Han Seojun felt drained yet very awake. He didn't know whether the court hearing had gone well or not, and he was too afraid to think too much about it. He worried he had messed things up for Mrs. Jung and taken away Seyeon's only chance at justice.

Yah, Han Seojun! Are you a coward?!

Seojun sucked in his lips as he thought of Sujin yelling at him from the spectator benches. She'd been there, she'd been watching him. A feeling of giddiness took over him at the thought of meeting her. But then he remembered, he was supposed to be mad at her.

It was wrong, but all that anger and resentment he had built up over the months just washed away at first sight. Her hair had grown longer, he recalled. And she had looked brighter, better. Even chubbier. Seojun wondered what she had been up to all this time. Seojun wondered whether he would get to meet her again.

Not wanting to be disappointed once more, Seojun resigned this incident as just a blip; a happenstance. Sujin might have been there in court but that didn't mean she was back in his life.

Did it?

"You did good in there." Youngsu interrupted his thoughts. Seojun had been sitting outside, waiting. The courtroom had felt too stuffy and confining.

"No, I messed up." Seojun said.

Youngsu didn't put on any pretenses. He knew Seojun could see right through them. "You did the best you could. Most people would have caved under that pressure."

"I almost did until... where is she by the way?" Seojun couldn't say her name.

Youngsu opened his mouth to speak but Mrs. Jung came up behind him. "Those awful, awful people. How can they so callously defend themselves after what they did?" She was seething. Seojun could see bloody murder in her eyes.

"Calm down." Her husband put a hand on her shoulder.

"Calm down? I want to kill that man! And his son! Let him know what the loss of a child feels like!"

"Well then you might not want to confess to the crime in a court house." Youngsu smiled at the woman. His kind face helped her relax.

Mrs. Jung turned to Seojun, "Thank you, Seojun-ah, for being here. Seyeon would have appreciated it."

This, coming from anyone else would have been meaningless. But coming from Seyeon's mother, it meant a lot. Seojun pushed back his feelings as his eyes began to sting.

"Will we win? Tell me we'll win." Mrs. Jung pleaded to Youngsu.

"That's for the court to decide Mrs. Jung. Don't worry. You've got a good case. You just need to keep your hopes up."

Seojun could hear the practiced professionalism in Youngsu's voice. It wasn't a good sign. It meant that Youngsu was only saying this to appease her and didn't actually mean it. His words were hollow.

Youngsu's words worked. Like magic, Mrs. Han calmed down. The lawyer spoke some more with his clients, speaking about further procedures. Seojun admired how the man seemed so capable with words, spinning them around Mrs. Jung, making her feel optimistic and confident. The lawyer was a magician. Seojun himself could never know how to use words that way.

He only knew how to be blunt and straightforward.

"We're going to lose, aren't we?" Seojun said once Mr. and Mrs. Jung had left. Youngsu dropped the smile from his face.

"It's hard to win cases like these. Especially given who we're up against."

Seojun just nodded. This case was just another reminder of how messed up the world was. Another reminder that Seyeon died for no reason.

"Come on, we should go meet our mutual friend."

"Mutual friend?"

"The lady with the loud mouth."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The police station nearest to the court was a small, humble station with only five holding cells for criminals. Most of the cells were empty except one. The cell in the farthest corner carried two women; an ahjumma connected to a dangerous drug ring and a teenager who had stabbed her teacher. These two stood up when a third woman was brought in.

"Let me go! I did nothing wrong!" The new woman struggled against the police officers but it was in vain. They threw her in the jail cell.

"Be quiet. Don't cause any trouble now." One of the policemen warned.

Sujin poked her head out through the bars of the cell. "Officer, I did nothing wrong. It's that asshole lawyer who should be jailed."

"Tell that to the judge." The officers went away, leaving Sujin hanging by the bars.

The ahjumma and the teenager looked at each other—both looking like criminals in their drabby clothes and dark expressions while Sujin looked fresh and respectable in her beige suit and silky black hair. They grinned at Sujin like predator to prey. Sujin felt their eyes on her and turned around, looking curious.

