"Do you have anything else on David?" Juho asked Haru.
"No. I am still looking into that guy. I will contact you once I have more." Haru replied. Juho got up from his seat to leave with his manager.
"Mr. Park I don't mean to interfere in your personal business but... I have seen many clients; they want to know so much about people close to them. The past, it can be dark and traumatizing at times. Are you sure you want to know it? I mean are you ready for it? Ready to accept it?" Juho stopped in his tracks hearing him. He slowly turned around to face Haru.
"Seems like Miss Kamou wants to run away from something. From my experience the woman is desperate, her past is nothing but painful. Do you think it is a good idea to dig it up?" Haru added.
"I hired you so you'll do as you are told to. I know what I am doing." Juho said sharply before leaving his office.
******************************
"What are doing for Christmas?" Gina asked.
"I'll spend it with Juho and Dara." Kamou replied having a spoonful of hot soup.
"That's big." Gina teased.
"The situation demanded it. Juho found out David was stalking me."
"So, you told him?" Gina's eyes widened.
"Nope. I pretended not to know him."
"You serious?" Gina said almost in rage. "What the fuck is wrong with you? You shouldn't be hiding things like this."
"I don't want to drag Juho into this mess with me. He worked so hard to achieve what he has today and I don't want to sabotage it in anyway." Kamou said looking down at her food.
"Hey, that's not what I mean. Kamou tell me, do you see your future with him?" Gina said gently holding Kamou's hand.
"Gina, I love this guy. Of course, I see my future with him."
"Then don't you think he should know about you completely? Your life in Malayasia, your family, David, he needs to know it all." Gina explained.
"I know that but I... You tell me will he be able to accept me?"
"Look I haven't met the guy yet but if I consider the things, you have told me about him, he will. Kamou Juho is a nice guy, he respects you, adores you and most importantly understand you. He understands you to the core, your silence, your emotions, he observes everything. He might be upset or mad at first but he will understand."
"But I am scared." Kamou said with teary eyes.
"I get it Kamou but you need to let go of your insecurities. You need to let go of all the what-ifs and open up to him more."
"I'll try Gina, I promise I will." Kamou said, making Gina smile at her.
The two got back to eating, when Gina spoke again remembering something, "What about your mother? Any news?"
"No. I don't know where she is, how she is; I got nothing."
"You didn't ask David about her?" Gina questioned. "He might still be in touch with her."
"Why would I ask about her? You know I hate her; she is the reason for all this mess. I don't care if anything happens to her. Maybe she is the one behind everything. If only dad lived longer, everything would have been so much better."
"What about Dara? Is she not talking to her?"
"I don't think Dara will bother with her. We sisters have same feelings for her and that's hatred." Kamou sighed.
**********************************
Two days later:
Manager Kwan rushed into Juho's studio with Mr. Haru behind him. The two men were almost breathless and got seated with a sense of emergency. Mr. Haru hurriedly dropped him suitcase on the table in front of Juho.
"You need to hear this. This might be way more crucial than you were expecting." Mr. Haru said in a serious tone.
"Kwan, clear my schedule for the day. Make sure no one disturbs us. You can go now; I'll call you if I need you." Juho ordered.
Something in Haru's tone made Juho uneasy, he didn't want Kwan listening about it. He felt a rush of anxiety in his body, it was this uneasy feeling. He knew it was going to be something big; not in a positive way. Juho set aside everything he was doing, with all his attention now on Haru.
"Go on." He said to Haru.
"David was in prison, serving a sentence of twelve years. Look." Mr. Haru gave him a file, opening his small suitcase.
"Prison?" Juho said, his face going pale. He took the file from Haru and started reading the papers.
"Yes, he was released three months ago. Do you want to know what he did to land himself in jail?" Haru asked.
"Stop messing around, this is not a movie. Quick, out with it." Juho was getting impatient.
"Sexual assault on a minor." Haru's eyes got dark. He was disgusted just by talking about that foul man.
Juho's body went numb, his heart sinking. He surely wasn't ready for this. Juho's thoughts were going spiral.
'Who could it be? Dara or Kamou. No... no, he didn't say it was one of them. It is someone else.'
"He was given a sentence of only twelve years because the parent of the minor declined to say anything at the hearing. David would have gotten a much severe punishment." Mr. Haru went on seeing the blank look on Juho's face.
"The incident came into light when the minor's teacher got to know about the abuse. According to the reports, the teacher one day saw bruises and marks on the victims' thighs. After class she took the girl to her office and asked about it. At first the girl tried to deny everything, she was terrified."
"The teacher slowly convinced the girl to trust her and promised to help her. It was the freedom she promised that got the girl speaking. After that the girl spilled everything to her, crying and begging for help." At this point Mr. Haru stopped taking a deep breath.