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Chapter 8: Never Again – February 22 – 26, 2021

The following Monday, Naru stopped by after work to check on his girls, as he’d come to think of them.  All three of them.  After assuring himself that Ajin was fully recovered, he turned his attention to Minha.

“Minha,” he started hesitantly.  “I have a favor to ask you.”  

Why was he so nervous?  

Because he instinctively knew she was not going to like his question.  Might as well get it over with…

“My appa is having a business party at his house on Friday.  He expects me to be in attendance.  I – I don’t want to go alone.  Would you come with me?”

She stared at him.

“I’ll buy you a new dress to wear,” he offered immediately.

A spasm passed over her face.  “Your appa’s house?  The one you live in?  The mansion?”

He smiled.  “It’s not a mansion.”

“It’s a mansion,” she corrected him firmly.  “I don’t know, Naru.  That’s not my scene.  I told you…I tried to fit into that world once.  I just don’t fit.”

“I don’t either.  Look, I’m not asking you to fit.  Just to come with me.  Just for a couple hours.  Please.  I just need to connect with a few people, and then we can leave.”

“I don’t know, Naru.  Every other date you’ve tried to plan has turned into an absolute disaster.”

“Come on, Minha.  Third time’s the charm.  This would be our third scheduled date.  Certainly, this one will turn out better.”  He smiled crookedly at her.  “I won’t let you near any champagne, I promise.”

She grimaced.  “A new dress, you say?” Her lips curved in a smile.  “All right, Naru.  But only for you…”

—

They’d been at the party for over an hour.  Her feet were already hurting.  She hated wearing heels.  Naru had bought her ones that matched the sleek, navy blue dress he’d bought her.  It wasn’t really her style, but he had said it was perfect for the party.  

It was sleeveless and the skirt fell just below mid-thigh.  It was a little tighter than she liked too.  Truthfully, it fit her like a glove and made her feel like she was displaying her whole body.  Naru had insisted that if she didn’t want to stick out like a sore thumb, this was the dress to buy.  And he hadn’t been wrong.  All the women present were wearing something similar.  She did appear to fit in.  At least, on the surface.  

But she’d hidden along the edges of the room.  Evading introductions whenever possible.  She’d camped out in the bathroom for a while.  Adjusting her makeup.  Except that she didn’t actually wear makeup.  Then, she’d moved on to the kitchen.  She’d followed one of the waiters into the big room and made friends with the chef.  She’d wanted to thank him for making her soup the night she’d been recovering at Naru’s.

Finally, she slipped back out into the great room.  She glanced at her watch.  It was nearly seven forty-five.  She wanted to call Ajin before she went to bed.  She headed for the stairs.  She’d left her phone in her purse up in Naru’s room.  

She stepped into his room a few moments later and was crossing to her purse when a familiar voice sounded behind her. She heard his footfall before the door shut behind him.  She froze in her tracks as her heart leapt from her chest.  

No way.  

There was no way it was him.   But as she turned around, her eyes met his, and she swallowed her tongue.  

She stared, disbelieving, at Eunho.  How on earth could Beopdung’s best friend be here?  In Naru’s house?  Another playboy’s mansion.  All these years later?

Eunho.  The guy she’d thought was going to rape her when she was pregnant with Ajin.

She tried to calm her fleeing heart.  

“Eunho,” she croaked.  

She felt as if she was speaking through a mouthful of cotton balls.

“Little Minha.  Look at you.  Don’t you clean up nice?”  He let out a long and low whistle.  “You know, you disappeared that night before we could have any fun.  I’ve looked high and low for you at every party since.  But I’ve always been disappointed.  So imagine my surprise tonight when I saw you enter the room a moment ago.  It looks as if we’re getting another chance to have that fun.”

She felt like she was going to vomit.  Maybe on him.  

“Thank you for the kind offer,” she murmured, “but I have a boyfriend.”

“Don’t you always?” he muttered bitterly.  Then he shrugged.  “No matter.  I won’t kiss and tell.  We’ll just keep this between us.”  

He advanced towards her, and her anxiety level shot through the roof.

She backed up until she bumped up against the end of Naru’s bed.

