Chapter 116: Chapter 116

Ye jun

I sat there next to Ohm’s hospital bed with my hand still kinda stuck in his even though I wanted to yank it back. My mouth felt dry as hell and my head was spinning from everything he just dumped on me. The pictures on his phone, the messages, the money trail all pointing straight at Si Woo like some bad movie plot. My stomach kept doing this flip thing that made me feel like I was gonna puke right there on the clean white sheets.

“Yeah,” I finally said, the word coming out all scratchy like my throat was full of sand. I squeezed his hand harder than I meant to. “I’m in. I’ll help you get justice. Whatever it takes. He can’t just… you know. Get away with it.”

The second the words left my mouth this huge wave of guilt slammed into me so hard I almost doubled over. What the actual fuck was I saying? I was lying right to his face, or at least half-lying because part of me still screamed that Si Woo wouldn’t do something like this even if he was the biggest asshole on the planet. But I smiled anyway, this weak shaky thing that probably looked as fake as it felt. Ohm’s eyes lit up a little like he believed me and that just made the guilt twist tighter in my gut.

“Thanks Junnie,” he said, voice still tired from the pain meds but sounding way too relieved. “I knew I could count on you. We’ll figure this out together. No mercy, right?”

“No mercy,” I repeated like a parrot, nodding so fast my neck hurt from all those stupid hickeys Si Woo left. My skin burned under the hoodie every time I moved and I kept thinking about how Si Woo had pressed his lips on them last night like he was stamping his name on me. God I was such an idiot.

I pulled my hand away as gently as I could and stood up on legs that felt like jelly. “I should let you rest. My fever’s still kicking my ass but I’ll text you later okay? We’ll talk more when you’re out of here.”

Ohm gave me that easy smile again but his eyes looked a bit sharp like he was studying me. “Yeah don’t ghost me this time Ye Jun. I need you on this.”

I nodded again and basically bolted for the door before I could say something dumb that would give me away. Outside in the hallway my parents were still chatting with his folks and they all turned when they saw me. Mom’s face went all soft and worried the second she clocked how shitty I looked with my red eyes and sweaty skin from the damn onions.

“Ye Jun you poor thing you really are sick,” she said pulling me into a hug that made my hickeys scream under the fabric. “Go home and rest honey. We’ll handle things here.”

Dad just patted my back like always. “Take it easy son. Call if you need anything.”

I mumbled something about yeah sure and shuffled toward the exit feeling like the worst human alive. The guilt was sitting on my chest so heavy I could barely breathe right. I had just promised Ohm I’d help take down my own stepbrother. My brother who had me cuffed and wrecked and marked up less than twenty-four hours ago. What kind of messed up person does that?

My phone buzzed in my pocket as I stepped out into the sticky afternoon air. I pulled it out and there it was. Si Woo’s text lighting up the screen.

“How’s your boyfriend? Still walking funny from last night or did the onions fix that too lol”

I stared at it for a second then shoved the phone back in my pocket without answering. That asshole. Always with the crude shit like nothing in the world was serious. My face got hot and I wasn’t sure if it was anger or the fake fever or just pure embarrassment. I caught a cab home because no way was I dealing with public transport looking and smelling like regret.

The second I got inside the apartment I locked the door and leaned against it breathing hard. Everything hit me at once. The hospital beeps still ringing in my ears, Ohm’s cold angry voice saying he’d kill whoever did it, Si Woo’s laugh from last night when I tried to tell him we needed to stop. I slid down to the floor right there in the entryway and just sat with my head in my hands.

“Stupid stupid stupid,” I muttered to myself. My eyes started burning again and this time it wasn’t the onions. Tears came hot and fast and I didn’t even try to stop them. I cried like a little kid ugly snot and all because what the hell was I supposed to do now? Pick my brother who treats me like his personal toy or my friend who almost died? Both options sucked so bad I wanted to scream.

After a while I dragged myself up and headed straight for the shower. The water was as hot as I could stand it and I scrubbed at my neck and chest like I could erase the hickeys if I just tried hard enough. They didn’t budge. Just got a little shinier from the soap but still dark purple like Si Woo wanted everyone to see. “These stay,” his voice echoed in my head all low and bossy. I scrubbed harder until my skin turned raw and red but those marks stayed put like they were laughing at me too.

“Asshole,” I said out loud to the empty bathroom. “Big stupid possessive asshole who might actually be a shooter.” The words felt wrong even as I said them. Si Woo was mean and rough and never took no for an answer but a killer? My brain kept flipping back and forth like a broken switch. One second I believed Ohm completely and hated Si Woo so much it hurt. Next second I remembered how he held me after, all tight like he couldn’t let go, and I felt sick for even doubting him.

I stayed in the shower until the water ran cold then wrapped a towel around my waist and flopped on the bed. My phone buzzed again. Another text from Si Woo.

“You ignoring me now baby bro? Cute. Get home safe or I’ll come find you myself.”

I threw the phone across the room. It landed on the carpet with a soft thud and I buried my face in the pillow. The smell of onions still clung to my skin making everything worse. Days started going by after that. I called in sick to work again because the guilt and the fake fever had me feeling like actual trash. I avoided Ohm’s texts at first saying I was still too sick to talk much. He bought it for a couple days but I could tell he was getting impatient from the way his messages got shorter.

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