The offenders' grins widened.

Cautiously, Sujin took the bench farthest from the ladies. But the ahjumma and the girl came and sat by her, one on each side.

"Say, this is quite a fancy coat." The ahjumma stroked Sujin's sleeve. Sujin jerked her arm away.

"And look at her hair. So shiny," the teenager examined a lock of Sujin's hair.

"It gets so boring here in jail," the ahjumma lamented, still checking out Sujin's blazer. "We're always dying for some entertainment. Say, that's a fancy locket around your neck."

"I bet she's one of those rich heiresses who's never even seen the inside of a police station."

"What do you think we should do to her?"

"Make her sing?"

"Make her dance?"

The women looked up at Sujin's face. Her expressionless face confused them.

"Yah," the teenager pushed Sujin, "you're not going to say anything?"

Sujin looked at her with cold, lifeless eyes, "You want entertainment?" Both women jerked back a little. "I'll give you entertainment."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Right this way, Park Lawyer-nim," The police officer led Youngsu to the jail cells. Seojun followed closely behind.

The three men stopped short when they came to the cell where Sujin was held.

"Eight, nine, ten, eleven—"

"You said we only had to do ten!" The ahjumma protested. The two offenders were doing sit-ups while holding their ears. A punishment normally given to children. Sujin was perched on the bench with one long leg over the other, arms crossed, looking like a school teacher supervising her students.

"I've changed my mind. Twelve, thirteen, fourteen—"

"Wow, jail becomes you." Youngsu commented.

Sujin turned and immediately got to her feet. "Yah, Park Youngsu," she said dangerously. In just two strides she was at the bars, reaching through them to grab the collar of Youngsu's coat. "Get. Me. Out. You. Useless. Lawyer." Each word was punctuated with a shake.

Youngsu went back and forth as Sujin shook him down. He was undeterred by her, looking unimpressed and unamused.

"If I'm so useless, why do you hire me?" He asked.

Sujin stopped shaking him but tightened her grip, "Yah. Are you here to bail me out or insult me?" She snarled.

"I dunno. You seem so much at home in this cell." The corners of Youngsu's mouth twitched in amusement.

"This isn't funny, Youngsu."

Youngsu tilted his head and reached through the bars to pinch Sujin's cheeks. "Aigoo, is our tough little Sujinnie scared?"

"YAH!" Sujin shook him hard, but Youngsu continued pinching her cheeks. They looked like children having a fight instead of two adults in a very serious situation.

The police officer standing to the side cleared his throat. Both Youngsu and Sujin let go of each other.

"Are you going to get me out or what?" Sujin demanded.

Youngsu jerked his head towards another officer coming to them with Seojun behind him. "As much as I enjoy seeing you behind bars, Seojun's already posted your bail. So, stop whining."

"Seojun? Han Seojun?" Sujin finally noticed him, standing to the side. Seojun had been watching the two childhood friends with curiosity.

She's never acted this familiar with me, he thought sourly.

Sujin was let out of jail and made to fill out paperwork for her release. Youngsu chatted amiably with the police officers—all of whom seemed to be familiar with him—while Seojun lurked in the corner like a silent shadow.

Sujin didn't look at him, didn't acknowledge him and Seojun got the distinct feeling she was mad at him.

She's giving me attitude? I'm the one who should be mad at her!

Seojun looked between Youngsu and Sujin. It was when he had seen the lawyer pulling at Sujin's cheeks that Seojun remembered where he had heard of the lawyer before.

Youngsu?

You mean that famous lawyer? You know him?

He went to school with me and Suho. He was a friend.

I seem to recall you him being more than just a friend.

Was this where Sujin had been all this time? With this Lawyer, Park Youngsu? Seojun felt an unfamiliarly negative feeling take over him. He eyed the lawyer, evaluating his expensive looking suit, his soft spoken voice, his kind smile and his ability to weave words together like a spell. He was everything Seojun was not.

