Chapter 222 - Ch 222 Soo Bin's Story (4): A New Beginning

KJ did not know how to react. His mind was blank. The dark chapter of his mother's life disturbed him to the very core. The person whom he had adored and even fought with Mirae for her sake. Was she really responsible for the deaths for so many people? Was her thirst for revenge worth it? 

Goo Soo Bin seemed to read his mind. "She did what she thought was right, Kwon Jiwon," he said, patting KJ's wrist. 

"She knew what the consequences were," KK said bitterly. "Her method was wrong." 

"People have different reactions to grief," Soo Bin lamented. "Some people fight for justice while others want revenge. She was a human being who was bound by her feelings."

"What happened then?" KJ asked. Soo Bin sighed and went on. 

"The city was in chaos. We tried our best to qwell the people's resentment but it was uncontrollable. Random attacks between the two gangs along with the high death count. The Kwon family was under pressure. Kwon Jinhyung wanted the fighting to stop but he could not sit by and let his men die."

"Finally, he tasked his son Sungmin and Sungmin's best friend, Jung Taewon with the job to broker a deal with the Cartel. A truce to stop the meaningless violence. What they did not realize was that they were running into a trap." 

"The President wanted his rivals dead. Anyone who was a threat to his supremacy had to go. He was and still is blinded by his greed. He called Sungmin and Taewon to his own mansion. Sia, who was in the inner circle of the Cartel, was aware of the trap. It was her chance, her only chance to exact her revenge. She could kill the President and blame it on the Kwon family."

"But something went wrong the night before the meeting. The President found out that Sia had been double crossing him for years. His informants brought him proof of Sia's infidelity and her involvement with his son."

"That night, the President had called Sia to his bedroom. Strangely, he gave no signs of the fact that he was aware of her betrayal. When Sia narrated to me her experience with the Cartel, she mentioned on that night, he was unusually gentle while making love to her. It ticked her off. There was something wrong. She had to think fast."

"When Sungmin and Taewon arrived, they were surrounded by the Cartel's men. Meanwhile, the hitman hired to kill Sia sneaked into her room. He heard the sound of someone showering inside the bathroom. Tiptoeing towards it, he opened the door."

"In a second, there was an explosion. The resulting blast distracted the men long enough for Sungmin and Taewon to fight off their assailants. They rushed upstairs to find the whole floor was on fire. It was pandemonium. They fought off the flames, to go looking for the President. If anything happened to him, the Kwnos would be blamed. They heard a scream coming from the master bedroom. Breaking into the room, they found a tall figure watching over another person, crouching on the ground, holding his face."

"The figure turned around. Her face was bloodied. Even though she was unhurt, her eyes were blank and emotionless, as if she was a living corpse. There was no remorse on her face." 

"Sungmin was struck by the sight. He could not believe his eyes. Sia had burned the face of the President. She was in a crazed state, as she lunged forward to kill him. But the two men stopped her and dragged her out before the Cartel's men arrived. They knew that the girl would be targeted by the Cartel from then on. It would be impossible for her to run away unless she was protected."

"Sungmin let her secretly recover at a hospital. Even though she was physically fine, she was still scarred by her experience with the Cartel. Her guilt over the war she had created also made her more recluse. The girl who was once so bubbly and joyful turned into a shell of her former self. She no longer smiled and forgot the meaning of joy."

"Sungmin pitied the girl. He dug up on her past and got in touch with me. I told him of what she had done. The girl I saw that day seemed like a stranger. The hatred she was wallowing in was killing her from the inside. The guilt tore her up." 

"She attempted to commit suicide. She had no purpose left in life. The man she loathed so much was destroyed. She crippled him to the point of no recovery. The President's face was completely burnt. The last remnant of his identity was destroyed. He no longer had an heir. His family was gone. Just like hers was."

"But he has his grandchild!" KJ pointed out. 

"Ever since the fire, no one knows what happened to that child," Soo Bin said.

But KJ knew. The child survived and shed his real name. The President raised the boy to exact the revenge he could not take. 

"Sungmin managed to save your mother. He brought her to his mansion as a nanny to give her some means to support herself. Your grandfather at first was not suspicious. He did not bother much with the servants of the house and Sungmin passed her off as an orphan from one of their charitable institutions."

"Slowly, Sia began to recover some of her former self. Being at the Kwon mansion gave her some hope. Even though the Cartel was out for her head, she was well hidden within the Kwon mansion. Only Sungmin and Taewon were aware of her identity."

"Over time, Sungmin and Sia fell in love. This was when Sia came under Kwon Jinhyung's radar. He probed into her past and discovered her ties with the Cartel. He vehemently opposed the relationship." 

"But Sungmin was tired of hiding. He was tired of being told what to do. He had two daughters from a failed marriage and he wanted a separate life for himself with his family. Kwon Jinhyung was devastated but insisted that his granddaughters will stay with him. For the sake of their future, Sungmin let go of his daughters and moved away with Sia."

"They lived far away from Seoul. With some of his own savings, Sungmin opened a small garage. He was passionate about cars and a very good mechanic. They did not marry since they wanted to wait until Kwon Jinhyung gave them his blessings. I used to visit them from time to time. For the next few years, they lived in harmony and soon they had your elder sister and you-"

"What?" KJ exclaimed. "Sister?" 

"Y-you didn't know?" Soo Bin frowned. "Sungmin and Sia had adopted a toddler soon after they moved in together. The girl was hardly two years old then. Her parents passed away in the gangwar between the Cartel and Kwon. Sia felt so guilty that she decided to raise the girl."