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It was probably the only day out of Sehun’s career that he was anxious for work. Instead of heading directly to his office he headed for the publishing department, urged to get a word with Namjoo. Whatever was on her mind, he at least wanted to assure her he wouldn’t be turning her in. Saturday evening it had been obvious that she’d been scared of him. Now that he realized it it wasn’t such a good feeling.

One glance into the office told him she wasn’t at her cubicle. He ended up waiting around hoarded by both awkwardness and embarrassment for lingering there, but he couldn’t leave yet. A trail of office workers flowing in and out of the office shot him curious stares for about an ongoing 15 minutes.

Sehun checked his watch again. There wasn’t much time left till he had to start getting prepared for the day’s first meeting, and it could last for hours. If he didn’t see her now he wouldn’t be able to find her till later. And later was very much likely to be in the evening. Namjoo might already be with Kai then.

Impatience brewed in his blood and he abruptly grabbed a short man with a mustache. “Excuse me, do you know where N…Choonhee is?”

“She took a sick leave today,” he replied before walking on. Concern washed through him.

Sick?

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Safe. Warm. Far away from all the threat in the world. It was good here. Namjoo lay on her side with her back to the door, hidden underneath Choonhee’s thick blanket covered in her own bodily warmth. She didn’t want to leave or step out into the cold at all.

How was she going to face Sehun when she went to work? What if he came looking for her? Worst yet, what if she got arrested at work?

Fearful, she lay there while trying to think up of her next strategy. Right now she was urged to run like a coward, leave her unfinished business behind. But she felt bad. She would feel guilty toward the dead Choonhee, whom she owed nothing to. She would feel ashamed for abandoning someone who wasn’t even alive anymore. But that woman had been her sister and she was the only one who knew how sadly she’d lived.

But how…what kind of justice was she supposed to give her sister? How in the world was she supposed to punish the man that had gotten her pregnant and told her to kill it? What kind of justice could make up for that?

The situation…was complex…too difficult.

There was no law that punished a man for impregnating a woman. Where was Namjoo supposed to find this right?

A knock on the door interrupted her thoughts. It was Auntie Shin. “I brought up some warm tea for you.”

“Just leave it on the table.” Namjoo mumbled and listened to the woman set the tray down then walk out. Once the door softly closed she comfortably sunk back into the pillow.

Why couldn’t she be ill for real? It would give her all the excuse to remain isolated and keep everyone away, because who wanted to contract her virus?

Ridding her thoughts, Namjoo shook her head.

Choonhee had been surrounded by Hayoung, Sehun, Kai, and Tao. They were the closest among her. If she had left Sehun for Kai, did it mean she had stronger feelings for him than for Sehun, who she realized did not love her and she did not love?

“Why don’t you consider telling everyone the truth first?”

Yes, what truth had Sehun been hinting? The ex definitely knew something, and if he knew Choonhee was pregnant…would that also make him a culprit in her death?

Then Kai…could Kai possibly be the father of the unborn child?

Flashes of how intimately and gently he treated her as Choonhee streamed inside her head. The expensive necklace he got just for her, placing Choonhee under his department so he could look over her, and continuously pushing the wedding. Were these signs? Why hadn’t she realized it sooner?

Tao couldn’t be it. He was strong, he was built and was capable of pinning anyone down but his nature wasn’t violent. He was a planner, a quick thinker; he might have helped Choonhee look around for an abortion clinic without realizing, in the exact same way he thought up of the plan to get her closer to Sehun. Be daring.

Could Tao have encouraged Choonhee the same? Go all out, do what you have to because it’s your life. Could Choonhee have thought that the father of her child was more important than the child she was carrying? Could she have made that sacrifice to keep them together? Would she have gone that far?!

Namjoo’s mind raced.

Then Hayoung, what about her? Had she secretly sent Choonhee’s parents out of the country and took her to the clinic, confident that once it was over Choonhee would marry Kai barring Sehun from re-entering her life forever? The so-called friend had loved Sehun for years. Could she have been jealous over the relationship that Choonhee had with Sehun?

What if Hayoung had something to do with Choonhee’s death as well?

The headache in Namjoo’s head soared.

Could they all have hurt Choonhee?

Namjoo didn’t know anymore. What if, based on discovering she was fake Choonhee, Sehun had lied to her that he’d never slept with the twin? He could purposely be deceiving her.

The questions embarked from the back of her head: Were Kai’s warm intentions also a lie? Why did Hayoung want to stick around? Why did the friend replace Choonhee with her? Had she also been lied to?

What was Hayoung after?  

Too many questions.

“Think about one thing at a time, Namjoo!!” she scolded herself. Sitting up she crossed her legs. “Alright, then lets find the father first. I’ll deal with Hayoung and everything else after.”

She turned to glance at the time. It was barely noon. She’d woken up too early. Kai would still be busy at work and wouldn’t have time for her yet. Since she wasn’t quite ready to confront Sehun just yet, she’d counter Kai first. And she had just the plan for it.

