“How is dating Vernon?” Sena asked Jin curiously as they were packing.

“I like him,” Jin responded, “I honestly like him.”

Sena smiled and nodded, “I’m happy for you.”

After a silence, Jin took a deep breath and decided that it was time to tell her the plan as there would be no other time: “We’re going to the police station tomorrow.”

Sena’s eyes widened and she shook her head quickly.

“If this is about being afraid of what Seungcheol would do to you, we’re going on the trip right after, and he won’t have any idea where we are.”

“It’s not just about that," Sena responded, "sometimes the police won’t believe me and…”

“Don’t worry about that either. I recorded him saying things that would surely earn him a sentence," Jin answered.

“What?”

Jin took out her phone and played part of the recording to Sena. Sena listened with a horrified expression on her face. When Sena learned that Seungcheol had threatened to “punish” someone, she started to tremble. Jin stopped it there.

Sena eyed Jin with a petrified expression and said under her breath, “what the hell were you doing interacting with someone like him?”

“He didn’t do anything to me,” Jin said as to not worry her. “But I did trick him into saying things that would be evidence against him. All you have to do is go to the police…”

“Jin, I don’t want to report him…”

“But why not?” Jin replied angrily, startling Sena.

“It’s my decision in the end, Jin. Mine. Leave me alone to make it for myself,” Sena responded softly.

“I don’t understand you,” Jin yelled in response. She was so angry and frustrated with Sena. After everything that Jin had done, Sena was still refusing?

“You don’t have to understand me,” Sena responded, turning her back to Jin.

Jin tried convincing Sena, but Sena was being completely unreasonable. At one point, she covered her ears and refused to even listen.

It was maddening to Jin; she felt like she was about to cry out of frustration. Jin did not do all of this for nothing. She did not risk being violated by someone like Seungcheol for nothing. She was so frustrated; she needed to let it out somehow. She found herself texting the only other person who knew about the situation: Mingyu.

J: She’s not agreeing.

M: What? Why not??

J: I don’t know. She’s not even talking to me about it. I’m so angry with her.

M: Can I talk to her?

J: Please do because she won’t listen to me.

Jin had not wanted Sena to know that Mingyu was aware of all that happened to her, but now, she did not care anymore. Whatever it would take for Sena to just explain why she was being so stupidly stubborn about it.

Mingyu decided to talk to her in person, thinking it would be more effective and Sena would be more likely to listen. After sneaking him into the dorm through the window, Jin led Mingyu into their room where Sena was.

“Mingyu?” she looked surprised to see him there.

He bowed politely to her, and she bowed back.

“Why are you here?” she asked, looking from him to Jin curiously.

“Actually, uhh, I’m here to talk to you about reporting Seungcheol to the police…”

Sena’s jaw dropped and turned abruptly to face Jin as if asking her why she would tell him, but Mingyu explained: “Jin didn’t tell me. I found out myself because I saw you walking out of counseling with brochures.”

Sena’s face softened, but she turned her back to Mingyu. She seemed so embarrassed that he knew about it, so much so that she asked him to leave.

“Please, Sena…”

“Go away,” she told him, looking like she was about to cry.

“I will if you give me a good reason why you won’t report him. We have enough evidence to convict him, and you won’t be in town for him to hurt you again.”

Sena had started to cry, and then said, “you don’t understand.”

“I don’t,” Mingyu said calmly, “I know I don’t. Which is why you need to help me understand.” He walked over to the front of her and reached out for her hand, and she let him take it.

“He’s not a bad person,” Sena said quickly, gulping in her tears, “I hate him, but he’s not a bad person. He has a girlfriend, and he treats her well. He's doing good work for people. He helpful to his friends. He doesn’t deserve three years in prison because of a mistake he made with me…”

Mingyu listened to what Sena was saying with a sympathetic look on his face. He squeezed her hand and replied softly: “but he does deserve it. He did not make that mistake once, but twice.”

“I led him on the first time,” Sena admitted quickly. “It wasn’t a mistake on his part, but mine...”

“Oh dear, don’t blame yourself for it,” he replied quickly with a frown on his face.

“But it’s true. He probably would not have done it had I not been the drunk flirt that I was. I , and that’s why he did it… I deserved the first time… I…”

“No, you didn’t,” Mingyu squeezing her hand again, “you didn’t. No one deserved what he did to you.”

“But it will ruin his life if I report him,” Sena thought to herself.

“The same way he has probably ruined yours and many other girls’ before you. He’s not as benevolent as you make him out to be.”

“You don’t understand.”

“Look, I can’t pretend to know how you feel,” Mingyu said, “I don’t. But I do know it’s so painful for you and for others who have experienced it. And I also do know that if that guy keeps roaming free, he will cause more pain. Think of it this way, if you won’t do it for yourself, do it for the other girls that could fall victim to him like you did.”

“He only did it to me because I led him on...”

“No, he did it to you because he’s a criminal. He almost did it to Jin, Sena. Why would you leave him alo…”

“Wait… what?” she looked towards Jin for an explanation.

“He… he just grabbed my wrist and …” Jin explained, but was cut off my Mingyu.

“He took off his shirt in front her, grabbed her wrist and asked her to ‘play’ with him. She was able to escape him before he did anything else though,” Mingyu explained on Jin’s behalf.

Sena bit her lower lip, which had now been quivering. She looked at Jin with an apologetic and hurt expression on her face.

“I’m okay, Sena,” Jin said quickly, because Sena looked so terrified of the prospect of Jin going through it. “I really am.”

Sena nodded and wiped the tears with her sleeve after she removed her hand from Mingyu’s.

There was a long period of silence as Sena cried silently.

It took a while for her to regain her composure, and when she did, she sniffled and finally said: “I’ll do it.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dear Diary,

Mingyu was able to do with my best friend what I could not, and that is make her comfortable enough to talk about the traumatic experience. When Sena revealed that she would not report him, I reacted with anger and frustration, which caused her to shut me out completely. I only now realize how insensitive I was.

Mingyu then came along and calmly spoke to her, and she eventually relaxed and explained her reasoning to him. It’s strange how easily she was able to open up to Mingyu, whom she did not even know very well. I know I should not say this, but I think they suit one another. They’re both attractive and goodhearted, and obviously Sena is comfortable with him. More with him than with me even.

I felt guilty for being so demanding on her, and being angry and causing her to cry and not feel comfortable opening up to me. I feel like I have been such a bad friend to her lately.

The thing that finally caused her to agree to report him was what happened yesterday, when Seungcheol took off his shirt in front of me and grabbed my wrist. When she found out about that encounter, her expression changed. She looked horrified for me.

Her care for me is what motivated the very difficult decision to report him, despite being so adamantly against it before. At the end of the day, she did not want justice for herself. She only reported him to protect me.

WARNING Long- A/N ahead:

Anyways, Sena’s reluctance to report seungcheol might seem unreasonable, but her reaction was actually inspired by someone I know who refused to report the man who violated her because of the reasons sena put out. The idea of self-blame, fear that he might retaliate and also this strange and twisted sympathy for him are all entwined and result in this full-fledged refusal to get justice for that crime (which is why most go unreported unfortunately). I’m not sure how well I wrote about this issue because the fact of the matter is that I have never experienced it. I did try to do her character justice by making her react this way because I really want this be a realistic and centered on the issues these characters go through. This chapter was just about ual violence and the psychological effects of it that most of us will probably never understand. I do hope I conveyed the trauma of Sena’s character well and actually did this sensitive (and very difficult) topic justice ~

Verjin in the next chapter I PROMISE lmao. and I will upload it within 2-3 days so you guys don't have to wait long!