Vows and Bullets
Chapter 45: Nightmare

Chapter 45: Nightmare

[Music Recommendation: "Forever Rain" by BTS - RM - instrumental version by Smyang Piano]

The deafening sound of raindrops.

The green forest that stood as the only witness.

A dead young man lying in a pool of blood.

And a father, tugging his lifeless body.

"Aigoo! A young man passed out here!" he shouted in his surprise.

He didn’t know he was dead. When he turned his body that was upside down, only then did he see the blood on his chest.

"W-What the—What happened here?!" his mouth trembled.

Concerned with the child that was with him, he hurriedly covered her eyes.

"Ye-Ji’ya, don’t look! Turn around! Quick!"

His chilly hands shook. Because of that, he didn’t notice that there was a gap between his fingers, big enough for the little girl to see.

"Appa (father), why is he bleeding? Did he get ouchie?"

"Y-yes. So don’t look, okay?"

Then he checked his body for any sign of life, desperately hoping that he was still alive. A look of genuine worry towards a stranger filled his eyes. The little girl saw it—all of it—including the face of the young man.

Curious, the little girl copied her father and checked the young man’s pulse. The yellow umbrella she held fell from her tiny hands. Good thing she still had a raincoat on, or the pouring rain would drench her cold.

As she approached the man, she noticed a peculiar scent mixed with the blood. She wasn’t familiar with it at first since she was merely a child, but she had great retention memory. That, plus the scent, was very much unique.

Soon, the father was convinced that the young man was dead. He took out his phone from his pocket and called the police.

"Ah, hello. Yes. Yes, it’s an emergency. I was walking in the woods with my daughter, and we suddenly saw this young man on the ground. I think he’s dead. Yes. We’re at..."

And so their conversation went. While they talked, the little girl checked on the young man again and patted his chest.

"There, there. Pain, go away," she murmured.

"Ye-Ji’ya! Don’t touch him," her father yanked her hand away from the corpse while he continued talking to the police. He rubbed her hands and washed the blood in the rain.

As he did, a pocket watch fell from inside the young man’s coat. The little girl saw it—a golden pocket watch with an insignia of an octopus monster... an insignia she would never forget her whole life.

Suddenly, everything faded to black.

’Hm? What’s happening? Am I dreaming again?’

"Mr. Kim, is it true that you have murdered a young man with the goal of robbing him of his possessions?"

"N-No, I didn’t—"

"Is it true that you even taught your child to lie just to defend you?"

"No, appa didn’t harm anyone! He didn’t—"

"At the time of the incident, you and your daughter were the only ones in the vicinity. There was no one else, according to the pieces of evidence provided, therefore labeling you as the only suspect. Unless you will put the blame on your child—"

"No! She did nothing!"

"Then do you admit to killing the young man?"

"No, I really didn’t do it..."

"Then how do you explain what happened, given the pieces of evidence against you?"

"M-My lawyer... perhaps he can help me explain..."

"..."

But the lawyer barely protected the innocent father. That’s why...

"Mr. Kim, you are hereby declared guilty of murder! You will therefore receive the maximum punishment of death by the manner of electrocution according to..."

Hearing those words, my heart thundered in my chest.

"No! My father is innocent! He didn’t do anything! He didn’t kill anyone!"

With all my might, I shouted over and over, but nobody listened.

At the same time, the little child and her mother pleaded as well, but nobody turned to hear them. And nobody believed.

Anger, grief, and disappointment from injustice erupted in my heart.

Like wildfire, it consumed me until all my tears dried up, and the only thing left was... the unquenchable thirst for vengeance.

"You who disregarded the life of my innocent father... I will hunt you even if you go to the depths of hell. I will get my revenge. And I will give it back to you a thousand times."

...

...

...

"HAH!" I gasped, awake from bed.

Sweat trickled down from my forehead to my body. My heavy breath soon filled the dark and silent room with trembling noises. I tried to breathe properly and embraced myself to calm down... just like how I had always done when things like these happen.

Noticing it wasn’t working, I stretched out my hand to the bedside table—only I wasn’t at home. The darts, the corkboard, and the image of an unknown man—they weren’t there to help me calm down.

"H-haah... H-haah... H-haah..."

My shaky breaths persisted, and soon enough, I could barely breathe.

"H-Help... s-someone," I barely managed to speak. "I c-can’t breathe..."

Tears fell from my eyes, one after another. I tried to reach for something—anything, but there was none... just like that day in the courtroom. We cried and cried, but there was no one to listen. There was no one willing to help.

As I wallowed in my great despair, a pair of warm hands gently grabbed my shoulders and wrapped me in an embrace.

"Shhh... It’s going to be okay," a gentle voice whispered in my ears.

His hands that grabbed my shoulders went to rub my back and caress my head.

He did that over, and over while saying it was going to be okay.

For some reason, my mind and body listened.

Soon enough, my breathing normalized, my tears stopped, and my heartbeat returned to normal... until my consciousness faded, and I lay asleep in his arms.

I wanted to ask who he was. I wanted to see his face and hear his voice once more. And most of all, I wanted to thank him. But alas, I fell asleep.