Page 325 of Scarbound

“When exactly did he honor my son?” she continued, her voice dropping until only Jun could hear her. “While his brother was raping him…and he stood by in silence?”

Years of grief and bitterness had hardened the accusation until it sounded almost rehearsed.

Jun held her gaze. “He didn’t know.”

Ms. Lee went still. “What?”

“Noeul didn’t know what Gong had done to Haneul.”

Her fingers loosened around Jun’s hand. “No.”

“Chung-Hee told me himself. Noeul was completely innocent in that. He had no idea.”

“No.”

This time, the word came more firmly.

Jun didn’t argue. He let her absorb it.

“He only discovered the truth after accidentally reading Haneul’s suicide note,” he continued carefully. “Chung-Hee found him on the floor afterward, crying. Ask your son. He’ll confirm everything I’ve told you.”

The world around her seemed to fade. The conversations, the laughter, the clinking glasses, all of it dissolved into meaningless noise.

Ms. Lee stared at Haneul’s portrait. “How is that possible?” she whispered. “How could he never have known?”

“Think about the Noeul you knew.”

Her eyes shifted toward Jun.

“Do you really believe that boy could have known Haneul was being raped and done nothing?”

Ms. Lee opened her mouth, but no answer came.

He looked toward Gong’s portrait.

“Chung-Hee also told me that Noeul suffered abuse at his brother’s hands.”

Ms. Lee lowered her head. For several seconds, she said nothing.

Then she asked, “Was I so terribly wrong about him?” Her voice broke. “Did I spend all these years blaming an innocent man, Jun?”

Ms. Lee turned back toward the paintings. Memories came without permission. Noeul eating at their table. Noeul laughing with Haneul. Noeul bowing politely whenever he entered her home. The boy who had once felt so familiar that she barely considered him a guest.

Then came other memories.

Her accusations. Her anger. The things she had said to him. The things she had allowed herself to believe because hatred had been easier to carry than uncertainty.

Her hand rose slowly to her mouth. “I need to leave.”

He quietly escorted her home. Neither spoke much during the drive. When they reached her apartment, Ms. Lee sat down without removing her coat. Jun remained near the door.

“Ms. Lee…give yourself time to process this.”

She stared ahead. “I blamed him.”

Jun said nothing.

“I hated that boy.” Her voice cracked on the last word.