A mad laughter ringing in my ears, injected with loud cracks of gunshots. Black tattoos against red blood. His smile stretched across his face as he threw his head back and laughed. The clatter of guns falling to the ground. Shouts of pain. The mad laughter continues.

My eyelids fluttered open to find a pair of wide chocolate-brown eyes staring back at me. The owner jumped out of his seat with a yelp. “You scared me!” One hand on his chest, he inched closer to me. “Are you feeling better?” He was barely more than a tall, lanky youth with blonde hair. I studied the kid for a moment. He had wide eyes, giving him an innocent look.

He definitely did not seem like a threat.

He pursed his lips when I didn’t answer him. “Can you hear me?”

Ignoring him, I surveyed the room. What is this place? It looked like a bedroom, with a wooden bedside table and a wardrobe standing against the plain cement walls. I must be lying on the bed.

There was a gentle knock on the door and another man peered in. “Is she awake?”  Before the kid could answer, I tried to sit up. The kid hastily tried to help me up. Inwardly, I smiled. He was kind of cute, actually.

“How are you feeling?” The other man asked. “Do you remember anything?”

I nodded slowly. “I remember passing out. Where is this place?”

He exchanged a look with the younger guy and answered, “You should talk to Jongup first. He was the one who bought you here.”

The person who bought me here?

As if on cue, the door opened again. Electric blue hair, hands laden with black tattoos. Maniacal laughter echoes in the street. His sharp eyes sought out mine immediately. That’s…

“Do you guys mind if we have some alone time?” His voice was soft but there was a hint of firmness in his tone. The elder man shrugged, and headed for the door, the kid following behind.

Only when we were alone and the door had closed then did he saunter to the bedside and sat down. I stared at him, my breathing slightly ragged. I remembered him all right. He was the one in the alley that night.

I took a deep breath. “What do you want in return for saving me?”

The edges of his lips curled up slightly. “You’re fast to catch on.”

“There isn’t such a thing as a free lunch in this world.” I could feel cold sweat running down my back. This man was dangerous. “Eventually there would be a price to pay.”

His smile only got wider. “What price are you willing to pay?” His eyes seem to drill into the depths of my soul. I shuddered. Before I could answer, he spoke again. “Let me tell you a story.”

“There was a young lady who worked as a secret agent for the government. After years of hard training, it seemed that the fruits of her labor are finally ripe. She got promoted quickly with several successful missions in a row.” Jongup sat back and crossed his legs, eyes still fixed on mine. “When she thought life couldn’t get any sweeter, her boyfriend and colleague, proposed to her.”

My hands started to tremble. “Stop.”

Needless to say, he ignored me. “But then one day when she was working on a new case, she came across files she shouldn’t have opened. The next day, her world changed.” He leaned closer to me, his eyes still fixed on mine. “Her boyfriend was found murdered in his apartment. She was blamed for the murder along with charges of treason. A wanted criminal, her former colleagues pursued her across the country. Even though she ran, they rooted her out from every hiding place.”

I clenched my hand into fists as he continued. “Wrongly accused, losing everything within a day. What would this lady do now?”

“Who are you?” I whispered.

Jongup smirked. “Let’s just say I had a veiled interest in you for a while now.” He gently caressed my face with a tattooed hand. “I have a proposal to make,” he murmured. “I can help you get the revenge you desire. I can give you a chance for another life.”

“At what price?” My heart was in my throat. A day ago, I thought that everything had ended for me. But now here, this man was offering me what I had only dreamt of.

He lightly brushed his thumb over my lips. “Become mine. Your body, your soul. Your life. Give it up to me.” He regarded me with amused eyes. “There isn’t anything else you have to lose.”

He was right. I have nothing to lose.

“I accept.”