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Very Long chapter
"You did what?" Mark's voice was a mixture of shock and disbelief. His mouth hung open as he stood up abruptly from the sofa.
Aerum, who was now handing a bowl of freshly cooked rice with kimchi and other seasonings to Jinwoo, remained unfazed. Jinwoo, recently allowed to eat homemade meals, accepted the bowl with a weak smile. Aerum shrugged as if what she had just said was the most normal thing in the world. "Yes, I did. I slapped him as hard as I could," she replied calmly, focusing back on pouring more seasoning into another bowl. "Do you want some?" she asked Mark, who was still standing near the sofas, looking completely stunned.
Mark was lost in his thoughts, trying to process what Aerum had just told him. "Mark," Aerum called out again, noticing his distant expression. "Mark, bro!" She called him a bit louder than before.
He jumped and came back to reality. His first sentence made Aerum roll her eyes.“Did he... um, like... hurt you back?” he asked, confusion written all over his face. “Why would he hurt me back? Does he have a death wish or something". Aerum raised her eyebrows, throwing questions back at him instead. “I mean... you slap him, and he just stands there?” Even though Mark wanted to ask if Renjun had hurt her after she slapped him, he knew Renjun was not the kind to spare anyone who tried to harm him. “He was angry, and then one of his friends came and took him away,” Aerum said as she covered the electric cooker and grabbed a spoon for herself.
“Anyways, why did you slap him?” Mark asked as her hand stopped midway in the air. “I just told you, he crossed the limit,” she told him. “And how did he cross his limits?” Mark asked as he walked towards her, wrapping his arms across his chest.
Aerum sighed as she placed her bowl of rice on the table. “Because he was talking bullshit about Jinwoo and threatening me that he would make my life hell just like he did to Jin—” she cut her sentence short, remembering Jinwoo lying on the hospital bed behind her. She harshly sighed.
“Listen, Mark, I don’t know why you are doing absolutely nothing about Renjun. He’s freely walking around as if he’s an angel who fell from heaven. But I can’t stand him. Every time I see him, it reminds me of that day, when Jinwoo was covered in blood, and... it... it suffocates me. He hurt my brother. I will never forget that, not until I see him getting the punishment.” She made it clear to him, the tips of her eyes brimming with tears.
She stood in front of her older brother, and for a second, Mark was surprised. Either she was too brave or had become the most reckless girl by getting herself involved in this matter.
“And let me be clear, Mark. I’ll go to the police today again and tell them everything I know, and you are coming with me.”
It was at that moment Mark realized how messed up the situation was. Mark ran a hand through his hair, sighing heavily. “Aerum, you don’t understand. Things are not that simple. Renjun is someone we shouldn't mess with, He barely spares Jinwoo when he knows he is a minor, think about us. If we make a move against him, it could backfire on us.”
