ʟᴜʟʟᴀʙʏ ♪ ʟᴇᴇ ᴅᴏɴɢʜʏᴜᴄᴋ

[83]

Soomin found herself back in that chair in the gray cement room.

"Hey. How are you?" Donghyuck asked, a bright beam on his face.

Soomin tried. She really did, but she couldn't smile for him. She just couldn't. Whatever attempt at a smile she made would result in a strange-looking expression.

That was because she was still terribly shaken up. Understandably so, she was almost sexually assaulted. But as much as she wanted to, she couldn't tell Donghyuck. She couldn't give him another reason to worry, another reason to be deemed as violent by the court. No, she wouldn't let that happen.

It didn't take long for Donghyuck to notice her visible discomfort. Worry overtook his features, and he leaned in closer in an attempt to make eye contact. "Min? Did something happen?"

"No! Not at all. I'm just a bit worried about the lawyer situation, that's all." She giggled awkwardly, trying her best to stay up-beat. "Did ty tell you about it by the way?"

"He went to visit Kun, who forwarded the information. Thank you so much for the help, you really don't have to do this, you know? You'll get in trouble." He whispered, almost as if he felt guilty.

"Even if I do, I want to do the right thing." Soomin smiled softly, her hand subconsciously moving forward to touch his, but she soon remembered the glass wall that divided them.

"Keep your head high. You didn't do anything wrong." She assured him.

Donghyuck couldn't help but return her smile, before he switched the topic to try to cheer her up. "I've never seen you wear a turtle neck. It looks pretty on you."

Soomin looked down at her outfit for the day. She wore a very conservative long sleeve turtle neck sweater, something that she'd never wear in her life, paired with a simple pair of jeans and sneakers.

"Thank you... I just wanted to try something new." She lied, but her words came out unsure and straight up obvious.

Donghyuck knew her. Donghyuck could tell when she was lying, he could tell whenever something was wrong. And he had sensed it instantly, as soon as he saw her enter through that door.

His expression fell into a stern frown, and once again he attempted to make eye contact, but Soomin was unwilling.

"Something happened." He muttered, immediately catching the girl off guard.

"W-what do you mean?" She asked, realizing that she had tripped up on her words, further confirming Donghyuck's theory.

He looked back down at her outfit. He also knew that Soomin wouldn't wear anything like this. She loved brighter tones and light clothes since she got warm really quickly, especially in the extreme heat outside that currently resided. Nothing added up.

"Show me your neck." He demanded, fist clenching with rage.

Soomin inhaled a sharp breath, shocked at how quickly he had hit the jackpot.

"Donghyuck..."
"Soomin, I'm serious. Show me your neck, tell me what happened. I can take it."

She bit down on her bottom lip anxiously. It felt like the whole world had stopped at that very moment. She felt cornered, terrified. Not a pleasant feeling.

But eventually, her trembling hand slowly travelled up and gripped the edge of the turtle neck. She slowly began sliding it down, revealing one-by-one the still prominent purple-blue bruises residing on her neck.

Donghyuck's breath hitched. A million thoughts and possibilities ran through his mind, but they all stopped as soon as he saw the tears pooling in the girl's eyes.

"I..." She began, trying her best to remain calm. "I didn't want to, he tricked me and t-then he... he..."

She didn't have to say anything else. Donghyuck already knew what happened.

He wanted to scream. To his something, to get out, to kill that son of a bitch. He wanted to cause agony to everyone who hurt Soomin. To anyone who hurt him.

But the situation called for a different response.

He pushed back his rage, something he never did before, and leaned in.

"Min... Did he...?" He asked quietly, knowing that finishing the sentence would cause his anger to explode.

"No, I managed to stop him." Soomin wiped away her tears.

Donghyuck felt slightly alleviated, but he knew that the event was still extremely traumatizing for Soomin. He wanted to hold her, to comfort her, to tuck her in and kiss her forehead. Do anything to help her get justice, overcome and forget.

But he couldn't. And that was why he felt more encouraged than ever before.

"Min." He exclaimed, causing Soomin to look up towards him.

"Don't you worry, as soon as I get out, I'll save you."

I know this chapter didn't achieve it's full potential, but I've been having a slump recently but I still wanna update :/