(Part two)

TW: RAPE, SEXUAL ASSUALT

Word count: 2,868

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"You? Why would you do that?" Minho's brow furrowed, seriously not understanding why she would do such a thing. To his knowledge, he barely even talked to Natasha before today. So she should have no malicious intention towards him.

"Do you know what you did to my friend? Jessica?"

"Jessica?" Minho repeated, trying for the life of him to remember who Jessica was.

"You don't even remember her, do you?" Natasha asked as she held his gaze with a slightly psychotic smile.

"You broke her. She used to be the life of our friend group. She used to be the one who would always be happy, no matter what. Then she started liking you. She got so excited and built up her confidence to confess. At the time, we were on a school retreat. Fair enough, you rejected her but you didn't have to go that far. What you did was disgusting. You deserve to suffer through all of those rumours."

Minho had no recall of this happening. The last school retreat they went on, last year, he could only remember two out of the three days. On that day he couldn't remember, he could only picture blurry images.

It was dark. He was hanging out with his friends, and some girls and... one of the girls he could remember was sat with Natasha earlier that day. He had a red cup in his hands. Every time he thought of that night, that would be the most he could remember. Except, this time, he really strained himself to remember. Whatever Natasha was talking about, he had to have done it that night. That same girl pushed him onto a bed and straddled him. Thinking he must have done something inappropriate, he turned to Natasha with a terrified face. But his brain wasn't done yet.

"No... stop... this isn't right..." And then the girl was off of him, as if she had fallen. Did he push her off?

Her gaze hardened. "Just you wait, baby. I'll have you whether you want it or not. They should be kicking in right about now..."

And that's all he could remember. Natasha had gotten up at this point, and was about to walk off. Minho, on the other hand, had a faint idea of what had happened. However, he still needed confirmation. He grabbed Natasha's wrist before she could walk off.

"W-what did she do? I-I mean, what did she say I did?"

Natasha was scared at first when he grabbed her wrist, thinking he would take advantage of her. But when she turned around, she no longer felt scared. Minho was shaking. His grip was tight on her wrist, but his hand trembled so much so that even her hand was shaking. His eyes were wide, his face pale and his breathing unsteady. He didn't look he had any malicious intent. It looked more like a deep feeling of regret.

"You drugged and date-raped her. She said that later that night, you changed your mind and wanted some but she didn't feel okay with it after you rejected her - are you all right?"

Minho was now taking deep breaths as he tried to control the tears forming in his eyes. The cup. She was standing awfully close to it. Did she really - wait. Natasha. She thinks I raped Jessica.

"I d-didn't. I-I would never d-do that." Tears were now flowing freely down his cheeks. "My mother taught me to r-respect-"

"She said you looked like you were under the influence and reeked of alcohol, too." Natasha interrupted, not really sure why he was crying or why her heart hurt or why her gut told her there was something very wrong.

"I-I think she was the one who r-raped m-me." He managed to choke out between sobs.

Natasha's resolve hardened. Really? He wanted to play the victim card right now? She was about to go off on him, but then he looked up, and looked her straight in the eyes. He wasn't lying. His eyes were filled with fear, not to mention his state. He was trembling and taking quick, short breaths. But Jessica wouldn't have lied about that... right?

"Please, Natasha. You have to believe me." Minho quietly said, as if he had given up hope.

Jessica was her best friend. She hates you. She'd pick her over you any day.

"I believe you." Natasha crouched down to match his height. She wasn't sure who to believe right now, but the pain and fear in his eyes... she wanted it to stop.

Minho felt relieved when he heard that, and started to calm down. Natasha had taken his hands in hers and started to caress them lightly.

"That night...I barely remember anything. I couldn't remember anything before you brought up... that." Minho explained a bit once his breathing had returned to normal. He was still shaking, so Natasha sat beside him and wrapped an arm around him.

"You don't have to explain. It's okay." In reality, she actually wanted him to explain. Maybe she'd be able to pick apart his story and confirm that he was indeed lying. But, if he wasn't lying, it would be so inconsiderate of her to ask him to explain himself.

"No, I want to. I-I think speaking out loud will help me clear it up a bit. I don't remember everything. It's all kind of hazy. I remember I had a red cup in my hand and she was standing beside me... and then next thing I remember is that she was on top of me and we're on a bed. I'm telling her to stop and then she's not on me anymore. She was very mad and then she said that 'they should kick in any minute now' and that's all I remember."

His story was very vague. It didn't match Jessica's at all. Hers was detailed and quite graphic. But... he wouldn't have reacted that severely if he wasn't innocent, right?

"Let's get you home. I'll walk you." Natasha stood and offered a hand to Minho.

In turn, he just stared at it. "Aren't I supposed to be the one to walk you home? It's getting dark."

