When the elevator doors opened, Mi Hi jumped out of it and ran as fast as she could toward her apartment. Because of her quickened pace and the high-heeled shoes she wore at that moment, the hall resounded so powerfully. Mi Hi even seemed so confident while heading there. Yet, all this was a simple mask she wore because she was simply shaking inside while heading toward her apartment. Even her hands started to shake badly when she formed the door code. Because of this, she put the wrong code two or three times, looking around and seeming so scared because she thought that someone could have followed her there.
Not seeing anybody there, Mi Hi calmed down a little and formed the right code. Then, entering the apartment, she slammed the door behind her. When she entered, Mi Hi didn’t even look around but rushed to close the door. Her mistake because, the moment she turned her back to the place where she came from, Mi Hi didn’t see the young man about twenty, who had spied her from behind a pylon. Who was Mi Hi’s stalker? No one other than the young man known by Ha Rin as Jackal.
Who was Jackal? Only a few people knew that. Yet, none of those who knew him got to know who he really was, and it was also true about Ha Rin and Mi Hi. They only knew that he was someone who owed his life to Ha Rin. Yet, all this wasn’t trust insurance: neither for them nor for Jackal. That’s why they just used each other in those cases they needed someone to help them with something. Because of this, none of them knew that Jackal was a slippery fellow, in fact, who worked only for himself and for his ambitions. Even so, being a pro, Jackal hadn’t ever let anybody know or suspect about his dark aims. Not even his direct boss, about whom both Ha Rin and Mi Hi had no idea, probably knew which the young man’s real intentions were.
Nevertheless, not knowing much about each other didn’t impede any of them from having that perfect symbiosis. Thus, each time they needed to use the other one to reach some goals, they managed to do that perfectly. A symbiosis that worked for years, and which would have probably worked forever if Mi Hi hadn’t broken her word that night, doing things behind others’backs. Thus, the doctor made things worse and forced Jackal to do something he didn’t plan to do, at least not that night. And, to let them know that they couldn’t control him, Jackal ruined their plan by causing that accident when the plan was only to help SolHi and Ha Rin escape from the hospital.
After the accident, Jackal waited for Mi Hi in front of her apartment, aware that she’d stop by there to take her things. A right thought this one because, at dawn, Kuk Mi Hi appeared in front of the building. And, judging by her behavior and that she seemed scared, Jackal understood that she not only did things at her will, but she also intended to get rid of SolHi and Ha Rin that night. Yet, by failing in her plan, she decided to run away. Something Jackal intended to impede at any cost. That’s why he followed her to the sixth floor where the doctor was living. Yet, he didn’t approach her but let Mi Hi enter the apartment, and Jackal did that, planning to get rid of her without witnesses.
Minutes after Mi Hi entered the apartment, Jackal did the same. Not to be taken by surprise but to make sure he’d have this effect on Mi Hi, the young man carefully closed the door behind him. Then, he folded his arms over his chest and looked at Mi Hi, who was gathering her things in a rush and who seemed damn scared at that moment. Yet, thinking that she was safe in her apartment, Mi Hi didn’t look back, something that seemed to amuse Jackal. Then, tired of waiting for her to see him, Jackal approached her on the sly, making Mi Hi wince when she felt the coldness of the sharp blade of his dagger touching her throat. After that, Jackal grabbed Mi Hi by the hair and pulled her head back, delicately whispering into her ear, „Did you think that I won’t ever find you, bitch? That’s why you tried to hide?”
„No,” Mi Hi rushed to say. She was shaking with all her body at that moment while her hands grabbed the man’s arm, desperately clinging to life. „Just… the things got out of control. Yet, I didn’t want this to end like that.”
„Neither I,” replied Jackal calmly. After that, using the handle of the dagger, he hit her left temple. The young man needed only one hit to leave her unconscious. Then, he simply let her fall at his feet. And, dialing a number, Jackal said, „It’s me! Yes, I caught the bird in the cage as we suspected. Yeah, she hid as always in her golden cage.” Then, Jackal smiled. „Do you think so? Nea, I think differently. That’s why I’ll take care to kill her slowly only to make sure I’ll fully enjoy this pleasure.” And, closing the dagger, Jackal sneaked it into his pocket, leaving Mi Hi’s apartment shortly after that.