If Seojun was tough, hard around the edges, Park Youngsu was easy-going, flexible. If Seojun looked intimidating, Youngsu was approachable. If Seojun's eyes glared, Youngsu's eyes invited you in. If Seojun was silent, Youngsu was talkative.

And man, could he talk.

The entire time they were at the police station, he inquired after each and every officer, even asking after some of the cases that had been reported for the area. The Lawyer made quick friends and managed to get the policemen to fill out half the paperwork that Sujin had to work on herself. Thanks to Youngsu, they were out of the station in half the time it would have taken anyone else.

Han Seojun had never felt less than, when compared to anyone before. Even with Lee Suho, he was aware of their differences, but never despondent over it. This time felt different.

I have nothing to do with Kang Sujin, Seojun reminded himself, If she's rekindled— re— if she's— Oh God, what if she's dating him? What if they're together?

Seojun didn't want to see that. He didn't want to stick around and hear the Lawyer and Kang Sujin act all familiar with each other. He didn't want to see him pull at Sujin's cheeks again.

"Han Seojun? You coming?" Youngsu shook Seojun out of his reverie. The Lawyer stood with the door to the station half open. Over his shoulder, Sujin gave Seojun a sideways glance before stepping out.

Humph! The audacity of that damn woman.

Seojun followed them out, irritation bubbling in his chest, threatening to rise to the surface.

Sujin was acting all wrong. She should have been acting sorry or guilty or at least a little sheepish. Instead, she was giving him the cold shoulder, as if he had done something wrong.

Sujin stalked forward, not looking back. She spotted Youngsu's car in the parking lot—She already knows what his car looks like?—and stood by the door with her arms crossed and her face turned away from them.

Seojun's brows furrowed. His mouth shrunk as if he had tasted a particularly sour lemon.

"Did you piss her off?" Youngsu asked him.

Seojun shrugged.

"Must be me then. I tend to do that sometimes," Youngsu rubbed the back of his head. "Well, I'll drop you off too. Where do you live?"

"He's coming with us?" Sujin asked as if she couldn't believe it.

"Well, yeah." Youngsu said, unsure of why Sujin sounded so mad.

Sujin didn't say anything, just turned away and glared at the road. Youngsu took out his keys and unlocked the door with the remote. Sujin got in the back.

Seojun told Youngsu the address to his home. He couldn't wait to go back, pack up and go back home. He suddenly longed to be near his flowers.

"Oh, that's near Sujin's place." Youngsu commented before getting in the driver's seat.

Seojun nodded at first and then suddenly, "Sujin's place? You mean she lives here?" Kang Sujin lives here now? In my hometown? Why? When? Why? How? WHY?

Seojun bent down and looked pointedly at Kang Sujin in the back but her face was turned away. The woman had a lot of explaining to do. But Seojun couldn't find the words to ask her all the questions running in his mind.

A heavy silence sat in the car with the other three passengers. It sat on the corner of the backseat that was unoccupied, kept at bay by Youngsu's constant chattering. It was a pity that neither Seojun nor Sujin was enjoying the view of the quaint little town. The sun was setting now. The sky was colored in pinks, oranges and purples, similar to Seojun's flowers. Streetlights began twinkling on and buildings were dipped in shadow, and shops invited with promise of new discoveries.

Youngsu admired all of this as he chattered on but it went unappreciated. He didn't notice the discomfort of his passengers. If he did notice, he chose to ignore it: Seojun fidgeting in his seat, Sujin pointedly looking out of the window, the two of them stealing sideways glances at each other when they thought the other wasn't looking.

Youngsu drove them through a familiar street. A series of officetels lined the side of the road. Seojun's heart stopped as Youngsu parked in front of the same officetel that Seojun had once followed a strange woman to.

"Here we go," Youngsu unlocked the doors from the panel at his side. "You're not gonna invite me in?" He joked.

In response, Sujin slammed the door when she got out.

"Sheesh. Jail time has really changed her," Youngsu laughed but Seojun didn't join in. He watched Sujin go into her building in wonderment and confusion. "Eh, tough crowd." Youngsu said to himself.

