Dara was walking along a narrow corridor lined up with doors on both sides.  She heard someone calling for help but she doesn’t know where it’s coming from.  She kept on walking, leaning close to each door that she passes, hoping to figure out where the voice is from.  “Help!  Please, somebody help me!”  The voice is getting clearer now.  Dara was certain that it’s a man’s voice.  Her eyes went straight to the last door on the right; she was running now.  “Aaaaahhh anybody out there, please help!”  she heard the voice again when she leaned on the door.  Dara opened it quickly and there was a man lying on his side, with his back facing Dara.  He had that familiar blonde hair.  Dara ran to him, but as she held him, the man turned to his side and pointed a gun at her. 

BANG!

__________________________

Dara woke up and sat up; she was breathing so hard and sweating a lot.  Her dream felt so real that she was gasping for air. 

“Dara, are you okay?  Relax babe, it was just a dream.”  TOP immediately sat beside her on the bed and put his arms around her.  He wiped the sweat on Dara’s face and tucked the hair that fell on her face to her ears.  He cupped Dara’s face in his hands.

“Babe, talk to me.  Everything’s okay now.”

“What happened?  Why am I here?”  Dara looked around her, and it just dawned on her that she was at the hospital.  She immediately touched her body everywhere, looking for the spot where she was shot.  She was certain that she heard a gunshot.

“Babe, please relax.  You just passed out back at Banghwa-dong.  When I got there with the police, you fell unconscious.  The doctor said you were exhausted, you had a long night and you haven’t eaten anything.  So please, stop worrying now and just rest.  I will get you something to eat.”  TOP tried to comfort his girlfriend.  He had been so worried about her.  Just seeing her on that hospital bed was so painful for him to watch.  He has never seen his girlfriend that weak.  She has always been so bubbly, happy and appreciative of the things around her.  Since they arrived at the hospital, he has not left Dara’s side, just there sitting beside the bed, waiting for her to wake up.

“I’m sure I heard a gunshot.  Where is the boy, and the girl who was with him?  Are they alright?”  Dara didn’t seem to notice the worry in his boyfriend’s expression.

“The guy is in the other room, recuperating.  He was shot by one of those men.  And the girl is there with him, watching him.  Who are those people?  Why were you with them?  When the police got there, they were confused because they have been looking for that man too; but he looked like he was being threatened by those other guys.  Do you know those people?  And did anyone of them hurt you?  ‘Cause if they did, I swear I won’t let any one of them see the light of day.”

TOP still could not figure out why Dara was in such a place.  He has heard from the police that the guy who was shot earlier was the suspect in the robbery of the convenience store near Dara’s workplace. 

“How about the other men?  Did the police catch them?”  Dara still kept on asking questions.  She’s feeling dizzy again as she starts recalling the events that happened.

“Yes, all of them were brought to prison and are being investigated.  The police identified that other guy though and he was supposed to be brought to the prison too but he got shot.  But after he has recovered, he will also be brought in for investigation.”

“Babe, you don’t have to worry about anything now.  You should think of your own condition; it’s me who’s supposed to be worried-sick about you.”  Though he also has a lot of questions, TOP wanted Dara to rest first and just start asking when she is really okay.  But his girlfriend was so preoccupied; she couldn’t relax.

“No no, don’t bring him to the police.  He didn’t do anything wrong.”  Dara’s look of concern, like almost pleading, worried TOP.  She was tugging at TOP’s polo now, making sure that her boyfriend understands.

“Babe, he robbed a convenience store, almost killed someone with his gun, and most of all, kidnapped you.  I can’t forgive that.  I don’t even want to think about what else could’ve happened to you back there, with all those men carrying guns too.  One of them even looked like he was about to swallow you alive.”

“But we shouldn’t be talking about these things now.  I have already talked to the chief of police in the area.  He is a friend of my father.  I told him to take care of everything; he’ll make sure all of them answer to what they did.”  His girlfriend’s persistence is now getting to his head.  He just wants her to rest, but she’s worrying about so many things now.

“No, please Jagiya listen to me.  Yes he kidnapped me; but he had a reason for that.  He was just trying to save that girl.  I don’t know what happened, but I’m sure he robbed the store to give ransom to those guys.  I heard him on the phone; he just wanted to save the girl.  He let me go after dropping the ransom, but I had to drive him to that place because he was wounded.  Then those men arrived and I was afraid they will kill the two; that’s why I told you to call the police.”

“Honey, please you have to do something.  He did not hurt me, did he?  That just means he really had no intention of hurting me.  He just wanted to save the girl.”

