Slam! The door banged on Sujin's face for the eleventh time that day.

"Well fuck you too." Sujin said into the door. "Alright, who's next?"

Seojun wanted her to drop this, but Sujin wasn't one to ever give up. Even on a bad idea. "We really should sto-"

"Who's next?" Sujin said louder.

Seojun looked at the list from his high school year book. "Chang Jimin. She lives..." He trailed off as he opened the other notebook where Sujin had noted down all of the addresses. How she had acquired those, Seojun didn't know. He didn't want to know. "... just three blocks over. She lives near."

"Good," Sujin shuffled around in her heels. "Damn it, I should have brought sneakers or something."

"Why didn't you?"

"Packed in a hurry. Didn't think about shoes."

They walked over to Chang Jimin's house, Sujin wobbling a little now. Seojun's face was hidden behind his mask and sunglasses. He had even put on a hat underneath his hoodie for good measure.

They had been visiting his classmates since last night; going to their houses one by one to convince them to speak up the truth about Seojun. In hindsight, it was a foolish idea. Many of the people weren't even aware of Seojun's scandal or even the fact that he owned a flower shop. And once they were made aware, they didn't want any involvement.

Sujin had tried various tactics. She first tried pretending to be a reporter, simply following up on an old incident in high school. That didn't work as Seojun's classmates seemed terrified of any investigations being done into the incident.

"You're not a police officer, are you? I don't want to talk to you if I'm not legally required to. Go away!"

Then she tried cajoling them to go on the record by offering them the promise of temporary fame, "You'd get to be viral. Many people would know about you," but that failed once Changmin's name got involved. After that, she tried getting them to give a testimonial without realizing what they were contributing to without his classmates catching on. But they all proved too shrewd and quickly realized what Sujin was asking of them. "Are you crazy? Don't you know who the Kim family is?"

Finally, Sujin resorted to bribery, which Seojun put a stop to the minute she said, "You could earn a couple of hundred-hey!" Seojun dragged Sujin away from the bewildered man who had once dumped milk on Seojun's head.

"What are you doing?" Sujin had demanded. "I almost had him!"

"I'm not going to resort to cheap tricks to get people to take my side."

"You need cheap tricks at this point." Sujin put her hands on her hips, "Ah-nee, what kind of people are they? How can no one come forward with the truth? Don't you have any friends we can call up?"

Seojun gulped, "The only friend I had is dead."

Sujin shut up after that. There was no argument she could give. Now the duo had resorted to simply making rounds around the neighborhood in hopes of finding at least one person who would be willing to counter the news about Seojun killing his best friend.

"Is this the home of Chang Jimin?" Sujin asked the woman who had answered her door. Seojun recognized her immediately as the girl who always used to shy away from him in class. She seemed to have lost her timidness now, as she stared down Sujin suspiciously.

"Who's asking?"

"Annyeoghaseyo. I am Kang Sujin-"

"Wait a minute, you're that woman who's going around digging up dirt about what happened to Jung Seyeon." Chang Jimin eyed Sujin from head to toe. Then her eyes went to Seojun who immediately turned sideways. "Who's he?"

"My, uh, assistant. Hyun Sunjin. He's only here to carry my stuff." Sujin quickly covered. "Since you already know why I'm here, won't you-"

"Listen lady, I don't know what game you're playing at, but you shouldn't poke a sleeping bear, alright? You're going up against the Kim family. That'll cause trouble for everyone in this town."

Sujin scoffed in disbelief, "You know it astounds me how everyone seems to be aware that the culprit in this situation is Kim Changmin, yet no one has a problem blaming Han Seojun. Don't you think that's a little strange?"

Chang Jimin looked at Sujin sympathetically, as if she were mentally disabled. "You want the truth? You wanna know why everyone blames Seojun? It's because we're all angry that Seyeon had to die, and no one could do anything about it. It's because Seojun is easier to blame than Changmin, because blaming Changmin leads nowhere. At least with Seojun, we can feel some justice was done."

All pretense of politeness faded from Sujin's face. "What a crock of horse shit." She spat. "You're just doing to Seojun what Changmin did to Seyeon. Telling yourself it's justice is a lie."

"It may be a lie. But it's a lie we're willing to live with." Chang Jimin stared Sujin down. Seojun remembered the girl's resilience that first year when she had moved to town and was teased by the popular girls for wearing her hair parted in the middle and braided on both sides, like a child. Despite the teasing, Jimin had never changed her look. She still had her styled like that even now.

