2

There was a long pause where Jong Kook only stared at Sooyeon for a period of time without any reaction, looking for any indication in her face that she was bluffing. Finding none, he found himself laughing out of disbelief instead.

Sooyeon lashes out and grabs the knife next to her plate, “Tell me or you’ll be finding yourself with a knife sticking out of your neck.” She threatened, “And I mean what I say, mister.”

Jong Kook relaxes under her touch. “If you’ll let me go, I'll tell you everything.”

She observes him for a moment before standing away from him, with the knife still in her hand. “You’re fast.” He commented, his hand going to touch his neck where the tip of the knife had nicked him. “You haven’t changed.”

“Answer me.”

“I’m Kim Jong Kook,” he introduces himself. “And you’re Song Ji Hyo.”

“That’s not me. I am not who you think I am.” Sooyeon defends herself, “I’m Cheon Sooyeon. Is that why you kidnapped me? Because you think I’m this Ji Hyo person that you’re talking about?”

“Really?” Jong Kook’s eyebrow raised, “‘Cause the picture on the wall on the way here has your face on it, it was taken years ago, wasn’t it?”

“No, I don’t know.” Sooyeon responds, “I may look like her but I am not her.”

Jong Kook chuckles at her, “Whatever, Ji Hyo-yah.”

Sooyeon twirled the knife in between her fingers and pointed the tip towards him. “I don’t know what you want from me, but I don't know anything.” She said, “I don't have anything.”

“You don’t even know what you’re capable of.”

“I just….” she trailed off, “I just want to go home.”

“You are home.” He answered knowingly. "Welcome home."

“What?” Sooyeon looks at him incredulously, "No, I'm not."

“This is one of your many houses, Ji Hyo-ah.” He said, “But this specific one is your favorite of them all.”

“I don’t… I don’t know what you’re saying.” Her hands went up to her hair to express her disbelief in her current situation.

"Ji Hyo, stop that."

Sooyeon whips her head towards him. "Ji Hyo?!” She scoffed, “That’s not my name! I am Cheon Sooyeon. Are you deaf? How many times do I have to repeat that?”

"That's what you think, Ji Hyo-yah." He said, clasping his hands in front of him and placing it on top of the table. "You've had your own fun, now it's time to go back."

"Back to where? I don't even know you!"

"Enough!" he said with a booming voice. "I don't have time for your jokes."

“Kim Jong Kook-ssi,” Sooyeon calmed herself down and sat down on her chair. “I really don’t know anything.” She said, “Check my ID! My bag, my phone, my laptop. Everything! I am not the woman that you think I am.”

Jongkook looked at her with his viper-like eyes. “Your father was killed, Ji Hyo-yah.” He regretfully reported her the news, whether she was pretending or what, she still needed to know. “We thought you might know, or they’ll be coming for my father.”

“I still don’t know what you want from me, Jong Kook-ssi.”

“You have better connections than I do, Song Ji Hyo.” he said, “You’re not Cheon Sooyeon.” he added, “You came from the long line of the Song clan, even your brothers had strived to continue the legacy of your father.”

“I have brothers?” Sooyeon tilted her head to the side. “Siblings?”

“Joongki and Jaerim are doing well.” He replied, “They had been handling business that you should’ve been handling, if you didn’t run away from all of this.” Jongkook clicked his tongue, “You can’t hide away the fact that this life is made for you. You are the new era of this empire, it’s lonely at the top, my dear.”

Sooyeon looks at him as if he had grown another head. “No, no.” She continuously shakes her head. “What is this?” Letting out a chuckle of disbelief, “Is this some kind of prank?”

“If you say you aren’t the person that I think, you might as well pretend.” Jong Kook replied.

"I'd rather die in my own pool of blood as Cheon Soo Yeon, than live as someone you think I should be." Sooyeon gritted her teeth at him, her knuckles almost turning white from how tight she was holding onto the knife.

Jong Kook sent a mischievous smirk to her way. "That's the thing," he said. "You've already said that before but as Song Ji Hyo."

“Just kill me now.” Sooyeon dejectedly replied, “If that’s what you’re going to do anyway, do it now. No need to prolong this incoming hell that I’m gonna live in.”

“Now, darling, where would be the fun in that?” Jong Kook stood up, loosening his necktie. “You’ll be hearing from me again in a few days, enjoy while it lasts.” He informed her, “There’s been a lot that happened since you left, Ji Hyo. You made your own mess, it’s you that has to clean it up.”

“I still don’t know what you want from me.” Sooyeon stood her ground and walked into the man’s personal space, their eyes shooting daggers at each other.

“I want you to remember,” Jong Kook replied. Sooyeon swears she saw a sudden shift in his eyes when he uttered those words before seeing his eyes go from soft to steel cold. “If you don’t remember who you are, not only our businesses would go down the drain but also the years of connections and the empire that you’ve built and continued to make as your own.”

“What if I never remember?”

“That’s not an option.” He answered, “You are the key to all of this, Song Ji Hyo. You are not allowed to turn your back on the one thing that you’ve been trained and shaped into since you were a kid.”

“How do you know so much about Ji Hyo?” Sooyeon questioned, “I may look like her but it looks like you don’t know her at all, if you’re going to continuously mistake her for me.” She stated, “For all we know, this woman that you’ve talking about is dead.”

