„I see now why you don’t trust people,” said IuNa while she accompanied Ha Rin and SolHi toward that part of the house that SoRan said was the safest. When she said that, IuNa was to SolHi’s right, a few steps in front of Ha Rin, who followed them in silence, thoughtful because she didn’t consider it a good idea to stay in that house. Even so, she didn’t oppose that but stood with SolHi, who decided to accept Lee SoRan’s offer.

„I don’t trust people?” SolHi asked, frowning. „What makes you think that?”

„All you’ve been through, SolHi. It’s nothing easy to assimilate because… I know what it means to live your life in danger and be forced to hide. Yes, you’ve also been through that, although your innocence has often lied to you that this world is kind and by your side, without knowing that this world is a manufacturer of monsters, in fact.”

„I agree with you now because it’s really like that. At least… it’s been so before that because I didn’t trust others.”

„Still, you trusted Captain Lee. Why?”

„Honestly? I have no idea. At least… I liked to think that I trusted him when it wasn’t anything like that.”

„It’s the same thing, in my opinion.” IuNa’s words made SolHi confused. Seeing SolHi’s eyes focused on her, IuNa smiled and said, „I meant all those who betrayed you. Even so, you don’t seem to be the kind of woman who hides and cries for mercy.”

„Now you are wrong.”

„Why?”

„Because… I’ve really hidden from people. How? Among people. I’ve been that kind of invisible person who had still fought with all her heart, even if I did that unconsciously while trying to change the mentality of people and make them see who I really was.”

„Still, this is a thing you haven’t managed to achieve, right?”

„Exactly. I think this is the real reason why I so easily accepted Lee’s plan a year ago.”

„You tried to punish yourself for your failure.”

„Something like that. Even so, I realize now how wrong I’ve been because, through everything I’ve decided to do, all I’ve done was to hurt more those I care about.”

„This time I must accept that it’s been like that. I don’t know you very well, you know?! I know only what SoRan has told me about you and her plan. Even so, I think that’s time to act and not hide.”

„To act? How?”

„I don’t know,” replied IuNa suddenly. „For the moment, I say to start with avoiding San DuSik to receive the judge’s acceptance for your sentence. I already found out that he asked for your death as soon as you and Ha Rin are caught.”

SolHi smiled. „I haven’t expected less from him, you know?! Even so, I didn’t expect him to do this step so soon either. Why? Because… I threatened him a few hours ago.”

IuNa frowned. „You’ve threatened him? San DuSik?”

„That’s right. Actually, it wasn’t my intention. All I wanted to do was to talk to DooSan. It’s when he picked up the receiver and asked me to surrender.”

„And you told him to watch his back, right?”

„Something like that. Anyway, I’m still surprised, you know? That he managed to ask for a judge’s acceptance of my death. There have been only hours since we talked.”

„There haven’t been only hours but days. SoRan has already found out that he asked for your death as soon as you escaped.”

„A wish that will cost him a lot eventually,” Ha Rin growled behind them, making the two women wince.

SolHi smiled, in the end. Then, looking at her cellmate from the corner of her eyes, she told her, „What do you intend to do? To enforce the decapitation but on his head?”

„It won’t be a bad idea, you know?! Even so, this isn’t my plan.”

„The reason?” IuNa interfered in their talk, smiling. „Are you afraid to add one more dead on your consciousness?”

„Neah, I’m not afraid of either of them. Why I won’t do it? Because… I consider that fear is worse than death.”

„I agree with you this time,” whispered IuNa, frowning.

Although IuNa wanted neither her whisper nor her thoughts to be something heard by others, SolHi still heard her. Then, seeing that IuNa said nothing else, she asked her, „An old story?”

„Something like that. A personal one, by the way. One that I’m sure that sooner or later you find out. Yet, it’s not the right time for telling stories. What it’s time for though is for seeing others.”

SolHi winced. „If you mean to see DooSan, I won’t do that.”

„Why? Do you think he might be followed? Or… maybe involved in your catching?”

„None of this. What I think is that he might be in danger, especially after the call I’ve made. So, I don’t want to endanger him more.”

„Even so, you have to do this,” insisted IuNa.

