TE 14

She had nowhere to go.

Nowhere at all.

No time, no place.

No refuge to flee to or rest in.

Having always gone out accompanied by drivers, Seo-ha barely knew what existed in her own neighborhood despite living there for years. After walking aimlessly for 10 minutes, she stumbled upon a convenience store sign and went inside, buying a drink with a cup of ice.

Settling into a chair on the store’s terrace, Seo-ha didn’t drink but just chewed absently on the straw. She’d only bought it as an excuse to have somewhere to sit. It wasn’t until after paying that she realized she’d purchased coffee.

She hated bitter things.

Always had.

She preferred soft over hard, warm over cold, sweet over bitter.

Logically, going back to her warm, secure home would be wiser than wandering the streets in this chilly wind at such a late hour. The sooner she returned, the less she’d suffer.

Becoming estranged from Park Hee-jung, with whom she’d maintained a decent relationship until now, wasn’t good for her mental health either. It’s not like she had any pride left to protect anyway…

“D-don’t do this…!”

Though she knew exactly what the sensible choice was, there was one reason she couldn’t bring herself to go home:

The image of Seo-chan embracing Park Hee-jung haunted her. That look in his eyes, as if he was seeing her father…

Home was warm and secure. Being there meant avoiding hardship.

But there was no one in that house who welcomed her or loved her.

That truth made her feet especially heavy today as she contemplated returning.

*Ding-a-ling*

Seo-ha looked up from chewing her straw at the sound of the store’s bell.

A man sat down at the table directly across from her, placing a can of beer beside him as he pulled out what appeared to be newly purchased cigarettes.

Her gaze unconsciously fixed on the red cigarette pack in his hand.

It was the same brand he smoked.

Tae-beom would pull out that same red pack whenever he needed a cigarette.

His hands were so large they completely covered the logo, making it impossible to read the brand name. Though truthfully, she’d never cared what brand he smoked anyway.

Well, learning what cigarettes Tae-beom smoked wouldn’t improve her mood. It wasn’t a particularly meaningful revelation.

If anything, the man’s cigarettes only made her grimace.

She hated Tae-beom’s cigarettes, and she hated the smell of anyone else’s cigarettes too.

Just as Seo-ha wrinkled her nose and turned away, the man across from her suddenly stood up. If his stumbling steps had taken him away from her, she wouldn’t have looked at him again. But his unsteady pace stopped right in front of her table.

Only then did Seo-ha properly look at the man’s face for the first time.

It was an unremarkable face. The kind you’d pass on the street and immediately forget.

But something felt off – whether it was his clouded gaze or the sharp smell of alcohol that stung her nostrils.

The whole situation felt wrong.

“Why do you keep staring?”

His voice was steadier than she expected.

“Want to drink together?”

But his words slurred slightly as he sat down across from her, waving his beer can.

“Drink by yourself.”

“Come on, you’ve been watching me this whole time.”

He seemed unable to grasp that not every glance carried meaning.

Specifically, she’d been looking at his cigarette pack, not his face – but explaining this to someone in his inebriated state would be pointless. Seo-ha knew rational conversation wasn’t possible with someone this drunk.

This won’t do. Better to just avoid this mess.

Having nowhere else to go didn’t mean she had to stay here with this drunk. Seo-ha stood to leave.

“Ah!”

But a firm grip on her wrist forced her back into the chair.

“Don’t be like that, just one drink. Hm? Just one!”

The man grabbed Seo-ha’s cup, dumped out her drink and ice, and brazenly filled it with his beer.

Her father enjoyed drinking too, but…

He’d never gotten drunk enough to act this irrationally.

“The world is full of bad people.”

The man forced the now-beer-filled cup into Seo-ha’s hands and kept pressing her to drink.

“Once you’re out of your father’s protection, you’ll be eaten alive.”

“You can’t trust anyone but family.”

“No one but me can protect you.”

