I look around wildly. The stench of burning rubber is heavy in the air. I cannot make out anything because of the thick, black smoke coming from the burning car. Rain is driving even faster than before.

"Stop! Stop the car!" I shout at him frantically. "We have to go back. Song Joong Ki. He's..."

But before I can finish my sentence, a familiar black car appears from behind the thick smoke, speeding towards us.

"That answers your question," Rain says, chuckling. "You two seem to have gotten close. You worry about him."

I make a face at him, "Whatever."

I'm such a fool. The burning car isn't Song Joong Ki's. It's of the enemy's. And why am I even worried about him? Shouldn't I be happy if my kidnapper dies?

I feel so stupid. How can I be so sure that the guys who were after us are the bad ones? What if it's the other way around?

Rain slows down and lets the black car go ahead of us.

"Why did you let him get ahead?" I ask.

"He decides where we go next," Rain says.

Is Song Joong Ki his boss or something?

"Can I make a suggestion?" I ask.

"No."

I groan. I'm positively starving! I think they're gonna let me die of starvation.

Something soft hits my head. Rain gave me a burger. Well, more like chucked me a burger. With my state, he could shove one in my mouth and I would still be thankful. I grab the burger immediately, tear the wrapper, and start to eat. I swear burger never tasted this heavenly before.

"There's a bottle of water in the cooler."

I just notice the cooler now. I get the bottle from it. It's not sealed.

"You drank from this before?" I ask.

"I sure did," Rain replies.

I roll my eyes at him but drinks from the bottle nonetheless. This isn't the time to be picky. Not when it's a life and death situation.

I finish eating in about a minute. I'm still starving but at least my stomach tenants are not going to eat my stomach lining anymore. I burp.

Rain chuckles again, "You're hardly lady-like. Very bookish."

I scowl at him. I cannot make the connection.

"I know I'm not prim and proper but despite having good grades, I'm not bookish."

He smirks, "I'm not talking about your intellect. I'm talking about you being exactly what the book says about you."

What the hell is he talking about? I don't recall writing an autobiography since grade school.

I look outside the car window and realize that we are going away from the City. The trees are starting to thicken. I can make out an outline of mountains overhead.

Sometimes, it's better not to get involved in things you don't understand. I remember Hyun Bin telling me this once. I wonder where he is now. Did he report what happened last night to the cops? I hope he's okay.

"Who are those people? The ones chasing after us?" I ask Rain, changing the topic.

He looks at me through the mirror, looking amused but didn't object with the change of subject.

"They are enemies."

"Would you care to elaborate?" I say, putting emphasis on the last word. It's exasperating, being dragged into this mess and not being told anything!

He chuckles again. I grit my teeth. I don't find anything amusing in this entire situation.

"They want you. Not dead but alive. They will use you to get what they want," he explains.

I still don't get it.

"And what exactly do they want?"

"They want what you can offer."

"I don't have a single buck in me, if that's what you mean. I can go to them and negotiate."

Rain laughs this time. He shakes his head, clearly having a good time.

"They don't want your money, not that you have any. They want something more than that."

"Like what?"

"Your ability."

"If they want a piece of my cursed life, they can have it all, if that's even considered an ability. I'm willing to give them all the broken strings of luck that come with my name. That's the only ability I have," I say.

What a life.

"Now don't go all drama queen on me. I don't have a hanky to offer you," he jokes out.

I keep my mouth shut. The black car is still ahead of us. The sun is scorching hot. I wipe my forehead with the back of my hand. My shirt is also drenched. I am positive that the unpleasant smell is coming from me. I tug my shirt closer to my nose to make sure.

"Look, just rest okay?" Rain says after that gloomy pause. "I'll wake you up when we arrive."

Fine. I'm too tired and too hungry anyway.

I remove my seatbelt and close my eyes. Lying down on the seats, I say, "Shoot me in my sleep if you want. Just make it painless."

My eyelids feel heavy. I can feel sleep consuming me fast. In my half-conscious state, I hear Rain talking over his phone.

"She's okay. She's eaten but I know she's still hungry... Don't worry bro. I won't lay a finger on her."

Rain drops the phone. Sweet darkness envelopes me.

In an undertone, he adds, "Well, unless you do."

A/N: Thank you for reading. Please show support by upvoting or commenting. Next chapter will contain a SongSong moment.