Chapter Text
Myeong never knew that this shit was going to bite back in his ass because they have gotten away with this for so many years, so imagine the shock he got when he heard the recording or whatever the fuck that was of Min Jun’s confession. Myeong thought his day wouldn’t be riddled with looking over his shoulder, but he knew that he had to fucking run. Min Jun had lots of their secrets and he was sure that people had joined the damn dots about who the others were.
He had switched off his phone and made dash towards the exit, getting overly curious and confused looks thrown at him as he kept his head down and hoped to every deity to help him just once today because he was not going the fuck down, he had done so much hard work to reach here, and he was not going to go down because of the geriartic bitch who probably was high on drugs and said shit before killing himself.
To his fortune, nobody stopped him or tried to stop him when he sat in his car. He glared at his steering wheel before the rage boiled to a point where what he was seeing was red. He started hitting the steering wheel in a rapid and angry manner again and again and he screamed. “You motherfucker! Why did you have to take us down?!” He yelled to no one in general. He breathed heavily before he remembered what he was supposed to do.
He quickly ignited his car and drove it to his penthouse building, making a point to get his laptop and every shit he had kept in that in an express confidence that nobody will ever find it, but now he had this fucking deadline looming over his head and he needed to bury or burn all the evidences that will incriminate him as one of the accused.
Fifteen years in this industry was just about to disappear in thin fucking air and Myeong honked his horn in frustration when the car in front of was moving over the speed that was grating at Myeong’s nerves and he wanted to ram his car into the other but fuck, he already has his future on stake.
The moment he reached his apartment building, he noticed three to four Police cars and he paled at the sight of it. He cursed under his breath before reversing his car in a haste and driving away to god knows where. The rage was quickly replaced with fear as he quickly made his way away from his apartment building.
“Oh you piece of shit! I hope you are fucking burning in hell!” Myeong cursed as he took a right and drove somewhere where police won’t be at his ass because he knows that his time is fucking up. He nervously messed with his hair as his grip on the steering wheel tightened and panic was all his brain acknowledged. He was so fucking done, all the secrets they meticulously hidden for so many fucking years are out now.
He should have fucking stopped others when burning sun scandal was exposed to the world, but they thought that maybe if they have gone unnoticed for so many fucking years, maybe they would have gotten away more. Karma was a concept for the poor, not rich, not for him and his friends. And now when it all has gone to shit, he has nowhere to hide himself. He was just driving somewhere in blind rage and fear.
Should he surrender himself? It’s not like he would get any severe punishment if he bribed the right person. But what if they found out about all the murders and dead people and the people who disappeared because of them, because they became a danger to their plans? No he can’t surrender. He will never surrender. He will move away to another country, he will restart his life, but he is not surrendering, not now, not ever. He had come so far, and no way in hell he was going to be arrested.
He doesn’t remember how long he was driving, but it must have for long because now the sun had started to set and he had yet to find a way back to his apartment so he could get his fucking passport. He was tired of driving around and he just wanted to smoke. He pulled over a residential building, not caring about people recognising him because that would need someone to look
He got out of the car, his phone tucked away in his blazer’s pocket and barged into the building which he guessed was a residential building before being an abandoned building on the outskirts of Seoul, or that’s what Myeong thought. The way to the terrace was an unceremonious one as he switched his phone on, to see if anyone called him. He wanted to call his two remaining friends, but knew it was a risk and he wanted to take none at this moment.
He stood at the edge of the building, looking over the city. He stuffed his hand into his pocket and removed the cigarette box and lighter from the pocket. He plucked one cigarette out of it and placed it between his lips before pocketing the box. The city was either asleep, or awake. Myeong could not relate because he was freaking the fuck out. He had no idea what the fuck he was supposed to do. Hyuk and Baemsoek are out of commission, he just cannot call them in case they are arrested.
He lit his cigarette, his brows screwed in annoyance. Sure he could go to one of his contacts, but everyone must be running around to cover their arse so he wasn’t fucking sure if they will cover for him. He just can’t fucking risk. He inhaled lungful of toxic smoke and closed his eyes. He has to do something, he can’t go down like this. He just can’t.
“Yello, Jeong Myeong-ssi. Long time no see.” A voice tears through the calm environment that settled in. Myeong freezed, his hand going still as he was about to place back his cigarette back between his lips. He slowly turned his head around to see whether his ears were deceiving him or was it really his past catching upto him?
His breath caught up to him in his throat, and he fully faced the woman he thought he killed years ago. His hand trembled, making the cigarette between his fingers fall to the ground. “No no no, this is not true.” He whispered under his breath as his feet tried to take him back only to be met with the edge of the rooftop. “It is true though. Your past is not just a past anymore. It is here, and it will take everything from you like you did to me and others.” The woman spoke up, tilting her head. A creepy smile tugged on her lips, her entire body rotting away in an instant.
“I am as dead as you left me, Myeong-ssi. I am just doing something nobody hasn’t done yet. And I know that the police and shit are on your payroll, so I am not gonna have mercy on you and let you live. You will die the same way I died.” She said, moving at an unnatural speed. Myeong trembled as the woman wrapped her hand around his throat and lifted him from the ground in a quick moment, putting pressure on his throat. “Do you really think that your past is going to remain buried? That nature would let you get away with this injustice? You thought wrong, Myeng-ssi.” The woman was now grinning, dangling his body above the streets before loosening her grip, and Myeong went down like a puppet goes down when you cut its strings. His screams filled the entire area before a loud thwack resounded and the voice was cut off.
________
The morning in the 3racha plus Hyunjin’s dorm was unbothered as everyone was still asleep, limbs over limbs. Chan was the first one to steer awake from his deep slumber. He blinked his eyes against the morning light that was streaming through the balcony doors. He groaned a little as he felt weight on his limbs, but he soon realised that he was surrounded by others. Attached to him like a Koala was Han, who had his face squished against his neck, snoring softly.
Minho’s legs were sprawled over Chan’s midriff whilst Felix was sprawled over his legs making him wince thinking about how his back will treat him once he wakes up. It was amusing though, how he found himself curled over his legs and was comfortable with the positioning. Chan smiled to himself before deciding to just lay there and let the others wake up at their own pace.
“You are awake, hyungie?” Han’s voice made Chan look at him. He smiled a little, and nodded his head. “Just woke up. You slept well, right?” Chan asked in a whisper, not wanting to wake others up. Han nodded his head, smiling a little as he blinked slowly to rid of his sleep. “Hyung, thank you for yesterday. Thank you for trusting us with that. I know it must be difficult for you to tell us that, but you did and we are thankful for that.” Han said sleepily.
Chan moved his hand a little and placed it in a way that he could scratch his scalp. “I should have told you about this sooner, but I didn't know how to. But I guess I should have, because it feels so much better to be not alone throughout this entire shit.” Chan hummed, feeling relaxed after such a long time.
“There are still things that don't make sense, hyung. There have been things that don't make sense since the last new year party. You were already behaving weirdly since October, but since that party. You didn’t even show up at the dorms that night. We all thought you were with someone that night, but it got worse. Everything that was going on with you got worse.” Han said, and of course they were gonna bring this up. He sighed, mulling over the fact whether he should answer or not.
He decided the route of half truth, knowing he will have to tell them sooner or later. “Hannie, there are things that have happened. I want to tell you about it, and I will. I promise. I just need to gather the thoughts and words.” Chan said slowly, the gears in his head moving.
“Okay hyung. Take your time.” Han said, yawing directly onto Chan’s face, making him laugh a little loudly and pretend to shove him away. Han laughed at that before settling back, and enjoyed the slow morning that they haven’t been able to enjoy lately. They knew that the moment everyone would wake up and start their day, they would be pulled back to reality.