These warnings, like emergency sirens, rang through her mind – the same words her father always said whenever she showed signs of wanting to escape his control, whenever she seemed to yearn for the outside world.

This was dangerous.

This wasn’t home, or her father’s church, or anywhere near the people her father had assigned to watch her.

In other words, she was beyond her father’s protection.

Only now did Seo-ha feel the most primal fear of having ventured far from home late at night with no one around.

As a daughter who always obeyed her father, Seo-ha had never gone out late at night alone, even without explicit supervision. She hadn’t even known there was a convenience store like this near home until today.

What time is it now?

My phone…

Who should I contact? Father?

If Father finds out, he’ll drag me to the discipline room…

“Hey, why aren’t you drinking!”

Not satisfied with just forcing the beer-filled cup into her hands, the man stood up and pushed his beer can toward Seo-ha’s mouth.

“Just get lost!”

The action came without thought, pure reflex. For a moment, instinctive revulsion overcame her fear.

The beer can clatter to the ground, white foam spreading across the black cement.

“You lead me on and then—, ha!”

The drunk raised his hand.

With luck, it would just be an empty threat, but if unlucky, she might actually get hit. Either way, refusing to back down, Seo-ha forced her reflexively closing eyes wide open and glared at the man’s face.

“Argh!”

The man’s arm was suddenly twisted behind his back.

The red cigarette pack he’d been holding fell to the ground, already damp from the spilled beer.

Seo-ha’s gaze moved from the cigarette pack up to the shadow stretched across the ground under the convenience store lights.

“If you’re drunk, just go home quietly.”

Tae-beom released the man’s arm with a throwing motion as he spoke in a low voice. His words came out so fierce they almost sounded like curses.

The drunk who had been so aggressive with Seo-ha looked ready to lunge at Tae-beom for a moment, but upon realizing the overwhelming difference in their size, he fled with a stream of curses.

Watching the man’s pathetic retreat, Tae-beom clicked his tongue briefly. His face showed nothing but revulsion, as if he’d encountered something despicable. But when his eyes finally met Seo-ha’s, the emotion in them had shifted ever so slightly.

“They said a runaway young lady left home, and I’ve been searching everywhere…”

“…”

“Shall I take you home?”

Seo-ha stared at the large hand extended toward her.

She might be imagining it, but…

Looking at that subtle smile, his words seemed less like an offer to take her home and more like a suggestion not to go back.

“Did you come looking for me because of my father? Because I’m your superior’s daughter?”

Something about this question seemed to amuse him, as Tae-beom let out a subtle laugh.

“No, that’s not it.”

He answered while keeping his hand extended.

“I was worried about the young lady who was playing with that dog.”

“…”

“That’s why I looked for you.”

This proved her father wrong.

The world beyond her father’s protection might be dangerous, but his claim that absolutely no one in that world would protect her was a lie.

Of course, as payment for this protection, she would probably be devoured by this man.

Seo-ha finally took the long-extended hand and stood up.

“I don’t want to go home.”

“Ah, so you really have gotten bold.”

Though it might have sounded like mockery at first glance, Seo-ha could tell with certainty.

Tae-beom looked extremely satisfied.

As if something he’d carefully cultivated had finally fallen into his grasp.

***

*Ding*

The moment he opened the door with the keycard, Seo-ha’s body was roughly pushed inside.

The automatic entrance light came on, its red glow making her dizzy.

Actually, until entering here, Seo-ha hadn’t intended this with him.

No, that’s not true. She had known. Known that it might go beyond the touching they’d done in the car, that there might really be… something more serious.

Like what he did with Park Hee-jung.

But Seo-ha, who had expected they might at least talk first, couldn’t gather her thoughts as Tae-beom pushed her against the wall the moment the door opened.

How did you know I hadn’t gone home?

Did the aunt tell you? That woman who was involved with you besides me?

But Seo-ha couldn’t voice any of these questions.

“Hnn…, mmph…”

All she could manage were faint breaths past her sealed lips.