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Chapter 6.1




EunHa’s eyes burst open. Tears were running down from her eyes.
“Are you awake?”
A tired woman was sitting by her side. She got up and approached EunHa.
“…Where am I?”
EunHa frowned as an unfamiliar voice left her throat. When she tried to move, her whole body throbbed and ached as if she had been beaten all over. EunHa let out a soft groan. The unfamiliar woman kept her eyes on EunHa as she made a call.
“Lee EunHa-ssi is awake.”
EunHa looked around with hazy eyes. EunHa was currently in a dull room that barely had any furniture. She thought she was in a hospital when she saw the IV in her arm, but the white clothes she was wearing didn’t have a hospital logo.
“Tell me. Where am I?”
EunHa looked at the unfamiliar woman and asked again.
“You’re in a hotel.”
The woman was wearing a short dress and had a lot of makeup on. Her flashy clothes didn’t seem to match her manner of speech and facial expression, but EunHa felt that she was telling the truth.
“What happened?”
The moment EunHa asked this question, the door opened and a man in a suit came inside holding a briefcase. He put the briefcase on the room-service tray and began to take out medical instruments.
“How do you feel?”
The man didn’t look like a doctor, but he held up an instrument to measure her blood pressure as he asked. When EunHa didn’t respond, he spoke up.
“Thankfully, the gunshot wound hit your shoulder, so it didn’t wound any organs. You’ve had surgery, so please don’t move your right arm until everything heals. Let me take a look at the wound.”
The unfamiliar woman, who had been standing silently to the side, came up and began to unbutton EunHa’s clothes and lowered it to reveal one shoulder. EunHa tilted her head and saw that her shoulder was wrapped in bandages.
“I’ll change the bandages.”
Whenever the man moved his hands, she felt a cold prickle of pain run through her arm, but it allowed her hazy mind to gradually clear up.
EunHa began to go through the events that she still remembered. Before she lost consciousness, she was attending YongSung’s founding party. She followed KyungHyun and eavesdropped on his conversation.
Drugs. She had overheard that they were smuggling in Philopon and had gotten caught in the process. She was just about to run away when… She saw Noh HyungChul. And she shot him. At the same time, she’d been shot as well. The room had gone dark and chaos ensued. She had been carried out of the building by someone, and that was all she remembered.
Click.
The man finally finished dressing her wound and wrapped it in bandages. He took out a syringe and a small, glass medicine bottle. EunHa shook her head.
“No.”
“I need to inject the antibiotics.”
“How can I trust that you’re going to give me antibiotics?”
Click. The door opened. EunHa turned her head to see KyungHyun enter the room.
“If we didn’t plan to treat you, we wouldn’t have given you surgery in the first place.”
EunHa stared at him silently with her pale face.
“How do you feel?”
KyungHyun asked her. EunHa continued to stare at him blankly before she pried open her dry lips.
“How did you know my name?”
KyungHyun merely stared back at her. He didn’t reply.
“When I fell after being shot, you called me ‘Lee EunHa’.”
“……”
“And that woman also said my name when she called someone on the phone.”
When KyungHyun continued to stare at her in silence, EunHa looked into his black eyes and asked him again in a hoarse voice.
“Did you know who I was from the start?”
“Yes. Although, it was a surprise to find out that you worked for Serim.”
A silence settled in the room after KyungHyun’s reply. A frown gradually spread on EunHa’s blank face.
“…How did you know?”
“I heard you speaking to Kang SungHo in your apartment.”
There was no way that was true. She had only spoken to SungHo in her apartment a few times, and she’d only done it right around the time she started working at KeumOh.
“If there was a listening device, there’s no way I wouldn’t have seen it.”
“You’re right. The day I stayed over at your place, I got rid of them while you were asleep.”
EunHa’s white teeth fiercely bit down on her lips. She felt a hot flame blaze from within.
“You knew… You knew that I was from Serim and you kept me by your side?”
“Yeah.”
“Why…?”
EunHa’s eyes narrowed. A prick of red bled through her newly-wound bandages before spreading throughout the fabric.
“Please don’t get worked up. You need to remain calm.”
The doctor in the suit softly whispered, but EunHa didn’t pay any attention. She shook her head and glared at him with all the rage in her heart.
“Why did you do that? You don’t seem like a man who has the time to fool around with a spy from a rival organization.”
EunHa raised her voice as KyungHyun remained silent.
“Did you bring me to the party so that you could execute me in front of all those people?!”
The unfamiliar woman who had kept silent throughout all this stepped forward.
“Lee EunHa-ssi, please calm down.”
“And who are you? Are you this man’s lover? I don’t care if you are, but could you mind your own business for now?”
