Yeo Jun now squeezed his eyes tightly shut. When he couldn't bear it any longer, he got up from his bed and quietly went to sit down on the floor near Joon Hyunk.
Yeo Jun went near him and sat down on the floor. Joon Hyunk, in the darkness, was watching everything, but he couldn't understand what exactly Yeo Jun was doing. Usually, whenever Yeo Jun had a panic attack, he would start screaming, and then Joon Hyunk would calm him down. But tonight, until now, he seemed quite normal.
Sitting on the floor near him, Yeo Jun placed one of his hands on Joon Hyunk's hand and softly called his name, "Joon Hyunk…"
The moment Yeo Jun called him, Joon Hyunk sensed the fear in his voice and immediately sat up. Holding both of his hands tightly, Joon Hyunk said,
"What happened, Yeo Jun? Are you okay? Why are you so scared?"
As soon as Joon Hyunk asked him, Yeo Jun suddenly began crying. He cried so hard that he started hiccupping. Panicked, Joon Hyunk quickly lifted him up and made him sit beside him on the sofa, hugging him tightly.
He asked him again, "What happened, Yeo Jun? Why are you suddenly crying like this? Did you have a bad dream? Are you scared of something?"
Yeo Jun clung to him tightly, hugging him, and just kept crying. Joon Hyunk, trying to calm him, whispered, "calm down , Yeo Jun… nothing happened, everything is fine. What's troubling you?"
Hearing him, Yeo Jun stopped crying, but he still stayed close to Joon Hyunk and refused to move away—because as long as he was near Joon Hyunk, those voices had stopped, those painful memories weren't haunting him anymore. That's why Yeo Jun didn't want to leave his side.
Joon Hyunk gently stroked his hair and softly asked, "What happened, Yeo Jun? What scared you so suddenly?"
Yeo Jun pulled away from him a little, but he was still quietly sobbing. Joon Hyunk quickly got up, turned on the lamp on the side table, filling the room with a soft glow. He picked up the glass of water from the table and gave it to Yeo Jun to drink.
After drinking, Yeo Jun felt a little more relaxed. Joon Hyunk put the glass back on the table and returned to sit beside him on the sofa.
Yeo Jun reached out his hand and held Joon Hyunk's hand. Joon Hyunk immediately felt that Yeo Jun's hands were ice cold, like frozen. Quickly, Joon Hyunk placed his other hand over them and started gently warming his freezing hands.
Yeo Jun said quietly, "I need to tell you something…"
Joon Hyunk nodded softly, "Yes, tell me. I'm listening."
Yeo Jun tried to speak, "I want to tell you… that I didn't kill my mom."
He could say no more, and tears once again spilled down his eyes. Joon Hyunk reached out and wiped them away, but Yeo Jun gripped both his hands tightly in his own, as if gathering all the courage in the world to speak.
Taking a deep breath, calming himself, Yeo Jun finally said, "Joon Hyunk… I didn't kill my mom."
The words came out of him with so much pain, as if just saying them hurt him deeply.
Joon Hyunk immediately leaned forward and hugged him again. Crying, Yeo Jun kept saying, "Please trust me… I didn't kill my mom."
Joon Hyunk stroked his back, whispering, "Yes, I know, Yeo Jun. You didn't kill anyone. I trust you."
Hearing that, Yeo Jun lost control over himself. The burden of so many years, the poison of people's cruel words, everything locked inside his heart and mind now wanted to come out.
Through his tears, he said, "Do you know… my dad says I killed my mom, that every problem in his life is because of me… that I'm unlucky. But I'm telling the truth—I didn't do anything. I'm not unlucky!"
Joon Hyunk wanted to quiet him, but tonight he felt Yeo Jun needed to let it all out. So he just kept hugging him tightly and listened to every word from his heart.
Crying, Yeo Jun said, "I know… my face is ugly because of these scars. But I never took drugs, I never committed any crime. I'm not a monster. Do you know, people call me a monster… but trust me, I'm not a monster."
Hearing this, Joon Hyunk hugged him even tighter.
Yeo Jun said, "I'm not crazy … People say I'm crazy , that I'll hurt someone. But I have never hurt anyone, not even once. Still, they all lie about me. When people touch me, it burns… their hands feel like fire, scorching me. That's why I don't let anyone touch me. I'm not crazy, please trust me… I will never hurt anyone. I don't want to be called insane ."People say that I'm crazy, that they'll send me to a mental asylum… but I don't want to go there."
If those people start calling me crazy again, please stop them, please tell them that I'm not crazy, that I won't hurt anyone…"
Suddenly, when his words became too much for Joon Hyunk to bear, he stopped him, whispering softly, "Ssshhh… , Yeo Jun. What are you saying? Calm down…" He gently stroked him, trying to soothe him.
For the first time, Joon Hyunk truly felt everything that Yeo Jun had been enduring for so many years. The darkness in which Yeo Jun had been living for so long — just a glimpse of that darkness was enough to make Joon Hyunk restless. Hugging him tightly, Joon Hyunk said, "I won't let anyone take you away. As long as I'm here, no one will hurt you. Don't be afraid. I'm here with you. No one will ever harm you."