"I'll check if that man's still around," Gun says as he picked up his bag. He took off the tapes on the door and slowly ventured outside. His hand hovered over the knife hidden underneath his coat. He was ready to pull it out if the need arises.
"Be careful, Oppa," Yeo Ri tugged the hem of his coat, reminding him.
He smiled at the girl, "I know."
Gun and Hyuk shared a tacit look. Without saying a word, Hyuk grabbed Yeo Ri's hand and motioned her to stay behind him.
As Gun looked around outside first, Hyuk took his coat and valuables, then followed a few steps behind him with Yeo Ri in tow.
As they passed by the living room, Gun suddenly halted. He whispered to the man behind him, "if he wakes up, I'll cover for you. Hyung, you take Yeo Ri to school." Gun's eyes were trained on the figure lying on the couch, unconscious and probably dead drunk.
Soju bottles littered the floor, and Lee Do Joon had a partially-filled bottle in his hand.
"...Can you even deal with him by yourself?" Hyuk eyed Gun suspiciously. Was this kid trying to play the hero or something? That won't mean sh*t if you're dead, he thought.
Gun replied with a slight smirk, "I'm not as weak as you think. I have my ways."
"Just run if you can't win, you sh*tty dumb*ss," Hyuk dissed.
"Let's just go, Hyuk-oppa, Gun-oppa," Yeo Ri interjected, an anxious look on her face. She could only hope that that man won't wake up suddenly and ensue a bloodbath.
"Stay close, Yeo Ri," says Hyuk, protectively hiding her behind his back.
The trio tiptoed cautiously towards the door.
However—
Crash!
The bottle in Lee Do Joon's hand suddenly tipped, crashing on the ground. It created a loud noise as it bumped onto the empty bottles lying around. The noise startled him awake.
"Go!" Gun signalled for the two to hurry.
Hyuk did not waste any time. He quickly led Yeo Ri to the door and hurriedly put on their shoes.
Gun slowly backed away from the hungover man, watching his every move carefully. His hand tightened around his knife, as if using it to reassure himself of his own safety.
Hyuk threw the door open in his hurry, creating more noise that seemed to have snapped the man out of his drowsiness.
"F*ck!" Lee Do Joon cursed. "Get back here!" He yelled as he noticed the trio. Veins popped on his head as he battled the growing headache that was plaguing him as a side effect of his drinking habits. His gaze locked on Gun who was trying to shove his feet into his shoes. With eyes full of anger, he grabbed a soju bottle from the ground and threw it towards the boy.
Gun held his guard up, covering his face with his arms almost reflexively.
Lee Do Joon missed his aim due to his current state, but the shards managed to scratch the boy. Taking advantage of his stunned state, Lee Do Joon threw another bottle, hitting the boy on the corner of his head.
Gun groaned and hissed in pain, almost collapsing on the floor. The area on his head that had been hit by the bottle throbbed with a sting, and a wet feeling confirmed that he had begun to bleed. "Sh*t!" He cursed silently. The attack had taken him by surprise.
With large steps, Lee Do Joon went up to him and grabbed him. He threw the younger boy to the ground, punching him multiple times. He was using the boy as a punching bag to vent. At the same time, he planned to use this chance to teach the boy a lesson, and when Yeo Ri sees what had happened to her brother, perhaps her spirit might be broken. He'd be able to control her more easily.
But Gun was not going to give him the chance.
Out of nowhere, Gun pulled out a knife and swiped it towards the man. Gun shouted savagely, stabbing him then pushing him off.
"F*CK! YOU LITTLE SH*T!" Lee Do Joon screamed in pain. If Gun thought that him throwing the bottles were unexpected, then Gun having a knife was practically unthinkeable. Actually, he was rather surprised that Gun had enough guts to fight back, with a knife, no less.
He made a move to grab the boy, but Gun quickly fell back, moving out of the way. Lee Do Joon was unable to reach him, the pain shooting up straight to his brain. Fortunately and unfortunately, Gun was only able to injure him, and not fatally hurt him. The knife caused his arm to bleed and the knife was still lodged in his shoulder, but it would not kill him.
Gun panted heavily from the adrenaline, his hands trembling. It was the first time he had stabbed someone and it did not feel good. He could still feel the way the knife sunk into flesh.
Lee Do Joon gritted his teeth and pulled the knife out, throwing it away to the side. "You think you're hot sh*t now, huh?" He sneered at the still-shocked boy. "You think, just because you have a knife, you can kill me?"
Gun scrambled to pick up the knife, careful not to get his clothes dirty even as he was panicking on the inside. He took a deep breath, pulling on his poker face. 'He's hurt, he can't move as freely as he used to,' Gun reminded himself.
He pointed it towards the man again, "who knows," he replied stoically. He shot a threatening glare towards the older man, "You, don't you dare touch us ever again."
"HA!" Seeing Gun's stance, Lee Do Joon's lips twisted into a sadistic and ridiculing smile, "Go ahead and try it, you snot-nosed little sh*t."
"...!" Seeing the man take a step forwards, Gun involuntarily took a step back.
"See? You're so f*cking scared. You think you can kill me with that kind of attitude?" Lee Do Joon laughed mockingly.
Gun sneered, "Just because you're a f*cking murdering piece of trash, doesn't mean I have to follow your footsteps, b*stard." Gun glared at the man with ferosity, "I won't become like you!"
"What did you say?" Lee Do Joon's expression freezed over. "A 'murdering piece of trash'...?"
Lee Do Joon pulled himself together despite his incessantly bleeding wounds. He smiled coldly towards his son. "Just where did you learn to disrespect your father like this, huh, you little sh*t? Should I teach you a lesson?"
His threat caused Gun to flinch, but the boy quickly masked his reaction. Putting on a fearless front, Gun raised his knife, shooting a warning glare towards the man.
A dark thought flashed in Gub's mind. Should he just end this once and for all? 'Just kill him and be done with it,' the devil within him whispered. With this man gone, their lives would be peaceful.
But, another thought flashed in his mind. The reasonable part of him whispered, 'if you kill this man now, then you'll definitely end up in jail. What will happen to Yeo Ri? Who will take care of your baby sister? Are you prepared to let her live with the label of a murderer's little sister?' He tried to reason with the fact that Hyuk was still around to take care of Yeo Ri.
'What about Hyuk? Do you think he's fit to be her guardian? That guy with barely any qualifications, rough and thickheaded? As if Yeo Ri's life would be any better with him. Can you guarantee that he can support Yeo Ri? Feed and cloth her, give her the things any other girl her age had?'
No.
He didn't believe it.
As much as he trusted Hyuk, Gun understood that Hyuk was not the best person to rely on when it comes to taking care of someone. That idiot could barely take care of himself, so how could he take care of another person?
Gun decisively lowered his weapon. Without sparing another glance, he walked away as fast as he could from the house.
Behind him, he could hear that man's voice, shouting, "THAT'S RIGHT; JUST RUN AWAY, YOU GODD*MN COWARD!"
Gun turned a deaf ear, wiping off the blood from his knife and hiding it away from sight.