Donghae's POV:

"Where'd the other guy go?" I ask Kim Bum, there were three of us in the car last time... Now there's only us two.

"I told him to walk. He's so annoying." Kim Bum answers. I can't tell if he's joking or not.

"You’re observant." he says matter-of-factly. I still don't get this guy...

"Okay. Do you want me to be honest with you?" He starts again, this time a little more urgently.

"... Sure?" What am I supposed to say to that anyways?

"A few of us, on our side, have become fond of Gaheun."

"..."

"Oh, no. No. Not in a romantic way,I don't feel that way at least, but as friends and someone close." he quickly adds. ... Not him, at least? So someone has a crush on her? And yes, I say ‘crush’ because I know Gaheun wouldn’t like one of them.

"And I don't want her to get hurt. The four of us don't, things have gotten too far, it’s crazy." He says while shaking his head.

"Is this all you wanted to say to me? That you're glad she's going to be okay? So you can maintain your friendship with her?" he stiffens when I say this. Then sighs,

"No. What I'm trying to say is... She'll be in good hands."

"Of course she will, she'll be back on our side. Where they can protect her."

"I promised her we'd still keep in touch, even after this is all over."  What? She's made friends with the enemy? The ones who kidnapped her? Is she crazy? And they’re close? Well… when she answered the phone earlier… she did sound like she was normal…

"She really likes you," he says, as if it was some commonly known fact. He smiles to himself.

"I know that, thank you very much."

"But he's not going to give up on her, even if she loves you."

"Who?"

"Seunghyun. That's why she'll be in even better hands, because he's fallen for her." he says, almost pitifully.

It's only after I pierced the skin on my palm that I realize that my fists were clamped shut.

"Doesn't matter. She won't like him." I answer flatly.

"So you want her to hold onto you forever even after you're gone? You don't want her to move on?" he asks accusingly. No, I don't want her to hold onto me... I want her to move on, and be happy, and have children and a family. Even without me.

"No... I want her to move on. And she will. It's just that Seunghyun won't be the one she chooses" Why is he telling me this? What does he want to accomplish by telling me?

"What makes you so sure?" He asks, sounding curious.

"It's because of him I'll be gone. I know how she thinks. She won't forgive him." She’s stubbourn like that, she’ll never forget or forgive.

"She understands the revenge he wants, and it hasn't stopped her from talking to him."

"It's because the end hasn't come yet. I'm still here." This guy is getting on my nerves. Why is he telling me this?!

"If that's the case, she'll end up exactly like Seunghyun." he mumbles quietly. His face suddenly bothered.

"What?"

"She'll go through a really rough time. She'll feel exactly how Seunghyun felt, when Minkyung was taken away from him." Silence follows this statement, for a good block or two. Personally, I like this silence better than the topic we were talking about earlier.

"If I ask you a question, will you swear to answer honestly? It won't leave the frame of this car. I just want to know the truth for myself."

"Fine. Only because you've kept Gaheun well while you stole her." he chuckles a little after I answer. I let out a small laugh too; it does sound a bit weird now that I think about it.

"Did you actually kill Minkyung?" I knew this was coming.

"If I answer honestly, will you promise to believe it?" I couldn’t believe it when I saw it, I doubt they’ll ever believe it if I told them.

"I have no reason not to. It doesn't benefit or hurt anyone, why would you lie?" I nod once, and sigh.

"No. I didn't. None of us killed her."

"... I don't understand. If none of you killed her, how did she?..." He asks, confused.

"Nevermind. You wouldn't believe me if I told you." So none of them know the truth. I'm not going to be the one who tells them though.

"Try me." He insists, "I've decided to leave this junk after Gaheun is safe, so don't worry, I won't tell anyone." he half laughs. He's going to quit after this is over? How can he just break the bond like that? Doesn’t he feel any attachment to the people with the side he’s on?

"Don't ask me. Why don't you ask Choi yourself?" His eyes widen as I say this.

"What?"

"... You know what? I'll just give you the letters she wrote while she was with us. I've been meaning to toss them out... But none of us have been back to her room since she left."

"letters...?"

"Yeah, whenever she was in her room, she'd be scribbling letters. As if she was actually going to send em. She had names and everything."

"... Have you read them?" he asks, curious.

"Only the ones she wrote to me. The ones to your side haven't been touched."

"Wait... Wait... Rewind a bit. What do these letters have to do with her dying?..."

"By the time I figured out what happened, I was already too late to save her."

"And...?"

"And what she wrote to me in her letter confirmed what I thought was true."

"And that is...?"

"Just wait till you get the letter."

"... When-"

"I'll give them to you when I see you in four days. I'm going to give them all to you, and you can use your judgement and decide if you want to give the letters out. You know your people better than I do."

"Okay. But if she didn’t write what happened to her in the letter, will you tell me?"

“hmph. Sure, if I’m still around by the time you read it.” I say, half joking. He lets out a half laugh.  It’s true though, I’m not sure if I’ll be around then. They might just get rid of me on the spot.

"Just stop here, you go any further, my brothers'll be suspicious. They recognize your vehicles."

"Mm. Got it." He answers.  I unbuckle my seat belt.

"Oh, and another thing." He adds.

"Hmm?" Dang, he talks a lot.

"You're the one Minkyung talked about a lot, aren't you?" She talked about us to them? You think she would've used the FaceTime/webcam time we gave her to talk about more important things.

"I dunno." I shrug. He smiles.

I open the car door and hop out. I'm about to close the door when he speaks up again.

"Hey, Donghae," What is he asking now?...

"… Yeah?"

"Think we can be friends once this is all over?"  What a joke, we both know where I'll be when this is all over.

"Ahah! Sure, in our next lifetime maybe." I joke. He laughs. "Thanks for the ride." I conclude as I shut the door.