Jimin (Complete)
The girl who had been sobbing for so long now bit her lip hard, as if determined not to cry anymore. Even so, the tears that still slipped out must have felt like a betrayal.
"...Oppa, am I going to prison now?"
"..."
"...I'm sorry. For reading your assignment, for bothering you even though you have a girlfriend, for saying horrible things, for stabbing you with a knife..."
"Yeah..."
Jimin spoke in a weak, exhausted voice, as though she had finally let everything go. The girl who had done unforgivable things had only filled me with fear and hatred, but her heartbreaking, sincere story left me confused.
Why do women always bare their true feelings when they're being held? Is it because they feel connected to the person they're touching? Or because they hope that person will help them?
The image of this girl stabbing and raping me clashed violently with the sight of her wailing, the way she had hurled every curse imaginable at her sister, and the way she was apologizing to me now. The contradictions made me dizzy.
Her mother's horrific death had shattered the girl completely. The last conversation she ever had with her mother had been laced with feelings of affection for me. The girl still longed for the mother who had left the world without properly sharing those feelings. That was why she couldn't let go of me—the final link to her mother.
But the girl knew now. I was leaving soon. She wanted to hold onto me, but she couldn't. Guilt, longing, pity, and a sense of kinship toward me had bound the girl who had finally faced her true self. The only thing she could do was let me go.
"Oppa... can't you date me...?"
"...No, Jimin."
"Please. Please..."
The girl burrowed into my arms.
"Please..."
Because she had pressed herself against me, my heart felt like it was being torn apart.
"..."
"Please tell me you'll date me..."
"Jimin..."
"Please tell me you love me..."
"I'm sorry, Jimin."
"Please..."
"I'm sorry."
I could feel dampness against my chest. The girl's sobs weren't reaching my ears—they were hitting me directly in front of my heart. Her voice pierced through skin and muscle to reach me. The trembling in her crying voice seeped in far deeper than any words could.
I forced myself to sit up. Every cell in my body screamed in irritation that it needed more rest, but I ignored it and began preparing to leave.
"Oppa, please don't go..."
Jimin looked up at me, sobbing.
"Oppa, I'll live a good life from now on, so please stay with me..."
Listening to the girl's desperate plea, I picked up my smartphone from the floor.
"Oppa, please stay here..."
There were 351 missed calls. ...I turned the power off again.
"Oppa, I'm sorry..."
I put weight on my legs and barely managed to stand. The sudden rush of blood throughout my body brought on another wave of dizziness.
"Oppa, I love you."
I finally reached the door and turned the handle.
"Oppa, I really love you."
Click.
I closed the door behind me, leaving the girl who watched me go.
"J-Jihyun!"
On my way to the entrance, Professor Kim dropped to his knees and clung to my legs.
"Jihyun, I'm sorry... I had no choice. P-Please, save my daughter."
The sight of him was so different from the confident professor who gave lectures that it hurt my chest.
"Jimin, my daughter... she was struggling so much, that's why she did it. Please... I'll talk to her properly. Please don't report her..."
The image of the girl overlapped with the professor's desperate face.
"Ever since her mother died... she's still having a hard time. Please, just forgive her this once. Okay? Jihyun, I'll take full responsibility for everything! I'm begging you."
Humans are three-dimensional beings. People who smile brightly while their insides rot away. People who cherish their lovers but are cruel to their parents. Someone's idol and someone else's enemy. People who appear flawless and admirable, yet are more rotten than anyone else.
It was pitiful to see Professor Kim, who had taught me so much, now begging me for mercy. At the same time, I felt betrayed by the man who had turned a blind eye and tried to ignore what was happening to me.
"Professor... you knew, didn't you?"
"...What?"
"That Jimin liked me. That she wanted to meet me. That things weren't going the way she wanted when we met, so she started getting worse. You knew all of it."
"J-Jihyun..."
Rage surged up inside me. I wanted to hurl every curse and condemnation at the man who had driven me into this hell.
"And yet you still made me meet her. Even though you knew she was in a bad state."
"Jihyun, I was wrong. Please... I had no choice. Jihyun."
The professor stepped back and slammed his forehead against the floor.
Thud.
"Jihyun! It was all my fault. My daughter did nothing wrong. I'm begging you... Jimin is only nineteen..."
"You knew what would happen if she met me in that condition."
"..."
The pent-up anger felt like it was about to explode. I channeled every ounce of energy toward my face. The concentrated blood flushed my skin, and the heated blood radiated heat from my head.
"You knew it would be painful for both me and Jimin."
The professor lifted his head and looked at me with tear-filled eyes.
