Chapter 7 (Part 4)

Seo-hye bit her tongue to suppress any groans when the kidnapper roughly threw her to the ground.

Blood pooled inside her mouth, but she quietly swallowed it.

However, even though she barely managed to endure the pain, she couldn’t overcome the cold.

The chill rose from the floor, which had no heating at all, pushing her to her limits.

Her body trembled uncontrollably, and even with her eyes closed, it felt like the world was spinning.

Just when she thought she might die from hypothermia, Seo-hye called out to the man.

“……Ah…….”

But her voice, locked away for so long, didn’t come out smoothly and was severely cracked.

The man, who seemed to have been lounging on the sofa, stopped his idle movements at the sound she made. The creaking noise from the sofa ceased.

“Ah. Ahh. Ex-excuse me.”

At Seo-hye’s voice, the man rose from the sofa.

Footsteps approached, and soon the cloth covering Seo-hye’s eyes was abruptly removed.

Her brow furrowed involuntarily to protect her pupils, which had grown accustomed to the darkness.

After blinking several times, she was finally able to take in the sight of the man.

The man was wearing a black hat and a black mask.

Everything was covered except for his eyes, making it impossible to guess who he was.

It didn’t seem to be Mr. Kim; perhaps someone hired by Hwa-woong…?

She clenched her fists tightly as she felt fear from the man’s ferocious eyes, knowing he could harm her at any moment.

The man stared at Seo-hye intently, almost chillingly.

His gaze was so blatant that she suddenly wondered.

What if this man wasn’t sent by Lee Hwa-woong?

Hwa-woong needed my paintings, so he wouldn’t kill me, but if he was sent by the Chairman of Seonghan…?

What if they intended to kill me quietly because I was the biggest obstacle to this marriage?

As her thoughts reached that point, an indescribable fear surged from her chest upwards.

The fear choked her throat, and she could no longer speak.

At that moment, the man straightened his bent leg and stood up.

Fearing he might stab her from above, Seo-hye mustered all her strength to scream.

“Please, please! Untie my hands… please!”

Silence followed.

The man narrowed his eyes.

“Don’t try anything.”

The man’s voice was low and deep.

Seo-hye shook her head frantically, pretending not to be scared.

“The blood… isn’t flowing. It feels… strange. At this rate… something will happen…”

“……”

“I won’t be able to paint grandfather’s pictures anymore!”

The man flinched.

Thankfully, it seemed he was one of Hwa-woong’s men, not the Chairman of Seonghan.

Breathing a faint sigh of relief, Seo-hye spoke quickly enough to make him feel dizzy.

“Hurry! My hands really feel like they’re rotting! Do you know how much these hands are worth? They just told you to hide me, not to ruin my hands, right?”

The man told her to wait and briefly stepped outside.

He was surely going to call Hwa-woong.

Meanwhile, Seo-hye quickly scanned her surroundings.

There was a door at the back, but it was locked. In other words, the door the man had just passed through was the only way out.

The only fortunate thing was that it was a swinging door without a lock, so if she could buy some time, there was a high chance of escaping.

The worry was that there was another door outside the space she was currently trapped in…

…No, let’s not think that far.

First, her hands needed to be free to grab something that could be used as a weapon and defend herself.

Staying tied up like this, she might die without ever seeing Hyo-young again.

Thinking that gave her courage.

“Hey.”

The man opened the door and came in.

“If I untie you, sit quietly behind that table. If you try anything funny, you’ll disappear from this world without a trace.”

“……”

“I’ve already taken money from the old man, so I have to earn it. Unfortunately, I can’t control my anger well. So understand while I’m telling you nicely.”

He clearly stated that he was an anger management issue criminal.

Seo-hye swallowed her fear. The opportunity would come when the man untied her bound hands, and it would be her only chance.

Afraid that he might catch on to her plan from her trembling voice, Seo-hye just nodded.

The man soon stood behind Seo-hye. After staring at her back for a long time, he slowly moved his hands.

Ching-!

The sound of a folding knife being opened filled her eardrums and increased her heart rate.

Screech-!

It was the moment the bindings were released.

As feeling returned to her arms, a pain like an electric shock spread throughout her arms.

Seo-hye swallowed the pain and used all her strength to push the man with her shoulder and stood up.

Taking advantage of the man’s surprise at Seo-hye’s sudden action, she kicked the man in the chest with the strength left in her legs.