“We are police, Lee EunHa-ssi.”
The woman cut her off as her face hardened.
“What?”
EunHa looked up at her in disbelief as she frowned. No matter how one looked at her, the woman didn’t look like police. No, if this woman was police, it didn’t make any sense that she could stand to be in the same room as Shin KyungHyun. The type of people that couldn’t stand to breathe the same air as gangsters were the police.
“What bullshit is that?”
“You heard it correctly.”
KyungHyun replied indifferently. Seeing that EunHa was completely dumbfounded, the unfamiliar woman explained.
“I don’t know if you’ve ever heard of special forces within the police, but we specialize in infiltration.”
EunHa silently looked the woman up and down. Then her eyes went past the waiting doctor holding the syringe and went to General Manager Cha before finally landing on KyungHyun. She murmured in a hoarse voice.
“What are you all trying to do? If you plan on killing me, just do it. My identity has already been revealed, so what’s the point of putting on this show?”
“You’re right. Everyone in YongSung now knows your identity, so why do you think I would put on this show?”
KyungHyun’s black gaze captured her. EunHa frowned and bit her lip. She felt as if everything in her head was tangled up. She had a bad feeling about all of this.
“Are you telling me that you’re police?”
“Gangsters are people that value affiliations more than anyone.”
“Is that so?”
“Ah, and another group values it as well.”
“Who?”
“Cops.”
She briefly recalled their lighthearted conversation at the traditional Korean restaurant. KyungHyun gave her a blunt affirmation.
“Yes.”
“Not the mob… but the police.”
EunHa looked up at KyungHyun in confusion. This man, who she had thought was born to be a gangster, was actually police. For some reason, she felt more betrayed than shocked. She thought she was deceiving this man. However, it turned out that she was perfectly deceived instead.
“Haha…”
When KyungHyun saw her laughing at herself, he spoke up.
“For over 10 years, I’ve committed plenty of illegal acts, so it wouldn’t be completely wrong to say that I’m a gangster.”
The unfamiliar woman at his side coughed awkwardly with an uncomfortable expression on her face. EunHa glared at them and spoke in a cold voice.
“Explain it to me so that I can understand. Right now.”
The woman stepped forward and cautiously began to tell their story.
“As you may know, Lee EunHa-ssi, Serim and YongSung are the longest-operating criminal organizations in Korea.”
“And I’m sure the responsibility to enforce the law on them lies with the police.”
The woman didn’t seem bothered by EunHa’s mocking reply.
“Up until now, there were many instances and opportunities, but because of their illegal financial dealings with politicians, they were able to escape police capture. Because of this, prosecutors and police alike were frustrated. Extremely frustrated.”
“Even in our organization, everyone’s interests aren’t the same.”
At KyungHyun’s meaningful words, the woman briefly stopped speaking before continuing.
“12 years ago, right around the time when the election was drawing near, we received orders from the higher-ups to apprehend these mobs en masse. We were also told to insert one of our own to gain information from the inside. And back then, the team leader, Superintendent Shin, was selected to be the double agent. And that’s how it all started.”
“…12 years?”
EunHa furrowed her brows.
“That’s right. It’s been a long time.”
KyungHyun nodded his head. EunHa looked at him and shook her head. That meant that KyungHyun had hidden within the mob for 12 years as he pretended to be one of them.
“Do you think that makes any sense?”
“I never thought it would last this long when I first started. When 5 years had passed, we had an opportunity to completely capture the leader. However, in the middle of all this, the political arena had completely shifted and everything we had worked for blew away with the wind.”
“…It had to do with the higher-ups, so there was nothing we could do.”
The woman lowered her head to KyungHyun with a stiff expression. Without responding to her, KyungHyun narrowed his eyes as he gazed at EunHa and continued to speak.
“When I first received my assignment, I was sent to Serim, not YongSung. After 4 years had passed, Kang SungHo sent me to YongSung.”
“…What did you say?”
EunHa’s voice trembled. Her temples throbbed, and she began to get a headache.
“It was an opportunity I couldn’t refuse. This was a chance for us to know everything about both organizations. Even our higher-ups welcomed it with open arms.”
“Bullshit.”
EunHa softly mumbled. YongSung’s Shin KyungHyun was a man working for Serim? She had been in Serim for 10 years, and she’d never heard of this.
“Around that time, I was a rookie who had just entered the organization. All the members in the organization that knew me were sent to the countryside because Kang SungHo didn’t want any information to be leaked out.”
“But Kang SungHo wanted me to…”
EunHa didn’t finish her sentence. KyungHyun looked at her and calmly asked.
“Did Kang SungHo order you to kill me?”
