[CONTENTID1]FINAL[/CONTENTID1]

[CONTENTID2]I just want to be with you before this night is over, before the starlight disappears.[/CONTENTID2]

[CONTENTID3]

When the last 'transaction' is done for the day, Eunmi would lock herself up in the bathroom, attempting to scrub her tainted body clean. But of course it was just a futile act because there's no way she could ever get back her chastity again. 

It was her fourth month in the ion ring and she still loathe the place a lot. Yes, Eunmi did try to escape before. But do you know what are the consequences? Those pimps made Eunmi work for three days straight without any rest given as a punishment. By the end of the day, her whole body were entirely sore till the point she collapsed on the mattress, falling into deep slumber the moment the last client left.

She always think that death is the quickest way to end all her sufferings since there are no other ways that she could escape from this living hell. She's an orphan which made it much easier for her to leave this world without holding onto anyone or anything.

Now, Eunmi is standing at the edge of the rooftop, staring blankly ahead of her.

People always said when someone is going to die, there will be images of the people they love flashing before them but I don't even have anyone to think about.

She laughed mockingly at herself when thinking about how lonely and pathetic her whole life have been.

She shut her eyes close, preparing for the impact but she felt herself landing on something soft instead of the hard concrete floor. She opened her eyes and realised that she's looking directly into a pair of brown orbs belonging to a man. The latter put a finger to his lips, gesturing for her to be quiet when some shuffling footsteps were heard.

While the man is being alert about the surroundings, Eunmi just stared at him. She noted that the man is wearing a black hoodie and seemed to be around her age or maybe slightly older than her. 

"I swear I saw him running in here! Where the hell is he now?!" 

"How would I know?! The only thing I know is that we need to find him by hook or by crook tonight or else we won't be able to answer to boss!" 

It was totally silent for a moment before footsteps are heard again and seemed to be heading towards their direction. The man grabbed on Eunmi's wrist and shorten the gap between them. He pulled out a gun, preparing to open fire if any of the gang members found them.

He actually seemed a bit surprise to find Eunmi looking expressionless while other people will probably be scared for their life if they knew they are going to be caught in the middle of a gunfire. 

Is she just being fearless or she's really not afraid of dying??

"Let's go and search over there." 

He unconsciously tightened his hold on Eunmi while holding his breath.

Suddenly, one of the gang member's phone started ringing. "Noted boss, we will be back in thirty minutes time." 

The man finally let out the breath he had been holding when the footsteps are getting further away from them.

"Why did you save me?" 

He took a few seconds to comprehend that Eunmi is actually asking him the question in Korean language.

"Everyone only gets to live once so you should cherish your life."

There was no response from her so he stole a glance at her and caught her staring at his ankle. That was when it dawned upon him that he got shot at the ankle while he was running away from the gang members. 

"Miss, can you do me a favour by bringing me out of here?" 

Eunmi slightly nodded her head and lead the man out of the rooftop. She stopped when she realised the limping man have difficulty catching up with her so she walked back to him, placing one of his arms around her shoulder.

The man quickly put on his snapback and pulled up his hoodie to hide his face away from the CCTV before they entered the hallway. Luckily, the hallway was empty so they didn't have to risk running into someone. She bring the man to her room instead of bringing him out of the place. 

"Why did you bring me here?" The man seemed confused.

"You need to at least stop your bleeding first if you don't wish to bleed to death." She left him sitting on the mattress while she went to get the first aid box in the bathroom.

Eunmi winced as she watched the man taking out the bullet from his ankle. She know he was trying his best to endure the pain but his agony expression already betrayed him. She can't help but to worry a little when she saw the man's pale face.

"Are you okay?" 

"Don't worry, this won't kill me. And thank you for bringing me here instead of letting me bleed to death on the streets." 

She merely acknowledged his words with a nod.

"I ask you a question since you asked me one at the rooftop just now." The man take Eunmi's silence as a cue for him to continue. "Why did you want to die??" 

She glanced up at the man, meeting his eyes for the second time that night. "Because my life is already a living hell. Do you know how does it feel to be betrayed by someone you trust and being forced into ion because of someone's lie?" 

The man didn't say anything and looked at her with an unreadable expression. 

"Of course you wouldn't know because you never been through them!"

Anger took over Eunmi as she recalled how her best friend lied to her that there's a good job offer in Shanghai which turned out that she was actually being sold to an illegal ion ring there. Her best friend betrayed Eunmi for the lump sum of money which can be used to pay off her boyfriend's debt. 

"How would I not know the feeling??? My younger sister and I were betrayed by our own father. He sold me to a gang and my sister to a ion ring because he wanted to get rid of us after getting married with a freaking rich woman." Frustration, despair and hatred were evident in the man's voice. "He doesn't even think twice about sending his own children to hell because he's a selfish jerk." The man's knuckles turned white from clenching his fists too tightly.

Eunmi was astonished by this piece of shocking information and felt guilt stricken for flaring up at him a moment ago. She wanted to apologise but not even a single word could come out from . 

There was a long, awkward silence before Eunmi decided to speak. 

"Just stay here for the night as it will be difficult for you to leave now without being spotted by those patrolling guard." 

The man didn't make any objection so Eunmi take his answer as a yes. The two of them each occupied half of the mattress with their backs facing each other. That night was a long night because none of them could fall asleep.

Soon, it was 2a.m in the morning. The man was getting ready to leave the place with Eunmi's help. She lead him to the emergency exit at the end of the hallway which is seldom used by anyone. Fortunately, no one will be watching those CCTV footages at this hour because most of the guards are either sleeping or drinking away in their staff pantry. Eunmi watched as the man climbed over the metal gate but he didn't jump down when he reached the top of the gate. Instead he turned his head around and looked at her. 

"I'm Jung Hoseok. You save my life so can I at least have your name?" 

"Son Eunmi." 

"Eunmi, I will come back again to get you out of this place so wait for me."

One week, one month just passed by like this and Hoseok was nowhere to be seen. 

Did anything bad happened to him or... or maybe he just decide to break his promise...

Eunmi reckoned that the latter is more of a possibility because why would he risk his life for someone like her who's not related to him at all. 

The temperature dropped as it was raining heavily outside. On a chilly night like this, Eunmi longed to fall asleep in someone's warm embrace. She went to get the door after hearing soft knocks. 

"Sir, did you get into the wrong-"

She was suddenly pushed into the room. The man locked the door after him before removing his cap and the mask that initially cover the lower half of his face. It's Hoseok.

So I'm wronged about him... He didn't break his promise.

"Remember I promised you the other time that I will come back and get you?" 

Eunmi nodded her head while staring at Hoseok blankly.

"There will be a major blackout in seven minutes time and we will sneaked out of this place during the chaos." 

"But will we get discovered??" Eunmi didn't want to take the risk of them getting caught.

"Don't worry, we won't get caught because you are going to disguise yourself as a guy. By the way, we still have five minutes left, so quickly go get change." Hoseok handed Eunmi a paper bag and pushed her into the bathroom.

She came out a few moments later. "Do I really look like a guy now?" 

Hoseok whipped his head around, giving her a thumbs up. "Of course, nobody would have guess that you're a girl. We still have two more minutes left before the blackout.