As the morning progressed and the others started to wake up, Chan found himself in the kitchen with Minho making breakfast for the six people who were either sleepily trudging around or cleaning up the living room and keeping away the pillows where they belong. Chan was preparing tea for everyone, forgoing coffee for the day. They all could go a day without coffee if he was being honest.
“Hyung, did you get any messages from Fatima noona?” It was Jeongin who entered the kitchen, his phone clutched in his hands. Chan gave him a confused look and he realised he hasn’t looked at his phone since he has woken up. He shook his head, “I haven’t looked at my phone. Why? Did something happen?” Chan asked, his eyebrows scrunched in worry. Jeongin nodded his head.
“Myeong died. He jumped off a building or fell off it, reasons are still unknown.” Jeongin handed the phone to Chan, who froze the moment he read the news headline. He gasped softly, his hand trembling a little as he kept reading the news headlines again and again thinking that he was being tricked, but it was not a trick. It was a reality.
Jeong Myeong, the elite producer, was pronounced dead after a deadly fall from a residential building on the outskirts of Seoul.
“He is dead. He is fucking dead.” Chan muttered, his chest feeling constricted. He didn’t know when he started crying, but he felt a pair of hands on his cheeks, hurriedly wiping away tears that were rapidly wetting his face. “Hyung, hyung, are you okay? Why are you crying?” Jeongin was panicking and Chan felt bad for not being able to reassure him that he was fine.
“I-I am fine, Innie. It was just- I- It caught me off guard.” Chan tried, he really tried but he was not convincing even to his own ears. There was another pair of hands around his shoulder and he found himself being led somewhere. He was panicking a little, he registered that, but he didn’t know why. Why was he panicking when there was nothing to panic about?
After a minute of trying to get his bearing back, he noticed a few concerned eyes on him and he had to fight off the urge to wince visibly. “Hyung, what is going on?” Minho was the one who broke the tense silence that settled around them and Chan sighed deeply. He wagered he had more time, more time to get his wording correct and gather himself a little more before he tells the last bit of his situation to others, but time waits for no one. It really doesn’t.
The doorbell went off making a few heads turn towards the source and in the end it was Hyunjin who walked out of the living room to answer the door. Others waited for Hyunjin to come back before refocusing on Chan. Their eyes were trained towards their main door and they heard few voices.
“Is Chan inside, Hyunjin-ah?” Chan registered that it was his manager’s voice and he wondered what she was doing here? But he soon realised why, and he whipped his head to his right and his eyes met Fatima’s brown eyes, and they looked distressed and they were red, as if she cried or she hadn’t slept the whole night. “You need to tell them. You need to tell them before they know about this from anyone else. Chan, this is going public. Every single thing. So please, tell them before they learn about it from some shady website.” Fatima said, and Chan blinked in surprise. His brain was still playing catch up and he had no idea what the hell was he doing and what the fuck is going on.
“What?” He asked, his voice came out hoarse. Fatima approached him and gestured to Minho to give her space, which he agreed readily and stood up. Fatima sat beside Chan, rested her hand on Chan’s shoulder and stroked it gently. “The thing you told me, tell them. You have to tell them before they read it online because this will be online and it is going to be very crazy. Your name won’t be mentioned in the article that will be published by the end of the day because of identity protection and shit like that, but there will be people who will find out the details from the files. You need to tell them before they get to know from the internet. They deserve it.” Fatima suggested, leaving the option for him to opt out.
The realisation washed over Chan’s face and he looked around. Fatima was right, his members, his family, they needed to know. They really needed to know because they were his family and he needed support, he really did. Because he had zero idea of how he will deal with this once everything will hit the ceiling.
“I do. I do.” He said, a shuddering breath left his lips and rubbed his hands before looking around once again. “I need to tell you about something. I haven’t told a single soul except her because she kinda guessed what happened and made me tell her yesterday. I-I would have never tell anyone about this, because fuck, he threatened me. He was capable of hurting because he was Myeong. He could do anything, because he did that to me in my fucking office. I wanted you all to be safe so I kept my mouth shut.” His words came out in a hurry and anxious babble and Fatima took his hand into hers and gave it a gentle squeeze.