EunHa looked at him in shock. KyungHyun didn’t look disturbed at all. He merely looked at her with distant eyes as he continued to speak to her. Her uneasiness continued to grow.
“As I continued to move up in YongSung, Kang SungHo began to grow suspicious of me. What I’m telling you is that you’re not the first person he sent to spy on me.”
“There were seven people, Lee EunHa-ssi. After they returned to Serim, they all went missing.”
“Nine in total. Two of them died by my hands.”
KyungHyun corrected the woman. EunHa’s mouth was dry, but she still swallowed. There was still one thing she couldn’t understand.
“Then why did you continue to keep me by your side even though you knew I was sent from Serim with orders to kill you?”
“……”
KyungHyun didn’t answer her question. Instead, the woman spoke.
“Lee EunHa-ssi, YongSung’s project of developing a new drug is actually a front to smuggle drugs into the country.”
“…So?”
Before she had shot Noh HyungChul, she had already overheard this piece of information.
“We believed that if Lee EunHa-ssi told Serim about these plans, Serim would definitely intervene. With that amount of Philopon being smuggled in, it would be enough for us to capture both YongSung and Serim in one go.”
“Then couldn’t Shin KyungHyun have told Kang SungHo directly himself?”
“…If Kang SungHo trusted me, he wouldn’t have sent you from the start.”
“Haha.”
EunHa laughed bitterly. She felt that she finally understood what they were saying now.
“So what you’re saying is… you were just using me.”
The reason why he kept her by his side even though he knew she was from Serim was because he wanted her to cloud SungHo’s judgement. Realizing that she was being used this whole time felt more wretched than expected. Why was she so disappointed? She was planning on using him as well anyway. Her cloudy eyes became fierce.
“You must be frustrated that I’ve ruined everything. If everything went according to plan, I was supposed to relay this information to Serim. Am I right?”
KyungHyun, who had been silent, spoke up then.
“Why did you try to kill Noh HyungChul?”
“Is he not dead yet?”
“He’s been hospitalized and is currently hooked to a respirator.”
EunHa bit her lips until she felt them sting. If she hadn’t been shot in the last moment, she would have been able to successfully hit his heart. If she had only been a second faster, she would have been able to kill him. Even if she died in the process, she would have dragged him to hell with her. She would have laughed at his miserable face.
“There’s no way Kang SungHo ordered you to kill Noh HyungChul. He knows more than anyone that it would cause a war between the two organizations. So why did you do it?”
KyungHyun asked again in confusion. EunHa answered him with a gaunt, cold face.
“I… have no interest whatsoever in any of this that you’re all doing. Serim, YongSung… It’s all none of my business.”
KyungHyun let out a heavy sigh as his eyes gleamed. As he had been heading over to the founding party with EunHa, he went through all the possibilities. He had originally planned to take her to China with him to leak some of the information about their smuggling plans. However, he decided it would be better to let her listen in on his conversation instead of telling her directly, so he let her follow him.
He had also set the 8th floor corridor security camera at an angle so that she wouldn’t be seen so easily. The GPS he had installed in her diamond necklace showed that she was coming closer and closer.
“Are you wondering why I shot that old grump?”
“You could have been shot and killed. Do you know that?!”
As he bellowed this, the woman at his side quietly blocked him.
“Lee EunHa-ssi is a patient.”
“Shut it.”
KyungHyun didn’t even look at his junior and spit out the order between gritted teeth. His previously blank face was now filled with rage. Even though he recognized that he was overwhelmed with fury, he couldn’t calm down. He had also considered the possibility of Lee EunHa getting caught. If she had been caught by Noh HyungChul’s bodyguard, he was going to step up and claim her as his woman to protect her.
Being the shrewd actress that she was, he trusted that she would play along. If Noh HyungChul acknowledged her as his woman, having her come with him to China would seem more natural. However, KyungHyun never expected her to behave so recklessly in a place filled with YongSung’s men.
“I’m asking you why you did something so suicidal and idiotic!”
“Because that bastard killed my parents.”
EunHa’s thin voice suddenly caused a heavy silence to fall inside the room. Everyone’s faces hardened as they stared at her.
“My father was a member of Serim who was killed by that bastard.”
Not only her father, but her mother too. Her young self ran away when she saw the corpses of her parents. But not now. Her eyes became sharp as she smirked.
“I wanted to twist a knife in his stomach, but I wasn’t able to. What a shame.”
The woman next to her hesitated before speaking.
“Lee EunHa-ssi…”
KyungHyun raised his hand and stopped her. The woman shut her mouth.
“Did you come to YongSung as a spy because of Noh HyungChul?”
“Yes.”
