Paganini's Puppet | Ryeji

Touch

Ryujin POV
I stood outside Yeji's gigantic mansion. My heart was beating out of my chest.

"PLEASE! RYUJIN! HELP!" I shot up and immediately barged inside the mansion when I heard her scream my name.

I had already dialed the cops when I first her heard scream, but we planned for me to stay put until she desperately needed me.

I spotted Yeji and her dad instantly. Their heads turned to me upon hearing the loud "BANG" from barging through the front doors.

"W- WHAT IS THIS RODENT DOING IN MY HOUSE?!" Her dad yelled, whipping his body towards my direction.

My eyes widened as I saw boiling hot water fly out of the kettle in his hand from his body movement, landing on Yeji's shirt over her stomach.

She shrieked in pain from the scolding hot burn. I rushed to push her father away and lifted Yeji's shirt away from her skin. "Fuck, I'm so sorry."

I quickly loosened her restraints while her father groaned in pain from falling back onto a nearby table.

Yeji hurried to her kitchen freezer and grabbed an ice pack, placing it over her scalded stomach.

I clenched my jaw as I heard her cry out in pain from the contact.  I could almost hear it sizzle. "Babe, I'm so, so sorry." I tried hard to hold back my tears.

"I-it's okay Ryujin. It's not your fault." She said between her gritted teeth.

"WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS?!" Her father yelled eyeing the two of us.

He grabbed the knife on the table next to him.

What the f-

"DROP THE WEAPON!" We heard an authoritative voice booming from the front entrance of the house.

I sighed in relief.

"THIS IS THE POLICE! DROP THE WEAPON AND PUT YOUR HANDS UP!" One man commanded Yeji's father while pointing a gun at him. There were at least 6 police officers.

"W- wh...how??!!" The expression on his face turned to pure shock and fear as he dropped the knife on the floor.

"Mr. Hwang! You are under arrest for domestic assault, child endangerment, battery, child abuse, reckless endangerment, and attempted manslaughter!" One police officer announced.

"W- impossible! You have no proof of any of this! Get out of my house!"

"Actually, babe. You have it all recorded, right?" I asked Yeji.

She nodded in response and pulled out her phone, which had recorded the whole conversation since she arrived, including the violent hits, threats, and screams.

We saw as her father's eyes widened even more.

Two officers suddenly charged the man, grabbing and cuffing his hands behind his back.

"Get your hands off of me!"

"You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law." The police dragged him out of the house and into a police car.

We heard his distant yelling from the mansion.

"We will call you down to the police station for further questioning after we interrogate your father," a police told Yeji before parting.

We were both now alone.

"Hey, are you okay? Are you hurt? Do you need me to take you to the hospital?" I asked Yeji.

She put the ice pack down and looked up at me.
"I'm okay now...can we just relax for a bit?"

"Oh...sorry."

"Come here." She took my hand and dragged me to her room.

I looked around. Her room had an elegant and modern aesthetic. Shelves of music, a king sized bed, a dangling chandelier, draping curtains, and even a painting of Percy Grainger could be found in her bedroom.

"What's with the Grainger painting?"

"He's hot."

I whipped my head in her direction. "W- him?"

"What? I'm not going to hang a picture of some musty composer like Bach in my bedroom."

"...babe."

"Aw don't be jealous...Grainger died 60 years ago."

"Would you pick him over me if he were alive?"

She giggled. "Of course not." She walked over to me and kissed me.

She then pushed me down onto her bed and straddled my lap, staring into my eyes.

"Can I...touch you?" She asked.

I gulped as she stared deeply into my eyes. Right now?

I hesitated before nodding in response.

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure."