Chapter 14 #2
“I was trying to find out more information about Hyukjoon and everything that had happened between you two.” Bora swallowed, blinking rapidly. “I wanted to see if the videos were floating around, and if so, I was hoping to get them taken down. Didn’t he say that he had no idea how it happened?”
“Yes …”
“He’s the one who took the videos. He’s the one who … shared them.”
Dahye stared. A cold terror flooded her. “I don’t understand.”
“He was in a chatroom with several of his friends. They all took pictures and videos of the women they were sleeping with and shared them. One of them leaked the screenshots, which is how it was discovered. You’re not the only one, Dahye.
At least a dozen women are involved. Probably more.
And they’re alleging that he drugged and raped—”
Dahye stood abruptly. The night in Itaewon came swimming back to her.
She had found it strange how Hyukjoon had left her alone in the room.
But nothing happened, she told herself. You would have known.
She tried to break through the blurry spots in her memory, but every time she tried, she was met with a brick wall.
Bora grasped Dahye’s hands, her eyes wide and pleading. Dahye shook herself free, suddenly nauseated.
“The person who leaked the screenshots is also alleging that Hyukjoon’s family caught wind of the story early and paid all the major news outlets off,” Bora said.
Was Hyukjoon—her Hyukjoon—capable of doing something so terrible? Hyukjoon, who surprised her with gifts, who planned elaborate dates, who always took the long way home.
“You must be mistaken,” Dahye heard herself saying.
“I’m sorry, Dahye, but it’s the truth.”
Dahye shuddered. When she looked at her hands, she saw that they were shaking.
“We need to go to the police and file a report right away,” Bora said. “We can’t let this asshole and his asshole family get away with it. We can’t let the bad guys win.”
“It doesn’t matter if I go to the police,” Dahye said numbly. “You said it yourself—he’s rich and powerful.”
“He’s committed a crime. Nobody is above the law. Come on. The police can help you.”
“Leave me alone.”
Bora reached over to hug her. “Everything will be okay,” she said. “I know it doesn’t feel like it right now. But trust me, it will get better.”
Dahye saw the pity in Bora’s face and hated it.
In that moment, she hated Bora more than anything.
She wanted to kick and smash everything in Bora’s room, to rip apart her meager possessions.
She heard none of her friend’s empty platitudes, which seemed to repeat on a loop for several long hours in spite of the fact that Dahye had nothing to say in response.
When Bora finally tired herself out, crawling into bed and promptly falling asleep, Dahye found that she was relieved.
She had known Bora since they were girls, having met in elementary school, and Dahye had always felt that they understood each other better than they understood themselves.
Now? She wasn’t so sure.
Dahye crawled to the outlet where her phone was charging. Out of habit, she dialed Hyukjoon’s number. He didn’t answer.
Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results, she thought. It was one of Bora’s favorite sayings. Annoyed, Dahye pressed her back flat against the wall and went to Naver. Bora had made her promise not to look for the screenshots, but Dahye didn’t care.
It took a little over an hour, but finally she was able to locate the exact post that Bora had referenced. It contained dozens of screenshots of the conversations between Hyukjoon and his friends. The anonymous person who had leaked them wrote:
I can’t reveal how I came upon these messages, but I can no longer in good conscience keep them to myself.
These animals must be punished to the full extent of the law.
Every effort I’ve made to expose them has led nowhere.
The press, the police, the government, none of them are willing to do anything. Please help me get the word out.
Dahye clicked on the first screenshot.
Hyukjoon: fucked her, just like I said I would. you guys owe me money
Donghyun: yeah right. where’s the proof?
Hyukjoon: I already sent it to you, dumbass
Donghyun: I didn’t get it. send it again
Hyukjoon: [VIDEO THUMBNAIL]
Dahye tried to zoom in, but the thumbnail was blurred. She continued reading.
Donghyun: ha. delicious
Seungmin: the fuck? she sleeping?
Hyukjoon: she wasn’t … until I gave her a special cocktail. haha
Seungmin: that’s cheating. we agreed no drugs
Hyukjoon: don’t be a sore loser
Donghyun: lol you’re a pig. send another one when she’s awake and I’ll pay up
Hyukjoon: you’re telling me you’re not a pig?
Hyukjoon: how am I supposed to take a pic when she’s awake?
Seungmin: [VIDEO THUMBNAIL]
Seungmin: you’re not the only one having fun
Donghyun: ugh. I’m stuck in a meeting now. should we go to the strip club later?
Feeling sick to her stomach, Dahye swiped to the next screenshot.
Hyukjoon: found this one on my way home. didn’t even have to do anything … she was already drunk
Hyukjoon: [PICTURE THUMBNAIL]
Hyukjoon: [VIDEO THUMBNAIL]
Yejun: Wtf? Out on the street?
