Inked Bonds- My Demon

(20) The Fateful Choice

Ms. Seo, bustled into the cabin, "Ms. Hwang Kira is here to see you." she muttered, stepping aside to let Kira through the door.
Ms. Seo excused herself quietly, leaving me alone with Kira.

I approached Kira, offering her a seat,
"Would you like some coffee or-" before I could even finish my sentence, she cut me off, "I'm not here for a chitchat. Yeona, stop taking advantage of Director Jeong & let him go." she said with a sharp edge to her tone.
"We need each other."
"Each other?" she scoffed "You mean you need him. You're leading him around by the noise, exploiting his weakness. He almost died because of you. How selfish are you going to be? Stop exploiting Director Jeong by  threatening him with his tatoo."

Her words stung, hitting a nerve deep inside me. I felt a lump form in my throat as I struggled to find the right words to defend myself but deep down, I knew she was somewhere right.

I watched her walk away, she paused at the door, her hand resting on the handle, "Get out of his life, let him live peacefully and normally just like he used to, before he met you."
and with that she strode out of the cabin as swiftly as she had entered it.

I stood there, her words echoed in my mind. Could it be possible that I was unknowingly causing harm to the one person whom I wanted to protect more than anything in this world?

I made my way to the window and peeked outside. I saw Kira hugging Gu-won. Quickly, I closed the blinds, shielding myself from the sight outside.

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Gu-won and I had spent the entire day in silence. The car ride back to home was awkwardly quiet as well.
Finally, unable to bear the silence any longer, Gu-won turned to me, "Did Kira say something stupid to you?"
"Not really. She just invited me to watch her performance." I replied, putting on a smile.
"Did she say something to you?" I questioned.
"No, she didn't."

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It was pretty late at night. Gu-won, was already asleep beside me but I couldn't sleep. My mind was racing with thoughts and worries that seemed to grow louder with each passing moment. I gently withdrew my hand from his grip and quietly made my way outside to the balcony.

The night was calm, the only sound being the gentle rustle of leaves in the breeze. I leaned against the railing, feeling the cool metal against my palms as I let out a sigh. Suddenly I felt a gentle poke on my arm. Startled, I turned around, there stood my brother, I knew deep down that this image was not real, but the comfort it brought me was undeniable. With a raised eyebrow and he looked at me as if to ask, what's wrong.

I couldn't help but pour out my heart to him, "Should I really keep pushing forward? Gu-won almost died because of me. I don't know if I should keep pushing forward at the expense of someone else but if I give up here, it'll be unfair to you."

"Yeona, don't worry about a dead person. I'm just worried it'll be frustrating for you." Ye-jin said softly.
"I'm frustrated... I'm frustrated & upset. I lost my only family and I don't even know who did it."
He reached out and placed a hand on my shoulder, "But you have a new family now. Don't lose your new family because of your dead one. Do what's best for you, what's best for someone you care about is also best for you."
"Then what about you? What's best for you?"
"What's best for you is best for me." and with that he disappeared from there, leaving me alone with my thoughts but now I knew what was needed to be done. Stepping back inside, I picked up the phone and dialed Min-jae's number.

To my surprise, he picked up on the first ring, his voice tinged with panic,
"Yeona? everything's okay right?"
I assured him, "Everything's fine, I just wanted to tell you something."
"What is it?"
"I'm going to give up my candidacy, Min-jae. I have done my best, I'm sure Ye-jin would understand. It's not like catching the culprit will bring him back to life."
"Are you doing this for Mr. Jeong? Because you don't want him to get hurt again?"
"I don't want to lose someone, I care about again."
After a moment, Min-jae spoke up, "I'm going to skip the meeting tomorrow. I don't want to be involved in it anymore since you won't be there."

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As morning light filtered through the curtains, I slowly blinked my eyes open, expecting to see Gu-won's face beside me but the space next to me was empty. I sat up and rubbed my eyes, wondering where he could be.

