The Hallowed Heart - English Version

Chapter 13

Trigger Warning: (mild) discussion of rape and trauma.

Gong Yoo knew something was wrong when Ye Jin didn't greet him cheerfully as usual after returning from Busan.

The girl just lay on her bed, didn't even turn around when Gong Yoo called her name.

"What are you doing? Not feeling well?" Gong Yoo tried to touch Ye Jin's forehead, but the girl flinched and tried to dodge.

"Have you been to the doctor? Or do you want oppa to accompany you there?" asked Gong Yoo. Ye Jin just shook her head.

He looked worriedly at Ye Jin's pale face. "I'll go home first to put my bag, after that we go to the doctor." he decided.

Gong Yoo walked into his house through the side door. He had a bad feeling that something had happened during his absence. Honestly, he had this bad feeling before he left, but Gong Yoo couldn't bear to refuse his father's request to come to Busan.

Before Gong Yoo and his mother left, Hyun Bin suddenly came to stay. His cousin was having problems with his mother so he needed a place to calm down. "Don't tell anyone that I'm here, I'm not in the mood to make small talk with my appa and his family." Hyun Bin said before Gong Yoo and his mother left him alone at home.

Gong Yoo opened the door to his room impatiently, Hyun Bin had already left. The room looks normal, nothing seems odd or different.

Not giving up, Gong Yoo checked the trash bin in his kitchen. Sure enough, there were several empty bottles of soju sitting inside.

Hyun Bin always behaves rudely when he's drunk, what if Ye Jin came here and met his cousin? Gong Yoo's heart sank at the thought.

He remembered Hyun Bin's rude attitude towards Ye Jin at the hospital. As far as Gong Yoo remembers, Hyun Bin still holds a huge grudge against Ye Jin and his mother.

While rubbing the back of his head, Gong Yoo thought about the possibilities. But the more he thought about it, the more confused Gong Yoo felt.

Trembling, Gong Yoo grabs the telephone, ignoring the confused look of his mother who was tidying up while watching her son's behavior. The phone rang once, twice, thrice, to twenty times but no one picked up.

Hyun Bin's mother must be at work right now.  But where is his cousin? Why is no one picking up his land phone?

He was about to try calling back when Gong Yoo's eyes caught a green glow from under his bed.

Swallowing hard, Gong Yoo walked closer to the green glow, praying silently that it wasn't what he had in mind.

His prayers were not answered, unfortunately.  Because the shiny thing under his bed was Ye Jin's Goblin necklace that had been broken.

Gong Yoo half ran back to Ye Jin's room. The girl was pensively staring at the window, still refusing to look at him.

"You met him at my house yesterday right?"  asked Gong Yoo in a trembling voice. "Tell me, Ye Jin! What did he do to you?" Gong Yoo desperately suppressed his voice so that Ye Jin's parents wouldn't hear it, but the girl stubbornly refused to answer.