Page 326 of Scarbound

Jun stepped closer. “You were grieving. But that doesn’t mean everything you did because of that grief was right.”

Ms. Lee finally looked at him. There was no accusation in his expression. Only sadness.

“You can’t change what happened,” Jun continued. “But you can decide what you do after learning the truth.”

He stepped toward the door before stopping. There was one more thing she needed to know.

“Oh…Ms. Lee.” His expression grew solemn. “Noeul tried to take his own life last year.”

Her face drained of color. “What?”

“Chung-Hee saved him.”

Ms. Lee stared at him.

Jun hesitated. What came next was harder.

“Your son believed Noeul was partly responsible for Haneul’s death. Then he developed feelings for him. I think those two things became tangled together until he couldn’t separate love from grief, guilt, anger, or punishment.”

“Jun…”

“After they returned to Korea, Chung-Hee took a lot of that pain out on Noeul.”

Ms. Lee’s breathing changed. “I saw what he did.”

“You saw some of it,” Jun said. “He controlled where Noeul lived, his work, his money. He hurt him.”

Silence.

“And recently, it became much worse.”

Ms. Lee’s eyes widened.

Jun couldn’t bring himself to give her details. But he wouldn’t protect Chung-Hee with a lie either.

“Bad enough that Noeul had to be taken away from him.”

Ms. Lee covered her mouth. “No…”

“I’m sorry.”

“Did my son…?” Tears filled her eyes.

“He needs help,” Jun said quietly. “But Noeul cannot be the person responsible for saving him. Not after what happened.”

Jun bowed. “If you decide to speak to Noeul, please remember that.” His hand settled on the door. “He doesn’t owe Chung-Hee forgiveness. He doesn’t owe any of us anything.”

Jun looked back at her one last time.

“But there are things Chung-Hee still has that belong to him. His passport. His identification. His money.”

Understanding slowly entered Ms. Lee’s expression. Jun didn’t tell her what to do.

He didn’t need to.

“Good night, Ms. Lee.”

The door closed quietly behind him. She remained alone in the silence.