《Red String Over NamHan River》
No Ordinary Sunday (1)
All Rights Reserved
Copyright ? 2023 by Mfonemana Uduak
No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted, downloaded, distributed, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, including photocopying and recording, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented without permission from the author.
The contents of this work including, but not limited to, the accuracy of events, people, and places depicted; opinions expressed are fiction. If there is any resemblance to any of the listed above, it is pure coincidence.
Kim Hana felt a chill run down her spine, quaking her bones as she stared at the bright sunny day. She wondered if she had caught a summer cold, but quickly dismissed it. She did not have the luxury of catching a cold at this time as she had to prepare to start her new job tomorrow. The summer graced her with the heat of the sun helping to dry her just-washed suit. She glanced across her small balcony only to meet the eyes of her neighbour on the balcony opposite hers and froze slightly before quickly gathering the empty buckets on the ground to leave. She needed no telling that he must have been watching for quite some time as usual.
¡°Finished with washing, neighbour,¡± the scrawny man in a white t-shirt and football shorts asked. She quickly nodded, entered her apartment, closed the sliding door and shut her blinds. She quickly put away her cleaning tools and changed into a black t-shirt and jeans combo, picked up her shopping bag stepped out of her house. As she adjusted her white sneakers while locking her door, she saw her scrawny neighbour now wearing brown trousers in the same white shirt seemingly busy on the ground floor. For a moment she wondered if to say something about him, if she had experienced his behaviour enough to be able to recognize him waiting for her from the third floor.
She gripped her shopping bag and walked briskly down, dashing past him in a feigned hurry.
She did not look back to see what he was doing as she walked without slowing to a supermarket twenty minutes away. Her hurried walking had managed to cut the journey by three minutes, leaving her slightly out of breath as she walked in and grabbed a basket, just in time to notice her neighbour enter the supermarket after her. She froze slightly as he raised his hand to greet her.
¡°Neighbour,¡± he said, ¡°Are you going shopping? Me too,¡± he said as he smiled through perfectly lined teeth. She admitted that apart from his build, he was a somewhat handsome man. But his obsessive eyes disturbed her greatly.
¡°Oh,¡± Hana answered and started rummaging through her small cross-body bag hoping he would leave. She picked up her phone and placed it on her ear and proceeded to act as though she had received a call.
¡°What? Now? Ok,¡± she said, dropped the shopping basket and made to leave, only to be grabbed by the arm.
¡°Where are you going?¡± he asked with slight irritation and her flat expression dipped into a frown.
¡°What are you doing?¡± she asked and he released her arm as though he had touched something hot and his face strained to make a smile.
¡°Not shopping anymore?¡± he asked.
¡°No,¡± she said and left in a hurry. Because she would not receive her deposit back at this point, she would have moved away. She sighed when she walked for a while and looked back but could not find him. What was she to do now? She had just returned to this city and had no close friends in the city. She wondered if she should call her former co-workers but remembered how her last employment ended and stopped. She walked aimlessly to a bus stop and got on. Her unease only caused her to look around even more, worried she was being followed. She got off at a park and sat playing games on her phone. She had decided to wait a while before returning. As long as she waited a while before returning, he would leave so that she could run her errand and return to cook. She had to cook for the week as she was not sure there would be time for her to eat a full meal, talk more make one when she started working. She had heard good things about the work experience at KM group, but she could not vouch for human character. There was no guarantee that she would get a good boss. She rotated between playing on her phone and watching children play, as time passed. She had only realised she should be leaving when the sun had started going down, she took a bus back and walked to the supermarket, a frown plastered to her face as she cursed at a wasted day. She wondered how long it would take her to finish cooking her weekly meal and go to sleep early enough to wake up well-rested for work.
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Entering the supermarket, she looked around to make sure she was not being followed as she moved around shopping. The slow music from the speaker calmed her a bit so that she could do her task much more efficiently. Just when her tense shoulder had dropped, she felt a tremor dance through the supermarket, products toppled from the shelves causing her to hold on to a shelf behind her for stability. The lights flickered as she heard someone scream from the aisle to her left and her eyes dashed that way just in time to see the shelf fall onto someone. Just that moment, she felt the shelf behind her tilt and dashed away before it could fall. The flickering lights disoriented her, making it hard to see clearly that she did not even notice when her back slammed into someone behind her in panic. She spun instantly at the sudden contact, jumping back a few steps.
¡°I¡¯m sorry, so sorry,¡± she said to the tall figure in front of her, looking up into ink-black eyes.
¡°It¡¯s fine,¡± the man answered as they both grabbed onto a shelf as a second tremor descended. She felt her breath become erratic as her heart drummed in her chest. Just when she wondered if this was her day to die, the tremor seized. She paused for a bit before making to get up only to be stopped.
¡°Wait, the shockwave could return. Wait a minute first,¡± The man hurriedly stopped her and she paused in place. She tried hard to take in deep breaths but it was hard, as she could only manage shallow once frantically competing with her racing heart.
The man opposite her watched her for a bit as she tried to calm herself. For a moment she looked as though she was about to have a panic attack but noticed her forcefully calm herself.
¡°It should be fine by now,¡± he said to her as he stood. Kim Hana looked around her, taking in the destruction before moving towards the window.
¡°Did the earthquake take out the electricity?¡± she asked, staring out at the darkness outside. The man walked over and looked out to no speck of light, not even a flicker could be seen outside.
¡°This store must have a backup generator,¡± he commented.
¡°I wonder if others are okay,¡± Kim Hana said, remembering the scream she had heard before and walked back in that direction only to meet neatly arranged rows of shelves.
¡°Hey, how is this possible?¡± she asked the man left behind and he walked over till he stood beside her and paused at the lack of chaos before his eyes. Not even a product was out of place. They both looked back at where they came from.
¡°How can the shock not reach this far?¡± he asked.
¡°I definitely heard someone scream when I was here. The shelves fell on someone,¡± she said and for an unexplained reason started walking back the way they came towards the window, but behind them was not even one fallen shelf, talk less product.
¡°Something is wrong, we need to get out of here,¡± Kim Hana felt the hair at the back of her neck rise. She knew this feeling. Someone was watching them.
¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± he answered and they started walking. With the flicking lights to accompany them, they walked for more than thirty minutes in silence, none daring to utter a word. No matter how far they walked, there was no exit in sight, nor did the feeling of being watched disappear.
¡°There is no way Orange supermarket is this big,¡± Hana commented.
¡°What do you mean, this is just some small store on Sangam-dong,¡± he said.
¡°Sangam-dong? No, this is near NamSuk-dong, the bus stop is not far from here,¡± Kim Hana said with a frown, one could hear a slight tremor in her voice.
At this point, he stopped and looked around, not a word in response. He pulled out his phone and found no signal. Seeing his action, she followed but was met with the same result, causing her to place it back in her cross-body bag.
¡°This has got to be a joke, right?¡±
¡°We are going in circles,¡± he said and she paused and looked around. The overwhelming feeling of being watched grew even more at this moment.
¡°Someone is watching us,¡± she whispered and he froze and looked her way, noting the direction she was staring at and following her gaze towards a shelf of baby products. He strained his eyes on that spot till a dark shadow dashed away quickly.
¡°Wait!¡± he called and made after him.
¡°No, don¡¯t follow,¡± Kim Hana hurried after him.
¡°Why did he hide? Wait!¡± She turned a corner and could no more see him and paused.
¡°Where are you?!¡± she called loudly.