Others gave Chan all their attention, and listened to him carefully. Chan bit his lip and blinked thrice before continuing. “It was 2018, we barely made our debut. We were all running on minimum sleep and things. I was in our old studio, and Han and Changbin went on the snacks run. Fatima Noona was called by some of the sponsors, so I was alone. Bad decision.” Chan said, finding solace in the small squeezes to his hand offered by Fatima.
“Myeong came, he never had before because he had no absolute business with us. We were already happy with the bunch of producers offered to us by JYP. So I wondered what he wanted, and well.” Chan stuttered, closing his eyes as a painful memory made its place in his brain.
“Take your time, hyung. Whatever it is, take your time.” And Chan tok his time because how was he supposed to say it? “I was sexually assaulted in that office. That was the reason I had it changed in a week because I couldn’t work there without wanting to reach inside my chest and rip my heart out. I-it was Myeong, and he ruined everything for me. He threatened your safety and I kept quiet. I wish I would have said anything, literally anything but I didn’t know what to do. I am-I am sorry I kept this hidden from you.” Chan sniffed, blinking his eyes rapidly to get rid of the tears.
There was an absolute silence after those words, it was tense with a hint of mourning before Chan found himself being tackled into a tight hug that quite literally knocked air out of his lungs and there was someone crying in his arms. “Oh my god, I am so sorry that we didn’t notice. We did notice but we didn’t say anything. We are so fucking sorry. Oh god, what the actual fuck, Hyung?” Chan’s hand smoothed Han’s shirt as the younger cried as he had awkwardly wrapped himself around his waist.
“It’s not your fault. Honestly, it’s not anyone’s fault. It was a situation I found myself in and I did what I thought was right, even if it was so wrong. I sometimes regret not telling anyone about it, but it is the decision I took all those years ago. It is not justified, but it is what it is.” Chan said, looking at everyone who had varied expressions on their faces. Minho looked horrified, and conflicted while Hyunjin was crying in his hands, his back facing Chan in shame.
“You suffered in silence and we just…watched you spiral. We just thought it was the stress of the comeback. I am- We are sorry, hyung. We- I don’t know what to say. I-” And Changbin didn’t finish before rushing out of the room, shortly followed by Minho and others just couldn’t help but look away from the person they felt that they had let down so miserably. Chan was so attuned to their discomfort and every emotion but they were not and it was like someone threw a rock through their mirror reality and they couldn't do anything but stare at Chan in horror.
Chan still had a protective hand over a crying Han, who was still apologising which got muffled as he had his mouth hidden over Chan’s shirt. Fatima just watched others either taking a seat on the opposite sofa or just sitting on the ground with nothing but sadness and pain in their eyes. They had zero idea how to deal with something like this, and they didn’t know how to apologise to Chan.
“You need to give a statement at the police station. You need to come out because they have proof of every single shit they have done. All of it is heavily encrypted so it is taking time, but don’t think that Myeong doesn’t have some shit like that on you.” Fatima spoke up softly. Chan looked at her with raised brow, as if questioning. Fatima bit her lip and shrugged her shoulders. “They have blackmail tapes on so many employees who worked or still work for JYPE and many other companies. Idols are yet to be looked into. I just came from my own confession thingy. Because they have something on me. You need to tell them before you will have to jump into this blind folded. News may not get your name from this since it means you have to yet give your consent, but you need to do this on your terms, and not theirs for once.” Fatima tried to convince Chan, she needed him to agree to her because once speculations would start, things would go out of hand and she doesn’t want that right now.
“What sort of blackmail do they have on you?” Felix asked, obviously catching up on everything Fatima said. “Call it a sex tape if you will, though none of that had any sort of consent.” Fatima said, looking at Felix. “What?” He asked, not in a way of not hearing it the first time but more in a way of being shocked at the revelation.
