Rewind (1/1)
Two Weeks previous Eun Hye couldn’t breathe.
She was on the verge of a meltdown as she fled down the empty corridors of the academy.Fear was gripping her heart and tears rolled down her cheek unbeknownst to her.
She stumbled and caught herself on the wall, nearly blacking out from the anxiety she felt.She was distantly aware that she was having a panic attack but she couldn’t catch her breath.
Dark spots filled her vision and she slid to her knees as she hyperventilated, clutching her shirtfront.This is the sight Yoon seonsaeng came upon as he followed her from the classroom.His stomach dropped when he saw this normally near emotionless young woman breaking down in front of his eyes.He reached out, intending to shake her out of it when a strong hand took hold of his wrist, stopping him.
He looked up to meet Daniel Lee’s gaze.The English teacher shook his head and turned to the girl before them.
Yoon Tae Wook watched as Daniel knelt in front of the girl and called her name calmly.Daniel had to repeat it nearly eight times before she responded.Through the haze Eun Hye heard her name being called.At first she feared it was him, but the tone was so calm and comforting that she blinked in confusion.
Slowly she looked up into the kind eyes of her English teacher.He knelt five feet from her, making no move to touch her in anyway.“Can you hear me Eun Hye-ssi?”Her ears felt as if they were stuffed with cotton but she slowly nodded at the question.“Take some breaths, calmly… you can do it. Nothing is going to harm you here. You are at school, I won’t let anyone near that you don’t want here, you are okay, just breathe for me.”His calming voice broke through her rushing thoughts and Eun Hye was finally able to pull in a shaky breath and the spots fled, clearing her vision.Slowly sound came back as well and her head rushed with blood, making her abruptly sit on the ground.“Are you alright now?”
Daniel Sem looked at her expectantly and she nodded, completely embarrassed.It was then that she noticed Yoon seonsaeng and a worried looking Lee Jinki standing behind him.“Now… do you want to tell me what that was all about?” Daniel said directly meeting her gaze. He let no one touch her as the four made their way to the teacher’s office in silence.Eun Hye knew she would have to tell Daniel seonsaeng what was going on, the look in his eyes told her she had little choice in the matter. She didn’t mind though. Instead of making her mad, she felt cared for.They entered the office and he gestured for her to sit. Moments later he set a cup of coffee before her and took a seat.Jinki and Yoon Sem stood off to the side, worriedly looking on.“I think its best we talk about this Eun Hye-ssi; it will only get worse if you don’t share your worries.”Eun Hye met his earnest gaze and nodded.
“I think I’d be more comfortable if I just spoke to you” she whispered.Daniel nodded and stood. Eun Hye reached out and tugged his sleeve. She looked up and blushed, letting go just as quickly. “Lee Sem too…”He nodded once more and crossed the room to ask Yoon seonsaeng to return to his classroom.
As the door slid shut behind the man, the other two teachers came to sit with Eun Hye at the central round table.“I don’t know how to start really…” Eun Hye said hesitantly.“Take a breath and start from the beginning. We won’t interrupt and we won’t judge.” Daniel said sending Jinki a pointed look. The younger man nodded and smiled comfortingly to Eun Hye.She took a deep breath and let her eyes fall shut as she pulled the painful memories to the forefront of her mind. “It began years ago when my family took in a Mother and son, who were the family of my Fathers old college friend.” A faraway look clouded Eun Hye’s eyes as she let them flutter open.“It was winter when they came to live with us; the snow was falling as my family met them on the front patio…” … A deep grey sky loomed overhead as snowflakes fell in a twisting, swirling dance, landing on a young Eun Hye’s thick lashes.
The family was gathered outside their two story home in the Gangnam district of Seoul, awaiting her Fathers long time friend’s family.At eleven, Eun Hye didn’t really know why they were taking in people they didn’t even know, but she’d found out there was a child around her age and she was excited to meet them.The gate clicked and swung open revealing their driver. He stepped aside and revealed a small woman and a taller boy who stood behind her with a duffle bag slung over one shoulder.Eun Hye smiled brightly as soon as her gaze met that of the woman’s. She exuded a warm aura even as her son projected a cold quality.The two met the family at the top of the steps and bowed politely. “We are so grateful…” The woman said, smiling.Eun Hye’s Mother, Song Mi Kyung, pulled her along with a friendly “Our home is yours.”Eun Hye stepped forward and bowed and then she gave the woman a hug. “It is so nice to meet you Eomonim.”She could see the surprise on the woman’s face, but also the happiness behind her tired eyes.“What a bright child. You must be Eun Hye.” The woman’s paper thin hands took hers and they smiled.“Please come in and warm yourselves, we will get you settled in and eat.” Eun Hye’s Father, Kim Duk Han said politely gesturing towards the promised warmth of the house.Eun Hye’s eyes briefly met those of the handsome young man silently watching and she bowed as she led the frail woman into their new home.She shivered from that brief encounter but excused it away as catching a chill from being out in the snow. As they gathered for dinner Duk Han told the story of how he and his friend had met.Eun Hye’s Father had a bit of a boisterous, witty side which he showed off with flair as he spoke of late night study groups, pranks, parties and various shenanigans that the college boys frequently got into, making them all laugh.All but him.