¡°Run!¡± she heard his panicked voice from nowhere in particular and her legs moved before her brain could process the information. Her breath painfully tore through her lungs as she ran in no particular direction.
No Ordinary Sunday (2)
¡°Where are you?!¡± she screamed, her legs refusing to stop.
¡°Find steady light!¡± his voice echoed through the entire hall. For some reason, she felt a breath behind her neck but dared not glance back. Her legs ignored her tired state and increased their speed. Before she could scream, she felt someone grab her from the side into bright light and unconsciously started struggling, screaming at the top of her lungs.
¡°It¡¯s me. It¡¯s me,¡± She recognized the soft voice of the person clasping a hand over her mouth to muffle her screams and her struggling seized.
¡°Look!¡± he whispered, his right arm still grabbing her in place. Beyond the light, large red eyes could be seen on a figure shaded by the darkness.
¡°It runs if pursued, and pursues if you run. It can¡¯t step into the light for some reason,¡± he released her trembling body and she struggled to stand straight. He stepped back while she remained in place, her eyes trained on the unmoved figure ahead.
He looked back at her frozen figure as he looked around. It was quite an elongated room, lit by rows of bulbs above; empty and nothing in sight to the white wall at the end of the hall.
¡°Keep your eyes on it,¡± He said and made for the wall.
¡°Where are you going?¡± she asked in a panic.
¡°I am going to check what could be on the other side of that wall. Calm down. Tell me if it moves,¡±
¡°Alone?¡± she asked.
¡°Someone has to. Stay calm,¡± he said and only walked over to the wall behind them when he saw her nod in response. She looked frozen her white shirt and hair soaked with sweat and clinging to her skin.
¡°What is your name?¡± He asked, trying to distract her.
¡°What?¡± she asked in slight confusion.
¡°I¡¯m Kang Seo Joon, what about you?¡± he asked.
¡°Kim Hana,¡± she answered.
¡°What are you doing grocery shopping at night, Kim Hana-ssi?¡± he asked.
¡°People do this all the time,¡± She answered curtly.
¡°True. Doesn¡¯t make for good conversation, does it?¡± he felt his way around the wall, sometimes knocking and listening. She seemed to realise he was trying to distract her and apologised.
¡°Sorry, I¡¯m just¡ My neighbour was stalking me so, I pretended to be busy and ran away to a park to hide all day. By the time I came back it was dark,¡± she answered.
¡°Did you tell anyone?¡± he asked and she paused.
¡°Why?¡± she asked.
¡°I have found an exit,¡± he said and she glanced back at his figure by the wall for a moment.
¡°Really?¡± she asked excitedly. But when her eyes focused on the figure in the dark, she felt he had inched closer.
¡°The wall is boarded with wood. I¡¯ll try and break it,¡± he said and started pounding wildly at the wall.
¡°So? Did you tell anyone?¡± he asked.
¡°Tell them what?¡± she asked.
¡°That you are being stalked by him?¡± he asked.
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¡°What is the use? He is well-loved by others. They wouldn¡¯t believe me,¡± she said.
¡°They don¡¯t need to. What if you need to report it one day and there is no one that can claim you have said something?¡± he asked.
¡°It¡¯s more complicated than you think. Compared to me, they would take his side. They just ignore me running from him every day,¡± she said.
¡°Isn¡¯t that worse? It means they might think you know him. I don¡¯t understand women, really,¡± he said and her anger grew.
¡°What do you know?!¡± she scolded.
¡°I have seen a woman make a man a villain under the eyes of several people. Even those who had seen what happened, doubted themselves till they were utterly convinced. Why is it that you women will not use this skill when you actually need it? Can¡¯t you make him seem completely crazy?¡± he said.
¡°Have you been watching too much drama? How can you just¡¡± she started to say and almost jumped in fear.
¡°Kang Seo Joon-ssi, it moved closer,¡± A small voice crawled out of her throat as she stared at the dark figure now about six feet in front of her.
¡°What?¡± He glanced back at her only for his eyes to round out in panic.
¡°Step back. It¡¯s the light; it¡¯s going off. Hurry,¡± he said and she hurriedly turned around and ran towards him. At this point, he was panic-breaking the wall to get out faster. The wood tore through his skin with as much care as he had for the pain that followed, his actions not stopping for a second.
¡°A row light went off again! Hurry!¡± she called to him slamming at the wall behind her.
¡°There is so much a hand can do! If only we knew to get hammers from a shelf back then,¡± he answered in irritation. At his words, she paused just as she was about to join him. A slight mad thought seeped into her mind.
¡°You said, it runs if pursued, right?¡± she asked, her heart rate hiking to her rising fear.
¡°Why?¡±
¡°There may be hammers on the shelves back there,¡± She looked behind the shadow into the darkness. Her limbs trembling, she went into position. One look and he could tell she was ready to sprint away.
¡°No!¡± he said and made to grab her.
¡°I can run,¡± she muttered more to convince herself than him as she dashed away. Her vision blurred slightly as she dashed right past the figure into the darkness taking care to make a circle around as she ran, hoping to return to the room of light at the end of the circle. Cold air slammed into her lungs and her hot breath tore through her throat into the air in response. Soon, a well-paced rhythm was formed as her eyes dashed around the shelves in front as she ran. She was hoping for anything strong and heavy. No matter how much she ran, the flickering lights only revealed snacks and hygiene aisles without end. Ahead she spotted a sports equipment shelf away from the path she had set to follow so she didn¡¯t get lost and weighed her options only a second before dashing in that direction. She could at this point feel a hot breath on her neck and she only ran faster. She tried grabbing some hockey sticks but missed them, causing her to swear in panic. Just when she wondered what else she could grab, her eyes zoned in on a baseball bat ahead and she grabbed for it with all her might.
¡°Yes!¡± she shouted the moment she successfully grabbed the bat and turned a corner; the slippery supermarket tile, protesting her sharp turn.
¡°Kang Seo Joon-ssi! Kang Seo Joon-ssi!¡± Ignoring the throbbing on her hand that had probably slammed into something in her attempt to grab the bat, she started to call for Kang Seo Joon at the top of her lungs.
¡°Here!¡± Kang Seo Joon called back the moment he heard her voice echo towards him.
¡°Where?¡± her voice returned.
¡°Here!¡±
¡°Where!¡± she kept calling and he continued to answer. Noting that the shadow was nowhere in sight, she walked into the darker side of the room a bit as he called to her. Soon he could hear her call out close by. He looked straight ahead to find her dashing towards him the shadow only a step behind. This caused him to frown, as it was so close, it could touch her if it wished. He stepped back into the light and watched her dash into the light. The shadow stopped by the light, separated from her as she dashed in, slamming into the nearly destroyed wall. He did not wait for her to catch her breath as he immediately took the baseball bat from her and slammed through the wall. The bat was more effective than his fist; the hole in the wall got bigger.
¡°Hurry! The lights!¡± he heard her scream between breaths and needed no telling that the light was going off. He slammed even faster and a large hole large enough for a person to pass through was soon visible.
¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± He said to her sprawling form on the floor and started crawling through the crack to the other side. He stepped out on the other side and turned back to grab her through in one swift motion, just in time for the entire room to go dark.
Now safe on the other side, they could register the pain in their heads as their eardrums seemed to swell, threatening to explode. Barely taking full breaths, Kim Hana clutched her abdomen as her ears joined her muscles in pain. Soon, they registered the screaming as they slammed into things whilst being thrown all over the place. It did not take long for them to register that they were on a plane.
