Detective Pyo cleared his throat awkwardly before he began. "...Okay, let's start again. Miss Lee Yeo Ri?"
"Yes."
"Can you describe what happened before the incident? It's okay, take your time. If it's too uncomfortable for you, you can just skip the question," Detective Pyo gently said.
Detective Song shot him an incredulous look at the last part of his sentence. 'Hey, hey, hey! What do you mean, 'you can just skip it'?! You're supposed to get her to talk!' Detective Song fumed inwardly.
"..." Yeo Ri opened her mouth but did not speak. She glanced at Gun. She knew that he would also be hurt from the words she was about to say. Yeo Ri knew that she was not the only one scarred by the incident. Gun was too. And Hyuk as well, probably.
Gun had taken notice of her nightmares, but similarly, she had also noticed his'. She knew that he had trouble falling asleep lately. She had thought that it might be because of her, but she had noticed that the main point of his nightmares was not her, but something else. Perhaps, it might have something to do with the recent allegations against Hyuk. Although she was part of the case, Gun had been very secretive about what he went through. Just like everybody else in the world, she also assumed that Gun had little to do with Lee Do Joon's murder.
"I..." Yeo Ri started. The three men in the room perked up at her voice, straightening their backs in full attention.
"That day, I was called to school by Ms. Kim because I did badly in the final exam. Hyuk-oppa dropped me off at the campus at around 9 o'clock before he left for work."
Slowly, she began to unravel the events that had transpired that day with a low, hushed tone. She looked down and played with her fingers, avoiding eye contact with Gun.
"He... that man... he was there when I got to the meeting room. I thought it would just be me and Ms. Kim, but—" Yeo Ri gulped, suddenly finding it hard to breath. "He—he was there. I think Ms. Kim called him there. I mean, why wouldn't she? Any teacher would contact the parent first before the student."
"Af-after the meeting, that man brought me to an empty alleyway. I tried to run away! I really did, but...!" Yeo Ri sobbed, burying her face in her palms. "He caught me...! I remember him choking me, then I lost consciousness. When I woke up, he was—" Yeo Ri took a deep breath, "—he was..."
A loud sound could be heard as Gun punched the glass wall. "F*ck!" He cursed, his voice containing his grief and regret. He regretted that he didn't torture that man enough.
"F*ck!" Gun threw his fist to the wall again, causing a slight crack to form on the glass panel.
Detective Song grabbed hold of the boy, trying to calm him down. He motioned to his partner to get the interview moving.
Detective Pyo accepted the signal and nodded back to the man. He hid his sympathy in his eyes and cleared his throat. "Your brother mentioned that he's been abusing the three of you for some time now. Can you tell me more about that?"
After a long pause, Yeo Ri finally said, "That man has never been kind to my brothers, but he had always been... tolerant... of me. Before that day, he would never lay a hand on me; at least, not intentionally. But that day..."
"That day, everything changed." Yeo Ri whispered painfully. She bit her lips before glancing briefly at Gun. Previously, she had lied to him about that incident so he would not worry, but today, he would find out about the truth.
"Did he... do something to you?" Detective Pyo tightened his fists unconsciously, his blood running cold. This case was turning out to be more twisted than he had thought.
"The first time he... did that, he was drunk. I had to drag him to his room, but before I could leave, he stopped me. Said something about my mom," she haltingly described the events back then. "And about how much I looked like her."
"He-he said mom was cheating on him, and that I was just a b*stard; that I should be grateful he took me in," Yeo Ri said. She didn't dare to raise her head to look at Gun.
Gun was seething inside. Each word that Yeo Ri had said penetrated him deeply, down to his bones. His guilt only seemed to peak. He had thought he was quite diligent in taking care of Yeo Ri, but there was still so much he did not know about the girl; there was still so much he missed. He held himself down, digging his nails into his palms until the skin broke. His hands were bruised and bleeding, but the pain was nothing compared to the one lodging in his heart.
"You said it was 'the first time'. How many times did he... touch you? Since when?"
"It started around early November." Yeo Ri truthfully told him, "The first time was probably a mistake, but the times after that..."
Yeo Ri shuddered as she recalled the painful memories. "Five... no, was it six, now? I'd be at home, around lunchtime, and he'd suddenly come back. He never does that. He never used to come home for lunch."
"He knew I'd be home alone at that time," Yeo Ri said quietly. She knew Gun was probably blaming himself.
"Oppa... did you know? I hid a knife under the bed once, just in case," Yeo Ri suddenly said.
Gun flinched.
She wiped away her tears, smiling in self-depreciation. "But when I needed it the most, it was gone. I knew you took it, Oppa. Why did you take it? Why, Oppa? Why..." She did not want to bring it up and blame him, but she could not help it. The memory of that time was too consuming, even though it had been her fault for not listening to Gun in the first place.
"I-I'm sorry, Yeo Ri-ah. I didn't know... Oppa didn't know...!" Gun trembled. What had he done? He felt so stifled to the point where he could barely breathe.
"But it's fine." She suddenly stopped smiling, looking out the window. "Even if I still had that knife, I knew... that I wouldn't be able to use it. I'm so pathetic."
"Miss Lee Yeo Ri, did you know about the crimes that man had committed?" Detective Pyo asked, changing the subject.
Yeo Ri shook her head, "Not until he told me." She was too tired. She didn't want to speak anymore.
Detective Pyo nodded. He was just asking for confirmation for the evidence that they had already gathered through the recordings from the listening device Gun had planted in that man's room.
"I have a question; do you think your brother—Lee Hyuk's actions had been spurred by the fact that that man had been violating you or was it just personal vendetta?" Detective Song interjected.
"It was self-defence," Yeo Ri guardedly replied. "Oppa didn't do anything wrong. He had always been protecting me, right from the beginning. Killing or whatever—it wasn't Oppa's fault."
"So you are defending his actions? Even though he killed someone? That's a bit excessive for self-defence, don't you think?" Detective Song asked, crossing his arms on his chest.
"You—!" Gun erupted. He couldn't believe that the man was asking such an insensitive question.
"...What do you know?" Yeo Ri's eyes dimmed, her voice trembling as if she was holding herself back. "You, what do you know?! That man, he—"
"—he made him watch! He made Oppa watch him do that to me!" She hugged her body tightly as if to make herself seem smaller. A fresh batch of tears flowing down her cheeks. She could still vividly remember that day. She wanted to die so badly. She could not forget the sight of Hyuk lying on the ground, letting out a muffled scream as he forced himself to stay awake in horror. The tears in his eyes that he refused to shed—she could remember how his fingers twitched as if reaching out for her.
How she wished she could tear apart that man, for making them go through such a nightmare back then.
"He hurt him and made him watch!" Yeo Ri shrieked, unable to control her emotions. "He tainted me in front of Oppa!"
"Yeo Ri-ah!" Gun ran to her side, hugging her hyperventilating body tightly. "It's fine; everything is fine! It's all over now," he whispered to calm her down.
"No! Hyuk-oppa was going to die because of me! Oppa, Hyuk-oppa was just trying to protect me!" She sobbed.
"I know, I know. Shh, it's alright," Gun stroked her back reassuringly. He turned to glare at the two detectives. "Are we done yet? I'd like the two of you to leave, please," he said coldly. He knew it would not have ended well.
He regretted ever allowing her to do the interview, but at the same time, it was thanks to the interview that he found out about such important things.
Sensing that they were no longer welcomed, the two detectives reluctantly packed up and left the room.