As I have nothing to give you, I give you my heart (IU Verse Book#1)

Chapter 32

      The man sat in front of Jihyuk; his eyes fixed to the table between them, bloodshot. He looked like he was in his late twenties. His face was pale, and there was barely any indication that this man was alive; he had been sitting there in silence ever since Jihyuk came. The only thing that he did was shift in his chair for a nanosecond; then silence engulfed again. Jihyuk studied the man without a word. He didn't look like the crazy gunman who was trying to harm Jieun less than a month ago. He was just; there. The paleness of his face mixed with the bloodshot eyes and slender figure reminded Jihyuk of himself; what he used to look like in his early twenties. There was no hope in his eyes, just like he had seen none in the man in front of him.  

     Jihyuk shifted his chair a little bit so that he could enclose just a little bit of distance between them. The man made no indication even with the harsh sound of the chair against the floor. Jihyuk cleared his throat, folded his hands in front of him, and stared at the man, before breaking the ice. "Kim Daehyung ssi?" He addressed the man. The man didn't acknowledge him; his eyes glued to the table. "I am just going to cut to the chase. And I know you've been asked this question many times, and I am going to be asking you again. Who ordered you to attack Lee Jieun ssi?" Again, He didn't answer.

      "You do realize that you're the one who's stuck here, while the person who ordered the attack is running around free. You're going to take the blame all by yourself?" Jihyuk asked. The man still didn't say anything, but he noticed a slight change in his expression. Jihyuk leaned forward and looked at the gunman squarely. "Listen to me, Daehyung ssi. The person that you're trying so hard to protect right now, wouldn't care if you will rot in prison for the rest of your life. Do you think that they will bail you out? That's why you're not talking?" The man shifted his expression in an angered one, but again, not a word. Jihyuk let out a breath of frustration as he stood up and leaned over the table. "I'm sorry to break it to you, Daehyung ssi, but that person's not coming to save you. Now that you're caught, they wouldn't want to associate with you." He said as he leaned back. The man's expression fell at his last remark, but it soon hardened as he finally shifted his eye contact to Jihyuk. 

     When he had finally got the man's attention, Jihyuk used the final straw. He looked at the man squarely in the eye and let out a barely noticeable smirk. "That person has abandoned you now. She's not coming to save you." With one swift motion, the man had his hands on Jihyuk's throat and his back was up against the wall. "Shut the hell up," Daehyung hissed, "You don't know anything. So don't you dare talk to me like that!" he screamed, all the while tightening the hold on Jihyuk's neck. Jihyuk used all his strength to push him off, then proceeded to punch him in the face. Daehyung fell to the floor, his nose bleeding. Jihyuk struggled to breathe as his hand clutched on the chair. In a split second, Daehyung was on his feet again and was punching Jihyuk repeatedly. Jihyuk made no move to defend himself. He just let the angry man hit him without a word.

     The door to the investigation room swung open. Sangil tore the man away from Jihyuk who was on the floor. A few other guards arrived and took Daehyung away, and the last thing Jihyuk heard from him was, "I swear to god, once I get out of here, I will kill her, and then kill you with my bare hands!" Sangil turned back to Jihyuk who sat against the floor, his eyes glazed over.

      Sangil kneeled beside Jihyuk. "Are you alright? Why did you let him hit you?"

      "I-" Jihyuk started in a distant voice, "I don't know why everyone always takes their anger out on me when I have done nothing wrong." He turned to Sangil, a bitter smile on his face. "He had the same expression that the orphanage kids had when they beat me up."

      "Why is it that I have done nothing to wrong them, but I always ended up getting hurt because of their own issues?" He asked. He looked down at his own hand, a bruise forming from hitting the gunman hard on his jaw. "But I- I can't blame him for trying to protect what he loves."