No Ordinary Sunday (3)
Kang Seo Joon struggled to grab onto a seat and pull himself up but was flung deeper into the plane. He found himself thrown from economy to business class. The turbulence slowly stabilized slightly allowing him to look up through the crack in the curtain at Kim Hana on the other side of the aisle and a dark shadow nearing her from the flickering lights at the end of the aisle.
¡°Hana-ssi!¡± he screamed her way. His scream tore through the ringing in her ears causing her eyes to burst open. She looked to the other side of the aisle where he lay struggling to his feet.
¡°Hana-ssI run!¡± he called and she glanced back at the approaching shadow. Crawling away in panic, she threw whatever she could grab at it. For the first time, she saw the shadow¡¯s figure faze and crack as the white of its eyes grew into half moons. Was it smiling? Kim Hana shuddered at the thought.
¡°Simulation complete. Congratulations to Applicants 66 and 99. Would you like to be separated?¡± A mechanical voice rang through their heads, but they were both too preoccupied to process; one crawling from the approaching shadows the other crawling towards the other.
¡°Please confirm, would you like to be separated?¡± the mechanical voice sounded again.
¡°Please confirm separation in ten, nine, eight, seven¡¡± it stated counting down.
¡°No. No. No,¡± Kang Seo Joon and Kim Hana started screaming in response.
¡°Confirmed. Applicants 66 and 99 will continue together. Adaptation will begin in two days. To prevent a funeral, both applicants must enter adaptation together. Ending simulation,¡± The voice sounded and Kim Hana and Kang Seo Joon found themselves slammed to the roof of the plane and back down into smooth supermarket tile.
Kim Hana felt pain radiate through her back as she hurriedly looked around in panic, but found she was back in the supermarket.
¡°Kang Seo Joon-ssi!¡± she called in panic as she made to stand, but was only met with the confused faces of a woman and child shopping by the next shelf. She looked around completely disoriented, stumbling away from the woman and around the supermarket.
¡°I am back?¡± she asked after a while noticing others moving around conducting their business without care. She limped out of the supermarket into the warm cool night air.
¡°I¡¯m really back,¡± she muttered in disbelief.
¡°Back from where?¡± she heard a familiar voice ask and she spun around to meet her neighbour. Slight anger flashed through her eyes as she turned around and limped away. She needed no telling that something was wrong with her ankle as pain radiated through her the moment she stepped on it. Noting that he was still following her asking why she was limping, she suddenly recalled what Kang Seo Joon had said about her situation. Anger rolled through her as she recalled the supermarket must be covered in cameras and started panic limping away, only causing him to increase his pace after her. She started rummaging through her cross bag and panic-dialling the police. She made no attempt to bring the phone to her ear despite her call.
¡°Stop following me!¡± she shouted at him and limped away even faster.
¡°I¡¯m going home, leave me alone,¡± she shouted, attracting the attention of those passing by. Noticing that her scream was attracting attention, he made to grab her several times, but she only got out of the way.
¡°Don¡¯t touch me. I¡¯m calling the police,¡± she finally showed him the phone. Even in the dark, she could still sense the wave of anger that rolled off him.
¡°I am at NamSuk-dong, Chin-hwa housing!¡± she shouted.
¡°What are you doing?!¡± he finally screamed back at her, but she dashed into the small street without care if he was following, towards the entrance of her apartment building. She only stopped to check when she was outside. She noted that he was now right behind her.
¡°I am just trying to help you,¡± he said.
¡°What is wrong with you?¡± she was done with her acting. She grabbed the spade the old lady on the first floor always used in her hibiscus garden and slammed it right across his face. He let out a loud groan.
¡°You like following people, don¡¯t you? You won¡¯t stop following me, will you?¡± she shouted as swung down at his back. This was enough commotion for the neighbours to open their windows to peer out.
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¡°Since I moved into this apartment, you have been following me around like a fly. What are you trying to do, you bloody stalker?¡± her loud voice only attracted more onlookers. She could hear the police car so she put down the spade.
¡°You are crazy!¡± he screamed at her and made to attack but the two policemen grabbed him just in time. It took a while for the police to calm both of them down. Maybe all the stress of the day had stewed too long only to explode because she was absolutely fuming. When asked what happened, that they had received a call, she answered that she was the one who called.
¡°I don¡¯t know who this man is. Since I moved in, he has been stalking me. You can check the cameras. Just today, I went out in the afternoon and he followed me till this night. I even ran away and spent hours by the park hoping he would get tired and return so I could finally go shopping. But he was still there waiting for me. Why is he following me?¡±
¡°I thought you two were dating. He is usually an honest person, there is no need to exaggerate,¡± An old lady said, going for her spade only to be stopped by the police.
¡°Are you the one who introduced him to me? Did I tell you we were dating?¡± Kim Hana countered and the old lady became flustered.
¡°But your neighbour said he was your boyfriend. Even if you are quarrelling, there is no need for it to get to this point,¡± the old lady answered.
¡°Are you his mother? Is that why you are saying I have to date him if you say so?¡± Kim Hana retorted causing the old lady to lose words.
¡°When did I say¡¡± she started to say.
¡°Which neighbour?!¡± Kim Hana asked, ¡°Who is the one spreading rumours that the person who is stalking me is my boyfriend, is she his partner?¡± It did not take long to track down Kim Hana¡¯s next-door neighbour who claimed in a panic that she had always seen him following Kim Hana when she came back every day, so she had once asked if she was out with her boyfriend and Kim Hana said yes. Kim Hana recalled this neighbour. She vaguely recalled this conversation when she had just moved in for a month. It was normal to answer that she had a boyfriend. After all, she lived alone. She always kept her father¡¯s shoe on the shoe rack by the door to scare off delivery men or repair men.
¡°There are cameras at the supermarket and this apartment. It should prove I am not lying,¡± Kim Hana told the police. Seeing things getting out of hand, some neighbours also said they saw him following her and always thought they were dating because of the rumour. The cameras were checked and it showed Kim Hana always running away and her neighbour always following afterwards. It looked bad, no matter what the neighbour could say. The scene of her hitting him was also clear and she was asked to follow to the station.
Kang Seo Joon slammed into the cold tile of the store and groaned in pain. His head spun as he tried to stand.
¡°Kim Hana-ssi!¡± he called frantically as he looked around to find only the store attendant over the counter. He soon realised he had returned and stumbled out of the store. The cold night air kissed his skin seemingly calming him down a bit. He looked around the street for his car, recalling where he parked, he walked over and got in. It took a while for his head to clear enough to drive.
¡°NamSuk-dong is a big place,¡± he said after considering the idea of going to Hondae to find Kim Hana. He decided to go home instead after calling his assistant to buy some medication for him.
He drove into his garage slightly agitated. Slamming the car door behind him, he walked towards his assistant waiting for him by the door. The lanky man adjusted his spectacles at the bruised face of his boss as his eyes widened into globes.
¡°Sir, What happened? Why are you injured?¡± he asked frantically as Knag Seo Joon pressed his thumb to the door handle, unlocking the door in the process.
¡°Did you buy it?¡± he asked as he walked into the house, his assistant at his heels.
¡°Yes,¡± his assistant answered as he started taking out the medication.
¡°Place is on the kitchen island. You are done for the night, Assistant Lee,¡± he said and started making his way to his bedroom only to pause halfway.
¡°Find someone for me. Kim Hana, maybe mid-twenties, lives around NamSuk-dong, Has a stalker neighbour and was at a supermarket in NamSuk-dong this night,¡± he said and Assistant Lee took in the information, slowing the more he spoke.
