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INSIDE MONSTER. THE FUGITIVE. (V.II)
CHAPTER 28: TOGETHER AGAIN

CHAPTER 28: TOGETHER AGAIN

After everything that happened that night, DooSan was really nervous. His nervousness was related to the fact he knew that the eyes of his enemies were focused on him, eagerly waiting for him to take a wrong step and be able to get rid of him in one way or another. More than that, everybody seemed to keep an eye on him because of SolHi, whom they were sure would try to contact DooSan and catch her this way.

This didn’t happen though, something that bothered DooSan more than it calmed him down. The reason? He didn’t know if she was fine, if she managed to escape after giving that phone call, or where she had headed. Even so, he tried to calm himself down by telling himself that it would have been better for him not to know about her plan. Thus, because of stupidity or by mistake, he wouldn’t have told anybody about this and endangered her because he was sure that her enemies were lurking on them, waiting to get rid of her at any cost.

Actually, DooSan thought about all this while he’d been behind bars that night. Then, he thought about this all the way until he got to SoRan’s house and the hour after that when they waited to see what DuSik and his people would do next. Safety that they finally had around five o’clock in the morning when they saw San DuSik talking by phone with someone and, five minutes later, SWAT cars left the area.

„Something that seems strange to me,” said IuNa, frowning. „That they left so fast. I thought they’d keep an eye on us until they catch the two fugitives.”

DooSan nervously moved, still staring through the window. „I also thought about this. Yet, it seems that they have another plan if he hits the pike eventually.”

Unlike them, who seemed confused and nervous, SoRan was damn calm. She even smiled when she said, „His problem.” Thus, she managed to make DooSan attentive, who squinted at her.

„What are you planning?” He asked.

„I? Nothing! I was just… calling the things by their real name,” replied SoRan calmly. Then, struggling a little with her wheelchair, she managed to turn it toward the stairs where she headed eventually. While heading over there, she felt DooSan’s glance focused on her because he was sure that she was planning something. At least her behavior gave him this feeling. And, sure that DooSan wasn’t convinced why she was doing all that, SoRan stopped and, looking past her shoulder, she told him, „Follow me! I mean, if you want to find out the reason why I’m so sure that San DuSik’s plan will fail eventually, you’ll follow me!”

The safety felt in SoRan’s voice made DooSan really attentive. He even took a few steps toward her, intending to grab the handles of the wheelchair and, stopping her, to make her tell him what she knew. DooSan didn’t do that eventually because of IuNa, who pointed with her head toward SoRan, spurring him to follow her. After that, seeing DooSan sighing, she followed SoRan first while DooSan walked behind them.

Until they got to one of the rooms, which were farthest from the living room, none of them said a word. They even seemed stubborn to keep that silent, something that outlined the nervousness felt in DooSan’s chest more. Why exactly? Because he suddenly started thinking that the two women were hiding something from him and he was the only one surrounded by darkness and anxiety.

Thinking about all this, DooSan wasn’t at all wrong. Why? Glancing at IuNa several times, he’d seen her damn calm when he thought that she’d be nervous and fearful once she was back in the country. Yet, nothing betrayed IuNa or showed him that she was afraid for her life, although she should have feared, once she’d been forced to escape from Korea years ago to save her life. Instead of nervousness, DooSan saw the determination in her eyes, just as he felt courage in her heart. „The courage to make herself justice with her hands,” he thought eventually.

This thought made DooSan nervous. He even wanted to ask IuNa about this, but he didn’t dare do that eventually. He didn’t ask because he finally realized that this might have reopened a wound that maybe was still bleeding in IuNa’s heart. At the same time, he kept silent also because he saw that SoRan stopped in front of a closed door and waited for them to catch up with her. Then, she looked at DooSan’s face, who seemed even more confused than before. And, smiling, SoRan told him, „We are finally facing the truth.”

„We are facing the truth! What the hell is this supposed to mean?” DooSan asked through his teeth.

„Nothing out of the ordinary,” replied SoRan, smiling again. „It’s just… the reason why we’ve summoned you here at this hour.”