„Why exactly?” Ha Rin asked, irritated. „To make sure that we lose our heads in case someone follows him here?”

„No. If DooSan has to find out that you are here, it’s to make a greater plan and save you all. At the same time, DooSan can be our ears and eyes around San DuSik.”

„Still, it’s a huge risk, I think,” said SolHi.

„Why? Because of San DuSik’s relationship with our enemies?” Ha Rin inquired.

„Honestly? Yes. More than this, let’s not forget that DooSan is a prosecutor. Thus, if someone catches him collaborating with us, he might get a worse punishment than we got.”

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„I have to agree with SolHi this time. Even so, I still think that it’s worth the risk because we need him.”

„Maybe you are right, IuNa. Yet, let’s not forget that if we call him, we bring the others here along with him. Why? I think his phone calls are being listened to.”

„Better for us,” said IuNa, smiling. „Thus, if they come and check this house and find nobody here, we can act silently.”

SolHi and Ha Rin exchanged glances. Then, Ha Rin ironically said, „Only if we evaporate. It’s the only way they won’t catch us.”

„No,” replied IuNa confidently. „You forgot what SoRan mentioned.”

„The secret air shaft.”

„That’s right, SolHi. An air shaft that’s on none of the house’s plans. Thus, as it isn’t on paper, you can evaporate, don’t you think so?”

„If you say so,” growled Ha Rin, shrugging eventually. Then, passing by IuNa, she said, „If we endanger our heads, I say to do it faster. Not the other but… that hole bullet from the window, it’s a clear hint that something bad happened in this house. Thus, as San DuSik is lured by the devil, he’ll be here in a few minutes.”

Looking behind Ha Rin, who headed with sure steps toward the room IuNa told them about, the two women smiled. Yet, none of them said anything else because they understood that Ha Rin was just bluffing by showing that courage. Still, it could be considered a good example to follow because it was better to be courageous in that dangerous game than show fear in front of death.

***

Memories took over SolHi that night. Memories that made her think about everything that had happened in her life, thinking about every single event she’d been through, trying to understand what she would have done better to make sure everybody was safe. Yet, no matter how hard she didn’t think about this, she couldn’t find a better solution than the one she’d made that day, and this gave her headaches and made her painfully sigh.

Eventually, she winced when the door opened and then she looked toward that place. Instead of DooSan, she saw IuNa entering the room. This amazed her a lot, just as the kind smile seen on IuNa’s face surprised her, who entered that room bringing some clothes and a medical kit with her. „It was my idea,” she told SolHi. „Just as I voluntarily offered to play the role of the nurse.”

SolHi smiled. „A role that would perfectly fit you, I think.”

„Really?” IuNa asked, comically shrugging. Then, she sat on the bed and took the necessary things out of the medical kit to bandage SolHi’s wound, saying to her, „Indifferently if this role fits me or not, I’ll better bandage that wound than DooSan. The reason? Your wound looks bad enough. And, if DooSan sees that, I’m sure you won’t leave this room ever.”

„Something that won’t work for our cause, right?”

„Something like that. Why? Han DooSan is the type of person who can shamelessly install himself in one’s house without being invited there.”

„I’m aware of that already,” replied SolHi, chortling. „I’ve experienced on my skin his „insolence.” When? A year ago, right before I entered jail. He „moved” to my house, asking for „help.”

„He was rather asking for love than help. At least, it’s what I think,” said IuNa, smiling. Her remark made SolHi attentive.

Even so, SolHi said nothing about this. She only took off her jacket and the T-shirt, at IuNa’s request, allowing the young woman to bandage her wound. She even looked to the side when IuNa took off the old wet bandage, and she did that because she didn’t want to see again what her wound looked like, something that still bothered her.

Yet, she looked at IuNa when this one said, „It looks bad!” Thus, she saw that the wound opened on two sides, and the black dried blood was seen on it while fresh blood was seen dripping where the stitches were broken.

„Yes, it looks bad,” said SolHi eventually, cooking her nose. „Even so, this won’t knock me down because… enough wounds I got in my life. Plus, this didn’t even hurt.” IuNa smiled. „Don’t you think so?”

