Thank You!
I was discharged from the hospital on Saturday morning.
Throughout my stay, Mother hadn't left my side for a single moment. I hadn't actually been injured that severely, so lying propped up in a hospital bed made me feel like a malingerer feigning illness. While I was admitted, Aunt Seook returned to visit alongside several officials, as did the lawyer Mother had hired. It turned out Mother was already preparing the civil lawsuit to follow the criminal proceedings. Guided by their counsel, I gave my formal victim statement—omitting anything that could work against me, while remaining thoroughly truthful without a single fabrication. No matter how desperately Park Hyeji wracked her brain, there would be no wriggling out of this.
"You went through so much. Is there anything at all I can do to help?"
"I'm all right. If I ever need a hand later, I'll be sure to tell you."
"Please do. Tell me anything, no matter what it is."
Today was Sunday, and I was meeting with Leehyun Noona, who had come all the way to my doorstep. Mother and Yeo-eun had been beside themselves with worry about me stepping outside, but after a long, persuasive talk, I had managed to win back my freedom. Are you going to lock me indoors for the rest of my life? What happened with Park Hyeji was like a freak traffic accident. I refuse to surrender my normal life over a woman like that. Armed with that logic, I managed to convince both of them and secure permission to venture out alone—even if quite a few safety measures had been added in the process.
"I wasn't really scared. More annoyed than anything, I guess."
"Hehe. You truly are something else, Jeongseo... Soft on the outside, but iron to the core."
Leehyun was chuckling now, but just moments ago her expression had been grave. Just as I had done with Mother and Yeo-eun, I had to put considerable effort into easing her distress. Frankly, I could have kept the incident with Park Hyeji hidden from her, but I chose to come clean. I figured she would feel hurt and excluded if she found out down the road.
"So that crazy bitch doesn't have any other footage, right? No compromising photos or anything she could hold over you?"
"Right. There were only routine snapshots of my daily life. It just so happened that I caught the hidden camera in the bathroom the very first day she put it there."
"Thank goodness... What a relief."
Forensic specialists had combed through Park Hyeji's laptop, external storage drives, and internet browsing history with a fine-toothed comb. Furthermore, Park Hyeji had readily confessed to her earlier stalking offenses beyond what had occurred in her studio apartment. Even today, on a Sunday, a rigorous interrogation remained underway.
"There is one video that's a bit uncomfortable... though it serves as crucial evidence."
"Hm? A video?"
"Yes. There was a hidden camera mounted on the ceiling of her studio."
"What? Really? She installed a hidden camera on her own ceiling?"
"It wasn't there before. Park Hyeji put it up right after kidnapping me, specifically to film herself raping me."
Leehyun bit her lower lip hard at the mention of it.
"It was concealed inside the smoke detector. They called to let me know they retrieved it."
"Just what on earth is wrong with that bitch?! Putting something like that inside a smoke detector... Thank heavens they found it."
"She's just an ordinary college student, believe it or not. But while she was with me, she kept glancing up at the ceiling an unusual amount. The more I thought about it, the fishier it seemed, so I mentioned it to Aunt Seook—and sure enough, there was a camera."
Aunt Seook told me that it was thanks to my tip that they managed to recover the ceiling camera at all. During the initial police search, the camera had been turned off and cleverly disguised. Even with electronic bug detectors, the officers might have missed it entirely.
"Wow... It's all because you kept your head. You uncovered the decisive evidence yourself."
"Not really. Anyone would have found it suspicious."
"No, they wouldn't. People say you can survive even in a tiger's den as long as you keep your wits about you, but almost nobody can actually pull that off. You did extraordinarily well, Jeongseo."
Before I knew it, I was sounding like a little boy bragging about his heroic exploits. Leehyun gazed at me with pure admiration and fond pride, showering me with uninterrupted praise.
"Then is it safe to say the case is practically open-and-shut?"
"Yes, that's what they told me."
The hidden camera concealed inside the smoke detector had been aimed dead center at the bed. It recorded vivid, unmistakable footage of me bound hand and foot, along with everything Park Hyeji had attempted to do to me. That was precisely why I had told her that no scheme in the world could save Park Hyeji now. My testimony was powerful enough on its own, but video evidence was indisputable. Even if Park Hyeji decided to shut her mouth and stonewall the interrogation, it wouldn't make a bit of difference.
"You're truly incredible. I never could have handled it like that."
"Not at all. In any case, thanks to that recording, the charge of sexual assault is cemented. Auntie told me she's going to demand the maximum statutory sentence."
"Good. With a prosecutor sinking her teeth in like that... there's nowhere to run. So don't worry yourself anymore."
"I won't."
Furthermore, thanks to that footage, it became official on the record that I hadn't been raped. By some stroke of miraculous framing, the camera had even failed to capture me beating the living daylights out of Park Hyeji. Not that it would have mattered much in the grand scheme of things anyway.
"So please don't worry on my account either, Noona. In case you felt... tainted by me, or—"
"Jeongseo."
Her expression turned abruptly stern.
"Don't you dare think like that. Not for a single second has such a thought crossed my mind."
"Really?"
"Of course. What happened to you was nothing more than dirty dust brushing against your clothes. Dust you can just brush off with your hand."
I had meant it lightly, but it seemed I had slipped up.
"I cherish you for who you are, Jeongseo. A diamond doesn't lose its brilliance just because it got dropped in the mud."
Leehyun wasn't angry with me. While her face was firm, her eyes held nothing but profound warmth and tender worry.
