Content Warning: This chapter contains scenes of sexual assault, physical violence, and family abuse that some readers may find distressing.
The weekend was near the beginning of the summer vacation. Eun Shin had to get ready to visit Jae Vin and his mother, Seum Tae, at their mansion. She was reluctant, suspecting something felt off. Why didn't her mother care that Yung Ji wasn't coming? What was she really planning? Jae Vin's family had always wanted to meet Yung Ji and get in his favor. Why was it just Eun Shin this time?
The uneasy feeling lingered. Eun Shin picked up her phone, then glanced at Lim Rin, who stood by the driveway, waiting for their chauffeur. Eun Shin turned back to see if Yung Ji was around, but sadly, he had already left for work. She frowned, hoping this was the best choice to make. She hit send and followed Lim Rin into the car.
Seung Jee stared at his phone screen.
Eun Shin: "Meet me here. Don't go to the front door. Go to the side of the house to the left and enter the side house."
Seung Jee didn't understand why Eun Shin sent that message. However, he bolted to his room, changed, and then rushed out the door, grabbing a taxi to the address. It took about 30 minutes for Seung Jee to arrive.
He looked around the front of the house. The gates stood open, but no one came to greet him. Not a sound. Not a servant in sight. Seung Jee felt something was off. A mansion without servants—quiet, but wide open for visitors. He looked at his phone again, reading Eun Shin's message, then turned toward the side of the house and walked along the sidewalk that led to the side house.
A scream pierced the quiet mansion. Eun Shin.
Seung Jee's heart seized.
He ran. He kicked the door open.
Jae Vin pinned her down, his hands clawing at her clothes as she kicked and screamed.
"Stop! Don't—get off me!" she cried, staggering as her strength gave out. Tears fell as she felt helpless to stop him. Seung-oppa. Please. Come! Help me!
Seung Jee's voice rang out, breaking through her desperation.
"Eun Shin, are you okay?" Seung Jee asked. Eun Shin froze. The sight of Seung Jee's face, worried, breathless, stabbed through her. He had come. He trusted her. He had come without a second thought, trusting her call. She cried and hugged him. However, Jae Vin glared at Seung Jee and punched him to the ground. Eun Shin gasped.
"Seung-oppa!" she screamed, running to Seung Jee. Jae Vin pushed her down and started punching Seung Jee more for ruining the moment and entering their lives.
This loser keeps butting into our damn lives. You better die today. Learn to stay the hell away from me!
Jae Vin kept hitting, and Eun Shin knew she was powerless alone. She looked around frantically, searching for something. Anything! A vase. She quickly grabbed it and slammed it on Jae Vin's head. Jae Vin fell down unconscious. Eun Shin panted, breath ragged, as she slapped Seung Jee's cheek, begging him to wake.
"Seung-oppa… Please," she said, hugging him tightly. Eun Shin grabbed Seung Jee's phone and dialed 119.
"119, what's your emergency?"
"I need help… He tried to… he tried to rape me. My friend… he's hurt. Please, send someone, now!" Eun Shin explained as best as possible.
Lim Rin and Seum Tae stormed into the side house after realizing that the door was wide open. Seum Tae glared at Eun Shin, realizing that she was holding Seung Jee and the phone next to her ear. Then she frantically looked around. Jae Vin was on the ground behind her, unconscious with the broken vase beside him. Eun Shin trembled, looking behind her, then returned her gaze to the two mothers.
"What happened?" Seum Tae asked, seething with her anger. Eun Shin cried.
"Please. Mother, help. Please help Seung-oppa and have Jae Vin arrested for trying to–"
"How dare you accuse him of anything? Don't you see how much he loves you? Who is he, anyway?" Lim Rin asked, glaring at Seung Jee. Eun Shin clutched onto Seung Jee tighter.
"Where were you? He tried to… he tried to hurt me, Mother…" she asked. Lim Rin scoffed.
"Madam Lee, I'm truly sorry for my daughter's rude behavior. I didn't expect this to happen," Lim Rin said, ignoring Eun Shin's plea. Seum Tae clenched her fists.
"Call the police right now! Take him to jail!" Seum Tae demanded. Eun Shin screamed.