¡°NamSuk-dong is a big place, Every place around NamSuk-dong is also considered NamSuk-dong,¡± Assistant Lee said only to meet his boss¡¯s dead eyes and bowed in affirmation.
¡°Yes sir. Do you need any other things sir?¡± he asked.
¡°Be here earlier than usual tomorrow,¡± Kang Seo Joon said and walked into his room. It took him longer than usual to take a hot bath and get ready for bed; his aching body protested every movement he made. Now clean, he walked over to the counter, took out the medications and started tending to his injuries. As he applied the cooling cream to the places that ached he suspected they would bruise by morning. He proceeded to move to his office out of restlessness. His restlessness only grew as time passed, causing him to call someone he knew in the police department.
¡°Seo Joon-ah,¡± a familiar voice chirped the moment the call went through.
¡°Hyung, do you have anyone in the police station in NamSuk-dong? I am looking for someone,¡± Kang Seo Joon asked.
¡°Who?¡± he asked.
¡°Someone I know is being stalked, Kim Hana. Could you ask them to keep an eye out if she¡¡± Kang Seo Joon started to say.
¡°Kim Hana? Short hair, large eyes? It can¡¯t be who I¡¯m looking at, right?¡± he asked and Kang Seo Joon sat up instantly.
No Ordinary Sunday (4)
¡°You are looking at her? Where? I am coming over keep her there,¡± Kang Seo Joon hurriedly dashed from his office.
¡°NamSuk-dong. I am busy but I will keep an eye out till you get here,¡± he answered. Kang Seo Joon rushed back into his bedroom, through on a black jeans and white t-shirt, grabbed a jacket and dashed out the door.
It took him a while through traffic to get to the station. His impatience was building, as well as his stress. The traffic cared not for his mood and moved at its own pace. By the time he got to the station, more than forty minutes had passed.
The moment his car came to a stop at the police station parking lot, he called his contact while he rushed out of the car.
¡°Where are you?¡± his contact asked.
¡°I¡¯m here,¡± he said as he rushed into the station. His eyes only scanned the room for a second to spot her figure talking to an officer.
¡°Kim Hana-ssi!¡± he called to her.
Kim Hana heard the familiar voice and spun in shock. There he stood, dressed differently but just as she remembered him to be; a towering wall.
¡°Kang Seo Joon-ssi!¡± she called back. For some reason, her red eyes got even redder. She had for a moment thought she had dreamed what had happened to her. How could a dream be that real? She even considered that she had lost her mind from being stalked this long. But seeing him in front of her, she relaxed slightly. She had not realised how much panic filled her being and had not left when she slammed back into that supermarket and he was not there.
¡°Are you alright?¡± he asked and she nodded and he looked to the small crowd gathered around her. He had so many questions at the tip of his tongue but soon recalled the situation she was in. He resolved that they would talk when they were alone.
¡°Who is the stalker?¡± he asked, dragging her to his side.
¡°That¡¯s him,¡± Kim Hana pointed to her neighbour and Kang Seo Joon stepped forward. Looking at the scrawny man, his stress built and his irritation gnawed at him from within.
¡°Are you crazy? Why are you always following her?¡± he asked; his calm was cracking and his hands were itchy, ¡°How can you follow someone so much that they are afraid to go home?¡± Kang Seo Joon grabbed his collar.
¡°You can¡¯t do that here!¡± One of the officers stepped forward to stop them as Kang Seo Joon picked the man up, leaving his feet begging for the grey tile on the ground.
¡°I just asked her what was wrong with her. Are you the boyfriend? Why was she walking alone on her own? All she has ever done is walk alone!¡± The stalker neighbour shouted back. Some policemen tried to reconnect the stalker neighbour with the ground, while others tried to pull Kang Seo Joon away, but his tall form and large muscles ignored their weak protest.
¡°Who asked you to help her walk? Are you a public servant? Doing the work of God maybe? Loneliness police?¡± Kang Seo Joon could not help himself and kicked his knee causing more policemen to join the scruffle. This forced Kang Seo Joon¡¯s rationality to beg his calm to return and he released his grip, dropping the stalker neighbour to the floor.
¡°Seo Joon-ah!¡± Kang Seo Joon heard this familiar call. Since he had not bothered to cut the call, it seems his contact was alerted to the commotion, thus the frown adorning his face.
¡°Hyung,¡± Kang Seo Joon responded after a slight glance his way. Seeing the man who looked too young for being middle-aged approaching them, the two police officers saluted as they glanced between the man and Kang Seo Joon. The approaching man¡¯s family was quite known to them, causing them to look at Kang Seo Joon differently.
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¡°What is going on?¡± the man asked, walking over to Kang Seo Joon¡¯s side.
¡°Director Kang, This lady reported him as a stalker. He said that he was only trying to help her home since she looked hurt, but the security cameras showed weeks of stalking. We have procured the camera footage of the supermarket parking lot and she seemed to have been running from him. There is even one of him forcefully grabbing her at the entrance this morning,¡± one of the officers explained.
¡°I wanted to talk to her but she started running away. I am her neighbour, is it wrong of me to talk to her? She could have said she did not want to talk. I only grabbed her to stop her for a moment, how is that a crime?¡± the stalker neighbour asked heatedly. Kang Seo Joon felt so itchy he threw a punch that connected with the neighbour¡¯s jaw and the police stepped in between them.
¡°Seo Joon-ah!¡± Director Kang held him back, his face mirroring his shock.
¡°I¡¯m fine. I was just cleaning dirt on his mouth,¡± Kang Seo Joon said and the onlookers could almost nod at this explanation.
¡°It seems you and your girlfriend like to respond with violence,¡± a police officer commented.
¡°What?¡± Kang Seo Joon and Director Kang asked.
¡°She wants to press charges but she had beaten him with a spade. That makes things a little complicated,¡± the officer explained, causing Kang Seo Joon to glance at Kim Hana hiding behind him and she shrugged in response.
¡°Self-defence,¡± Kang Seo Joon responded, ¡°Besides, why is she injured?¡± He knew the answer to this question, but he had a feeling they wouldn¡¯t.
His question caused everyone to pause and glance at Kim Hana covered in bruises from her cheek down her neck and her arms. True. No one could explain her injury and she refused to comment on it.
¡°What are you going to do about him?¡± Director Kang asked.
¡°How about we send him off with a warning if he agrees to stay away from her and does not press charges for the assault?¡± a policeman looked at both parties for their opinions.
¡°Then what about his assault?¡± the stalker neighbour asked.
¡°Can I go now? I have nothing to do with this,¡± one of the two girls standing by the corner asked.
¡°How are you not involved? You saw someone following me and spread rumours that we were dating so that neighbours would not even help me when I asked for help,¡± Kim Hana recalled that this next-door neighbour of hers was still there.
¡°I did not know. You¡¯ve never shown me your boyfriend and he was always around you,¡± she pointed at the stalker neighbour.
¡°I just wanted to get to know my neighbour! How am I a stalker because of this?¡± the stalker neighbour responded completely provoked.
¡°Shut it, pervert. I even made comments every time you followed her home at night, asking if you were on a stroll with your girlfriend and even calling her name and you never corrected me!¡± Kim Hana¡¯s next-door neighbour retorted in anger.
¡°That is a witness that he has always followed her home every night. It is normal if she beats him with a spade. How is it assault?¡± Kang Seo Joon asked.