As Youngsu turned the car around the corner, Seojun noticed something he hadn't before. A sign on one of the windows of the offices: Move Consulting. Seojun wondered what it meant. He was still processing the fact that Kang Sujin had chosen to move to his hometown and didn't even bother telling him about it.

It bothered him so much that when Youngsu dropped him off at home, Seojun brought the question up to his mother.

"Oh, Sujinnie? Oh, she moved here about, what... five months ago I think? Gowon-ah!" His mother called to her daughter, "When did your Unnie move here?"

"Her Unnie?" Seojun's eyes bulged further. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. Kang Sujin, in his home town, and his mother already knew about it. More than that, apparently Gowon called Sujin her Unnie, an honorific term that women gave to older women.

"What?" Gowon stuck her head out of her room. Her face was covered in green gunk and she had a headband holding all of her hair back.

"When did Sujinnie move here?"

"Six months ago." Gowon disappeared back into her room. Seojun got up from the table and went to her, leaning against her doorframe. He watched as she applied cream on her feet.

"Did she say why she was here?"

Gowon looked at him, confused, "Oppa, don't you already know? They've opened up a branch of her company over here."

Mrs. Han appeared from behind Seojun, "Do you remember the list I gave her? Well, she actually managed to convince her boss to send her here! Isn't that amazing?"

Not so much when you know Sujin was the boss.

"She said it was all to help out the community! Something about a—a whatchya call it, a program or something. I don't know the details but what I do know is Mr. Gwon from next door is doing very well with his laundry business. And Dinah has even opened up another café!"

Seojun's head was spinning. Kang Sujin had been working here? All this time?

Why?

"But you already knew all this, didn't you?" Gowon said, looking at Seojun expectantly. Seojun didn't pay any attention.

"Acham, Seojun-ah. I'm glad you brought Sujin up. That girl, she never eats properly. Come in the kitchen, I want to send over some side dishes to her." Mrs. Han patted Seojun on the shoulder, beckoning him to follow.

Seojun followed his mother in a daze. She packed up a huge box and handed it over to him. Seojun looked down at it like it was something that had fallen out of the sky.

"Well, what are you waiting for? Go bring it over to her!" Mrs. Han shooed Seojun away.

Eomma's right. What exactly am I waiting for? "I'll go over right now."

As Seojun went out, Gowon stuck her head out of her room again. "I don't think your tricks will work." She said in a sing-song voice to her mother.

"Oh, shush. Those kids just need a little nudge."

Seojun had walked half the way over to the officetel when he realized he should have taken his bike. He had been so lost in his thoughts that he hadn't even noticed. He also failed to notice a tall, lurking shadow that seemed to follow him with every step, but that shadow was more than happy to have been ignored.

Seojun decided to continue walking the rest of the way, carrying the box wrapped in cloth that his mother had prepared so lovingly for the woman who had thrown him away like trash.

Seojun reached the officetel and walked up to the window with the Move logo on it. The office was closed and it was dark inside. Seojun could see a desk and stacks upon stacks of files and papers filling the shelves, cabinets and even the floors of the small office space. The entire office was smaller than Kang Sujin's office back at the Move Conglomerate building. But Seojun could see she had made herself home in the small space.

He walked to the side of the building, where the apartment entrance was. It was here that Seojun realized that he didn't know where Kang Sujin lived. He buzzed at a random apartment and without any query, the door buzzed open. Seojun noted how unsafe that was. Sujin should be living in a safer area.

Seojun went up the stairs, wondering how he would find her home. Luckily for him the person he had come to see came bounding down the stairs, on her way out. She jumped when she saw him standing on the stairs.

"Han Seojun?"

Seojun's jaw went slack. Sujin had changed out of her suit and was now in her sweats with a hoodie on top and her hair tied up in a ponytail. It was the same as the woman he had followed the other day. Seojun was quickly realizing that it had been Sujin all along and that revelation was doing something to his heart.

"What are you doing here?" She asked stepping down. She stood a step above him but met him level in height since he was taller.

