The day hadn't gone like anyone had planned. When she had tried to shower, Eri's nose had started bleeding out of nowhere. It had taken longer to get it to stop, and by the time she was done, the guys were ready to go. She had tossed her hair up in a messy bun Europeans were known for and walked out with them.
Even though he was still nervous, Ji Hoo had gotten a cab so she wouldn't have to walk in broad daylight and the guys forced her into the middle. It wasn't an uncomfortable ride; more like a nervous one. She couldn't sit still even with the music thumping in her ears.
She was having second thoughts as they walked up to the police station. Last time she had gone, no one had believed a single word she had said. The family she blamed had too many ties to the mafia for her to be considered a target. Subsequent actions had forced her to handle things on her own. Then staring up at the building, she wanted to run back to her bed, curl up in a ball, and wait until everything passed.
Woo Bin read her mind standing on the sidewalk and took her hand. He squeezed it once and led the way into the station. She had to take her headphones out and put the hearing aids in, so he talked to an officer while she did that. They were asked to wait until a detective could see them. That made everything even worse as the tension built.
Finally, after about an hour of waiting, someone came for them. Ji Hoo asked if they could talk somewhere quietly due to their friend's hearing impairment. Luckily the detective was nice and led them to a small but quiet room. He took out a pin and paper and asked why they were there. He already knew but he had to ask. All he had to do was take one look at Eri's face and he would know something crappy had happened.
Taking a deep breath, Eri started from the beginning and told everything that had happened in medical school up until recently. She relayed that she was hearing impaired and often took her hearing aids out to walk down the noisy street. She explained what had happened in the hospital corridor, to which Ji Hoo handed over the discs. Then she told what she knew of her attack.
When it became a little too rough to remember anything, Woo Bin stepped in and told his side. He explained that he had been walking down the sidewalk on his way to one of their houses when he saw Eri at the crosswalk just before their building. He was going to wait for her to come closer before he said anything, but noticed the man following her looked suspicious. Before he could get to her, the man attacked her, slamming her face into a guardrail and punching and kicking her multiple times. He said he ran to her and delivered one hard punch to send him away. Then he carried her back to her apartment.
The detective asked why she had refused treatment. Eri simply explained that if she had gone, it would have spread even worse rumors about her. Probably that she was easily beaten because she couldn't hear. Ji Hoo stepped in about him being a doctor and how he had treated her wounds at home.
She was asked if he could take pictures of the remaining damage. She nodded and allowed the detective to snap a few pictures of her face. He asked if there was anything more that had happened. Terrified she looked at Woo Bin. He didn't say anything, but he squeezed her hand. Ji Hoo sat on the other side completely lost. He watched her stand up and lift her shirt.
Eri heard the sharp intake from both the detective and Ji Hoo. The white scar that ran along her ribs was pretty evident as it was surrounded by fading bruises of all different colors. She closed her eyes and tuned out everything but the feeling of her heartbeat, willing it to slow down. Somewhere in the back of her mind she heard the detective give the okay to sit down.
The final thing was the name which Woo Bin had no issues giving. The detective said he would be in touch and escorted them out. As soon as they were outside, Eri started to tremble. Ji Hoo wrapped his arm around her and pulled her under the comfort of his shoulder as Woo Bin hailed a cab.
Once again they settled in the back seat, but this time it was the guys who took her hearing aids out and put the headphones in. They sat in comfortable silence as they rode back to Ji Hoo and Eri's building.
Woo Bin hoped the detective was as good a guy as he seemed. He had been as equally appalled as he had when Eri had first told him the entire history. He had also been surprised when Eri had shown the scar on her abdomen. He had thought Ji Hoo was going to have a heart attack as he looked on, but he kept his cool.
When they arrived home, Ji Hoo had to go immediately to work so he said his goodbyes and left once again. Eri collapsed on the couch and went to sleep. Woo Bin watched her for a few minutes before retrieving a blanket to drape over her and went to the desk he had claimed as his own.
Somewhere down the line, probably around early evening, the red lights in the house flashed. Woo Bin had finally gotten used to them in two days and paused in his work to answer the door. Yi Jeong and Jun Pyo barged right on in without waiting to be invited. Well, Jun Pyo did. Yi Jeong had a little more tact.
"Sorry for intruding," his friend muttered.
Woo Bin shook his head. "It's fine. Don't mess with her. She hasn't slept well. What are you doing here?"
"Your father said you haven't been in the office, so we called Ji Hoo who said you'd been here the last few days. We thought you'd only been here one night we didn't realize you'd been here longer."
"I've only been here one night. I was at Ji Hoo's a couple of weeks ago. The last couple of days I've been here. Jun Pyo, stop. She might not be able to hear, but her sense of touch is just fine."
Jun Pyo quit poking Eri and turned to face his friend. "You seem to be pretty cozy here. Why not take her to your place? There's more space."
"She's used to this place." The lights flashed once again, and Woo Bin dropped his pen. "Seriously? Those are really annoying." He got up and went to the door. Without even bothering to see who was there, he wrenched it open.