“Okay, okay…I’ll tell the Chief about it.  Stop worrying.  You should just eat; you haven’t eaten anything since lunch yesterday.  What do you want?  I’ll get it for you.  Anything, just tell me.  You want Peppero?”

 TOP had to reassure Dara that he’ll talk to the police, if that’s the only way to make her relax.  He has not talked to that guy because he was badly hurt, and the girl with him just wouldn’t leave his side too.  As much as he just wanted this day to end, and think about Dara going home healthy, he now has to concern himself of those two because his girlfriend was so worried.

TOP was finally able to convince Dara to eat, telling her that she can go home later in the day if the doctor finds that she’s well enough.  He was able to find out what happened during the time that she was gone, and had to stop himself from hitting something whenever he hears the words “guns, pointed, shouted.”  He just couldn’t imagine his girlfriend being in such scary situation while he was busy preparing for some surprise.  Now that he heard the story, he felt mad at himself for being so preoccupied with his preparations.  Had he just thought of picking up Dara from her office, she couldn’t have been harmed.

After consultation with the doctor, Dara was allowed to go home that night. 

“TOP honey, before we go can I just talk to those two?  I feel sorry; he got shot because of me…because I told you to call the police.”

“Babe, stop thinking that it was your fault.  You were the victim there, and you just did the right thing.  In fact, it’s him that should be sorry to you for bringing you in that mess.  You could have been the one who got shot.  But if it makes you feel better, you can go and talk to them.  I will just wait here; call me when you need me.”  TOP brushed the back of his hand on Dara’s face and kissed the top of her head.  He smiled at her with a look of concern, before letting her go inside.

_____________________________

Dara knocked on the door and the girl she saw that night opened it.  The girl instantly recognized Dara and let her in without hesitations.  She offered Dara a seat.

“Miss, how are you feeling?  I am so sorry for what happened.”  The girl immediately apologized to Dara, knowing that Dara was also admitted in the hospital.

Dara ignored her apologies and offered her hand, “My name is Sandara, Sandara Park.  What is your name?”  She gave her a friendly smile, hoping that the girl would understand that she was not there to complain.  The girl took Dara’s hand and smiled shyly.  “I am Lee Chaerin.  Nice to meet you, Ms. Sandara Park.”

Dara averted her eyes to the guy behind, who was lying on the bed, sleeping.  She then gave Chaerin a questioning look.  “Oh, and that is Kwon Jiyong,” Chaerin told her.

“Is he your boyfriend?”

Chaerin was a bit taken back by the question, her eyes darting immediately to him, worried that he’s awake and listening.  “Oh no, no…he is my childhood friend.”  She gave a shy laugh.  “I am 21 years old, and Oppa is 24.  We grew up together.”

Dara nodded while glancing at the boy, and continued to ask.  “I hope you don’t mind me asking but what happened to you back there?  Why were you kidnapped by those men?”  Chaerin hesitated before answering.  “I am only telling you this Unnie (Older sister) because you helped us last night, but I hope you don’t mention this to anyone, especially the police.  I’m just hoping that everything will be settled from now on.”

“Yes sure.  I hope you don’t mind me prying, I’m just curious.  You both are so young, I’m wondering how the two of you found yourselves in that kind of scary situation.”

“Oppa and I met at the orphanage.  He was there before me and he always defended me whenever the other kids made fun of me.  They called me ugly and stuff; and it annoyed Oppa that they were so noisy every time.  He looks cold on the outside, but he is a good man.  He’s like my older brother.”  “Later on when I was 12, my real father came to get me.  I did not want to leave Oppa there so I begged my dad to get him also.  I told him that he was a good friend of mine and that he has always protected me while we were there.”

Dara just listened to the girl’s story.  Just minutes of her being there convinced her that Chaerin is a good girl.  She looked innocent.  Dara just nodded her head from time to time, letting Chaerin know that she is still listening.

“So my father also took Oppa in.  But my father was not a rich man.  We moved in to a simple house, and I found out that my father was an artist.  He paints and sells his works to some galleries.  He is not that popular, but he gets lucky from time to time to earn a lot from his works.  He also loves music and Oppa learned a lot from him.  My dad used to sing and play the piano at a local bar, and he asked the owner if Oppa can work there too, as waiter or service guy. “

“Where is your father now?  Does he know what happened to you?  Does he know you’re here?”  Dara asked.