***
Mi Hi’s apartment wasn’t at all a golden cage as Jackal said. On the contrary, it was a usual apartment, with cheap furniture, which she bought to have where to sleep, sit, or eat. She bought all this not because she wasn’t interested in living well or being wealthy. Yet, Mi Hi preferred that and the cheap things because, in case she’d been forced to run, she could leave them behind with no regret for having wasted money in vain.
Not only did the cheap things give a „usual” aspect to the apartment but also the bars seen at the windows, something that turned that place into a real cage. The reason? Kuk Mi Hi was afraid of thieves as hell. She was also afraid of Death and her scythe, whose blade she felt not only once touching her throat. Because of this, trying to keep death away from her, Kuk Mi Hi asked for bars at her windows, thinking that it was the best way to feel safer.
She was so wrong in thinking this because those bars hadn’t ever protected her from death if her enemies had wanted that at any cost. The same happened with the metallic door, which didn’t impede Jackal from entering her apartment and leaving her unconscious for many hours. Even so, she had to be grateful that he didn’t take her life, and this was a relief as Mi Hi told herself when she came back to her senses in the evening. It was when she finally sat on the floor, although she still felt dizzy. Then, she looked around, trying to see where she was and understand what happened. And, seeing that she was still in her apartment, Mi Hi breathed a sigh of relief, touching her head with both hands when she felt it cracking.
When she touched her left temple, Mi Hi felt something wet and shuddered. This even made her fearful while staring at her left palm, which was stained with blood. Even so, she touched again the wound Jackal made on her temple as though she had tried to convince herself that it was real. Thus, she realized that it was a deep wound, left by Jackal as a testimony of his presence there, and made sure she wouldn’t ever forget him. An aim Jackal reached that day because Mi Hi was sure that she’d have a scar for her entire life. Even so, she was happy that she was still alive and that she got only the scar and did not lose her sight or life eventually.
„Yes, I’ve been lucky eventually,” she murmured. Then, she tried to stand up.
She didn’t manage to do that, and this made her shudder again. Mi Hi even felt nausea and gasped when she was about to fall face down. This happened when she felt that she was about to lose her last power. Yet, she managed to avoid that by sticking her palms to the floor. Thus, she kept her balance and stood like this for minutes in a row until she felt that the nausea from her stomach vanished and the dizziness disappeared too. Then, she deeply breathed in and opened her eyes.
Yet, she carefully opened her eyes this time, afraid not to feel dizzy again. Seeing that nothing happened after she opened her eyes, Mi Hi breathed a sigh of relief and calmed down, convinced that her blood pressure turned back to normal and she was able to control herself. After that, she also stopped feeling the pressure over her brain as she’d felt it the first time she opened her eyes.
„This doesn’t mean that’s over though,” the woman murmured, shaking inside again. „Yes, it’s not over yet. It only started. And… damn! Damn, Kuk Mi Hi! Why did you start everything if you hadn’t been able to finish it?”
Saying this, Mi Hi gasped again. This happened because of the nausea that turned back. Even the annoying buzz from her ears was heard again after that. The reason? She saw the moment of the accident again and when she’d been forced to twist the neck of one of the guardians, just to make sure nobody survived that night and that there weren’t witnesses to accuse her of that.
This had been another mistake because even if nobody saw her killing someone, Mi Hi wouldn’t have ever forgotten that, just as she hadn’t ever forgotten her previous victims. She only pretending having done that, something she understood that it was only an illusion. Mi Hi understood that because of the inner monsters and the ghosts that kept rounding her lately. Even so, she didn’t intend to give up on her plans. Yes, she wouldn’t have done that for anything in the world, not until she still had a chance to live a normal life as she believed and as others promised her. Yes, they promised her that if Ha Rin got rid of Ian SolHi while she was still in prison, both of them would have had a new chance to live a free life. Instead of this, she’d been forced to kill one of the guardians that helped her so many times while she worked in prison and not the one that was their ticket to freedom.
„This didn’t mean that she wouldn’t have ruined my plans if I had left her alive,” the doctor suddenly growled, gnashing her teeth. „Yes, it had been her mistake and not mine when she survived. I just… watched my back. That’s all. This doesn’t mean that I’ve been wrong, right? No, it’s not a mistake because everything is allowed in love and at war.”
Yet… was it really like that? Did Kuk Mi Hi have the right to do everything she wanted without being punished? Of course not! She was also aware of this because, while saying those words of encouragement, the words the guardian said before death kept buzzing in her ears, „Doctor Kuk, help me! Call an ambulance for me. I don’t want to die.” Instead of help, Mi Hi brought death closer to the guardian. Thus, she sentenced herself to an entire life of hearing those words.
