Chapter 4

Jaesun listened to his best friend's sobs alternating with the buzzing that appeared when his eyes focused on her marked wrists.

"Sungwon is here. He tried to kiss me, he... he held me down on the bed, he... Jaesun, he tried to kiss me," Lucy trembled, still seeking refuge in her best friend's arms. "Please, please. He wants to touch me, he wants..."

Jaesun held her tightly, causing her frightened and interrupted words to stop when her crying took over, burying her wet face even further into his chest.

But Jaesun's heart was racing. His core, blood, and skin were boiling.

Eunwoo returned, trembling, somewhat scared, not understanding what was happening. He held the glass of water he had brought and sat down next to Lucy, a few feet away, and handed her the glass.

Lucy sniffled, took it, and quietly thanked him.

"Eunwoo, can you..." Jaesun took a deep breath, trying to regain control again. However, his ears caught the sounds coming from outside, and his instincts alerted him, making him stand up in an instant.

"Leave it be," Lucy pleaded, angry at herself for being so fearful, but genuinely frightened of what Sungwon could still do to her.

"Eunwoo, you..." and the sentence didn't need to be finished. Jaesun's roommate nodded, giving him the assurance that he would protect Lucy the moment the door was opened.

Jaesun took heavy steps there.

"Jaesun!" Lucy called, even more frightened.

But Jaesun, for the first time in his life, didn't listen to her.

As soon as the door was opened, Jaesun's eyes scanned the various people in the hallway. Finally, there he was.

Jaesun's fists clenched.

"Where is he?" Sungwon asked, still with his hands over his eyes, his vision blurred. "That bastard tried to blind me!"

Jaesun took a deep breath as he stopped in front of Sungwon.

The other man raised his face, and the next moment he felt the weight of Jaesun's punch.

Sungwon staggered backwards, feeling the burning pain immediately.

Jaesun approached and gave him another punch. And another and another, until Sungwon was on the ground, subdued, scared, and completely defenseless.

"I'm calling the police!" Sungwon shouted from the ground, dragging himself a few meters away from Jaesun.

"Don't worry, I'll do it myself," Jaesun shook his hand, feeling his knuckles throb. "I'll call them." He reached for his phone, dialing the police number.

"But what's going on here?" The coordinator appeared on that floor, followed by two security guards and some students. "Why are you fighting?"

The woman looked at Sungwon, horrified to see blood dripping from his cut eyebrow. She looked at Jaesun, mortified, but widened her eyes when she heard Jaesun on the phone.

"Hello? My name is Jaesun and I need a police car at Seoul National University, Building C, Block Three, men's dormitory. I want to report sexual harassment and assault. A student tried to force a female student in her own room. I have the victim with me, who is very distressed, but the assailant is still here, and I won't let him escape. Please come quickly."

"But what..." The coordinator stood up. Sungwon stood up too. "What was that? Who did this?"

"He's next to a criminal." Jaesun's voice exuded his rage.

"What did you do?" The woman asked him directly. "You're new, aren't you?"

"I didn't do anything! I didn't even touch any student here. That—"

"You touched her!" Jaesun approached, making the security guards pay attention to him. "You touched Jeon Lucy, a fashion major in her third year. Her wrists are marked with your fingerprints, you forced her to lie on the bed and tried to kiss her. Do you think this will go unpunished? You'll be arrested!"

Murmurs around them were starting to arise. The coordinator's eyes widened, her ears caught what was being said, and nothing seemed clear enough.

"You... you said Jeon Lucy?"

"You know who she is."

"We don't have a student by that name here," the woman was audacious enough to deny.

Jaesun laughed, disgusted.

"You're trying to shift the blame that's also on you? We went to your office, she asked for a room in the women's dormitory, she asked for something she's entitled to. Something that any girl here easily gets, but with her, it was simply denied because this damn university had the indecency to be transphobic enough for a student to go through the risk and trauma of almost being raped by a sick person who doesn't understand that 'no' means 'no'!" he yelled. His face was red, the veins on his neck bulging. "You should be arrested too for not protecting her!"

"Enough!" the woman said. She looked around at the students and then looked at Lucy by the door of Jaesun's room. Lucy was barefoot, her hair slightly disheveled, her face red, washed in tears, and her wrists were bruised. "Let's all go to my office," she called, "especially you," her voice directed at Lucy.

Lucy shrank back, and now, in addition to fear, she was embarrassed by how the students were looking at her.

"You can use my sandals," Eunwoo offered, retrieving them and placing them in front of Lucy. "I'll get a coat for you, wait here."

Lucy didn't smile, didn't respond, didn't react. She was petrified on the outside and scared on the inside.

"JAESUN!" Jaesun heard Kimi's voice and saw her running down the corridor. Two police officers followed closely behind her. "What happened? I was leaving the dorm when... when I heard the rumors."

"Excuse me," the police introduced themselves. "We received a report."

Jaesun raised his hand.

"I was the one who called," he said, his eyes on Kimi as he handed her his phone. "Kimi, call Uncle Jungso, Ryeon, and Yugjae."

"What? Why... all of them?"

"Yugjae can help us pay for plane tickets, and he won't refuse now. We'll pay him back later."

"Plane tickets? But..."

"Please, ask him for the equivalent of two tickets and also ask him for a lawyer."

"Jaesun..." Kimi looked at him, nervous. She saw Lucy put on Eunwoo's coat, thanking him softly, and only then did she see her friend, torn apart. "Oh my god, Lu!" she rushed to her, hugging her immediately.

"Do what I asked," Jaesun pleaded, looking at the police officers. "This is the man I talked about on the phone. He forced my friend to lie on the bed and tried to kiss her. Her wrists have marks that can prove it. He needs to be arrested!"

"We won't cause a scene now," the coordinator smiled, trying to sound friendly in some way. "Let's go to my office. We can clarify things there and won't give them a chance to make up lies and post them on the internet."

The students around them didn't hide their cellphones, but they lowered them as soon as the security guards approached and asked them to stop recording.

"Let's go already," the woman called. The police stood next to Sungwon, making sure the suspect followed them.

"I'm calling Yugjae, it won't take long," Kimi said, walking a few steps behind, still holding onto Lucy tightly, trying to make her feel a bit better.

***

Feeling her eyes fill with tears, Sun-ha watched her husband and son-in-law get into the car that Adam was driving.

"Please, send me news," she begged her husband, her heart racing in her chest. She couldn't imagine Lucy being hurt in the way Jaesun described to her over the phone. Ryeon, on the other hand, cried silently, without sobs or lamentations, a pure symbol of his body's desire to kill Sungwon and protect his beloved even more.

"It's going to be okay," Roseanne stood by Sun-ha's side, touching her arm to comfort her.

"Take care of her, please," Jungso asked, looking at Roseanne with his heart even more shattered. Roseanne nodded, feeling Sun-ha's hand rest on hers as Jungso and Ryeon got into the car.

"Drive safely," Roseanne requested, waving to her boyfriend.

At that moment, the car drove off to the airport. Sun-ha sighed, shaking her head slightly, almost lost in her thoughts and what they had done to Lucy. Among all of them, that was the main fear of being so far away from her daughter.

"Let's go inside, I'll make us some coffee."

Sun-ha nodded, following Roseanne back into the house.