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It was 7:00 PM. Namjoo paced around the room listening to the phone ring. At first she was sure she was going to be sent to voicemail, but Kai finally picked up.

“Ah…Kai, it’s me, Choonhee,” Namjoo answered.

“I was wondering if you were ever going to call,” he spoke cheerily, “how are you feeling? Will you be coming in for work tomorrow? It gets kinda dull without someone to have lunch with.”

Choonhee would have loved his flattery, Namjoo thought. “Where are you?”

“I’m still at the office, trying to finish up the work someone, who didn’t come in didn’t do today.” He . 

“I want to see you for a bit. Can I come there?”

“Here? Why? I’m about finished. Have you had dinner yet?”

He wouldn’t be having dinner with her tonight or he wouldn’t want to be eating with her, Namjoo thought.

“No. I’ll come there.”

She heard him snort happily, “Alright. Call me when you do, I’ll come down to get you.”

When he hung up Namjoo was left feeling apologetic. Tonight she was going to kill two birds with one stone. She was going to stop the wedding and she was going to find whether he was the father of Choonhee’s baby.

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No matter how many times he’d declined dinner, Sehun still ended up going due to peer pressure, something he despised the most. Now it was late and he was irritated that he couldn’t have gone to see Namjoo earlier.

The sky was on its way to darkness and the stars were already making their show. In no time the moon would be up. Their side of the world had gotten colder in the blink of an eye. If it started snowing earlier this year how much earlier would Kai get married to Namjoo?

Unsettled, Sehun raced through the street and sped up to Choonhee’s home. He impatiently rung the doorbell and waited for Auntie Shin to let him in. She looked taken aback to see him standing on the steps with his face flushed.

“Is Choonhee home? She’s upstairs, right?” Sehun wondered. Once he saw her, he would clear up everything to let her know he didn’t mean bad.

“No.”

His entire racing mind blanked. He hadn’t expected this.

“Then…where did she go? Isn’t she sick?” he worried.

“She said she was heading out to see Kai…” without waiting for her to finish his body swerved and he ran back to the car, his mind working too fast for his body. The only thing he could think of was the company.

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Alighting from the cab Namjoo stared up at the company, appearing like doom over her. Pulling on Choonhee’s white button down and making sure it was tucked well into her jeans she walked into the building. She didn’t bring along her sister’s cell phone but a few dollars tucked within her pockets. Just if she needed to make a run she needed something on her hands.

She was being rash and foolish. The rest of her entire life would lie in his hands and she’d know from his reaction if he really loved Choonhee or not. If he did, he would doubt her lie. The man would swing into utter denial. And if she didn’t do anything at all, she wouldn’t get anywhere.

Yes, this might be the wrong decision that could bring her total destruction but she needed to save herself as well. And if Kai wanted to call the cops on her tonight, she was ready to run forever. She had enough money to escape Seoul and everything would come after.

Stepping into the elevator Namjoo pressed the button for the third floor and watched the doors close. Tightening her fist she willed herself to become confident. There was no use being a scaredy-cat any longer. She needed to strengthen up and really get her game going or else she’d fall behind Hayoung, and she really didn’t want to lose by going to jail.

Anyway, she couldn’t go back. Sehun already knew about her.

The elevator doors opened and she started down the hallway, walked through the office, and stopped in front of Kai’s office down the corridor. The brass knob tempted her to twist it open and for a long second her hand hovered over it.

She could never see herself marrying a man she didn’t know and barely loved. She admired Kai for his gentleness and swooned over his good looks, but that wasn’t love. It was a fling in the moment that meant nothing to her. Kai, to her, was the men she saw on the streets and eyed from afar. She was thankful to Choonhee for allowing her to bask in the presence of the handsome, but they didn’t belong to her.

It was now or never.    

Kai stood up surprised when the door opened and she walked in. He gave her a once over for her unusual choice of outfit – the top which belonged to Choonhee and the worn jeans were the ones she’d come in the day Hayoung found her. The door gently snapped shut behind her as she stepped forward leveling her head up to meet his gaze.

“I thought I told you to call me down to get you,” he walked out from around his desk, then his lips broke out into a joyous smile at seeing her. “You surprised me.”

In all the pictures Namjoo had seen of Choonhee her hair was always down. As if to purposely destroy that image she’d pulled her hair back messily, just the way she used to. The pull strained her scalp after having left it down and curled so many times, but she was glad because she felt like herself.

“I’m almost done. Are you feeling better? You suddenly called in sick, so I was worried.” In his voice she sensed gentleness and genuine concern.

Namjoo swiftly dodged the hand that reached out to touch her and took a step back. Glancing back at him she saw hurt in his eyes from the rejection but tried to hide it behind the smile he pulled on.   