Seojun felt at a loss for words. He forgot why he had been so mad at her. He was just that happy to see her. But Sujin didn't seem to reciprocate the feeling. She looked uncomfortable in his presence. Her eyes went to the box of side-dishes. "Your mother sent you." She stated.

Seojun looked down and remembered why he had been there.

"Yeah, um, these are for you."

Their fingers brushed as Sujin took the box from him. A jolt of electricity went through him and Seojun looked Sujin right in the eye, wondering if she felt the same thing.

"Tell your mother I said thanks." She rambled as she tried to go back in. But the minute she had her back turned to him, Seojun wrapped her in his arms.

"Han Seojun?" Sujin said in shock.

"Just one minute. Give me just one minute." Seojun held on to her for dear life, burying his nose in her hair. She didn't smell of spices of expensive cologne. Instead, she smelled distinctly human; sweaty and musty. Seojun could live in this scent for eternity.

He still didn't know why Kang Sujin had left him all alone, only to move back to his own hometown. He still felt anger at her for having left him without a word, after making him feel like she felt something for him.

I won't ever hate you... Seojun... I don't think I can.

Seojun could never hate Kang Sujin. This he knew with surety. But he also knew that he couldn't do anything if she was with that lawyer, Park Youngsu.

"Han Seojun," Sujin pushed his hands away, looking at him in shock.

Seojun gulped, hoping his face didn't reveal much of his pain. His heart felt like it was breaking all over again, shattering like glass and he was willingly walking over the shards, letting them cut the soles of his feet.

"Ah, sorry." Seojun tried to play it cool. "I don't know what came over me. Forgive me. You won't see me again." That was what Sujin wanted. No matter what, Seojun had to respect her wishes.

Seojun walked away. He heard Sujin put the container down on the steps to the door. He heard her feet as she ran after him and wrapped her arms around his waist.

"Yah, where are you going?" Her voice was shaking. "You can't go. I won't let you."

Seojun himself was shaking. He felt guilty. Was he stealing Sujin away from another man? Was this right? Was it wrong?

"Let go."

"After holding me like that, you're telling me to let go?"

"I made a mistake."

At this, Sujin released him. "Are you serious?" She asked. "You ignore me and basically give me the cold shoulder and now you embrace me out of nowhere and leave me with a I made a mistake?!"

"When did I ignore you?"

"You knew where I was, Han Seojun. No, don't give me that look like you don't know what I'm talking about. Jukyung told me she told you. She told me that you knew where I was and yet what do I get? Not one phone call, not one text, not even an email, or a letter! I waited and I waited—" Sujin's voice cracked. She took a second to compose herself. "I know how it looks when a woman just throws herself at a man. I'm not saying I'm proud of trying to kiss you that night, but don't expect me to be ashamed of it."

Seojun couldn't make heads or tails of what Kang Sujin was saying. "Wait, what do you mean Jukyung told me?"

Sujin ignored him and went on, "You can't just show up now, out of the blue and expect me to just accept you without an explanation."

Seojun blinked rapidly, "Kang Sujin, what do you mean Jukyung told me?"

Sujin scoffed. "You don't even remember? Jukyung said you came over to the offices looking for me. She said she told you where you could find me. She said you even nodded and ran away as quickly as possible to—what she assumed was— find me. But now I know she was wrong."

Seojun shook his head, trying to make sense of everything. He held onto Sujin, fearing his brain might malfunction as it went into overdrive, thinking back to six months ago when he had gone to visit Jukyung. "Sujin-ah. Jukyung never told me where you were." Seojun pleaded.

But then he recalled, Lim Jukyung telling him something, even running after him when he was leaving. He hadn't registered what she had been saying but not he recalled his hometown having been mentioned.

Ah, crap... was this all a big misunderstanding?

"Seojun, Jukyung wouldn't lie to me," Sujin was telling him.

Seojun let Sujin go and buried his face in his hands. "Aish!" He groaned in embarrassment.

He hadn't reached out to her, not even a text or a phone call, because he had simply assumed that she hadn't wanted to see him and he wanted to respect her wishes. It had never occurred to him that he might have overreacted to the situation.

