Chapter 18 — Immaturity
For the first time in years…
The peace that Light's family had desperately tried to preserve was destroyed.
By a single phone call.
The living room had not changed.
The furniture remained in its usual places. The afternoon light still fell through the windows. Nothing in the room suggested that anything had happened.
But the three people standing inside it no longer seemed to belong to the same household.
Light stood near the sofa, his phone hanging loosely from his hand.
Sophia was facing him.
Bosvel stood a short distance away, his arms at his sides.
Nobody moved.
The silence that followed the call was not peaceful. It was the kind that formed when everyone present was waiting for someone else to explain something that none of them understood.
Sophia was the first to break.
"It must definitely be a mistake… right?"
Bosvel nodded.
"That would be the most reasonable explanation."
Light looked at them.
"But they said they rechecked it several times…"
Sophia's eyes shifted toward him.
"Wait."
She raised a finger.
Light turned toward her.
"You know that girl, right?"
"Yes…"
Sophia's expression changed.
For a moment, she looked almost relieved. As though she had found a possibility that could return the world to its proper shape.
"You know that girl, right?"
She looked at Light more closely.
"You know that girl, right?"
She had already said it.
Light stared at her.
Sophia's expression brightened as though she had discovered something important.
"They must have mistaken your DNA for Daniel's!"
Light's jaw dropped.
"Aunty!"
"What?"
"I'm adopted!"
He threw his hands into the air.
Sophia blinked.
"Oh…"
A pause.
"Oh, right. My bad."
She gave an awkward giggle.
Light stared at her in disbelief.
The absurdity of the exchange seemed to settle over the room.
For a few seconds, neither of them knew what to do with it.
Then Light spoke again.
"And I wouldn't do something like that!"
"Okay, okay! Calm down, Light. I'm sorry."
Sophia placed both hands in front of her.
"Look… instead of trying to figure this out ourselves, we should go to the station like the officer said."
Bosvel nodded.
"That would be wise."
Light crossed his arms.
He looked away from Sophia.
His irritation had not disappeared. It had simply found nowhere useful to go.
After a moment, he sighed.
"Fine…"
He looked toward the door.
"Let's go."
Seoul Metropolitan Police Station
After a while, their car screeched to a stop outside the station.
The tires came to a halt against the pavement.
Inside the vehicle, nobody immediately reached for the door.
Light looked through the windshield.
The building stood in front of them, its entrance crowded with people coming and going.
He had expected something smaller.
Something less official.
Instead, the station occupied a large building that seemed to have been designed to make ordinary people feel insignificant.
Light opened his door.
Sophia and Bosvel stepped out after him.
The three of them stood in front of the building.
Police officers moved in and out through the entrance. A few people stood near the front steps, speaking nervously into their phones.
Light stared at the building.
Sophia noticed.
She turned toward him.
"Are you planning to keep staring at it?"
Light blinked.
"What?"
"Let's go in."
She pointed toward the entrance.
"Unless you want the building to come outside and explain everything to us."
Light sighed.
"Right…"
The three entered the station.
The noise reached them before they had taken more than a few steps.
Phones rang from several desks.
Papers were scattered across tables.
Officers moved between rooms while others sat in front of computers, rubbing their temples in exhaustion.
A printer began operating somewhere behind them.
Someone called out a name.
Another officer answered from across the room.
The station seemed to function through a collection of unfinished conversations and exhausted people.
Light looked around.
"I'd never work for the government…"
Bosvel glanced at him.
"You have been inside for less than thirty seconds."
"And I've already made my decision."
Sophia rolled her eyes.
Light looked at her.
She did not bother responding.
Before she could, a man in a dark police uniform approached them.
He appeared to be in his late forties.
His posture was straight.
His expression was serious.
The officers nearby noticed him as he approached and shifted aside without being asked.
He stopped in front of them.
"Good afternoon."
"My name is Han Ji-hoon. I'm the station chief."
His gaze moved between the three.
"You're here regarding Eun-se-beom's case, aren't you?"
Bosvel and Light nodded.
Sophia stepped forward.
"What the fuck are you playing at?!"
Several officers nearby turned toward her.
She pointed angrily at the station chief.
"How do you expect a dead man to assault a girl eight years after his death?!"
"Madam, please—"
"Daniel is dead! We watched him die!"
Her voice echoed through the station.
"Do you understand how ridiculous this sounds?!"
A few officers approached her.
"Ma'am, please calm down."
"Let me explain the situation."
"No! You explain how a dead man is supposed to commit a crime!"
The officers tried to calm her while Bosvel gently stepped beside her.
