Chapter Twenty Three - Horrifying Human Being (Part 2)

If I make it out alive, I'll never question my intuition again. Eyes narrowing with contempt, I bite out harshly. "I knew it was you!"

Joo Mun-Hee's serene face twists with belligerence as she claps in mock excitement — the gesture unhurried and intentional. "Bravo! But you're too late." A condescending lilt enters her voice. "Just like all those other women who got too close to Kang-Dae, I had to take out the trash. It's my job as his wife when he doesn't do it, and that's what you are. Absolute trash."

Chilly fingers skate down my spine. She's smiling proudly while admitting to murder. "You're insane!" I hurl accusingly, anger overriding fear. "Why are you doing this? I'm not involved with your husband." Anymore.

"It doesn't matter. Kang-Dae's fixated with you." Red lips flatten in displeasure. "He's been checking up on you through that bodyguard he hired." She scoffs bitterly, resentment coming through. "How stupid does he think I am? I know everything he does - what he eats, who he meets with, who his friends are and all those women he's been seeing behind my back! It's unacceptable! I tried to ignore it, but the more I hold on to him, the further he slips away." Her accusing glare lands on me. "It's all your fault."

Head to toe, she's dressed in designer clothes but it's a disguise to hide the monster within. Her eyes blaze with madness. "Kang Dae isn't the problem. You are! If I get rid of you, then poof!" Her fingers mimic an explosion. "His obsession will be gone."

Fear chokes me when her smile turns frighteningly cold and twisted. Her logic is incomprehensible. She claims Dae is obsessed but she's the one with the symptoms. "You're wrong. Even if you kill me, Dae's feelings won't change. You can't dictate how someone feels. It doesn't work that way."

"Shut up!" She screams, fists banging against the glass. I jerk back. "Don't say his name with that filthy mouth of yours! My husband is mine. Mine! He chose me! He married me! Not you! I'll never let him go." The crazy reflects in her gaze.

"He doesn't love you!" I retort hotly, refusing to let her paint me as a villain. "You're delusional!"

"Love?" She scorns. "I don't need his love. He just needs to stay mine. He needs me. I can give him what he needs and just because he strays from time to time, it doesn't mean he isn't loyal. I raised him up to where he is now. And I know Kang-Dae." Her words firm. "He will never give up his power, especially not for a nobody like you." She nods at someone and I panic when water gushes into the tank. The sound magnifies my fear.

"You don't have to do this!" I shout, struggling in earnest. I must stop her, or I'll meet my watery grave. "You can let me go and I'll disappear out of his life. Forever! You have my word." Shameless desperation strangles my voice.

She shakes her head. "If you're alive, Kang-Dae will never stop looking for you. You need to die. That way, he can't follow you." The psycho reasons calmly. "Kang-Dae will never leave our son alone. Ji-Hoon is my insurance policy."

"You sick bitch! He's your son! Not an object or a pawn for your fucked up games!" I jerk my arms to no avail, the water rising fast. At this point, breaking my wrists to get free is a feasible idea.

"Don't tell me what I know about my son!" She shrieks, looking every inch a madwoman. "Ji-Hoon and Kang-Dae are mine. I won't let a worm like you wriggle its way into my family and take everything I have!"

"They ARE yours!" I scream hoarsely, absolutely pissed. Yes, I was involved with her husband, but I had no idea who he was. Obviously, she has a beef about it, so she should hash it out with Dae. Not me. My penance has been served when I was hit by a car and nearly beaten to death. "I don't want them! Take them back! I didn't ask for this. You should be talking to your husband, not me!" The water closes to my knees. Is this how I die? By drowning? I hear it's a painful way to go. "If I die, you'll never get away with this! I'll haunt your forever!"

"Oh, darling…," She coos falsely. "I've been doing this for seven years. And I get away with it. Every. Single. Time." Not a hint of conscience or remorse shows on her expression, making me understand why Dae called her a fragile flower. No one could have seen this coming. Joo Mun-Hee plays the innocent, frail character better than any actress. She hides her true persona behind the mask of a helpless housewife.

What a horrifying human being.

I cough and splutter when the water hits my jawline, my neck strains to buy me time. Tendons bowstring taut. Joo Mun Hee begins humming a song, her eyes fixed on me like I'm a fascinating butterfly while she pulls off my wings — the definition of a deranged serial killer.

An image of mom and dad flashes before my eyes…and my friends and lastly…Dae. No one can explain the mind-numbing fear of how it feels to drown unless you've experienced it. My oxygen's cut. My lungs expand at once, trying to help me stay alive, sucking and sucking until water rushes up my nostrils, flowing into my lungs. I still can't breathe. The sharpness in my chest intensifies, like a vacant hole between my bruised ribs, punishing me. Air bubbles escape my lips. My body jerks once. Twice.

And my soul leaves its vessel.