The End. And the Beginning.
“Of course, it’s obvious… but our Sol wasn’t born with a disability. She was always pure and delicate as a child, but she wasn’t like this.”
So, the story of Ahn Hyun and Ahn Sol’s past was finally beginning. I’d been curious about it for a while, and my interest piqued instantly, but I decided to hold back for now. This wasn’t just about listening to a story. I needed to find clues to solve Ahn Sol’s issues based on what Ahn Hyun would share. I had to listen carefully to every word, as I didn’t know where the hints might appear.
I straightened up, adopting a posture that showed I was ready to listen intently.
“Hyung, our family was never lacking in anything. My father had a respectable job, my mother was gentle, and then there was me, always getting into trouble, and my somewhat timid but kind sister, Sol. We were just an ordinary family, the kind you’d find anywhere. But there was one problem.”
This suggested that Ahn Sol’s mental disability was likely caused by some external factor later in life.
I nodded quietly and focused on what he was about to say next.
“One day, I came home late after playing outside, and my parents were having a terrible fight. They were hurling insults at each other, words I can’t even repeat.”
“That’s pretty intense. Why were they fighting like that? Was there always tension between them?”
“No, it was all because of my father. He seemed normal on the outside, but it turned out he was gambling. My mother found out, and she even considered divorce.”
Ahn Hyun closed his eyes, lost in the memory. Family discord is something many people experience, but even so, his voice was eerily calm, as if he were recounting someone else’s story.
“So, did they get divorced then? Is that what shocked Sol?”
“Haha… no. It wasn’t that simple. I wish it had been.”
Ahn Hyun let out a hollow laugh and shook his head before continuing slowly.
“They didn’t divorce. They came close, but in the end, my father admitted his mistakes and begged for forgiveness. He promised never to gamble again.”
“That’s a relief.”
“It was, up to that point. But you know what they say about old habits.”
”…Did he start gambling again?”
“Yes. But he didn’t go back to gambling or betting. Instead, he turned to the stock market.”
‘He must have been almost addicted,’ I thought to myself. I didn’t know much about stocks, but a friend once told me that unless you’re in the top 1%, it’s a losing game. They advised me never to get involved.
“You should have stopped him.”
“Maybe my mother didn’t know… I’m not sure. But what did I know back then? I just saw him sitting in front of the computer, staring at strange graphs, and thought he was working hard. But then…”
Ahn Hyun sighed heavily, as if the memory still baffled him.
“Things seemed to calm down for a while, but then one day, I came home to find red foreclosure notices plastered all over the house. That’s when I realized the situation. My father had failed in the stock market and racked up a huge debt. We managed to cut off the gambling issue before it exploded, but the stock market was a different story. Did you know? A normal, ordinary family can fall apart in an instant.”
Ahn Hyun paused, then slowly looked up at the night sky. His eyes, now open, seemed to reflect a distant memory.
Finally, his gaze returned to me, and he spoke softly.
“I still remember it vividly.”
”…….”
“The day we were thrown out… my father didn’t say a word. He just walked with my mother, Sol, and me, endlessly. But even then, I couldn’t let go of hope. He was my father, after all. It couldn’t end like this. Even if it was the worst, we could start over… But then, my father crushed even that last bit of hope.”
“Why?”
“He took us to the Han River. And then he said it. Let’s die. Let’s just jump off here together.”
Hearing that, I let out a deep sigh. It was hard to see such behavior as that of a sane father. I even wondered if he had a mental disorder himself.
Sensing my thoughts, Ahn Hyun gave a bitter smile and continued.
“Sounds ridiculous, right? But it’s true.”
”…So what happened?”
“If we had jumped, we wouldn’t be here now. My mother went wild again. She yelled, asking if he was crazy, if this was why he brought us here, to say such things. She told him to die alone if he wanted to, that we would survive no matter what…”
At least Ahn Hyun’s mother was a sensible person. If both parents had been like that, I might not have met these siblings at all.