"Sophia."
"Don't 'Sophia' me!"
She pointed toward the chief again.
"This is insane!"
Han Ji-hoon waited.
He did not interrupt her.
The station chief waited until the noise had settled.
Then he spoke.
"I know."
His voice was calm.
"I know Daniel is dead."
Sophia stopped.
The chief continued.
"That is precisely why this case has caused so much confusion."
He glanced toward the officers behind him.
"Our forensic department insists that the results are accurate."
His gaze shifted toward Light.
"However, there is a possibility that they may have confused your DNA with Daniel's—"
Light's head turned sharply.
The muscles around his mouth tightened.
"Why the fuck does everyone think I did it?!"
The station chief flinched slightly.
Light stepped forward.
"I'm adopted, you asshole!"
"Light!" Bosvel warned.
But Light ignored him.
The words had left his mouth before he had properly considered them.
He had spent the entire journey trying to hold himself together. Every explanation had only created another question. Every question had returned to the same name.
Daniel.
His father's name.
His own name.
He looked toward the chief.
"Do you think I give a shit about that girl?!"
The station fell silent.
The sentence remained in the air.
Light's voice shook.
"I'm only here because of my father's name!"
For a moment, nobody moved.
Then—
Pow!
Bosvel's fist struck Light's left cheek.
Light's head snapped sideways.
His feet lost their position beneath him.
He hit the floor before his mind had caught up with what had happened.
The impact left him stunned.
His eyes widened as he looked up.
Bosvel stood above him.
"Bose…"
Light clutched his cheek.
The pain arrived a moment later.
A sharp pain spread across his face.
His eyes watered.
He blinked several times, unable to understand why the station had suddenly become so quiet.
The entire station had turned toward them.
A chair scraped against the floor somewhere nearby.
Someone had stopped typing.
Sophia stared at Light.
She did not scold Bosvel.
She did not try to defend Light.
Her lips parted slightly.
"Light…"
Light looked at her.
For a brief moment, he expected her to say something.
Anything.
Instead, she remained where she was.
Bosvel looked down at him.
His expression was furious.
"Is that your manner, Light?!"
Light said nothing.
Bosvel's hand remained clenched at his side.
"No 'young master.'"
He paused.
"Just Light."
Light stared at him.
The words entered more deeply than the blow.
His eyes shifted toward the floor.
He could still feel the shape of the punch against his cheek.
But the pain was no longer the thing holding his attention.
He looked around.
Every officer in the station was watching him.
Some looked shocked.
Some looked disappointed.
Others simply stared.
He had entered the station expecting to be questioned.
He had not expected to become the only thing anyone was looking at.
Light remained on the floor, holding his cheek.
Bosvel clenched his fist.
"Would Daniel ever say such vile words?"
Light's eyes trembled.
"Is that how he raised you?"
Bosvel paused, trying to control his anger.
His chest rose.
Then fell.
He looked down at Light again.
"Light…"
His voice carried disappointment.
"You've regressed."
Light lowered his gaze.
"All that fame and popularity you receive at school…"
Bosvel looked directly into his eyes.
"It's getting to your head."
The sentence did not sound like an accusation anymore.
It sounded like a conclusion.
Light sat still.
He could feel the eyes around him.
The station seemed to grow quieter around him.
Shame.
Betrayal.
Regret.
Guilt.
They arrived without order.
He struggled to understand all of them at once.
His cheek still hurt.
But the pain was slowly becoming irrelevant.
I just wanted to protect Father's name…
His eyes moved toward the floor.
That's all I wanted.
He tried to hold on to the thought.
It had been the reason for everything.
The reason he had come.
The reason he had spoken.
The reason he had lost his temper.
But the more he repeated it, the less convincing it sounded.
The tears caused by the punch began to change.
They were no longer tears of pain.
Maybe Bose was right…
Light's fingers tightened against his cheek.
Eun-se-beom was assaulted.
His stomach churned.
And I said I didn't care.
He swallowed.
I'm such a scum…
His eyes burned.
I shouldn't have said that.
He remembered the sentence.
Not the way it had sounded when he said it.
The way it must have sounded to everyone else.
He had not meant it.
But he had said it.
Light slowly stood up.
His knees straightened.
He wiped his face with the back of his hand.
Nobody stopped him.
Nobody spoke.
He looked toward Bosvel.
For a brief moment, he wanted to say something.
An apology.
An explanation.
Anything.
His mouth opened slightly.
Nothing came.
He looked at Bosvel again.
Then at Sophia.
The distance between them seemed larger than it had been a few seconds earlier.