“Choonhee…”

“No, that’s not me,” Namjoo was quick to cut him off. For a second her eyes flittered elsewhere, unable to witness the way he might look at her. “I’m not Choonhee.”

Very much like Tao he stared at her blankly and nervously broke out into a short laugh. The corner of his mouth worked to pull his lips up but failed to do so. He nearly spoke again but silenced when Namjoo began ing her shirt. His eyes darted up from her hands to her face, his eyes stricken with alarm. Remaining calm as the silence drowned them Namjoo worked on her second button daringly and then her third until the button down was loose enough to fall over her shoulder.

Sliding part of her shirt over her shoulder she bared to him her scar and watched his eyes widen at the sight of it. Those shocked eyes of his jumped back to her face but he said nothing, opposite from what she expected.

“This is why I can’t marry you,” Namjoo spoke quietly, her eyes dead set on him. “You know it, don’t you? She loved you, so she left Sehun believing she would be happy with you but she was scared because of something. What was it? Because she got pregnant?”

Namjoo barely gasped when he suddenly grabbed her arm, gripping hard. She grit down on her teeth to bear the pain and stared determinedly at him. His eyes bulged as they locked with hers. The expression on his face strained. Namjoo thought it was anger she saw then she thought there was denial too.

“You’re wrong,” he softly muttered then growled louder, “you’re wrong!”

“I’m not wrong!” Namjoo deepened her voice fiercely. She was suddenly so sure now that Choonhee had carried this person’s child. “It was yours…the baby…it was yours!”

Namjoo winced when he tugged her forward and felt her head snap back. She almost ended up standing on her toes.

“Are you going to shut your mouth?” he hissed. “Who do you think you are to come here and say this to me?” then he shook her, “You don’t know Choonhee. You don’t know me. Is this why you’re here, Kim Namjoo?”

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The tires of Sehun’s car screeched as he turned into the darkened lot and spotted Kai’s vehicle still there. He knew it.

That fool had come here. Why would she want to see Kai this late at night, somewhere away from the public eye? Did she really…want to marry that guy?

Dashing out of his car he rushed into the building and for once, used the stairs instead of the elevator. He panted hastily, his mind churning crazily.

What was he going to do with her once he took her away from Kai? He needed to find out what her goal was. If it was to marry someone rich…if…

Sehun couldn’t stand his exaggerated thoughts, but he feared that if Namjoo, an orphan, wanted to climb up to wealth she would care less about him.

As he started down the hall he saw that the lights in the publishing department were still on. They were there, in Kai’s office alone, just the two of them. Picking up his pace Sehun darted toward Kai’s office and pushed the door open.

The organ behind his rib cage rampaged against his ribs when he saw Kai pulling Namjoo’s opened button down together and her head turned sideways to glance at him from the corner of her eyes. And he was frightened that he might have come too late.

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“Don’t be a fool,” he whispered. “Would I be the only one who might have done something to her?”

“I’m not stupid,” Namjoo spat, her heart racing wildly. She was scared, but she saw that she was winning it. The anger in his eyes when she said it was his baby, told her so. “You feel guilty.”

His grip tightened on her arm and Namjoo merely yelped. She grew nervous when he drew closer threateningly, “You’re from The Angel House, aren’t you? Your sister got adopted leaving you behind at Namsanwon, so you want to reclaim your place don’t you?”

“No!” she raised her voice angrily.

“Don’t think you can simply point fingers at me. Why don’t you think about your position first?” he said, his eyes now coolly on her as if knowing he held the upper hand this time. His eyes shot toward her scar then back toward her face, “You’re not much different from Choonhee, but you’re a nobody. Another word from you and I can persecute you here and now. You should’ve been more careful.”

Her lips felt tight, her body numb. Namjoo watched his eyes dart toward the door and releasing his grip from her arm, gently rubbed her wounded area before pulling at the collar of her shirt. Kai began adjusting her shirt and buttoning her loose buttons just as the door opened. Slightly turning she noted another tall figure at the doorway and she felt like shrinking.

“Come with me,” a voice hissed, his hand gripping hers as he wheeled her around and out after him. A whizz of freshly cleaned carpet swam up her nostrils and she felt her feet hurriedly moving down a flight of stairs.

She’d messed up.

Maybe this was why Choonhee had been afraid. Kai had ruthless reputable power. He was, after all, a little wealthier than the Lee’s. And he was a man, who in their country, stood at the top.

Cold air blew into her face when they reached the parking lot and still dazed, Namjoo pulled her hand away. There was suddenly no use running. Kai…somehow he knew who she was, and because she opened naively she would pay for it.

“Where do you think you’re going?” a voice stopped her when she turned to walk away.

When he pulled her back Namjoo flung her arm away, screaming, “Don’t touch me!”

Namjoo pursed her lips when she saw him narrow his eyes at her agitated. Why the hell was Sehun here?

***The one time Namjoo bravely does something, it backfires. She's in deep, deep trouble, especially with Kai.