“Things have happened in this company that no one is wiser about. But none of this is black and white. There are so many things to go through that the police investigation team is running thin. It’s so much shit, and whoever stumbled upon it had ended up like me or Ha-eun. Threatened or dead.” Fatima answered, and the silence that settled was oppressive and thick that Fatima wondered if she could cut through it with a scissor.
“What the absolute fuck? Do you think they have something on us?” Jeongin asked, his eyes wide and even Han lifted his head a little and his crying had petered off to small hiccups. “I don’t know honestly. I am pretty sure Myeong has something on Chan, because that’s what they do. They gullibly kept evidence of their crime, so it is just a matter of time until the police find one on him.” Fatima answered, leaning back on the couch.
“So there is a what? An assault tape on his laptop?” Chan asked incredulously, his eyes clouded with anger. “Something like that. And I wouldn’t have told you to do anything that would make you uncomfortable, but I want you to know that there is such a tape that exists. Your sister will know about it too. This has yet to become a reality, so I want you to think about this. Very carefully.” Fatima’s voice was firm but soft.
Chan blinked at her before sighing and diving into the pit of overthinking. If Fatima was right, then his whole family will come to know about this one way or the other, and he doesn’t want to cause that sort of heartache. He doesn’t want them to think that they fucked up. And for once he needed to do something at his own pace and not being gobsmacked with the surprise,
He looked at Fatima again, this time with determination. “When do we leave? I am ready to make a statement. And I want to make it public too.” Chan said, his heart rabitting away in his chest. Fatima looked at him, astonished because she was here to convince Chan to give a statement, but now he wants to make it public. It can go either way, Fatima thought grimly. But she slowly nodded her head, pulling her phone out from her jacket’s pocket.
“Well then you go get ready, I need to make a few phone calls. We need paps for this one. Dress sharp.” Fatima said, standing up from the couching, already in her manager act. Chan watched her walk to the balcony, calling god knows who. He heaved a sigh before looking at Han, who had yet to untangle himself from Chan. His crying had petered off to soft hiccups, and his face still squished against Chan’s stomach.
“Come on, Hannie. Let hyung get up. I have to shower and get ready.” Chan softly caressed Han’s hair, his voice was gentle making Han sigh. He nodded his head, pulling away gently and blinking at him with his huge doe eyes. “Okay, hyung.” Han said, detaching himself from Chan and stood up. “We love you, hyung. Come to us when you feel lost, okay? Don’t suffer the way you did.” Han spoke softly, blinking again before walking towards the opposite couch and splattered himself on Seungmin, who groaned but wrapped his hands around the boy.
The room was engulfed in silence when Chan left the room to get ready. The remaining occupants of the living room stayed silent because the words had left them in the wake of Chan’s confession. They either stared at the wall, ceiling or had their eyes closed because never in their life were they put in such a delicate situation.
They felt betrayed by the company because how could such a thing happen in their premise and they had zero idea about it? They were very attuned to every single action of their idols, but they didn’t have any clue of what their star studded producers were upto? There was no way they didn’t know it, and the idea clicked in Seungmin’s head. He needed to call his dad, and he needed him to join forces with Chan’s sister.
Han was still attached to Seungmin like a Koala, so he postponed the idea for a while and let Han stay on him for comfort. Fatima on the other hand was pacing the balcony, looking agitated as she made calls here and there, and Seungmin found himself relieved that he was not the manager, even if he felt guilty about it.
After what seemed to be thirty to forty minutes, Chan stepped out of his room, dressed in a black suit with a white shirt beneath it and a black tie around his neck. He fiddled with his tie a little before being satisfied at how it sat on his neck. He tousled his hair to give it a decent appearance. The living room was half empty, Han, Seungmin and Felix being the exceptions.
