Chapter 12

~Two Weeks Later~

I stood in the center of the ballroom; everyone said I looked gorgeous in my red silk dress, but I didn't feel gorgeous. I could see Jung Min happily greeting the guests - all his family and friends. Why hadn't I told him the truth? It's too late now.

"Congratulations, Miss Chu."

I turned around to find a man in his early twenties standing with two glasses of wine, one in each hand. He handed one to me and smiled politely.

"Thank you." What else was I supposed to say to this stranger?

"You must feel very excited," he commented, sipping from the glass.

"Um... I guess so." For some unknown reason, I was able to speak freely to this man. Unlike with Jung Min's mother, I could actually say what was on my mind and not feel guilty about it. "It's just all too sudden."

He chuckled softly."Getting cold feet already?" He kept looking at his watch, as if waiting for something.

"You could say that." Was it normal to be this honest to a complete stranger?

"Uh, sorry..." he interrupted, glancing at his watch again. "I have to go prepare the..." he motioned in the direction of the kitchen and began inching away.

Ahh, so he's one of the people helping prepare this rehearsal dinner. "If there's food, can I come?" I asked, sensing that Jung Min's parents were close and probably already making their way towards me again. It was especially uncomfortable to talk to them when they both already saw me as their daughter-in-law.

"Sure," the man laughed. "So, a bride that loves food, huh?"

"Yes!" I said shamelessly. "My parents use to say I lived just for food!"

"I bet you hogged all the snacks and didn't share with your brother either," he said teasingly as we headed towards the kitchen.

Brother? I did have a brother once, didn't I?

Suddenly I started to feel tired, although I was fine just moments ago. The kitchen full of pots and pans began whirling around and around and I could barely stay up on my feet. My eyes focused in and out and I began to lose sensation in my hands; the wine glass slipped and crashed into the floor, spilling red liquid everywhere. What was happening?

The last thing I remember was the man's face peering down at me, then everything went black.

Dressed in casual jacket and jeans, Hyun Joong knew he stood out from the rest of the crowd, but that didn't matter. He just needed to see Ha Neul before it was too late.

Twisting and weaving through the formally dressed guests, Hyun Joong's eyes wandered for the familiar figure of Ha Neul, but she was nowhere in sight. Instead, he had the luck of running into her widely-known fiancee.

"What are you doing here?" Jung Min asked in a low tone through gritted teeth. "Haven't you done enough?"

Completely oblivious to Jung Min's words, Hyun Joong continued to scan the crowd for Ha Neul. "Where is she?"

The irritated fiancee pressed his lips into a hard line and grabbed Hyun Joong's upper arm tightly, finally getting his attention. "Get out of here."

Looking into his eyes for the first time, Hyun Joong realized that Jung Min couldn't hear Ha Neul's call for help. It was clear as day to him that she was in danger, but why couldn't Jung Min, her fiancee, understand?

Shaking off Jung Min's grip, Hyun Joong leaned in close and whispered, not to arouse attention, "Look, Ha Neul is in trouble. We need to find her now."

Jung Min's face turned from annoyance into concern. "What do you mean, trouble? And how do you know?"

Letting out a huff of breath, Hyun Joong moved through the crowd again with Jung Min right on his tail. Of course he wouldn't understand. I can just feel it - I know she's in danger.

Suddenly a reflection of light, like from a mirror, shone in his eyes and Hyun Joong instinctively put his hand up to shield himself from the glare. It was too small for anyone to notice, but now he knew what he had seen. A man was carrying something over his shoulders and quickly heading out the back door of the ballroom. The large object was draped over his shoulder and covered with a dark blanket in an atempt to hide what it was, but from his many years of experience, Hyun Joong knew a body when he saw one. What the kidnapper didn't realize was that he had failed to conceal the one thing that would give him away, the 'Promise'.

Hyun Joong sprinted towards the man, but by the time he went through the door, he could already see a black car speeding away from the garage. Damn. He quickly jumped in his car and floored the gas pedal; he wouldn't lose her again. In his rearview mirror he could see the headlights of another car hurriedly following - Jung Min.

Both men chased after the black car, desperate to save the girl they loved. But only minutes later the kidnapper had realized he was being followed and began making it hard for them to keep up. Once, Hyun Joong had lost sight of the car due to the black of the night, but something inside him told him to turn the car around - turns out it was the right decision because he could see the tail lights of the car going into a parking garage.

Cornered by two cars with nowhere else to go, the black car screeched to a stop and a man stepped out, rounding the car to face his pursuers. Hyun Joong and Jung Min followed suit, but even before seeing his face, Hyun Joong knew who the man was, no one else would have the motive to kidnap Ha Neul.