Eunho grinned at her.  “You’re an eager, little thing, aren’t you?  Beopdung always said you were good in the sack.  Who knew such passion lay under all that cool indifference?”

Then, before she could think, he was on top of her, pushing her back onto the bed.  Before she could protest, his weight pressed her all the way down onto the mattress, and his lips were sealing her lips to cut off the scream rising from the pit of her stomach.  She pushed against his chest and tore her mouth out from under his.  His lips attacked her throat.  

“Please, Eunho, stop!” she begged him.

But he didn’t.  His mouth came back for more of hers as his hand slid up her thigh under the short skirt of her dress. 

“Do you know how hot you look in this dress?  I took one look at you in it and knew I had to have you tonight.”  

He pressed his lips against hers, and, as he opened her mouth with his, she prepared to sink her teeth into the bottom one.  

—

Naru climbed the stairs two at a time.  He had finally found Minha a few moments ago.  He’d seen her ascending the staircase.  Then he’d been distracted by the financier he’d been talking to.  But he was free now, and he wanted to tell her that they could finally leave.  He headed for his bedroom.  He opened the door and stood on the threshold.  Gaping at the couple making out on his bed.

Then he realized it was Minha lying under that man.  And his heart took a violent tumble.  What was this?  Minha was lying on his bed with another guy?

Before he had time to feel anything but betrayed, Minha took her opportunity in hand and sank her teeth into the soft lip invading her mouth and grimaced as her teeth cut through it.  She tasted the metallic zest of blood.  Eunho screamed in her ear and pulled his head back.  His hand came up and slapped her cheek.  He backhanded her.  Hard.  Across her cheekbone.  

She whimpered.  

He reached out and grabbed the top of her dress and pulled downward.  Hard.  The material rent in half with a loud ripping sound.  Her hands flew up to cover her exposed breast.  But he shoved them away and grabbed her naked flesh, squeezing hard.

“Eunho, stop!” she screamed, begging him with tears streaming down her face.  

She was shaking violently.  She was absolutely terrified.  But in the next instant, she heard a sound she couldn’t explain.  Like a deep growl.  And a blur traveled across the room and hauled Eunho off of her.  

Then that tornado pulled back a strong fist and let it loose into Eunho’s mouth.  The lip she’d bitten into was suddenly split open by the force of that flying fist.  And blood gushed down onto his white shirt.  Eunho went stumbling backwards.  He fell onto the sofa.

“Get out!” Naru raged.

He stood, fists clenched, chest heaving, as he stared her assailant down.  He was so angry right now that he was terrified he would rip the man’s head off and be charged with murder.  

How dare he – how dare he – touch his precious Minha!

Eunho jumped up and stumbled towards the door.  As soon as he entered the hallway, Naru strode across the room, slammed his door shut, and locked it.  Then he turned around and rushed to her side.

She was shaking like a leaf.  She had rolled over onto her stomach to cover her naked chest as soon as Naru had pulled Eunho off of her.  She was in shock.  She couldn’t even cry anymore.  Her heart was pounding so hard that she thought she would faint.

“My love,” Naru gasped as he fell onto the bed next to her, “are you all right?”

He reached a tentative hand out to her.  He touched her shoulder.  She was trembling.  Violently.  He could feel it.  He could see the vibration too.

“Is your – is your cheek all right?”

“It feels like it exploded,” she whispered.  Her eyes were squeezed tightly shut.

“I’m going to find you some clothes.”

She heard him climb off the bed and felt it shift as his weight lifted.  Then the sound of drawers opening.  Next, footfalls approaching her on the wood floor.  The bed moved again.  

“Minha.”

She opened her eyes.

He was holding a long sweatshirt out to her.  “Please put this on.”  He glanced down at her dress.  “Do you need help getting out of that?”

She nodded.  It zipped up the back.  She was too shaken to fight with a zipper.

“Shall I sent my maid in to help you?” he murmured gently.

“No!”  She sat up abruptly, then her eyes widened as she realized he’d probably seen her chest.

But the instant she’d moved, he’d sealed his eyes shut.  “I didn’t see anything.  Turn around and I’ll unzip you.”