"I'll be fine, I can handle myself."

"But-"

"I can get my brother to pick me up if it really bothers you that much." She cut him off as she reached for his hands and pulled him up.

"You're safe now. Remember that." She attempted to comfort him before they walked home in a heavy silence.

When they reached his house, he reached for her hand and pulled her inside, immediately greeting his mother to make it clear to her that he had no ulterior motives.

"Oh, hi darling! How was school?" His mother asked as she came round the corner. Needless to say, their house was huge. Natasha's mouth was wide agape, admiring the high ceilings and classy interior. No wonder he had offered to pay her £50 per session. He was minted. (cue horrible histories) "Who's this?" His mother asked as she made eye contact with Natasha.

"This is Natasha. She's a friend." Natasha smiled warmly at his mum. She was really pretty.

"Nice to meet you, Mrs Lee."

"Oh, call me Chung-hee. No need to be so formal."

"Her brother's going to pick her up so I invited her inside to wait until he comes."

Chung-hee nodded. "Make yourself at home, dear." She then disappeared back around the corner.

"Come on, I bet you're thirsty." Minho tugged on her hand and dragged her into the kitchen.

"W-what?"

He pulled out water from the fridge and handed it to her.

"o-oh you meant water."

Minho raised an eyebrow, confused. "What else would I have meant - oh." A smirk emerged on his face as he cocked his head to the side. "Maybe I should've given you holy water instead."

Natasha rolled her eyes as she texted her brother to come and pick her up. She then turned back to find Minho already cooking a meal.

"My brother won't take long. There's no need for that."

"Who told you I was cooking for you?"

"Well, that's a big portion for just you and your mum."

"Are you shaming how much I eat now?"

"No, that's not what I meant, I-"

Minho smiled as he watched the girl in front of him struggle to explain herself. She's pretty cute.

"Relax, I'm just teasing you." Minho reached out to rub her shoulders. "I think I know who your brother is, and if I'm right, he'd probably appreciate some food. But yeah, I made enough for you, my mum and I as well." He turned back to the ramen.

Natasha was shocked at the genuine smile Minho had on his face. An actual smile that reached his eyes, a smile that made his eyes light up. It wasn't the usual expression he had on, those were usually sarcastic smiles and smirks. This one was different, he seemed happy.

"Natasha?" Minho called, his back facing her.

"Hm?"

"Did you really start all those rumors about me sleeping around?"

Her face fell. If he really was telling the truth, then she had single-handedly ruined his reputation.

"Yeah. But it wasn't just me... it was our way of getting justice when we found out you ra - I mean when Jess told us you did that."

He sighed and his grip on the ladle tightened. "You still don't believe me, do you?"

"I'm sorry. It's not that I don't believe you, I'm still trying to wrap my head around the whole thing. It doesn't make sense that Jess would lie about something like that, but then you wouldn't react like that if what you said wasn't true - I don't know, I'm just confused."

Minho took a deep breath before answering. "I might have kissed her but I wouldn't have gone that far. Especially not without consent. I would never."

"But I've seen you do those things with girls. The rumors started to have some truth."

At this comment, Minho dropped his ladle, annoyed, and slowly walked towards Natasha. He eventually backed her against the countertop and leaned in. Their faces were incredibly close. Natasha's breath hitched as her eyes flickered down to his lips. This guy could possibly be a rapist. So why am I letting him give me butterflies?

Minho noticed her reaction and lightly scoffed as he tilted his head, effectively closing a bit more of the space.

"I'm not heartless, you know. This still gives me a rush. I can momentarily distract myself and lose myself in the feeling and the other gets to say that they managed to kiss 'bad boy Lee Minho.'" Minho said, softly, staring her straight in the eyes. "I guess I have you to thank for that," Minho whispered as his gaze dropped down to Natasha's lips.

A few seconds later, he went back to cooking the food. In those few seconds, something about him had changed. He seemed less friendly and colder, like his usual self. Maybe she had finally struck a nerve. Good. She thought. Let's keep it that way. At least until I investigate a bit more.

"But those girls said you had sex -"

"Ain't it funny, rumors fly." Minho cut her off by singing before setting the table and bringing the pan over.

"Oh let me help - "

"I don't need your help. Just go and sit down."

Natasha did as she was told. There was nothing she could do if he was annoyed and if he refused to talk to her. That was his own problem. Eventually, her brother arrived and Minho dashed to answer the door.

"Chan? I'm so glad to see you." Minho immediately hugged him, no longer able to hold back his emotions in the elder's arms.

"Minho? Are you okay?" Chan said as he hugged the younger back. He had many questions to do with his sister, but he set it all aside because Minho needed him more right now.

