-Flashback-

She was wrong. She still had a kin. It was her mother’s brother, uncle Kim. She had never seen him before, but her mother had told her a lot about him. And those things were not good. After her parent’s deaths, she had to stay with him and his wife. He treats her like his own daughter, but not the same can be said for his wife. She dislikes the child, because she hates the fact that she is taking care of a child that is not hers. She is also a painful remainder of her inability to bear a child.

After 2 years, she gave up on trying to raise the child. She couldn’t stand it any longer. One night she just packed her bags and left, never leaving a thing behind, not even a note. When Uncle Kim and woke up the next morning, it was like only the two of them had lived together all this time.

-Now-

Ji Eun ran as fast as her legs would carryher. Running through the trees, she didn’t notice stones cutting deep into her calf. Blood flowed down her legs slowly and steadily. Ignoring the pain that is increasing by the second, she continues running barefooted, pass shops, houses and gardens. She had already ran for the whole night. But she can’t stop running.

If I stop, he will catch me and I will be back there…Uncle Kim would catch me. After his wife left him, something seems to have snapped in him. He was longer the loving uncle Ji Eun knew; instead, he became a drunk and violent man. Whenever he sees her he would hit her with any weapon he finds lying around. The beating gets worse when he is drunk. Sometimes she really wish she would be beaten to death. But that would never happen, for he would stop at some point in time. This is so that, as he had said “I can hit you every day. Who am I going to hit if you are dead?”

That was what he said to her when Ji Eun asked him about it. It was not her first attempt to escape. Despite her countless attempts, he always manages to capture her.  This time she took extra pre cautions to make sure that he won’t be able to chase after her. Drugging his beer with some sleeping pills, Uncle Kim might possibly still be sound asleep under the influence of the pills. But she can’t just depend on the pills effect, she need to run as far away as possible. Even the mere thought of being taken back to that house she lived with her uncle makes her tremble.  She stopped in front of a huge mansion, pausing for breath and glancing back out of fear. Ji Eun’s legs can’t seem to obey her commands and she fell into a heap at the front door. Slowly her body seems to have stopped functioning and her mind was plunged into darkness.

Junhyung was just going out to search for Hara again. The moment he opened the door however,  he stopped in his tracks. A girl was lying unconscious at his feet. There was no response as he tried to shake her awake. Is she…dead? He thought fearfully and check for her pulse. Luckily, she is still breathing. Carrying her and placing her in one of the guest bedrooms, she was covering her in blankets when he noticed bruises and cuts on her hands and arms. One of her leg is even bleeding profusely. She must have been through a lot. He thought with a grim expression while cleaning and applying medicine to her injuries. Why am I helping a stranger? The thought came out of the blue. I can’t just leave her there, can I? Going off for a quick search for Hara, he pulled the coat tighter around him. It was a chilly night, which doesn’t help the anxiousness he feel for Hara.

Where did Hara disappear to for these past few weeks? Everyone is looking for her, including the media. I just hope I find her before the media did. I don’t want them to harass her with questions. Calling KARA’s manager, he prayed that there was news and asked “Any news?” he sighed and said “No news so far.” Hara just disappeared one day, leaving nothing behind. At first the KARA members thought she was just out at a walk so nobody was worried but days and weeks passed and nobody had seen her. Wherever she is, I hope she is safe.