¡°Someone can testify that you have been following her home and there is evidence that you stalked her. What do you wish to do? Do you want to sleep in this cell or will you apologize and stay away from her? A stay-away order will be written but you will not be charged, as long as you stay away, you should not have issues. What will you do?¡± Superintendent Kang asked the stalker neighbour and he looked at everyone present and agreed through his teeth.
¡°Can I take her home now?¡± Kang Seo Joon asked and Director Kang raised a brow as his eyes glanced between Kim Hana and Kang Seo Joon, before looking to the officers in charge and they nodded.
¡°We have taken her statement, she can leave. We will process the stay away order,¡± an officer said and Kang Seo Joon bowed slightly and took Kim Hana¡¯s hand to leave.
¡°Hyung, thank you for today. I will see you later,¡± he said and Director Kang nodded slightly at their leaving figures.
¡°Call me when things are settled,¡± he said but Kang Seo Joon only nodded and walked out of the station with Kim Hana. A few seconds later, he pulled out his phone and typed a message on the family group chat. It was only one sentence and it read; Seo Joon punched a man over a girl at the police station today. Soon, his phone was buzzing without end but he only chuckled and placed it back in his pocket without bothering to answer.
No Ordinary Sunday (5)
Kang Seo Joon and Kim Hana sat in the car in silence for a while, both unsure of what to say.
¡°Why did you hit him?¡± Kang Seo Joon broke the silence.
¡°Why did you?¡± Kim Hana asked.
¡°Stress, frustration, willing target,¡± Kang Seo Joon answered, ¡°You?¡±
¡°Stress, frustration, ready target,¡± Kim Hana answered and Kang Seo Joon nodded and started the car engine.
¡°Should I take you home?¡± he asked and she nodded as they pulled out of the station driveway. The drive was silent, neither willing to break the silence but the air was heavy with questions none of them had the answers to. He parked the car by her building and she led him to her apartment in silence. The night was far gone by now, but neither of them was sleepy. Locking the door behind them, she took a seat on the small sofa while he took a seat on a stool by the small kitchen.
¡°So, we were not dreaming, then,¡± she broke the silence.
¡°It was too vivid to be a dream,¡± he nodded in reply.
¡°If never saw you again, I would have thought it was a dream,¡± she said and he ran his hand through his dark hair.
¡°It was already hard to believe such beings were possible. How long did you think we were gone, did you check?¡± he asked.
¡°Before I could get my bearings, that pervert grabbed my shoulder. But it seemed time had passed. I am not too sure,¡± she said.
¡°If we are losing time, then it is not some lucid dream we are experiencing at the same time. It means we are sent somewhere,¡± he muttered.
¡°Why do you say it that way? Do you suspect we will get pulled back in again?¡± she asked and he nodded.
¡°It asked if we wanted to be separated and called what happened to us a simulation. It also said an adaptation will begin in two days. It is possible we are going back,¡± he pointed out and she got up abruptly and walked around the small living space, her hand clasping her face, and hair, rubbing across her jeans nervously.
¡°Calm down,¡± he watched her with a slight frown.
¡°I can¡¯t go back in there. That thing, that shadow,¡± she started muttering.
¡°You need to breathe. It seems we were being tested. But for what? Do you remember anything else about the shadow?¡± he asked.
¡°It was so close, it was so close,¡± she sank to the floor. He could no longer sit still and went over to crouch beside her.
¡°It did not want to catch you. It seemed to want to scare you. It was so close¡¡± he started to say.
¡°Breathing on my neck,¡± she whispered.
¡°Breathing?¡± he paused and sat on the fake wood floor.
¡°It could not catch you. It did not want to catch you,¡± he said, ¡°Besides, you were faster,¡± Only then did she look up at him and start nodding.
¡°I was faster,¡± she muttered. He sat for a while in silence, giving her a moment to catch her breath. Kim Hana felt her calm slowly return to her. She looked up at Kang Seo Joon in front of her who seemed deep in thought.
¡°It¡¯s figure fazed in the plane. Like looking at an old TV with a bad signal,¡± she said, bringing him from his thoughts.
¡°We are pulled into an endless space to try and find our way out while pursued by a shadow-like figure. It called us applicants, we even had numbers, which means there must have been others apart from us. What if it is really as it said, a simulation, a game or something?¡± he asked and she nodded.
¡°Or an escape room, with a real location,¡± she said.
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¡°It may be hard for us to find out where the supermarket was, but the plane,¡± he pulled out his phone.
¡°But a lot of planes experience turbulence, it will never come upon the news unless the plane crashes,¡± she said.
¡°But two passengers slammed around and acting odd could end up on someone¡¯s phone. It would not be wise to underestimate the impulsive nature of pulling out one¡¯s phone to film,¡± he said, ¡°Search for strangers on a plane, odd people appear on a plane. If we just came and went, it could come off as supernatural,¡± he said and she pulled her phone and joined him to comb the net.
¡°Unless they could not see us,¡± she said.
¡°Or we were never there,¡± he completed. They descended into silence as minutes turned to an hour. Soon, both were sprawled on the floor on their phones as the night rolled away and the first light peeked through the curtains.
¡°Is this us?¡± Kim Hana finally broke the silence and he sat up, ignoring the pain that gripped his waist because of his sudden motion. She turned up the volume. The video was chaotic, but Kang Seo Joon¡¯s voice was clear as he screamed her name. The video only caught a glimpse of him shouting the word no repeatedly and vanishing. If they were not there, they would not have known that they were the ones.
¡°We were there. A real place,¡± he muttered.
¡°Kang Seo Joon-ssi, this video was posted a week ago,¡± she said and his eyes paused at the date.
¡°How? We¡¡± words caught in his throat.
¡°Kang Seo Joon, the comments say there is another video. What if they have my face?¡± she asked.
¡°Calm down. Many think it is an edited video, and even if there is a way to prove it was not edited, we were never there. We can¡¯t be in two places at once,¡± He grabbed her shoulder, forcing her to hold his gaze. His words seemed to make sense, so she nodded and returned to searching for the other. She followed a link attached to the video to a video of her crawling away from something the camera could not catch while repeatedly screaming no before vanishing. There were other videos but none of them could catch their faces and the comments all dismissed it as editing.
¡°Hana-ssi,¡± she looked up at the stern voice calling her from her thoughts.
¡°If we ever get called back into one of these, you must always wear a mask or something, okay?¡± he asked, but her mind was still dulled from the video.
¡°Do you understand?¡± he asked her and she nodded.
¡°We could end up in some serious trouble if we get caught on camera. You need to always have a mask in your pocket. Cover up any tattoos or anything that can be traced to you,¡± he said and she continued to nod.
¡°Where do you think they can take us next?¡± she asked as tears filled her eyes, ¡°In two days¡¡±
¡°We chose to not be separated, right?¡± he asked and she kept nodding. That shadow said we have to enter together again to prevent a funeral¡¡± he said and saw tears roll down her cheeks and swallowed.
¡°Our funeral? Is it possible we could die?¡± she asked.
¡°We won¡¯t, okay? We enter together, we come out together, no matter what,¡± he said. At this point, he was afraid that her head would fall off from too much nodding.
¡°What about work? I just got a new job,¡± she said and he paused.
¡°We will see how it goes first. Where do you work?¡± he asked.
¡°KM group headquarters, Marketing department,¡± she said and he paused.
¡°You work for me?¡± he asked and she froze.
¡°Huh?¡± she could not quite understand his words.