This thought made Mi Hi swallow hard. After that, she shuddered again when she remembered the moment she approached the guardian, intending to „help” her. Instead of that, she touched her head with both hands and twisted it. „Like the fox is doing to the young chickens to eat them later,” Mi Hi caught herself murmuring such words of terror. After that, still shaking like hell, she weirdly grinned.
Yes, Kuk Mi Hi grinned like a crazy woman after such thoughts because even if she was afraid of death as hell, she still loved to feel fear and pain in others because of her. The reason? She felt fulfilled after this, somehow revenged, thinking that it wasn’t fair that others, especially women, not be turned into victims as she’d been turned once. To have such a privilege, she had been fighting all those years, bowing in front of those who didn’t deserve that… in front of the same jerks who took advantage of her in the past. Yet, Kuk Mi Hi did that to make sure she’d still be alive the day of tomorrow.
Nevertheless, everything was an enigma though. It was especially difficult to understand if she’d see the next dawn again. The reason? She felt that she’d have Kam BoRam’s fate eventually, whom Jackal had killed after she ran away. Mi Hi clearly saw that… how he approached the overturned ambulance and covered BoRam’s mouth with a cloth to impede her from asking for help. When this happened, Mi Hi was hiding after a tree, not far from the ambulance. And, judging by the movement of the guardian’s legs, Mi Hi understood that Jackal was there to get rid of the witnesses.
The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
Why Jackal killed BoRam, who was by their side, Mi Hi didn’t know. Even so, she didn’t bother too much about this or find an answer to such a question because she hadn’t ever felt comfortable around the guardian. All Mi Hi was interested in was to know herself safe. For this, she had to bow her head, humiliate herself in front of her enemy, and even ask for mercy if this had ensured her a long life.
„Something I’ll do no matter what because I can’t die. Not now and less when I have the chance to embrace freedom again.”
Suddenly, police cars screeched up somewhere far away from the place where she was. This made Mi Hi wince. Then, for minutes in a row, she sat on the floor, in the same place where she’d fallen after Jackal hit her head. She even seemed not to breathe at one point, waiting for the outcome. The reason? She felt that it wasn’t over for that night and that she would have had more surprises after that.
This new thought made Mi Hi gather power. Then, jumping on her feet, Mi Hi murmured, „I have to run away! This is what I have to do. I have to run as far as possible from here. I must do that no matter what.” Then, turning her back to the door, she ran toward the bedroom, intending to finish packing her stuff.
A knock on the door made her swallow hard and then shudder while staring at that door. Even her heart madly pounded in her chest after this, and the annoying buzz returned in her ears. Why did she feel all this? She was afraid because she didn’t know if a friend or an enemy knocked on her door.
Mi Hi wasn’t at all wrong thinking that an enemy came there because, soon after this, she heard Detective Gi’s voice behind the door, „Doctor Kuk Mi Hi? Police, open up! I know you are there! Open the door!”
„The police?” Mi Hi wondered, stunned. „So fast? But… why? What did I do wrong that they got me so fast? Did I leave some evidence behind me?” Then, she vehemently shook her head. „No, they don’t have a clue about what I did yesterday. It’s too early for that. If they had known that I killed someone, they would have knocked the door down, not knocked on it, and asked to open it. Yes, they must be here to interrogate me after the accident. It’s undoubtedly because of this, and I have nothing to be worried about.”
Deciding this, Mi Hi headed toward the door. Halfway, she stopped when she remembered the wound Jackal made her and that was probably still bleeding. This made her suddenly turn her back to the door and enter the bathroom.
Looking into the mirror and seeing the ugly wound, Mi Hi frowned. „Damn it, Jackal! This isn’t something to pass unnoticed. I can’t also say that I have it after the accident because this must be in the paramedic’s report. No. They’ll understand very fast that it happened after the accident. That’s why I have to do something and hide it. Yet, what should I do? What?”
Suddenly, Mi Hi remembered that she’d escaped from being interrogated once by pretending that she was in the shower when her roommate was assaulted. And, the moment she remembered that, she put her head under the powerful water jet of the tap, wetting her hair, which she wrapped in a towel after that. Then, to seem more credible, she took the dress off and put a bathrobe on her. Only then did she go and open the door.
Seeing Gi and Inspector Yu in front of the door, Mi Hi seemed surprised. „The police?” She asked right away. „I don’t understand the reason for such a visit.”