Instead, Light turned around.
And ran.
"Light!" Sophia shouted.
She moved toward the entrance.
But Bosvel stopped her.
"Don't, Sophia."
She looked back at him.
"He's crying!"
Bosvel stared at the doorway through which Light had disappeared.
"Let him learn his lesson."
Sophia's expression tightened.
"Bosvel…"
"He needs to understand what he said."
His voice lowered.
"Daniel would have understood."
Sophia looked away.
She did not answer.
Outside, Light continued running.
He ran without thinking.
His shoes struck the pavement.
His breathing grew rough.
He passed the station entrance.
Past the street.
Past people who turned to look at him.
He didn't slow down.
He didn't care where he was going.
He only wanted to get away.
Away from the officers.
Away from Sophia.
Away from Bosvel.
Away from the shame burning inside his chest.
He ran like a child.
Not because he had somewhere to go.
Because he had nowhere else to put what he was feeling.
Eventually, Light reached a bus stop behind the walls of a church.
He stumbled toward the bench and sat down heavily.
The movement forced a breath out of him.
His breathing was rough.
His hand remained pressed against his left cheek.
"That damn Bose…"
He winced.
"My cheek hurts like hell…"
He leaned back against the bench.
The church stood behind him, its tall walls rising above the narrow street.
From inside, faint music could be heard.
A choir was practicing.
The sound drifted through the air, soft and distant.
Light stared at the ground.
His shoes were damp.
A few strands of hair had fallen across his forehead.
He did not move them.
"I only wanted to protect my father's name…"
His voice was weak.
"But…"
The word faded.
He lowered his head.
"But I got accused of committing the crime twice…"
The words felt strange coming out of his mouth.
He looked at his hands.
"There's no way I'd do such a thing…"
A pause.
"Dad wouldn't have hit me like that…"
His voice trembled.
"Dad…"
The choir inside the church grew louder.
Light looked toward the church walls.
The music had become more distinct.
He could hear several voices blending together.
"I want to see you…"
His lips quivered.
"Just once…"
The first raindrop fell onto his cheek.
It landed close to the place where Bosvel had struck him.
Light blinked.
Then another.
Within seconds, the sky opened.
Rain poured over the street.
The bus stop roof protected only part of the bench. Wind pushed the rain sideways, soaking Light's clothes and hair.
He remained where he was.
Water gathered along the edge of his jaw.
His hand slowly dropped from his cheek.
He looked at the empty space beside him.
The rain continued.
Nobody could tell whether it was rain or tears.
Light closed his eyes.
"Dad…"
The choir began to rise.
The voices blended together in a deep, solemn harmony.
The sound vibrated through the walls of the church.
It reached Light through the rain.
Through the thunder.
Through the emptiness inside his chest.
The voices grew higher.
Stronger.
Almost otherworldly.
Light slowly opened his eyes.
The sky flashed.
CRACK!
Lightning tore across the clouds.
For a split second, the entire street was illuminated.
Light looked toward the far end of the road.
Something stood there.
A silhouette.
A person.
Motionless beneath the rain.
Light blinked.
The figure disappeared into the darkness.
He leaned forward.
Another flash of lightning struck.
The silhouette was still there.
Light's fingers curled against the edge of the bench.
His breathing became heavier.
His heart began to beat strangely.
Slowly…
But loudly.
The figure began walking toward him.
One step.
Then another.
Light stared.
The person was still too far away to identify.
But the frame…
The height…
The shoulders…
Something about the figure felt familiar.
Light's breathing grew shallow.
The choir reached another high note.
The rain poured harder.
Thunder rolled through the sky like the voice of something enormous.
The figure continued approaching.
Light gripped the edge of the bench.
No…
He shook his head.
It can't be…
Another flash of lightning illuminated the approaching body.
The shape became clearer.
The posture.
The proportions.
The familiar outline.
Light's eyes widened.
His heart tightened.
The figure took another step.
The choir rose higher.
To the point that the only sound Light could hear was slow heart beat and the divine music.
The sound filled the entire street.
For one impossible moment, the rain seemed to fall around the approaching person like a curtain.
The lightning flashed again.
This time, Light saw the face.
His breathing stopped.
His eyes trembled.
Water dripped from his hair.
His lips parted, but no sound came out.
The person standing before him looked like—
No.
It couldn't be.
And yet…
And at its highest note.
The sound seemed to descend from heaven itself.
Light stared at the figure as though he were witnessing a miracle.
As though God had come down to see him.
And for the first time in eight years—
Light forgot how to breathe.
TO BE CONTINUED.