Sujin got in the woman's face, "If you have the guts to say that to me, then you should have the guts to admit that to the public."

Chang Jimin gulped, losing her composure. "I can't."

"Why the hell not?" Sujin demanded.

"Why don't you ask Han Seojun? He's already faced Changmin's wrath. He should know what happens to people who oppose the Kim family."

Slam! Another door shut in Kang Sujin's face.

"What kind of a fucked up town is this?" Sujin said to herself, rubbing her face in frustration. She had huge bags under her eyes and her face still looked as worn as it had been on the train. But Seojun couldn't worry about that. He was more worried about the critical look she was giving to him. "What did she mean, you've faced Changmin's wrath? What did Changmin do to you?"

"Driving my best friend to suicide isn't enough for you?"

"Don't try to be sly with me. You're not smart enough for that. What was she talking about?"

"I have no idea what you mean."

Sujin stared at him for a moment before dropping the subject, much to Seojun's relief.

"We're going to your teachers' next." She took the notebook with the addresses out of his hands.

Even behind his mask and glasses, Sujin could sense Seojun's nervousness. "I don't think that's a good idea."

"Why not?"

"The teachers will be less forthcoming."

"Well, we've gone through every student in your class. I don't see any other option."

Seojun made an uncomfortable face. Seeing his classmates all grown up was one thing. It had been like a trip down memory lane, a recap of the good times and the bad. Seeing his homeroom teacher however... that was a challenge for Seojun.

As Sujin stalked forward, Seojun pulled at her coat to stop her.

"Hmm?"

"I haven't exactly, uh, told you everything. About what happened."

Sujin blinked. "Is this about Mina liking you?"

Seojun's eyes bulged. "How'd you know?"

"You said that girls used Seyeon to get to you and Changmin, and Mina didn't like Changmin... it doesn't take a genius to figure out who she did like."

This damn woman... Seojun thought, not in annoyance, surprisingly, but in admiration. "You... you were definitely the first in your class, weren't you?" Seojun pointed a bony finger at her.

For reasons unknown to Seojun, this seemed like the wrong thing to say. Sujin's face got that cold, reserved look that she usually hid her true feelings behind. "No. I was second." She started walking again, leaving Seojun behind.

"Really? Who the hell managed to beat someone as smart as you?"

"Lee Suho."

They didn't speak till they had reached a nearby park. Sujin suddenly turned on her heels then. "If it wasn't about Mina, then what was it that you were about to tell me?"

Seojun scratched his head. "Well. I think we'd better get home if you want to hear this."

When they got home, they discovered a note from Mrs. Han informing them that she had to take Gowon for something related to her training and would be gone all day. She had left food in the fridge for the two of them to eat if they got hungry.

"I don't need to eat right now," Sujin declared, "What I do want to know is-whaaa." Sujin trailed off as Seojun dragged her to the couch and made her sit. "What are you-"

Seojun brought a first aid kit from his room and sat down on the floor in front of her. Quietly, he lifted her foot that was now swollen and cut from all of that walking. "A woman should not be getting such marks on her feet." He commented, more to himself than to her.

"You said you would tell me everything." Sujin grumbled.

