"Zoya…"
Minji's voice was the first to break the silence.
Everyone was staring at the CCTV clip playing on the screen. The car that had stopped outside the house was Ji-ho's. The passenger door opened. Ji-ho extended his hand to help someone.
A hand slowly reached out and rested on his.
And when the person finally stepped out—
"What—?!" Minji's breath caught in her throat. "Zoya?!"
The moment she recognized her, she rushed outside. The others followed in a hurry.
Except Jeon.J.
His eyes were fixed on that hand.
His eyes began to turn red, his fists clenched tightly. With a cold, frozen expression, he followed them outside.
But by the time he reached, Minji and Hana were already bringing Zoya inside.
No one spoke.
In just two days, Zoya looked terribly weak. There was a wound near her eye, a bruise on her chin, and she wore a simple dark blue dress, her head gently covered.
She was carefully seated on the sofa. Minji placed a cushion behind her back, but Zoya kept herself upright, as if being cruel to herself. Sitting straight was clearly painful, yet she kept forcing herself to endure it.
Jeon.J stood behind the sofa opposite her, just watching.
Then he pulled out his phone, dialed a number, and moved to the side.
"Jea"
"Yes, Jeon.J, I'm on my way—"
Before Jae could finish, Jeon.J cut in sharply:
"There's a girl named Ji-Won. She's at Pusan National University, Busan. I don't know her department, but she lives in one of the dorms either to the right or left of the one where Bamson, Minji, and her friends stayed. I want her full information. Treat her respectfully. he said in a cold way.
I want every detail by tomorrow morning. And don't forget to ask her why she hurt her."
His voice was low and ice-cold. The person on the other end had never heard him so angry.
"I'll bring all the information tomorrow morning."
"Not information." Jeon.J cut in again, voice sharper. "As an attacker, I want her in police custody. The evidence is in today's viral video. Her face is clear in the last few seconds. You know what to do."
He hung up.
When he turned around, Jinhun was standing behind him, watching him closely.
"Jeon.J, what are you doing? She's back now. Please stay out of all this."
"She came back with him."
Jeon.J's cold gaze shifted toward Ji-ho, who was sitting across the living area.
"What difference does it make who she came with?" Jinhun snapped. "She's back. That's enough."
"It makes a difference." Jeon.J pressed a finger to his chest. "It matters here."
His voice was filled with helplessness.
"Why does she call him every time…?"
He said it in a faint voice, head bowed.
Jinhun heard him.
"Jeon.J, stay away from this." Jinhun ended the conversation and walked back to the others.
Jeon.J went to his room, shut the door, and sat on the bed, burying his face in his hands.
"Why does it matter to me? It shouldn't. It doesn't matter who she comes with… whose hand she holds… whom she asks for help. It shouldn't matter…"
He got up, splashed cold water on his face in the bathroom, steadied himself, and came back out.
Where Zoya was still sitting the same way.
Everyone waited for her to speak.
But her silence was frightening.
Jeon.J sat on the sofa in front of her.
Suddenly, Zoya looked up at him.
He was already looking at her.
His eyes were red, filled with something wounded—something that shook him to the core.
"You know how much it burned inside me when I saw him saving you outside the police station? I waited years for him… and you… You'll take him from me?" Ji-Won's words echoed in Zoya's mind:
"He's mine. We've been together since high school… we've dated for years… we've even been physical…"
Zoya turned her gaze away.
Jeon.J felt that turn like a blade.
He stared at her, unable to understand.
After a long silence, she tried to speak.
But no sound came out.
Zoya looked at Minji, tried to call her name—but her voice was gone.
Suddenly, she covered her face with both hands and burst into tears.
Everyone froze.
Minji dropped to her knees in front of her, tears streaming down her face. Everyone in the living room had tears in their eyes.
"I spoke to the doctor."
Everyone turned toward Ji-ho.
Ji-ho drew a slow breath and looked around the room. Everyone's eyes were on him, waiting.
"I talked to the doctor," he began quietly. "He said Zoya's body went through extreme stress. Being trapped for two days without water left her severely dehydrated. On top of that… the shock, the fear, the crying — all of it together pushed her body into survival mode."
