Of Gross Secrets and Cracking Friendships

What the f*ck?

What the f*ck? What the f*ck? What the f*ck?

Joo In Guk tried to calm the fast beating of his heart. He clasped his mouth tightly as a scream threatened to spill from his throat.

He couldn't believe his eyes.

His mind flashed back to the scene he had witnessed.

His best friend, Lee Hyuk, had kissed his own little sister.

"Uuhp—!" In Guk retched. He couldn't help but feel repulsed at the sight. The image was now branded in his mind.

He dashed towards the toilet, a feeling of nausea rising inside him.

With a loud crash, he threw open the second-floor bathroom door, heading straight towards the toilet bowl.

'Disgusting!' He resentfully thought. 'That disgusting b*stard!'

His whole body trembled. He panted heavily, his mind roving in a haze of confusion and disgust. 'Why?' He asked Hyuk in his mind. 'Just what's wrong with you, you f*cking pervert?'

"Of all the people... why? Why?!" He inhaled deeply, trying to pacify himself. "Lee Hyuk—!"

"How could you, you—!" In Guk let out a low growl. His face twisted with a multitude of emotions. He looked like a totally different person compared to his usual energetic, happy self.

For a second, he allowed himself to hate Hyuk. It was the first time he had ever felt so much loathing for someone, much less his own best friend.

He simply couldn't understand it.

They were siblings, so why?

Why?

Another wave of nausea engulfed him.

"Uhk—!"

"Hey, you okay there?"

In Guk's head whipped towards the newly arrived person.

Jin Goo sighed. He helped his friend up after he was done puking his guts out. "Isn't your reaction a bit too extreme?"

Jin Goo and In Guk had been together until earlier. They had gone out to buy lunch, and by the time they got home, Hyuk's bike was parked in front of the house. However, when they came in, there was no sight of the guy. They had checked everywhere, but he was missing.

In the end, In Guk had decided to see if he was in Yeo Ri's room. Lo and behold, he had discovered them inside. He watched, with unbelieving eyes, as Hyuk fervently kissed Yeo Ri—his own sister—on the bed.

Jin Goo saw the whole thing unfold from the kitchen, and he could easily deduce just what it was that In Guk had seen that caused him to run away. When Hyuk had came out to check, he had immediately made himself scarce.

"...Did you know about... about them?" In Guk asked Jin Goo.

Jin Goo sighed again, then looked away. "Don't blame him too much. It's not our place to say anything."

"So you knew? And you did nothing?" In Guk raised his voice, an intense feeling of anger and heartbreak concealed in his words. "How could you just let—let that happen?"

"Joo In Guk, calm down," Jin Goo frowned. He was beginning to grow too unstable. He placed a hand on In Guk's shoulder with a slight pressure to keep him still.

"How can I calm down?!" In Guk miserably roared. "How can I be calm in this situation? What should I do? Tell me, Jin Goo-ya, just what should I do?!"

"How—how could he? How? Why?" He collapsed against the sink. Tears were beginning to mist his eyes but he forced down his urge to cry. "I—I don't want to hate him, but right now—"

"I know," Jin Goo relaxed his grip,  pulling his friend to steady himself. He patted his back. "Come on, you need to sit down and take a deep breath."

Jin Goo led In Guk to his room. He allowed In Guk some time to calm down and contemplate.

"So?" Jin Goo prodded his friend for a reaction. After a long period of silence, In Guk looked like he was reasonably calmed.

"I don't understand it," he quietly replied. His head was bowed. His arms rested on his knees. His hands moved restlessly, sometimes rubbing and sometimes fingers weaving. "Yeo Ri is—she's his sister, a-and she's so young. How can he do that? Did the b*stard lose his mind?"

"Maybe he did," Jin Goo says. "After all that they've been through, perhaps they lost a few screws, Hyuk and Yeo Ri both."

"..." In Guk pursed his lips. How could he have forgotten about Yeo Ri's breakdown? He could still remember how she clung to Hyuk so desperately, calling for him.

His heart twisted in pain.

"Are you saying that you're fine with their... relationship?"

Jin Goo furrowed his eyebrows, "Of course not. But it's not like we can deny them either. Like it or not, those two... love each other."

In Guk laughed emptily. "Love? Yeo Ri is fourteen. And even if we're twenty, we're all still kids! What do we know about love?!"

"Then, are you saying that your feelings for Yeo Ri is just a fleeting obsession? Just like those other fanboys of hers?" Jin Goo shot back. This dude kept prattling about how much he liked Yeo Ri, but he was never brave enough to confess his feelings properly and seriously. There was always some sort of excuse that he would come up with.

"..." In Guk looked away, feeling slightly hurt. He knew that he was in denial. But he just couldn't accept it. He couldn't accept them.

"Hyuk is still our friend. Who he falls in love with is not something we can control," Jin Goo sighed mutedly.

"Fine," In Guk closed his eyes painfully. Although he could not accept their morbid relationship, he was open to try to understand them on the basis of their friendship.

That being said, In Guk could never see his friend in the same way ever again. In his mind, Hyuk will, from now on, be that b*stard who took advantage of his own sister.