Gi smiled. „Well, if you did something or not to deserve being visited by the police, we’d see it later,” the detective said, using a certain irony and cunningness in his voice. Then, still staring into Mi Hi’s eyes, whom he felt a little nervous, although she pretended pretty well that she was calm, he said, „In the meantime, what about talking inside? Not the other, but… the visit of the police to your door can get you into trouble with your neighbors.”
„I don’t see why. As far as I remember, I haven’t done anything to be afraid of others’judgment, detective,” said Mi Hi, damn calm. This made Inspector Yu attentive, who found her behavior weird.
Why did the Inspector find the doctor’s behavior weird? Because Mi Hi was too calm, although hours before that she’d been about to die because of a tragic accident. Not only this: she had lost four colleagues in that accident. And, after such tragic events, normal people would have been in shock. Yet, Kuk Mi Hi acted as if nothing happened. She even seemed to have retaken her daily routine, something that made Yu think. He even felt that her words and her forced smile bothered him.
Eventually, the inspector winced when he caught Mi Hi’s glance focused on him. „Did I say something strange?” She asked.
„I don’t think so,” Yu replied. „Just thoughts.”
„About?”
„…things we can talk inside, if you don’t mind.”
„Of course not!” Mi Hi rushed to ensure the Inspector. „It doesn’t mind me,” she cunningly added after that, forcing a smile, although she felt her hands shaking again. A detail she couldn’t hide from Gi though. And, when she caught his glance focused on her shaking hands, she hid them behind her back, saying, „Let’s get in if you insist!”
Yu smiled. „Really? Without asking for any ID or making sure that we are really from the police, you let us in?”
Mi Hi carefully looked at the Inspector for a few moments. Then, of a strange calmness, she said, „I don’t have a reason not to believe in what you say, Inspector Yu. Why? I know very well who you are.”
„The reason?”
„Curiosity! Let’s say… that I’ve been curious after Ian SolHi’s trial. Thus, I found out things about her and those with whom she’d been involved. She also told me about you while I took care of her… in prison.”
„Aaa, it’s because of this,” Yu replied in distrust. „I thought I caught your eye,” he cunningly added.
The inspector’s answer made even Gi attentive. He felt that something was stinking in that story. Even so, the detective decided not to intervene, aware that if Yu did that, it was because he noticed a detail he hadn’t seen. That’s why he only focused his glance on the surroundings, checking the apartment, which he found „usual and poor.”
Eventually, Gi asked, „Are you living alone here, Mrs. Kuk?”
„Yes,” the doctor reluctantly replied. „As you probably know, I’m not married, and I’m also not in a relationship.”
„Something we aren’t interested in, by the way,” said Yu, smiling.
„Still, I think it’s something you’ve been about to ask. At least… I had this feeling. And, to avoid you wasting more energy, I answer one more of the questions you might have - „Why I am single?” - Because I like to live this way… with no headaches.”
„If you say so,” murmured Yu drily. „Anyway, all this is not what interests us.”
„No? Then… what are you interested in, Inspector? If I hide the two fugitives?”
„Well, it also crossed my mind. Yet, it’s also not something to interest me but to know what kind of relationship you have had with Min Ha Rin and Ian SolHi in prison.”
„Nothing out of the ordinary,” replied Mi Hi in a stern voice. Then, sitting on the armchair, legs crossed and authoritarian looking at the two, she added, „A doctor-patient relationship… only.”
„Something that doesn’t convince me,” said Gi cunningly. „That it hasn’t been anything more than a doctor-patient relationship. At least this happened with Min Ha Rin, with whom we found out that you had… a more special relationship.”
Mi Hi burst into laughter. „Are you trying to say that we’ve been lovers?”
„Well, yeah,” said Gi confidently. „Something you seem to know very well.”
„Hell no,” hissed Mi Hi through her teeth. „Ha Rin and I haven’t ever been in such a… relationship.”
„Something I still doubt, you know?! The reason? The suspect way you use to say her name. Somehow… kindly?” Yu intervened in that talk, focusing his glance on the doctor. „It’s also something my gut tells me. Why? Because… you call the prisoner by her middle name and not by her name or number. This lets me think that you hide something, Doctor Kuk.”
„Inspector, in this case, you can take that gut and stick it into…,” Mi Hi practically yelled. „The reason? I found your accusation aberrant. So, as I don’t like all this, I kindly ask you to leave my apartment. And, if you have additional questions, please contact my lawyer or summon me to the police station. I’ll come, I assure you… with my lawyer.”
