Release From Hell

Back to Reality

Yoonbum was starting to feel increasingly anxious. The detail and realistic feeling of this whole thing was making him second guess himself. He had begun to suspect this wasn't a dream. As soon as this thought crossed his mind, he realized how absurd he was being. Of course this wasn't real: there was no way it could be. Once he saw how silly he was being, Yoonbum laughed out loud.
"This sure is one hell of a dream. Look, I'm not trying to be rude but this is really messing with my head so if you could leave me alone I think I'll wake up now."
Seungbae stared at him like he had three heads. After a minute of awkward silence, Seungbae seemed to realize something. All the confusion drained out of his face and he adopted a serious, strained expression. He ran his hand through his hair and sighed deeply.
"Yoonbum... you've just gone through some really traumatizing stuff. I think you're trying to deny the truth so you don't have to face it. Um, it's not... this isn't a dream, Yoonbum. This is real. All of it."
Yoonbum stared at him blankly. That wasn't true. It couldn't be. There was no way after everything that had happened that Yoonbum could have escaped. He looked down at his lap and, barely whispering, he addressed Seungbae:
"Prove it."
Seungbae sighed and pulled out his phone. He began scrolling and at the same time started to talk.
"In the basement of the house were numerous weapons and restraints. There was evidence that some violent acts had taken place, in addition to a body we recovered. He had short black hair and was slightly overweight. He was found next to a pile of bloodied playing cards and a knife. This is the basement how we saw it last."
He turned the phone to Yoonbum. Yoonbum immediately recognized the stairs and the chains that had kept him trapped down there. However, this picture showed the entire basement in the light. Yoonbum had never seen the whole basement because it had always been too dark. This paired with Seungbae's description of the man Sangwoo had brought home from the bar and murdered left him no way of denying the truth. Everything Seungbae had said, the little information he remembered from before he had fell unconscious, all of it made sense. It was all real. Yoonbum had really escaped and he was sitting safely in a hospital surrounded by people who would protect him. After sitting in complete silence for what seemed like an eternity, all of this hit Yoonbum like a brick wall. His breathing grew faster and more laboured. Tears started to stream from his eyes until he was outright sobbing. His body shook with each ragged breath. Seungbae was relieved to see a normal reaction from Yoonbum. As much as he knew it must hurt, he also knew he had to accept the truth if he was going to move on. Surprising even himself, Yoonbum threw his arms around Seungbae, sobbing into his chest. Seungbae was taken aback, but almost immediately hugged him back, patting his shoulder reassuringly.
"It's okay. It's all over now. You're safe and he's gone. He's gone and he's never coming back."
Yoonbum cried until he couldn't stand to keep his eyes open anymore. Then, Seungbae pushed him gently down onto the bed and pulled the blanket up over him. Just as Yoonbum was about to fall asleep, he thought of one last thing:
"Will you stay?"
Seungbae turned to him and smiled, looking tired,
"I'm not going anywhere. Trust me, you're not getting rid of me for a long time."
Yoonbum nodded and immediately fell back asleep, knowing he would wake up right where he was. Seungbae sighed, gazing worriedly at Yoonbum's sleeping face. He knew things were going to be difficult for Yoonbum. During the trial, the courts would almost definitely make him testify. Seungbae couldn't imagine having to relive the whole experience. Hopefully he would be able to keep Yoonbum anonymous in the media. The last thing he needed was to be the center of all the attention this case was sure to get. Just as he was about to stand and leave, the nurse who had talked to him in the emergency room entered.
"How'd it go?"
Seungbae stood and leaned his back against the wall. He gestured for her to sit in the chair and she did.
"It sure as hell wasn't boring. He denied everything at first. Seemed to think this whole thing was a dream."
She nodded like she knew exactly what he was talking about.
"That makes sense. When I came to check in on him this morning he was acting very strangely. He seemed too calm."
"Yeah. I showed him some of the evidence from the scene and that seemed to jog his memory. Obviously he was very upset. I can only imagine what happened to him there. The next couple of months aren't going to be easy for him. I'm going to try to make it as painless as possible, but at the very least he's going to have to tell someone everything."
The nurse nodded sadly.
"Well he'll be in good hands here. We'll make sure he gets all patched up. I'm counting on you to handle all the legal details."
"Don't worry, I want to keep him safe as much as you do. By the way, since we'll probably be talking a lot, what's your name?"
She stared at him dumbfounded, then laughed. Seungbae was wondering what could be so funny when she pointed to the name tag on her shirt. Seungbae blushed, feeling stupid. The tag read Soo Jung. Laughing off his mistake, Seungbae shook her hand and they exchanged goodbyes. Exiting out into the hall, Seungbae began the trek back to the main lobby. It was just past dinner time, and he knew everyone back at the station would be heading home soon. As he walked, he pulled out his phone and dialed Nam Gi's phone number. She picked up on the second ring and Seungbae launched right into his story, telling her everything that had just happened. She told him they had just sent their report of the case i to the court and that the case would most likely begin within a month. Until then, she said, Sangwoo had been taken to a secure prison in the area. There was no chance he would ever be free again.
"There's one thing I want to ask you. Yoon- the victim is clearly very traumatized from all this. I think it would be best for him if we kept him anonymous and, if it's possible, I don't think he should go to the court in person. He shouldn't have to face Sangwoo again."
"Yang... we can definitely make sure they don't show his face or name, but I don't know... we'd have to write an appeal to the judge to see if he would even allow him to testify without physically going. But... if that's what you want, I'll do it."
"Thanks so much Nam. I really appreciate it."
And with that, he hung up and walked out the front door towards his car.