Page 137 of Save Me

“My mother couldn’t afford it on her salary. She had to go back to cleaning houses after she had me. I only met him a few times throughout my life. But MiSoo, my half-sister, and I were enrolled in the same school.

“I saw him occasionally, picking her up from school. Once, he caught a glimpse of me. He stared through me as if he didn’t see me.”

“That must’ve been awful.” Her voice is so … gentle. I fucking hate it.

I pull my hands from her body. “Don’t pity me.”

“I don’t.” She cups my face. “It’s not pity I feel for you. I’m pissed off.” Her voice turns fierce. “You deserved a hell of a lot more from that son of a bitch,” she spits out, her eyes narrowing with her anger.

Despite my mood, a smile crests on my lips. “My little warrior.”

Her eyes blaze in anger. “Is he still breathing? Your father.”

I shake my head.

“Good.” She pushes out a breath.

I chuckle and kiss her palm before continuing.

“Daniel Park was a student at my private school, too. He was a few years older and hung out in the same circle as MiSoo. His parents owned department stores. He was an asshole, but because I was a few years younger, I stayed off of his radar until he found out who I was.

“He and MiSoo were dating. One day, when my father forgot to pay my school’s tuition, my mother went to his office. Daniel overheard. He found out the truth.

“After that, school turned into a nightmare. Even after he graduated, he would have other students—friends of his—torture me in any way they could think of.”

“No one stopped them?”

I snorted. “I was a nobody. Everyone thought I was nothing more than a scholarship kid who wasn’t worth the trouble. I figured I’d endure it until I graduated.

“But my mother got sick and died before I started my final year of school. Soon Kim refused to pay for the last year at the private school. One day, as he was leaving work, I went to him, pleading that he would pay my tuition so I could finish school. He refused, saying his agreement was with my mother and not me. He looked me up and down as if I were garbage.

“I had to transfer to a public school and found a few jobs that paid me in cash to afford a tiny room. I had no one. I managed to finish school and graduate because I knew it was what my mom wanted. But I didn’t know what to do beyond that. I decided to give up.”

A lump forms in my throat as I recall those dark days. When the entire world felt like it was collapsing in on me. It hurt to even breathe back then.

“One day, I chose to end it all,” I tell her. She’s the first person I’ve ever admitted this to. “I decided to go to his office building. I was going to go up to the roof and …” I trail off.

Kennedy claps her hand over her mouth. “No,” she mumbles.

“But someone from security called my father’s office before I could enter the building. Daniel Park worked at his office by then, and he sent Park and a group of his friends down to take care of me.”

I stop there, deciding not to go into the details. But Kennedy’s curiosity thirsts for answers.

“What do you mean ‘take care of you’?” she asks, horror filling her eyes.

“Exactly what you think it means,” I answer honestly. Then I shake my head. “Needless to say, they didn’t succeed.”

“Why? How? What did they—”

I cut her off by cupping her face. “It’s not important. It wasn’t anything I couldn’t handle.”

I pull her lips to mine.

“Oh my god,” she says, pulling back. “And he commented tonight about being the son your father never had. That motherfucker,” she fumes. She starts to get up. “I’m going to go kick his ass.”

A full-on laugh spills out of me as I grab her by the arm, bringing her back to my lap. I don’t know if it’s from finally revealing the truth to her or how she’s gotten all protective over me, but that does it, and my entire mood shifts.

Only she can bring me out of such dark, low spots this fast.

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