DooSan frowned again. „The reason? I thought that you summoned me here because of IuNa. I mean, once she was back in the country, she wanted to see me and that’s why you called me.”

„I? To see you? At this hour?” IuNa asked, eyes wide open. „Are we in love and I was missing you or what?”

„What do I know?” The man asked her. He was nervous. „Maybe we aren’t in love but… still, we are friends. At least I thought we were friends.”

„Something I won’t deny. Yet, I don’t think that friends bother each other for nothing at five o’clock in the morning. At least this is what I think. Yet, the ghost thinks differently though.”

„The ghost? Who is she or he?” DooSan asked, eyes wide open while staring at both women. They only smiled while exchanging glances. Yet, none of them said anything for minutes in a row, something that increased the rhythm of his heart beatings. DooSan even felt his hands and back bathed by cold sweat. Only after that when he could calm down his mad heart that had been about to break his chest and run away, DooSan deeply breathed in and said, „You are both so weird, has someone ever told you that?”

„All the time,” both women said at the same time, bursting into laughter soon after that. Then, still looking at each other, SoRan grabbed the doorknob and opened the door, telling DooSan, „Come in, Prosecutor Han!”

DooSan squinted at her. „Are you sending me to death?”

„It depends on how you’ll see that,” replied IuNa instead of SoRan. Then, pushing him from behind, she forced him to enter the room, closing the door behind him.

Looking at the door that was closed by IuNa, DooSan saw the two women exchanging glances again while smiling. „What the hell are they planning?” He wondered. „Nothing good for sure because if it had been something good, they wouldn’t have acted as though I was the mouse that they wanted in the trap.”

Eventually, he’d been the mouse because the door had been suddenly closed, and, even if he was in a usual room, he felt it as if it was a strange place to him. DooSan didn’t feel only this at that moment - that he was in a place he hadn’t seen before, but in a place where something strange was happening. What exactly? He couldn’t explain. He only felt with his heart that something was waiting for him, something familiar this time and something his soul had longed for so long.

Thinking about all this while looking around and trying to realize why IuNa and SoRan had brought him there, DooSan seemed overwhelmed by emotions. A thousand weird scenarios were drawn in his head while thousands of contrary feelings were in his chest. He was right in feeling all this because a lot of strange things happened to him in the last year, especially in the last few days. That’s why he was sure that acting normally was something strange for him while being alerted was something normal for him, particularly in the last few days.

Suddenly, he winced when he heard a slight noise somewhere in the air shaft of the room. Looking up, at the small square with bars through which the air circulated, DooSan saw nothing there. Even so, he hadn’t been deceived by the two women’s joke, who mentioned the „ghost” earlier, but listened carefully, trying to understand what could have been there because „That’s not a mouse for sure,” he said, taking a few steps toward that place. „Yes, I’m sure that the noise is made by something bigger than a mouse,” he thought, taking the gun from behind and preparing it for shooting. He had even been about to shoot when the metallic square suddenly opened and lowered right in front of DooSan, who was staring in amazement at it. Why he was so amazed? Because he suddenly saw SolHi’s smiling face appearing from the darkness of that place and looking at him.

Grinning, SolHi fixed her glance into his eyes. Yet, she said nothing for seconds in a row, allowing DooSan to come back to his senses. Then, seeing him frowning, she smiled again and said, „I see SoRan scared you no other with the joke about the ghost.”

DooSan cooked his nose. „I won’t say no,” he suddenly growled, hiding the gun behind his back. „That they took me by surprise, I mean. Yes, they did that, even if it was obvious that they had acted weird all evening. Yet, what I didn’t expect was to find you here when San DuSik stuck his nose through all the corners of this house. He could have found you, you know? As I know his dog nose…”

„One that didn’t work eventually, once he didn’t find us here. Something strange though… as strange as the fact that he was here when there was nobody on the street when we jumped over the fence.”

„We?” The man hissed through his teeth. „Do you mean that you aren’t alone?”

„I’ve never been alone,” whispered SolHi, smiling. „There has always been someone around me. I’m a girl that breaks hearts, remember?”