He was met with the exact replica of his roommate. Only this person had graying dark hair. She was the same height though, and had the same bone structure. But the dead giveaway was the eyes. Those same weird brown colored eyes stared him up and down as if he were an insect. Another woman who was immune to his charms.
"I must have the wrong place," she muttered in broken Korean.
"Move." He was suddenly shoved from the doorway. "You're not wrong, Mama. Come on in."
That was all the woman needed before she pushed her way in. Eri stepped back, right into Woo Bin as if she were protecting him. She shook her head and stepped out of the entrance. Her mother was speaking in rapid fire French and expecting them to fully understand. Eri followed her mother into the kitchen and forced her to look at her. That was probably the wrong thing to do because she grabbed her face too forcefully and that made the younger woman cry out in pain. All three men jumped.
"Mama, that hurts! Let go!" It was the loudest any of them had ever heard her.
Francesca set off in rapid fire French again. When she finally switched to broken Korean, her hands flew in time with her words. "What happened, baby? Who would bruise your beautiful face? Was it one of these guys? Do I have to kill one?"
Eri grabbed her mother's hands to keep them from flying again. Woo Bin shared an amused look with Yi Jeong. No wonder she was always so calm. Between Francesco and Francesca, she had her hands full.
"Mama," Eri's hands were very controlled, "no one here did this. In fact they had all been helping me."
Francesca took her daughter's hands this time. "Baby," the guys had never heard so many endearments before, "tell me truthfully. Who did this?"
Woo Bin saw the torment etched across Eri's face. She didn't want to tell her mother because she knew the reaction, but if she kept it from her family, it was only going to hurt worse. He stepped up and braced his hands on her shoulders, careful of the long bruise on her left one.
"It's all right." He made sure he said it where she could lip read. "Just tell her. It hurts for your family to know, but it's even worse to keep it for them."
Eri closed her eyes and leaned back ever so slightly into his hands. A solid rock, Song Woo Bin. She pulled her hands from her mother's and held them up in front of her to stop the older woman from speaking.
"Mama, it wasn't these guys who did it. It was Georges."
With it out in the open, Woo Bin wrapped his right arm around her shoulders and pulled her fully back against him. The motion wasn't lost on his friends but they wisely remained quiet.
Francesca saw the possessive act and was going to comment on it, but panic took over. Her hands flew furiously as words spewed out of her mouth. Eri ignored most of it and reclaimed her spot on the couch. Unfortunately everyone else had to hear everything. They didn't have the luxury of taking their hearing aids out when they didn't want to listen.
"Mama!" The soft muted cry was louder than anything her mother had spouted in the last ten minutes. Everyone looked at her, slightly impressed that she could manage it. "I don't know how he found me, but he did. I've done everything I did in France. All I can do now is wait for the swelling to go down and my face to go back to normal color, and I'll go back to work. Now the most important question is why you are here five days early?"
The question was successful in changing the topic. Francesca spouted into the tale about how much she missed her daughter and wanted to see her so she came early. Her stay would be longer too. She got on the topic of food and if anyone had eaten. Eri was already livid and her face had to burn with how red it was.
Luckily, Yi Jeong read the situation well and started talking art and pottery. Francesca immediately forgot all about her daughter, Georges, and her trip. Jun Pyo smirked as he followed the very charismatic Yi Jeong out the door. They were going to eat and then undoubtedly to the young man's studio.
Woo Bin watched Eri get up and flip the latch on the front door. Her mother knew the pass code and if she wanted in, she was going to have to knock again. He couldn't hide the little smile that took over at her stubbornness. It made perfect sense why she was able to brush off his advances when they first met. Her mother made it clear that she had to be strong to cover all the wishy washy-ness of her family.
"Why did she have to come so late?" Eri muttered as she looked at the clock. She turned to look at him. "I'm going to bed. You don't have to follow if you're still working."
There she went again, making sure he was comfortable before doing anything. He should be the one doing that. He followed her into the bedroom, turning around almost instantly when she pulled her shirt over her head. She didn't expect him to follow her. He was there when she turned around. She tilted her head in question.
"Are you going to be okay alone tonight?" It was the lamest question he could come up with at the time, but it was the first one to come out. Frowning, she nodded slightly. And that irritated him. "You had a nightmare last night. Will those be frequent?"
She shrugged this time, and he sighed because he knew he wasn't going to get anything out of her. Annoyed, he strode forward and gently took her shoulders in hands. Slowly, he trailed his fingers up her neck, around her ears, and along her cheekbones until her could hold her face in his palms. She didn't pull away from him but she didn't move forward either.
He couldn't tell what she was thinking. Most women would have succumbed to his advances, but he couldn't even remember if he was making advances towards Eri. At that moment he just knew she had irritated him beyond all belief and that just irritated him more.
"Please stop me." He mentally begged. He didn't know if his eyes asked or not, but he knew that if she didn't stop me he was going to start trying to seduce her at the worst possible time.
When the acknowledgement never came, Song Woo Bin did what he was known for; he lowered his head and captured the bruised and busted lips with his own.