“Well, that is actually the reason why those men kidnapped me.  My father got removed from this singing stint at the bar, because younger musicians had to be taken in.  And because my dad only gets to sell his paintings once in a while, things became difficult for us financially.  Oppa wanted to help as he continued working at the bar, but my father refused to get help from him.  He wanted Oppa to save for his future too.” 

“So my dad ended up borrowing money from loan sharks – the biggest one is the boss of those men you saw last night.  His name is Shilba; he is a notorious loan shark.  My dad borrowed some huge amount of money, ‘cause he needed to take care of me and I was studying.  My dad hoped he’d be able to pay back from money from his paintings, but he was not able to sell a lot and he was getting old too, so he couldn’t draw as much as he needed.  But you know how these loan sharks are; they have all these goons whom they will send after you just to exact payment.  My father ended up hiding and left Oppa and me.”

“Do you know where your father is now?”  Dara was starting to feel pity for the two, thinking of how young they are and having to experience these hardships.

“He calls me from time to time, but I don’t really know where he is.  I’m just waiting for him to come home.”

“So that Shilba guy went after you when he couldn’t find your father?”

“Yes.  I guess they’ve been observing our house for a few days, waiting to see if my father would come home.  Then the other day, it was my bad luck that I came home early and Oppa was not there.  I got so scared because I didn’t know who they were.  They just took me against my will.  They took my phone, and since they couldn’t contact my dad, they went after Oppa.  They told him they will kill me if he doesn’t give them the money that my father owes.”

“Oh God, they are so mean.  I hope they did not do anything bad to you.   Are you really sure that you are okay?  You should have had yourself checked by the doctor too.  Make sure you don’t have any injuries.”  Dara sounded so concerned.  She was also shocked that there are such merciless people.  She always thought they only existed in the dramas.

“No Unnie, don’t worry about me.  I’m really okay; I’m just worried for Oppa.”  “Unnie, I’m so sorry that you got involved in my family’s mess.  But please understand that Oppa is not a bad person.  He was just forced to do that.  So please, please I’m begging you, let him off the hook this time, will you?”  Chaerin got up from her seat and kneeled in front of Dara.  Her head was bowed and she rubbing her palms together with her arms raised, she continued begging.

Dara immediately helped her up.  “Oh please don’t do that.  You don’t have to beg; the truth is I don’t have any plans of filing a complaint against him.  I was not harmed and the two of you now are safe too; that’s what’s important.  I just wanted to be sure that the both of you will be okay.  And don’t worry about the hospital bills; we already took care of it.  However this day went, I still feel I’m also responsible to what happened to Mr. Kwon Jiyong.  I hope he feels better soon.”  Dara reached out to pat Chaerin’s shoulders and gave her a reassuring smile.

“Unnie, thank you so much.  I don’t know how I can return your kindness, and I don’t understand why you’re helping us; but thank you so much.”  Out of so much relief and glee, Chaerin suddenly hugged Dara.  It surprised Dara but she just smiled and hugged back.

Dara then pulled back and got something from her bag.  She handed her business card to Chaerin.  “If I can help you with anything else, please don’t hesitate to call me.”  She said her farewell and looked back again at the guy who was still sleeping before finally turning to leave.

___________________________

A week after resting, Dara went back to work.  As expected, she was bombarded with a lot of questions by her officemates.  She couldn’t take note of how many times she had told the same story in just a day.  Her boyfriend, TOP, has checked on her more often after the incident.  He calls her every thirty minutes since that day and she had to repeatedly assure him that she’s okay and he need not worry.  Dara made herself busy again with work, calling several meetings just so people around her would also go back to normal and stop asking her about the incident.

After her fourth meeting for the day, Dara went back to her desk.  She sat and leaned back on her chair, and closed her eyes.  She felt exhausted after several brainstorming; although she felt relieved too that she was back to work again.  She took in deep, slow breaths, taking in the time that she had to rest for a bit.  Then her phone rang.  She smiled a bit thinking that it was TOP, checking on her again.  She got her phone to see that the call was from an unknown number.

She picked up the call, “Hello?”

“Hello, is this Ms. Sandara Park?”  There was a man’s voice from the other line.

_____________________________________

A/N:  Hello to my new friends and subribers!  I hope you're enjoying this fic,

even though it just started and my pace is so slow. kkk!  I'm actually having 

sleepless nights already, having to think of this story all the time. lol!

I hope to hear from you my dear readers too.  Let me know your predictions

on how this story will go, and it would be great to hear of what you think of it so far. =)

And I'm gonna find a banner soon too, I promise. I just don't have talent in making one,

so I'll just ask for sponsors? kkkkk. <3