EunHa sharply raised her eyes. Her eyes glistened as they filled with tears.
“Not because Kang SungHo sent you?”
“I did everything he asked. I waited for the day he would send me to YongSung. I imagined ripping that old man apart hundreds of times for killing my mom and dad.”
KyungHyun’s black gaze on her deepened.
“But when I saw Noh HyungChul with my own eyes, I almost lost it. Serim or YongSung… Whether the organization kills me or whether everyone dies… It doesn’t matter, you see.”
Her tears clung onto her long eyelashes.
“But… What should I do… I wasn’t able to kill him in one shot… And I messed up like a fucking idiot…”
Her hot tears finally flowed down her dry cheeks. Watching her mock herself, KyungHyun spoke bitterly.
“I think… I understand now.”
“Mr. Policeman, can you tell me where that son of a bitch is?”
“Lee EunHa.”
“…Just tell me where he is. I’ll do whatever you want. Please?”
KyungHyun, who had been quietly watching EunHa become hysterical, finally let out a heavy sigh.
“The man who killed your parents wasn’t Noh HyungChul. It was Kang SungHo.”
EunHa looked at him, her mouth open in shock. Her pupils wet with tears suddenly dilated. Her pale, blank face looked like that of a corpse.
“What?”
KyungHyun finally solved the puzzle. He finally understood why she had stayed in the hands of Kang SungHo, the man who killed her parents.
“Just now… What… What did you… just say… What kind of bullshit are you…”
EunHa’s pale lips trembled as she hastily glued her eyes to him.
“It’s just as you heard. Serim’s previous leader, President Jang, had great trust in your father, Lee EunHa-ssi. If everything went according to plan, the next leader would have been your father. Kang SungHo couldn’t accept that, so he murdered your parents himself and set your house on fire…”
“Don’t be ridiculous!”
EunHa shouted. The unfamiliar woman shut her mouth briefly before she calmly continued.
“After killing your parents and setting your house on fire, he presented false evidence and framed it on YongSung. That was the beginning of the conflict between the two organizations. In the process, many men were sacrificed. After Kang SungHo killed his own boss, he was finally able to obtain the position he has now.”
“Lie… Don’t lie…”
When EunHa mumbled hysterically, KyungHyun replied in a soft voice.
“It’s the truth.”
“Do you have proof? Proof… I’m asking you if you have proof!”
EunHa looked at him in disbelief. KyungHyun’s voice became lower.
“That night, the one who turned you over to the police was me. I was the one you ran into on the street.”
EunHa frowned. Suddenly, like a crazy woman, she began to laugh in a shrill voice.
“Haha, hahaha! Shove your bullshit up your ass. Aah. You’re all so funny. What are you saying? Everything was a lie from the very beginning!”
KyungHyun took out a picture from the inside pocket of his jacket. As she fixed her dizzy eyes to it, her shoulders began to sporadically shake.
“These are the belongings that fell out of sixteen-year-old Lee EunHa’s pocket. A cellphone with a dead battery and a dog treat. Your last call was to Arizona, USA.”
“Save me… Mister… Please, please save me… Huuu…”
There was no way. The sharp face that gazed at her from underneath the black cap perfectly overlapped with KyungHyun’s. EunHa frantically shook her head.
“No!”
This couldn’t be. She was definitely mistaken. EunHa tried with all her might to forget that night. Her cluttered mind was filled with fog, making everything hazy. If this was true, then she wouldn’t be able to sleep anymore. Her eyes shook as she lost focus.
“Do you really not remember? Kang SungHo was one of the men that entered your house!”
KyungHyun spoke through his teeth in frustration. He held her back as she tried to escape. Suddenly, all the terrible memories from that night that she had tried so hard to forget began to flood her mind. Squeak. Squeak. The sound of shoes walking across the hardwood floors were so clear. EunHa’s chin began to tremble so hard that her teeth chattered.
“Where is our princess hiding…”
Tap. Glazed in fear, a teardrop fell from her eyes without warning. In the room where her dead father laid, EunHa was hiding behind the wooden door as the terrifying voice tore through her mind. Within the memories that she had tried so hard to forget, a thin voice whispered in her ear.
“Princess, from now on, all you have to do is follow Ahjussi’s orders.”
This was SungHo’s voice. The one she had heard countless times. EunHa shook her head and let out a piercing shriek.
“Aaaaagh!”
EunHa fiercely pulled at the IV in her arm. She grabbed the bottle and shattered it before taking a broken shard.
“Lee EunHa-ssi!”
“Lee EunHa!”
All the eyes on her widened in shock. EunHa didn’t hesitate as she pierced her jugular with the shard. She wanted to die.\n