TMPW Ch 9 part 2

Time crawled forward. A useless night passed, and it was another helpless day.

She felt as if she was being bled dry. Suppressing her anxiety, Yuan tucked her hair inside her cap. 4 days had already passed. What was the probability that TaeKyung-oppa was still alive?

“If something goes wrong and I get caught, you must head straight for Luxembourg.”

Prepare for the worst. That’s what TaeKyung had told her.

“No matter what, you must not come looking for me, Yuan. I’ll never forgive you if you do.”

Don’t forgive me. I’ll never leave you and run away on my own.

Yuan lowered her body in the dark and grit her teeth.

She recalled the day she first met TaeKyung. It was during the spring after she had turned seven. She had come back from school, and there was an unfamiliar boy in the house. Long, monolid eyes. A pretty face that all the girls would envy. He looked like a prince from a fairytale. He stared at Yuan with wide eyes.

“This boy is my eldest son, Madame.”

WooKyung-ahjussi introduced TaeKyung-oppa to Yuan and her mother. Her mother had turned pale and stiffly stared at TaeKyung-oppa. Yuan realized then that something was a bit off with this situation. TaeKyung’s eyes looked just like her mother’s.

“He’ll need to wear glasses.”

Her mother spoke out of nowhere. WooKyung-ahjussi said he understood and bowed his head. TaeKyung-oppa averted his eyes. Even though it was spring, the wind was cold. She could smell the wintersweet flowers outside the window.

Yuan bit her lips to suppress the sudden ache in her chest.

Darkness surrounded her, and the silence was heavy. A thick night fog was floating above the ground. The houses surrounded in high brick walls looked like islands underneath the yellow lights of the streetlamps. Here and there, the lights of the security posts were shining as the police officers stood guard.

Yuan pushed up her sleeve and checked the time. It was 1:43 AM. A time when all of humankind was at their weakest.

– Yuan, can you hear me?

She heard Eri’s voice inside her ear. Yuan whispered back with ‘Yeah.’ before tightly shutting her mouth. A microphone was attached to a device on her shoulder, and a tiny bluetooth earphone was in her ear.

They had hurried through their preparations in the limited time they had, so this was the best they could do. However, there was one thing that gave Yuan an advantage. This was her childhood home. She knew this place inside and out. She could basically walk through the house with her eyes closed.

– Is everything okay, Yuan?

“Stay calm, Eri.”

Eri was extremely nervous. She was worried about TaeKyung, but her anxiety shot through the roof when Yuan said she’d go into President Min’s house alone. But what else could they do? How could they call the police in this situation?

The thought of escaping Korea with TaeKyung had long flown out of her mind. There was no other choice. She checked her equipment one more time. Huuu, Yuan breathed out and looked around.

The neighborhood of PyeongChang. It was home to the nation’s top political and business leaders. With a few taps of a keyboard, the neighborhood of PyeongChang was suddenly drowning in the loud ringing of an alarm.

Beep, beep, beep, beep!

They were coming from the house of the prime minister of Korea, the house of the CEO of Future Airlines, the house of TaeYang Construction… The alarm began to ring in every house in the neighborhood. The police officers began to panic and ran outside as they looked in every direction as they shouted.

“Next.”

Yuan whispered. The electricity in all of PyeongChang went out. Immediately, all the surveillance cameras on the streetlamp were turned off. In the short time it took them to recover power through the back-up generator, Eri had already infiltrated their video security systems.

“Damn it! What’s going on?! Hurry up and call for backup!”

Yuan could hear the shouting policemen, but she stayed still inside the car she had parked in a security camera blind spot. The fire alarm went off and all the sprinklers installed in the ceilings of every house turned on. Like that, the neighborhood of PyeongChang was plunged into absolute chaos.

1 minute, 1 minute 30 seconds, 1 minute 45 seconds passed when Yuan heard the sirens of the private security vehicles as they arrived at the scene. Even a firetruck made its way here. Everything turned into a frantic mess.

Now.

Yuan started the car and quickly made her way to the front gate of the R&K house. She parked the car. Her car looked similar to the security vehicles.

As the private security officers rushed inside, Yuan got out of her car and ran inside with them. Yuan was also wearing the same uniform as the rest of them.

Yuan’s heart raced. She didn’t want to be recognized by anyone. Luckily, everyone was running around frantically. If anyone saw her, they’d wouldn’t be able to recognize her pale, almost blue, face.

