His conversation was drowned out as he slammed the door shut and started the car. She stood slightly, catching a glimpse of him through the car window. His glasses flashed in the light. It was definitely Hyukjoon. Shaking, Dahye took her own phone from her pocket and dialed his number.
One ring, and then the line went dead. She tried again, only to have the same result. She tried to send him a message on KakaoTalk. A little “1” appeared next to the text in yellow, just like the ones before it. He hadn’t opened any of them.
Maybe he had just returned that morning? Maybe he was going to call her soon?
She returned to Bora’s apartment in a daze. She hardly remembered the walk down, past the barricade, where the taxi had first dropped her off. She barely remembered the ride back. Everything around her seemed blurred and out of focus, like she had opened her eyes while submerged underwater. Her mind was working slowly, mechanically. She blinked and found herself in Bora’s bed, shivering, the cold overtaking her.
+
The room flooded with light, jerking Dahye out of a terrible nightmare. She blinked. Her face was dripping wet, having just been splashed with water. She sat up. Bora was hovering over the bed, a cup in her trembling hand.
“I’m so sorry,” Bora said. “You were having a seizure or something, and I didn’t know what to do—”
“It’s alright.”
Bora stared at her anxiously. “I’ve never seen you like that. You were crying and screaming and—” She shook her head. “I thought something terrible was about to happen.”
The events of the day came back to Dahye. She saw in her mind the image of Hyukjoon driving away, and confusion settled over her again. “I’m fine,” she said automatically.
“Oh, Dahye,” Bora suddenly sobbed. “It’s so awful. I wasn’t going to say anything, but I don’t think it’s fair for you not to know …”
“What?”
“It’s about Hyukjoon.”
Dahye’s hands tightened in her lap. “I know. I saw him.”
Bora seemed surprised. “You know?”
“I do.” Dahye hesitated. “I don’t understand it, but I’m sure he has an explanation. I bet he landed this morning, and he’s just getting his affairs in order.” Bora gave her a curious look, so Dahye added, “I went to his house this afternoon.”
“You went to hishouse?”
“I was trying to give his wallet back,” Dahye said defensively. “And if I happened to run into his father while I was there, I was going to apologize.”
“Apologize for what?”
“For being careless. For getting Hyukjoon in trouble.”
“No, Dahye.” Bora shook her head. “I didn’t even know he was back. I thought he was still in New York.” She hesitated. “There’s something else you need to know.”
It was Bora’s tone, more than anything, that filled Dahye with apprehension. She had never seen Bora so serious. Bora, who had even delivered the news of her mother’s untimely death half laughing, half crying.
“I was trying to find out more information about Hyukjoon and everything that had happened between you two.” Boraswallowed, 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.