„What I remember is that you are a girl that is killing time when it’s not necessary,” Ha Rin’s upset growl had been suddenly heard, a voice that seemed to be heard as coming from an empty barrel.

SolHi smiled again. „Why exactly? I mean… what makes you think that’s not the case to kill time? Eventually, the prosecutor himself is in front of me while we are still fugitives.”

„I also knew that,” Ha Rin feistily replied. „That we can be rewarded with cuffs instead of freedom. Even so, I prefer them instead of walking like a robot for a week after that because… brrr, besides the fact that here is as cold as in the fridge, I feel like in a box. So, Ian SolHi, I suggest you get out of here until I get mad.”

„If you say so,” replied SolHi playfully. Then, helped by DooSan, she got out of that air shaft.

Looking up, DooSan and SolHi saw nothing for seconds in a row. Only a strange sound was heard from inside the air shaft, a hint that Ha Rin was struggling to get out of there too. Then, about two minutes later, both of them saw a strange grinning appearing in that black square, and two hands stretched toward SolHi, begging to be helped to get out. „Not the other, but… I feel I’ve lost my entire youth in this hour while we’ve stood still.”

„Not that still,” said SolHi, smiling while showing Ha Rin a bruise she had on her right arm.

„Did she make that bruise to you?” DooSan asked, frowning. Seeing SolHi nodding, DooSan pretended to close the air shaft and said, „Then, she can stay there!”

„Hey, what do you think you are doing?” SolHi growled, grabbing his arm and pulling him back.

„I’m just placing the things in their place?” He replied drily. Seeing SolHi squinting at him, DooSan sighed, growling after that, „Yes, yes, I got it. It was only a joke, anyway.”

„Maybe it was a joke for you,” Ha Rin said through her teeth while struggling to exit through that small hole in the wall. „For other ghosts, it might be a sentence to death. At least… it was for me.” Then, seeing herself touching hard soil, Ha Rin sighed again. She did that because she heard her bones cracking after that, a hint that she stood too much still and the „old age” was close.

Eventually, Ha Rin glared at DooSan, making him suddenly pull back. „What now?” He asked, frowning.

„Nothing. I was just trying to understand if you are by our side or not.”

„I’ve helped you turn back to life, right?” He jokingly said, pointing with his head toward the air shaft.

„Well, yes, but… once you are the „lover” of many others, I thought it would be easier for you to get rid of ghosts than help them.”

„The lover of many? What the hell is this supposed to mean?” Remembering IuNa’s joke, DooSan slapped his forehead. „It was a joke.”

„I hope so,” Ha Rin growled. After that, touching her back with both hands, she headed toward the door. „In case you think differently, think twice because… it won’t be at all difficult for us to turn you into a ghost too. At least… we’ll be sure that you are with us and not against us.”

Squinting toward the door, which Ha Rin closed behind her, DooSan said through his teeth, „Was that a threat?”

„It depends on how you take it: personally or professionally,” replied SolHi, smiling. „Even so, if I were you, I would have kept the „threat” in mind.”

„Why exactly? To be aware when you turn me into a ghost or to look past my shoulder to ensure this won’t ever happen?”

„What do I know?! It might be a good idea because…”

SolHi kept silent the moment DooSan hugged her. The man’s reaction amazed her greatly because… yes, she knew he missed her and shook like an aspen leaf after she ran away. Even so, it was too much for her to realize that the man she hurt the most could hold her to his chest and tell her that he missed her.

***

„What a relief,” whispered DooSan, still holding SolHi to his chest. They were in another room already, at the shelter because SoRan decided that it would be safer for SolHi to be there. At the same time, giving them that room, she knew that they would have more privacy. „I thought I wouldn’t see you too soon.”

SolHi said nothing. She only hid her face to his chest, practically sticking her chest to his when he wrapped his arms around her. The man did that moved by a secret thrill, something he felt deep inside. Yet, even if he thought that this would calm them both, he’d been wrong because longing and anxiety suddenly took over them. When did DooSan realize that? The moment his heart started to madly beat in his chest, controlled by fear and nervousness, a feeling that made SolHi whisper eventually, „I’m sorry, DooSan.”