¡°Is there any other KM group? That makes things easier, I will know where you are,¡± he said.
¡°You are my boss? Which boss?¡± she asked.
¡°Kang Seo Joon,¡± he said.
¡°Kang Seo Joon,¡± she nodded for a bit, holding his gaze much longer.
¡°Mn, Kang Seo Joon,¡± he repeated, At this point she froze a bit before slowly sliding back from him and giving a deep bow while still kneeling.
¡°Chairman Kang,¡± she greeted.
¡°I don¡¯t think you need to bow, we are not at work. Besides, our life and death are on the line to worry about if I am your boss, right?¡± he asked.
¡°Yes, Our Life and Death,¡± she repeated, her voice cracking and he felt he might have taken the joke too far.
¡°Nothing will happen, we don¡¯t have time for this. It¡¯s already daytime. Let us use today and settle a bit,¡± he said and even though she was no longer bowing she was still nodding, he subconsciously placed a hand under her chin to stop her nodding.
¡°You need to prepare your mind, Hana-ssi. I know you are scared, but we have to get out of this. Prepare your heart, we are not sure what we will need to fight,¡± he said and got up from the hard floor. His entire body hurt causing him to groan.
¡°It¡¯s better if you take the day off work. We both need it,¡± he said.
¡°It¡¯s my first day,¡± she responded and he paused.
¡°Are you sure you can?¡± he asked and she nodded.
¡°Even if we are getting torn through space, as long as I am still living here, I need to pay bills. I am going to work,¡± she said and he zeroed in on her bruised face.
¡°Okay,¡± he made for the door only to pause and return and stretch his phone to her.
¡°Your number,¡± he said and she hurriedly took his phone and imputed her number. He called it immediately and she saved his. He watched as she typed for too long, sometimes pausing to think.
¡°You are thinking about this too much,¡± he said and she looked up to meet his piercing gaze and knew she had been caught and suppressed the urge to roll her eyes.
¡°So, as long as we are in this situation, you can¡¯t say I am disrespectful by calling you by your name, Seo Joon-ssi,¡± She emphasized his name.
¡°It¡¯s not as though I can do anything to you,¡± the corner of his lips curled up slightly.
¡°Fine,¡± she saved his name as Seo Joon-ssi.
¡°I will call you later, Hana-ssi,¡± he said and left, shutting the door behind him.
Riding The wave (1)
Kim Hana sat in a daze for a while before she hurriedly started preparing for work, wincing at every movement she made. As she walked out of the shower, she paused at the sight of her bruised body reflected back in the mirror. She quickly looked away and continued dressing quickly. She had kept her suit outside all night and it needed the heat of an iron to help with the slight dampness. She glanced at the clock and realised she still had some time, so she quickly covered the slight bruise on her face with a full-coverage foundation. She took some painkillers and walked out of the house. Locking up, she noticed her next-door neighbour seemingly returning from throwing away her garbage and nodded to her.
"Hana-shi, right?" her neighbour asked and she nodded.
"I am sorry for assuming that pervert was the boyfriend you were talking about without asking. Don''t worry, I''ll keep an eye out for him if he ever comes around again. I have informed some neighbours," her neighbour asked. A small smile bloomed on Kim Hana''s face at her words as she bowed and thanked her.
"I''m sorry if the police gave you any issues yesterday. Thank you," she recalled this neighbour was called Shin Iseul. For a moment when she put up her small fist in her Hello Kitty hoody while talking about the stalker, she suddenly thought, it was a fitting name.
"No problem," Shin Iseul said before entering her apartment. Kim Hana was pleased she did not make too many enemies after the entire fiasco the night before. Out of habit, she looked around while walking to the nearest bus stop. For some reason, the excitement she had thought she would feel when starting her first day of work was nowhere to be found. Maybe realising that she may find it hard to keep the job with her new situation dulled her spirit. She reported to the marketing department a whole thirty minutes early, yet the office was half full. From the tired bearings of those moving around, she doubted it was because of white-collar zeal. She found her way to the director''s office and knocked before being let in.
"Good morning. I am a new hire reporting to her first day of work." she greeted before the woman even turned around. The middle-aged woman glanced back at her slightly, before continuing her conversation. It was only then Kim Hana noticed that she was on the phone. After a while, the woman put down the phone and took a seat before descending her eyes on Kim Hana.
"I thought there were three new hires. Where are the rest?" she asked.
"I have just arrived director, I do not know," Kim Hana answered.
"It''s fine," the director said and buzzed for her secretary who rushed in.
"You did not notice someone enter my office?" she asked the secretary and she bowed in apology.
"It''s fine. Call over Leader Lee," she instructed. At this point, Kim Hana was a bit apprehensive as she thought she had made a mistake in her few minutes walking in. Soon, the secretary returned with a man who seemed to be in his mid-thirties.
"Director Gu," he greeted.
"One of your new hires is here, and early too. Put her to work," She nodded to Kim Hana who immediately bowed to Leader Lee.
"Sure, Director Gu," he nodded and beckoned Kim Hana to follow him.
"What is your name?" he asked.
"Kim Hana," she answered.
"Miss Kim, You take that desk over there. Take the revised draft files from Miss Shin in red over there and follow me. Can you take minutes?" he asked.
"Yes, sir," she answered.
"Tell Miss Shin to settle the rest of the new hires when they arrive and assign them some work. Take something to take notes and meet me by the elevator," he instructed and left.
"Yes sir," Kim Hana hurried over to Miss Shin and conveyed her instructions after a small greeting and was handed the files. She rushed over to Leader Lee''s side just in time for the elevator to open. They stepped into the elevator with others and got off after a while. Kim Hana tried hard to not look around as she followed him closely into a meeting room. Inside, there were already people seated. She bowed slightly to those inside and took a seat behind her boss.
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"Miss Kim, pay attention to the numbers by the sales team and the locations if mentioned. Note it all down. Sort the drafts by the ease of filming location and have them in hand just in case I need them." he said and took out his laptop to start working. She responded with a small yes and looked down at the stack of drafts. She was not sure how she was supposed to do this as she had not been trained, but she immediately started flipping through the drafts. Just like herself, everyone was too busy to bother with each other. As she noted the locations suggested for filming in the drafts, she did a small search on the internet about the site, how available it is and other things that crossed her mind. She was not sure what he meant by the ease of filming, but she sorted it to the best of her ability.
"Let''s begin," She heard a voice too familiar sound across the meeting room and she looked up sharply. On the large monitor was Kang Seo Joon''s face. She noted that the bruise on his jaw and nose looked slightly faded as he uncapped a bottle of water and took a swing.
"PR, if we drop Chae Lily right now what would be a backlash?" Kang Seo Joon asked.
"We would have to explain the Mayflower incident and it is best if we delay that." A lanky man on the other side of the desk said.
"Why?" Kang Seo Joon asked.
"We could use the backlash to our advantage. We may have promised to not talk about the Mayflower incident, but the police report will be out in a while and we are obligated to talk about it. We would be in some heat for a while. The uproar from her fans will raise awareness. When the police reports come out, our product will already be the talk of the net." the man explained. Kim Hana did not know what this Mayflower incident was, but she had heard of the singer, Chae Lily. She felt a slight chill from his suggestion, her hand not pausing as she continued to scribble on her notepad.
"Inform her team we will no longer be working with her," Kang Seo Joon said, his eyes landing on Kim Hana''s form on the monitor. The minute continued for a good thirty minutes, Kang Seo Joon''s eyes catching her adjust in the chair and stretching her neck slightly in discomfort.
