Page 109 of Scarbound

“I told them to leave.” The answer came quickly. “I knew Gong wasn’t going to stop.”

“You stayed.”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

Noeul looked at her as if the answer were obvious. “Because Gong was my brother.”

Dr. Kim waited.

“And?”

Noeul’s eyes narrowed slightly. “And someone needed to stay with him.”

Dr. Kim nodded slowly. “So Minho and Haneul left.”

“Yes. Haneul hesitated. He wanted to stay.”

“But you sent him away.”

“I had to.” Noeul swallowed. “When they were gone, Gong turned on me.” His fingers stopped moving.

“What did he say?”

“‘Why do you always choose them? Why never me?’” Noeul closed his eyes. “I told him I chose him. I said, ‘I’m here, aren’t I? I’m always here for you.’” He opened his eyes again. “That was true.”

“I told him no one could take his place. I asked him to calm down. To breathe. To talk to me.”

“For a moment, did you think it worked?”

“Yes.” Noeul nodded. “His expression changed. The anger disappeared for maybe a second.”

“And then?”

“It came back. He said I didn’t care about him. That I was just like everyone else.” Noeul laughed once, without humor. “I kept saying I cared.”

“Did he believe you?”

“No.” Noeul’s eyes dropped. “And then he hit me.”

Dr. Kim didn’t interrupt.

Noeul took a slow breath. “His hand came across my face. I remember more about the shock than the pain.” His fingers touched his cheek instinctively. “He had never hit me before.”

“Gong had been violent before.”

“Yes.”

“But not toward you.”

“Not toward family.” Noeul shook his head. “He could hurt people easily. He got into fights all the time. But he always had a line.” His voice weakened. “Or I thought he did.”

“What happened after the first blow?”

“He screamed that I was lying. Then he hit my shoulder. I crashed into the wall.” He swallowed. “Then he kept hitting me.”

Dr. Kim remained very still.