“Ugh! You!”

Seo-hye, seeing the man stagger, ran quickly without even checking.

Fortunately, the swinging door opened easily.

She heard cursing behind her, but Seo-hye only looked forward.

Then she flinched and hurriedly straightened her body.

There were stairs.

It seemed she was not on the first floor.

If she rolled down from here, it would be a pointless death.

She mustered all her strength in her feet and quickly stepped onto the stairs.

The fortunate thing was that the window on the stairs was made of old glass.

If she kicked it, it would probably break, and if she jumped out from the height of about one or two floors, she could escape successfully.

There was a risk that the front door might be locked, so this method was better…

“Ack!”

At that moment, Seo-hye’s head was jerked backward.

The man had quickly caught up with Seo-hye.

He grabbed her by the hair and dragged her along.

The pain was so intense, as if her scalp was being torn off, that she struggled, but the man did not let go.

Dragging her back towards the swinging door, he forcefully threw Seo-hye to the floor.

As her vision spun and she couldn’t regain her balance, he kicked her hard in the back.

“!”

The pain was so intense, as if her spine was breaking, that her vision flickered.

The man relentlessly stomped on Seo-hye’s back and shoulders without mercy.

Strangely, the pain soon disappeared.

And as her body’s senses dulled, she let out a hollow laugh at the thought that she might die before her mother.

If she had just stayed still, maybe she wouldn’t have died? But then, thinking that a life not lived according to her own will might not be so bad to end like this, she was about to come to terms with it.

Tap, tap, tap-!

A weak vibration was felt from the ground, accompanied by the dull sound of shoes from the direction of the stairs. Then, the kicks that had been raining down on her stopped.

Seo-hye, wondering what it was, barely lifted her drooping eyelids and slowly raised her upper body.

Then, an unbelievable scene unfolded before her.

……Oh my God.

……Am I dead now?

Is this even… possible?

Or am I dreaming because I fainted…?

Why on earth is that person…?

“…….”

The culprit lay helplessly on the floor, clutching his chest where footprints were imprinted, coughing. Yet, he did not stop glaring at the person who had put him in that state.

From the stairs, the murmuring of people began to be heard.

“Miss! Are you okay? It’s the police!”

In an instant, people surrounded Seo-hye. Some checked her condition, while the rest immediately arrested the kidnapper.

Only then did the man who had knocked down the kidnapper slowly turn around.

As unbelievable as it was, it was indeed Do-jin.

“……Won… Do-jin, why…”

Perhaps she had bitten the inside of her mouth too much while being hit, as blood spilled and she couldn’t speak properly.

Do-jin approached gradually with an unreadable expression.

Behind him, the kidnapper was being apprehended amidst noisy chatter, but Seo-hye could only see Do-jin and hear his footsteps.

He knelt down in front of her.

“……You held on well.”

His voice was as cold as his eyes, but there was a tremor in it.

He meticulously examined Seo-hye’s condition and muttered.

“It’s upsetting to see so many injuries.”

“…….”

“I’ll find the best plastic surgeon in the country for you, so don’t worry about scars.”

……Worrying about scars at a time like this.

However, those words seemed to tell her that she was alive.

As if someone had sprayed a mist in her eyes, her vision kept blurring, and her forehead throbbed.

He gently cupped Seo-hye’s eyes and met her gaze tenderly.

“Everything’s okay now, so why are you crying? It pains my heart.”

“Ah…….”

Indeed, it was a comforting gesture that was so typical of him.

He didn’t come running in a panic, asking questions while sobbing.

Nor did he lose his temper and cause a ruckus.

He was the real Won Do-jin, who rationally assured her that her situation would improve.

“I already know how smart you are, Seo-hye.”

“…….”

“Is there any place where you feel like an organ might be ruptured or a bone might be broken? You would probably know best.”

He asked calmly.

Perhaps that’s why.

The situation she had been in just moments ago, almost at death’s door, now felt like nothing.

It felt as if she had just woken up from a really bad dream, and everything was okay.

“……I don’t have anything like that…….”

Do-jin nodded and lifted Seo-hye into his arms.

Before she could even let out a scream, her vision suddenly shifted.

Yet, strangely, being held in his familiar embrace, the fear and all the complex negative emotions that had tightly wrapped around her began to fade away.