Chapter 117
Ye jun
Meanwhile Si Woo acted like nothing was wrong. He came home from wherever he disappeared to during the day and tried to corner me every night. One time he pinned me against the kitchen counter while I was grabbing water and kissed right over the biggest hickey on my neck.
"Still mad about your little hospital trip?" he muttered against my skin. His hand slid down my back way too familiar. "You look like shit but these marks look good. My favorite color on you."
I shoved him off harder than usual. "Not now Si Woo. I feel like crap."
He just laughed that mean little huff and let me go but his eyes stayed on me the whole time like he knew something was up. "Whatever. You’ll come crawling back like always."
I hated how right he usually was. But this time I stayed away. Locked my door at night. Ignored his texts until he stopped sending the crude ones and started with the annoyed ones like "the fuck is your problem".
On the third day Ohm finally got a hold of me for real. I was sitting on the couch staring at the wall when my phone rang and his name popped up. I almost didn’t answer but the guilt won again so I picked up.
"Ye Jun what the hell ," he said right away no hello or anything. His voice sounded stronger than in the hospital but pissed. "I’ve been texting you nonstop. You said you’d help and then you just vanish? I get you’re sick but this is bullshit."
I rubbed my eyes which still felt raw. "Sorry. Fever’s been kicking my ass for real this time. Not just the onion thing. What do you need?"
There was a pause like he was trying not to snap. "I need you to come by tomorrow so we can go over the evidence again. I printed some stuff out. The doctors say I can go home soon but I want this handled before I do."
My stomach dropped. Evidence. The stuff I kinda sorta gave to Si Woo when he showed up at the hospital acting all concerned brother. He had said he wanted to help look into it for me. "Yeah sure," I lied again. "Tomorrow works."
"Good. "
I froze.
Ohm kept talking but I barely heard him. "Ye Jun you there? You sound weird."
"Yeah I’m here," I said too fast. "Just tired. We’ll sort it tomorrow okay?"
We hung up and I sat there feeling the walls close in. Later that night Si Woo came home earlier than usual. He found me in the kitchen eating cereal straight from the box because cooking felt impossible.
"You look like you saw a ghost," he said leaning in the doorway with that smirk. "Ohm called you again? Your little boyfriend is getting needy?"
"Shut up," I snapped without thinking. The words came out sharper than I planned. "He’s not my boyfriend and this isn’t funny Si Woo. Someone tried to kill him."
He shrugged like we were talking about the weather. "People get shot every day. Sucks for him."
I slammed the cereal box down. "Did you do it? Just tell me straight for once."
Si Woo’s eyes went cold for a second then he laughed. "You really asking me that? After everything? Wow Ye Jun. Your fever must have fried your brain."
He stepped closer and I backed up until my butt hit the counter. "I saw the messages. The payments. It all points to you."
"Points to me or points to someone who wants it to look like me?" He reached out and tugged the collar of my shirt down exposing the hickeys. "You believe some hospital pictures over your own brother? Cute."
I slapped his hand away. "Don’t touch me. Not right now."
He didn’t listen. Just crowded me more until his body was pressed against mine. "You love when I touch you. Stop pretending you don’t. And stop playing detective. It doesn’t suit you."
We went back and forth like that for what felt like hours. Him denying everything in that mocking tone. Me yelling questions that got weaker each time because part of me didn’t want the real answer. He ended up kissing me anyway and for a stupid minute I let him because it was easier than thinking. But then I pushed him off and locked myself in my room again.
The next morning Ohm called way too early. His voice was different this time. Not just pissed. Cold.
"Ye Jun. We need to talk. Now."
I sat up in bed still half asleep. "What’s wrong? You okay?"
"No I’m not okay. The printed evidence I had? Gone. Someone took it from my room last night. And guess what? I checked the money trail again. The guy who actually pulled the trigger? Some random thug Si Woo paid off big time to take the fall. It’s all there if you know where to look. But you already knew that didn’t you?"
My heart started hammering so loud I could hear it in my ears. "What? No I didn’t..."
"Cut the shit," Ohm cut in. He sounded hurt under the anger and that made my chest ache worse than anything. "You gave the evidence to Si Woo. You told me you’d help and then you handed everything straight to him so he could destroy it and pin it on someone else. I trusted you man. I thought we were in this together."
"I didn’t mean to," I said but the words sounded lame even to me. My voice cracked. "He said he wanted to help. I was confused okay? Everything’s so fucked up right now."
Ohm let out this bitter laugh that didn’t sound like him at all. "Confused. Right. You’re not confused Ye Jun. You’re just a sucker for your brother. He fucks you up, and you still run back every time. I saw the way you looked at the hospital. Pathetic."
Tears stung my eyes again and this time I didn’t blink them back. "That’s not fair. You don’t know what it’s like."
"I know enough," he said quieter now but still hard. "You chose him. Again. Even after he almost killed me. Hope those marks were worth it."
The line went dead before I could say anything else. I dropped the phone on the bed and just stared at the wall. My whole body felt numb then hot then cold all at once. I wanted to laugh because how ridiculous was this? Me crying over my stepbrother who might be a criminal while my friend called me a sucker. But the laugh turned into a sob and I curled up hugging my knees because it hurt too much.
Si Woo knocked on my door a few minutes later. "You alive in there? I heard you talking."
I didn’t answer. Just pulled the blanket over my head and tried to disappear. Outside the door he sighed like I was the annoying one.
"Fine. Ignore me. But we both know you’ll tell me everything later when you can’t handle it alone."
His footsteps walked away and I stayed under the blanket shaking. The hickeys throbbed like they were alive reminding me whose I was. Ohm’s words kept replaying in my head. Sucker for your brother. He was right. I was. And that scared me more than any gun or evidence or hospital beeps ever could.
Because if Si Woo really did it, what did that make me for still wanting him anyway? And if he didn’t, then I just betrayed the one person who never treated me like shit. Either way I was screwed. And the worst part? Deep down I already knew which way I’d probably go when it all blew up.