"So if you're harboring dark, painful thoughts about yourself... stop right now. It isn't worth a single moment of your grief."
"All right, Noona."
In truth, I hadn't harbored any self-loathing or traumatic anguish over the incident. I had simply wondered if, from the perspective of a woman who loved me, she might feel somewhat uncomfortable or uneasy about what had transpired. Even entertaining that thought had been an insult to her. Leehyun's devotion toward me hadn't wavered in the slightest. Her low, quiet voice resonated with that absolute sincerity.
"Thank you, Noona. Thank you so much."
"No, I'm the one who's grateful. I'm just so glad you overcame it and came back safe and sound. Thank you, Jeongseo."
From me to Leehyun, and from Leehyun to me. A hush settled between us after we competed to see who could say "thank you" more fervently.
From Thursday through the weekend to today. I had undoubtedly experienced something terrible, yet oddly enough, "thank you" was the phrase I had uttered more than anything else. To my family, to Boss, to Aunt Seook. And now, to Leehyun Noona. Expressing heartfelt gratitude to someone was an unexpectedly heartwarming feeling—so much so that I wished to linger a little longer in the quiet intimacy that followed our exchange.
"So... does that make me a diamond?"
"Huh?"
Sensing the mood had grown too solemn, I broke the silence with a soft grin, lightly teasing her.
"No. Diamonds can't even compare. You're incomparably rarer and far more precious, Jeongseo."
"Ah... right."
Her reply was delivered with such earnest gravity that it struck me completely speechless. Silence settled over us once more. My little quip had missed its mark, but it didn't feel bad at all. In fact, it made my heart flutter with quiet joy.
I slid back into my daily routine with ease. Just as I had warned Park Hyeji, any memory of her faded swiftly from my mind. Over the weekend, I enjoyed quality time with my family, and on Monday, I paid visits to both the local police substation and the Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors' Office. Together with Mother, I met the people who had come to my rescue and delivered packed home-cooked boxed lunches, offering endless words of thanks.
"Barista! It feels like forever! Were you sick or something?"
"Just a personal matter, but it's all resolved now."
"I don't know what happened, but hang in there! Here, take this."
"Ah, thank you! Please have a wonderful day, and take care yourself!"
"You too, fighting!"
A customer handed me a piece of chocolate. Perhaps because I had taken both Friday and Monday off, the regular customers seemed unusually thrilled to see me behind the counter again. Even amidst the morning rush hour, people went out of their way to check in on me.
"Jeongseo Oppa looks insane today. He was always pretty when he smiled, but..."
"Haah. I'm so glad Oppa is here today. Total healing."
A pair of students whispered as they watched me greet customers. I had only offered my usual smile—did I look different somehow?
"Did something good happen?"
"I guess seeing our customers puts me in a good mood. Nothing in particular happened."
"Hehehe. Seeing you smile gives me energy first thing in the morning, Jeongseo-ssi."
It wasn't just the students. Several patrons who took their drinks remarked on how bright and healthy my face looked. All I had done was smile with genuine gratitude toward those checking in on me. Perhaps the artificial smiles I had plastered on until now had lacked that spark of true sincerity.
The bustling morning passed in a whirlwind. The moment break time arrived, Boss held a handheld device in her grip and began scouring every corner of the cafe with hawk-like intensity. She even thoroughly inspected the restrooms before emerging.
"Boss, come have some lunch. What's that in your hand?"
"Oh, this? A hidden camera detector."
Boss answered nonchalantly, but as she explained, it turned out the device had cost a small fortune.
"Looked like the highest-rated one on the market. I'm going to sweep the cafe every day from now on."
"Every single day?"
"Yep. Once during the afternoon break, and once at closing."
"That's going to wear you out. Don't do it daily; once or twice a week is plenty."
Small changes had crept in. Boss had purchased a surveillance detector, while Mother and Yeo-eun had installed an emergency GPS tracking app on my smartphone. Tucked inside my backpack was a high-performance stun gun officially cleared by the police, and around my wrist was a smartwatch loaded with multipurpose SOS features.
"It's really no trouble. Don't worry, I won't overdo it."
"All right. Eat up before it gets cold. I brought some side dishes from home, too. I stashed them in the fridge, so make sure to take them when you leave."
"Oh my, really? Unnie and Dajeong are going to love that!"
None of these adjustments felt stifling or burdensome. In my previous life, such precautions would have been unthinkable, but in this world, they were realities I had to adapt to.
I was passing a day that felt little different from any other when it happened.
As the afternoon waned toward clock-out time, my phone buzzed with an alert from the banking app.
At the exact same time, a message arrived from Yeo-eun Noona. It was my share of the settlement from Pajijik. The sum was noticeably larger than what I made from my part-time shifts at the cafe.
Immediately afterward, another chime rang out. The foundation had claimed 450,000 won. A neat, perfectly round figure down to the ten-thousand mark.
Staring at the screen, my thoughts kicked into high gear. Something was off. On payday, I had calculated that the foundation seized exactly 30 percent of my direct earnings.
Dividing 450,000 by 0.3... gives 1.5 million?
Assuming the same percentage held true here, calculating backward yielded an exact figure of 1,500,000 won. That meant the foundation had designated 1.5 million won as its taxable baseline. Of course, there was a chance the percentage differed, but my intuition told me otherwise.
1.5 million won? Where have I seen that number before?
The donation share transferred by Noona was vastly higher than 1.5 million won, and it certainly wasn't an even, clean number rounded to ten thousand won. Yet the figure of 1.5 million won felt strangely, unmistakably familiar.