"Marketing, why can''t I see Mrs Gu?" Kang Seo Joon asked.
"Director Gu went to the airport to pick up Producer Baek and Director Cha." Leader Lee answered.
"That was today?" Kang Seo Joon commented, "Then you tell me; I heard you wished to change the script completely."
"We figured by the time the news broke, our first script would be conflicting. The script and the entire feel were designed to fit Chae Lily''s image and Im Yeosin would not fit." Leader Lee answered.
"Im Yeosin?" Kang Seo Jun asked.
"She and Chae Lily are known to be rivals and even enemies. We think picking her will cause more stir." Leader Lee said and Kim Hana almost raised a brow.
"Will you still be able to keep to schedule? What is the marketing department''s idea for the new advert?" he asked, "It took quite a while to decide the last time. You will not be taking that long to send me something acceptable right?"
"We already have several drafts ready. Jang Mi Lake and HM Resorts are particularly good options right now. Im Yeosin''s manager has mentioned HM resorts as a condition." he said. As he talked, Kim Hana recalled that her HM resort had just announced that the garden and pond would be closed for a while. She wrote it down on her note and slid it in front of Leader Lee as he spoke. Her action did not escape Kang Seo Joon''s eyes as he saw Leader Lee glance down at it and pause a bit before continuing.
"But just this morning, HM Resorts announced that they would be closing Gardens and Pond for a while. We are considering Other sites, but it will come down to the concept chosen at the end." Leader Lee informed him and Kang Seo Joon nodded. Kim Hana looked tiny on the 30-inch monitor before him, but he still caught her slowed action as she returned to scribbling on her notes. He pulled out his phone and messaged her. It read, Did you not take any medication this morning? He listened to other reports as he watched her slowly pull out her phone and glance up slightly before looking back down. Soon, a message came in. It read, I was in a hurry. Kang Seo Joon put down his phone and continued the meeting. The meeting went on another forty minutes before he dismissed them and put off the monitor.
His assistant brought more files into his office and Kang Seo Joon who wanted to work from home through the morning threw himself into work, from one meeting to another. The Mayflower incident had caused him a lot of trouble, making him recall how much trouble it was working with celebrities. He glanced at the time as he put down the files in his hands for Assistant Jang to take away.
"Sir, Madam and Old Madam have been calling all morning, They said you should make time to stop by the family home." Assistant Jang said.
"If they call again, inform them that I am busy these two days, I will make time soon," Kang Seo Joon got up and walked out of his office to the living room.
"Sir, I am still looking for the person you were trying to find yesterday. I have asked a Private detective to..." Assistant Jang started to say.
"Cancel it; I already found her," Kang Seo Joon said, walking into his room to pick a brown coat.
"How long will the inspection take?" he asked as they walked out the door.
"A few hours, why?" Assistant Jang asked, opening the back door for Kang Seo Joon. Not receiving a reply, he closed the door and sat in front with the driver.
"When do the staff at headquarters take a break?" Kang Seo Joon asked.
"Noon, Sir," Assistant Jang answered.
"Stop by a pharmacy." Kang Seo Joon instructed as the car pulled out of the garage.
Riding The Wave (2)
Kim Hana had finally had the opportunity to meet the other new hires. When she returned from the meeting, she was assigned a desk beside Han Deji, a young woman with straight black hair while Cho Young-soo, a young man with dark brown hair sat opposite them. A small introduction passed around them before they all returned to their work. It was a busy day. Of all times to get hired, right in the middle of chaos. The three hires barely spoke as work was delegated to them. Kim Hana was designated more work by Leader Lee. Before noon came around, she had already been taken into three meetings. The moment noon stuck, many went to get a quick lunch. Mrs Kim a soft-spoken woman in her thirties urged them to stop working and go get a meal. She showed them to the eatery on the first floor where most of the staff ate. Lunch was part of their employment package, a reason why Kim Hana always wanted to work for a big corporation.
She was about to get her meal when a call came in. She picked up the call the moment her eyes rested on the caller ID.
"I am parked in the basement one. Come down for a moment," Kang Seo Joon''s voice sounded the moment the phone touched her ear.
"Okay," Kim Hana excused herself to leave.
"It can''t be Leader Lee calling for you again, right? He should let you eat," Mrs Kim said.
"No, I have someone waiting for me outside," Kim Hana explained.
"Okay, go. Don''t forget to come back on time," Mrs Kim said and Kim Hana bowed slightly and slipped away. She ignored the two men already on the lift as she entered the elevator and rode to the first basement. She was not sure if she would be able to find him, so she pulled out her phone just in time for his call to come in.
"Seo Joon-ssi, where are you?" she asked, not noticing that the two men walking right past her glanced her way a bit at the call of his name.
"In front of you, second row. The car indicator is blinking," he answered and she looked in that direction. It did not take long for her to find his car. The back door opened and paused and moved towards it.
"Get in." she heard him say from inside and she took a seat beside him. The moment she sat down and shut the door, she noticed two others in the car.
"Have you eaten?" he asked before she could react.
"No, I was about to," she answered.
"Driver Shin, to Lotus pavilon," he said.
"Yes, sir," the driver answered and started the engine. As the car started moving, Kang Seo Joon looked at his assistant sitting in front.
"Hand it over," he said and Assistant Jang hurriedly passed a small nylon bag to him. Kang Seo Joon took out a tablet and a bottle of water and handed them to Kim Hana. She looked at the painkiller and muscle relaxer and thanked him before taking it.
"You did not bother to treat yourself this morning. Did you go to sleep after I left?" he asked while rummaging through the nylon.
"I even came to work early. Besides, I am not sure if I can sleep," she answered.
"You just forgot? You can''t be sick after tomorrow, you know that," he said and she nodded in reply. Of course, she knew. Given what had happened last time, it was unsure what they would have to face when they got pulled in. She needed to be in the right condition.
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He passed her the ointment and took back the bottle of water. Kim Hana put the ointment on her shoulders, rolled up her left-hand sleeve and rubbed on a generous amount. She still had to put some on her ankle and the left side of her waist, but this was not the place so she put away the ointment for later.
"You did not get wounded, did you?" he asked.
"No, You?" she asked.
"No. Did you get the mask?" he asked and she paused and he gave her a deep look.
"It''s not today," she responded.
"You never know. Hana-ssi, I am getting the feeling that you might be a bit of an airhead," he said with a slight frown.
"I just forgot it once," she said.
"Once is enough. I think a mask is easy to forget. You might need something more useful." he said.
"I won''t forget it tomorrow," she insisted with slight irritation and turned her attention to the traffic outside allowing silence to return to the car. Assistant Jang who had been watching the two from the rearview mirror felt slightly uncomfortable at the silence. A look and he knew his boss was slightly annoyed. Silence followed them all the way to their destination. The car came to a stop and Assistant Kang hurriedly opened the car door to let his boss out. Kim Hana walked out and joined him as the three of them walked into the glass building.
"Welcome Chairman Kang, Your room is ready." A tall manager stepped forward and led the three to a private room. He nodded to a sever to open the door and showed them in. Kim Hana and Kang Seo Joon took a seat while Assistant Jang stepped back allowing the manager to present the menu.
"What will you eat?" Kang Seo Joon asked Kim Hana paused and ordered a lot of food.
"When did you last eat?" he asked.
"Yesterday Afternoon I had a bowl of noodles," she said as the manager took their order.