“Anyway, that’s when the real nightmare began. Honestly, what happened to our family felt like something out of a drama.”
“A drama…”
“Yes, a drama. That’s what I thought back then. But reality is harsh. In a drama, there would be some dramatic twist, but instead, things just kept getting worse.”
“Wasn’t there anyone to help?”
“There were, but only a few times. When you keep asking for help, relationships start to fall apart.”
Ahn Hyun’s voice, which had been dry, was now tinged with emotion. He had been relatively calm when talking about his father, but thinking about his mother seemed to affect him more. He began to wipe his eyes, trying to hide his tears with yawns, but I knew better.
I didn’t feel good about making him talk about things he didn’t want to. But since I had started this, there was only one thing I could do for them. No matter how long it took, I wouldn’t give up until I saw it through to the end. I wasn’t confident, as this was beyond my abilities, but I intended to do my best. For these siblings, and for myself.
“Ah… I’m sorry, hyung. I should be talking about Sol, but I’m just going on about our family issues.”
“No, it’s not useless at all. Don’t think that way. The night is long, and we have plenty of time.”
Ahn Hyun let out a long breath and nodded. Tears began to fall from his eyes, whether he noticed or not, and he spoke in a low voice.
“The debt kept piling up… our relatives cut ties… we stopped talking at home… and then, about two years later, something happened.”
“Something happened?”
Ahn Hyun’s voice trembled slightly. The events so far had been impactful, but I had a feeling that this was the real turning point.
And as I suspected, his next words took me by surprise.
“Yes. My mother committed suicide.”
”…….”
Silence hung in the air. I had expected something from his father, but I never imagined his mother would take her own life.
“It was a Wednesday… I came home from school, and my mother was there, which was unusual for a weekday. She suddenly suggested we go out… and we did. Sol and I were thrilled. We had a great time, went to the zoo Sol loved, and even had some noodles… but then…”
Ahn Hyun couldn’t continue. His voice shook so much that it was hard to tell if he was speaking or crying.
Finally, after swallowing hard, he managed to speak again.
“She said she had something to do and told us to go home first. So Sol and I went back, but then Sol said she felt uneasy. She wanted to go find mom.”
“What? Why all of a sudden… Ah.”
“At first, I didn’t understand, but then I remembered what my mother said just before we parted. Hyun, Sol, I’m sorry. No matter how hard it gets, no matter what happens, you two have to live well… The moment I remembered that, I ran. But…”
But. Ahn Hyun turned his head away, unwilling to say more. But from the word “but,” I could guess what had happened, and I nodded heavily.
A brief silence followed, and when Ahn Hyun finally spoke again, he seemed to have calmed down a bit.
“The ironic thing is, do you know how she did it? She jumped into the Han River. At the same spot where my father had suggested we die two years earlier.”
”…….”
“It was a shock we couldn’t handle. For my father, for me, and for Sol. I can’t tell you how much I resented her. And maybe… that’s when Sol’s mental issues began.”
“Hmm?”
I glanced up, and Ahn Hyun answered with a somber expression.
“After my mother’s funeral, the kid started talking to himself. He’d have conversations in an empty room, or just mumble quietly to himself. The house changed completely after my mother took her own life. We were barely holding on as a family, but that was the breaking point. I guess he just couldn’t handle the loss.”
“So, what was your father doing during all this?”
I tried to keep my tone neutral, but even I could hear the simmering anger in my voice. It seemed Anhyun felt the same, as he frowned deeply before speaking.
“I don’t know. All I know is that things went downhill fast. He’d come home drunk all the time, complaining about his life and cursing my mother. And then there were the beatings and verbal abuse…”
“What? Beatings and verbal abuse?”
“Yes, I told you, he changed. Later, after my father also took his own life, I found out he had a severe mental illness. Schizophrenia, they said.”
“Suicide?”
