Almost blind | Haobin

58| Testimony |58

"We didn't mean to throw it in your face like that," Hao finally said, his voice softer now, more careful, like stepping barefoot over glass. They had all sat back down on the couch, but the air between them felt heavier than before. Hanbin remained silent this time, his arms crossed but his expression unreadable, while Yujin kept scanning Jaehyun's body language like he was watching a live bomb ticking.

Jaehyun, however, didn't speak right away. He just sank back into the couch cushions like someone knocked the wind out of him. The light in his eyes dimmed, and that ever-present spark-the one that made him seem so lighthearted even in the middle of a winter night-flickered faintly. "I knew something was up the second I opened the door," he said eventually, leaning his elbow against the armrest, his jaw clenching. "Your faces... none of you looked like you were just here to say hi."

He exhaled sharply through his nose. "I'm not sure if I want to talk about it, especially not with people I barely know." His gaze passed over each of them like a cold breeze-first Yujin, then Hanbin, and finally Hao. But with Hao, he paused. Maybe it was the familiarity in his eyes. Maybe it was the history, however small, of meeting few times under the roof of mental hospital.

"I get it," Hao said quietly, folding his hands in his lap. "I didn't want to say anything either. Not to Hanbin, not even to Yujin, and definitely not to my father. For a long time, I just... kept it inside. Let it rot. But keeping it in didn't help anything-it only made it worse. Thats why things ended like this.." His voice wavered, and he glanced down at his lap, where Hanbin's hand now rested on his thigh, subtle but grounding. "I was afraid of being judged... or maybe I was just terrified that my father would be disappointed in me," Hao admitted, his voice low and filled with shame. "That's why I let him keep doing those things to me. I stayed quiet. Even after I left the hospital, I didn't tell anyone. I didn't want to. But... the truth has a way of coming out-whether you're ready for it or not."

Jaehyun furrowed his brows, caught between concern and curiosity. "What do you mean?" he asked, cautiously. "I feel like I don't get it.. What happened to you?"

Hao swallowed. "Maybe the same thing that happened to you." His voice barely rose above a whisper. "With Julson."

The name sat between them like a crack of thunder in the silence.

"That's why we're here," Hao continued, finally looking back up. "To talk about it. To find out if there are more people..more victims. And maybe, if we all come together, we can do something. Maybe we can prove it. Maybe we can stop him before he does it again."

A heavy silence settled over the room. The ticking of the old clock on Jaehyun's wall suddenly felt deafening. Jaehyun was staring at Hao, unmoving, as if someone had unplugged him. His lips parted, but no words came out right away. He blinked several times, searching Hao's face like he couldn't believe what he was hearing.

Then, almost in a gasp, his voice cracked: "Julson... he did that to you?" He pointed a trembling finger at Hao. "You mean... like that?"

Hao nodded slowly, and the confirmation made Jaehyun flinch.

"God," Jaehyun muttered under his breath, dragging a shaky hand through his hair. "That bastard. That disgusting, manipulative son of a bitch." His tone shifted, trembling between fury and something much more fragile. "All this time I thought it was just me."

Hanbin leaned forward now, finally speaking again, his voice low but firm. "It wasn't just you. It was Hao. It was Taerae. And maybe others, too. That's why we're asking. We need your help, Jaehyun."

Jaehyun shook his head in disbelief. "You're telling me... Taerae too? He..." He trailed off, as if the truth was too heavy to say out loud. "Did that because of him?"