She turned her back towards him.  “It’s okay, Naru.  You can open your eyes.”

He did and he saw the long expanse of her exposed neck hovering above the back of her navy dress.  She’d worn her hair twisted up tonight.  He reached out a shaking hand – he was shaking too? – and grabbed the pull of her zipper.  He drew it all the way down to her waist.  The fabric parted to reveal an enticing swath of porcelain skin.  But Naru paid it no mind.  He closed his eyes and coached her.

“My eyes are closed.  Take off your dress and put on my sweatshirt.  I won’t look.”

She rolled away from him and climbed off the bed.  She slid out of the dress and let it fall to the floor.  She never wanted to see that lousy piece of fabric ever again.  She picked up his sweatshirt and pulled it over her head.  She stuck her arms through the sleeves.  She glanced down.  It dwarfed her.  It fell two-thirds of the way to her knees. Good.

“Ok, Naru.  You can open your eyes.”

He did, and he was greeted by a marvelous sight.  A long expanse of beautiful, slender legs.  His eyes moved upwards, and he couldn’t suppress his grin.

“You look so cute in my sweatshirt.”

But then his eyes found her face, and he was horrified at the red mark adorning her cheek.  He slid off the bed to stand in front of her.  

“Oh!  My love!  Your poor cheek!”  He reached up to touch her, but she flinched as his hand came near.  He instantly dropped it.  “I’m sorry,” he mumbled.

“It hurts, Naru.  I don’t want anything to touch it.  Just pulling the sweatshirt over it hurt.”  She glanced down at the floor.  “Do you have any pants I can wear?”

He looked down at the floor too and noticed her discarded – and now destroyed – dress.

Oh, well,” he grinned ruefully, “you didn’t like that dress anyway.”

“With good reason,” she ground out through chattering teeth.

That’s when he reached for her.  But before his hands touched her, he whispered, “Can I hold you, Minha?”

She nodded her head and burst into tears.  He pulled her gently into his arms and cradled her against his chest.  She sobbed over his heart for several long moments.

“I-I thought that this time he was really going to rape me,” she stuttered.

“This time?” he asked, completely confused.

“He’s a friend of Beopdung.  He kissed me five years ago – the night I told Beopdung I was pregnant.  I thought he was going to try to rape me that night, but when I resisted, he suddenly backed down.”

He was the guy.  The guy Maeum had told him tried to rape her.  He was so glad he’d broken that guy’s lip.  He hoped he’d taken out a couple teeth too.

“I don’t know what was so different tonight.  But he didn’t take no for an answer.”

Uncomfortable echoes surrounded him for a moment.  

Minsu.  

Now Naru understood Hobi’s fist in his face.  Hobi was a good man.  Naru came to a sudden realization; he was so glad that fist had stopped him from raping a girl.  He didn’t think he would have unleashed violence on her like this guy had on Minha tonight.  But he might have ignored Minsu’s quiet supplications and pushed things further than she wanted them to go.  But for Hobi…

Naru stood holding Minha.  “You want to go home now?” he whispered in her ear.

She nodded vigorously.  “Please.  But I need pants.”

He let go of her for a moment and pull some sweatpants off the bed.  “Here.  They’re too big, but I’ll tie the drawstring for you.”

As it was, she had to hold them up. The drawstring wouldn’t be pulled tight enough to protect her from exposure.  She stood in front of him resembling a tiny girl who had gotten into her big brother’s dresser drawers.  Naru grinned down at her.  Then he stepped forward, bent over as he slid one arm under her shoulders and the other beneath her knees, and in the next instant, he picked her up in his arms.

“Naru!” Her eyes widened in disbelief.  “What are you doing?”

“Carrying you, my love.  Down the back stairs and out to my car.”

“My legs still work,” she mumbled.  

“Do they?” he asked.

She was still trembling. 

“My purse, Naru,” she glanced at the nightstand.  

He strode over to it and bent so she could retrieve it. 

Then he crossed the room, unlocked the door, swung it open, and headed for the back staircase.  Soon they were escaping into the frigid, night air.  She’d never been so happy to leave a mansion in her whole life.  She never wanted to set foot in that house ever again.