Chapter 4.2

Chapter 4.2

This chapter has depictions of violence. Please be warned.

There was a sound Hongju had never heard before. It wasn’t just flesh tearing but something shattering and breaking apart. Blood gushed from Gisong’s mouth.

“Ah, yes. The fingernails.”

Breathing raggedly, Eunsan rummaged through his pants pocket. With bloodstained hands, he pulled out a cigarette and fumbled with the lighter, eventually lighting it after several tries. Then, he tossed the lighter onto the table.

Eunsan bent over, looking down at the unconscious Gisong while deeply inhaling smoke. He grabbed one of Gisong’s arms, shook it, and then placed his wrist on the edge of the table. He moved it around as if trying to find the right spot and tilted his head.

“Madam Jang!”

Hongju realized what he intended to do. Just as Eunsan called for Madam Jang, she turned to look at her in horror.

Madam Jang bit her lower lip in silence. Eunsan didn’t rush her.

“Hold still. Maybe it’s too high.”

He moved Gisong’s arm to the edge of the sofa, then nodded in satisfaction.

Hongju gasped at the sight of Gisong’s fingers outstretched toward her. She felt dizzy. Eunsan straightened up and flicked the ash off his cigarette.

The only sound in the quiet store was the faint noise of rain. Eunsan took a couple of puffs and then spoke plainly through the rain.

“Hey. Rose Beer owner, Jang Miji.”

“….”

“Let’s live with some trust between us.”

Eunsan extinguished the cigarette on the table, then suddenly called out to Hongju, who was looking around.

“Hey, Nabi, come hold this for a second.”

He told her to hold Gisong’s hand. She couldn’t. Hongju was an intellectual. But she couldn’t bring find the words to say no.

Refusing the man who had beaten another senselessly, who genuinely seemed about to harm the unconscious man’s wrist, was as difficult as facing death.

It was as difficult as facing death to disobey a man who had beaten a man with his bare hands. A man has an unconscious opponent’s wrist, ready to do something with them.

But still…

“…Huh? Nabi, why are you crying?”

As she fiddled with her skirt, Hongju’s tears finally overflowed. The tears she had held back during her escape now fell freely.

It was hard to hold back.

She felt sorrowful seeing kind-hearted Madam Jang unable to speak against the brutal savage and the disgusting sight of the unconscious man, likely broken beyond repair. It was horrifying to see her past self in him, and she was furious to have drifted into such a wretched neighborhood.

Most of all, her stained skirt and dirty clothes were hard to bear, as if they symbolized the rest of her life.

Seeing Hongju silently sobbing and wiping her cheeks with the back of her hand, Eunsan was taken aback. He let go of Gisong’s arm and muttered, “No, sh!t… Why? Why don’t you stay still now…” while pacing around.

Hongju, her head hung low, shoulders shaking, saw Gisong lying on the floor and started crying openly.

She had already wanted to cry, but seeing the ignorant brute beside her made it feel like he had slapped her across the face. She couldn’t hold back any longer.

“Madam, wait a minute. Why? Why? Why are you crying?”

Eunsan scratched the back of his head and rubbed his neck before sitting down on the sofa. Unsure whether he was soothing or hitting her, he patted Hongju’s shoulder awkwardly.

After watching her seriously for a while, Eunsan nervously shook his leg and checked the whiskey bottle on the table. Instead of drinking it, he poured the remaining liquor over his hands.

He washed the blood off his hands and wiped them on Hongju’s blanket. The blood-soaked alcohol dripped from the table onto her skirt. Hot tears welled up again.

But Hongju swallowed her tears, trying hard to calm down. Eunsan leaned over the table, bringing his ear close to her face, trying to see her expression.

“Are you cold? Sh!t… Noona, what do I do?”

“Hongju, do you want some citron tea? Were you surprised? Hold on, I’ll heat up some water.”

“Yeah, citron tea sounds good. Noona will give you something sweet. Drink all, okay?”

As Madam Jang disappeared into the kitchen, Eunsan pulled out a few tissues and handed them to Hongju. She didn’t take them. Eunsan didn’t force her; instead, he smacked his lips and fidgeted next to her.

A moment later, Eunsan folded a tissue into the shape of a rose and offered it to her. When Hongju still didn’t take it and just stared at it, he used it to wipe her tears himself. The fake rose brushed against her cheek.

The fact that the hand that had beaten someone moments ago was now so close made Hongju shudder. She turned her head sharply to avoid his touch. But Eunsan didn’t seem to care. Despite her continued rejection, he folded another flower from the tissues.

Hongju wondered what he was doing, and her tears stopped. Before Eunsan could use up all the tissues on the table, Hongju abruptly spoke.

“… Give me money.”