"Chef Gang has created a new dish. Would Chairman Kang like to try it?" the manager asked and Kang Seo Joon nodded and waved away the manager.
"Hana-ssi is used to skipping meals?" Kang Seo Joon asked.
"Yesterday, I went shopping to cook enough food to stock up for the week but that stalker made me spend too long at the park. By the time I came back to buy anything, it was getting dark and you know what happened after that," she answered. Noticing it was only two of them in the room, she took out the ointment and pulled out her shirt tucked into her trousers, slid her hand under the shirt and massaged her bruised side with the ointment. Her actions did not escape Kang Seo Joon''s eyes. He poured himself a cup of tea as he watched her frown in pain.
"You held that in all morning. What about your ankle? You were walking odd," he asked and she paused.
"It hurts a little," she answered.
"Bring it," he said and she raised a brow in confusion.
"Let me do it for you," he explained and she slowly complied, raising her leg his way from under the table. He took her leg, placed it on his lap and raised his hand to her to give him the ointment. She placed it in his hand and he took a generous amount and gave her ankle a slight rub, causing her to flinch.
"You call this hurting slightly?" he asked.
"It was manageable to walk on," she said and he tilted slightly to glance at the four-inch heel beside the table. His actions spoke volumes, causing her to snort.
"A bruise is not enough to stop a good heel from gracing a foot," she said as she nonchalantly poured herself a cup of tea. She took a sip of the tea and frowned in disgust.
"Isn''t Ice tea tasty? Why does this one taste so bad?" she resisted the urge to spit it out.
He picked up the phone and made a call.
"Assistant Jang, go pick up flat shoes for Miss Kim," he said and looked to Kim Hana throwing judgemental eyes.
"What is your shoe size?" he asked.
"38" she answered. And he relayed it to Assistant Jang and put away his phone.
"Chairman Kang is not going to ask me to pay it back, right? You bought it off your own free will," she said.
"You need to keep some free time tomorrow, we need to get you a turtle neck shirt," he said and she paused at how random his words were.
"Why?"
"A design that can roll past your neck up to your face, Eliminating the need for a mask," he said and if looks could kill, Kim Hana''s eyes would have split Kang Seo Joon in two. A knock sounded from the door and Kang Seo Joon called for them to enter. Servers arrived and placed down their food and started leaving.
"Bring me a cola," Kim Hana asked those leaving.
"Bring her an orange juice," he said and her sharp gaze descended on him again. The servers glanced between them, accepted the order and left.
"Seo Joon-ssi, I am getting the feeling that you may be a bit controlling," she said the moment the door closed.
Riding The Wave (3)
Kim Hana started sampling the food before her without care. She was so hungry, she did not care how she was eating and stuffed her face.
"Be careful not to choke," he said, letting go of her foot, "It is not that I am controlling, it is that I have found Hana-ssi is careless. You forget simple things and never think things through. If you do not heal well before we get recalled into that..." he gave up as he saw the annoyed look in her eyes.
"Yes, I forgot the mask. Yes, I forgot to get treated before going to work, yes, I still wore a heel instead of letting my wounds heal. Kang Seo Joon-ssi. You are not me. I have worked really hard to get this job, I can''t lose it even if the world wants to end. It is my fault for being more focused on the job I just got that could change my life than remembering to wear a mask or get treated or not put on the only good shoe I have so that I make a good impression at work." she said so calmly, if not for her steel gaze, on would have mistaken her for asking what he was planning to do for the day.
"So, what is happening to us is not important?" he asked.
"I saw you made time to get on a meeting this morning. Why did you not stop everything so we could research this phenomenon? I have thought this through. If we could get dragged in the first time, we would probably be dragged in a few more times before we figure out what is happening. And going by precedence, we will always return to reality at some point. So, even if we are facing hell tomorrow, life will continue without us. I don''t want to come back and lose track of every day. So, I will concentrate on what I can control. I will come out with a mask regularly and make sure to get treated so that I do not hold you back when..." she explained.
"That is unnecessary. I will bring you a mask and get you treated when necessary," he said and she stilled.
"Kim Hana-ssi. It seems I have not considered the fact that you are still processing what is happening to us and you are not taking it well, afterall, you have not slept since the incident," he said and she almost felt it was an apology.
"You haven''t slept either, so you..." she started to respond.
"But my habits make me more adapted than you are. So, since you will most likely forget important things, you should be more flexible to my decisions. I will make sure you always have your mask, I will make sure you are always treated when injured," he said and she took a deep breath to calm her anger and looked away. She learned one more thing about him. Apart from controlling, he is absolutely stubborn. The waiters soon returned with a glass of juice for her and Kim Hana took a mouthful of the chilled drink and continued eating.
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"You are angry," he seemed to notice.
"No, I am eating," she responded.
"I will need your ID tonight," he said and finally joined her to eat.
"Why?" she raised a brow.
"It is one thing for us to hide our identity from the world so that we may not get into unfavourable situations because of these simulations..."
"We are calling it simulations, now?" she asked.
"We also need to make sure whoever is on the other end of these simulations does not know who we are,"
"Is there a chance they do not already know?" she asked.
"Yes. There is a chance that we were chosen at random, some sort of mistake. We don''t know who they are, if there is a chance they don''t already know who we are, we have to keep it that way." he said and she nodded.
"You are going to make me a fake ID? Is that possible?" she asked.
"With enough money, I can make it legal," he answered.
To this, she responded, "I''m sorry,"
"Why are you sorry?" he asked.
"I am still too ignorant of the power of money," she answered.
"We need to decide on our identity so that I could have it handled. We will talk about this tonight," I have a meeting soon, so hurry up with your meal." he said and she nodded sourly. They finished their meal in silence and left the restaurant together, not noticing they were being watched. Inside the car, he handed her a pair of flat shoes Assistant Jang had bought and she took one look and swallowed hard.
"You don''t like it?" he asked and she threw him a judgemental look. Of course, she liked it. The nude flat shoes were encrusted with a large shiny stone flower. It was something she could only stare at when she went shopping.
"You can get another one later," he said and her judgement eyes rolled as she wondered how she could ever buy something like this later.
"I am sorry, I just picked what the shop attendant recommended," Assistant Jang seated in front said and she waved his way.
"No, it''s beautiful, there is nothing wrong. Thank you," she said while throwing a small grateful smile his way. She quickly took off her heel and put on the flats. It was the right size. The car rolled back into the underground garage with a few minutes left to spare.
"I will see you later," he said and she nodded quickly and rushed out, shutting the door behind her. Just as the elevator door closed behind her, she heard her phone ring.
"Miss Kim, where are you?" she heard the familiar voice of Leader Lee and stood straighter.
"I am on the elevator, sir," she answered.
"Come up to the office," he ordered and dropped the call.
Kang Seo Joon watched the elevator door close behind her before the car pulled away. The next moment, his phone rang and picked up the call.
"Seo Joon-ah, do you have time to stop by the clan house today?" a voice asked from the other side.
"I am inspecting a factory. I am not sure when I will be back," Kang Seo Joon answered.
"Ah, I see. Maybe next time," the person on the line said and dropped the call. He looked at the tail lights of Kang Seo Joon''s car leaving the underground garage, opened the group chat and left a message. It read; Seo Joon was having lunch today. Old madam, there is no need to worry too much. The message was accompanied by a photo of Kang Seo Joon dining with a young woman. At closer inspection, one could see Kang Seo Joon holding her leg on his lap under the table. The group chat soon became busy. But the culprit had long run away.