Seohyun sat at the kitchen counter, letting her feet dangle off the tall stool. She picked at her cold eggs, pouting. I'm lonely. The whole house was empty and there was nothing for her to do. 

She glanced around her, looking upon the many paintings that hung upon the walls. The cream colored carpets contrasted sharply with the dark blue couches. Seohyun saw several pairs of shoes laying about and chuckled. That is so Kris. 

Instinctively, she walked over and began to straighten out the shoes. Wow. He must have more than me...10,.15,..20! 20 pairs of shoes!. Seohyun had known from the beginning that Kris was a person who liked to keep up with appearances, but this was a bit much.

She walked back and looked at her cold breakfast. The toast was hard and the bacon must have lost their crispiness. So she poured the remains into the trash and washed the dishes, exploring the suddenly big house after she was done. 

She snuck back into his bedroom on tiptoes, as if someone were there to catch her in the act. Seohyun peered into his closets, gasping at its immense size. All was orderly, the dress shirts all color coded and nicely hung.

The slacks lay neatly folded, ready to be worn. Vests and suits seemed to be ironed and stiff upon their hangers. There were absolutely no wrinkles to be found in his closet. 

But that was where the tidiness of his room ended. The study table was littered with stacks upon stacks of papers and files. Several unopened letters laid strewn about, piquing Seohyun's interest. Suddenly, she realized that she still didn't know what Kris' job was.

Stealing a glance at the letters, she saw many of them came from a person by the name of Wu Kevin. Some of these dated back for months, the oldest sent almost a year ago and the newest from last week. Who is this? He is quite persistent. 

Before Seohyun could open one of the letters and read its hidden contents, her conscience stopped her. With her hand outstretched, Seohyun contemplated the pros and cons of the situation. What is the worst thing that could happen? Oh right besides losing all of his trust and possibly being left alone all over again. Right, nothing that bad can happen. 

Suddenly, she heard the sound of crashing glass and she dashed towards the living room. Frozen in her tracks, she witnessed the burly man climb in through the window. The shards of glass clung to his clothing and scattered on the ground around him. His arms dripped with red liquid, which oozed onto his clothing. But he seem unfazed by the profuse bleeding of his lacerated arm, stalking towards Seohyun. 

She couldn't see his face, nor could she see the look in his eyes but the way he took long, definite strides told her this man was no good. Oh right, also the fact that he came in through the window and not the front door. 

With that, Seohyun turned and fled towards the door, which she quickly unlocked with the key that Kris left in the right shoe of the pair of dark blue converse. Thank goodness he had left a spare key. As she grabbed wildly at the doorknob, a knife whizzed past her head and stuck into the white wall.

Her blood ran cold as she looked back at the man, and behind the mask, she could see his face curve up into a smirk. He missed on purpose. Seohyun continued to stare as he slowly, lazily pulled out another knife from his boot. "Run while you can."

~~~~~~~~~~

Kris rubbed his temples in frustration as he stared down at the documents. The investment in Kim Pharmaceuticals had gone well, but that also meant increased monitoring of prices and customer appeal. 

Kris jerked as he heard a gentle knock at the door. His secretary, Miss Im walked in with two people following close behind. He quickly stood. "It's nice to see you Mr. and Mrs. Kim. I was just looking at the sales reports for this week and they seem to be excellent. Please have a seat." 

The couple sat down and Kris could see the lines of age upon their faces. Their hair was showing sprays of white and their voices exuded years of wisdom. They always seemed to have a quietly sad air about them, as if their hearts were still desperately trying to heal a wound that had been inflicted years ago. 

After months of being business partners, Kris as the investor and in charge of marketing their pharmacy and the Kims as the primary business heads, he grew to learn many things about them. Their past was still much shrouded behind a veil of secrets, but he had pieced part of it together. 

He knew that they had been in China for approximately ten years, only recently returning to Korea about a year ago. Shortly after, they opened their little pharmacy and contracted him for three years to help them get the business going. He had been in their office several times for business meetings, but only during the last visit did he notice a photograph of two young girls.

The kids looked so joyful and carefree, holding hands and posing cutely for the camera. He remembered casually asking about the girls, assuming they were the daughters of the Kims. However, a moment of heavy silence had ensued until Mr. Kim had quickly changed the subject. "We do not have any daughters," he had said. 

Now Kris was confident in his social skills, and reading people was something he found easy. He quickly inferred that their seemingly palpable pain was linked to the two girls. But he didn't pry. They were merely business partners. 

But that thought was quickly scattered when Mrs. Kim warmly spoke up, her luminous voice filled with feminine eloquence unachievable by even the classiest gentlemen. The words seemed to slip off her tongue like silk as she invited him for dinner.

Her motherly aura was almost tangible and he saw in her eyes the care that she felt towards him. "Aigoo, a handsome young man like yourself can't be without a girlfriend right? Bring her along tomorrow night as well." 

Kris chuckled, he had no girlfriend. But the image of Seohyun suddenly flashed into his mind and for a moment, he was quite flustered. He felt warmth gathering at his cheeks and heard Mr. Kim laugh good-naturedly. "It seems like you do have a special someone. We would love to meet her, she must be a sweet girl." 

Kris childishly murmured, "I'll have to ask her first." 

