"Jin Goo-oppa, you never told me your father was Heo Woo Seung," Yeo Ri tilted her head towards Jin Goo.
He smiled half-heartedly in reply. "I didn't think it was important," he shrugged. He didn't really like talking about his family. Although they were not estranged, it was not like they were close either. There was no love between his parents, and all they expected from him was to do well in his studies and get a good job with a high-paying salary. There was really nothing much to talk about.
With the master of the house suddenly coming back, the group assumed a more polite behaviour. They didn't slack and continued sitting properly, quietly conversing.
About ten minutes passed and Heo Woo Seung came out, carrying a document in his hand.
He smiled at the group again, "Don't mind me, and make yourselves at home. I'll be going now," he says.
It was only after he left that the group relaxed again.
The five had a simple dinner of takeouts.
After that, they hung out in the living room together. Gun was tutoring Yeo Ri while the three other men watched them. The television was on, but nobody was really paying attention to it.
Once it was nearing midnight, Gun decided to call it a night.
"Yeo Ri-ah, why don't you go to bed first? It's already so late," he told her.
Yeo Ri glanced at her phone, noticing the time. "Already?" She pouted. She wanted to drag out her bedtime, but it was inevitable.
"Come on," he patted her head, helping her up.
Yeo Ri packed her things and got ready to go to sleep.
"Goodnight, Hyuk-oppa, Jin Goo-oppa, In Guk-oppa," she smiled at them, wishing them a good night.
They replied in a cacophony, watching as she retired to the guest room.
"Goodnight, Yeo Ri-ah," Gun tucked her into bed. He squeezed her arm gently, kissing her forehead. Before leaving the room, he switched off the lights.
The door closed, and Yeo Ri was all alone in the room.
She stared at the ceiling, unable to fall asleep.
"How big..." she muttered. The bed was so big that it could probably fit three people. She had never laid on such a soft and large bed. It was a pity she couldn't share it with her brothers.
Yeo Ri turned to her side, trying to force herself to sleep. An unsettling feeling began to grow inside her. She discovered that she didn't like sleeping alone.
She tossed and turned for a long time before finally being able to drift into a fitful sleep.
A nightmare plagued her sleep.
"Do you think you can ever get away, my sweet Yeo Ri-ah?"
Yeo Ri's breathing became uneven and her heartbeat quickened.
She could feel that man's slimy hands roaming around her body.
"No... no..." Yeo Ri mumbled. She kicked off the blanket and ruffled the sheets from all her movements.
"Spread your legs, sl*t!"
Yeo Ri flinched in her sleep. She jolted awake from the almost-realistic feeling of that man's hand on her thighs. She recalled the feeling of her legs being forced open by him, the fear of being violated clouding her mind.
"N-No...!" Yeo Ri, in her delirious state, tried to scramble away from the man.
She had forgotten that she was on top of a western-style bed and not the beddings in her house, so she fell down to the floor with a loud thump.
The shadowy figure crept closer to her, his hands reaching out to grab her.
"No! Stop!" Yeo Ri screamed loudly, alerting the men who were still awake in the living room.
"NO! NO!"
Yeo Ri curled up into a small ball by the bed.
Even when she thought she was safe, that man still haunted her.
"Yeo Ri-ah?!" Hyuk and the rest threw the door open, crashing into the guest room.
"Yeo Ri, what's wrong?!"
Hyuk, without thinking, immediately ran to her side, hugging her tightly.
Yeo Ri tried to fight him off, thinking that he was that man, but he held onto her tightly.
"It's fine, everything's fine, Oppa is here," he comforted her. The sight of Yeo Ri looking so traumatised made him feel stuffy. His heart felt as if it was being torn to pieces.
"Oppa, Oppa... I'm scared! He's going to—!" She sobbed, burrowing her face into the nook of his neck. "I'm scared!" She hugged him tightly, limbs trembling.
Hyuk held her until she calmed down.
"..." Gun, Jin Goo, and In Guk watched the scene with complex gazes.
It was not just Hyuk whose heart was in pain. The other three also felt hurt at seeing Yeo Ri's pitiful state.
They wondered just how bad Lee Do Joon hurt her, to make her traumatised to that extent.
The time moved slowly.
Gun, Jin Goo, and In Guk could only stand awkwardly as they waited for Hyuk to coax Yeo Ri back to sleep.
Finally, after half an hour, Yeo Ri managed to surrender herself back to sleep again. In Hyuk's arms, she felt more or less safer.
Hyuk carried her back onto the bed.
The girl was holding onto the sleeves of his shirt so tightly that it took him a while to pry her fingers off of him.
He sighed as he fixed her blanket.
"She's asleep now. Let's go. Don't bother her," Hyuk said quietly. He casted a long look towards Yeo Ri. Part of him felt unwilling to leave her be, but he had to.
He chased off the rest and followed behind them, leaving the door ajar just in case Yeo Ri woke up again.