Beyond the Badge

Chapter 6

Ohm carried Nanon into his house, careful not to jostle him too much. Nanon's eyes fluttered open, his gaze foggy from pain. Nanon mumbled something in his weak voice but it was inaudible.

Ohm settled him onto the couch, propping pillows behind his head. “Relaxed, we have reached home.”

Nanon's eyes drifted closed, his chest rising and falling with shallow breaths. Ohm watched over him, his expression softening.

Ohm took off Nanon's shoes before carrying him to the bedroom. With utmost care he made the younger lay on the bed. With a clean, wet towel, Ohm cleansed his face, hands and feet. Very cautiously, he took off Nanon's pants and rolled his sleeves up. The poor boy shifted a little due to extreme pain.

Ohm started treating Nanon's wounds by disinfecting them. Nanon's eyes flickered open to meet Ohm's concerned gaze. Before he could utter anything Ohm said, "Just rest, Nanon. You're safe here.”

The blood on Nanon's lips had already dried but the wound was very much prominent. So Ohm attempted to clean it as gently as he could though the boy hissed in pain.

It hurt Ohm as if he could feel the discomfort of the boy lying in front of him. “It’s okay, it's okay, it will be fine.” Ohm kept whispering comforting words to him.

After treating Nanon's swelling face and other wounds Ohm’s attention went to Nanon's left arm, on the burnt marks of cigarettes. Just looking at it, his eyes intensified due to rage. The inspector wanted to erase that instantly. He wanted to scream that the injured boy was the most innocent person in the world.

Ohm held the arm of the boy to start treating it. The sensitive wound made Nanon wince, waking him up. When he looked at his wound the horrible scene occurred in front of his eyes. He started to shiver, shedding tears unknowingly. It invited Ohm’s attention immediately. Even his comforting words failed to calm down the boy. “I’m not a prostitute, I am not a whore.” Nanon kept saying hysterically. To soothe Nanon, Ohm pulled him in a tight embrace and began to make comforting circles on his back. “No, no, Nanon. You're not. Please come down. No one can call you that. Now, please relax.” Gradually the inspector succeeded as Nanon stopped shivering and screaming.

“Are you… are you sure… no one will ever call me that?” Nanon spoke between sobs as he pulled away from the hug a little looking at the older.

Ohm wiped the tears gently. “I promise, no one will call you that. If anyone dares to do so I will cut their tongue and break their mouth. It's a promise from a cop.” The sincerity in his eyes and voice made Nanon trust his words.

While caressing the younger’s face and rubbing his thumb tenderly on his cheek, Ohm continued,” You have purity and chastity, Nanon. No one is more innocent than you. I have never seen someone as pure as you.” Nanon paid attention to every word the older man uttered, and as he finished talking, they hugged each other again, staying like that for longer this time.

As Ohm kept rubbing comforting circles on Nanon's back, the boy, due to severe pain and fatigue, fell asleep in his arms. The policeman laid him on the bed carefully and let the boy rest. When Ohm tried to stand up from the bed, he saw their pinky fingers were interlocked. With a soft smile on his face, he decided to stay beside the younger.

Ohm sat beside him, watching over him, his presence a comforting constant.  Nanon's sleep grew deeper, his body healing a little from the ordeal, although he stirred occasionally, disturbing his sleep. As a couple of hours passed Ohm decided to wake him up to give him food and medicines.

“Nanon, wake up. You need to take medicines.” waking up from his sleep, Nanon finally stirred, and his dizzy eyes became clearer. Ohm helped him sit up, fluffing pillows behind him and offered him a glass of water.