Chapter 46 - The Girl With the Green Eyes

The boy was pushed backwards. He stumbled and fell headfirst into the mud. His t-shirt was stained with the sludge and he even felt some of it going into his mouth. The group of older children surrounding him were laughing at him as he spluttered out mud.

Yura came forward and stepped on the boy's head, pushing him further into the mud. The boy was almost being suffocated till Yura let him go.

"That's for being a smartass," she said with contempt. "Talk back to us again and I'll tie you up and dump you in the river!"

One of her bootlickers pushed the boy back in the mud as he attempted to stand up. They all laughed cruelly as the boy whimpered in pain.

"Let's go," Yura sneered. She led her gang away as the boy lay in the mud. 

Jiwon struggled to get up. He slipped quite a few times before managing to pull himself out of the mud. His eyes showed no signs of pain despite the numerous wounds on his handsome face. He was barely eight years old and he was already used to such treatment from his half sisters. Even though his grandfather would ask many times about his mysterious injuries, he kept his mouth shut. He did not want them to think that he was a scaredy cat.

"You had it rough," Jade commented. He and KJ were now in 1999, watching the former's younger version getting beaten up by his sister's cronies. They were at a park behind the mansion.

"This is just an appetizer to them," KJ replied sarcastically. "I've had worse."

"Tch!" Jade made a disgusted sound. "What a bunch of cowards! Bullying a young child..."

"Why are we here?" KJ frowned. "I have no intention of reliving these 'happy' memories."

"Ahhh... you don't remember today's significance, do you?" Jade realized. 

"Throwing me into the mud was a significant event?"

"No, but what happens after it are important. Come on! Let's follow your younger self."

KJ shook his head and followed the cat. They silently trailed young Jiwon, who was completely soaked in mud. The child was walking slowly towards the Kwon mansion. 

Upon seeing the child's condition, the grandfather nearly lost his mind.

"Who the hell did this to you?" he shouted. "What..."

Kwon Jinyoung got to his knees and hugged his grandson. From over his shoulder, Jiwon saw Yura making a threatening face at him. Jiwon did not care about her threats, but he did not want to give her the satisfaction of getting to him. 

"Jiwon, my child," the grandfather begged him. "Tell me who did this! Grandfather will punish them! Just tell me."

"I fell on my own," Jiwon lied. "I was trying to get my kite out of the mud and I tripped. I'm fine."

"Jiwon..."

Kwon Jinyoung knew his grandson was lying and unless the child gave up the names of his tormentors, he was helpless. But Jiwon was a stubborn child. Even though he was injured, he refused to give up any names.

"Jiwon, please tell us who did this to you!" Kwon Jinyoung demanded angrily. "Jiwon, speak up!"

He tried to coerce the child, scolded him, asked him gently but the kid just would not talk. Jiwon was adamant.

"I've seen what happened!"

A squeaky voice echoed from the door. Grandpa Kwon and Jiwon turned around to see a little girl standing there, clutching her father's hand. 

"President Jung?" Grandpa Kwon queried.

The man standing at the entrance was the President of Grandpa Kwon's company, Jung Taewon. Holding his hand was his daughter.

"I apologize for appearing so suddenly, Sir," President Jung bowed down humbly. "However, my daughter insisted that she wants to say something regarding what happened with the young master."

Kwon Jinyoung scanned President Jung and his daughter carefully. President Jung was one of his most loyal subordinates. Even though he came from a humble background, he worked hard and paved his way to the top. While Kwon Jinyoung had many links with the underworld and ran a mafia syndicate, President Jung was one of his most honest and trustworthy employees. If there was one person whom he could trust fully, it was this man in front of him.

Meeanwhile, Jiwon was looking at the girl. She was around his age, with long hair which reached till her shoulder. She was peering at him with the most astonishing pair of green eyes he had ever seen. For a moment, he could not help but gaze at the green eyed girl.

Kwon Jinyoung bent forward and smiled at the girl. She was not scared of him. In fact, she looked at him straight in the eye, without any inhibitions.

Yura, on the other hand, froze in fear. Did this girl really see something? She was scared of what Grandpa Kwon would do if he finds out that she and her friends have been bullying Jiwon. She must act quickly!

