A Dream Like a Drama
"Hmm... she's still not back."
A long while had passed and the night was growing deep, yet my sister still hadn't come home.
"Mom, shouldn't we go look for her?"
"Mm... maybe so. Let me try calling her."
The phone rang and rang, then rolled over to voicemail.
She wasn't picking up. Judging by how long the ringtone went on, it didn't seem like she was deliberately hanging up either.
Mom stared at the phone with worried eyes.
"She's not answering..."
"I'll go look."
"Should I get ready too?"
Mom looked at me as she started to pull on her clothes.
"No. I'll go alone. You stay home."
Even so, she kept looking at me like she still wanted to come.
"If I go with you... wouldn't that help? Things got pretty bad earlier today... with a shock like that, she might have gone far."
She was still a mother fretting over her daughter.
"No. Stay here and keep calling. If she picks up, contact me."
"Yes, Master."
Sua, who had been eating fruit at the table, glanced at me and offered her own advice.
"Unnie's a total chicken. She couldn't have gone far. You'll find her in no time~"
"Yeah?"
"It only happened once before, and she was at the neighborhood PC bang. Five minutes from the house, even. Heh."
Sua laughed like it was nothing and told me not to worry. If she was right, this place was even more unfamiliar to her, so she was probably even closer.
Of course, the only catch was that there were more than nine PC bangs within a five-minute radius. Still, the odds of finding her quickly looked decent enough.
Ding~ ding-a-ling.
"Be careful..."
Mom touched her own cheek and saw me off with a worried look.
"Yeah. I'll be back."
I looked like some teenage head of household.
Ding.
I stepped out of the elevator and stood there for a moment, thinking hard about where to start looking.
Hmm... should I start with the complex?
She wasn't in the apartment complex. Not that she would have been, in a place like this.
"Ah, shit. What a pain. There are so many places she could have gone..."
I wandered around, scanning for any sign of her.
The streets were full of people stumbling about, pretty thoroughly drunk.
The one good thing was that everywhere was well lit — I could see a good ten meters ahead without any trouble.
How the hell am I supposed to find her... won't she just come back on her own?
The moment that thought crossed my mind, a single hint flashed through my head.
Our neighborhood did have one particularly dark alley.
Yeah. She could be somewhere like that.
I headed into the dark alleyway.
This place, too, was a paradise for drunks.
People kissing on the street, couples walking with arms around each other's waists, people slumped on the ground from the booze — dark as it was, I could still make out the silhouettes.
And up ahead to the right, a light was glowing.
What's that?
It wasn't that far away.
From the left pocket of someone being carried on another person's back, a phone was shining.
Was that guy drunk too? But the phone light wasn't going out — it just kept glowing.
Shouldn't the person next to him at least check the call?
Something felt off. There was no way it was my sister, but there was no harm in checking.
But what the hell was this? The woman slung over some strange man's back was my sister.
"What are you doing out here???"
With glazed eyes and a face ruined by tears, she looked at me.
"Ju...... woo...."
"Who are you? Why are you carrying this person?"
My sister had barely been in Seoul any time at all. There was no way she knew anyone around here.
And after running off in shock, the idea that she would drink with some random guy... yeah... no chance.
There was absolutely no way the shock would have driven her to do anything with another man either.
The two men looked at me and fell silent.
"Who the hell are you?"
"I'm her older brother."
I was too embarrassed to admit I was the younger one.
I wasn't exactly big, but I wasn't about to lose on sheer presence either.
"And how are you gonna prove that?"
These psychos. Just because they'd snagged a woman, they were going to dig their heels in and try to have their way with her no matter what.
I pulled the still-lit phone from my sister's pocket.
Of course. Mom was still calling, just as I'd ordered her to, waiting.
Click—
"Su.... Sujeong-ah....!!!!"
Mom's clear, urgent voice came through the speaker.
"Mom, it's me."
"Oh my....! Di... did you find Sujeong?"
Thankfully, she hadn't called me Master.
I held the phone out so the men could hear.
"Yeah, Mom. I found her. I'll bring her home soon. Hanging up now."
I knew for a fact Mom was about to say Master, so I cut the call immediately.
"You know that's a crime, right?"
"We were gonna take her home anyway. What the hell are you talking about... ahem."
The man set my sister down and played dumb.
The other one was already getting ready to leave in the opposite direction.
"Ah, fuck. Should've taken her a little sooner..."
The guy who'd been carrying her muttered under his breath and started to follow the other one out.
"What was that, you son of a bitch?"
The curse flew out of me before I knew it.
We hadn't been together long, but she was my sister. My family. I was going to protect my own slave.
"What? Son of a bitch?"
The man turned back around, spoiling for a fight.
"Yeah, you son of a bitch. I heard everything. 'Should've taken her a little sooner'? You're a full-blown rapist piece of shit, aren't you?"
"So what are you gonna do about it? Got any proof?"
Guy Number One charged in headfirst. The sheer shamelessness of it left me speechless.