"Kyu Jong, let her go."

Suddenly the passenger side door of Kyu Jong's car opened and Ha Neul stepped out, her eyes groggy and her footsteps were out of place - she must've been drugged with sleeping pills. Without warning, her captor wrapped an arm around and pressed the gun barrel into her temple, threatening to shoot. The other two men instinctively did the same; both their weapons pointing to the enemy.

"Ha Neul!" Jung Min shouted in panic. "Don't hurt her!"

"I won't," Kyu Jong replied. "As long as you don't interfere with my plans."

"And what is your plan, exactly?" Hyun Joong interrupted. "Use her to make your grandpa's killer reveal himself? You know a person like that wouldn't think twice about his own sister."

Kyu Jong laughed. "And you would know? Aren't you the same? But you ended up caring for this girl more than your own blood."

"Hyun..." Ha Neul's eyes welled up with tears as she uttered his name. She'd been longing to see him, but not under these circumstances. She didn't care how accustomed he was to this sort of situation, but the fact is she's the reason he was in danger right now. This crazy man could plan to turn the gun on him and shoot at any moment.

Hyun Joong looked at her and his eyes softened. I won't let you get hurt, he promised silently, and as if she could read his mind, she became still and her breathing no longer came in short gasps. She was calm now.

"HAHAHA!" An obnoxious laugh echoed through the empty lot and gunshots followed, twice as loud. The four immediately ran behind Kyu Jong's car for safety and hid themselves from the wandering bullets. While they shot back at the intruding visitors they realized who was leading these men. Hyun Joong cringed in guilt as the man spoke out loud. "Perfect! Everyone's here all at once." He knew he was one of the reasons why The Boss was here.

Ha Neul covered her ears from the thunderous noise but soon felt someone's hands covering her own. She opened her eyes to see Hyun Joong looking at her with concern. She noticed that he no longer had a gun in his hand, instead it was laying on the ground beside him. He gave her a small, forced smile before letting go. Then he got up and dashed towards The Boss, taking out anyone who stood in his way.

"Watch out!" Ha Neul screamed as she saw the man with the scars on his face raise his gun towards Hyun Joong, but it was too late. This gunshot that seemed to stand out from all the rest had crashed into his chest and knocked him onto his back. He crumpled in pain, with his hand pressed against the wound gushing with blood.

Ha Neul raced to him and knelt down by his side. "Hyun Joong!" Tears flowed steadily down her cheeks as she tried to wipe away the blood on his face with shaking hands. Although her mind was a complete blank, she could still feel the hard pain balling up inside her chest she could hardly breathe.

Suddenly someone grabbed her hair and pulled her up, dragging her after him. Seeing Ha Neul scramble and cry out for help, Jung Min got up from behind the car and started in her direction, but was struck by a wandering bullet in his abdomen. He slid to the floor, leaving a trail of blood on the already tattered car. 

Kyu Jong saw this chance to take his revenge on his grandpa's killer and slowly but steadily walked towards him with his gun raised. The Boss saw him and panicked, throwing the girl into him. Kyu Jong caught her, breaking her fall, and quickly let her down again before continuing after his enemy.

With no hostage, the Boss held up his gun towards Kyu Jong and in a hurry pulled the trigger. But to his surprise, he'd run out of bullets. He laughed maniacally, trying to conceal his fear, but it was of no use. With one last shout of anger, Kyu Jong jabbed the gun into the man's forehead and pulled the trigger with no hesitation. Blood splattered onto the wall behind him as he fell to the ground, his eyes still open with shock. Kyu Jong took a step back, breathing a sigh of relief. He had finally avenged his grandfather's death.

No, this can't be happening. I sat in a corner with my knees pulled up to my chest and covered my ears. There was so much screaming and yelling going on, and the sound of guns was just so loud... Suddenly I remembered Hyun Joong. I found him still on the floor, clutching his chest a few feet away, only he wasn't moving anymore. I knew he was dying.

Using what was left of my strength, I pulled myself to him on my hands and knees. I had no energy left to even look at him, but I didn't want him to be alone.

"Hyun Joong," I whispered. I could feel hot tears dripping off my chin. "Are you okay?" Stupid question, but I felt pretty stupid myself. There was nothing I could do to save this man, this man that I love so much. I held his head in my lap and rocked back and forth. "Please wake up."

Slowly, he opened his eyes. The look I saw in them still gave me a sense of safety, even in this condition. His injured hand made its way up to my neck and and found the ring. It was barely noticeable, but I knew he was smiling the way he always did before he laughed at me. Gradually, his eyes seemed to be losing its focus. He stared into space with that small smile still on his lips. Then suddenly, he was gone.