"But wait," he lifted his head, "you never called, never texted, didn't even leave a note. Why did you leave without saying goodbye?"

"I did leave you a note. I left it with Chorong."

Back in the flower shop, Kim Chorong sneezed loudly. And there, hidden below the papers in Seojun's desk, was an envelope with not a note, but a four paged letter that Sujin had penned for him. It was there, collecting dust, having been forgotten by Chorong and undiscovered by Seojun. Seojun would later read that letter and laugh at how over dramatic Sujin sounded. But right now, Seojun wanted to kill Kim Chorong. Chorong sneezed again, wondering who was remembering him.

"Aish!" Seojun kicked the step. The embarrassment hit him so hard, even his ears went red.

For some reason, Sujin was blushing too. "I thought you knew. I thought, all this time, that you didn't want to see me." Her voice was small. It broke Seojun's heart to hear it.

"I would never want that, Sujin." Seojun looked at her pleadingly.

Sujin looked at her hands, "After what I did... that night... I thought you'd find me... disgusting. I basically threw myself at you." She swallowed, not meeting his eyes.

"Sujin-ah, I would never—" Crash! The sound of glass breaking made both of them jump. Someone was outside, breaking the windows to the offices.

Seojun made a beeline for the entrance door, "Stay right here." He commanded.

"I'm not letting you go out there alone." Sujin said.

"I said, stay." Seojun looked at her squarely in the eyes, letting her know he meant business, "Listen to me for once. And call the police."

Han Seojun, the man with the mean eyes and the deep voice, had never managed to intimidate Kang Sujin. But right now, his voice carried an authority that even Sujin couldn't ignore. Sujin found her legs were bolted to the ground, unable to move.

Since when did he get so manly?

When Seojun went out, he saw that the large, wide windows to the office level of the officetel had indeed been smashed by rocks. And he could see the source of the destruction.

It was Kim Changmin, looking deranged and feral. His eyes were wild and red. He smelled of alcohol and a couple of other concoctions. He looked unhinged.

"I know you're here, canoodling with that little tramp of yours!" Changmin yelled at him as he staggered in his feet, "Meanwhile, Seyeon is dead! And it's your fault!"

Changmin took Seojun by surprise, tackling him in to the ground. Seojun came out of the shock of his head hitting the pavement but he didn't have enough time to block the punch. Changmin hit him squarely in the eye and Seojun saw only grey for a long second. The next punch hit him in the jaw.

Lights came on in the windows in the surrounding houses and apartments. People peered in through their windows. Someone else called the police, but the nearest station was miles away and the police had always been slow to respond. No one bothered to help Seojun, however. No one would dare get involved in this mess.

"I didn't kill Seyeon, you did. You bastard." Seojun blocked the next punch and hit Changmin back. The men rolled over in the ground, trying to gain the upper hand. Han Seojun was tough, but Changmin was brutal. And the better fighter. Soon, Seojun was bleeding from the cut on his lip and on his cheek. His teeth were a bloody mess and his eye was starting to swell.

Changmin too looked worse for wear. Seojun had gotten a few good jabs in but not enough. Working with flowers had made him soft. He didn't have the same strength he used to have in high school.

"You," Changmin pointed a finger at him, "you knew Mina liked you. And you let Seyeon take the blame. Is that what friends do? Is that how they betray each other?"

Seojun laughed, spitting out blood. "You wouldn't know what a friend was even if he kicked you in the face. Which I did by the way."

That earned Seojun another kick in the gut. Seojun fell back and Changmin took this opportunity to grab him by the collar.

"You think this is funny? I'm in court, getting my ass sued for something that you caused! I didn't even know it was you Mina was after. I would have pushed you off the school building myself had I known. Do you know how much Seyeon had to suffer, because of you? Do you know that he would still be alive if it hadn't been for you?"

"I'm not the one who humiliated him in front of everybody," Seojun yelled, tugging against Changmin's grip. "I'm not the one who beat the shit out of him after school, who made his life miserable."