Han had dozed off over Seungmin, who was going through his phone scrolling away. Felix was intently watching the balcony door, waiting for something to jump at him. “You alright, Lixie?” Chan asked, buttoning up his blazer’s button. He followed Felix’s gaze and it landed on Fatima, who had leaned against the balcony railing, her shoulders sagged. “Something is amiss, hyung. Something is very wrong.” Felix stated, still not looking away from where Fatima was leaning on the railings.
“What do you mean?” Chan asked, looking between the balcony door and Felix. “Fatima noona is very calm for someone who just gave a testimony about things that had happened to her. There are only reasons for such things to happen. First, they are lying. Second, they are stuffing their emotions down to a point of an inevitable nervous breakdown. And we both know it’s the second option.” Felix said, looking at Chan, his eyes sparkling with new found information.
Chan looked back at Fatima, a new found emotion settled in his eyes. To be honest, he was so wrapped up in his little world to see what Felix had just noticed. He blinked and fuck, Felix was right. Fatima was indeed too calm for someone who had to give a big testimony and had to prove that she was innocent in a murder of the producer to the police.
“Oh.” It’s all that Chan had managed to utter before he found himself staring at Fatima’s back who had yet to acknowledge the two piercing stares at the back of her head. “Hyung, you know how fucked up it is to suffer alone. To do things alone when it’s the help you need. I know that whatever you are going through must be agonising to even think about. But…hyung, make her process her feelings before they consume her. Okay?” Felix suggests, his eyes not leaving the side of Chan’s face.
“Like, we will make sure that she can confine with us all the worries she has, but she is more attached to you than she is to us, and that is a lot. It speaks for itself.” Felix added, tucking his blonde hair strand behind his ears as he watched gears turn in Chan’s head as he kept staring at the woman standing in the balcony.
“I will, Lix. I will help her process this. Like we all will be going to the therapists by the end of this but I will try my best to keep her sane until then. She deserves the help we will offer her.” Chan said, sighing heavily. “We will be leaving now, so please stay in the dorms and do not leave the dorms at all unless absolutely necessary, okay? Bamseok and Hyuk are still at large.” Chan instructed Felix, who nodded his head. “Yes, Chris.” Felix said.
Chan nodded his head before walking to the balcony, and slid the glass door aside. “Noona, we should leave. I am ready.” Chan said, startling Fatima a little who jumped slightly before turning around. She nodded her head and leaned back from the railings and walked to Chan. “Well, break a leg, I guess.” Fatima’s attempt at humour met with a success as Chan chuckled.
The ride from the dorms to Seoul police station was a pretty decent one with Fatima tackling all the logistics of Chan’s statements whilst Chan listened to it whilst resting his head against the cool glass of the car. He was wearing a mask which was responsible for no foggy glass as a result of his breathing hitting the glass as it usually did.
As the other thoughts started to rage inside his head, an acute realisation hit him out of nowhere, hitting him directly in the chest leaving him breathless. He blinked twice and thrice at the glass which kept the city’s noise out and all he could hear was a man speaking to Fatima.
His parents will know, his parents will fucking know and what the hell was he supposed to do then? How is he supposed to make them understand that whatever that happened to him was no one’s fault but Myeong and Myeong’s alone? But how was he supposed to tell them? This case had become an international one, Chan was sure of it. And he was afraid that going public with this would mean that his parents would know.
“You okay there, Chan? You are breathing a little funny.” Fatima’s voice broke through his stupor, making him blink thrice again. He shakily took a deep breath and turned his head a little to look directly at Fatima.
“My parents. How am I supposed to tell them this? Like I will have to tell them before they come to know about this from the paparazzis. I don’t know what to do.” Chan said truthfully, fidgeting with his fingers. He registered that Fatima nodded her head, but everything was so blurry and god he was tired of crying. That’s all he had done since yesterday.
“Do you want to talk to them before we head to the station? They can wait for twenty minutes.” Fatima offered, her eyes not leaving the road once. Chan chewed his bottom lip and nodded his head. “If you can pull the strings, then please. I want them to know about this from me, not the news articles.” Chan muttered, averting his gaze towards the road, which seemed to be pulling upto the police station.
