34 Love and More Lies (2/2)

”The f*ck are you doing? It's not like she died. Pipe the f*ck down, sh*thead,” Hyuk grumbled. If only he wasn't hurt; he would have ripped the boy's arms away from Yeo Ri.

Yeo Ri smiled wryly. ”I keep telling you, I'm really fine, Oppa.”

Gun finally released Yeo Ri, but continued to hold her hand. ”Just what happened? Why did Dad hurt you?”

”I—I—” Yeo Ri stuttered. It was bad enough that Hyuk found out. She didn't want Gun to suffer the same fate as Hyuk. Yeo Ri lowered her head, refusing to answer.

”Hyung?” Gun's gaze turned to Hyuk. Since Yeo Ri refused to answer, he could only rely on Hyuk.

”...” Hyuk looked away. If Yeo Ri didn't want to tell somebody else, then he wouldn't too. It was her story to tell, not his. His eyes darkened. Hyuk suddenly felt like he wouldn't mind becoming a murderer after remembering the traumatic scene again.

'Poor Yeo Ri,' he thought. 'My poor sister.' What did she ever do to deserve such terrible things?

”Hyung?” Gun called him again, pressing for answers.

”...He was drunk,” Hyuk lied. ”No one else was home so he targeted Yeo Ri.”

Yeo Ri shot Hyuk a relieved look.

Gun narrowed his eyes. Something still felt wrong. Hyuk's explanation was brief. Too short. But because it was Hyuk, Gun tried to shake off the feeling. Hyuk never liked talking to him, so his answers were usually just as short.

”But Hyung, why were you home so early?”

”...” Hyuk shifted uncomfortably. He coughed, ”...I got fired.”

”Again?” Yeo Ri exclaimed exasperatedly. Who knew how many times he had changed jobs in the past year alone.

Hyuk glowered at her tone. ”That's enough; I'm tired. Go away,” he says, turning away from the two. Was it his fault that he always had bad bosses? It was In Guk's fault for introducing him to sh*tty workplaces, he concluded. After shifting the blame to In Guk, he felt better. He closed his eyes, pretending to sleep.

Yeo Ri and Gun exchanged glances, smiling wryly.

”Okay, Oppa. We'll be around,” Yeo Ri helped drape the blanket on him properly, then left the ward with Gun. Since Hyuk seemed like he was going to go to sleep, she felt that it was best to not bother him.