Gi grinned. „With your lawyer? Why? You said you were innocent. Why do you need a lawyer when you have nothing to hide, Doctor Kuk Mi Hi?”
„Because… I know very well who you are and that you can send even innocent people behind bars. Why? Because many of you are corrupt.”
„Are you accusing us of something?”
„No, Inspector, I only say what I’ve heard around,” Mi Hi replied, irritated. „And, as I said, if you have more questions, I’ll see you at the police station.”
„As a witness or as a defendant?” Gi asked, pointing with his head to the opened suitcase that was on Mi Hi’s bed.
To his surprise, Mi Hi smiled. Then, slowly bending in front and supporting her elbows to her knees, she stared into Gi’s eyes, saying, „As a witness, detective because… I have nothing to hide.”
„I also hope that. And, if you insist on having that citation on the table, I assure you that you’ll have it tomorrow morning. Now: have a good evening, Doctor Kuk Mi Hi.” Saying this, Gi made a sign to Yu to follow him and they left the apartment.
Once the door closed behind them, Yu stared at Gi, asking the detective, „Do you think she hides something?”
„Who? The doctor?”
„Not me. Her attitude seemed strange to me. And… the bloodstain on the floor.”
„Bloodstain? Are you sure of this?”
„Pretty sure! And, even if she rushed to clean it, I still saw the marks there.”
„Then… it’s serious.”
„Very serious, detective. And… I have the feeling that she will leave the country before receiving the citation from us.”
„Well, I’ve never doubted that. Not even for a second.”
„The reason?”
„The suitcase we saw on the bed. She seemed to rush to gather her things, even if she tried to make us think that she just got out of the shower. And… the number.”
„The number? Which number?”
„I mean the phone number that she used to call 911. A burner one. And… honestly, we couldn’t understand whose phone it was.”
„It must have been hers, but she got rid of it.”
„Most likely yes. Now, the next question I have: why has she gotten rid of her phone if she has nothing to hide? This is what makes me doubt she’s clean.”
„Or… she has an accomplice who made sure that we won’t ever find out the truth about the accident and why SolHi and the other fugitive ran. Something I think the doctor was involved in.”
„Honestly, Inspector, I don’t see why Kuk Mi Hi should have helped SolHi. Even if what we suspect is true and she and Min Ha Rin have a close relationship, I don’t think that she’s stupid to take such a risk and help a prisoner escape prison just to go to jail after this.”
„Then, they had another reason for that escape and not help Min Ha Rin.”
„Do you think they tried to get rid of SolHi?”
„Yeah, I think that this might have been the real reason because… SolHi already told Prosecutor Han about the attacks she suffered in prison.”
„If it’s true, Inspector, we would have found SolHi next to the dead guardians.”
„Not if the plan changed in the meantime…”
„…and Min Ha Rin, feeling the danger close, decided to change camps and helped SolHi escape.”
„I am rather tempted to say that she forced SolHi to do that. The reason? Ian SolHi is a sure ticket to freedom and this is so because of her relationship with Prosecutor Han.”
„Maybe you are right, Yu. Yet, I don’t see how SolHi’s escape would have helped Min Ha Rin. Not after you told me that she had been hired to kill SolHi in prison.”
„Well, this is already something I don’t know already. What I know is that we have to find out this as soon as possible, Detective Gi. It’s the only way we can find SolHi alive and solve this case. One that doesn’t smell good to me.”
„I’ll say that it stinks, Inspector. Pretty bad, by the way. That’s why I say that we have to make sure first that the doctor doesn’t vanish.”
„Do you think she can lead us to her accomplice?”
„Honestly? I have no idea. Yet, this is what I would have done.”
„What do you suggest then? An ambush?”
„No. Let’s just keep an eye on her. Thus, if she’s really involved in this stinky business, as I think that she is, sooner or later she can go to the den of the one who planned all this. Then… we’ll solve the case, Yu… yes or yes.”
Saying this, Gi entered the car that was parked not that far from the entrance to the building where Kuk Mi Hi lived. Then, turning the engine on, they went away. Yet, they didn’t do that to vanish but to deceive Kuk Mi Hi in case she would have spied on them through the window. A few minutes later, Gi’s car appeared at the corner of the street, hidden in the shadows. Thus, they had the perfect chance to spy on the entrance door without being spotted there and make sure Kuk Mi Hi wouldn’t escape through the only door she could have gotten out of the building.