“Miss.”
Yang Hye-in grabbed Sara’s shoulder with a firm grip.
“Are you with us?”
Sara, who had been dazed and with her eyes darting around, finally managed to nod. Seeing her small nod, Yang Hye-in let out a soft sigh.
“You’re okay now.”
Saying this, she began to remove the tape that bound Sara’s body.
Starting with the legs.
It wasn’t just the ankles that were tied; the knees were also secured to prevent any resistance. In this state, struggling would have been nearly impossible.
She carefully pulled out a cutter knife from her pocket and began to cut through the tape. Ironically, the tape wasn’t hastily wrapped; it was layer upon layer, meticulously done.
…That fact sent a shiver down her spine.
It wasn’t only Sara who had been broken. Choi Na-kyung was just as messed up as Sara. What the cause was, she didn’t know, and even if it were so, it didn’t change the fact that it was an unforgivable crime.
And Yang Hye-in had no right to ‘forgive’ anything.
Everything, everything just flowed according to Sara’s decisions.
She cut away all the tape from Sara’s legs, but no strength returned to her limbs. They just hung limply. The tight binding had likely blocked circulation, and being in the same position for almost two hours would do that to anyone.
“Excuse me for a moment.”
She flipped Sara’s body who was sagging weakly.
Her arms were bound at a right angle, with the opposite elbows touching. In this position, she wouldn’t be able to use her arms at all. Since the binding was even tighter than her legs, Yang Hye-in checked carefully and slowly cut through the tape.
To avoid hurting Sara.
And this time too, as soon as the bindings were released, Sara’s arms merely drooped down.
“……”
Thanks to that, Sara ended up burying her face in the back seat, lying on her stomach.
Whether to be relieved or not, it seemed that broken glass hadn’t splattered over here. Yang Hye-in checked Sara’s body here and there, worried that she might be hurt.
There were no noticeable wounds.
Though there might be injuries under her uniform, at least in places visible to the eye—
No, there was one spot.
Sara’s head.
The forehead was bright red and swollen.
“……”
Was this a trace of Choi Na-kyung’s assault?
What Yang Hye-in saw when she got out of the car was Choi Na-kyung fiercely pressing against Sara’s mouth and nose.
Maybe that’s how it was.
With trembling hands, she brushed aside Sara’s damp hair. The bright red forehead seemed like it would bruise as is.
“……”
No matter how much forgiveness was Sara’s choice—
Just then, when Choi Na-kyung was trying to get up,
“Help me!”
A cry rang out.
And at the same time, the sound of a passing car.
“……”
Yang Hye-in stood up and stepped out of the car.
Choi Na-kyung had dashed barefoot down the road. It seemed she hadn’t gotten into Yang Hye-in’s car. She had left the cabin door open when she exited.
A passing sedan stopped right next to Choi Na-kyung. She opened the door, said something, and then got in.
The car hurriedly took off.
“……”
Was that Choi Na-kyung’s call?
No, it didn’t seem that way. No matter how much Choi Na-kyung was the head of a company, she couldn’t have anyone complicit in such crazy actions. Even the school officials would go pale upon hearing about today’s events.
Yang Hye-in looked down at herself.
Dressed in thick black clothing and wearing work gloves. Choi Na-kyung’s car was left with the windows smashed and doors wide open, standing in the middle of the road.
And maybe the passing car didn’t see it, but Yang Hye-in had entered with a knife in hand.
Furthermore, wearing a black hat, she must have looked like a robber of a foreign car to anyone watching.
Choi Na-kyung, who had come out barefoot, would have looked like a victim.
Perhaps the police would be showing up here soon.
“……Ugh….”
A groan came from inside the car.
Sara couldn’t move properly. She was trying to lift herself up, but her still-bound limbs just wouldn’t cooperate.
Maybe she had bumped her head somewhere and had a mild concussion.
“Don’t push yourself.”
Yang Hye-in hurried back into the car and turned Sara’s body to lay her straight.
“You’re okay now, miss. Relax, and it’s fine if you close your eyes for a moment. I’m right here with you.”
“……Hye-in….”
