So-dam's mind was in turmoil. She threw away the helmet she was wearing in anger and because she needed to breathe. She felt fear, dismay, sadness and anger all at the same time. Her anger stemmed from her allowing herself to become attracted to a man like Kim Jaejoong who had revealed himself to be a cold-blooded killer! He was a man who killed for money!

 

 

 

 

 

            She stopped running. She was already out of breath. She looked around and realized that she didn't know where she was. But she was now far from Kim Jaejoong!

 

 

 

 

 

            She inspected the area where she found herself. She was in a long road. The houses were few and far in between each other. Although there were a lot of light posts along the road, she felt like the darkness was overpowering the light. Once in a while, a vehicle would pass through. All of them were private vehicles. There wasn't any sign of a taxi or a bus.

 

 

 

 

 

            So-dam suddenly became aware that she had no money. Since Jaejoong brought her to the city, she never had any occasion to use money. Jaejoong and Mr. Cha always provided everything she needed. All she had with her now were the two knives tied to her legs.

 

 

 

 

 

            She was back at the same situation she was in when she decided to escape from her uncle. She had again fled, this time from Kim Jaejoong. The only difference now was that she had become a witness to a crime! Jaejoong's crime! She had watched him kill a man in front of her!

 

 

 

 

 

            She suddenly felt weak. A large rock on the side of the road served as her temporary chair. As she sat on the rock, she began to think and contemplate her situation.

 

 

 

 

 

            What was she going to do? Should she go to the police to report what Jaejoong did? But it would just be her word against his. And if Jaejoong was telling the truth, even if an autopsy would be conducted on the body of Ma Dong Seok, the result of the test would only show that he died from a heart attack.

 

 

 

 

 

            And if she would go to the police, Jaejoong might silence her, kill her!

 

 

 

 

 

            She shivered.

 

 

 

 

 

            "I am so stupid! How could I be so stupid!" she cried to herself. Of all the men, why did she allow herself to get attracted to a man like Kim Jaejoong? She was blinded by his looks and charm. She made herself believe that he was different from the men being forced on her by her uncle. But he was way worse and was even more dangerous!

 

 

 

 

 

            Jaejoong killed people! That was his job! She should have suspected this when she found out he used to be a mercenary. Mercenaries were paid to kill people after all. But what Jaejoong did to Ma Dong-Seok was like an execution. He did it without any regret! Without any emotions! He took the life of someone because he was paid to do so. It was just another job for him!

 

 

 

 

 

            She embraced herself. She felt cold and afraid. She knew she could never go to the police. They couldn't protect her. And she would never go back to her uncle. Where would she go now? Whom would she ask for help?

 

 

 

 

 

 

            She didn't know anyone here in the city except Mr. Cha and Jaejoong. And despite how good and nice Mr. Cha was to her these past few days, she suspected he knew all along what kind of person Jaejoong was. Mr. Cha was Jaejoong's accomplice!

 

 

 

 

 

 

            So-dam suddenly remembered something. It was something Mr. Cha had mentioned while they were talking. Mr. Cha said that he was once Jaejoong's client! That meant Mr. Cha had once paid Jaejoong to kill someone!

 

 

 

 

 

 

            The death of Ma Dong-Seok came back to her mind. Why did Jaejoong show her that? Did he purposely turn her into a witness or an accomplice? The latter seemed to be the answer. He made her an accomplice so she wouldn't leave, so she would become like Mr. Cha!

 

 

 

 

 

 

            So-dam stood up. She needed to get away from here and hide. But where? And who would help her?"

 

 

 

 

 

            She remembered Jinwoo. But if she went to him, Jaejoong would definitely be able to trace her. But she had nowhere to go! She had to believe that Jinwoo would help and hide her from Jaejoong. She just needed a few days to calm herself and think of a plan of escape.

 

 

 

 

 

            She began walking again. She needed to find a taxi. Once the taxi had brought her to Jinwoo's condominium, she would ask the doctor to pay for her cab.

