Hidden Things and More Hidden Thoughts

That evening, Gun came home to an empty house.

"Yeo Ri?"

He looked around and checked everywhere, but the girl who was usually waiting for him at home was nowhere to be found.

" Lee Yeo Ri?"

Entering their room, he spotted the now-cold bowl of soup. He placed down his bag and examined the soup.

Yeo Ri had been sick so it was likely that Hyuk had been the one to buy this for her. Did he take her somewhere? The hospital? Had her condition turned for the worst?

His mind wandered aimlessly. Even the beddings were still laid out, he noticed. Usually, Yeo Ri would put it away or air it out in the sun during the day, but since she was sick these past few days, she hadn't done it in a while.

Gun sighed, feeling bad for Yeo Ri. His hands ran over Yeo Ri's sleeping area as he smoothed out the creases on the thin mattress. It was already late, and there was no point in folding the beddings up again since they were going to use them at night.

Suddenly, Gun felt a slight bump on Yeo Ri's beddings.

"...?" He curiously ran his hands on the same spot again, trying to determine what it was just based on touch. Then, as if trying to confirm his notion, he pulled up Yeo Ri's beddings.

"...!" A knife?!

Gun hastily grabbed the knife. This knife was so familiar... Wasn't it the one that Yeo Ri had said she threw away? Gun couldn't understand why she would lie about something like that. What did she need the knife for? Why would she hide it under her bed?

Could it be that... she found out about what that man did?

Gun took notice of the scratches on the wooden floor. They seemed to be too clean to have been made unintentionally. There were three scratches altogether, side by side. The leftmost mark was shallow, but the rightmost one was quite deep. It was as if someone had decided to stab the floor with all their strength. It couldn't be that Yeo Ri was trying to dull the knife, right?

Gun shook his head with a serious look. He didn't know what Yeo Ri needed the knife for but he could guess. However, a knife was too dangerous for Yeo Ri. He was afraid of her hurting herself with it, so he decided to put it away.

Gun wrapped the knife with a rarely-used handkerchief then stashed it inside the drawer on his study desk. Later, he'll get her some self-defence items.

A dark look crossed his eyes as he tightened his hands into fists. It seems like it was about time he made his move. While evidence were still insufficient, he could remedy it with time. If he just waited for that man to commit another 'mistake'...

Then, they would be free.

On his next birthday that was only in a few months' time, he would be considered as a legal adult, so all he needed to do was tie up all his evidence together before that. Then, he'd be old enough to be Yeo Ri's legal guardian. In that way, Yeo Ri wouldn't be separated from him.

Gun's knuckles turned white from the force of his tightened fists. Now that he's so close, he couldn't help but be excited.

"Patience," he told himself. Gun took a deep breath. He gave a final look towards the wrapped-up knife before closing the drawer. "Don't worry, my baby. If there's anyone who's going to get their hands dirty, it'll be me."

Gun changed out of his school uniform and decided to give Hyuk a call. But, just as usual, the man did not pick up on the first try. Gun frowned, thinking, 'can't that b*stard ever answer my calls?'

"Whatever. I'll try again in a bit." Gun sighed. He walked out of the room, intending to find something to eat. In his hand, he was still holding his phone, and in the other was the cold bowl of soup which he placed in the fridge. When he finished eating a simple meal of rice and dried laver, he tried calling Hyuk again.

The call was picked up.

"Gun-oppa?"

"Yeo Ri!" Gun exclaimed. He was relieved that Yeo Ri was really with Hyuk. "Where are you? Why aren't you at home?"

"I'm—We're—at the hospital," Yeo Ri stuttered.

"Hospital? Did something happen? How's your fever?"

"I'm fine... it's Hyuk-oppa. He came out of surgery a few hours ago but he's fine now."

"...Surgery?"

"He... he was... protecting me. Oppa tried to protect me from... from..." Yeo Ri's words halted.

Gun didn't need to know the full sentence to figure out what might have happened. His eyes sharpened and he locked his jaw. "Don't tell me... did Dad try to hurt you? Did that man do something to you?!"

"Oppa..." Yeo Ri sniffed, her voice sounded sad and wronged.

"I'll come as soon as possible, okay?"

"Okay..."

He immediately hung up and got up to get ready. His eyes drifted to the locked door of his father's room.

There was vengeance in his eyes but he kept himself in check. In the future, that man will be destroyed by him; destroyed to the point of no return.