~~~~~~~~~~

Seohyun's heart banged against her chest, as she glanced behind her. Is he still there? The man was nowhere to be seen. 

Her hair was tangled and tousled, her cheeks flushed red from running. Her legs ached and her lungs seemed ready to give out. What to do now? Will I just keep running? The idea of running forever frightened her, but she had nowhere to go. The police station was too far and Kris was at work. Her cell phone was in his bedroom. 

Seohyun was stuck. 

She heard the rustling of brush behind her, and the man appeared once more. Seohyun froze in her spot, holding her breath. The man looked tired, his breathing heavy. The smirk on his face was gone, replaced by a look of agitation and exasperation. It was as if he was tired of playing with his prey, that it was time to finish things and head home. 

Seohyun wasn't going to let this game end that quickly. 

~~~~~~~~~~

Kris jumped swiftly into his car, undoing his tie at the collar. That was starting to suffocate me. 

He had spent the last hour or so cheerfully conversing with the Kim couple. Time had gotten away from them and the general topic had gravitated towards other subjects besides business. 

The pair were very charming and seemed to be much in love. Kris wondered if he would ever find a person with whom he could be so happy. The thought of Seohyun once again flit through his mind. Aishhhhh, why do I keep thinking of her? This is not normal! She'll definitely think I'm a weirdo if she finds out.

Kris arrived home, and giddily stepped out his car. Picking up the mail from the box on the way into the house, he pushed the door and stepped into the house. Wait, I didn't unlock the door... He looked at the ground and found that his shoes were neatly placed side by side. This must be Seohyun's work. Oh no! I hope she didn't see my work desk. I bet she would freak out. 

He casually strolled into the kitchen, expecting to see Seohyun. Hmm..weird. She isn't here. He grabbed some juice from the fridge, glancing at the adjacent living room. His glass shattered on the ground as he saw the broken window and the carpet soiled by small pools of blood. 

He rushed over to the scene, examining the window. It was obvious someone had broken in from the outside, the shattered glass had landed all onto the floor and the blood was only on his carpet, not on the grassy lawn. 

"Seohyun!!" Kris yelled out into the emptiness. Then he noticed the broken flower vase, and for the first time he saw the scattered pillows. The couches were shifted and he saw the deep mark on the wall beside the front door. There had been a struggle. 

Before Kris could fly into a frenzy of crazed anger, he walked stiffly into his bedroom, checking for other signs of a kidnapping. Everything was left untouched, the chaos in the living room had not reached this far. He would call the cops, but reason kept him calm. 

He needed to find Seohyun, and calling the cops now wouldn't help. He had no lead. Kris had absolutely no idea what had happened to her. 

Then, as his dejected gaze trailed along the tiled kitchen floor, he noticed a ring, Seohyun's ring. He picked it up, and placed it into his pocket. Don't worry. I'll find you. 

Suddenly his phone vibrated, lighting up with a new text message. He really wasn't in the mood for a conversation right now. But he read it anyways.

I have Seohyun. Bring the money and I'll give her back. If you don't, I'll sell her. - Park