“Tell me, Cheon Sooyeon,” He emphasized on her name, mocking her as if it’s funny. “What’s your weakness?”

Sooyeon was taken aback at his sudden question accompanied by his low voice. “It’s…” she trailed off, racking up her brain to look for an answer.

“You shouldn’t have one.” His answer made her eyebrows go to the roof, “You’re Song Ji Hyo, you don’t have weaknesses.”

“Your statement checks my theories correctly,” Sooyeon replied in a low voice to match his. “You don’t really know Ji Hyo, if you think she doesn’t have any weaknesses. Every person has one, no matter how small it is.” She continued, “Tell me, Kim Jong Kook, how far do you really know the person that you mistook her for me?”

“You’re poison, Song Ji Hyo.” Jong Kook concluded. “You think you got the upper hand on this? Just remember, as long as you keep pretending, you won’t return to wherever you came from and the people you left.”

“What are you talking about?

“Somin and Lizzy?” He named a few names, loving the way her eyes widened at him. “Do their names ring a bell?”

“If you hurt even a strand of hair on their head, I don’t know in what way I could forgive you, Kim Jong Kook.” Sooyeon threatened, “First, you kidnap me. Second, you hurt them? I don’t know you but I do know my way around a knife.”

“They’re safe,” Jong Kook promised. “For now.”

“Keep it that way.” She stated, “We don’t want any bloody accidents, do we?”

Jong Kook chuckled at her, “You’re more dumber than I thought. Thinking that you’ll have what it takes to kill me.” He said, stepping into her space further, smirking when she takes a step back and he does it until she’s back to seat, putting his hands on the back of her seat and on the table, caging her in. “Was it really that easy for you to forget me?”

“You need to let me go,” Sooyeon matches the intensity of his gaze. “I’m not her.”

“I’ve done that before,” He replied, “I’m not making the mistake to do it again."

He leaves after that, the man that seemed trustable came in to fetch her. The man introduced himself as Mr. Yoo Jaesuk, stating that she’ll be directed to her new room. Sooyeon tries to get her personal belongings from him but he was just as stone as his employer.  “I am under strict rules, Ms. Song.” Mr. Yoo bowed his head before her. “I’m not allowed to bring back your belongings and you are not allowed to have any contacts from the outside.”

“My job, I have work to do. I have my students waiting for me.” Sooyeon cried out, “It’s bad enough that I’m stuck here, please let me talk to my students.”

“You’re currently unemployed as Cheon Sooyeon, Ms. Song.” Mr. Yoo replied, “I moved things around before taking you here. We don’t want excess baggages when we need you back here, madam.”

Mr. Yoo takes her to her new room, when he opens the door for her, the sight makes her jaw slack. It was surely different from the room that they brought her in. The room screamed rich and luxurious, there was a balcony that showed her the whole view of the ocean. The walk-in closet was too big, from different types of clothes ranging from long gowns to expensive clothing. Her eyes and attention roams around the room, seeing different nooks and crannies everywhere her eyes go.

“Your items and belongings have remained untouched.” Mr. Yoo stated, “The caretakers had made sure it was free from dust and whatever was left, it stayed that way. None of your belongings had been taken, as per Jong Kook-ssi’s orders.”

“Come with me, Mr. Yoo.” Sooyeon beckoned him with a finger, walking towards the glass doors and opened it for them to walk to the balcony. “What’s his deal?”

“Excuse me?”

“Kim Jong Kook-ssi,” Sooyeon replied. “What’s his deal?” She repeated.

“He spent the last five years looking for you, Ji Hyo-ssi,” Mr. Yoo answered, “I do understand that he’s being delirious right now.”

“Do you believe me when I say that I’m Cheon Sooyeon and not this person, Song Ji Hyo?” She asked once again.

His long silence before answering made her confirm his honest answer. “I”m one of the many people that also spent the last five years looking for you, Ji Hyo-ssi. I know a lot of people and memorized their names and faces. Yours is one of a kind, so I know I’m not mistaken when I say that you’re Song Ji Hyo.”

Sooyeon grumbled. “Nothing is making sense,” She responded, her chest being heavy all of the sudden. “You say that everything here is mine, right?”

“Yes, Ji Hyo-ssi.”

“Can I trust you to give me answers to whatever my question is?”

“That depends, Ji Hyo-ssi.” Mr. Yoo took caution carefully, “What would your question be?”

“Who is Song Ji Hyo to Kim Jong Kook?” Her question took him off guard, “And why is he still hung up on her after five years?”

“You two go way back, even before everything that happened.” Mr. Yoo provided answers, “You two were merely kids when I started out at this job, I was an Oppa to you and a Hyung to him.” He said, “The Kim and Song clan are at the top of the food chain, him being the only son and you being the eldest daughter, the jobs and legacy of your fathers automatically falls into your lap.”

“My father died,” Sooyeon stated despite it being Song Ji Hyo’s father, not hers, she doesn’t even know if she has one.

“Yes, we were shocked when we heard the news. My deepest condolences, Ji Hyo-ssi.” Mr. Yoo bowed again in front of her before retreating back to his full height. “He wa a good man with a good heart, Ji Hyo-ah.”

Sooyeon’s eyebrow raised. “Ji Hyo-ah?”