A Father's Sins, A Father's Sons: Jae Hoon
Dawn, and the rain pours.
The cemetery is silent today, save for the constant hammering of water against earth and stone. And accompanying the deafening tattoo, another sound emerges, a dull, slapping beat; the footfall of mourners.
A couple walk amongst the gravestones, their footsteps heavy with grief. They weave their way through the tall grass, left unkempt by a caretaker who could care less about the occupants of this plot of land, and make their way towards the marker that serves as their only link to the past.
The boy's dark blue eyes are wet from tears and rain; they cloud, and he fails to see the divots that have been carved out of the ground even as he stumbles. A hand is extended, steadying him with a trembling grip. He is grateful for it, and returns a weak smile to his companion – the saddened smile of a child who awakened from a nightmare, only to find that he has been forced to become a man.
Together, they walk to the neglected grave, and she holds the umbrella over his head while he pays his respects. He bends low and caresses the stone angel, wishing for one last chance to touch his father. But the time for such chances is long past. Instead, he reaches into his pocket and withdraws an envelope. It is unmarked and plain, and there is no address on it – another cruel reminder that his father is far beyond his reach.
He leaves the envelope under the angel and staggers away, his girlfriend still dutifully sheltering him from the downpour.
Father, it's me. Jae Hoon.
It's been a year since you passed on, and we're still trying to pick up the pieces back at home. I suppose we're falling into a passable routine, and we're getting by one day at a time, but… it's just not the same, now that you're gone. There's a void in our family now, and it'll never be filled.
Mom was devastated when she heard the news of your death. She loved you – I suppose I don't need to tell you that – and she misses you a lot. She's tried to be strong, but your absence has taken its toll on her: I've lost count of the number of times I've woken up in the middle of the night and heard the crying from her room, or the days when we've woken up in the morning and seen her red-rimmed eyes and hoarse voice. But she continues to put up a strong front for our sakes, even though it costs her so dearly…
Dong Hwan found a job at a bar – they hired him as a bouncer. I know you'd disapprove of his vocation, but he's doing his best to support the family. Besides, the job pays well (he earns more at the bar than I do at the school), and the owners are friends of Terry, so he's not likely to get into too much trouble. I'll keep an eye out for him, I promise. He still seems as flippant as ever on the outside, but I can see through that veneer of his: he misses you greatly, even though he'd rather die than admit it to my face. For an extrovert, he sure keeps a lot of things inside.
The school's still operating, and our students are carrying on reasonably well. I can't begin to describe how valuable Jun's been to the running of classes: she's been by my side helping me with the administration and the paperwork, and she's a pillar of strength when the rest of the world seems to crumble around me and nobody seems to care. Yes, I haven't been taking things too well either. There are those times when I'm the only one awake in the house, and everything is just too quiet, and then I'm suddenly back at that night when Officer Rian knocked on our door and said that you wouldn't be coming home… She's been a great help, and I don't know what I'd do without her.
Uncle Jhun and May came over to pay their respects yesterday. They didn't say much – he just stared at your grave, as still as a statue, and she was crying her eyes out. But they left us some news. Remember Chang and Choi, the two criminals who trained with us back when you took part in the King of Fighters tournaments? Uncle Jhun said that they sent their condolences, and that they vowed to finally turn over a new leaf. He said that your death was the one thing that turned them around, more than all the preaching and punishment that the two of you subjected them to. It's funny… Uncle Jhun mentioned that if you'd been around to witness the moment, you would have said something like, "Justice finally triumphs!" Then he sneered and muttered, "Some triumph."
He had a point.
Even today, they still haven't found the killer. The monster they called Freeman… Officer Rian said that they shot him, but when they searched the surroundings, his body was nowhere to be found. He escaped: even now, he's probably continuing his wicked ways somewhere else, spilling innocent blood.
Where is the justice in letting the evil ones carry on in their wicked ways while the righteous perish? Why is Freeman still at large, while we are the ones who are left staring at your grave? It's a mockery of everything you taught us, that justice should triumph, that the good will always prevail. We're not the ones who are winning. Kain is still ruling Second Southtown with an iron fist; there are no longer any heroes – they've all departed, forgotten by the people. And what remains of Kim Kaphwan, Southtown's last hero? A tombstone.
Nobody cares about the sacrifices you made for this town, how you spent so much of your time fighting the evil that pervaded this city. They don't remember how many times you put your life on the line, or how our family was torn apart after your death. They didn't even respect your body after you died – "lost in transit", they called it, leaving us with an empty plot in this graveyard and a hole in our family. And they call this justice?
Sometimes I wonder if it's worth it, fighting the good fight for people who don't even care if you live or die. It's getting harder and harder to keep your dream alive, especially when you're gone, and it seems as though what we do doesn't change a thing. The wicked people still persist in their ways, and the city is rotten to the core with the taint of evil. Why do we waste our energy, our spirits, and our lives in the pursuit of justice when everybody else has given it up?
I can only think of two reasons.
I fight so that your death will not have been in vain.
And I fight in the hope that perhaps, in spite of everything… you were right.