Danger in the Shadows
While Zohi was finding a momentary escape, Taiyang was pacing his gilded cage. The air in the mansion felt thin, suffocating. Despite the guards stationed at the gates like iron statues, Taiyang's restlessness won. Slipping out through a back exit, he scaled the perimeter wall and vanished into the night. He walked aimlessly, his eyes glued to his phone, a silhouette of privilege and isolation.
At the same time, Zohi was heading home, the warmth of June's shop still lingering in her chest. Lost in the music flowing through her headphones, she was oblivious to the three shadows trailing her. They followed her with predatory grins, their whispers lost to the wind. Suddenly, a violent commotion erupted behind her.
Zohi whirled around, her heart leaping into her throat. There, in the dim streetlights, Taiyang was locked in a brutal scuffle with the three thugs. Panic surged through her as she rushed forward to intervene, but one of the men shoved her aside with savage force. Zohi hit the pavement hard, the breath knocked out of her. Before the violence could escalate further, the sharp trill of a police whistle pierced the air. Within moments, the flashing blue lights of a patrol car surrounded them, and Taiyang, Zohi, and the three harrassers were hauled off to the station.
The Bitter Taste of Injustice
The atmosphere inside the police station was cold and sterile. Taiyang sat like a statue carved from ice, his silence absolute. It wasn't long before his father's security team arrived, moving with the quiet efficiency of people who own the world. With a discreet exchange of a substantial sum, Taiyang was escorted out like royalty, leaving the station without a scratch on his record.
For Zohi, the nightmare was only beginning. The three thugs, sensing her vulnerability, spun a web of lies. They pointed fingers at her, claiming she had blackmailed them and used Taiyang as her personal muscle to beat them up.
The officers, sensing no powerful backing behind her, turned their gaze on Zohi with cold suspicion. They began to loom over her, their voices sharp and threatening, demanding to know which gang she belonged to. They used every psychological tactic to break her, treating her like a common criminal. Helpless and terrified, Zohi broke down, her sobs echoing against the grey walls. It was only after hours of grueling interrogation and a total lack of evidence that an inspector finally, begrudgingly, let her go.
The Echo of Loneliness
When Zohi finally stepped out of the precinct, the night air felt like ice against her skin. Her body trembled with a mixture of trauma and incandescent rage. She thought of Taiyang—the sheer, breathtaking selfishness of the boy. With his money and his guards, he had walked away to his palace, leaving her to drown in the lies of street thugs.
When she reached home, the scene was tragically familiar. Her mother's door was still a barricade of silence. Her father was there, hunched over the stove, trying to piece together the remnants of the evening. The moment he saw her, he rushed forward, his face etched with worry.
"Zohi! Where were you, child? I've been out of my mind with worry!"
Zohi looked at him, her gaze as cold as the station floor. "If you were truly worried, Dad, you would have picked up the phone. You didn't. Whether I'm alive or dead... does it even matter to either of you? Your lives would go on just fine without me."
"Listen to me, Zohi—" her father pleaded, his voice cracking.
"I'm exhausted, Dad. I don't have the stomach for this conversation," she snapped, retreating into her room and slamming the door with a finality that shook the walls.
"Eat something, Zohi! Just listen to me!" he called from the other side.
"I ate out! Leave me alone!" she screamed back. She collapsed onto her bed, her thumb scrolling mindlessly through her phone while hot, silent tears tracked down her temples.
Fire in the Palace
Across the city, Taiyang's homecoming was anything but peaceful. In the grand hall, both his father, Mr. Ling, and his grandfather were waiting. The moment he stepped inside, his father's voice boomed.
"Taiyang! Why did you go out without protection? Do you have any idea what this kind of recklessness does to the company's reputation?"
Taiyang finally snapped. "Reputation! Reputation! Reputation! Is that the only word in your vocabulary, Father? It's the same 'reputation' you used as an excuse to neglect Mom until she died. Do you want me dead too?"
Mr. Ling stood stunned, his face turning a ghostly pale. "Taiyang! I am thinking of your safety! How dare you speak to me with such insolence? You're becoming unrecognizable!"
His grandfather stepped in, trying to diffuse the tension. "Don't push him so hard," he whispered to Mr. Ling. "He'll come around." but Taiyang was already gone, his heavy footsteps echoing up the marble stairs.
AFlicker of Light in the Dark
In the sanctuary of her darkened room, Zohi wept for everything she had lost and everything she lacked. She had moved schools hoping for a fresh start, for people who would cherish her. Instead, she felt like a pariah. Why does everyone hate me? she wondered. Why do I have no one to call my own?
Then, her phone buzzed. A message from June.
"Zohi, are you home? You never let me know."
Zohi wiped her eyes, her fingers trembling as she typed. "Sorry, June. I forgot. I'm home safe."
June replied instantly. "Are you sure you're okay? I heard there was trouble on the route you took. Someone said the police took a few guys and a girl into custody. I was worried it might be you."
For the first time that night, the crushing weight on Zohi's chest eased. Someone noticed. Someone cared. Hiding the trauma of the station, she wrote back, "No, nothing like that. I'm fine. Don't worry, go to sleep."
But June wasn't finished. "Sleep? Have you even started studying? You shouldn't fall behind."
"June, I really don't feel like doing anything right now," she admitted, her exhaustion bleeding into the text.
In response, June began to "lecture" her like the overachieving student he was, but his words were laced with a gentle, motivating warmth. He started sharing study tips and little pieces of encouragement, his digital "babbling" acting as a soft lullaby to her frayed nerves. In the middle of her lonely storm, June's messages were the only anchor she had.