies killed my family! You all deserved to die!”

Ji Won smirked.

“It wasn’t Sechskies that killed your family but me. I killed every single person in the Jang household and you’re going to be my last victim.”

“You? But Jae Jin…”

“Jae Jin was useless to me from the beginning. He did nothing but just look on. I knew he didn’t want to kill your family in the first place.”

“Jae Jin…”

She had forgiven him. Si Eun hadn’t realized it until this crucial point. Earlier her mouth spewed out the hateful words at him but in her heart, she had forgiven Jae Jin.

She wished for a brief moment she could tell him that but it was too late. Her arms grew limp from the struggle and her vision started to darken when she wasn’t able to breathe much longer. Only a small circle of light was visible in her dim field of vision.

Suddenly, a gust of air whooshed into her lungs and she was free of her captor. Si Eun opened her eyes slowly and saw Jae Jin wrestling Ji Won to the ground.

“I don’t care if I fuckin’ die! I’m taking you with me!”

With an immaculate strength, Ji Won heaved Jae Jin off his body and they both lost their balance and started to fall off the cliff into the ravine. Si Eun had been in their path and was pushed over by their stumbling bodies.

Jae Jin grabbed onto a tree branch over the cliff just in time to avoid going over and grabbed onto Si Eun’s hand.

Ji Won wasn’t so lucky. Jae Jin turned around in time to see Ji Won landing on a sharp rock at the bottom. A pool of blood came out of Ji Won’s mouth and yet he didn’t make a peep of pain.

“Sechskies…is…forever…blood…in…blood…out…”

Ji Won gave Jae Jin a morbid smile as he finished speaking his last words. His body convulsed a few more times and he finally became still. The fearless leader of Sechskies was now dead.

Jae Jin felt a pang of regret. It was true that he had betrayed his own gang but Sechskies had changed over the years. They were no longer the low-profile gang that they had started out with but emerged to be one of the most cunning and ruthless.

“Jae Jin!”

“So you know who I really am now…”

Si Eun nodded in response and started edging herself closer to the cliff. Jae Jin tried to reach for her but when he moved, the branch started to sway dangerously.

The branch was not strong enough to support two people and Jae Jin knew it. The rapid water beneath would carry anything away and there was no guarantee of survival.

He looked at Si Eun once and he knew what he must do.

“Si Eun, Jae Jung’s a beautiful child. Thank you for having him.”

Si Eun started to tremble furiously as she kept a tight grip on the shaking branch. She stared at Jae Jin with a frightened look in her eyes.

“Jae Jin, don’t talk like that! You make it sound like you’re going to leave me or something!”

Jae Jin smiled instead. He lifted up her hand and pressed a gentle kiss on her fingertips.

“It’s just a brief separation, Si Eun. I promise I’ll find you again.”

“What? Jae Jin?”

Without further ado, Jae Jin jumped off the branch. Si Eun watched in horror as he fell into the river and the water carrying him away downstream. He was gone in a matter of seconds.

“JAE JIN!!!”

Si Eun continued screaming his name but she knew he wasn’t able to hear her cries. Her heart wrenched in pain as she continued crying until the sun began to set.

Jae Jin had left her… again.

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