Anhyun’s tragic life story was so overwhelming that I was left speechless.
‘What kind of life have they lived…?’
Anhyun looked at me with a bitter expression and tapped the empty bottle in front of him.
“I got hit quite a bit too, but he especially targeted my younger brother. You know why? Because Soli looked a lot like our mom.”
“Unbelievable… I was trying not to speak ill of your father, but he sounds like a complete lunatic. And you just watched your brother get beaten? Couldn’t you have reported it or something?”
“Yeah, but back then… I had given up. I hated being at home. I started acting out at school, hanging out with the wrong crowd. I just didn’t care. I ignored Soli’s cries about being bullied at school because everything felt like a burden.”
Anhyun spoke with a tone full of regret. I couldn’t find the words to respond.
There was no need for more words. Anhyun’s story was a tragedy in itself. I pulled out another cigarette and asked quietly.
“Your father took his own life too?”
”…Yes.”
“Did he jump like your mother?”
“No. He was found dead on the side of the road. Couldn’t handle it, I guess.”
‘Couldn’t handle what?’
Anhyun shook his head, as if debating whether to say more. Finally, he looked down and spoke in a quiet voice.
“That day, the house was unusually quiet.”
”……?”
His sudden statement made me uneasy. He licked his dry lips and continued.
“Have you ever had one of those days where you suddenly feel like studying, or your mind feels clear?”
“Ah, I know what you mean.”
“Yeah, that. I felt that way that day. Sometimes I wouldn’t go home for over two weeks, but that day felt different.”
“So you went home?”
“Yes. And it was eerily quiet. Too quiet. As soon as I walked in, I saw my brother collapsed in his room. His uniform was torn to shreds, and his face and body were so battered and bloody I could hardly recognize him.”
Hearing this, I felt my breath catch in my throat. Could it be…?
“Don’t make that face. It’s not what you’re thinking. His clothes were torn because he fought back, and the blood was from the beating.”
Sensing my anger, Anhyun quickly clarified. I asked urgently.
“So what happened then?”
“I called 911. As much as I wanted to kill my father, saving Soli was more important.”
“And?”
“Thankfully, he survived. But that’s when his mental issues fully surfaced.”
“They surfaced?”
Anhyun nodded once at my question.
“Yes.”
Then, in a voice drained of strength, he continued.
“A few days later, when Soli regained consciousness, he didn’t recognize me.”
---------------------------= Author’s Note ---------------------------=
I spent 40 minutes thinking about what to write here. I read through the latest comments, and some of you feel the story is dragging. Haha, yes. This part will wrap up in the next chapter, and then we’ll move on to the next story. Please bear with me for just one more day.
It’s Monday. I hope you all have a great start to your week. :)
『 Reader Comments (Episode 335) 』
LonelySolo: Congrats on being first! I feel like I see you often in the first comment spot. :)
AbyssDweller: Thank you. This chapter was a bit heavy, wasn’t it?
WhiteCrow: I really struggled with that part. In the end, I had to dedicate a certain amount of text to it. It would have felt strange to open up too quickly.
lovejin: No, it’s completely random. But I can’t help but notice the ones that are easy to respond to. :)
Hopeful: I’ll take that to heart. Thank you. (__)
『 Reader Comments (Episode 336) 』
Debaran: Congrats on being first! Thank you for always waiting until midnight. :)
Shinyaruya: Please forgive me. I wanted to write more, really. ㅜ.ㅠ
OffToLove19: I don’t do it that often. ㅋㅋㅋㅋ. And it would be hard to match the timing. I don’t play while writing, maybe a few rounds after I’m done. :)
DSIID: If you cut my wrist, how will I write? ;ㅅ;
MyungbakJjang: I guess I was too hasty. I’ll try to think more calmly from now on. ㅎㅎ. Thank you for the valuable advice. (__)
Thank you for always reading. I hope you enjoy the story with a relaxed mind.