7.4

She thought she heard the faint sound of murmuring voices nearby, but her narrowed vision left her unable to see or focus on her surroundings.  

“Yebom!”  

Hyunho’s voice rang out like salvation.  

“You bastard!”  

Suddenly, Juhan appeared out of nowhere. He pried the stalker’s hand off her arm in an instant and punched him square in the face. Before she could blink, the stalker was sprawled on the ground. Juhan kicked him hard.  

“Ugh!”  

The man groaned in pain, curling up on the ground. Juhan climbed on top of him and began landing punches on his face. The stalker, dwarfed by Juhan’s imposing build, looked pitifully small. Juhan, his expression blank but his demeanor ferocious, continued to pummel him until blood splattered everywhere.  

“Yebom, are you okay?!”  

She looked up at Hyunho in a daze before suddenly crying out.  

“Chapssal! Where’s Chapssal?!”  

Her heart sank at the thought of losing her dog.  

“He’s here. Chapssal’s safe.” 

Hyunho reassured her.  

Thankfully, Chapssal was nearby, barking and jumping around in agitation. As she tried to approach the frightened dog, she realized she couldn’t take a single step. A searing pain shot through her right ankle, unlike anything she had ever felt before.  

“My ankle… I twisted my right ankle. I can’t walk. It hurts so much….”  

Even breathing felt difficult.  

“Let’s sit you down for now. The police and ambulance will be here soon. Just hang in there.” 

Hyunho said, helping her to a bench. She managed to lift her burning, throbbing ankle onto the bench.  

A crowd of onlookers gathered, murmuring and gasping at the scene. Their attention was drawn to Juhan, who was still beating the stalker. The man’s face was so bloodied it was unrecognizable.  

“Juhan!”  

She called his name, not out of concern for the stalker but out of worry for Juhan. No matter how much of a criminal the man was, Juhan could face consequences for his actions.  

“…….”  

He paused and slowly turned to look at her. Their eyes met, his gaze cold and devoid of emotion.  

“Stop.”  

She gestured for him to come over. She wanted him to come to where she, Hyunho, and Chapssal were. Juhan rose to his feet slowly and approached as she had hoped.  

“Are you okay? You hurt your foot, didn’t you?”  

He must have seen her fall. She pointed to her rapidly swelling ankle.  

“It hurts. How did you even get here?”  

Miraculously, the two of them had shown up in time to save her from being kidnapped. The stalker lay motionless on the ground, unable to get up.  

“We were worried about you walking alone at night, so we decided to come to the park a little later. We couldn’t find you at first, but then we heard you scream and ran over.” 

Hyunho explained.  

“Oh….”  

She nodded blankly. In the distance, the sound of sirens grew louder until police cars and an ambulance arrived one after another.  

Hyunho handed Chapssal’s leash to Juhan.  

“I’ll go with Yebom in the ambulance. You take Chapssal home and contact the family lawyer.”  

“Alright.”  

Juhan reached for her but stopped when he noticed the blood on his hands. He crouched down to meet her gaze.  

“Get treated. I’ll come as soon as I can.”  

“Okay.”  

She nodded mechanically.  

Overwhelmed by the sudden turn of events and the intense pain, she felt like she was losing her mind. For the first time in her life, she was carried on a stretcher and transported to a university hospital by ambulance.  

Even as she underwent emergency treatment, various tests, and procedures, it all felt surreal. The doctor mentioned torn ligaments in her right ankle, but his words seemed distant and irrelevant.  

Only the excruciating pain and the comforting presence of Hyunho, who held her hand the entire time, felt real.  

After what felt like a whirlwind, she was admitted to a private room.  

Her right leg, immobilized in a cast, was propped up on a hard support. The pain that had been unbearable earlier began to subside as painkillers flowed through her IV.  

As her head cleared, the gravity of what had happened finally hit her.  

“Hyunho….”

“Yes, you were startled, weren’t you, Yebom?”  

“…….”  

Her breathing grew rapid. Her face twisted, and a sob escaped her lips.  

“Oh dear.”  

Hyunho tried to hug her, but with her leg immobilized, it wasn’t easy. He leaned forward and embraced only her upper body, gently patting her back. She burst into tears, crying loudly.  

She had thought the stalker was long gone, but now she had encountered him again. Shockingly, this time, the stalker had tried to kidnap her outright. She was fortunate that the two of them had arrived and intervened; she didn’t even want to imagine what might have happened if she had been dragged away. The thought made her shiver, her heart pounding wildly, and her entire body trembled.  

“Sniff… I was so scared….”  

She had never in her life felt such terror.  

“Yes, it must have been terrifying. But it’s okay now, it’s okay.”  

“He, he tried to kidnap me in a car.”  

“I know. I’m sorry we got there late. I wish we had found you sooner.”  

She shook her head as she cried. She hadn’t even considered that Hyunho and Juhan would come; their arrival had been nothing short of salvation. Just the fact that they had stopped it was enough for her to be grateful to the entire world; she didn’t even register whether they were late or not.  

