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Kwon Chae-woo could never be a saint. He knew his mentality was developed to be mean and harsh. The cruel thoughts and violence were as natural as using utensils. It shamed him to think that his wife was so weak and fearful.
He couldn’t be with her simply on an emotional basis. For their relationship to flourish, it was important that their worlds become closer, not just one side liking the other. It needed something more than feelings.
However, it felt like the huge gap could never be filled between So Lee-yeon, who wanted her husband to be restrained and docile, and Kwon Chae-woo, who would slay a boar with no hesitation. The worlds they walked in were polar opposites. After today, I’ll try to calm my natural tendencies, he thought as he chased after the men with eyes full of vengeance. But you will also have to come towards me and harden your disposition.
After running by the ‘No Trespassing’ sign and struggling through the thick bush, he burst into a clearing where several grimy storage containers had been dumped. Kwon Chae-woo quickly lowered himself behind an outcropping of boulders and surveyed the area. Two glass greenhouses had been erected amongst the storage containers and a strange smell emanated from them.
“Who are you?” A thick club pressed down against his back. Kwon Chae-woo lifted his hands in surrender. Judging by the dialect of the man standing behind him, he knew where the man was from.
Standing slowly, Kwon suddenly swung around, grabbing the club and pulling the man forward. As the man stumbled, he swung an arm around the man neck and began squeezing his throat in a choke hold. The man struggled in his arm, after recovering from the shock of being overpowered. Kwon continued to apply pressure to the man’s throat, whose face was turning from blue to a deep purple.
“Why are you bad people always so slow?” Kwon Chae-woo said to the man in his arms. ”Never mind. I need to ask you a favour.” The man’s eyes were starting to falter and Kwon released him just before he passed out. The man gasped and sputtered for breath.
Kwon Chae-woo looked at the man struggling to breathe. He wet his lips. “Don’t be loud and hit me once,” Kwon said, smiling.
***
A harsh chemical smell overcame her senses. As Lee-yeon regained consciousness, she realized she was tied to a chair. The spot on her head, where she had been hit, throbbed with a dull pain. The rough rope pressed down on her tender skin, squeezing her to the point of immobility.
“Oh, you’re awake!” A man approached her, removing his white mask. She could see other masked men beyond the person who addressed her. They were busy at tables, processing flowers that were as red as blood. Lee-yeon knew instantly what they were: poppies.
When did the peaceful life on this island become so unpredictable? Lee-yeon admonished herself at the fact that she kept somehow getting involved in dangerous situations.
Is Kwon Chae-woo all right? she thought. The mountains become extremely more dangerous after dark. If he was lost, no one would be able to find him until the sun came up. Her concern was more for him, then for herself, right now.
“Hey, I’m talking to you. What are you looking at?” Lee-yeon’s head was wrenched back by her hair. “Are you not scared?”
Lee-yeon closed her eyes to shut out the disconcerting feature of her captor. He may be as aggressive as Kwon Chae-woo, but he certainly wasn’t anything like him in any other way.
“People like you die here,” the man threatened her. “Others tried to sneak in.”
She was scared of her own situation, yet her mind kept drifting back to Kwon Chae-woo being left alone in the woods. He didn’t even have a cell phone. The man took Lee-yeon’ silence to mean she was hiding something. He turned her head left and right, looking into her ears.
“Are you wired?” he asked. “No ear mics. Let’s check your clothes.”
Lee-yeon glared at the man, as he tapped on her to see if there were any hidden mics. He couldn’t look inside the ropes, but he felt up all of the uncovered areas. He spent a little too much time feeling around the more intimate areas, and it disgusted her. She refused to show any reaction and held her breath as she was violated. The man stopped at the sound of a loud thump at the door.
The entire room silenced, and all the workers looked towards the entrance as the door opened. There was a short, young man standing in the portal, holding a dagger to his hostage. Lee-yeon’s determination to stay calm, gave way. The hostage the man held at knife point was Kwon Chae-woo.
Lee-yeon wasn’t sure how badly he was hurt, but there was blood streaming from his nose and mouth and his cheeks were swollen. Kwon Chae-woo stumbled, as his captor shoved him inside, and it looked like he was having hard time keeping balance.
Waves of different emotions were ignited within her. Anger, relief, worry. Her mind was a chaos of reactions.
“Lee-yeon.” Kwon Chae-woo croaked her name as he noticed her. He had scanned the entire room and taken every detail in.