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„For what?” He asked her, confused.

„For everything that happened. Particularly, I’m sorry that I endangered you with that phone call, something I did because of my recklessness. I shouldn’t have called you. I’m a fugitive eventually while you are still working for the Prosecution. And… let’s not forget that, because of everything that happened, everybody’s eyes are on us.”

The man sadly smiled, kissing the top of her head. Then, touching her shoulders, he made her watch him when he said, „Are you sure that it was you who endangered me?” SolHi shrugged. „Well, I’m sure that’s nothing like that,” DooSan confidently said. „Why? Because… my profession implies risks. I’m always in danger, remember?”

„Maybe, but… I would have liked not to be one of the reasons for you to be in more danger. Something that will happen for sure if someone finds out that you’ve seen me but you said nobody about this. You can get in jail for that, DooSan.”

„I don’t care.”

„Well, I do. I care a lot, DooSan. I really care because I don’t want you to know what it feels like to be in jail. I’ve been there twice and I don’t want the man I love to experience the same pain and suffer the same I’ve done.”

Suddenly, SolHi kept silent. She did that the moment she understood that she had talked too much. Yet, she didn’t regret that because she finally felt that she told DooSan what she really felt for him. Looking into his eyes, deeply reading in his soul, SolHi understood that the man felt the same. She felt it in that long kiss on her lips, a kiss that followed the one felt on the top of her head. Then, DooSan held her to his chest again, saying, „I really don’t care about all this, SolHi because I have enough with this reward.”

SolHi frowned. „Reward?” She asked, confused. „What do you mean?”

„That I have you with me, SolHi. I have you close and I can hold you in my arms and… that I know you are okay. I can kiss your lips and not only dream about a kiss.”

Slowly pushing him away from her, SolHi frowned when she looked into his eyes. She even squinted at him when she asked, „Is this all you’ve missed? A kiss?”

„No. I’ve missed more than that.” Realizing that he talked too much when he told SolHi about his thoughts and ideas, DooSan looked elsewhere.

He winced eventually when SolHi slapped his arm. „You and your jokes,” she hissed through her teeth. Then, she turned her back to him, intending to approach the window and check if someone was spying on the house.

She took only two steps in front before feeling DooSan’s arms wrapping around her again. She felt his chest touching her back, a feeling that made her shudder inside, and this happened because of a pleasant thrill that crossed her body. This was something really pleasant… all she felt at that moment. Yet, she couldn’t openly talk about that because there wasn’t the right place or moment for that. Not after all that happened and after she endangered him that night.

Feeling DooSan’s hand sneaking under her shirt, SolHi frowned. Then, slapping that hand, she said through her teeth, „What are you doing?”

„I was just trying to make sure you’re fine.”

„You can make sure of this from far away or by asking. No need to conquer forbidden territories.”

Her commentary made DooSan burst into laughter. Then, laughing, face hidden in her hair, he said, „I was just trying to make sure your wound heals. I heard already that you’d been hurt before the escape.”

SolHi said nothing. She didn’t do that because she felt ashamed after realizing that she misunderstood his intentions when she didn’t think at all that he wanted to check if she was fine but because she thought that he wanted more between them, intimacy she couldn’t allow between them at that moment. She also felt ashamed because of all those thoughts and feelings she didn’t want to tell him about because if she had done that, this would have meant giving herself away in front of him. And, to hide all this from him, SolHi deeply breathed in.

The woman breathed in again the moment she heard DooSan doing the same with the scent of her skin when he stuck his face to her neck. This made her slowly shake because all this was too much for her on one single night. Then, she swallowed hard but didn’t push him away from her, even if she felt she had to do that. Yes, she had to push him away from her. If not, she would have definitely lost herself forever in his arms, releasing all those thoughts and feelings she wanted locked forever in her chest, something that would have pushed both of them on the path of perdition.