His voice softened.
"The doctor said her vocal cords aren't damaged… but the trauma and dehydration affected her nervous system. Her throat muscles tightened up and shut down her voice. It's the body's way of protecting itself when it can't take any more."
He glanced toward Zoya.
"The doctor believes it's temporary," Ji-ho continued. "But she needs rest, hydration… and peace. No stress. No pressure to speak. If she's forced or stressed again, it could take longer for her voice to return."
Silence filled the room after he finished speaking — heavy, helpless, and aching.
Jeon.J lowered his head.
He couldn't hear any more.
But he kept telling himself—
It doesn't matter…
"Zoya, I'm sorry. I couldn't protect you. Please forgive me… You were our guest…" Minji kept apologizing.
Zoya slowly raised her head.
Zoya shook her head slowly, as if telling Minji, "No… It's not your fault."
Then she looked at her and offered a faint, fragile smile.
Everyone froze.
Even in this broken state… even after everything she'd been through… she was still smiling.
The room fell silent, stunned by that small, impossible smile.
Zoya's eyes lingered on Minji, and silently, in her heart, she whispered—
Don't blame yourself. I'm still here… that's enough.
Zoya gestured weakly to Minji for a pen and notebook — she wanted to write something.
Yomin stood up at once, went to the cabinet near the LCD, and returned with a small diary and a pen. He gently handed them to Zoya.
As Zoya reached out to take them, the back of her hand became visible — the skin was raw, scraped badly, covered with harsh abrasions. Realizing it, she quickly pulled her sleeve down, hiding her hand inside the fabric.
But everyone had already seen.
Jinhun felt a deep ache rise in his chest.
His eyes shifted to Jeon.J, who was watching Zoya silently. This time, his expression wasn't anger — it was pain… helplessness, like someone trapped with no way out.
Seeing him like that, Jinhun felt it too — a suffocating feeling, like they were all trapped in the same invisible cage.
A cage made of fear, fame, and powerlessness.
A cage where no one could truly protect anyone…
…and no one could walk away.
And in that moment, Jinhun's heart ached with a desperate wish:
If only we could all be free…
She lowered her gaze and slowly began to write.
The pen trembled slightly between her fingers, each stroke careful and unsteady, as if even writing took strength she didn't have. The room stayed silent — no one dared to speak.
Everyone watched the page, waiting.
Each word she formed seemed heavier than the last, carrying everything she couldn't say aloud. Her breath was slow, her hand shaking, but she kept writing… forcing herself to continue, even when her fingers began to tire.
And when she finally stopped, she stared at the words on the page for a moment, her chest rising and falling quietly, before slowly lifting the notebook for them to see.
"Don't say that, Minji. It was a trial… and it passed. I'm grateful to Allah that He protected me, protected my honor. These wounds will heal. Look, I'm still here. Allah has honored me".
Jeon.J stared at her, unable to comprehend it.
How could she be thankful after all this?
He glanced at Ji-ho, who was smiling faintly at Zoya's words.
Jeon.J's expression went cold again.
The softness from moments ago vanished.
"I won't spare Ji-Won," Minji said.
Zoya suddenly turned to look at Minji, her eyes widening in shock and disbelief, in confusion, then at Ji-ho.
"How do you know it was Ji-Won?" she wanted to ask, but her voice... heart pounding.
Minji looked at her, then at everyone else.
"You don't know?"
"N-No… I don't. What happened?" She shook her head in refusal.
Minji grabbed the remote and searched for the viral video.
Zoya turned to the screen.
And her breath stopped.
"She was saying… I'm Jeon.J's girlfriend. Since high school…" Ji-won's voice echoed in her ear.
The video started playing on the screen.
Zoya couldn't understand what was happening at first because the faces were blurred, but when she looked closely, she saw someone brutally cutting into a person's arm.
Zoya suddenly stood up, but she couldn't take a single step. The moment she tried to move, she lost her balance and fell into Minji's arms, while Ji-ho held her injured arm to support her.
Tear-filled eyes—Zoya looked at Minji, then pointed toward the screen. Then, in a trembling, painful gesture, she pointed at herself.
Minji understood and softly said, "Yes… this is you."