Yuan secured the security officer cap on her head and silently headed for the house. This house that she could walk through with her eyes closed…

Suddenly, she heard the screams of the housekeeper. Yuan quickly hid herself behind a tree. The housekeeper, Mrs. Jang, would be able to recognize Yuan just by her shadow.

Damn it.

Yuan clenched her teeth and took out the smoke bomb inside her pocket. She uncapped it and quickly threw it into a corner of the garden. With a whoosh, the foggy smoke instantly filled the area. She began to walk towards the backyard as she threw another small smoke bomb.

“Aagh! What the…?! Fire! Fire!!”

Mrs. Jang made a big fuss and everyone rushed towards her.

Yuan ran towards the greenhouse and finally arrived at the backyard. The overgrown branches grazed her face. However, she couldn’t slow down. She ran through the forest of thick spindle trees where she was safe from prying eyes and was about to enter the greenhouse through its back door.

Woof! Suddenly, she saw a something running towards her at a frightening speed as it made a terrifying noise. Woof woof woof woof! Two pit bull terriers were barking like crazy. Instead of turning around and running away, Yuan crouched down and stretched out both her hands.

“Have you guys been doing well?”

There was no way they’d forget the voice of their master who had taken care of them since they were puppies. The dogs were aggressive at first, but they quickly began to whine with joy as they licked her hands and face. Even though she was wearing leather gloves on her hands, they remembered her scent.

She quickly took out the beef jerky she had hidden inside her breast pocket and put them inside the dogs’ mouths. She always gave them this treat when she was training them.

“Let’s go.”

At her words, the two dogs stuck close to her side and began to follow her. She took the two dogs with her as she walked inside.

A man stood in front of the door to the basement stairway. He had not lowered his guard and was vigilantly keeping watch. He was probably a henchman that had been ordered to stand guard even if he was surrounded by fire.

“Bite him.”

Yuan ordered in a low voice. Instantly, without hesitation, the pit bull terriers began to run after the man. As the man shrieked and ran away, Yuan quickly ran down the stairs leading to the basement.

The staircase was so narrow that only one person could go up and down at a time. The dim, yellow lights illuminated the steep steps.

Yuan could smell the faint scent of blood.

“Ugh.”

Yuan held back the nausea that overcame her. She was paralyzed by dread and terror and couldn’t move her legs.

Only the people living in this house knew about the torture chamber in the basement of the backyard greenhouse. However, no one knew how many people had suffered within those walls.

TaeKyung!

Yuan grit her teeth.

Think about TaeKyung!

She felt as if the terror had spread its roots deep into the abyss underneath her feet. She felt as if her whole body was being ripped to shreds. She could still hear the clamor outside. The private security team as well as the firefighters. Even the police. If she wanted to get past these people and successfully escape, she needed to get ahold of herself.

Please… Yuan grit her teeth and stretched out her leg. Yuan’s hand seemed reluctant to leave the wall as she lifted it. It felt like the fear was suffocating her, but she couldn’t leave now.

Oppa!

Yuan screamed on the inside as she ran down the stairs.

She used all her strength to kick open the door with a bang! Inside, underneath the pale fluorescent lights, she saw TaeKyung hanging on chains like a slaughtered animal.

“Oppa!”

Yuan cried out and ran over to him.

His eyes were swollen shut, his nose and lips covered in blood. He had wounds on every part of his body. Yuan could hardly believe it was TaeKyung. The floor was littered with bloody pliers and knives. Yuan could see a bucket full of blood nearby.

“Aah, Oppa.”

How could anyone do this to a person?!

“Sons of bitches! Fucking bastards!”

Yuan couldn’t stop the curses from flowing out of her mouth.

“Yu… Why are you…”

Suddenly, Yuan heard TaeKyung’s low mumble. Yuan quickly returned to her senses and looked at him.

“Oppa, hang in there.”

Yuan frantically looked around and finally saw the button that would lower the chains. She pressed the green button and quickly grabbed the bolt cutter from the shelf. TaeKyung collapsed with a thud.

“Oppa!”

Yuan ran over to him and lifted his head. She lightly slapped his face and cried out.

“Oppa, stay awake! Hurry!”

“Yuan, Yu…”

“Yeah, it’s me.”

“I-It’s too late…”

What? What was he talking about? What’s too late?

“Ahjussi is…”

Yuan followed TaeKyung’s gaze and collapsed in shock at what she saw. In the corner of the torture chamber, there was a crumpled figure of a corpse completely drenched in blood. It almost didn’t look human.

Ah, WooKyung-ahjussi? It was TaeKyung’s adoptive father, WooKyung-ahjussi.

“Gah… mmph.”