She could control herself eventually and push him away from her. SolHi even pointed him with her finger when she saw him cunningly smiling, saying through her teeth, „Don’t even think about it!”

„About what?”

„About what you are thinking right now,” she stuttered. „You can’t have more than this, prosecutor. At least… not tonight.”

DooSan burst into laughter again. „You know, I like your thoughts.”

„What?” She asked, frowning.

„Your thoughts about my intentions, I mean. Yet, even if I had liked to have more than this, I realize that we aren’t in the right place for that. So, making children is left for later.”

„Ia!” SolHi shouted, turning red from top to toe. „It wasn’t funny at all.”

„Well, I think differently. Why? Because… if I hadn’t made that joke, I wouldn’t have ever found out that the ghosts can blush.”

„Can you stop this?”

„What exactly?”

„Teasing me! It’s not either the right place or the moment. I’m not even in the mood for that.”

„Well, I think yes because… I can’t stop. Not after all this time when I’ve missed you.”

SolHi squinted at him. „Longing that you could calm down with… others. So, it wasn’t absolutely necessary to ask for a room only for the two of us.”

„I have a different opinion though. Why? Because… having privacy, we can have more time for us. Plus, I would have felt ashamed to hug you with enough eyes fixed on us.” SolHi burst into laughter. „What?”

„Nothing. I was just wondering who lost shame for you to find it.” DooSan shrugged. Then, he stretched his hands toward her again, intending to lift her T-shirt. For his „daring,” he’d been rewarded with a slap over his hands again. Then, SolHi demanded through her teeth, „That’s too much already! So, hands off me! If not…”

„…I’ll look for them. I know this already because it’s not the first time you threatened me with that. Even so, I won’t do that.”

„May I know the reason?”

„I want to make sure you are fine, that’s all. Anyway, I can’t change your mind, can I? Only if you want to try it, of course.”

SolHi sighed. „Can you stop this?”

DooSan shook his head. „What I want is to make sure your wound heals. It’s the only way I can calm down.” Then, until SolHi could understand what it was in his mind, DooSan managed to lay her on the bed. He even immobilized her hands when SolHi tried to release herself, telling her demandingly, „Don’t move or I’m not responsible for my deeds!”

„Are you threatening me right now?”

„I just… make sure you are a good ghost.” Seeing the red bandage, DooSan frowned. „Of course, I’ll also make sure your wound heals eventually.” After that, he stood up and headed toward the door.

„Which way?” SolHi asked, sitting on the bed.

„To make sure my soul won’t burn in fire after that.” Saying this, DooSan left the room, carefully closing the door behind him.

Alone in the room, SolHi frowned at first because she considered that DooSan was overreacting. „Or maybe not?” She wasn’t also sure of that. Even so, she knew that it would have been better for her to listen to his order because… she owed this to him - to give him a chance to make sure she was fine and received his care and attention. SolHi wanted to do at least this for him, even if she knew that she didn’t deserve either his care or attention, just as she knew she didn’t deserve his love - not after everything DooSan suffered because of her.

Yet, „Pack Mina is eventually right - Han DooSan and I are each other’s perfect copy. We are both stubborn and don’t give up, not even when we are sure of our failure. However, is what we feel really a failure?”

Such thoughts made SolHi crouch in bed, holding her knees to her chest. She did that because she felt so small and insignificant. She also felt that she didn’t deserve what happened to her - neither the hatred of her enemies nor the love of her friends because „There has always been like that. Yes, I’ve always received blows and so few hugs or cares. It’s difficult for me to feel that someone misses me and cares about me. It’s so difficult for me. It’s really hard.”

Sighing, SolHi closed her eyes. She did that, thinking that this would calm her down and remind her about beautiful moments that happened in her life. Instead, she saw the moment when Ha Rin threw the tire iron, trying to impede SoRan from shooting that bullet. A tire iron that hit SoRan’s left arm, forcing her to pull that trigger eventually.

The gunfire brought Lee Ma Rin and IuNa to the living room. Ma Rin’s shout was eventually heard when she asked, „SoRan, are you okay?”

