"Momma..."

All the commotion had woken up Iseul as she stood at the bedroom door with a surprised expression on her face calling me. And I was distracted for a second.

And that one second, was one of the biggest mistakes I've made in my entire life. Because, you cannot afford to get distracted in a fight. You get distracted, you die.

Having privilege to that one second, my enemy managed to thrust his knife deep into my right thigh. He was ordered to bring me alive it seems. Or else, he wouldn't have gone for my lower body.

I dropped the gun in pain which would be my third mistake.

I screamed in pain as I felt cold red liquid run down my right leg. Blood stained my clothes and drops of it started to stain the floor too. I heard Iseul's voice scream in fear.

"Iseul... Hide!" I shouted as my body slowly started to grow weak.

I cannot fall, not like this.

With that, I tried to regain my composure.

I didn't take the knife out of my thigh, because taking it out would only make things worse for me as I'd lose more blood. I managed to prevent my legs from giving up on me and rushed to pick up the dropped gun. But just as I was about to get to it, the man stomped on my hands preventing me from getting it. And he kicked it out of my reach.

I held his legs trying to push him to ground but he was stronger, much stronger than Jo-hwa. And my thigh was injured badly. I always use my legs more than my hands during fight. It was crucial for me. He made me lose half of my strengths by injuring my leg.

And Jo-hwa, I know him and his weaknesses, but this man, he's new, I've never seen him before. And I'm not aware of his strengths and weaknesses which reduces my chance of winning to an even huge extent.

...

"Oww... Look at our princess..."

He smiled, a menacing smile, looking at the table under which Iseul was hiding.

The fake courage mask I had on my face till a couple of seconds ago to cover my fear, vanished into thin air as I watched him slowly approach my daughter.

No.

This cannot happen. No...

Even though I wanted to do something, anything to save my daughter, I was running out of time and chances.

I screamed and cried as he took calculated steps towards my daughter.

I held his legs as tight as I could to prevent him from taking a step further.

And I tried my final move of pushing him as far away as I could from my daughter even if it could only save her for a couple of seconds more. I'd get a couple of seconds to try and save her.

"You wench..." He clenched his teeth in anger as he turned his attention to me as he pulled my hair and continuously kicked me brutally which made me even weaker.

I was gravely afraid. For the first time ever, I felt truly and badly helpless. All I could do was cry... And beg him to leave my Iseul alone.

But he didn't stop kicking me.

I was in pain.

It was only pain that filled me. My body and soul were in so much pain. But the pain of losing my daughter was the worst pain of all.

All I did was scream.

But my scream reached no ears.

My dress was completely soaked in tears and blood. And I realised that I had lost a lot of blood.

Now, I had nothing left in me except for pain.

No energy. No hope. Just pain... In its purest form.

I know I would pass out anytime soon. "Momma's... Sorry... Iseul... ah..." I managed to whisper only for me to hear as the image of him approaching my daughter, slowly started to fade.

I was a second away from accepting this fate...

A second away from giving up.

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But

...

...

As my lungs gave out, and my screams started to fade, I heard a new scream emerge.

That scream belonged to the man who was beating me seconds ago.

Through my half-closed eye-lids, I watched a pair of hands pull him away from approaching Iseul's hide-out. And I watched the same pair of hands punch him... repeatedly without holding back. Just like how he was kicking me seconds ago.

Moon Insoo... Is it him?

I tried to focus my vision on his face.

He punched him and didn't stop even when he coughed out blood. Even with my blurred vision I could see his face and his rage filled eyes... Clearly.

It is him.

After a few seconds, he dropped the man to the ground... Unconscious. Beside the already unconscious Jo-hwa's body.

After which, he quickly ran to where Iseul was, "Iseul-ah... Are you fine? Are you injured?" I heard him ask.

"Dada... Momma is... Momma is..." I heard Iseul's voice break.

He turned his head to the other direction to face me, fear filled his eyes.

"In... Soo..."

He came.

With all of my remaining energy, I managed to say his name. And I smiled looking at him... as it was all I could do to show my gratitude.

And before I passed out, the last thing I saw was Insoo rushing towards me as I heard him scream,

"DAYUN....!"

And everything went black.

...

Was it my hallucination? Could I be hallucinating the moment where Insoo came? What if it was just a hallucination and my daughter was still in trouble? My mind over-worked as usual.

But, I pushed away those absurd thoughts. The relief that I felt was too real to be a dream and Insoo's distant voice made sure that it wasn't a dream, as I could hear him desperately asking me to hold on for sometimes and continuously assuring me that I'd be alright and that those men can't reach me anymore.

"Dayun please... Please hold on. You'll be alright... We'll be at the hospital soon. You'll be fine."

I'll be fine, he said... And...

Despite all the pain............... I felt fine indeed.

His voice and his touch assured me the same.

~

~

Earlier that day,

'CharmingChul wins' flashes on the screen as Insoo and Chul-ho were playing a video game in the former's house. And apparently, Insoo lost.

"And... I win again!" Chul-ho screamed and danced in joy while Insoo glared at the screen.

"I'm leaving!" Insoo threw the game remote on the sofa as he stood up annoyed.

"Hey wait... Didn't you agree to play with me?"

"I did?...... It was you who barged into my house and forced me to play this stupid game! Couldn't you find someone else to play this with?!" He shouted at him.

"Yes, I have a lot of people............." Chul-ho patted on his friend's back. "But what shall I do? I love seeing you lose against me."

"You little..."