"I'm fine. Now come eat so you can get your sister out of here." Minho pulled away and tried to dry his tears as discreetly as possible.

As Chan stepped in, he greeted his sister and quickly pulled her aside. "Hey, what did you do to end up here and why is Minho sad and what did you do that makes him want you to be out of here?"

"I decided to walk him home cause he was in a state, he's upset because I didn't believe him and I don't think anyone would like to be surrounded by people who don't believe you."

At this point, Chan was extremely confused, but he decided it would be better to not question it further. They ate in silence. It wasn't necessarily awkward, just a heavy silence with everyone wanting to say many things, but unsure if this was the right time to say something.

As Minho said goodbye to Chan, he turned to Natasha and stared at her for a bit, as if trying to figure out what to say. "You... have a good life. Goodbye."

"You -" Minho slammed the door shut on her. She sighed as she turned to get into Chan's car.

"UGH! He's so annoying!"

Chan chuckled. "Well, that's Minho for you. But, I think you did something to upset him. He's acting as he would if you just met him."

"Well good, because I don't know him."

"Yeah, but he's also really stingy with who he brings home to meet his mother. So he must see you as a friend at least. Why were you there?"

"He was crying so I felt bad and offered to walk him home and then he invited me in to wait for you and then he just flipped a switch."

"I think he likes you. At least as a friend."

"Well, he better. I'm his tutor."

They arrived at their house and Natasha immediately got ready for bed. I'm going to wake up and investigate this. She thought right before heading to bed.

Natasha woke up earlier than she usually did. Like, really early. As in, the sun wasn't up yet early. She got ready for school and then commuted to the venue where they had the retreat last year. She immediately went into the visitor's office to find a clerk drifting off to sleep.

"Hi there, I got robbed here last year. I was just wondering if I could get a copy of the CCTV from that day?"

"Why would you - it's 6 in the morning - "

"You don't have to do anything, just point me in the general direction."

"It's that door there."

Natasha thanked him as she walked over to the CCTV office. Weirdly (and because it's convenient for plot) the files were open and she clicked on a folder with the alleged date Jessica had said the incident occurred. Fast-forwarding to the relevant time, she saw Jessica and Minho hanging out with a few other people from their school. She zoomed in and that's when she saw it.

Jessica lied. On the recording, as clear as day, she could see Jessica slipping some sort of powder substance into Minho's drink when he wasn't watching. And then it clicked. It made more sense for Minho's memory to be hazy if he was drugged, rather than recall every detail... She back-tracked a bit and took a video of it. Questioning if she had the stomach for this, she started to fast-forward the recording once again.

To her surprise, Jessica had indeed made the first move and kissed Minho. He seemed to kiss her back and entertain her for a few seconds. Then, she slid her hands down to his crotch, causing Minho to push her off. He seemed to say something before turning away from her. But she wouldn't give up. It seemed like he was okay with her kissing him, but just as he said, he wouldn't let her go further.

Eventually, it seemed as the effects of the drug had kicked in. Minho was starting to become drowsy and much more... relaxed. He still pushed her away whenever she touched him inappropriately, but this time it was with much less force. Then, she dragged him to the hallway. Luckily, that camera seemed to have recorded the sound too.

This time, she had slipped her hands inside of his jeans, causing him to jump, break the kiss and remove her hands.

"I don't get it. You do with this with every other girl, so why not me?"

"I don't want to have sex. Especially not in this state. I think I'm a bit intoxicated."

"Nonsense, you told me you hold your liquor well."

"Regardless, I just don't want to, alright? Contrary to what you've heard, I don't go that far."

"Whatever, you don't have a choice."

And then she pulled him inside the room. So Minho was really telling the truth... Natasha rewinded the clip so she could film it and then headed out, past the clerk, and began her trip to school, angry.

A/N: so there's going to be a part 3-

Consent is consent. If someone, regardless of which gender, does not want tea, don't give them tea. If they're unconscious, then don't force them to have tea. If they're intoxicated, don't give them tea. As much as women getting raped is a big problem, we also need to start normalizing hearing men's voices when they are suffering from abuse and giving them safe spaces to say they were raped. And we need to start condemning women who make false claims. Not only do they harm an innocent's wellbeing and life, but they make it harder for actual rape victims to come forward.

[There should be a GIF or video here. Update the app now to see it.]

Um yeah, I know nothing about this experience (thankfully) so expect inaccuracies. If you're a guy who has experienced this, I'm here for you. This is a safe space. Your voice will be heard. Likewise for any women or gender-neutrals. I'm sorry you had to go through that. I am here for you and I will believe you.

I know no helplines or hotline numbers apart from the NHS website, and I blame the lack of education my school gave me on what to do if you get raped. But please link any you know in the comments, and I'll edit this chapter and list them below.