Untouched [minsung]

Chapter 82

Hyunjin POV

Mrs. Seo helped me set up a room for Jeongin. It had no windows to the outside world and nothing he could use to hurt himself or others. There was a see-through panel on the door that I could use to talk to him until I was ready to be with him in person, and Mrs. Seo installed a metal door I could raise and lower to leave things for him. I was endlessly appreciative of the fact that she was giving me the opportunity to try this my way instead of just killing him.

Jeongin had woken up in the trunk, and we'd sedated him further so that we could examine his bruising and scars and remove the bullet. The doctor was surprised he'd been able to breathe or move at all considering how bad the beating was that he'd taken on his ribs. Several were broken.

I'd explained to Mrs. Seo that Jeongin would never believe we were the good guys if we treated him the same way my parents had. More abuse wasn't the answer. Jeongin needed to understand love and trust and empathy.

Knowing what he'd done to both of her kids and her honorary children, she clearly would have rather put a bullet in his brain and called it quits. But she was trusting me, and I was certain I could prove to her that her faith in me was not misguided.

I watched from the door and felt pleased with the setup. Jeongin was beginning to wake up, and I was nervous about how he'd react to being apprehended. He sat up and looked around curiously at the simple room.

"Hey Jeongin," I said from behind the windowed door.

The curiosity turned to him being closed off in a second. "Too scared to be in here with me?" he scowled.

"Yeah I am," I told him honestly. He raised an eyebrow at me and stood up to walk towards the door so we could talk face-to-face.

"What's your plan, Hyunjin? Torture me? Force me to agree with you? Kill me? What? Because my mind isn't going to change. I'm going to kill Han. It's the only way."

I felt extremely sad for Jeongin. He had only ever known hate and pain from our parents.

"Actually, I just want to show you what it's like to be treated well for a while."

"Is being locked in a room part of that?" he smirked as though he'd caught me in a lie.

"You're not chained up like our parents kept you and Han and the rest of us, are you? I want to treat you well, but I'm not stupid."

"Why?"

"Because whether you like it or not, we are brothers. And if I can help it, I don't want to lose all of my family. It's not your fault that our parents treated you the way they did."

"They didn't do anything wrong. Mrs. Seo is the enemy. Han is the enemy. Can't you see that?"

"No, I can't...Not anymore."