"Now talk."Uncle Shim sternly looked at the Lee trio.
Instead of answering, the three kept their silence. Yeo Ri glanced at Hyuk and Gun uneasily. Meanwhile, the two brothers refused to look at one another.
Auntie Shim noticed their reactions and nudged her husband. "The matter might be too personal. Us outsiders probably shouldn"t meddle in it," she whispered.
"I know, but I"m afraid that the moment we leave, they"re going to start fighting again," Shim Yong Pil sighed.
Auntie Shim mirrored his sigh.
"Oppa, it was my fault," Yeo Ri insisted. "Back then, it was me who..." she lowered her head, unable to finish her sentence. Though, even if she did not complete it, the other two who were in the know understood immediately.
"Who says it was your fault?!" Hyuk scowled. "You did nothing wrong."
"You shut up!" Gun whipped his head towards Hyuk and glared.
Hyuk bared his teeth, looking as if he was ready for another round of fighting.
Uncle Shim reacted immediately, "it seems like the two younger ones need to sort things out with each other. Lee Hyuk, why don"t we go for a walk and cool down for a minute?" He placed both hands on Hyuk"s shoulders, forcefully dragging him out despite the younger man"s protests.
Auntie Shim smiled awkwardly at them, "I"ll wait outside. You two, take your time and talk things out, okay?"
Yeo Ri bowed slightly in grat.i.tude to the landlords, sending them off.
Now alone, Gun could finally ask Yeo Ri to explain what she meant by saying, "it"s my fault".
Gun stared at Yeo Ri with a complex gaze. After a long silence, he finally says, "Why?"
"Yeo Ri-ah, why him? Of all people, why him?" His voice contained hints of sorrow and confusion. Jin Goo would have been a better candidate. He felt that if it had been Jin Goo whom he caught in the act with Yeo Ri, he would probably be slightly more acceptable.
"Why?" He asked again, his voice cracking.
It was the first time Yeo Ri saw him look at her in such a disappointed and frustrated look.
"I don"t know, Oppa," she smiled sadly. "I really don"t know. I... I just do."
"What"s so good about him?! He"s an idiot! A good-for-nothing, reckless, stupid, single-minded idiot!" Gun cried. "He"s your brother!"
"I know, right?" Yeo Ri laughed self-derisively. "Hyuk-oppa is such a silly person. And yet..."
Gun buried his face in his palms, resisting the urge to scream. He couldn"t understand Yeo Ri. For the first time in his fourteen years as her brother, he felt as if she was a stranger.
"Strangely, I keep falling for him. Oppa, what should I do? Even though he"s such a stupid, reckless, good-for-nothing idiot, I... I still love him. I"m sorry, Oppa." Yeo Ri lowered her head guiltily.
"What do you know?! You"re just fourteen. You"re being delusional, Yeo Ri-ah," he reasoned. "Is it because I"ve been a terrible brother? Is that it?" He grabbed her arms, searching her face desperately. "It was Oppa"s fault. Oppa didn"t look after you properly. Is that why? It must be. This must be Oppa"s punishment. I"m sorry, Yeo Ri-ah. Oppa will do better, so please..." he rambled, "...please, don"t say such nonsensical things anymore."
Hearing Gun"s blatant rejection, Yeo Ri could not help but feel stifled. She bit her lips, "I"m sorry, Oppa, but I love Hyuk-oppa. As more than a brother."
"Stop it, Yeo Ri-ah!" Gun shouted. "Don"t say such things!" Gun shook her violently, looking extremely frenzied.
He was in denial. He couldn"t accept it.
Not his baby sister.
Not his brother.
"Why?! Why, Yeo Ri-ah?! What do you know about love?! You"re just clinging on him because of what"s been happening, right?! Because you just need someone, right?! It"s just a fleeting feeling, right?!" He says, smiling and laughing forlornly, trying to convince himself. It was probably because of the suspension bridge effect; Hyuk just happened to be by her side while she was at her weakest. That was it, wasn"t it?
"No, Oppa! Please!" Yeo Ri begged, trying to pull away from his crazed shaking.
Who knew when Hyuk managed to run away from Shim Yong Pil, but before the two realised it, Hyuk came flying in through the door.
He grabbed Gun and roughly pushed him away, making him release his hold on Yeo Ri.
"What the f*ck do you think you"re doing?!" He growled at the younger boy.
"You disgusting little b*tch," Gun spat in response. "If not because of you, Yeo Ri wouldn"t have turned out this way."
"What did you say?" Hyuk"s voice lowered, staring darkly at Gun.
"You piece of sh*t, you ruined her! You dirtied my innocent Yeo Ri!" Gun accused.
"You f*cking—!" Hyuk laughed coldly, as if he could not believe his ears. He took a step forward. His expression twisted angrily, and it felt as if the temperature had taken a steep dip into an icy lake. "You. What do you know?" He growled. "What? I ruined Yeo Ri? Me? Do you even know what she—"
"Oppa!" Yeo Ri paled. No way... was he going to tell Gun-oppa about that? "Don"t! Stop it!" She stared at Hyuk with a pleading gaze. Just Hyuk alone was enough. She didn"t want to drag Gun into her mess as well.
"..." Seeing her expression, Hyuk could only grit his teeth and halt his words.
"What? What do I know? What do you know, Hyung?!" Gun retaliated. He slapped away Hyuk"s hand that was gripping his collar. "Do you know kind of person that b*stard is? What he"s done in the past? Because I do."
Gun narrowed his eyes, staring at Hyuk as if he was an ignorant little boy. Although his tone was calm, there was an unsuppressed feeling of coldness and anger in his words. "At the very least, I know more than you. So don"t talk to me about such things."
Hyuk was a hair"s breath away from knocking some sense into the younger man with his fists, but he held himself back. He was grinding his teeth so loudly that it was audible. He shot a final look at Yeo Ri, then grabbed a coat and stormed out of the house, slamming the door loudly as if to reiterate his bitterness.
Yeo Ri looked as if she wanted to go after him, but Gun immediately held her back.