123 The Ugly Truth (1/2)

Detective Pyo cleared his throat awkwardly before he began. ”...Okay, let's start again. Miss Lee Yeo Ri?”

”Yes.”

”Can you describe what happened before the incident? It's okay, take your time. If it's too uncomfortable for you, you can just skip the question,” Detective Pyo gently said.

Detective Song shot him an incredulous look at the last part of his sentence. 'Hey, hey, hey! What do you mean, 'you can just skip it'?! You're supposed to get her to talk!' Detective Song fumed inwardly.

”...” Yeo Ri opened her mouth but did not speak. She glanced at Gun. She knew that he would also be hurt from the words she was about to say. Yeo Ri knew that she was not the only one scarred by the incident. Gun was too. And Hyuk as well, probably.

Gun had taken notice of her nightmares, but similarly, she had also noticed his'. She knew that he had trouble falling asleep lately. She had thought that it might be because of her, but she had noticed that the main point of his nightmares was not her, but something else. Perhaps, it might have something to do with the recent allegations against Hyuk. Although she was part of the case, Gun had been very secretive about what he went through. Just like everybody else in the world, she also assumed that Gun had little to do with Lee Do Joon's murder.

”I...” Yeo Ri started. The three men in the room perked up at her voice, straightening their backs in full attention.

”That day, I was called to school by Ms. Kim because I did badly in the final exam. Hyuk-oppa dropped me off at the campus at around 9 o'clock before he left for work.”

Slowly, she began to unravel the events that had transpired that day with a low, hushed tone. She looked down and played with her fingers, avoiding eye contact with Gun.

”He... that man... he was there when I got to the meeting room. I thought it would just be me and Ms. Kim, but—” Yeo Ri gulped, suddenly finding it hard to breath. ”He—he was there. I think Ms. Kim called him there. I mean, why wouldn't she? Any teacher would contact the parent first before the student.”

”Af-after the meeting, that man brought me to an empty alleyway. I tried to run away! I really did, but...!” Yeo Ri sobbed, burying her face in her palms. ”He caught me...! I remember him choking me, then I lost consciousness. When I woke up, he was—” Yeo Ri took a deep breath, ”—he was...”

A loud sound could be heard as Gun punched the glass wall. ”F*ck!” He cursed, his voice containing his grief and regret. He regretted that he didn't torture that man enough.

”F*ck!” Gun threw his fist to the wall again, causing a slight crack to form on the glass panel.

Detective Song grabbed hold of the boy, trying to calm him down. He motioned to his partner to get the interview moving.

Detective Pyo accepted the signal and nodded back to the man. He hid his sympathy in his eyes and cleared his throat. ”Your brother mentioned that he's been abusing the three of you for some time now. Can you tell me more about that?”

After a long pause, Yeo Ri finally said, ”That man has never been kind to my brothers, but he had always been... tolerant... of me. Before that day, he would never lay a hand on me; at least, not intentionally. But that day...”

”That day, everything changed.” Yeo Ri whispered painfully. She bit her lips before glancing briefly at Gun. Previously, she had lied to him about that incident so he would not worry, but today, he would find out about the truth.

”Did he... do something to you?” Detective Pyo tightened his fists unconsciously, his blood running cold. This case was turning out to be more twisted than he had thought.

”The first time he... did that, he was drunk. I had to drag him to his room, but before I could leave, he stopped me. Said something about my mom,” she haltingly described the events back then. ”And about how much I looked like her.”

”He-he said mom was cheating on him, and that I was just a b*stard; that I should be grateful he took me in,” Yeo Ri said. She didn't dare to raise her head to look at Gun.

Gun was seething inside. Each word that Yeo Ri had said penetrated him deeply, down to his bones. His guilt only seemed to peak. He had thought he was quite diligent in taking care of Yeo Ri, but there was still so much he did not know about the girl; there was still so much he missed. He held himself down, digging his nails into his palms until the skin broke. His hands were bruised and bleeding, but the pain was nothing compared to the one lodging in his heart.

”You said it was 'the first time'. How many times did he... touch you? Since when?”

”It started around early November.” Yeo Ri truthfully told him, ”The first time was probably a mistake, but the times after that...”