✓LOVER BOY | hwang hyunjin

38. Night Of Horrors

Yeseul was restless. Despite not seeing or hearing from Hwang Hyunjin for seven whole days and 6 hours, she couldn't escape the rising tides of her heart. She longed to be beside him. She wanted to stay away from him. If she could be a character, her readers might not have enjoyed her indecisive nature at the moment.

Her phone was almost detonated from the amount of messages she had been receiving. Every single bell means another pang of butterflies erupting inside her. She barely could handle the shame. She had been hitting her head, and biting her fingernails every single time she was reminded of the awfully sappy things Sam had to witness. He already must have known who she meant when she was writing tales and poems for the one and only at ungodly hours.

Hyunjin was Sam. This was her breakfast and her bedtime pill.

Hyunjin on the other hand. . . He couldn't help but find the whole situation hilarious. It was funny, until Yeseul didn't reply to him even after the understandable distance of three days. His overthinking did take the upper hand when Yeseul quit her volunteering at the flower shop via email. Was she sick? Did she hate him? Did Hyunjin do something terrible?

Jeongin was the mediator. He would have his daily two hour session with his friend. He heard it all. He provided solutions. They were declined abruptly. Jeongin heard about the online friendship, Jinho and her's camping, them meeting Hyunjin's Grandma, and finally the nonsensical confession. Jeongin knew too much, but he wasn't sure if he was the right person to explain the story to her.

Yeseul didn't own the courage to face Hyunjin at the moment either. So they only were left with one option. Soji. Hyunjin's sister.

Friday came. Hyunjin was busier than usual. Yeseul was under a mission that she couldn't back out of. She dressed up, and took a ride to the hospital. If she had thought she was the fool till then, her heart dropped further, and her crown of foolishness turned brighter when she entered the ward.

Soji looked familiar. Yeseul didn't even need another second to recognise her. All along Yeseul had thought she was Hyunjin's friend (more than a friend). She turned out to be his half sister. Humiliation had a limit, but the universe seemed to enjoy this unfurling moment a bit too much. Yeseul squealed out a hi.

Soji was undeniably lovely. She looked as pure as a pearl. The smile poured out of her like a nature that was flowing through her whole existence. Jeongin grinned hard, standing up to receive her. "I thought you'll never come."

Yeseul was red. She busied herself by taking off her blazer and placing it on a chair Jeongin set down for her. She took a seat, the static in the room eating her ears. Soji set down a book that she was reading. She glanced over at Jeongin, then back at her. "I heard a lot about you. How are you doing?"

"I'm doing lovely. How have you been? I've heard a lot about you too." She was cursing herself internally. I wish I died.

"Oh? That's really nice. I hope it was only nice things." Soji laughed. How the hell could someone laugh so prettily? Yeseul wondered. She looked at Jeongin who had heart eyes in his sight.

"Yes, of course!" Yeseul smiled brightly. She felt her stiffness melt away. "I'm sorry for bothering you today."

"No." Soji sat straighter. "You won't imagine how boring it gets to be here."

Time passed, the little talk died out. The chocolate cookies that were passed around were gone, and suddenly a solemn mood took over. Soji sighed. "So, you wanted to talk about... the accident?"

Yeseul felt her pulsating nervousness. She nodded. "If only you're comfortable."

Soji smiled. It didn't reach her eyes. "I haven't talked about it in years." She dusted off the crumbs from her lap. Jeongin excused himself. "Hyunjin did hurt me, but I knew he never intended to. We were dumb, and too full of life. We made bad decisions."

"Is the accident the cause of you..." Yeseul looked at Soji's legs that were folded under the duvet. She blinked her gaze to her shoes. She didn't own it to continue the sentence.

"Yes." Soji sighed. "Hyunjin was seventeen at that time. We two were with Jeongin at his uncle's place. His uncle is really well off. There was a huge party at his place. Us being the kids we were decided it would be funny to see each other's alcohol tolerance. I was a coward." Soji laughed softly. She couldn't hide away her grief even under her expressions. "I was the smart coward. I watched Hyunjin chug down the drink. We laughed like never before."

Yeseul could sense how terribly this was headed towards a bad end. She clenched her hands, digging fingernails in her palm.

"Jeongin's family friend was there. He was 21. He had a driving's license, and was there with us. He didn't drink, so we all agreed when he asked us to join him for a ride. Hyunjin seemed to hold the alcohol well till then. He did complain about a headache, but we didn't think much of it when we all jumped in the car, speeding off towards the deserted streets. Minjoon stopped at this place. He told us to wait for him. He had to get some work done inside. It was odd to think of what he could possibly want to do there at 1AM. Later it was confirmed to be the club where a fight between two gangs had taken place. We three were talking a bit too much over the loud music. Hyunjin and Jeongin suddenly was talking about Minjoon's car. Jeongin got out, and sat in the driver's seat. He was telling us how magical it felt to sit there." Soji shook her head. "This was when I noticed something off about Hyunjin. He was barely able to hold a conversation. Jeongin pulled him out of his seat and pushed him in the driver's seat. Boys being who they are, they started talking about the whole anatomy of the car. I was too tired to tune into what they were talking about. I remember hearing this ear piercing shot."

Soji stopped talked. She rubbed her hands together stressfully. Yeseul came closer, holding down her uneasy hands. "Hey, take it easy. Do you want to take a break?" Soji shook her head.

"I want to get this off of my chest." She took a deep breath in before continuing. "I didn't think much of it first. The music was so loud and the two guys wouldn't stop chattering. But the second shot was louder. I thought it was fireworks, but suddenly Minjoon came out running, shouting at us to start the engine. Hyunjin didn't even try to think clearly. He had already turned the key, and as Minjoon jumped in the backseat, a group of thugs came out, shouting. I saw them holding pistols. I couldn't move. I was frozen. There was so much chaos in the moment that Hyunjin drove blindly."

Soji suddenly broke out into tears. Yeseul felt sick. She didn't even think about it when she pulled the sobbing girl in her arms. Soji cried and shook. Yeseul couldn't hold back either. She had barely thought how dark this could get. Yeseul faced Soji, wiping her tears with her sleeves. "I'm so sorry. I feel so scared when I think of it." Soji's chest heaved. Yeseul took her hand in hers understandably. "I know. I can't imagine how you guys had to face this. I never had imagined."

Soji leaned back, resting against the headrest. She looked down, her eyes red rimmed. "Hyunjin was scared, and he was young. Minjoon kept shouting. He screamed they would shoot. This made Hyunjin to drive faster. We had an accident. The car... it was rammed into an electric pole. We were thrown out of our places. The impact was so hard, I broke my femur because of that. We all were admitted. I was unconscious for weeks. Grandma blamed Hyunjin for all of it. He was hurt too. Not only physically, but also emotionally. He was locked up for six months. Minjoon was freed soon after because of his status. Hyunjin was suspended from school, so he and Jeongin had to enrol in a new place. He was going through therapy. They said he had completely shut off after it. My parents didn't want Hyunjin to come any close to me. Everyone in the family blamed him for it. Except for his mother and me. It didn't change anything. It took a toll on me too. To not see my brother for so long. I begged them. In the worst ways, I made them let me see him. The first time we saw each other... he only cried. He kept apologising. He blamed himself for everything. It took too much to make him get out of that."

Soji looked over at Yeseul. "Grandma and my parents... they still believe my injuries should be blamed upon him. He is a good person. Hyunjin... He has a pure heart. Please don't leave his side."

That night Yeseul cried herself to bare exhaustion. By then Hyunjin knew his secrets were out.