What's Wrong is Right

➭ addicted

added this gif because i thought it fits well with this chapter ;) our hero, wi ha joon 😌

chapter 4: an embrace that means a million words

After two days, Hyun Joo was back outside again, making her way to her new job as a barista. She walked in a coffee shop a few blocks away from Ha Joon's home before introducing herself to the man she spoke on the phone with earlier.

"Are you Hyun Joo?" He asked with a smile.

"Yes sir."

"I'm Jihoon. Nice to meet you." Jihoon shook hands with her. "Follow me."

Hyun Joo nodded and followed him to the lockers, listening carefully as he instructed her the rules of lockers before showing her where each supply goes and finally, handing her the uniform.

"You're starting just in time." He said as he checked his watch. "Goodluck."

"Thank you." She bowed and went to the bathroom to change. A couple of seconds later, Hyun Joo walked right back out, attending her first customer.

When the clock hit five in the afternoon, she walked back to change before gathering her stuff in her locker to leave.

"Bye guys!" Hyun Joo waved at her co-workers, who waved back.

"Good work, Hyun Joo." Jihoon said as she walked past him.

She turned around, smiling while bowing. "Thank you sir!"

"No need with the sir, Jihoon's fine!" He added as she stepped out of the store.

Hyun Joo glanced at her pay, humming in satisfaction as she stepped inside the convenience store. She grabbed several instant soups and other ingredients before making her purchase and rushing back home.

"Hyun Joo?"

She stopped in her tracks, glancing around to see Sanghoon.

As soon as their eyes met, his face turned into a scary expression. He grabbed her arm, hissing in her face. "Where the fuck were you?"

"Let go!" She weakly protested, but Sanghoon pulled her away from the street and into the alleyway.

"Sanghoon, stop!" Hyun Joo cried as they stepped back inside her old home. Her arm was red from how tight he was grabbing ahold of it.

Sanghoon tugged on her hair, pulling her up as he demanded for answers. "Tell me right now, where the FUCK you were!"

"I left!" She blurted out, glaring at him as tears leaked out. "I couldn't handle the abuse so I left!"

Hyun Joo clasped her cheek as he smacked her. She fell to the ground, rubbing her hand against her arm as she choked on tears.

"Did you seriously think you could escape from my claws that easily?" Sanghoon dangerously asked, cocking his head side to side. "Did you?!"

"Yes, I did!" Hyun Joo wailed. "I wanted to!"

"You fucking bitch!" He kicked her stomach, making her gasp for air. "Don't! You! Fucking! Talk! To! Me! Like! That!"

Punch, punch, punch. Hyun Joo's vision blurred, and her eyes rolled back into pure darkness.

Ha Joon stared at the backpack. It had been a day since Hyun Joo disappeared out of nowhere. He had begun to wonder whether she left his house to avoid him, or whether she had found her abusive boyfriend again.

Neither seemed to correlate. But Ha Joon knew something was off. He grabbed his coat and left, trying to find the same bus stop place in which they met.

It couldn't be too far, he thought as he looked around, his eyes stopping at the bus stop. Ha Joon began to walk over to it, before stopping.

Why was he doing this? Hyun Joo was a mere good fuck, nothing more. He didn't know her that well, so there was no reason for him to help her. He had also made it clear, that they weren't to get any strings attached.

But his eyes lowered as he remembered his own trauma from years ago. He had gone through a similar abuse Hyun Joo did. If anything, Ha Joon wanted to go there and protect her as much as he could. The thought of having another person suffer and him not doing anything devastated him deeply.

"Hyun Joo?" Ha Joon called out as he walked past the bus stop to the alleyway behind it. It would be hard to tell where she lived, because he had only seen her here, but if he tried to find any clues, ask any people nearby, he might get an idea where she lives.

A man walked past him and he stopped him, calling him out. "Excuse me, have you seen this short girl with long black hair?"

Said man frowned, and he shook his head. "No. Are you looking for her?"

Ha Joon nodded. "Her name's Hyun Joo. Do you happen to know anyone with that name?"

At the mention of Hyun Joo, his eyes widened. He furrowed his eyebrows, looking at him up and down. "What are you to her?"

"We're just-" In an instant, Ha Joon's collar was tugged forward as the man yelled in his face.

"WHAT ARE YOU TO HER?!"

Realization struck Ha Joon. This couldn't be the abusive boyfriend she was talking about, right? He shoved him back, chuckling. "Relax. What's the anger issues for? As far as I'm concerned, you're the one who doesn't give a fuck about her well-being, correct?"

"You fucking asshole." The man began to lung at him before a door a couple of feet away from them was kicked open, and Hyun Joo limped out, barefoot.

Her eyes fell on Sanghoon, before they traveled to Ha Joon. As their eyes met, her face flushed in embarrassment, and she hurried to cover herself up, but it was already too late.

Ha Joon's jaw tightened when he saw her state. A black eye, swollen from the punches she had gotten, as well as her arms and legs, that were bruised in purple. He faced Sanghoon, who barked at her.

"What do you think you're doing?" Sanghoon snarled. He began to run towards her before Ha Joon pulled his arm back and kicked his feet, making him flip to his stomach on the ground. In an instant, he was knocked out.

Hyun Joo stood still as Ha Joon walked towards her, sighing.

"You left me quite sad back home."

Tears rose in her eyes. Someone cared for her. And it wasn't just anyone, it was Ha Joon. Her actions spoke louder than her words and she sprinted to him, not caring if her feet hurt as her arms wrapped around him.

Ha Joon stilled, hesitant to comfort her as she cried into his chest. The same, desperate cry she was making reminded him so much of his younger self. He slowly hugged her back, embracing her completely.