"I will. But first things first."

~~~~~~~~~

"What the hell are you doing?!" Seojun rushed to Seyeon's side but one of the boys held him back. Two boys were holding up Seyeon as Changmin was beating his face to a pulp.

"Oh, it's Seojunnie." Changmin said, looking happy at Seojun's arrival. Seojun struggled against the person holding him and another boy came in to push him back. "No, no. Don't push my friend like that. He should come in and join on the fun."

"What the hell is the meaning of this, Changmin?" Seojun said in his most furious voice.

Changmin's smile soured. "Wae? Is this something new? We beat up assholes everyday, don't we?"

"That's Jung Seyeon, you bastard!" Seojun made a move to hit Changmin but again, his goons stepped in.

Changmin tsk-tsked. "Come on Seojun-ah. Don't you know what this little piece of shit did to me?" With a swift motion, Changmin kicked Seyeon's face again. Blood spilled from Seyeon's mouth.

"YAH! Stop it!" Seojun punched one of the boys holding him back. Two others took his place. There were a dozen or so surrounding them, looking to fulfill Changmin's every command.

Changmin pulled Seyeon's face up by his bangs, "Yah. Jung Seyeon. I was clear, wasn't I? I said it a million times, didn't I? Then why did I see you hanging out with Mina?"

Mina? That's what this is about?

Seyeon looked at Seojun then. Seojun knew exactly why. Mina had been charming Seyeon to get more information about Seojun. But if Seyeon said this then Changmin would turn on Seojun. And Seojun couldn't afford to get hurt and not be able to work. If he didn't work, his mother wouldn't be able to afford her treatment.

Seyeon knew this. In that look he gave, he let Seojun know that it was okay to stay silent. So Seojun stayed silent. And for that, he would remain silent for the longest time.

"Changmin will calm down." Seojun told Seyeon as he cleaned up the boy's wounds. The two sat on Seyeon's bed. "He's angry right now. But he will calm down."

"He's been angry for three months, Seojun. If he wanted to calm down, he would have done it already." Seyeon snapped. It was unexpected since Seyeon never raised his voice.

"I'll talk to him."

"No. I don't want him targeting you too."

"He won't target me. Trust me. He's just angry."

Seyeon gave Seojun a disbelieving look and angrily laid down on his bed, facing away from Seojun. "Go away, Seojun-ah. I wanna be alone."

"Seyeon. You shouldn't-"

"I said go away!"

Han Seojun left, hoping that talking some sense into Changmin might settle matters.

"You know girls only use Seyeon. You know there is no way Mina likes him." Seojun said to Changmin.

"I don't care what she does. Seyeon should have stayed away from what was mine." Changmin said, his eyes cold and lifeless.

"Chang-ah, you don't mean that."

"Yes, I do! And if you say one more word in defense of Seyeon, I'll consider you a traitor too!"

Seojun decided to lay low for a couple of days, only to give Changmin enough space to calm himself. But only the next day, to his horror, he discovered Seyeon being paraded around pantsless in the main hallway.

"Pull his underpants! Pull his underpants!" The boys were chanting as Seyeon was trying to fight them off. Changmin wasn't there, but Seojun recognized the boys as Changmin's groupies who had been holding him back before. Despite Seyeon's struggles, the boys managed to pull off his pants and with it, Seyeon's underwear. "Awwww, is that what Mina's into?" The boys all laughed as Seyeon looked around pathetically, crying. Everyone else could only watch with either indifference or curiosity.

Seojun only saw red. He didn't realize when and how he had flown in to beat up those boys. But the next thing he knew, his knuckles were bloody and there were a group of boys pounding on him. He didn't care. Enough was enough. This had to end.

The fight finally broke up when a teacher arrived, having heard the cheers of "Fight! Fight! Fight!" from the students. Everyone claimed that Seojun had started the fight, which had been true. Seojun had. No one confessed as to why he had done so.

"Teacher, Changmin and those stupid boys have been bullying Seyeon." Seojun confided in his homeroom teacher. "They beat him up, force him to do their chores, he even does Changmin's homework. Just compare the writings and you will see."

"Now why would a promising young man like Changmin do something like this?" The teacher had asked.

Seojun felt ridiculous saying this, "It's because of a girl."

The teacher had laughed, "Young man, I highly doubt someone of Changmin's standing would stoop so low to bully a peer over a girl. The Kim family is far too prestigious to be involved in such matters."

"But Seonsaengnim-"

"Don't try to get off your punishment with such lies, Han Seojun. I know about your reputation. You yourself bully kids, don't you? I've heard what the students say. You kids think you can fool us adults. But we have eyes and ears too. Now get to class, before I tell the Vice Principal to suspend you for starting a fight."

Seojun had always thought that no matter how screwed up things got at school, the adults would always be there to set things right. But he was suddenly faced with the harsh reality that sometimes, adults were just as screwed up as kids too.

Seojun knew that Changmin would find out about him reporting the incident to the teacher. So, when the boys grabbed him from the hallway and dragged him over to the roof, he wasn't surprised. Just angry at the situation.

"Han Seojun, we're best friends, aren't we? Then why would you humiliate me and tell the teacher? Or are you taking Seyeon's side even after what he did?" Changmin said as Seojun was kept on his knees by the boys pushing his shoulders down.

Seojun had tried to reason with Changmin, tried to find the friend he had once known so well. But all he saw on Changmin's face was ego.

"Why are you doing this? Do you think you'll get Mina after what you've done?"

Changmin laughed, "This isn't about getting Mina. This is about propriety. You little cockroaches think you can use me and take what's mine." Changmin kicked Seojun in the face. The world went black for a second before his sight came back again. One side of his face felt like it was on fire.

"Let this go, Changmin. Just let this go and move on."

Another kick. This time Seojun could taste the blood in his mouth. He just hoped he didn't lose any teeth. He couldn't afford any dentist fees at the moment.

"Don't you know, Han Seojun, that I never forgive people who take what's mine?"