Zoya looked at Minji in complete disbelief.
Then again, she looked at Minji and asked through gestures, "How… me?"
Minji gently took her left hand, lifted it, and softly rubbed the back of it with her thumb.
"I recognized you from this mark," Minji said softly. "It looks like an old injury, but it has been covered under layers of new wounds."
Zoya lowered her eyes to her hand. Suddenly, she remembered—there was an old cut mark there from a careless accident. It had been deep, taken a long time to heal, but it had left a permanent scar behind.
She began crying again.
She wanted to tell them how much she feared cuts—ever since she had seen her beloved cousin's body after death, covered in wounds from brutal violence. That memory never left her mind.
Minji immediately hugged her tightly.
Zoya kept crying uncontrollably. She wanted to explain that she was terrified of violent deaths involving cuts. She had always believed girls were unsafe in her country, but now she was seeing the same cruelty here, too. She couldn't understand how people could hurt others like that.
Minji tried to calm her down, but she kept crying until she was completely exhausted. Eventually, she went silent, still resting her head on Minji's shoulder.
"Zoya, you are brave," Ji-ho said, kneeling in front of her.
"Allah has protected you. In the video, your face is not clearly visible. You should be thankful. These wounds will heal."
He smiled gently.
"I remember when I was taking you to the hospital, you were repeating a beautiful verse again and again."
He softly said:
"فَإِنَّ مَعَ ٱلْعُسْرِ يُسْرًا"
"Indeed, with hardship comes ease."
"I believe your strength came from this faith."
Ji-ho placed his hand gently on her head.
"A beautiful month is coming soon. You need to recover quickly. Then we will prepare for it together and decorate the restaurant. I know you will have many ideas."
He continued speaking, and don't worry about university, work, I'll try to arrange online classes so you can recover peacefully.
"Now you just need to get better. Even Appa was worried seeing you like this. You were in a resting position at that time, so he just looked at you and left. If you hadn't insisted on going to your friends, I would have taken you home. Staying with Amma and Appa, and with Amma taking care of you, you would have recovered much faster. But since you are comfortable here, it's okay. You will get better now."
"And yes, I am giving you just one week off. After that, you have to resume your duty. You know Mrs. Lee and Minho can't tolerate each other anymore, so you need to come back to keep the restaurant peaceful."
Ji-ho's calm and comforting words brought a sense of peace over everyone in the room. And finally, at his lighthearted remark, everyone smiled—and Zoya also smiled softly.
His words brought calm into the room, and even through tears, Zoya managed a faint smile.
"I should leave now. It's getting late," Ji-ho said.
Zoya tried to stand, but Minji helped her sit back down.
Ji-ho looked at Minji seriously.
"Take care of her. If you can't, tell me. I will take her with me. My mother will care for her like family."
Minji frowned immediately. "Zoya is my friend first. I know how to take care of her."
Ji-ho simply shrugged, unconcerned.
Throughout all this, Jeon.J had been silently holding himself back, as if everything was becoming unbearable for him.
"Mr. Ji-ho…"
Jeon.J's voice finally broke the silence.
Ji-ho turned around.
"This is my house," Jeon.J said coldly.
Before Jeon.J could even finish his sentence, Jinhun suddenly got a little startled, worried that he might say something wrong.
"And in my house, moral values are strictly respected. So don't worry, your new friend will be safe and comfortable here," Jeon.J added in a cold but simple tone.
Before he could finish, Ji-ho calmly responded, "I know. And I also understand moral values because I come from the same place as you. Ji-ho stepped closer.
"I just think your fame might create problems for her," he said, referring to the viral incident on Easter night.
Jeon.J looked at him with cold eyes.
"She is safe here with her friends. That is all that matters." Ji-ho finished.
His jaw tightened, but he stayed silent.
Ji-ho sighed lightly.
"If she wants peace, she will get it here."
Then he turned to Minji.
"If you want, I can drop all of you off at home."
Minji shook her head. "No, I can manage."
Ji-ho nodded, said goodbye to everyone, and walked out of the house.
The door closed behind him…
And the heavy silence he left behind stayed in the room.
.......
To be continued.....
Regards
ZK