[C h a p t e r 2 7]

- Ten Years Ago -

It was morning when Josephine woke, the room bathed in an orange glow by the light that filtered in through the cream coloured curtains. She groaned slightly, her hand going to her head as she felt her mind reel from the after-effects of the chloroform. Sunmi suddenly stirred from her spot by Josephine, glancing around wildly as she tried to collect her thoughts. She then realised that Josephine was awake and she rose up on her knees, peering down at the girl with concern.

“Are you alright, Miss?” she asked in a gentle voice. After hearing the screams last night, she knew the girl was in a fragile state of mind.

“Where… am I?” asked Josephine, peering around at her unfamiliar surroundings.

Sunmi smiled down at the girl, moving in to gently her hair but Josephine immediately pulled away from the woman with a frown. She seemed a little surprised by the girl’s reaction but nevertheless continued to smile. “You are at Lee Soo Man’s mansion, Miss,” she replied.

“… Lee Soo Man?” repeated Josephine, confused. She then remembered some of what had happened last night. She sat up straight, her eyes wide in panic as she clutched the bed sheets tightly. “I didn’t do it… No… I can’t stay here… I can’t…”

Sunmi peered at Josephine confused, wondering what the girl was mumbling about. She knew that now the girl was awake, she would have to take her to see Lee Soo Man but Josephine didn’t seem to be in the right state of mind. “Miss… Are you alright?” she asked, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder.

Josephine immediately shrugged the woman’s hand off, jumping over to the end of the bed. “Don’t touch me!” she shouted, glaring at the woman angrily. Sunmi continued to look at her puzzled, before jumping to her feet as Josephine suddenly bolted for the door, as fast as lightning.

“Miss! Miss, where are you going?” she shouted, running after Josephine in the corridor outside. The other maids and servants stirred from their tasks, watching in bewilderment as the head housekeeper chased after the scruffy girl. Josephine, realising that Sunmi was not going to give up chase anytime soon, began throwing anything she could find into the older woman’s path.

“Miss!” shouted Sunmi in surprise as she narrowly dodged a flying vase. She continued after Josephine, who then pulled a hall table over. “Miss! Please stop destroying the mansion!”

They continued to run around for a while, Josephine unable to find her way out of the big maze. She soon came to a stop, however, when someone suddenly stepped out in front her and picked her up into a bear hug. Sunmi soon arrived, panting from the exercise.

“Thanks Kris … No one… wanted… to… help… me…” huffed the old woman.

Kris smiled down at Sunmi as Josephine struggled against him. “Yeah, most would probably want to stay away from this little tornado, but thanks anyway, Sunmi.” He then hefted Josephine up onto his shoulder as he proceeded down the hallway.

“Let go of me!” shouted Josephine as she pounded her fists angrily against Kris’s back.

Kris chuckled. “Keep up with the great massage, Josephine. I think you made me pull a muscle or two when we were running away last night.” He began walking up a staircase.

Josephine stopped her pounding, turning to glare as best she could at the back of Kris’s head. “Let go of me this instant, Kris. I cannot stay here.”

“Ooh… I’m so scared,” mocked Kris, waving his free hand in the air. He then reached the top of the stairs and was about to turn right when Josephine suddenly began pulling on his hair. “Ow, ow, ow, ow!” he shouted, trying to untangle Josephine’s hands from his hair. “Stop pulling my hair!”

“Not until you let me go!” shouted Josephine back at him. They continued to spin around on the spot, Josephine pulling Kris’s hair while he tried to pull her hands.

Suddenly, a door further down to their left suddenly opened and Key angrily emerged from within, still dressed in his blue satin pyjamas. “What the hell is going on here?” he shouted at the pair, both immediately stopping their fight as they turned to look at who had interrupted them.

Kris then smiled brightly at Key, bowing his head slightly. “Master Key kibum. A ‘Good Morning’ to you, too. I am just carrying out Master’s orders from last night to bring Josephine to him as soon as she was awake.”

Key continued to glare at them, before retreating back into his room, the sound of his door closing echoing loudly. Josephine felt Kris shrug under her and he turned to continue down into the right hallway.

“What does this “Lee” guy want with me so much?” snapped Josephine, coming to the conclusion that Kris was never going to let her go.

Again, Josephine felt Kris shrug under her. “Beats me. But we’ll soon find out, won’t we?”

They soon arrived at the end of the hallway and Kris placed Josephine onto the floor, gripping her shoulder tightly as he felt her try to run away again. Knocking on the door, they heard the voice of Lee Soo Man permitting them to enter and Kris opened the door, shoving Josephine into the room.

Josephine glanced around at the large office, the walls adorned with shelves upon shelves of books, files and folders. It was decorated in the style of late 17th century Europe, the roof painted white and green wallpaper peeking out around the shelves. Lee Soo Man sat behind his antique mahogany desk, a window at his back sporting a view of the extensive grounds of the mansion outside. He continued to sit behind his desk scribbling across a piece of paper, not looking up once as Kris steered Josephine into a seat before him. She was surprised to see that he seemed to be working so early in the morning.