After this beating, Seojun goes back to the teacher. Blood still dripping from his forehead. "Do you believe me now?"

The teacher looks at him grimly. Seojun expects concern, sympathy, even remorse. But the teacher plainly says, "Yes, Changmin came in just now. He explained how you would be trying to pin this on him." The teacher pulled Seojun by the collar and furiously said, "Do you really think that trying to sully that poor kid's reputation would get you anywhere? Huh? How dare you beat him up and try to blame him for it?"

Seojun looked bewildered, "Beat him up? But Teacher-"

"That's enough! I'm only being lenient with you because of your mother. How would she feel when she finds out her son is just a lowlife thug?"

"It's the truth! Why can't you believe me?"

"Truth? Bring me proof then. Bring me hard evidence. Then we will talk."

Seojun was dumbfounded. He wanted to scream at the teacher that he had gotten the whole thing wrong but words seemed to elude him. Silently, Seojun walked out of the teacher's lounge.

Outside, Changmin was waiting for him with four of his goons with him. They all grinned at Seojun. Changmin had a single shiner on his eye, but no other signs of a beating. Meanwhile Seojun's left face was swollen and he was bleeding.

Seojun had decided not to go home that day. Instead, he had pretended he would be sleeping over at a friend's house.

"Oh, are you staying at Changmin's?" His aunt had asked. She had been staying with the kids while his mother recovered in the hospital. Seojun could only respond to that query with a "Um-hmm" as he tried to suppress his tears. He was glad he was in a phone booth. The dusty walls of the booth granted him some privacy. A little peace before he had to go back out and find a place to stay at.

Just as Seyeon had predicted, the bullying had shifted to both of them now. Seojun would find his things having been thrown in the trash, his gym clothes torn up, his desk vandalized and even his books having been scribbled with hateful messages.

Seyeon never shared what Changmin was doing to him beyond the beatings. Later Seojun would learn that Seyeon was also targeted online, with humiliating pictures of him being shared and commented on. It was after this revelation that Seojun had decided to quit social media.

Throughout that time, Seojun had thought that the bullying wasn't a big deal. He knew he would get through it, as long as he had even one person on his side. As long as Seyeon was on his side. It wasn't the same for Seyeon however. He couldn't watch his friend get beaten up too, just because of him.

When Seyeon had had enough, he decided he would do the one thing that would implicate Changmin. From the rooftop of his school, he shouted how Kim Changmin tormented him for an entire year and made his life a living hell. Then, just as he was about to jump, Seojun burst through the door of the roof.

"Seyeon-ah. What are you doing?" Seojun said with as much calm as he could muster. He knew he had to remain calm otherwise he would spook Seyeon.

"Na, Seojun-ah..." Seyeon asked through tears. "Am I really that bad of a friend?"

Seojun was crying too. He shook his head, wiping his cheeks, "No. I am. But don't worry. I'll tell Changmin everything. I'll tell him Mina was after me. I promise! He won't hurt you again! I promise!" Seojun pleaded, desperate to have Seyeon back on the ground.

"So, he can ruin your life, like he did mine? What kind of a friend would I be if I let that happen?"

"Friends don't jump and leave others behind either." Seojun had said desperately, reaching out a hand. "Take my hand, Seyeon-ah! Take it!"

Seyeon had shaken his head. "I can't live like this anymore."

"Seyeon-ah, come back! Don't jump! Come back!"

Seojun could still remember the silence that had stretched out before he had heard Seyeon's body connecting to the ground. He could still remember the feel of the roof wall that he leaned over to see Seyeon's lifeless body. It was this moment that had been captured in the video. It was this moment that had changed everything for Seojun.

Rumors about him pushing Seyeon off the rood spread like wildfire. The school's community portal had to be shut down to stop students from sharing the video. Anyone who leaked it on their socials were suspended from school. The school board did a thorough investigation into the matter. Seojun had hoped they would take some action against Changmin but yet again, the adults failed Han Seojun.

"It wasn't me! Han Seojun was the real bully! We were only following what he said!" Changmin had played innocent. Crying and whining like a baby. Meanwhile Seojun could only watch in bewilderment as the entire situation played out. His mother eventually had to get involved, despite her condition. It killed Seojun to see her so stressed out by everything.

Seojun had tried to speak up, tried to reveal the truth. But all of his words had been in vain. "Seonsaengnim, it wasn't me! I never touched Seyeon. These guys are lying! Please you have to believe me. Look, they've been beating me up too! Please help me." Seojun had pleaded to his homeroom teacher who had been there to hear Seyeon's declaration before killing himself.

The teacher acted ignorant, "These guys are saying you're the one whose lying. And you're telling me they're lying. Who the hell am I supposed to believe?"

"But Seonsaengnim, you saw them. I even reported to you-"

The teacher quickly covered up, "Don't you know who Changmin's father is? He's a respectable and honorable man. Why would his son bully another kid? Why would he lie?"

It was then that Seojun realized, that all of the preaching about truth and goodness that adults had taught him had been a lie. The teacher never cared about the truth or having a hard evidence. He had only been protecting Changmin, just like everyone else.

The school could find no evidence that implicated Seojun in Seyeon's death, so the matter was closed as Seyeon having a mental breakdown due to the stress of studies. All of Seojun's pleas and protests went unheard.

The bullying got worse after that. Even people not following Changmin joined in, throwing things at Seojun, ruining his books and shoes, calling him names. His neighbors too decided they didn't want a bully like him in the neighborhood. They would often call names to his mother and his sister would also get picked on in school because of him.

After graduation, Seojun moved out to the city and invested all his time on the one thing that brought him peace.

Flowers. The only friends he had remaining.

