The Heartbreaking Truth

The three took a few minutes to arrange their thoughts.

Finally having calmed down, the three sat in front of each other, continuing with their confrontation.

In Guk refused to look at Hyuk directly. A part of him felt guilty for hating Hyuk, but some other parts simply could not forgive him. At least, not yet. Their relationship was wrong, and he stood by his opinion.

"So how far have you two gone?" Jin Goo asked directly.

In Guk tensed. He didn't want to know the answer. He was scared to know.

Hyuk turned away from Jin Goo's probing look. "Why the f*ck do you need to know that..." he mumbled quietly.

"Just answer the question, *sshole," Jin Goo kicked Hyuk's leg with annoyance. He needed to know whether he should punch Hyuk lightly or beat the sh*t out of him.

"..." Hyuk cleared his throat awkwardly, his ears burning. He understood that Jin Goo probably asked about it out of concern for Yeo Ri, but it was still embarrassing to speak openly. "Just... kissing... and stuff like that..."

"Hey, be more clear," Jin Goo frowned. 'And stuff like that'? What stuff? Should he take out his long-unused baseball bat?

"And hold hands, I guess," Hyuk coughed. He hated how he was acting like some kind of virgin. It wasn't like he had never hooked up with a girl before. Why he was feeling embarrassed about such innocent things was beyond him.

"And? Did you sleep with her?" Jin Goo asked bluntly.

""Hey!""

Both In Guk and Hyuk jumped angrily.

"How can you ask that? Do you think I'm some kind of monster? How old do you think Yeo Ri is?!" Hyuk shot back angrily. He raised his hand and balled it, looking as if he was about to hit Jin Goo. But thankfully, he managed to stop himself. The rational part of him told him to calm down and with some difficulty, he did.

"So you haven't?" Jin Goo raised an eyebrow. Deep inside, he heaved a breath of relief. It seems like he didn't need that bat.

"No, and I won't!" Hyuk growled, his expression darkening. "Besides, I doubt Yeo Ri would want to..." he quietly muttered to himself.

"What did you say?"

"Nothing, you—" Hyuk was about to swear again, but he stopped himself. He was in the wrong and he shouldn't pointlessly add aggro to himself. He cleared his throat, repeating, "nothing."

"By the way, how long has... this been going on?" Jin Goo asked. He was curious if it had been a recent thing or a long-kept secret. He doubted it was the latter, seeing how terrible they were at hiding their relationship. Anyone could find out if they stumble upon them at any time at all, really.

"Not long," Hyuk looked down, awkwardly rubbing his neck. "From the time I got hospitalised."

"Not long?!" In Guk exclaimed. It had been a few weeks since he was hospitalised. How was that not long? "Oi, Lee Hyuk, you—!"

"Calm down, In Guk!" Jin Goo glared at the other man.

In Guk begrudgingly shut his mouth, frowning. He glowered at Hyuk.

"And how did it start? What changed?"

"..." Hyuk's eyebrows creased. His mind flashed back to that awful memory. Even now, he could still remember that feeling of powerlessness and helplessness as he watched Yeo Ri getting violated.

Suddenly seeing Hyuk's expression turning grim, Jin Goo knew that there was something wrong.

"...Did something happen to Yeo Ri?" Jin Goo slowly asked. He felt like he knew the answer, but he needed the confirmation.

"Yeo Ri..." Hyuk squeezed out her name painfully. "Yeo Ri, she..."

"What is it?" Jin Goo leaned in.

"That b*stard... he raped her."

Hyuk gritted his teeth as he spoke the words. A flash of hatred crossed his eyes. His body trembled with the need for revenge. He would never forgive that man for ruining Yeo Ri's innocence and taking away her chastity.

"W-what?"

Both In Guk and Jin Goo was startled. Their hearts skipped a beat at the unexpected news. They knew that Lee Do Joon was an abuser, but they had never expected him to sexually abuse Yeo Ri.

She was his daughter, wasn't she?

How could he do that, to his own daughter?

"H-how... w-what?" In Guk stuttered. This knowledge was more shocking and painful as compared to when he found out about Hyuk and Yeo Ri's relationship.

"W-why?"

"How the f*ck could I know? Yeo Ri said he was drunk," Hyuk glared at the wall.

"Ha!" In Guk scoffed hatefully. "What a great family! The brother sees her as a woman, and the father rapes her! Like father, like son, I see!" In Guk couldn't stop himself from blurting those words. After saying them, though, he felt immensely regretful. How could he say such a mean thing to his best friend?

"..." Hyuk looked away, not refuting In Guk's words. Perhaps blood is truly thicker than water. He could recall the few times he had shamefully fantasised about Yeo Ri. Perhaps he was really as sick in the head as that man.

"Hey! Stop it, In Guk!" Jin Goo sighed. At this rate, their friendship might end up broken.

In Guk shifted uneasily. He didn't really mean what he said and had only said them in the spur of the moment. "Sorry, Hyuk. I didn't mean what I said," he quietly apologised. "Sorry."

"...It's fine," Hyuk smiled with self-derision. "It's true, after all."

"Shouldn't we report this to the police?" Jin Goo remarked.

"Sure. He'll go to jail for a few years, and then what?" Hyuk mockingly laughed. "When he comes out, he'll just repeat everything all over again. And what about Yeo Ri? I'm basically homeless, without a stable income. If the court says I'm not legible to take care of Yeo Ri, then she'll get sent away to some orphanage or another. I'd rather take her with me first before anybody takes her away from me."

"..." Jin Goo sighed. Disregarding Hyuk's blatant distaste for the higher authorities, it was clear that he had given the situation a lot of thought. It surprised him to find out another side of Hyuk that was so thoughtful.

The three fell into another bout of silence. After letting the tension run so high, Jin Goo decided to call it a day and retired to bed. Then, Hyuk and In Guk followed suit, letting their discussion end with an unresolved note.

Yeo Ri, the main topic of their discussion, remained blissfully unaware of what transpired on the floor above her.