"Why is there so many visitors today?" Yeo Ri grumbled quietly.
The two new visitors exchanged wry smiles, "Miss Lee Yeo Ri, we won't take up much time. All we want is to get an interview from you."
"Yeo Ri-ah, these two are from the police," Gun mentioned, his voice rather light and excited.
The two detectives were puzzled by his good mood. They had an inkling that he was not actually excited about them being part of the police force, judging by his attitude the last time they met.
Of course, the reason why he was so excited was because Yeo Ri had spoken more words today than in the previous four days combined.
"..." Yeo Ri did not respond. She looked at them as if she was asking what the importance of their affiliation was.
"Um... we would like to ask a few questions about what happened back then. I heard that you siblings are very close with each other. Miss, if you help us with the investigation, then your brother, Lee Hyuk, might be able to lessen his prison sentence," Detective Song, the older one, explained.
Yeo Ri slightly twitched at the mention of Hyuk. A few tens of seconds passed before she finally spoke again, "With one condition."
"What is it?" The two detectives perked up.
"Let me see Hyuk-oppa. In person."
Gun glanced at her with a disquieted look. She was still not allowed to be discharged, much less take a leave.
"Yes, yes, that's possible. I'll see what strings I can pull," Detective Song easily assented. The request was really not that hard. If anything, they could just give an excuse of bringing in a witness for questioning... although, the witness' condition was really concerning.
Surprisingly, her request was easily accepted by the hospital's side. Three days later, Yeo Ri was scheduled to meet Hyuk at the police station.
Yeo Ri could guess that Heo Woo Seung had done something to aid the process, but since she had not seen him since he last visited her, she had no way of confirming.
With the police force's help, Gun was able to securely wheel her out of the hospital, safe from the prying eyes of the media. Reporters had been camping out at the hospital, so the two had to disguise themselves with sunglasses, caps, and masks to get away.
Half an hour later, they reached the station. Gun pushed her wheelchair over to an interrogation room where Hyuk was already waiting.
Although Gun could not stay to accompany her within the room, he joined the other officers in the room on the other side of the double-sided glass after leaving Yeo Ri in the room.
Perhaps because they were being cautious, another officer was also present inside the interrogation room.
"Yeo Ri..." Hyuk breathlessly called her name. It had felt like forever since he last saw her, and she seemed to have changed.
"..." Yeo Ri raised her eyes to stare at him from her wheelchair. Although she was somewhat healthier than the previous days, she had to take some painkillers to numb the pain. Even sitting felt uncomfortable, considering the place where she was most hurt.
"Y-Yeo Ri-ah?" Hyuk called her again. He was scared. Usually, she would respond by saying, 'What is it, Oppa?', and would often smile at him, but the Yeo Ri in front of him was barely reacting. The most he got out of her was eye contact.
Hyuk took a hesitant step towards Yeo Ri. "Yeo Ri, what's wrong?"
Although Yeo Ri wanted to get up and hug him, her body would not move. Setting aside her condition, she was also hesitant to touch him. She had been scared of being touched by any man lately.
"Oppa, how have you been doing?" She asked unhurriedly. The corner of her lips twitched slightly, as if she was attempting to form a smile. But, perhaps because she had not used her face muscles in days, she could not seem to smile properly.
"Ah? Ah—I'm—Oppa is... doing fine. What about you, Yeo Ri-ah? Have you been eating? You look so thin," Hyuk dragged his feet slowly towards her, trying to make his voice sound normal. Inwardly, his heart was breaking. Seeing Yeo Ri now, he really didn't know what to do. It was the first time he felt so much sadness and bitterness.
Hyuk reached out to caress her head, but she avoided it narrowly. Clearly, she was rejecting physical contact. With a grimace, he retrieved his hand, letting it hang awkwardly on his side.
"Oppa," Yeo Ri called out softly, bearing some semblance to her former self. "Oppa, what are you doing here?"
"H-huh?"
"—Even though you didn't do anything wrong." Yeo Ri mumbled, sounding like a complain.
"!"
Slowly, Hyuk crumpled to the ground, his eyes reddening. Her words seemed to have stricken a cord inside him. He hugged her knees tightly, his body trembling. So she didn't blame him, he thought. 'What a relief.'
"Yeo Ri-ah, I—" He painfully squeezed out. "I'm sorry. If only I didn't leave you alone. I should have gone with you that day. If not because of me, you—!"
Yeo Ri glanced at him, her eyes softening. The stoic mask she had been wearing from the day she woke up had finally cracked.
"Oppa... you crybaby," she says teasingly. The most beautiful, tender smile graced her lips at Hyuk's pitiful sight. It was the first time she had seen Hyuk cry. She was feeling rather touched and heartbroken at the same time; it was a somewhat complex feeling.
Tears unknowingly streamed down her cheeks as she smiled at his countenance.
"...It's not your fault. You did nothing wrong," Yeo Ri repeated. She raised a shaky hand and lightly touched his head, awkwardly rubbing it. Although Gun and Hyuk always did it to her, it was the first time she had a chance to reciprocate.
"Yeo Ri-ah."
"Yeo Ri."
"Lee Yeo Ri."
Hyuk haltingly called her name, then raised his head to look at her.
She was finally looking at him with a smile.
That smile she always looked at him with; gentle but vibrant, like the rising sun.
Yeo Ri tilted her head slightly, "What is it, Oppa?"
'I love you,' he suddenly thought. His mouth moved as if he wanted to repeat the words out-loud, but soon he felt embarrassed. They even had observers on the side, for god's sake! He'd save the sweet words for when they're alone.
He hurriedly stood up from his position and wiped his face in his sleeves aggressively. He was a manly man! Manly men don't cry so easily, he reminded himself.
"Don't cry. You don't look good when you cry," he says instead. Actually, it was a lie; Hyuk thought that Yeo Ri was d*mn pretty when she cried earlier.
Because he could not use his hands to help her wipe her tears away, he looked around to see if there was a tissue or something he could fetch her instead.
Luckily, Yeo Ri had brought her own tissues so she used it to clean her face.
Yeo Ri silently laughed at his comment. Gesturing him to come closer, she said, "Come here, Oppa. You also don't look good when you cry."
Hyuk's ears reddened. Obediently, he leaned down and placed his face close to her so she can wipe away anything she liked.
She dabbed the tissue on the corner of his eyes tenderly, barely even putting any strength behind them.
Once she was done, she flashed him another soft smile.
The people who were observing this public display of affection could not help but feel as if they should not be there.
Particularly, the officer who was watching over them inside the interrogation room shifted uncomfortably at his corner. He tried to make himself shrink, but he was originally a big-bodied fellow, so it was difficult to make himself scarce.
"..." Detective Song glanced at the two strangely, then looked at Gun as if asking for help.
Gun, with a somewhat stormy but defeated look, simply said, in a bland tone: "Hyuk loves Yeo Ri a lot, after all."
The detectives were so flustered by the sweetness between Hyuk and Yeo Ri that they did not even realise that Gun had referred to his brother by name.
"...Yo, maybe it's time to end the meeting?" Detective Pyo asked, laughing nervously. Something about the two siblings' interaction was making his skin crawl. The looks they were giving each other was definitely—no, no. Detective Pyo slapped himself inwardly. What was he thinking?
"Let's do that, then," the rest immediately agreed. Although some of them felt sorry for cutting the meeting short, it was relieving to know that they won't have to watch the two's interaction any longer.
Now that Yeo Ri's request have been fulfilled, she would have to give the promised interview soon.
But, just as expected, the meeting had drained her of all her energy, and she soon grew too tired. The interview was rescheduled for another day.