"No! If you take him to jail, your son will go too! Your son is a rapist!" Eun Shin argued. Lim Rin and Seum Tae stared at her intently, speechless at her defiance.
"You—"
"I will call my father and tell him everything!" Eun Shin yelled, trembling but forcing herself to take the stand, panting. Lim Rin then started to feel powerless. She pondered.
"Madam, maybe we should look the other way for today…"
"Ma'am, are you there?" the dispatcher on the phone asked. Eun Shin turned to the phone and was ready to speak. Lim Rin ran to her and snatched the phone away.
"She's confused. I'm sorry, it's nothing, just a misunderstanding. She is quite delusional. Please forgive me for having her say such nonsense to you. Goodbye," Lim Rin answered, then she hung up the phone. Lim Rin threw the phone straight down in front of Eun Shin. Eun Shin froze, speechless about what she had just seen. Her own mother.
"Mother…" she called out lowly, feeling numb.
"How can you call yourself my daughter? Boys are just being boys. Stop crying. Clean yourself up. We're leaving," Lim Rin demanded. Eun Shin panted heavier and unsteadily.
"Mo… Seung-oppa…" she murmured, feeling nauseated from the chaos.
"If you don't say a thing about this, I won't punish that child. The moment you say a single word, I'll make sure that boy won't get out of jail," Seum Tae threatened. Eun Shin started shaking, closing her eyes and slowly nodding.
"Just please… Take him to the hospital…" she cried, whispering her plea. Seum Tae scoffed and stormed out of the room. On Seum Tae's way out, she demanded that her chauffeur take Seung Jee to the nearest hospital, but Lim Rin did it instead. Eun Shin wouldn't let Seung Jee go, so she followed them to the hospital until Seung Jee rested on the gurney.
Lim Rin groaned as Eun Shin returned to the car, annoyed that they had to go there together. As Eun Shin sulked in the car, Lim Rin turned to her with a sour look.
"You are not to speak about this to your father. Not a single word! Do you understand?" Lim Rin demanded. Eun Shin stared at her, baffled by the repulsive words. However, Eun Shin knew too well that if she chose to speak to her father about everything, then her family would have become a broken family.
"As long as you promised to stop hurting my friends… I won't," Eun Shin argued. Lim Rin glared at her.
"Yeah. That's what Madam Lee said," Lim Rin replied. Eun Shin closed her eyes tightly, her hands trembling.
"Then… okay," she whispered, hesitating. Lim Rin crossed her arms and scoffed.
"Drive home…" Lim Rin demanded the chauffeur. Eun Shin stared at the window, feeling alone and lost in the world. How could a mother do this to her own child? However, asking this question was more of a compliment to her mother than a bashful statement. Eun Shin silently cried to herself before they reached home.
As they returned home, Eun Shin stormed to her room, locking away everyone. She slammed herself onto the bed, crying heavily, screaming as loudly as possible. Yung Ji appeared from the office and noticed how Lim Rin ran to the master bedroom. He walked to Eun Shin's room and knocked softly.
"Eunnie, is everything alright?" he asked. Eun Shin sniffled and sat at the edge of the bed,
"I'm… I'm just tired… I'm going to nap," she answered, lying. Yung Ji didn't pry and nodded.
"Okay. If you need anything, let me know," he said genuinely. Eun Shin let out a smile.
"Okay… Thanks, abeoji," she replied. Yung Ji sighed in frustration, sensing an eerie vibe from the return. However, he shook it off and returned to the office. Eun Shin heard the door close and lay back down on the bed. She looked at her phone.
Jae Vin:
"Can we talk?
Please…
I didnt mean to hurt you…
Eun Shin, I promise to be a better bf for you
Answer me…
What does that stutter boy have that I dont"
Eun Shin gasped as she tried to remain calm. She locked her phone and stared at the window, thinking of many possible things that she could do to let the world stop feeling hurt. She closed her eyes…
"My place is always open for you if you need a place to hide," Seung Jee said. Eun Shin started whimpering, hugging her pillow tightly from recalling these words from him.
"I'm sorry… I…" she cried to herself. "You got hurt because of me… This time, I will protect you. I… I don't want to lose you."
As the night was near, in the hospital room, the steady hiss of the oxygen tank filled the silence. The mysterious woman stepped into the room, glaring at Seung Jee's body. Kim Soo, beside the bed, turned around and surprisingly bowed.