The sound of Lee Soo Man’s pen scratching across the document was the only sound in the room, apart from the ticking of a golden skeleton clock, the gears within clicking quietly as the seconds crawled by. After exhausting her interest in the clock ten minutes later, Josephine glanced back up at Lee Soo Man to see that he was still busily studying the documents before him. About to say something, Josephine noticed Kris shake his head slightly, indicating that she should continue to remain quiet and wait for Lee Soo Man to finish what he was doing. Glancing back one more time at the Syndicate leader, she then crossed her arms, leaning back against her chair to glare at her surroundings.

She didn’t know what was wrong with this old man. Why was he making her wait? He was the one who wanted to see her, right? Shouldn’t he just stop that incessant scratching and finally get on with whatever it was that he wanted? And why was she even waiting for him? She didn’t want to be here and she knew she should get as far away as possible from this strange place, lest they decide to turn her in to the police.

Deciding that she’d truly had enough of this waiting game, Josephine stood up and turned to leave. Kris was about to step forward and bring her back when Lee Soo Man finally stopped writing and put his pen down. Josephine came to a stop just as she reached the back of her chair.

“So that is the limit of your patience, Josephine Liu,” he said in a calm voice. Josephine turned around to see that he was now staring at her. He turned to glance at the clock on his desk. “Twenty-two minutes. Not bad for a fourteen year old.”

Josephine suddenly looked shocked to hear that the man knew her age. A small smile spread across Lee Soo Man’s face.

“You seem surprised. It really isn’t unusual for a man in my position to have access to this kind of information.” He then pressed a button on the intercom beside him. “Bring up a pot of tea along with some morning snacks,” he ordered before returning to look at Josephine, indicating the seat she had just vacated. “Return to your seat. We can have proper breakfast after our conversation.”

Josephine continued to study Lee Soo Man through suspicious eyes, wondering how much the old man really did know about her. The possibility that he knew who truly killed her stepfather was slim, yet Josephine could not ignore it and that was what frightened her the most. She began to analyse her surroundings, hoping to find a possible means of escape if he really did know.

Lee Soo Man seemed to know what Josephine was thinking and he smiled knowingly. “Is there something you’re afraid of me knowing, Josephine Liu? Or are you afraid that I am going to hand you over to the police after sheltering you for the whole night?”

His second question seemed to ignite a spark of curiosity in her and she returned to the chair. In order to avert attention from the first, Josephine suddenly asked, “Why aren’t you handing me over to the police? You… you know what I did…” Her voice trailed off as she began to grow agitated again, remembering herself her unforgivable crime.

Fearing that Josephine would perhaps collapse into another tantrum, Lee Soo Man hurriedly assured her. “Killing a bad person isn’t such a bad thing,  Josephine. He was out to hurt you. You did the most logical thing in trying to stop him, and it just so happens that killing the man was the right thing to do.”

Josephine peered up at Lee Soo Man, confusion in her eyes. Their eyes connected for a second and she wasn’t able to fathom out what the older man was thinking. She averted her gaze, chewing her bottom lip as she thought over his words. True, those two men she killed were out to hurt her, but was it truly alright? Was she right in cutting their lives short, extinguishing their pitiful existence from this world?

A knock on the door sounded and a maid entered, carrying a pot of tea and three mugs, along with a platter of sweet and savoury croissants on a silver tray. She gently laid these out on the desk before bowing slightly as she left.

“Come join us, Kris,” said Lee Soo Man, waving the man over. Kris bowed, moving to lift a chair over to Josephine’s side.

“Thankyou, Master Lee,” said Kris in a respectful voice. Josephine glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. It was the most reserved she had seen him yet.

Josephine turned her attention back to the delicacies before her, the aroma of the warm croissants wafting up to make water. She suddenly realised that it had been close to nearly twenty-four hours since she had last eaten anything.

Lee Soo Man noticed the way Josephine was staring at the food and he couldn’t help but chuckle slightly. “Feel free to eat as much as you want,  Josephine. There’s more if you want them.”

Josephine glanced up at Lee Soo Man suspiciously before returning her gaze down at the croissants before her. The aroma was becoming hard to resist and before long, Josephine caved in to her growing hunger pangs. She picked up a plain croissant and stuffed it into hungrily. Lee Soo Man began pouring her some tea with a smile as she took another into .

“It seems you have worked up quite an appetite,  Josephine Liu. Care to tell us how you managed to achieve it?” he asked.

Josephine stopped midway through biting a chocolate croissant, the look in her eyes suddenly growing distant. She then finished off the croissant, but with a little less vigour than before. Wiping her hands on a serviette, she then took the tea Lee Soo Man had offered her.

Both Kris and Lee Soo Man continued to stare at her, expecting Josephine to reveal her story to them any minute. Yet she continued to sit there, staring into her mug as she waited for the liquid to cool before gently sipping the warm contents. The two men then exchanged a small glance with one another, before turning back to stare at Josephine, wondering how they could earn the girl’s trust enough so that she would confide in them.