From the start, it had been Hyunho who had warned her that going alone could be dangerous and suggested they go together, but she had refused. She had never imagined that taking a walk in the park near her home could be risky. She had assumed the stalker had long since disappeared and wouldn’t know where she lived now.  

But not only had the stalker known, he had been following her, waiting for the right moment. She realized that she had always gone out with either Juhan or Hyunho or both of them together, never alone. The one time she went out alone, this had happened.  

The stalker must have been waiting near their home, watching for a moment when she was alone.  

“Don’t be scared. He’ll be sent to prison for attempted kidnapping. He won’t be able to hurt you anymore.”  

Despite his reassuring words, she continued to cry, soaking the front of Hyunho’s shirt with her tears. Her racing heart wouldn’t calm down easily, and her ankle still throbbed painfully. Though she kept her leg still and the painkillers had kicked in, dulling the pain somewhat, it was still impossible to ignore.  

“Shh—it’s okay, it’s okay. You’re safe now, Yebom.”  

Hyunho spoke softly, trying to soothe her.  

No matter how hard she tried not to think about it, the scene from earlier kept replaying in her mind. Her arm, which the deranged stalker had grabbed so forcefully, still felt sore, as if the unpleasant sensation of his grip lingered. When she changed into the hospital gown with help, she noticed severe bruising and was given an ice pack.  

“I want to wash… sniff….”  

“You can’t let water touch your leg, so I don’t think it’s possible right now….”  

She felt desperate to wash the areas the stalker had touched. Pushing Hyunho away, she hastily unbuttoned the top of her hospital gown. She exposed her arm, which was bruised blue below the shoulder, and pointed to it.  

“Yes, you want to clean that spot?”  

Hyunho quickly found some wet wipes among the hospital supplies. She roughly scrubbed at her arm, ignoring the dull pain that spread as she pressed on the bruises. Hyunho brought the ice pack and placed it on her arm.  

When she gestured for him to hold her again, he softly said, “Okay,” and embraced her. She cried and wailed for a long time before eventually falling into a deep sleep.  

She seemed to drift in and out of sleep, plagued by strange dreams. Even in her sleep, she felt a cold, hollow sensation in her chest. Occasionally, the pain in her ankle would jolt her awake, the sharp sting making her eyes fly open.  

“Sniff….”  

“Yebom.”  

“Does it hurt?”  

Ah.  

Not only was Hyunho there, but Juhan had also arrived.  

“Your eyes are swollen.”  

Juhan gently touched her eyelids.  

“Did you go to the police station?”  

Her voice came out hoarse and raspy.  

“Yes, I went.”  

“Won’t you get punished for it?”  

“He’ll go to jail, that bastard.”  

“No, I mean you.”  

“Me? Why would I get punished? All I did was beat up a piece of trash.”  

I should have beaten him even more….  

Thankfully, it seemed Juhan wouldn’t face any consequences.  

“Do I need to do anything?”  

“You’ll need to give a victim’s statement once you’re feeling better. Does your ankle hurt a lot?”  

It would have been a lie to say it didn’t.  

“Yes. Oh, is Chapssal at home?”  

He nodded.  

“I left the lights on in the living room.”  

She realized he had left the lights on for Chapssal, who was alone at home in the dark.  

“Chapssal must have been scared too. He barked so much at the stalker and even tried to bite his leg. He’s such a brave dog.”  

She had never seen Chapssal, who normally had zero aggression, act that way.  

“I should give him lots of praise.”  

“Make him a special meal.” 

Juhan suggested with a smile.  

Hyunho and Juhan’s words made her smile faintly.  

Although she had calmed down a bit, she still felt uneasy. She glanced at the closed hospital room door. Being in an unfamiliar place instead of at home made her feel unsettled. The sky outside the window was pitch black; she had no idea what time it was.  

“Are you staying here tonight?”  

“Of course, Yebom.”  

“I took leave for tomorrow too.”  

“Wow….”  

She nodded blankly.  

“What’s with the ‘wow’?”  

Juhan chuckled softly.  

She wanted to tell them that one of them could go home to sleep since Chapssal was alone at home and sleeping in the hospital room was uncomfortable, but she couldn’t bring herself to say it. She wanted to stay with both of them, her anxiety making her reluctant to be apart. Looking around the private room, she was relieved to see there was a caregiver’s bed and a long sofa.  

“…Don’t go anywhere. Stay here with me.”  

“Oh dear, little one.”  

Hyunho smiled warmly, calling her “little one” again.  

“Of course, we’ll stay here. Don’t worry about anything.”  

“With you here, where else would we go?”  

“Mm.”  

She nodded, finally feeling reassured, and closed her eyes. She dozed off and woke up intermittently, still groggy. Perhaps because of the painkillers, her eyelids felt heavy.  

“Sleep some more.”  

“Everything’s fine now, so rest well, Yebom.”  

Hyunho pulled the blanket up to her neck. She surrendered to the wave of sleep that swept over her like a tide.