"Madam… I…" she sobbed. The woman stepped forward.
"Who did this to my son?" the woman asked angrily. Kim Soo wept.
"He said that he went to visit a friend… I didn't know he would be in the hospital like this… Madam, please, give me another chance to protect him. I will make sure he's safe. I…" she paused. The door opened again. This time, an elderly man in a wheelchair strolled in. The woman turned around and glared at him.
"What brings you here, old man?" she asked. The elder man scoffed.
"Back here again, is he? Weakness seems to run in him like blood. When will you raise him to be stronger? That boy? Still proving he's not fit to lead," he said. The woman clenched her fists.
"If you come here to speak like this, I would like you to leave. I will no longer tolerate how you treat my son! He deserves a better family!" she screamed. The elder man laughed hysterically, then coughed.
"Better family? What's the point of being my grandson when he's this weak? You better not use my money in raising this pathetic child," he demanded. The woman blocked the view of Seung Jee's body.
"So what if I do? Kick me out, too, then. You'll have no one else to take the company. Oppa died a long time ago, caring for him. What will you do if I don't take your company? Then feed it to the dogs. At least they don't call your grandson pathetic," she threatened. The elderly man groaned, glaring at the woman.
"You don't need to mention Sang Kang…" he looked away. The woman exhaled sharply as she turned to look at Seung Jee.
"Oppa really adored him… Although Oppa didn't have a child yet, they acted like father and son. My son isn't weak, so stop belittling him," she declared, softening up. The elder man took a deep breath and shook his head.
"Tell him that I don't have much longer to live… Then tell him to return home. I won't bother him anymore," he said, then exited the hospital room solemnly. The woman frowned, then she walked to sit beside Seung Jee.
"What was that young lady's name?" she asked. Kim Soo gulped and bowed hesitantly.
"Madam… She's a good friend to him. A dear friend. Are—"
"Tell me her name now," she commanded. Kim Soo nodded, trembling.
"Park Eun Shin…" Kim Soo replied. Seung Jee's finger started twitching, eyes rolling around while closed.
"Eun Shin…" he mumbled as softly as possible. Everything blurred, slowly fading to white.
Seung Jee looked at his hands, panicking.
"Am I… dead?" he asked himself. He looked around. The room was bright, blinding white on all four walls. However, there was a figure from afar. Seung Jee squinted his eyes, trying to figure out who it was. He stumbled forward, the figure pulling him in like a silent beacon. As he got closer, the figure turned around and smiled.
"Eun Shin?" he called. He then ran to her, but each step only widened the distance. Seung Jee started to panic, trying to reach her.
"Eun Shin!" he shouted. However, he couldn't get to her, and suddenly—
A truck was running towards Eun Shin. Seung Jee froze, hyperventilating, the memory of that day shut his world into darkness. He looked at his trembling hands. They were small hands of a six-year old. Seung Jee looked up, and everything was white again. No Eun Shin. No truck. However, he felt eerily cold as he slowly turned around to look behind him. A bloody man on the ground, reaching his hand at Seung Jee with a woman who had a big belly.
"You're… safe…"
Seung Jee opened his eyes and realized that it was just a dream. He panted as he tried to sit up. Kim Soo entered the room and saw Seung Jee awake. She cried and hugged him tightly. Seung Jee chuckled nervously.
"Omma…" he whispered. Kim Soo sniffled.
"You're awake… Thank goodness. What happened to you?" she asked worriedly. Seung Jee avoided looking at her and nodded.
"I…"
The door opened. The mysterious woman entered the room, looking at him sternly. Seung Jee's demeanor changed into subtle resentment.
"Who did this to you? Was it Park Eun Shin?" she asked firmly. Seung Jee's hands trembled as he panted.
"What do you want now?" he snapped, not meeting her eyes. The woman took a deep sigh as she tried to remain calm.
"Hal-abeoji had asked you to return home… So—"
"I don't want to. That place… I'd rather stay here… with Eun Shin. Now leave," he demanded as he lay down and looked at the window, covering himself with the blanket as he fought back the tears. Her jaw tightened. She understood that he wasn't going to say another word. She sighed and then left the room.