“Okay, Channie.” It was all Fatima said, pulling over to an empty parking slot in the parking lot and unbuckled her seatbelt. “I will give you the space, take as much time as you need.” Fatima softly suggested, killing the engine and moving her hand to open the door of her side. Chan nodded his head, watching Fatima gather her things and open the door to get out.
“Thank you, noona. I owe you a lot.” Chan thanked the woman, who just waved her hand in a way of dismissing him. “It’s the least I could do for you, Chan. Now talk to your parents.” Fatima offered him a smile before closing the door, leaving Chan in the silence of the car. He sighed and fished his phone out of his slack pocket, and unlocked it to call his parents.
He waited for his mom to pick up his voice call, because if he facetimed them, he wasn’t sure if he was going to be able to keep his composure. His mom picked up his phone on the third ring, and cheerfully greeted him, making his heart squeeze at that. “ Hi Channie. How are you?” His mother’s voice was soothing but he was also nervous. So he let the voice soothe him.
“Hi, mom. I genuinely don’t know. I am trying my best, but everything is falling apart. And I don’t know how to handle this.” Chan whispered, sniffing a little and chewing the inside of his cheek. “ What is going on, Chan? Is everything alright? Is it about the news we keep seeing?” Her mother’s worried voice made Chan feel guilty for what he was about to tell her but it is better that she knows from him than a damn newspaper article.
“Nothing is alright, mom. I don’t know when things will be alright, but I cannot begin to tell you about the things that are already shit. There are so many things I wanna tell you, but I am scared.” Chan said, playing with the button of the blazer. Chan heard some shuffling in the background, and Berry barking loudly. His mom shushed Berry, who barked thrice before Chan heard her scurry away.
“ What do you mean, honey? You are scaring me.” His mom asked, her voice wavered and Chan felt more guilty. “There have been some things that have happened and I haven’t been honest with you, or dad or Duri. I have lied to you and her and everyone, and I don’t know how to apologise or shit- what I am trying to say is, there has been a chunk of my life that I have kept hidden from you and dad and them.” Chan said softly, his eyes falling on his lap and he could already feel his mother’s worry worsen, so he continued before his mother could get a chance to overthink.
The words were getting easier, and the emotions now made more sense because it was truly not his fault that something awful had happened to him. It was Myeong’s fault and that’s it. He was nothing more than a dead man. Yes, he had power, but now he is nothing but a dead man. The words that were tightly folded beneath his ribs, now they were free and Chan wondered if he had confined this with someone before, would it have been easier?
As he was done telling his mum about it, he heard a soft sob and all he wanted to do was reach out and pull his mom into a tight hug and reassure her that he was okay, that nothing was wrong. Even if it was a lie, at least he would be there for his mom while she cried. “Hey mom, it’s okay. I am fine. It messed me up for a while, but I am okay. Please don’t cry.” He tried to soothe her.
“ How can you say that? You suffered through it alone. You should have come to either of us. I- How did this even happen? Why didn’t you tell us this before? This…We are coming to Korea. All of us.” His mum softly cried, and Chan wanted to tell her not to come, that it was still not safe. But he wanted them here. He wanted to see them again after not seeing them for so long.
“Okay, mom. I will wait for you.” Chan said, his voice was barely above a whisper. “ I am sorry, honey. I am- I am sorry that you had to go through this alone.” Her words were jumbled, and Chan could tell that she was trying to keep herself tough and not cry more, but he knew that she was just a moment away from breaking down in more tears.
“It’s okay, mom. There is nothing we can do to change the past, but let's hope this never happens again. Now I have to go, mom. I have to give testimony against them.” Chan said, sighing softly when he realised that he had already delayed this more. He heard some shuffling in the background and few happy voices as if his siblings returned from somewhere. “ Ok, baby. Call me later, please. We will try our best to come over as soon as possible. We will be there for you. Bye.” His mom’s voice was still teary. “Okay mom. Love you.” Chan softly said before hanging up.