*Phone rings*

"Secretary Ro Dayun..." Chul-ho read the caller ID of the ringing phone that was placed on the table before them. "Hey hey... Isn't that Ms. Mysterious past? So, my trick has worked charms, it seems. She's already calling you at night." He held Insoo's face and turned it to face the phone.

"Stop with your non-sense" He said pushing his hands away. "It's probably Iseul."

With that he went to pick up his phone and put it to his ear. "Hello... Iseul?"

And the next moment his face was filled with shock as he rushed out of the door asking her to be safe and hold on for a few seconds as he cut the call.

"Call the police. To Yi street, Seoulers apartment. Do it quick!" He shouted to his friend on his way out who was confused and his questions went unanswered. However, he was quick on his job.

~

~

At present, in the hospital,

Insoo's POV,

The doctors and nurses were taking Dayun to the emergency ward. And I was running with them. Dayun was unconscious. Her breathing was faint too. But her pulse... Her pulse seemed somewhat stable which gave me a lot of relief.

Nothing should happen to her. She must be alright. I prayed desperately.

When we reached the ward, they took her inside and I was stopped at the entrance. She was out of my sight.

Now, all I could do was pace back and forth, hoping that Dayun would be fine.

I had left Chul-ho to take care of Iseul. And waited at the hospital for the surgery to be completed...

After a few hours...

The doctor came out.

"Is she alright?" I rushed to the doctor's as soon as she came out.

"Yeah... She's out of danger. And the surgery went well." She said with a small smile on her face and only then did my face relax.

The doctor also told that her right thigh was badly injured and that she mustn't stand for a long time. She also said that Dayun would wake up anytime in the morning and that if we want, we could get her discharged tomorrow in the evening which was relieving news.

~

I headed home as the doctor insisted me to, but not before checking on her.

She was asleep and her right thigh was fully covered. After staying with her for some time, I left the hospital and reached home. It was about 2 am then.

As soon as I reached Chul-ho asked me about Dayun and I told him that the surgery went well. He too was relieved to hear that. Iseul was half awake and asked about her momma. She stayed awake only to hear that her momma was alright and then fell asleep right away.

She must have been very tired.

I put her to bed in the guest room, however I found it difficult to sleep that night.

~

The next day,

I woke up rather early the next day and got ready for work. I also got Iseul ready for school as I have to go to work and I can't leave her alone. At this point, I believe that school is a safe place for her. I thought of skipping work but I had a very important meeting that day. And Dayun won't be there too. That's another reason why I must go.

Iseul and I visited the hospital first thing in the morning. Chul-ho came along too. Dayun hasn't woken up yet.

After that, I went to work after dropping Iseul at school and Chul-ho at his house.

...

A lot of people asked me why my secretary wasn't present. And I told them she had some personal reasons as I can't tell them what really happened.

But it was then that I realized that Dayun indeed was present every day. She never took any leave and had always been a hard-worker. She comes late, true. But she's always been perfect on her job.

~

At the hospital,

The nurse changed the dressing of Dayun's wound and removed the empty glucose bottle from her wrist. After finishing her work, she was about to leave but stopped when she saw Dayun's fingers move.

When she went near her, she could hear her whisper. "Iseul..."

"Ma'am... You're awake?"

"Where's- Where's Iseul? Where's my daughter?" Dayun asked trying to get up and the nurse was quick to support her as she adjusted the bed to let her sit comfortably.

"Ma'am. Please. Take it slow. You cannot strain your legs!"

"Please tell me where my daughter is. Is she alright? Tell me! Please..." Dayun asked deeply anxious.

"Your daughter is alright ma'am. Please calm down." The nurse prevented her from getting up as she added, "She came with your husband and his friend this morning. She was fine. Don't worry."

"What?" She asked surprised but then could understand who she was talking about.

"Yeah... He even came to check on you again before three hours. Too bad you woke up a little late."

He did?

Dayun was surprised at that. She didn't expect someone to take care of her. She never had someone like that to look after her. But she was thankful. Thankful that Insoo did what he did. And thankful that everything turned out good and nothing bad happened to anyone. Dayun's thoughts were interrupted when she heard someone entering the room.

"Mommaaa..." Iseul came running into Dayun's hospital room crying her eyes out.

"Momma. You woke up? I was scared, momma..." She wept uncontrollably hugging Dayun tightly and the latter was quick to take her into her embrace as she too couldn't control her emotions on seeing her.

Her daughter was safe. Her Iseul was perfectly fine. And she couldn't ask for more. All of her fears vanished within a second after holding Iseul in her arms.

"It's okay Iseul. It's okay. Look. Momma's fine. And I'm fine because you did great princess. It's because you were brave. My Iseul is such a brave girl." She said continuously patting her back.

Now, she knew that it wasn't her hallucination when she saw Insoo yesterday. And when she raised her head, she could see the man enter the room as the nurse quietly left the room.

"Thank you so much." She spoke as soon as she saw him. "I- I have no idea what would've happened if you didn't come yesterday. You saved my daughter and I can't be more thankful. Without you, I don't know what- what would've-" Dayun's voice broke at that and she couldn't speak further.

She hugged Iseul even tighter as all the horrifying memories of yesterday came to her mind and she knew very well that things would've been the worst if Insoo didn't come yesterday.

"You don't have to thank me. I did what I had to." He said and quickly diverted his attention to her injury. "How's your leg now? Does it hurt a lot? Do you need more painkillers? Shall I ask the nurse to-"

Before he could call the nurse who just left, Dayun cut him off "No. I'm fine. The pain isn't unbearable."

She said and he slowly nodded at that. After a few moments, he spoke,

"Ah... I have to tell you, you're getting discharged today." He remembered. "And we're going to... my house."

To be continued...