Making my way to the kitchen, I found him standing near the cabinets. When he caught sight of me, he quickly tried to hide something behind his back.

"Are you okay?" I questioned.
"I'm fine." He said, trying to sound stern but failing as a smile tugged at his lips.
I raised an eyebrow, crossing my arms, "Did you take the painkillers?"
Gu-won's eyes softened, and he gave me a sheepish smile, "I don't need them. I feel great because of charging up. We should get ready for work now."

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As Gu-won and I were walking towards the meeting hall, we were abruptly interrupted by Jae-eun. With a sly grin, he approached us,
"Mr. Jeong, I heard you got hurt. I saw on the news that someone attacked you."
Gu-won retorted, "Don't believe everything you see on the news. They even accused an innocent person of her brother's murder."

"Let's go inside." I said & we resumed our walk towards the meeting hall, but Gu-won came to an abrupt halt as Jae-eun spoke up again,
"Stay away from her, if you wish to live. People who end up staying by her side, die." Gu-won glared fiercely at him, his fists clenched in anger. Sensing the tension mounting, I reached out and firmly clasped Gu-won's hand, "Don't mind this jerk." 

With a final glance cast in Jae-eun's direction, Gu-won turned away and we made our way towards the meeting hall.

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The meeting hall was filled with tension as I sat facing my family members. Gu-won was seated behind me on the sofa.

"Looks like Yeona's only true friend isn't attending the meeting today. Don't worry Yeona, Min-jae must be running late." Sang-mi scoffed. I rolled my eyes & chose to ignore her, knowing that Min-jae had already told me that he won't be attending the meeting today.

The host finally began, "Lets begin the special board meeting. Today we'll take a nomination vote for the next chairperson of Geum Group." 

"I have something to announce, I- " I interjected but the host interrupted me, "Each candidate will get a chance to deliver a speech later."

"It's an important matter related to the vote."
The host relented, giving me a nod of approval.

With all eyes on me, I rose to my feet,
"To prevent any further conflicts and disputes, I Park Yeona, hereby withdraw my candidacy." I declared.

The room erupted into a stunned silence. My family members looked at me with a mixture of shock and disbelief. Gu-won, reached out to grab my hand from behind, "We need to talk." I shook my head in disapproval, "Later."

When the meeting finally drew to a close, Gu-won turned to me,
"Yeona, what do you think you're doing?"
I sighed, "Let's talk outside."
My family members approached me, their expressions a mix of curiosity and shock.
"What are you playing at?" Sang-mi narrowed her eyes.
I smiled, "I've decided to forgive & forget. I'll also renounce my inheritance. So let's put an end to the war."
Sang-mi walked closer and gently patted my back, "I'm glad you made a wise decision in the end." With that, she turned and left the room.

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As I hurried towards my car, fumbling with my keys, I heard quick footsteps coming up behind me. Before I could react, Gu-won spoke up, standing before me, his eyes searching mine,
"Tell me why are you doing this?"
"I'm tired of it all." I whispered softly.

Gu-won took a step closer, "Is that it?"
"I can't keep living in anxiety & fear. I can't even go to work or take a walk by myself. I want to live in peace like everyone else & go back to my normal life. So I got rid of the reason, they wanted to hunt me down." I said, my gaze fixed on the ground.
"No, you're lying. Look me in the eye and say the truth, Yeona." Gu-won insisted, his grip on my hand tightening.

I pulled my hand away from him, my voice raising in desperation, "I can't trust you anymore."
"What?" he uttered & stepped back in disbelief.
"You can no longer protect me, your powers have become so weak that you can't even protect yourself." I had to lie because I couldn't tell him the truth. Gu-won was taken aback.

I turned on my heels and made my way towards the car, leaving Gu-won standing there alone. He looked hurt and betrayed. Our relationship was hanging by a thread, and I feared that I had irreparably damaged it. I felt a growing sense of guilt gnawing at my heart.

Had I gone too far?