Page 153 of Scarbound

Chung-Hee stared at him as though he couldn’t quite comprehend what he had heard. Jun had always been loyal to him. He had covered for him, helped him, stood beside him through the worst years of his life.

But this time, Jun didn’t move.

“He told me he’s safe,” Jun continued. “Someone he trusts is nearby. That’s all you need to know.”

Kija glanced between them but said nothing. For a few seconds, the room remained completely still. Then the tension seemed to burn itself out, leaving behind only bitter exhaustion.

Kija stood and headed toward the kitchen. “I’ll get us more to drink,” he muttered. “We probably need it.”

Midnight found the three of them still there. Empty glasses crowded the table, and the bottle between them had fallen below half. Chung-Hee sat hunched forward, drowning beneath the sheer weight and complexity of his emotions. Jun had barely spoken for the past hour.

Kija, meanwhile, was still trying to reconcile the friend he had known for years with everything he had learned tonight. He thought of Noeul, the young man sitting on his couch, excitedly taking notes for his brother. The shy smile when Kija complimented him. The paintings of Haneul. The humiliation on his face after Chung-Hee hit him.

Kija liked Noeul. But that was no longer important.

Noeul wasn’t the problem. Kija could see that now. Chung-Hee had carried years of grief and anger into whatever existed between them, and Noeul was paying for it.

“What do you think I should do, Kija?” Chung-Hee asked at last.

Kija looked at him.

“I admit I was wrong,” Chung-Hee continued.

Jun gave a humorless laugh. “You think?”

Chung-Hee glared at him, but Kija raised a hand before another argument could begin.

“If you genuinely want my advice, I’ll give it to you. But I’m not going to tell you what you want to hear.”

Chung-Hee nodded.

Kija leaned back. “I think you love Noeul.”

Jun looked toward him, but Kija continued.

“The way you look at him. The way you think about him, miss him, worry about him. Those things may come from love.” He paused. “But what you’re doing to him doesn’t.”

Chung-Hee’s expression hardened.

“You haven’t forgiven him for what happened to Haneul,” Kija continued. “Maybe part of you still needs someone to blame, and Noeul is there. He has Gong’s face. Gong’s blood. He was Haneul’s best friend. So every time your grief becomes unbearable, you punish the person standing in front of you.”

“That isn’t…”

“Isn’t it?”

Chung-Hee fell silent.

Jun leaned back against the couch, watching his friend carefully.

Chung-Hee grabbed the bottle and poured himself another drink. Kija watched him.

“You know he’s suffering, don’t you?”

Chung-Hee said nothing.

“You know he tried to kill himself.”

His hand stopped.