 

 

 

 

 

 

            So-dam took a deep breath and calmed herself. This was just a temporary plan. If this plan failed, then she would have to think of another one. She had to find a way to escape from Kim Jaejoong!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

            She also needed to get on another road where there were more vehicles passing by. She gritted her teeth and forced herself to walk. She had to move and get out of this place.

 

 

 

 

 

 

            She noticed a car coming her way. She blinked. She recognized that car. It was the car rental used by Mr. Cha!

 

 

 

 

 

 

            So-dam was too tired to run. The only choice she had was to hide. And the long grasses near the road were the only thing that could provide her cover!

 

 

 

 

 

            She jumped in the middle of the long grasses and crouched. She prayed that Mr. Cha wouldn't be able to notice her. But was Mr. Cha the one driving or was it Jaejoong? Maybe the two men were both looking for her?

 

 

 

 

 

            She caught her breath when she heard the car stopped near her. She then heard the car door open, followed by footsteps coming near her! So-dam's heart was beating so hard! She took one of the knives tied to her leg. If she was going to die tonight, she would die fighting!

 

 

 

 

 

 

            The light from a flashlight suddenly blinded her!

 

 

 

 

 

 

            "You shouldn't be lying there, So-dam," commented Mr. Cha. He turned the light to another direction. "All over the world, motorists relieve themselves on roadside grasses."

 

 

 

 

 

 

            She jumped up and began patting away dust and grass from her clothes. Mr. Cha started laughing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

            "Let's go back to the car," he said after a while.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

            "No! I am not coming with you!" She pointed her folding knife at him. "I am not going back to the hotel!" she retorted.

 

 

 

 

 

 

            Mr. Cha took a deep breath and shook his head.

 

 

 

 

 

            "Tsk. Tsk. Sometimes, Jaejoong's brutal honesty is very shocking. There are times when I really couldn't understand what he is really up to. Like this situation. I can't for the life of me understand why he had to tell you what he really is by showing you the death of Ma Dong-Seok. Most women we meet and help out never found out he was an enforcer for hire."

 

 

 

 

 

            "You are his accomplice!" she accused him.

 

 

 

 

 

            Mr. Cha's face became grim.

 

 

 

 

 

            "Ma Dong-Seok  is an evil man. He would cheat and take the money of people. Most of his victims were the elderly. He would promise them that their money would earn a lot of interest if they would invest in his company. But it was all a scam to get all of their hard-earned savings and pensions."

 

 

 

 

 

            "That is not reason enough for Jaejoong to kill him. There are laws‑"

 

 

 

 

 

            "The law had always protected him. His victims could never show evidences because they believed and trusted Ma Dong-Seok too much. And because Ma Dong-Seok had all the money, he could pay off not just the police but also the judge that would handle his case."

 

 

 

 

 

            "He only took money, not his victims' lives!"

 

 

 

 

 

            "The life savings of those old people are their lives. A lot of them now faced a life of uncertainty. They have nowhere to go. In a way, Ma Dong-Seok had already killed them since he took everything from them. And he wasn't innocent. He had real blood on his hands because he killed an elderly couple.

 

 

 

 

 

            "These two victims found out where he lived and tried to get back their money. Ma Dong-Seok shot the old man and ran over the old woman with his car. He got away from that crime because he was able to convince everyone that what he did was self defense and the couple was guilty of trespassing."

 

 

 

 

 

            "You are only saying that to protect Jaejoong!" she said suspiciously.

 

 

 

 

 

            Mr. Cha went back to the car. When he came back, he had with him a large brown envelope. He gave So-dam the envelope.

 

 

 

 

 

            "I investigated everything about Ma Dong-Seok and his crimes. I only told Jaejoong about him when I was one hundred percent sure that he was guilty and would never be punished."

 

 

 

 

 

            She hesitated. But Mr. Cha seemed to be telling the truth and So-dam couldn't feel any danger from him. Despite everything, he remained concerned about her. He seemed to be worried about her safety.

 

 

 

 

 

            So-dam took a deep breath and opened the envelope. Mr. Cha positioned the flashlight