Jeren stays silent, not saying a word, and keeps his gaze straight ahead.
He has reached right in front of his house, while Lucky keeps talking endlessly, but Jeren doesn't respond to any of his words and just walks quietly, as his mind is focused elsewhere. For him, his sister is the most important person.
As soon as they reach his house,
"Whose house is this?" Lucky asks.
Just then, the door of a neighboring house opens, and a girl steps out. She is the same age as Liya and is wearing the uniform of the same school Liya attends. Jeren had learned this detail from Dane's mobile.
But Jeren quickly grabs her hand, pulls her towards him, and tightly holds both her shoulders.
"Hey, aren't you Liya's classmate? Then why were you running away when you saw me? What are you hiding that you can't even look me in the eye?"
Jeren's tone is cold, and his glare makes the girl try to break free from his grip.
"Let me go, please… Mom... Mom, come out quickly!"
The girl screams, and her mother rushes out immediately upon hearing her daughter's voice.
As soon as the girl's mother steps outside, she sees that Jeren has a tight grip on her daughter's shoulders, and all she can see in his eyes is anger.
"Let go of my daughter, right now!"
The woman immediately rushes to free her daughter from Jeren's grip.
"Dane have you gone mad? How dare you harm my daughter?"
The woman shouts angrily, causing Lucky to panic. He steps closer to Jeren and quietly says,
"Why are you harassing the girl in broad daylight?"
Jeren glares at Lucky and pushes him away from himself.
"What happened with Liya at school? Just tell me straight, or else…"
Jeren's attention shifts when he notices the man who had been following him, still hiding behind the bushes. Jeren doesn't hesitate, pulls a stone from his pocket, and throws it directly at the man, hitting him.
As soon as Jeren throws the stone, the girl standing in front of him gets scared, witnessing him threatening them and suddenly throwing a stone at someone.
"Are you crazy, Jeren? Why are you throwing stones at people?" Lucky stammers.
"Lucky, go check that guy," Jeren orders.
"Huh? Why me?" Lucky's eyes widen in shock, unable to believe Jeren is asking him to check the guy now.
"Don't make me repeat myself, just do what I say and keep quiet," Jeren says daringly, causing Lucky, though unwilling, to go towards the man who had fainted from the blow.
The man had been following Jeren, but clearly, he wasn't cut out to be a spy.
By the time Lucky reaches the unconscious man, Jeren turns back to the mother and daughter. The girl seems to realize what Jeren wants to hear, so before he can speak, she blurts out,
"Liya was bullied by some girls at school," she says quickly.
Jeren's eyes widen in shock.
"I already know that. Tell me something else." he demands.
The girl lowers her gaze and starts speaking hesitantly.
"Apparently, a senior confessed to Liya, and those girls didn't like it because one of them had a crush on him. So, after school, they started stopping Liya every day, and they would beat her badly."
Tears begin streaming down the girl's face as she wipes them away, continuing,
"Those girls were from wealthy families, so no one dared to stop them. Their boyfriends and brothers were thugs. That's why they could do whatever they wanted. Liya asked for my help; she wanted to file a complaint against them with the police. But I refused. That's all I know."
The girl starts sobbing uncontrollably, sliding down as her mother comforts her.
But for Jeren, this didn't feel like the whole truth. Something about the girl's story didn't sit right. He could tell she was still hiding something.
Jeren punches the wall hard, the sound making the mother and daughter panic instantly.
"Oi, do you think I'm stupid? That I can't figure things out? Tell me the whole truth, now!"
"But I already told you everything! What else am I supposed to say?"
Jeren blows on his knuckles, the hand he just used to punch the wall.
"If you can't tell the truth, then at least lie, but say something. Otherwise, the next punch won't be on the wall—it'll land on your face."
At that moment, the girl's mother steps forward to shield her daughter and protect her.
"You're threatening to hit a girl? You should be ashamed of yourself!"
Hearing the woman's words, Jeren bursts into loud laughter.
"Ha ha ha ha... You might be heroes who respect everyone, but I'm the villain. When it's about my sister, I don't spare anyone—whether it's a boy or a girl."
At that moment, the girl speaks from behind her mother.
"Liya called me that night. She was begging me to save her, saying they would kill her. But it was too late at night, so I disconnected the call. The next morning, I found out she was in a coma."
Jeren glares at the girl intensely.
"You're the one who should feel ashamed. You're not even worthy of living."
He says this and walks straight to Lucky, who is searching the unconscious man.
Jeren stands right behind Lucky.
"Did you find anything?"
Hearing Jeren's voice, Lucky turns around.
"No, just a phone, but it's switched off. And some cash."
"Leave him and come with me."
Jeren grabs Lucky's hand, helps him stand, and starts walking with his hands in his pockets, still wearing the hospital gown.
"Lucky, why don't you change out of your hospital gown? It looks weird on you."
Jeren looks down at himself and realizes he should probably change clothes.
"Alright, let's go."
"But where?"
"What do you mean, where? To my house. You wait there while I change."
Lucky steps back slightly.
"No, you go ahead. I'll wait for you here."
"Fine, stay here then. I'll be back," Jeren says and heads into his house.
The moment Jeren enters his house, Lucky takes the opportunity and runs away from there.