Chapter 92

As she blankly stared at the hand, she saw another hand reached out in her peripheral vision to place a business card on the table. Only then did Na-Yool fully look behind her.

Si-Jin, and a total stranger. Her eyes flickered with confusion.

“Ms. Kim Na-Yool strongly wishes for criminal prosecution, so you may proceed as such. We will proceed on our side with the civil lawsuit against Mr. Lee Sang-Hoon. Ah, and also…”

The attorney’s voice flowed in Na-Yool’s ears like a dream. Meanwhile, Si-Jin’s fingers came close to the burst corner of her lips, almost grazing it before retracting.

“You don’t need to stay here any longer.”

Then, his low and warm voice fell over her head.

Before Na-Yool realized it, the attorney was sitting in her place. After stepping aside Na-Yool briefly observed the situation from afar, then walked away with Si-Jin’s arm wrapped around her shoulders. Sang-Hoon, still putting on his good-natured act, looked at them with hateful eyes.

He was sitting much closer to the entrance door. When they passed next to him, Si-Jin took a few steps in his direction and, leaning over Sang-Hoon’s shoulder, whispered something. Of course, it lasted only an instant.

Putting aside her disgust for him, Na-Yool looked with perplexity at Sang-Hoon’s face turning blue in a flash. But Si-Jin wrapped his arm back around her shoulders, and they left the office of the Women & Juvenile Affairs Division.

Na-Yool was still looking at him with puzzled eyes. He shrugged one shoulder as he gave her an answer.

“I think you can look forward to it.”

It can’t be all. Na-Yool narrowed her eyes as though asking for the whole truth, and Si-Jin elaborated with a sigh.

“I said I will cut his dick off.”

“……”

She knew he was full of nonsense, but to that extent?! Sang-Hoon’s choked-up reaction came to memory, and Na-Yool was convinced.

“You mean… figuratively, right?”

A quick confirmation, just in case. Si-Jin briefly glanced at her like asking if it mattered, then nodded with a softened attitude.

“Sure. Figuratively.”

It became clearer that, contrary to his answer, it was more than an analogy.

But rather than blindly speculate, Na-Yool quietly observed him. She indeed realized that, before cozily debating whether he meant to socially or physically cut Sang-Hoon off, there were a few missed points they must properly discuss first.

Not one, but 2 or 3.

“…How much did you hear about…? No,…” Na-Yool shook her head without letting Si-Jin the time to answer and continued. “Why are you… How come you are here?”

The ‘why’ was immediately corrected with a ‘how’, but in fact, both were no different. Let alone how her situation had reached his ears, she really could not figure out for what reason he was here.

She was stupefied.

Si-Jin stared at her for a moment like reading through her thoughts, before speaking up.

“Not much. I’ve only been told a few things.” He calmly dodged her second question and answered the first. “So you should tell me more about it. If it’s ok with you.”

“……”

“You’re probably not in the mood for it, do it later when you feel better. No rush. We’ve got all the time.”

“No, I am fine now. I am. I don’t have much to tell you, but…”

“You’re ‘fine’?”

In his questioning tone, the previous warmth had unmistakably grown colder. Feeling his gaze fixed on the burst corner of her mouth, Na-Yool muddle-headedly mumbled.

“You do not know the situation, that’s why… I know it looks bad, but it’s not. That is not what you think.”

“What do you think I am thinking of?”

“Like, the awful things that you always mentioned before, Mr. President. Those scary stories we hear on the news…”

“Ah, so you mean, your situation was not bad enough to become news material?”

“…Exact.”

If it was up to her, she would even pay to get the media’s headlines to destroy Sang-Hoon, but the reality was different. Since even the police kept saying it was a trivial issue, she now felt that speaking up about how traumatic an experience she had was shameful.

And maybe, she was afraid. Afraid that people would react like the detective, a ‘what’s the big deal anyway?’ look on their faces. Much more so if this person was no one else but Si-Jin…

The fact that he had been suspicious and continuously warned her, that he had rushed to the station for her sake regardless of how he heard about her situation, and that he even brought an attorney along in this short period — in the end, it did not prevent Na-Yool from shaking from apprehension.

A wretched feeling twinged her guts as she nodded, pretending it was nothing, like she did when she called Hyung-Wook a few hours ago. But no matter how bitter she felt, it was not as devastating as Si-Jin going to great lengths to come here, only to see her in this state.

She had committed no crime, yet why should she feel shameful? She recalled how Sang-Hoon nodded during the interrogation, appealing to his sincerity and uprightness with a straight-backed bearing that fellow men favorably approved. Like someone with absolutely nothing to be ashamed of. It was ironic.

Of course, even if it was someone other than Si-Jin, Na-Yool did not wish to be seen by any acquaintance. Such a miserable state, she could not bear for anyone she knew to witness it. As if the severity of physical assault and attempted rape was not enough, she got rebuffed by the police, who should have help her first thing. It was as if she was making stories up or was overreacting over a ‘trivial issue’.

To those who knew her and how she had lived a peaceful, normal life…

“How the hell do you set your standards?”

Standing in the middle of the hallway, facing each other, Si-Jin was the first to break the prolonged silence. And in the harshest tone he had ever used around her, no less.

“…What?”

“I’m asking if, to you, to get beaten by a man till your lips burst is no big deal?”

“……”

“Physical assault, sexual harassment.  You spat it all out yourself. To that freaking lunatic, you said so confidently that you would rather die than sign an agreement, so how come…”

…Yes, to those who knew her ordinary lifestyle, she refused to get exposed. Even more so in front of Si-Jin. If she exposed her weak self to the sole person that she wished she would never, she would be struck numb with humiliation. Like right now. Now that her lips injured by another man’s fist had been seen by him, Na-Yool was at a total loss at how to explain herself…

In the midst of her inner conflict, the tears burst out suddenly, and she had no time to hide them. Because in fact, Si-Jin had noticed them even before she cried. His lips moved as if about to swear, but no sound came out. His helpless hand froze in space for a moment, wavering to touch her cheek, and ultimately landed on her face.

“…I’m sorry.”

While apologizing out of the blue, Si-Jin was unskillfully wiping her tears with clumsy hands. This man, Kwon Si-Jin, was flustered. If Na-Yool had a notepad at hand, it was a moment to record for posterity. Of course, she would make sure to leave out the cause.

“What, what do you have to be sorry for, Mr. President.”

“It’s my fault. I did you wrong. So don’t cry like this.”

“…I’m sorry…It won’t stop…”

As Na-Yool slurred out an apology through sorrowful sobs, Si-Jin’s expression tensed up a little more. His hand that was cupping her face held the back of her neck and pulled her into his embrace.

“Then keep crying. Until you want to stop.”

“……”

“It’s okay.”

“……”

“I’m sorry I couldn’t come sooner.”

It was a strange thing. Ever since arriving at the police station she had not cried a single tear. But here she was, weeping. How was it possible? Completely dry when she had needed to cry, her now tearing eyes were probably defective. Na-Yool even doubted herself, wondering if she had wanted to play the pitiful card on this stonelike man to provoke his protective instinct. But she was not a well-versed actress enough to dare control her tear ducts deliberately.

Everything was real. The kind of realness that can never be concealed.