Jong kook is normally not a sharer. He typically held things in and moved on. Right now though, he was at a breaking point so things just spilled out of him.

“ I should be on vacation with my parents and maybe my brother and his family. My brother is a surgeon so he does well and I am a private detective and let’s just say cheating husbands rarely take a day off.” He looked at her to see if she was listening. He didn’t know if that even mattered; he just wanted to vent.

“We were solid. My parents are retired and live comfortably. Then my mom got sick seven years ago. She had surgery after surgery and her insurance covered some of it and then my brother had to pay for some and then I had to pay for some. A year later she was okay and remained like that for a while. Then the stupid cancer came up again. At this point our life savings were gone, but we were still okay. My brother took on most of the new bills and it’s not like we could make our father give away his savings no matter how much he wanted to because he is also elderly and can’t work to make it up. But you see..” even recounting their misfortunes made him feel crazy. His mouth ran dry.

“…my brother has a family and his daughters are in private school. He worked harder and continued to help but I couldn’t let him hemorrhage away his money when he has a family to take care of so I took on my mother’s hospital bills. I did okay for a while until the cancer came back for a third time, even more aggressive and started spreading everywhere.” He laughed a dry laugh. “A third time. Three times.” He put up three fingers. He still couldn’t believe his poor mother suffered so much.

“ I just couldn’t keep up. It seemed like a little bandaid cost millions of won, but after each surgery she was getting better so I couldn’t just give up. At this point I am beyond broke and my brother is helping again but he also is getting dangerously close to broke. Then your case came to me. When they made the offer it felt like a miracle. I didn’t even stop to think about the logistics and the why. I was just suppose to find you. That’s it. I did that. It took me two weeks to do so.” Admitting to her that he didn’t even consider her well-being at first was harsh but that was the truth. He only thought of his mother.

“It’s not that it was easy to find you, it’s just that I am very good at my job. I met this guy and delivered my findings. He seemed rich. You know, the type of rich that intimidates. He noticed my stature and figured I would be the perfect man for this job. He made me an offer I could not refuse. The money he offered to find you was generous but nothing compared to 6.5 billion.” He didn’t know if he was telling her all this to make her understand his side. He didn’t know why he cared.

Hearing the details of how she ended up in this mess made her feel removed from the situation. It was almost like he was talking about a distant story. This man did not care about her well-being. He had his reasons and they were important enough for him to do such a heinous act like this so she needed to rescue herself. She didn’t say anything and allowed him to talk. She listened as he spoke a million miles an hour. It was as if he needed to get everything out before he ran out of time.

“ So here I am. I am way in over my head. I just wanted to help my mom finish up her surgeries and retire in peace. I wanted to help my family get back on their feet. Now I’m stuck in this mess that would absolutely destroy my mom if she knew and I don’t know how to get out of it.” Okay maybe he was shedding a few angry tears. Terrible people do terrible things all the time and they don’t have to worry about any of this . He just wanted to do something bad once for a good cause and here he was being attacked by his conscious like he had committed murder or something. Well, you might as well have. It was now hitting him that they might seriously hurt Ji Hyo and maybe he knew that all along and chose to play dumb. What kind of person does that make him?

She didn’t know what to say. She felt terrible for him and his family but she also didn’t want to die. “I’m sorry about your mom. It must be hard.” The car was silent for a moment. “But it’s also not right to kidnap me…or anyone else. You don’t even realize what kind of danger you’ve put me in. My family must be worried sick.” She looked at him and watched as he wiped something off his face.

He slammed his hand on the steering wheel, angry at himself and the situation. “Would you not have done the same for your mother?” He asked looking directly in her eyes. she had pretty eyes and they looked terrified right now.

“Are you asking if I would