Changmin snarled at Seojun, "I only did what was right. Yeah, I'll admit. I went too far. Maybe I hit him too much. Maybe I shouldn't have made him run around naked in the hall way. But I never did anything that wasn't deserved. It was just you who deserved it."

"But you did beat the shit out of me!" Seojun yelled into Changmin's face. It was what he had been waiting to say for all these years. And finally, Seojun had found the right words for it. "You did humiliate me. I was the one who had to suffer when Seyeon was gone! And yet still, Gwan Mina didn't choose you. She's still not with you, Changmin. So what did you get by betraying your best friends over a stupid girl? Huh? What did you get?!"

Changmin's face fell. He let go of Seojun's collar, backing off. Seojun was right. In the end, even Changmin didn't get what he had wanted. No one had. All they had gotten was hurt and loss.

"Just let Seyeon's mother win this trial, Chang-ah." Seojun pleaded. "Let Seyeon rest in peace. Do the right thing. Just this once."

Changmin's face hardened, "The right thing? The right thing?! What about the right thing for me? Why doesn't anyone ever see how I suffered through all of this? I'm the one who was betrayed. I'm the one left alone. The right thing would be to end your life, the way that twerp ended his! And if I have to ruin your life, the way I ruined his, to drive you to that point, then so be it. I will do whatever it takes, to make you miserable, Han Seojun. Whatever it takes."

Seojun looked into the face of the man who had once promised to give his own life for him. He could no longer find that slightly misguided boy who still had promise. All Seojun saw, was the lost man who no longer knew how to find his way back to humanity.

A beep sounded. The kind of beep that let someone know a video had stopped recording. "And cut!"

Both men turned to Kang Sujin who tapped on her phone. A whooshing sound effect came from the phone. The sound that let the person know something had been uploaded.

"That was live, by the way. So that's already on the internet. In case you were wondering." Sujin told a very bewildered Kim Changmin. Seojun licked his lips, glad he hadn't been wearing any piercings due to his court appearance. Otherwise his face would have been bloodier than it was now.

"What—What—What did you day? You little b****h, what did you say?" Changmin said darkly, approaching Sujin. Seojun grabbed Changmin's leg to stop him. Changmin looked down on Seojun, and kicked him in the chest.

"Don't you know who I am?" Changmin said to Sujin. "You can't mess with me! I'm Kim Changmin! My father will—OOF!"

Sujin spun around and kicked Changmin squarely in the face. The blow was so powerful that Changmin fell backward with a leap. "No one touches my man," Sujin said through gritted teeth.

Sujin strode over to Changmin and grabbed his collar, much like Changmin had grabbed Seojun's. "You may be Kim Changmin. But I'm Kang Sujin, you hear? Kang Sujin! And I don't need no daddy to hide behind. I can kick your ass on my own."

Sujin turned to help Seojun up. But that was a mistake. Changmin wasn't one to back down from a fight, even if it was against a woman. And he especially wasn't one to feel bad about hurting someone when their back was turned to him.

Seojun saw Changmin get up to hit Sujin as she bent over to help Seojun. But before Seojun could even react, Sujin spun around and kicked Changmin in the chest. "Coward." She told him.

Nearby, sirens wailed and grew louder as they approached closer.

"You okay?" Sujin bent over Seojun, brows rising at the state of his face. She gave him a hand and he used it to stand up. Now that the fight was over, Seojun was feeling the true impact of Changmin's beating. It would take him weeks to properly heel.

"Hey," Seojun said to Sujin as they waited for the police to reach them. "You're not dating that lawyer, are you?"

"I'm not dating anyone, Han Seojun." Sujin informed him quietly.

"Good."

Seojun didn't let go of Sujin's hand, even as he police car arrived and even when they took Changmin away. And even as the police were done with their questioning and were leaving, Seojun held on to her hand. Her hand that was dry and patchy. Her hand that many men would have been too disinclined to hold because of the bossy nature of its owner.

But it was a hand that Seojun knew he could rely on. It was a hand Seojun knew, that he would hold on to for a long, long time. Maybe even forever.