Yuan barely suppressed the sobs and shrieks rising out of her throat. She couldn’t get distracted here. If she did, then both of them would be in danger.

“Yuan…”

“O-Oppa.”

Yuan turned around and used the rest of her strength to sit him up. She needed to get ahold of herself. If she made a mistake, both of them would die here. Hurry! Think! Please!

“Eri!”

Yuan called out to Eri as she put all her efforts into cutting the chains holding TaeKyung with the bolt cutter.

“Oppa, wake up! I understand, so wake up. Eri! Eri! Send for help right now.”

Yuan managed to sneak inside, but she wouldn’t be able to escape with TaeKyung in this state. If TaeKyung was able to walk just a little, maybe it wouldn’t be impossible. However, there was no way he could in a state like this.

“Hurry!”

Yuan roared as she tried to cut the chains holding TaeKyung. However, the chains wouldn’t break easily. Her efforts were only drenching her whole body in sweat. In this chaos, Eri didn’t respond. A chill went down Yuan’s spine.

Please… Please!

Suddenly, she heard men shouting from above the stairs. Yuan paled and stopped what she was doing. If Eri had sent them, they wouldn’t be making such a ruckus. Eri’s men should be coming here disguised as rescue workers. The noises coming from upstairs were definitely the sounds of people fighting.

“What do I do… What…”

Yuan pressed her trembling lips together as she looked down at TaeKyung’s bloody figure. She was already caught, so she might as well risk her life. What would happen if they were both caught? If their relationship and the reason why they did all this was revealed… What would happen?

They wouldn’t be allowed to survive. She glanced at the knife on the floor. It might be better if she just ended their lives right here, right now. Both of them… painlessly!

Her hand stretched out to grab the knife. Suddenly, the door opened with a bang. A black figure filled the doorway like a person who had come back from the dead. The tall man in a black turtleneck and pants was…

It was Seo JoonHun.

How… Why was JoonHun here…?

Frozen stiff, Yuan stared at Seo JoonHun. She couldn’t figure out what he was thinking from looking at his cold, indifferent face. He was looking back at her. JoonHun’s eyes look at Yuan, then at the knife in her hand, before landing on the unconscious TaeKyung.

She had no idea why he was here.

He didn’t move and kept staring at her.

He was going to kill them.

Yuan realized it now. She realized how furious he was… His murderous energy brought a chill into the room. She was terrified. Even more so than when she had left him at the Han River.

JoonHun was going to kill her and TaeKyung. Right here. Definitely.

“…Save him.”

Yuan turned ghastly pale and begged.

“Please save him, JoonHun-ssi.”

Her tears dripped down her cheeks once again.

JoonHun wouldn’t help her. After everything she had done to him, she wouldn’t be surprised if he told her he’d kill her here and leave. But still… Please… Just this once…

The tears now flowed down her cheeks and dripped off her chin. JoonHun’s face still remained blank. Yuan raised both of her trembling hands and covered her face.

“It’s my fault. It’s all my fault, so please, at least save Oppa…”

JoonHun didn’t move.

Even in this situation, she was still struggling to save him. Yuan couldn’t imagine the look on JoonHun’s face or the thoughts running through his head as he looked at her. Still, she begged. There was no other option.

“I’ll do whatever you tell me to do from now on. If you tell me to die, I’ll kill myself. But please, just save Oppa. I’m begging you.”

JoonHun’s eyes became colder. They became darker. She felt as if he was going to walk up to her at any second and strangle her. Yuan tightly hugged TaeKyung to her chest. For the past 13 years, the one who stayed by her side was TaeKyung. He took her out of her misery, planned their revenge with her, and showed her the path to redemption when she was drowning in guilt.

Her brother couldn’t die here no matter what.

She suddenly heard heavy footsteps. As JoonHun’s footsteps got closer, Yuan couldn’t breathe and simply hugged TaeKyung even tighter. They were going to die. Like this… Right here.

JoonHun’s hand reached out. He took TaeKyung out of her arms. Yuan cried out as he pushed her aside and lifted him onto his shoulders.

Yuan felt her soul leave her body and thought she was dreaming. When she saw him leave the room with TaeKyung over his shoulders, she shot up and followed after him.

As they were going up the stairs, the rescue workers were standing in front of the door. They quickly took TaeKyung and carried him away.

Somebody handed Yuan and JoonHun gas masks. They put them on and got out of the house. As if in slow motion, the flashing sirens and the crowd of people brushed past them.

Everything felt like a dream. Yuan couldn’t believe that Seo JoonHun was right in front of her eyes.