Jin resisted the urge to jut out his lower lip in a stubborn pout as Ahn-Bo swiveled away from him on the rock they were perched on. It was silly, and he hadn’t gone very far, but even from that small action Jin could see that he was suffering. It ached to hear Bo-ah call himself a monster; he was the furthest thing from it, even if he’d made a mistake. It wasn’t like he could control himself or he’d done it on purpose! But these were not things that would be useful to remind his friend. No amount of reason or logic would assuage the guilt he felt brewing deep in his gut. Jin knew. He’d experienced some of that with Myeong.

He forced himself to stay quiet, biting down hard on his lower lip, as Ahn-Bo-ah tried to force out the very painful confession of what had happened. Hearing his suspicions confirmed made Jin’s stomach roil again from the memory. He did his best to keep his face neutral but the pinch between his brows was as laced with concern as it was wont to be, ever. Still, he knew Ahn-Bo needed to say the words so they could move past it one day. Or at least, begin to.

“Bo-ah,” he said softly, the nickname laced with every ounce of sincerity and adoration Jin could manage. “What happened to you, and subsequently to Ha-Eun, was not your fault. Fate sometimes has a way of turning cruel and there is nothing you could have done to prevent it. It was… destined, to be this way.” Now he sounded like an old ahjussi who’d smoked something too strong, but Jin pressed on. “You are not a monster,” he insisted, reaching out to let his hand rest just gently on his friend’s back. “And I promise, if you come with me, there are protections in place to prevent anything else from happening again. You won’t be able to hurt me, even if you wanted to,” Abeoji would make absolutely sure of that “but I know you could never.” Jin lowered his voice to a pleading tone. “Jebal, Bo-ah. Nal mido.”

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