Chapter Thirty

I looked up and saw two women who peaked their heads by the door frame.

Mr. Kim briefly turned around before he returned to me. He said, "I brought some friends from the National Children's Welfare Association. They will be responsible for comforting the children with what happened tonight. You will need to come downstairs with me to decide on what to do with those guys tonight." He signalled for the ladies to enter the room.

The women slowly entered, careful not to make any brash actions or sounds.

The children suddenly grabbed onto me. Some of them whispered in fear. My heart broke as I heard that. That was the very thing that I wanted to prevent from happening: for them to have fears of the outside world. To experience horrifying scenes that they shouldn't be even thrown into, especially at such a young age.

I turned to the children and said softly, "Don't worry, guys, they won't hurt us. They're part of the good guys. They will accompany you while I sort things out downstairs."

"You're going to leave us alone?!" Sunmi exclaimed.

Chiwon followed with, "I thought you said you will not leave us, no matter what!"

The younger ones cried as they panicked even more.

"Shh, shh, calm down," I said as I pulled them into my arms. After quite some time within my embrace, I slowly pulled away and continued, "I'm not going to leave you. I just need to go downstairs so we can punish the bad guys." I turned and pointed at the ladies, "You see them? Those two beautiful women? They are friends of mine and they will guard you until I come back."

I returned to them and added, "Yeonseok and Ahra will also protect you. I won't be gone for long."

"You promise you'll come back?" Yeonghee sniffled as she grabbed onto my wrist.

Gently, I removed her hand and caressed them with my thumbs. With a smile, I said, "I promise." I looked at them one by one before I turned to the social workers. We shared a brief nod before I let go of Yeonghee's hands.

I stood from the bed as slowly as possible. I then stepped back as the social workers replaced my spot on the bed. I turned to Mr. Kim and we headed directly downstairs.

---*---*---*---

"What's going on? What is even happening?" Jaeyun's voice reached the upper staircase as I followed closely behind Mr. Kim.

"Your friends over here almost assaulted your sister and traumatized your children," the officer explained as we arrived in the living room. He continued, "They are to be detained for the night."

"Detained?!" Narae exclaimed as she stood from the couch. She protested, "They didn't do anything! We were just having fun!"

"That's where you're wrong, madam," Mr. Kim interrupted, which made my sisters turn to our direction. Both of them scowled at me the moment they laid their eyes on me.

"And who the hell are you?" Narae snapped at Mr. Kim.

He paid no mind to it and continued, "One of your friends tried to coerce Miss Ryuk into sexual acts whilst the other two offered gummy bears to the children. According to the little ones, the man claimed that their gummies are 'better' than the original ones." He added, "If we're going to base things from the child's description, it's possible that they offered drugs to minors."

The men's eyes widened, horrified by the information given.

"Search them," the head officer instructed.

The men were searched immediately and in no time, two packs of gummy bears were found within their beings. At first glance, you wouldn't think that there was something strange with the gummies. They looked similar to the real ones.

"How certain are you that those are not real candies?" Narae remarked.

The head officer grabbed the two packs and exited the house. The men were then told to remain on the ground. My sisters, on the other hand, were kept far from them. I didn't know but perhaps, it was for safety purposes.

We waited in silence for a few seconds before we heard loud barking outside. In no time, the police officer returned and said, "The dog sniffed drugs."

The two men looked at each other, frustrated at one another. The other didn't care. It seemed that he was still in pain after the kick that I gave him.

My sisters looked at each other, frightened. "Ma'am?" They turned to the head officer with teary eyes.

The head officer continued, "Are you aware that your friends over here are possible drug users or dealers?"

They immediately shook their heads.

The head officer stared at them for quite some time. He then continued, "Are you telling us the truth? Remember, it's best that you don't lie to us because that can lead you straight to court."

"Court? For what?" Narae snapped once again. "What is it with all these threats? We didn't do anything wrong. We were only here to have fun."

"You do know that you can easily be accused of child negligence, ma'am?" Mr. Kim intervened once again. My sisters looked back at us and continued, "Offering drugs to minors, especially to children, is punishable by law. Their brash actions also created possible traumas with the kids. As parents, you should know what's best for your children."

The officer added, "It's best that you tell us the truth now. Out of everything that will happen tonight, your highest concern should be your kids. Not yourselves. Not your friends. And not the fun that you had. Your kids."

Narae looked at Jaeyun, speechless. Jaeyun glared at me for a few seconds before she sighed. She rolled her eyes as she turned to the officer. "My sister isn't lying when she said she didn't know anything," she said. "But I do."

The whole room was silent as we all turned to Jaeyun.

She continued, "I knew from the start that they were drug users and dealers. But they promised me a way to earn big and easy money so I took them home with us. I didn't tell Narae because I knew very well that she would never agree to bring home people that could be harmful within the family home."

My nose fumed as I sighed deeply. Mr. Kim quickly stood in front of me. I had no idea if she was really stupid or careless. Jaeyun knew of the dangers of the people she brought home. But she still proceeded to befriend them and even let them enter Mama's house because of a stupid monetary promise?!

I could understand that she was desperate for a way to earn money. But she talked with drug dealers! The quick money scheme that they would tell her would be to sell drugs! She knew that Narae would disagree with her with the idea of bringing these types of people back into the house. She could've used that as a sign that she shouldn't have done it in the first place!

"Please, leave Narae out of this, officer," Jaeyun added. "She didn't know what I did. She is completely innocent from the beginning."

The police officers looked at each other for a moment. The head officer then said, "Kindly give me a moment to consult my boss about this." He then left the house again.