"Jihyun, I trusted you... Our Jimin, only you can fix her. You know that. If I had just left her like that, you know what would have happened...!"
"..."
Once the anger reached a certain level, it became strangely calm. So calm that it was hard to believe I had been this furious. And the sight of this man kneeling before me to resolve the situation began to feel utterly repulsive.
I left the professor behind and headed for the door. I braced myself against the wall, minimizing the pain from my wounds as I walked.
"J-Jihyun!! Please!!!"
The professor wailed from behind me.
If I turned my back on both Jimin and Professor Kim and walked out of this house, everything would be over. Whether it was because I had no strength left or for psychological reasons, my feet wouldn't move properly.
...Jimin. I could see her collapsed figure, the one who had said she loved me as I walked away, repeating "I love you" to my retreating back. The image of her crying in my arms kept flashing before my eyes. I could see the future where she lived while thinking of me, cursing herself. Her longing for her mother, her guilt toward me, her self-loathing. I could see the future where both Professor Kim and Jimin would be talked about by people, hounded as they lived. I could see the two of them falling endlessly while living such painful lives.
My rage was instantly infected by pity for the girl and the man behind me. I could hear a father's sobs for his daughter.
...If I could just endure it.
"Next week."
"Next Monday, at the same time... tell her to come out."
It had been a while since I last walked down this familiar hallway. I entered the passcode.
Beep-beep-beep↗
Along with the warm sound I had heard for decades, I opened the door. All the things that had happened over the past few days, the pain, the emotions, and the exhaustion came crashing down on me at once.
"Mom...?"
I felt like I was going to collapse. The headache, the pain from my wounds, the nausea that made me want to vomit. I could faintly hear voices from the living room, followed by the sound of hurried footsteps.
Just the thought of seeing Mom after so long made tears well up.
"Mom..."
Someone came over and supported me.
"My baby, you're so late... huh?"
I lifted my head again to look at the face.
"Jihyun, I've been waiting for you for so long... Your mother is in the master bedroom! Why do you look so pale... huh?"
......This wasn't my house. I had never told her the address.
When I saw Soyeon's face... my brain couldn't process the information properly... and my consciousness cut off.
Once again, consciousness returned. The human body is truly mysterious. It looks like it might break at any moment, yet it stubbornly clings to life.
I was lying on my familiar bed, wrapped in my own soft blanket. I couldn't muster any strength in my body. It seemed like I wouldn't be able to move for a while.
"Jihyun... what on earth happened?"
Mom held my hand with a worried expression.
"Where did you go to end up like this... huh?"
Just seeing Mom's face made me feel like I would burst into tears. A parent's sorrow has the power to make their children infinitely weak.
"You need to rest properly. When you're hurt, you shouldn't think about anything and just rest deeply..."
I could feel a faint tremor in the hand Mom was gripping so tightly. Despite her intention to be a strong support, her inner sorrow and worry were eating away at her and reaching me.
"...Mom, I'm sorry."
"...Just rest. If not me, you should have at least told your girlfriend... aigoo..."
I turned my head to look at Soyeon. She was also looking down at me with a worried face.
"Mother, I'll take good care of him, so please don't worry anymore... okay?"
Soyeon helped Mom up and led her to the living room. All I could do was watch Mom's sobbing back.
Soyeon came back into the room and closed the door.
"...Jihyun, it's been a while, hasn't it?"
"...Noona."
"Your mother and I were incredibly worried. You know that, right?"
"...Yeah."
"That thing about breaking up... it was a lie, wasn't it?"
"Yeah..."
"I knew it."
"...How did you find out where our house is?"
"I looked really hard. My baby, everything's okay now..."
"..."
Soyeon kissed my forehead.
"...Jihyun."
"Yeah."
"You didn't cheat on me, right?"
"..."
"...Jihyun."
Soyeon hugged me tightly.
"I changed all your clothes for you... But from earlier, I keep smelling that bastard on you..."
...Soyeon's shoulders were trembling.
"I... I really trusted our Jihyun...?"
The strength... little by little... grew stronger.
"How could you do this...? Why didn't you answer my calls...?"
"N-Noona, let me explain..."
"Were you fucking that bitch and that's why you were so late...? Huh? No, right?"
I couldn't breathe properly.
"Ugh..."
My hands were shaking violently... but they wouldn't move...
"Let's rest for three days and then go back to our place... I'll listen to you there... You need to explain properly, okay...?"
Soyeon let go of me. She smiled again and stroked me gently.
"Until then, you'd better think carefully about what you're going to say... Got it?"