"What is your name, my dear?" Grandpa Kwon asked in a gentle tone.

"Jung Mirae," the girl replied confidently.

"Mirae, call me Grandpa Kwon. Tell me, what do you want to tell us."

Mirae looked behind his shoulder.

"I was at the park, picking flowers, when I saw a few older kids at the mudpond," she said. "That bad unnie," she pointed at Kwon Yura. "Threw him into the mud."

The whole house became silent at her words.

"She even," Mirae continued. "Kicked him into the mud when he tried to get up." She even stomped on the ground to show reenact the scene.

A dangerous expression fell on Grandpa Kwon's face. He turned to Jiwon.

"Jiwon," he said quietly. "Is this true?"

Grandpa Kwon threw Yura a look. She was terrified into a corner.

Unnie had to go out today! She thought cursing her luck. If only Yeri unnie was here...

"No, it's not," Jiwon spoke up. "The girl saw it wrong. I tripped and fell."

Yura felt relieved. "See? he said so himself," she sneered. "That girl is a liar."

"I'm not lying!" Mirae insisted as she looked at her father. "Dad, I'm telling the truth!"

"Mirae, calm down," Jung Taewon consoled her. "You may have misunderstood."

"No, I didn't!" she exclaimed. Tears were now forming in her eyes. "Dad, I saw him being pushed into the mud!"

Her dad shot her a warning look. Kwon Jinyoung was quietly scrutinizing the young girl. Why would she lie about this? he wondered. There was something off about Jiwon too...

"I'm not lying!" the girl burst into tears. Seeing her cry made Jiwon feel guilty. But if Yura was punished, then she would retaliate with something even worse. Maybe even Yeri will join in and make his life hell.

"I fell," Jiwon repeated. There was something oddly robotic about his response which did not go unnoticed by Grandpa Kwon. 

The girl was still sobbing hard. Her father was cajoling her, trying to calm her down.

"President Jung," Kwon Jinyoung called him. Jung Taewon stood up straight and bowed down.

"I apologize for my daughter's behavior," he said in a sincere tone. "She is usually well behaved. I don't know what came on to her."

"Please don't apologize," Grandpa Kwon assured him quietly. Then he leaned in so that only Taewon can hear him. "Come to my office tomorrow with your daughter. I would like to ask her some questions myself."

Jung Taewon bowed and turned to his daughter. She was still crying and it broke his heart to see her like this.

"Let's go home, Mirae," he said as he gently picked her up. Mirae shot one last look at Jiwon, her eyes pleading him to tell the truth but he looked away. He could not face those green eyes.

Grandpa Kwon turned towards Jiwon. There was a strange look on his face.

"Tell the butler to clean you up," Grandpa Kwon ordered. "Fix up your wounds and come down for dinner."

He looked...disappointed. Jiwon could feel his grandfather's sadness. He knew the old man suspected that he was lying and the disappointment was worse.

"Yes, grandfather," Jiwon mumbled. He saw Yura's face, which was beaming with relief and happiness that she got off so easily. 

Jiwon slowly climbed up the stairs and locked himself in his room. Heading over to the window, he sae the girl, Mirae, was still sobbing in her father's arms. Her father put her down, fixed her scarf as he wiped her tears. He took out a small candy bar from his pocket in an attempt to stop her tears.

It seemed to have worked as the girl stopped sobbing and held the candy bar excitedly. Smiling at her innocence, the father scooped her up in his arms and they entered their car, driving off into the distance.

As Jiwon watched them drive away, he felt his heart being tugged. He did not want to lie but his pride would not let him tell the truth. The young boy felt ashamed. Just like his older counterpart, who witnessed the whole thing.

KJ was quiet throughout the whole scene. He dimly recalled the young girl he met all those years ago. In his guilt, he locked away this memory in his head and after a while, forgot about it. 

But seeing it all in front of him was like a slap on his face.

"So, I treated her like trash from the very beginning, huh?" he asked in a sad tone. Jade looked up at him and was surprised to see him crying. In all these years, it was the first time he saw KJ crying.

"I really am a trash," KJ snorted as his tears fell.