„That’s right. Why? Because… you’ve learned to lie beautifully, besides the fact that you ignore the wounds and learned to live with them.”

„It’s easier this way, don’t you think so? It’s easier for my soul especially.”

„Maybe. Yet, I still think that it would have been better without them. Anyway, I agree with you about a detail: that this wound won’t kill you but will only harden you. Even so, you’ll have an ugly scar after this, even if it seems to have been sewn by a professional. Did you see a doctor?”

„You can say it so. As far as I know, Min Ha Rin used to be a doctor.”

IuNa frowned. „A killer with knowledge,” she suddenly hissed through her teeth, making SolHi squint at her. That’s why IuNa pulled back when she said, smiling, „Don’t take it personally. Let’s just say that SoRan told me something about her.”

„And about the fact that Min Ha Rin tried to kill me while we were behind bars, right?”

„Something like that. Anyway, it’s not my job to judge her or you. If you forgave her, you might have had your reasons for that.”

SolHi sighed this time, covering the fresh bandage with the clean T-shirt IuNa brought for her. Then, looking elsewhere and not at IuNa, who insistently looked at her, she said, „I haven’t forgiven her. I just learned to live with her.”

„The reason?”

„Just something I feel. I feel all this more based on my gut than on reasoning.”

„And your gut is something that has always helped you get rid of problems. At least it has been more useful for you than when you listened only to your reasoning.”

„You can say it so. Even so, I have my doubts because… no matter how much I don’t believe in her, she still seems the kind of person capable of betraying others. Yet, eventually, she’s still someone that deserves my trust, don’t you think so?”

„Maybe. Even so, SolHi: if you get rid of this, go and see a doctor. I don’t think that scars would make you happier. At the same time, these won’t be proofs of experience, I think.”

SolHi smiled. „Scars are already part of me. And, if I get rid of them, I’ll still be conscious that they have been there.”

„This already sounds like pessimism to me, you know?! Why? Because… I consider that the ghosts of the past are something real only if we allow this. And, even if it’s as I say and you don’t trust yourself or others, trust at least DooSan. I’m sure he won’t ever betray you.”

„I know, IuNa. I know this very well, just as I know how much he has suffered since he knows me.”

„What about you? Haven’t you also suffered?”

„Yes, I did. I won’t deny that. Still, does it really matter more about my sufferance than the one of the man I love and I know that is hurt because of me? No. Let’s not forget that he’s persecuted and followed by law enforcement just because I’ve looked for freedom.”

„Something you deserved, by the way. To be free, I mean. At the same time, I think you underestimate DooSan because he’s stronger than you think. And… if he has chosen to be by your side, risking his career and freedom for you, it’s because he really loves you. He wants things to work between you and make things right… things that he might have done wrong in the past.”

SolHi kept silent for a while. She only squeezed the T-shirt she had from Ha Rin after they escaped prison, a T-shirt that was wet and dirty after everything they had been through that night. „It’s as dirty as I feel,” SolHi whispered in her head, feeling so insignificant.

Eventually, she looked at IuNa when this one stood up and said, „You should think about what I said, SolHi. Especially, think about the way you behave when you are with DooSan because… as I said, he’s not weak or someone who looks for others to protect him. DooSan is someone capable enough of protecting those he loves, especially the woman he cares about. And, even if I don’t like to accept that, you are someone special in his life, SolHi. You have an important role in his life, a role for which many women would kill to have one day.”

What IuNa said made SolHi think eventually. She didn’t do that because she realized that IuNa had feelings for DooSan but because she understood that the young woman was right eventually when she said that life was too short to lose it or waste it for being stupid. Her life wasn’t as she imagined it would be but the one that changed drastically eight years ago when she’d been unwillingly turned into a victim.

With such thoughts in her head, SolHi lay in bed eventually. She even crouched at one point, even if nothing hurt her. She just did that because she felt the urge to do it. Then, she fixed her glance on the three multicolored pills IuNa had brought her, pills for pain and to help her sleep. Pills that SolHi didn’t take eventually because she was afraid that, once she’d be awaken, she would once again realize that she was living a nightmare, one that haunted her everywhere and every single moment of her life.