"Hey, mister. Who do you think you are? You oughta know when to shut the hell up~"
Guy Number Two came over and piled on.
My sister was clinging to my neck, barely managing to stay on her feet. The whole situation had turned dangerous in an instant.
"I already called the cops on my way here. My sister went missing, so I requested a search of this whole area. You keep this up and you're getting arrested on the spot."
It was a lie. I was bluffing hard.
"What the fuck is this bastard saying? You looking to die?"
But they didn't scare. They just kept coming.
I worked out, but both of them were built a lot sturdier than me.
And with my sister right next to me, if a fight broke out, it would get ugly fast.
Then, from beside me, my sister spoke.
"...sexu....al... assault..."
She forced the words out like she was wringing them from her throat.
"Wh... what did you just say... w-we never... when did we?!"
At those words, the men backed up.
If my sister testified, they'd have real grounds to get dragged into a police station.
"Tch, I'm not letting you off next time!"
Hearing what she said, the two of them bolted without another second's hesitation.
Just like that. That easy.
My sister sobbed. The smell of alcohol hung heavy on her.
"Ugh, the booze. Sis, did you drink?"
A soju bottle sat where she'd been. Almost empty.
"Ugh... she nearly finished the whole thing."
I kicked the nearly empty bottle away hard and checked her over.
"Sis! Sis! Are you okay?"
She was hanging off me with every last scrap of strength she had left.
"...uh.. uh... hh... hhhk.... hhk..."
She cried without end.
Whether it was fear from what had just happened, relief at being saved, or the earlier shock still working through her — I couldn't tell.
"What... such a softie. You're not even a kid."
I hoisted her onto my back and headed home.
From behind, she clung to me tightly.
I could feel her breasts through her clothes, along with the smell of alcohol and a deep, spreading warmth.
Must be because she's drunk. She's so warm it's getting a little hot.
Anyway, it was a relief. If I'd been even a little later, she would have been dragged off to some motel room.
"See? You can't just go running around Seoul like that. Especially as a woman."
She said nothing.
I carried her straight into the house and set her down.
"Oh, Master, you're back... I'm so glad..."
Mom greeted me with open relief. From farther off, Sua came out of her room and looked at my sister too.
When our eyes met, Sua winked at me.
I bit back a laugh and laid my sister out on the bed.
"She's been through enough. Just let her sleep like this."
"Yes, Master."
Mom followed me in, checked on her, then came back out after me.
Sujeong had watched everything that happened that day with her own eyes.
Sujeong had watched everything that happened that day with her own eyes.
He hadn't stopped at simply coming out to find her — he'd stood his ground against men who looked stronger than he was.
Passersby hadn't lifted a finger to help. But the little brother she'd only just met had come to save her.
She'd thought it was over. She'd nearly been raped. Her whole life had nearly been destroyed.
She'd been certain something horrific was about to happen. She'd tried to think of someone who might help, but the only name that rose to mind was Junwoo.
Her phone had been vibrating nonstop, but she couldn't answer it.
Ah... I can't... move... I can't even speak... at this rate...
The moment she gave up, the strength drained from her body even further. Her mind was gone, everything going hazy.
"Sis!! What are you doing out here???"
A voice from far away. Was it a hallucination?
In a world spinning round and round, a man approached.
Huh...? It's Junwoo.
It had to be a mistake.
After the disgraceful scene he'd put on in front of her, there was no way he'd come looking. If anything, he might have abandoned her...
But as the seconds passed, the picture grew clearer. Junwoo was getting into it with the men.
Junwoo, sliding her phone right out of her pocket.
What...?
Sujeong had no strength left, but like a CCTV camera she heard and saw everything.
The men set her down and passed her over to Junwoo's side. He looped her arm around his neck and held her up, and she clung to him with everything she had.
Ah.... I'm alive...
The thought brought fresh tears.
The men were leaving. But even as they went, they spat the filthiest words on their way out.
"What was that, you son of a bitch?"
Junwoo exploded with fury.
I should be the one getting angry at that kind of filthy talk...
Junwoo was getting angry for her.
Even bringing up the police, defending her with nothing but his words.
He was cool. Was this what it felt like to meet a prince on a white horse? No — after treating her so cruelly, why was he looking after her like family now...?
But the men lit up with rage and came at him again. She had to help. She wrung out the last of her strength and forced her voice free.
Junwoo, those bastards touched me. They groped me, they grabbed my chest — I was sexually assaulted!!!!!!!!
"...sexu....al... assault..."
The men fled, and Junwoo called her name.
It's strange.
That pathetic guy who'd put on such a shameful display earlier in the day now looked like a real man.
She'd run from Junwoo, and now she was receiving his help all over again.
Junwoo hoisted her onto his back.
His back was broad.
Warm.
She was so grateful.
Thank you... really... really... thank you...
The words wouldn't come. But that was fine. As long as her heart got through. From behind, she held onto Junwoo tight.
And once again, her memory cut out.