Natalie’s POV:

The hospital doors automatically slid open for me as I approached it. I lightly nodded at the few nurses that greeted me before signing in and began making my way towards my grandfather’s room. The steamy aroma of the homemade seawood soup that I had especially made for my grandfather made my stomach rumble viciously, but I wouldn't allow myself to eat until after I fed him.

I opened the door to be greeted coldly by an empty, unmade bed.

On top of the messy sheets was a note that read:

If you want to save your grandfather’s life, come to the address written below.

"No..."

I quickly ran back outside and flagged down a taxicab—knowing exactly that I had no time to make it back to my car. Nervous and jittery, I began stumbling over my words as I read the address to driver, pleading him to drive as fast as he possibly could because it was extremely urgent. He nodded understandingly as he backed out of the parking lot and began making his way to the destination.

As soon as the car stopped, I hastily threw the money I owed into the driver’s palm and busted outside. Once the cab left, I immediately made my way towards the port—noticing that it was the same one that Yongguk and I had been to on the night we left to Jeju Island.

A few yards away from dry land was a boat—floating aimlessly on the calm waters. On top of the boat stood Jin. A few of his men stood on the side of the boat, holding a black nylon bag a few inches over the water.

I knew that in the bag, was none other than my grandfather.

“We meet again, Natalie,” Jin greeted as he removed his mask—revealing the extremely familar inhumane smirk on his face.

Immediately, the horrific image flashed back into my mind once again when I realized that I had seen him before.

A tall man stood across from me. Although it was difficult to see his facial features because I was blinded by my tears, I was able to catch a glimpse of him before we left.

He was dressed in black and white—just like everyone else around me.

Probably just a family friend, I thought.

But I was wrong.

When they lowered my parents’ casket into the ground, the first thing I noticed was the smirk that slowly grew on that man’s lips before he turned and left the scene.

“You better hurry and come over here if you want to save your grandfather,” he threatened as he nodded towards his men—signaling them to lower the bag. Now, it was only a few centimeters above water—maybe even touching already.

“NO! STOP! I’LL COME OVER!” I cried in extreme fear as I slowly began making my way closer to the water. Now, I was only a few inches away from falling into the wretched sea.

“Good girl,” Jin cackled immorally before he pulled out a gun and pointed it at me.

“Now, when you see your parents in hell, tell them I said hello.”

Before I could even think about moving out of the way, he pulled the trigger—sending a loud gunshot to echo throughout the desolate area. I felt myself being knocked over by something and before I knew it, I was lying on the ground with something extremely heavy on top of me.

I opened my eyes to find Yongguk hovering over me. He placed a finger over his lips and creased his brows—signaling me to stay quiet.

“WHO ARE YOU?!” Jin bellowed before he aiming the gun at Yongguk and began firing at him without control. “SHOW YOUR ING FACE!”

I could hear the bullets crisply cutting through the air as it flew towards us. The ones that missed us went straight into the buildings that stood behind us—creating large cracks and dents in the walls. Yongguk swiftly helped me up and dragged me behind him as he began to flee from the scene.

“GO AFTER THEM!” I could hear Jin commanding angrily as his men quickly jumped off the boat and treaded towards dry land.

 “LET GO OF ME! I CAN’T LEAVE MY GRANDFATHER BEHIND!” I began to wail at Yongguk, struggling to escape his tight grasp around my arm—which only made him tighten it even more. Through the physical quarrel, our speed began to deteriorate—allowing the men behind us to gradually catch up.

“SHUT THE HELL UP AND RUN!” he ordered, frustrated, as he completely ignored my request and continued to forcefully pull me behind him.

I felt myself fuming in animosity and misery at the same—wondering how it was possible for Yongguk to be so goddamn inconsiderate at a time like this. With no choice remaining, I grabbed ahold of his hand and sank my teeth into it as hard as I could, causing him to release me as he recoiled his arm in pain.

On extreme impulse, I found my palm colliding against his cheek as a loud slap rang out between us. I immediately felt guilty when Yongguk looked at me with an extremely hurt gaze.

“HOW COULD YOU BE SO ING SELFISH?! MY GRANDFATHER IS ABOUT TO DIE AND ALL YOU ING CARE ABOUT IS ME!” I screeched at him as tears began to spill uncontrollably down my face.

I knew it wasn’t his fault. I knew that he was only trying to protect me. I knew that it was something neither of us could control. But at the moment, I couldn’t help but to hate him for forcing me to choose between my grandfather’s life and my own.

Behind us, I could hear loud voices approaching us.

Jin’s men were coming closer.

“Forgive me, Natalie,” he whispered before abruptly spinning me around.

I felt a sharp pain at the back of my neck before I completely out.

I awoke to find myself in Yongguk’s arms.

After a few seconds of observing my surroundings, I recognized that we were both in my parents’ hidden room in the basement. I turned back around to find Yongguk fast asleep—his breath soft and consistent.

It was then that a wave of anguish washed over me when I realized that my grandfather was gone. Tears began to roll down my face as I sobbed uncontrollably, unintentionally causing Yongguk to stir out of his sleep.

He then suddenly pulled me into a hug.

“Shhh, don’t worry.  Your grandfather is safe,” he whispered reassuringly.

I broke away and looked at him.

“What....?”

“Earlier, I had switched his body with a corpse at the hospital before they placed it into the bag. After all the guys left, I had your grandpa transferred to another hospital in Jeju Island, so everything will be fine, okay?” he reassured comfortingly.

Relief washed over me only to be replaced by guilt when I was reminded of my remorseful actions towards Yongguk from earlier.

“I’m so sorry, Yongguk. I really didn’t mean to hurt you back there, I was just so—“

“Ani, it’s fine love. I understand,” he hushed as he embraced me once again—resting his chin onto the crook of my neck. “I had a talk with Jin. I asked him if I could leave the gang…”

“What’d he say?”

“He said I could leave, but only after all the examinations are done. I’m guessing that one of the examinations took place today… But either way, it’s not safe here anymore, Natalie. We’re going to leave to Jeju Island tomorrow okay?”

“But… What'll happen if Jin finds out that you left without his permission?
 

“It doesn’t matter. I don’t want your life to be in danger anymore, Nat. Meet me at the port at exactly 4AM sharp tomorrow morning, alright? Bring everything you’ll ever need with you—because we’re not coming back to Gangnam. It’s time that we completely leave everything behind us.”