~~~~~~~~~

When Seojun was done with both the story, and applying Band-Aids to Sujin's feet-purple ones with tiaras on them-he grew quiet. He kept his face low as he set her foot down, wondering what Sujin was thinking.

Is she going to hate me now? Will she think I was a coward? Or weak? Will she find me pathetic?

Bracing himself, he looked up and saw the abject horror on Sujin's face. Before he could even wonder what that expression meant, Sujin took his face in her hands, sandwiching it between her palms.

"It wasn't your fault, arachi?"

Seojun's nostrils burned up as his eyes grew hot. He pulled his face away but Sujin kept a firm grip on it, not letting him move. He could feel his face contorting in a pained expression but try as he may, he couldn't help it.

Sujin's voice was shaking, "I know that the instinct is to think that somehow you caused what happened. But it wasn't-"

"If I had spoken up back then. If I had said something..."

"You did speak up. You did tell the truth."

"Not when it mattered, Sujin. Not when it could have saved him." Seojun could feel himself crumbling. The only thing that kept him together was Sujin's firm grip around his face.

"You listen to me, Han Seojun. You were just a kid. You did nothing wrong you hear me? There were so many things that so many people could have done to save Seyeon. You are not responsible for what happened to him." Sujin said firmly.

Seojun broke down. Tears rolled down his cheeks. Sujin wrapped her arms around him, holding him steady. She didn't tell him not to cry. She didn't tell him it would be okay. Instead, she cried with him, wiping his face again and again.

She smelled different. No longer wearing her cologne. She smelled like sweat and mildew, no doubt because of having to walk for so long. Seojun dug his nose in her shoulder, the soft fabric of her coat rubbing against his face. He wrapped his arms around her too. Her waist felt small, her frame leaner than he had expected. He didn't know how long he had sobbed but by the end, both of them had red noses and eyes.

"Aish. How embarrassing." Seojun whispered as Sujin leaned over to grab them tissues.

"Don't be. I'm glad you told me everything." Sujin said, smiling kindly.

Her face was bare, lashes wet from tears. Her sallow face had gone pink. Her lips, wide and full, were red like rose petals. She had always been objectively attractive, but in that moment, Seojun found her to be beautiful.

Now it was his turn to hold her face. He caressed it instead of smushing it like she had done. Her eyes went to his lips, and he could tell she was thinking the same thing he was. He leaned in to kiss her, but found her fingers pressing against his mouth.

"You're not in your right mind, Han Seojun." She said quietly. "We've talked and you feel vulnerable... that doesn't mean that things between us have changed."

Seojun moved her hand away, "Haven't they?"

Sujin gave a small, sad smile, "I'm still the same twisted girl. And you still like Lim Jukyung. You think you like me now because I'm here to comfort you instead of someone else. But as soon as this moment passes, you'll regret it."