Seungmin: I swear this guy is the luckiest bastard alive
Hyukjoon: anybody else want a turn before I take her back?
Yejun: Maybe. Where are you?
Donghyun: not me. I’m busy. got my own
Donghyun: [VIDEO THUMBNAIL]
Hyukjoon: ehh. mine’s better. come to Hongdae for a taste
It triggered a memory for Dahye. One month after they had started seeing each other, Hyukjoon had taken her out to eat.
On their way back from the restaurant, Dahye had spotted a woman slumped on the side of the street, drunk and alone.
At first, Dahye tried to shake her awake, but the woman had let out a soft moan without opening her eyes, and so Hyukjoon had rooted around in her purse for her wallet.
The woman’s driver’s license listed an address in Yeonnam-dong.
“I’ll drop you off first, and then I’ll take her home,” Hyukjoon had said. Dahye had not had an inkling of suspicion. If anything, she remembered feeling touched by his kindness.
Without warning, she retched, dry heaving onto the floor.
Spit trailed from her lips. It was her fault.
If she hadn’t said anything, if they had only passed the woman without noticing …
Dahye scrambled toward the bathroom, not even caring that she was making too much noise.
She shut the door. Crouching over the toilet, she retched again.
She had to stop reading. She had to stop—
Hyukjoon: [PICTURE THUMBNAIL]
Sangwoo: Isn’t that the same girl you’ve been seeing?
Hyukjoon: yep
Seungmin: it’s been a few months, hasn’t it? Are you getting soft?
Hyukjoon: fuck off
Sangwoo: Someone’s turning into a little bitch.
Donghyun: send a video if you’re not a pussy
Hyukjoon: [VIDEO THUMBNAIL]
Hyukjoon: good body but tits are small. face is so-so. she looks like the temu version of amanda seyfried
Hyukjoon: if she’s still around in a few months, should I give her money for a boob job?
Seungmin: lucky girl lol
The picture and the thumbnail for the video, like the others, were blurred. But she knew without a shred of doubt that they were of her. She continued scrolling and found messages time-stamped with the date they had first slept together.
Hyukjoon: [VIDEO THUMBNAIL]
Hyukjoon: haha she didn’t say anything when I put it in her ass
Hyukjoon: maybe I should keep her?
She remembered that night well. He had hurt her badly, and afterward, she told him what he’d done, quietly and apologetically, tears prickling in her eyes.
Hyukjoon apologized immediately. “I’m so sorry,” he had said.
“It was dark. I drank too much, and I couldn’t tell.
” His face was full of remorse. He had kissed her a hundred times until the feeling inside her chest had dissipated.
And when he fell asleep curled against her side, she had been certain that Hyukjoon was her soulmate.
For the first time in a long while, she had felt something akin to happiness.
Bora was always parroting shit about “things happening for a reason,” and Dahye had understood her completely.
Every unhappiness and injustice, every painful thing in her life had brought her one step closer to him.
Or so she had thought …
Sangwoo: [VIDEO THUMBNAIL]
Donghyun: who the hell is that?
Sangwoo: Some whore from the mall.
Seungmin: H, did I just drive past you in Gangnam?
Hyukjoon: prob
Hyukjoon: [VIDEO THUMBNAIL]
Hyukjoon: took my cock like the good little slut she is, so I bought her a dress to thank her
Hyukjoon: lesson for today. all bitches have a price
Donghyun: you’re such a dick
Hyukjoon: you act like that’s a bad thing
There was a sharp noise to her left. Dahye stood abruptly, knees knocking against the toilet bowl. The little hairs on her neck stood up as she peered into the shower. She could hardly see in the dark. Just a faint reflection on the slick wetness of the tiles.
Another noise. This time it sounded like it was coming from inside the wall.
Fingernails scraping. Somebody—or something—was scratching to get out.
Dahye pressed her ear against it, listening hard.
There was a vent right above her head, just out of reach, and she stood on tiptoe to check.
The metal cover jiggled when she touched it.
She tugged hard, and the cover popped off with a high-pitched screech. At first there was nothing, and then—
Something was slithering out from the opening.
A tangled black mass, like a giant clump of hair, fell onto the floor with a wet squelch.
Dahye gasped and inched backward, fear tight in her throat.
Her back connected with the door. Clawing the air, she reached for the doorknob behind her as the mass stitched itself together, growing taller and taller until, finally, it resembled a person.
A girl. Her hair was long and damp, covering her face completely.
“Please don’t hurt me. Please …”
The girl reached for Dahye, and as she did, her hair swung away. Her eyelashes fluttered. Pinpoint specks of red and purple were scattered across her eyelids, and Dahye gasped. Petechiae. The girl smiled, revealing a little gap between her bottom teeth.
“Dahye,” she said. Her voice had a strangely aquatic quality to it, like she was talking underwater. Dahye stared.
It was her sister’s voice.