"Do you know how that other guy is doing? Does he write you or visit or anything?" You asked Sangwoo, looking down at your own hands.

"Other guy? What other guy?" Sangwoo asked. "The chief that I threw down with you? Kind of hard for him to do that..."

...Being dead and all.

"No. The skinny guy." You mumbled.

"Oh. Yoon Bum. I think he's in some recovery place or something. Tried to set some place on fire, I read. But no, he doesn't talk to me. Why?" He pulled and twirled his hair in his fingers. He was happy it was growing out. The short hair didn't suit him.

"Therapist asked about him. Not much to talk about though."

"Never was in the first place." He chuckled.

"She called him your boyfriend."

"I'm not--"

"You're not gay. Yes. I remember. You used to chant it when you jacked off on top of me." You rolled your eyes.

"It's triggering when I hear people call me gay. It upsets me because I don't even have a problem with gay people, I'm just not. And it's never a question. They just say it."

You looked at him in astonishment.

"What?"

"Eloquent. I didn't expect it." You shrugged.

He grumbled.

"I've had my own... therapy work..." He admitted. "Clearly I have a lot to work on..."

"I'm not going to lift the restraining order." You admitted back.

He sighed and laid his head on the table in front of him.

"I'm... sad about that. But I understand why." Sangwoo sighed. "I have like four months left in my sentence."

"Yeah. I know."

"Can I ask you something, then?" Sangwoo peered up at you like a scolded puppy.

"I guess." You avoided eye contact.

"Do you think I've changed? Would you be scared of me, if you met me brand new?"

There was a long, pregnant pause. You weren't quite sure how to respond. Was it possible for you to just forget what happened and judge Sangwoo? It was highly unlikely. Wouldn't your response be biased regardless? How could you erase it from your mind?

"Nevermind, YN. You don't need to answer it." He sat up, "That's not fair to you."

"I think you've changed. If you were like this before, then I think you'd be very different. I don't know if I'd be scared." You answered honestly.

"I guess the real question is am I naturally a shitty person or was I made into one, right?" Sangwoo laughed, but the question wasn't funny. It was a serious one in which he and his own therapist hadn't addressed yet. How much responsibility should Sangwoo take in this situation? If it weren't for his mother, would he still be here?

"You're probably just like the rest of us. A little of both."