He stared ahead out of the windshield and counted under his breath to calm down. He shakily unbuckled his seat belt and pocketed his phone once again. He opened the door of his side and got out of the car, getting hit by a wave of cold air and snow crunched under his feet. It surely has snowed too much this year, making it the coldest January in five years. He walked towards Fatima, who was on the phone with someone, after closing the door.
Fatima noticed him walking towards her, making her smile a little hung up on the call. “Let’s go.” Fatima said, pointing towards the police station. Chan nodded his head tightly, already feeling like he was gonna throw up but he was going to do it, and he was going to deal with it. “Noona, can you make a psychiatric appointment for me? There is no one that will stop me from getting help now.” Chan asked, gulping down the lump that rose as they walked towards the police station.
“Yes, I already did. I was on the phone with my friend, Hyujin who is a psychiatrist, a good one at that. And don’t you worry, the cost? It will be forced to cover from Myeong’s assets after the formal process of trials is done. I will make sure that it is written down in papers.” Fatima grinned, her eyes sparkled under the full sun.
“You are enjoying this.” Chan chuckled, thankful for this small diversion as they climbed the stairs. “Oh you have no idea. What I wanted for so long is finally happening. It doesn’t matter how, but it’s happening. The crimes are out, everyone is relatively safe now. At least we managers can rest easy now.” Fatima said, walking through the doors and walking straight upto the police reception desk.
“You are right. Now, I don’t have to keep this actively hidden. It feels a little light now that the baggage is off.” Chan said, before they reached the desk. Once they reached the desk, the lady sitting there looked up, recognition flashing in her eyes before looking down at her computer. “Interrogation room is straight ahead.” She informed the duo, pointing towards the path.
Fatima nodded her head and rested a hand on Chan’s forearm and gently directed where they were supposed to go. The police station was bustling with police officers running here and there, with phones ringing every two seconds which made Chan realise that this case was bigger than he thought as he watched another officer answering his walkie talkie and sighed because they found something.
Chan felt slightly bad for them, it must be overwhelming to dive head first into things like this. In the middle of those thoughts, a woman appeared in his peripheral vision, quickly recognising her. He blinked at her as she walked past, clearly in a hurry. He turned his head a little watching her disappear, making him frown his eyebrow a little. What was she doing here?
“You okay, Chan?” Fatima asked, looking where Chan was also looking a moment ago. “Just- I thought it was the woman that very much saved me.” Chan answered, looking back again before shrugging his shoulders. Fatima’s mouth formed ‘o’ before looking back in hopes of catching a glimpse of the woman. “Well I hope I get to meet her again. I need to express my gratitude towards her.” Chan said, and Fatima could agree with the sentiment.
Chan’s nerves came back with vengeance as he noticed Duri standing near the door, talking on the phone with someone, clearly agitated about something. As she heard footsteps near her, Duri looked up, and she furrowed her brows in confusion as she noticed that it was her brother with Fatima. “What are you two doing here?” She asked, raising a brow and hanging up on the call.
“Testimony against Myeong.” Fatima answered, watching the gears turn in Duri’s head. Duri grew more confused because as far as she was aware, Fatima had already given her testimony, and it was against all four of them. “But you have already given your oral and written testimonies. And it was against all four of them. So…?” Duri trailed, now standing straight and looking in between Chan and Fatima, hoping for the clue to jump at her.
Nothing would have made Duri ready for whatever either two of them were gonna say. Chan looked at Fatima before looking at his sister. “Me, it’s my testimony against Myeong for sexual harassment and abuse.” Chan found it easier to utter those words, and he was relieved that there was no panic clawing at his chest now.
Duri’s world crashed, and she just blinked rapidly and her mouth remained hung open and her ears started to ring.
“ What?!”