Kris suddenly placed a hand on Josephine’s shoulder, startling her out from the depths of her mind. “Josephine… it’s okay if you don’t want to tell us anything yet. But believe me when I say this: we are on your side. No matter what it is, we will try to help you. Don’t try to shoulder the world’s problems by yourself.”

Even though Josephine did not look up to meet Kris’s gaze, her grip on her mug visibly tighten and he took it as a sign that she had at least heard what he’d said. Letting out a small sigh, he then took one of the croissants from the plate. “Have another one of these, Josephine,” he said as he took a bite out of the one he had. “They’re as good as always.”

Josephine didn’t move, still clenching her mug tightly. Then she spoke. “I… I found out that… my… my mother’s murderer… was released from jail yesterday after her gang interfered with the case.”

Kris and Lee Soo Man shared another glance of surprise, before turning back to Josephine.'' oh.., the woman who was charged with the murders of two men and was released yesterday because there was not enough evidence?”

“It was three murders,” said Josephine in a deadly voice, her hands shaking slightly from the tight grip she had on her mug.

“Three?” repeated Kris.

Josephine turned to glare at Kris with all the hate and anger she felt towards the woman in her eyes. “Yes, three. The killed my mother while she was in jail but her death was never publicised. Perhaps the authorities were too embarrassed about it happening right under their stinking noses.”

Kris seemed shocked at the strength of Josephine’s anger yet Lee Soo Man appeared unfazed by it all. Instead, he seemed to be faintly pleased about it. “Your mother was sent to jail because she accidentally killed your stepfather while he attempted to you. Is that right, Josephine?”

Josephine turned to glare at Lee Soo Man, still burning with rage. “My mother was innocent! She would never even hurt a fly, let alone kill a bastard of man like him! She didn’t deserve to die the way she did! It was all my fault! I was the one who killed him, not her!” shouted Josephine, standing up out of the chair as she dropped the mug to the floor.

As soon as it crashed, Josephine suddenly realised that she had let slip the very secret she had kept hidden for all these years. Her eyes grew wide in panic as she glanced between the two men, turning to bolt for the door. She only made it several steps when Kris managed to catch her, gripping her arms tightly as he tried to pull her back to her chair.

“Let go of me! Let go of me!” shouted Josephine, struggling valiantly against the bigger man. Yet Kris managed to force her back into the chair.

“We aren’t done with you yet, Josephine,” said Kris, holding her down as tightly as he could in the chair.

They continued to struggle with one another until Lee Soo Man suddenly slammed his hands on the desk. Josephine immediately stopped, peering past Kris to see that the older man had stood. Slowly, Lee Soo Man strolled around the desk, coming to stand beside Josephine. He then crouched down next to her, patting her head with a gentle smile.

“How much longer will you continue to run away, Josephine? The past isn’t something you can hide from, now is it?” Josephine suddenly began to grow nervous at the way Lee Soo Man seemed to be studying her without looking into her eyes. He suddenly stopped her head, his hand going to her chin to turn her face to his. “What if I give you a way to defeat your past? A way to ease the guilt, to ease the pain of killing someone. What if I give you the means to eradicate the woman you despise so much, the woman who took away your beloved mother? What do you think about that, Josephine?”

A glow seemed to emanate from within Lee Soo Man’s eyes, a kind of intense passion that Josephine found somewhat fearsome. Yet the promises he said in that quiet voice of his seemed to stir some dark desire for revenge within her, to no longer feel the guilt of being the one who killed those men. She wanted forget everything in her past and here was a man who offered to do just that. It seemed too good to be true.

“What’s the catch?” asked Josephine suddenly. Lee Soo Man grinned.

“The catch…? There’s none, really. All you have to do is come live here with me, as a member of the Syndicate. Throw away everything that was once  Josephine  and start life anew. I will train you to forget everything you want to forget.”

Josephine continued to stare back at Lee Soo Man, unable to move her face away from those intense eyes due to the grip Lee Soo Man had on her chin. A troubled feeling gnawed at the pit of her stomach at what Lee Soo Man’s words entailed but she ignored it, steeling her gaze to meet his. She swallowed the salvia in before saying, “Fine. I accept. Teach me to forget the pain of killing someone.”

Grinning triumphantly, Lee Soo Man then released her chin, returning to pat her head. “That’s a good girl. You won’t regret the decision you made today, I assure you.”

Kris had been holding Josephine down in the chair all this time, only now just releasing her. He glanced between the two, an uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach. Looking back at Josephine, he wondered whether the girl had done the right thing in accepting Lee Soo Man’s proposal. He wondered whether she had even understood the details of what the boss was implying; that he was going to train her to be an assassin. But there was nothing anyone could do now. Her fate was set.

tbc.

That was a longer chapter than most of the others ; So this was what I meant by 'Josephine's decision', lol. Were the reasons for her decision strong enough? I have a tendancy to overthink the small details,

Next Chapter: Back to the present - Dawn reappears...