Too Late to Turn Back
"Help me! Help me!"
"You fucking bitch."
The instant the words left her mouth—
Slap—!
Yuri cracked Suhyeon across the cheek without a shred of hesitation.
"Wh-what are you doing?! Kyaaah—!"
Suhyeon barely had time to protest before—
Slap—!
Yuri's hand lashed out again, then again.
"What am I doing, you fucking bitch? You said to hit you once, didn't you?"
Slap—!
"Aaaagh—! Stop, stop it! Kyaaah—!"
Slap—!
Even as Suhyeon begged, Yuri gave her no room to recover, alternating between both cheeks with merciless force.
Slap—!
"I don't know what your reasons were!"
Slap—!!
"But what the hell did he ever do to you that you'd drag a pack of kids into this and start this shit?!"
Slap—!!!
"You were going to cripple him, weren't you?!"
Slap—!!!!
"And you even ordered a real gangster around, huh?"
Slap—!!!!!
"Told him to kill me too."
Slap—!!!!!!
Blood burst from Suhyeon's mouth. Both cheeks had swollen a furious red, her face ruined beyond recognition. Through the haze of pain so sharp it threatened to steal her consciousness, one thought cut through—if this kept up, she might actually die.
"Si-Sihyun—!"
She sobbed, pleading toward him.
"⋯⋯!"
In that instant, something flickered through Sihyun's mind.
—Si-Sihyun—!
A memory from childhood. Surrounded by boys, being tormented, she had reached out her hand toward him.
But—
"⋯⋯."
Sihyun did not step forward. His expression twisted into something beyond words.
If he saved her now⋯⋯ maybe things could go back to the way they used to be. That empty hope tugged at him for a heartbeat.
But it was already too late. They had come too far. There was no going back.
And so Sihyun stayed where he was.
Slap—!
"Sihyun! Kyaaaaah—!"
Suhyeon kept screaming, wailing, but he never moved. Facing him, she cried out with everything she had left.
"Kim Sihyun, help me! Help me! I'm telling you to help me!"
What answered her was only—
Slap—!
—Yuri's merciless palm.
"St-stop! I'm going to die for real! Kyaaah—!"
Slap—!
"Pl-please! Sihyun! Kyaaah—!"
Slap—!
Yuri never paused, her voice ice-cold as she spat the words.
"What the hell have you done that gives you the right to cry and beg for help, huh?!"
Slap! Slap! Slap!
Sihyun squeezed his eyes shut and clenched his fists. Something inside him felt severed, leaving a hollow emptiness in his chest. Every instinct screamed to stop Yuri right then and there.
But after what had happened at the café—and after Suhyeon had summoned Taesu and his crew all over again—he could no longer feel pity for her. Yuri had her side of it too. One wrong step and she would have been in just as much danger as he had.
She's going as easy on her as she can⋯⋯.
In that light, Yuri's rage almost made sense.
Yeah. This is her holding back.
Her hands looked excessive, even cruel—but compared to what she had done to Seonye at the café, this was nothing. She wasn't using her fists. She wasn't throwing anyone. If she had truly meant to bury Suhyeon, the girl's head would already be planted in the asphalt.
With that thought, Sihyun forced his eyes away from the beating and tried to think of something else.
He really wasn't ordinary⋯⋯.
The gangster called Dongcheol. He had looked a little sloppy on the surface, but he was clearly dangerous. He had backed down once he learned of Yuri's background, yet Sihyun couldn't shake the uneasy feeling that their paths would cross again.
Then, at last, Yuri seemed satisfied.
Slap—!!!
She delivered one final, crushing blow across Suhyeon's cheek and issued her warning.
"Hey. Don't ever show your face again. Not in front of me. Not in front of him."
"⋯⋯."
Suhyeon's face was a mess of tears and blood. She could only hang her head in silence.
"No answer? Huh?!"
Yuri snapped at her, sharp as a blade. Still silent, Suhyeon shot Sihyun one last resentful glance—then spun around and fled down the alley as if her life depended on it.
Watching her retreating back, Yuri let out a short, incredulous laugh.
"Ha⋯⋯!"
"⋯⋯."
Sihyun simply watched, saying nothing.
"Hoo⋯⋯! That about wraps it up. You went through a lot."
Yuri exhaled heavily and turned to Sihyun.