Seojun moved back a little, trying to put her words into perspective. He didn't have much time to dwell on it as something banged on the gates of the house. It felt like a thunderclap.

"Han Seojun! Come out!" It was the wail of a woman. It sounded ominous and terrifying.

"Stay here." Seojun got to his feet.

"As if!" Sujin said, following him out.

Another bang sounded. Someone was throwing rocks against the gate. Sujin followed Seojun as he went out. She bumped into his back and had to push him forward to see who it was that was throwing the rocks.

It was a woman, early fifties or late forties, dressed in plain clothes with her salt and pepper hair whipping about her face like a spell. She had a mad look about her as she eyed Seojun with vitriol and hate.

"You," the woman spewed, "you God awful creature! Why can't you just die!" She hissed like a snake, throwing a rock Seojun's way.

"Hey!" Sujin pulled Seojun out of the way just in time as the rock hit the gate behind him with a loud clang. "What the hell you think you're doing, ahjumma?!" Sujin yelled.

A man came running down the street, looking as old as the woman. He flailed his arms around, "Stop it, yeobo! Stop it! Geumanhae!"

"I will not rest until this monster is dead!" The woman shrieked, picking up dirt from the potted plants outside the home and throwing it at Seojun.

"Hey! Hey! HEY!" Sujin yelled at every fistful of dirt the woman sent Seojun's way. Sujin covered Seojun, so the dirt hit her instead.

"Sujin stop." Seojun told her.

"What the hell, are you crazy? This woman's insane!"

"That's right! I'm insane! I went insane the day he killed my son!"

The man had caught up and was trying to calm his wife down, "Yeobo, stop it. Stop causing a scene."

"How can I calm down when this boy thinks he can just stroll back in to town and we would let him!" The woman said hysterically. "I should have killed you! I should have shot you in the head!"

The woman punched Seojun in the chest who stood there, silently taking it. Sujin however, grabbed the woman's wrists and tried to wrestle her away.

"Stop it, ahjumma! Before I call the police."

"This wench... you're defending him?! After what he did to my poor baby?"

"What the hell did he do?" Sujin struggled to keep the woman at bay as she tried to kick and hit Seojun.

"He killed my boy! He killed Seyeon."

Sujin's anger faded as understanding dawned in. This was Seyeon's mother.

"I am so sorry! Yeobo, geumanhae!" The husband pleaded his wife, pulling her from behind.

"No. I will never stop. Not until my son's killer is six feet in the ground." The woman broke free from Sujin's grip and shook off her husband. She eyed Seojun with a deathly glare.

"This isn't over, boy. I won't rest until justice is done, you hear me? You'll regret ever coming back."

"Yeobo, please stop. Stop torturing the boy."

The woman broke down in tears, looking like a crazy person as she beat her own chest, wailing. "My boy! My Seyeon!"

Neighbors had come out now and they were all watching the incident with curiosity. Sujin looked at all of them; passive bystanders who only watched for entertainment. Meanwhile Han Seojun looked like he wished the earth would open up and swallow him whole.

"Come on, dear. Let's get you home." The husband was saying to his wailing wife. The woman didn't stop crying as her husband picked her up.

"I'm sorry Seojun-ah." The man offered, "I'm so sorry."

Sujin narrowed her eyes at him, giving him a curious look. The man dragged his wife away as everyone watched.

"Alright, go back to your home. Show's over." Sujin told the neighbors. They went back inside and soon it was just Sujin and Seojun.

Seojun's face was pale, his expression gaunt. Sujin knew that there was nothing she could say to make him feel better. But she hoped she could distract him.

"Why doesn't the father hate you?"

"What?" Seojun spoke, as if in a daze.

"The mother, I get. But the father... why doesn't he hate you?"

"Does that really matter?"

"I think it does. I think its very strange that he was here apologizing instead of asking for your head on the chopping block like the mother."

"I don't know, Sujin. I didn't bother asking when I was being told that I should die!" Seojun yelled at her. He didn't know why. She had asked a reasonable question. But he felt like yelling just now.

"I think he knows something." Sujin said with that calculating look Seojun had seen a million times on her face.

"I don't care, Sujin. Do whatever you want." Seojun went back inside.

Sujin stared after Seyeon's parents who appeared like dots in the distance. "He knows something the mother doesn't. And I'm going to find out what."