Eun Hye noticed through salad and soup, his pensive silence at the end of the table across from her. He seemed less inclined to eat as the conversation got deeper into their Father’s history.Soon enough the topic was dropped and her Father’s gaze landed on the silent young man.“So this is Hyun Jung’s son?” Duk Han smiled at the boy’s mother. “He sure has grown into a handsome young man.”Han Kyung Ok smiled wanly at her son and nodded politely.
“Yea, I am grateful every day that God granted me such a gift.”Eun Hye gazed at the boy who seemed lost in thought as he stared at his soup, spooning up the broth and letting it spill back into his bowl over and over again.He was handsome, a small face with large almond eyes and an almost feminine beauty about him.Finally his eyes lifted, meeting hers and she blushed. She quickly took a spoonful of soup to avoid his gaze. She heard his chair scrape back.A soft voice, like the sound of angel wings came from the other side of the table. “Thank you for the wonderful food and hospitality but I am not feeling well… may I be excused sir?”Duk Han nodded and the young man left the room, climbing the stairs to the room he was given by Eun Hye’s mother.“He is very polite” Duk Han commented as he drank from his cup.Kyung Ok sighed “He is, but I fear all this has left him feeling quite lost. He will not speak of his Father at all. It’s been so hard.”Eun Hye could hear the weariness of the woman’s voice and she looked towards the stairs worriedly.
Whatever had happened, it had obviously left a deep impact on this small broken family. Later as Eun Hye went upstairs to bed she heard music coming from the young man’s room.
She hesitated at his door but finally turned away only to freeze. He had been standing behind her the whole time, watching her.“Oh, I thought… well I just wanted to welcome you.”The boy pushed past her without a word and disappeared into his room, leaving her standing there with her mouth hanging open.“Well he isn’t very polite to me” she grumped, rolling her eyes and flouncing off down the hall to her own room. A year passed this way, the sullen boy watched as his mother bloomed under the bright personality that was Kim Eun Hye.The girl even started calling her eomma.He could see how special she had become in his Mother’s eyes and slowly she became just as special to him.Soon enough he began opening up to her more, embedding himself firmly in her life in the process.At first it was akin to a big brother, little sister situation, but as time went on his care became more like obsession. He drove away perspective boyfriends as she grew older and then he went to work on her friends from school.He tore apart any relationship that took her time away from him.As time passed Eun Hye began to lose that bright smile and honest, open heart she was so loved for.He monopolized her time, obsessing over her every action, smothering her light.In front of their families he was the charming, well-mannered young man that they all hoped would marry Eun Hye, but behind closed doors he was madness and hunger.As Eun Hye turned sixteen his obsession turned physical. He would sneak into her room and watch her sleep, touching her boldly. Eun Hye would wake and pretend to still be asleep, hoping he would quickly leave.Soon after that he took her innocence.Her mother and father began to notice how much their daughter had changed. They never spoke of it to their eldest child, Eun Hye’s sister, but they finally confronted Eun Hye and were totally shocked to hear what had occurred under their own roof.They spoke with Kyung Ok and the two moved out soon thereafter.It broke Eun Hye’s heart to lose a woman that was so much like her own mother but the relief she felt with him gone was amazing.Then the phone calls started.
He would follow her to and from school, or stand outside the gates all day waiting to see her.He would send deliveries and flowers, little notes of love and apologies, until Eun Hye’s Father went with her to file a restraining order. The police told them they couldn’t do much else and Eun Hye began living in fear again.She moved schools, even moved to a new home but he was always there days later. Finally Duk Han threatened to have him locked up and the next week her parents were dead.‘Faulty brakes on their brand new sedan’ proclaimed the official report, but Eun Hye knew he had killed them, just like he had killed his own Father so long ago.He had made the confession as he was abusing her, a threat not to tell, and he shared the specifics.
His Father had been abusing his Mother, so he made it look like his Father had fallen asleep, drunk at the wheel, and drove him off an embankment into the Han River.Her sister Jin Ju wouldn’t believe her when she told her to stay away from him, she only remembered that quiet, polite boy he had pretended to be.So when he showed up at the funeral with his Mother, Eun Hye knew she would never be safe from him.She had him arrested for violating his restraining order a few days later when he showed up at their house. Just before they took him away he promised he would be back that she couldn’t run far enough that he wouldn’t find her.So while he was locked up, she fled.She abandoned everything and learned how to live a life on the run… Present“…and now he’s found me again. No one around me is safe.”
Eun Hye twisted her fingers in the ends of her hair, staring with unseeing eyes down at the table top.Daniel seonsaeng took a steadying breath and leaned forward.
“Eun Hye-ssi, now that we know, we definitely won’t let that happen.”His voice was forceful but comforting and she looked up, making eye contact finally.The understanding and confidence in his eyes made her give in to the tears she’d been fighting.They flowed down her face silently and she listened closely to her teachers calming words as she let go of her fear for the first time in years.