"⋯⋯Yeah."
His voice came out thin. Then he added, quieter still,
"Thank you."
"Hm? Oh. Right."
Caught off guard by the unexpected gratitude, Yuri looked faintly embarrassed, twisting a strand of hair around her index finger. A moment later she let it go, slipped back into her usual rhythm, and said,
"Time to head home, yeah?"
"⋯⋯You're seriously planning to follow me all the way there?"
"Yeah. So?"
"Hahaha⋯⋯."
Sihyun couldn't help the laugh that escaped him. She had nearly gotten herself wrecked just by tagging along, yet here she was acting as if nothing had happened. He could only shake his head in disbelief.
"You're something else⋯⋯ you really are⋯⋯."
"Yeah, I know. I'm amazing."
Even though Sihyun's words dripped with sarcasm, Yuri took them at face value without missing a beat.
"Come on, let's go. We're not that far now, right?"
"How do you even know that?"
"Hm? Your place is XX-dong, ##-beongil, isn't it?"
"You've got to be kidding me⋯⋯."
Sihyun gave up trying to respond to her shamelessness and simply started walking. Behind him, Yuri followed with a little hum of a tune.
"~♪"
The house they finally reached was an old villa that looked like it had been standing for decades. Taking in the shabby exterior, Yuri thought to herself,
That damn bitch kept calling him a beggar, so I figured it would be rough⋯⋯ but yeah, he's definitely having a hard time.
She carefully kept the thought off her face. Sihyun still caught the flicker of change in her expression—yet it didn't particularly bother him. From the lofty height of someone who could call the girl who had insulted him a beggar a beggar herself, looking at this pitiful building and thinking less-than-kind thoughts was only natural. And since he lived in a semi-basement unit, if she actually stepped inside, keeping a straight face would only get harder.
He was still studying her face when it suddenly went cold and sharp.
"Hey."
"⋯⋯?"
"Who's that woman?"
Her piercing gaze locked onto the entrance of the villa. Sihyun's expression said, What the hell is it now? as he followed her line of sight.
"I'm asking who that woman is!!"
Yuri jabbed a finger straight at a woman coming out of the entrance. Still confused, Sihyun finally turned his head fully—and the words that left his mouth were simply,
"Mom?"
Yuri's jaw dropped.
"Whaaat—?!"
"No, Mo⋯⋯ Mo⋯⋯ Mo⋯⋯ Mo⋯⋯."
Yuri could only stammer, her voice trembling like an idiot.
"Mom—?!"
She rubbed her eyes and looked again. It still made no sense. A mother? Even if she was being generous, the woman looked about Kang Yoona's age.
—What did you just say, you fucking bitch?!
She thought she heard Yoona's voice scolding her in her head, but she decided to ignore it for now.
—Don't ignore me!!!
⋯⋯Anyway.
Honestly, she would have believed it if someone claimed the woman was younger than herself. Because the face of the woman walking out of the villa looked far too young—and far too beautiful.
So,
This bastard's lying to my face!
Yuri simply could not accept Sihyun's words.
Don't tell me this is some kind of roleplay?!
She had zero interest in that sort of culture, but she had vaguely heard stories about rich lunatics doing every strange thing imaginable. Holding onto that suspicion, she stared hard at the approaching woman.
Then, suddenly, the woman staggered. Her steps looked unsteady, as if her legs were giving her trouble.
"Ah—!"
Just as she truly began to tip and fall,
"Mom!"
Sihyun rushed forward, catching her and calling out with open worry.
"Why are you out here again? If I'm late, just go to sleep! This is exactly why I—!"
He launched straight into a lecture. The woman only smiled, her voice soft and a little coquettish.
"Ah, sorry⋯⋯ sorry⋯⋯ but I still have to see my son's face before I sleep~"
Then she turned toward Yuri, eyes bright with curiosity.
"My, who's this pretty young lady? Is she Sihyun's girlfriend?"
At that question, Yuri became certain. This woman—no, this lady—was his mother. His mother. Looking closer now, the resemblance to Sihyun was unmistakable. So without a single second of hesitation, Yuri answered,
"Yes."
"What the hell do you mean, 'yes'?!"
Sihyun nearly jumped out of his skin. And in that moment he thought, with absolute clarity: bringing this woman home had been a terrible idea.