“Yes, I’m here.”
After a moment’s hesitation, Yang Hye-in laid her hand over Sara’s hand.
…This much should be okay.
In this situation, she knew Sara’s friends would be of much more help than she would, but they weren’t here right now.
Just for a moment. Just until people arrived.
“……The situation is……”
“You’re okay now.”
Yang Hye-in reassured Sara, who was struggling to look around.
“Everything is over now.”
Of course, Choi Na-kyung had run away. If she ran to the car right now and started chasing after her, maybe she could catch up.
But right now, Sara was much more important.
There was no way she could leave Sara alone here for such a trivial reason.
“……”
Sara’s chest, which had been rising and falling roughly, began to settle a bit.
Choi Na-kyung had fled, but she would be caught soon. After pulling such a stunt, it was bound to happen. They were already under investigation by the police and had sent officials from the district office before.
So, it was all over.
That’s what Yang Hye-in thought.
*
“Hey, over there!”
Inside a speeding car, Sohee shouted like that.
Sohee pointed at a spot where two cars were lined up side by side.
“……Ah.”
The car at the back had a shattered driver’s side window. At first glance, it looked like the window was merely open, but shards of glass were scattered outside the car.
The reporter parked slightly away from the car and rushed out. Where he pulled out the camera, no one knew.
And he started snapping pictures with abandon.
The other three quickly got out of the car behind him.
“Sara!”
Who shouted like that? It probably wouldn’t matter to dig into who it was. All three must have called out to Sara in some way.
And soon, all three of them could breathe a sigh of relief.
In the back seat of the car were Sara and Yang Hye-in. Sara lay asleep in Yang Hye-in’s arms.
Although Sara’s face was streaked with tears and sweat.
And—
“Huh?”
The first to notice something strange on Sara’s face was Yoo Ha-neul.
“Sara, what happened to your face?”
As she opened the door and asked Yang Hye-in, she shook her head in response.
“I don’t know. Perhaps….”
She trailed off, but Yoo Ha-neul could anticipate what would follow.
“……Choi Na-kyung.”
Yoo Ha-neul bitterly chewed the name.
“Where is she?”
As Yoo Ha-neul asked, the reporter’s ears perked up at their conversation. Yang Hye-in spoke in a calm voice as if she were uninterested in the matter.
“She got into a passing car and fled.”
“……Huh?”
Soo-ah, who was listening along, asked with a blank expression.
“She probably thinks she’s the victim. I doubt she considers herself part of Choi Na-kyung’s accomplices.”
“Ah….”
Yoo Ha-neul glanced toward the driver’s seat again.
…Shards of glass were scattered all over the driver’s side. It clearly showed signs of being smashed in a one-sided fashion.
Moreover, since Yang Hye-in was dressed head to toe in black, it was suspicious.
“What state is Sara in……”
She almost asked how they found her in that situation, but Yoo Ha-neul quickly shut her mouth.
She didn’t think Sara sleeping in Yang Hye-in’s arms would hear her, but one could never be sure.
The being inside Sara, whether it was Sara or ‘Sara’, had indeed gone through something terrifying and chilling. They had just barely escaped, so there was no reason to deliberately recall those memories.
“……”
She turned her gaze to slowly survey the surrounding situation.
There was tape on the car floor. It looked like it had been cut neatly in the middle, but the tape itself was layered multiple times. Just seeing that showed how tightly Sara was bound.
How scared must she have been?
How hopeless must that moment have felt?
She should have gone with ‘Sara’ back then. Even if she was rejected, she should have followed her forcefully.
“……”
Sohee, who was next to Yoo Ha-neul, and Soo-ah remained silent. They just stared quietly at Sara, who was lying in the car.
Click, click, the only sound breaking the heavy silence was the sound of the camera.
“I won’t let this slide.”
Yoo Ha-neul muttered unconsciously.
“That person who did this to Sara, and the school that left Sara like this. Everything.”
Of course, she still didn’t know what to do.
But whatever it took, she wouldn’t let this go quietly.
At Yoo Ha-neul’s words, Sohee and Soo-ah nodded their heads quietly.