„I’m fine,” SoRan’s voice was heard from down the stairs. „Yet, this doesn’t mean that we don’t have unwelcome guests. So, IuNa, be careful because, right in front of you, there are the mice we have to catch.”

SoRan’s remark made IuNa frown. „Mice?” She asked, fixing her glance in front. It’s how she finally saw two silhouettes somewhere down the stairs and she understood that someone had broken into the house. And, afraid that there might have been those who followed them, she confidently said, „Sure, SoRan, I’m right here with a gun ready to fire it if necessary.”

Hearing IuNa talking like that, SolHi smiled because, even if she didn’t know the other woman, she was aware that she was lying. Why? Because, if IuNa had had a gun, she would have heard how she took the safety off. Yet, she heard nothing of that, except for the wheels of the wheelchair, a hint that SoRan moved from the place she was.

SoRan’s movement gave Ha Rin some confidence, thinking that it might be easier for them to get out of there. Yet, she stopped the moment SolHi grabbed her hand. Then, she waited for a while, feeling the burden of that waiting deep inside.

Soon after this, when SoRan turned the light on, they convinced themselves that she was the only one who could endanger them, having a hunting rifle pointed toward them while being only two steps away from them. IuNa wasn’t armed, just as SolHi thought, and she saw that when she glanced behind them. The woman about fifty, who was only one step from IuNa, wasn’t also armed. Even so, neither SolHi nor Ha Rin moved from their place. Only SolHi supported herself on the banister when she felt the wound bothering her. Then, she looked for a few moments at Mrs. Lee when she asked her daughter, „Do you know them?”

„One of them yes. I can’t imagine who is the other one, who tried to crack my head with a tire iron taken from our own yard.”

„All I did was to protect myself,” Ha Rin said through her teeth. „And it’s nothing that belongs to you but something mine. Plus, you had a gun pointing at me. So, it might be considered self-defense.”

„Maybe it would have been considered that way if this had been your house and if I had broken into it. How is exactly the opposite…”

„…you have the right to call the police to pick up us. Something you won’t do though.”

„Why exactly?” SoRan asked, staring at SolHi. „You are two fugitives eventually while I don’t look for problems with the law enforcement.”

„Maybe,” replied SolHi, smiling. „Even so, you won’t do that. Why am I so sure? Because, if you hadn’t wanted problems with the law, you would have called the police by now because I have the feeling you knew we were coming.”

„She knew? How?” Inquired Ha Rin.

„The surveillance cameras, those Lee Do Hun had access to. Actually, he was the only one who had access to those cameras, just as you have now, right, SoRan?” SoRan didn’t reply. Yet, her glance let everybody understand that SolHi was right. And, seeing SoRan looking like that at her, she smiled and said, „If you say no, then… it’s the truth.”

„Maybe. Even so, I can’t understand the reason for your visit.”

„A very simple one,” replied SolHi confidently. „I’m looking for something that belongs to me.”

„Like?” SoRan didn’t allow SolHi to deceive or intimidate her.

SolHi smiled again. „Like the statement your father signed, where he accepted that I entered jail like an undercover agent to help him solve a case.”

SoRan frowned. „Undercover agent? What you want to say is that you knew about my father’s plans?”

„At least I knew about those plans where he wanted to protect others. Whom exactly? Han DooSan. What I didn’t know was that he had other plans related to my involvement in that case. Which one? To get rid of me at Min SinJu’s command.”

„A statement that can help you to get out of jail, right?” SolHi shook her head. „Why?”

„Because… I can’t give up on this case. I can’t, even if your father used me. The reason? There are too many at stake. Too many souls are in danger, better said. That’s why I can help them better if I’m still a fugitive. At least… I’ll use this card until we find out who’s behind this story and why they hate me and others so much.”

„Something difficult to find out eventually. Why? My father hadn’t ever kept his documents home, SolHi. I’m also not sure that those documents are in his office at work. Even if it’s so and it’s there, most probably it has been destroyed to keep you behind bars.”

„I don’t think so,” said SolHi, frowning. „I mean… I don’t think that any of my enemies has found it. If it had been so, they wouldn’t have tried to get rid of me a few days ago.”

„To get rid? What do you mean is that they tried to kill you?”

„Not only her but… both of us have been about to die.”

„And you are?” SoRan asked, staring at SolHi’s companion.

„Min Ha Rin!”

„Her accomplice!” SoRan suddenly hissed through her teeth, making Ha Rin wince.

„Do you know me?”

„Yes,” replied SolHi instead of SoRan. „I told her about you.”

„Bad things, I guess, once she has waited for us with the hunting rifle.”

„What were you expecting?” SolHi asked, staring at Ha Rin. „You were someone hired to kill me. And, even if I hadn’t told her about this, she’s smart enough to find out everything by herself.”

„Just as I can do other things,” said SoRan, putting on the safety of the rifle so as not to unload it accidentally. After that, she put the weapon on her lap and said, „I’m talking about the evidence, something damn difficult to find out. Even so, I’d have liked to see it.”

„You’ll see it, as soon as we find it. For the moment, let’s focus on Captain Lee’s partner.”

„Partner?” SolHi nodded. „Are you sure of that? That my father had another partner than Min SinJu?”

„I’m pretty sure of this. If he hadn’t had another partner, he wouldn’t have ever told me about the evidence he had about the case we were working on. What case? Traffic of minors.”

„A case Captain Lee might have invented, don’t you think so?”

„No,” said Mrs. Lee, making the other women wince. Looking at her, they saw her thoughtful, especially when she said, „I’ve talked to Kim HanSol about this once.”

„Kim HanSol? Who is she?” Inquired IuNa.

„A colleague of my father, someone with whom he had a good relationship,” SoRan said through her teeth, although nobody could understand the reason for her irritation. „Now I see why they understood each other so well: both of them were involved in stinky things. One of them - sending SolHi behind bars for two murders and making everybody hate her. Or… am I wrong?”

SolHi said nothing. She only swallowed hard because SoRan was eventually right: everybody hated her, just as she didn’t have evidence that the case Lee talked to her about was real. She had only vague evidence and a name she heard when she entered jail - the name of another prisoner, with whom she had to become close friends and find more details about the case. Yet, in that year behind bars, she found nobody with such a name, something that seemed suspicious to her because she realized that she might have been lied to and Lee sent her there to die.

When she remembered that, SolHi sighed. Yet, not even this time, she said nothing. She didn’t do that because she tried to avoid worrying others or giving them ideas about how to get rid of her. However, she still intended to find out more about Kim HanSol and even talk to her about the case. For this, she had to see her. That’s why she suddenly told Ha Rin, „Let’s go!”

„Where?”

„To visit other „friends,” replied SolHi, taking a few steps toward SoRan, who didn’t do anything against them this time.

She stopped eventually when SoRan told her, „If you intend to visit HanSol, I suggest you give up on this idea.”

„The reason?” SolHi asked, frowning.

„Just… something I feel. I mean… I think that it will be better if we try to solve this case on our own, at least for the moment. Later, if necessary, we’ll involve her because I know she’s capable of many things.”

„For the moment, the best solution for both of you is to stay hidden. Where? In this house,” said IuNa.

„A house that might be checked any time because… if it’s right what we suspect and San DuSik has kept an eye on everybody who visited me in jail, this place is the first on his list.”

„Even so, SolHi: it’ll be safer for you to be here than outside.”

„I don’t see why,” said SolHi, looking at SoRan, who seemed thoughtful. „This place isn’t a fortress, just as it isn’t a place not to be checked if a judge signs the order.”

„Maybe. Yet, it’s still a place full of traps, SolHi. What kind of traps? Those that can keep you alive and safe because… I’m the only one who knows about them.”

The cunning smile seen on SoRan’s face made SolHi think. Even so, she felt that SoRan didn’t plan anything against them but to keep them safe. And, she convinced herself of that when SoRan told them about the air shaft that couldn’t be found on any of the plans of the house - a perfect hideout for two fugitives like them. A hideout that kept them away from jail and San DuSik that night, hopefully forever.