Jae Kyung and his baby mama is still fighting when Jung sneaks deeper inside the abandoned factory.

The couple was near the door, and despite the large volume of junk and other useless items piled on top of one another, Jung was sure there were no other people in the area. At least on the ground level.

He can see stairs leading down into a type of basement at the side of the old factory. and Eun Mei's scent is down there. Jung silently sneaks inside without being seen. He always made sure that there was something between him and the scene at the front door. Then he reached the dark stairways, and he felt his way down the stairs. When the old stairs started to creak, Jung had to grit his teeth. But when there was no other reaction, Jung hurried down as fast as he could while keeping the noise to a minimum.

There was a short corridor that separated into two doors. The one on the left was a dirty toilet, but the other one was a simple room with two chairs. The single light bulb was not enough to illuminate the entire room, and it remained oppressively dark. Plus the dank smell—the entire room was a hellhole. Jung immediately noticed the neatly stacked boxes of medical supplies called Eliquix occupying the majority of the room. Jung knew from his stay in the clinic that it was a sort of blood thinner that helps people with heart conditions. Why it was there, Jung had no idea. But it confirmed one thing. The medicines, the clinic, the guard, asshole Jae Kyung, and Eun Mei’s kidnapping are all somehow connected.

But the medicine boxes were the farthest thing on Jung's mind at the moment. It was just a courtesy glimpse that his mind piled into one corner of his brain as he scanned the room.

His entire attention was on the girl in front of him.

At the other end of the room, Eun Mei was bound in a chair, and her head was covered with a dirty bag. Jung almost growled at seeing her like that. Her dress is tattered and caked with mud and blood. There are bruises everywhere, and her left leg has a disturbing color. He didn't waste any more time and reached her in a few steps. Eun Mei immediately tensed up and started screaming, but her voice was muffled by the head cover, and Jung suspected a mouth gag.

The moment he released the cover on her head, Jung clamped a hand over her gagged mouth and gave the sign for silence. He let Eun Mei recover on her own time, and then, with the help of the lonely light bulb, her eyes adjusted long enough to see Jung Hee's worried face.

A flash of recognition came to her eyes, and then it was replaced by suspicion. Jung simply nodded. She has no idea why he is here, and therefore, his presence is not yet confirmed to be a positive development for her situation. He leaned over to whisper in her ears, and she flinched away from him. But Jung continued.

"I came here to save you. Jae Kyung is still upstairs. I have a way out, but we have to be quiet. I'll answer all your questions later, but let us get out of here first," Jung whispered in one go, and he could tell that Eun Mei understood. The suspicion left her face, and hope replaced it instead.

Jung quickly untied Eun Mei. His skills in knot tying came in handy, and he is able to unlock the rope behind her, despite the tight binding that almost melded the dirty cloth to her skin. Quickly, Eun Mei began to untie the rope around her ankle, and Jung helped with the other one. The moment she was free, Eun Mei stood up and tried to run towards the open door. She tried to follow but she immediately fell and moaned in pain. Now that the blood had returned to her extremities, pain blossomed inside her head from her limbs, and she had to bite her lips to stop herself from screaming. Jung was just right there the moment she fell on her side and firmly but quickly stood her up again. Jung Hee immediately noticed that she was hobbling, but it did not stop her from moving. She gritted her teeth and mastered her pain. Now that she is free, she won't let anything stop her from escaping, including her own broken body. Jung whisper-shouted, "Wait!" and then followed her out of the room.

Jung bumped into Eun Mei's back when she stopped.

Because at the other end of the corridor was a dumbfounded Jae Kyung looking back at them.

Jung Hee shoved Eun Mei behind him while Jae Kyung pulled a switch knife from his back pocket. Jae Kyung took a step forward with a snarl.

Jung took a step forward to meet him.

A quick flash in the stairs, followed by a loud ringing sound, froze Jung in place. Then a hole punctured Jae Kyung’s left cheek. He stared at Jung uncomprehendingly, and then his body simply fell like a rag doll to the dirty floor. One look and Jung just knew that the body was lifeless. Jung couldn't take his eyes away from the boy while keeping Eun Mei still protected behind him. He watched in horrified fascination the wrecked back of Jae Kyung's head. Then it started pooling with thick blood. The body twitched one last time and then remained still. His open eyes stared to the side as the light within him faded.

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Despite the shock, Jung immediately calculated the angle and elevation of the trajectory, and given the impact damage... The shooter came from the top of the stairs.

Heavy boots came down from the stairs, and Jung flinched.

Senior militia member Park Byeong-ho came down the stairs unhurried. The pistol that killed Jae Kyung is still in his left hand and smoking. This was the same man that interrogated Jung in school earlier. Shaking, Jung lifted the helm of his shirt to show that he did not have any weapons and had no plan to fight. The militiaman casually waved them over with his gun.

Reluctantly, Jung approached him. Eun Mei held a piece of his shirt and timidly followed him. She could not even look the militia in the eye. Jung was different. He was scared sh*tless, but if the senior made a move toward Eun Mei, gun or not, Jung would move to intercept him.

The militiamen smirked. "You are more persistent than I thought," he said to Jung.

Jung hesitated for a moment and then tentatively said, "It is a good trait to have as a farmer's son."

The older man nodded sagely, and then Senior Byeong-ho's eyes trailed toward Eun Mei's haggard form. "You must be Eun Mei," he said. "A lot of people are looking for you."

Both Jung and Eun Mei didn't say a word. It made the smile on the militia man's face grow even bigger.

"I really thought that you’re the culprit, Mr. Stalker boy. The boyfriend is just too spineless to do something like this, so it has to be you. But I guess I’m wrong. Anyone else in the other room?"

"No, no one else.," Jung said quickly.

The militia man narrowed his eyes. "Are you sure?"

"Yes."

The militiamen hesitated for a moment before walking slowly toward the indicated room. He holstered his gun and placed a small flashlight in one hand and a handkerchief in the other, and he promptly placed it over his nose. The flashlight explored the small room for a bit until it zeroed in on something inside. Jung presumed that he finally noticed the stack of boxes.

The militiamen gave a satisfied smile. "I guess my mission here is complete," he said happily. Then his hand landed on Jung's broad shoulder as the older man stared at him intently. The militia reached inside his uniform and produced another pistol. He casually dropped it near Jae Kyung’s dead body.

"A local boy named Kim Jung hee informed us about some suspicious activities of a person of interest. We went to his house and questioned a lady named Chaeyoung. She looked suspicious, so we hid and waited, and when she suddenly left her house later, we followed and found this abandoned factory where the person of interest was hiding. When we confronted that person, he ran into this basement, and seeing that he had nowhere else to run..." The senior militia looked Jung Hee in the eye.

"He killed himself."

Jung understood completely. "Yeah, sad shit," Jung said, lamely imitating a gangster's way of talking. "The boy screamed something about not going to be taken alive. And then I heard a gunshot. Later, you guys informed me that he was dead."

The hand on his shoulder became a gentle pat instead. "Very true. So we look at the basement and behold! We found a whole lot of black market shit!” he said happily. Then his eyes noticed Eun Mei. “Oh, and the missing local girl too! What a happy ending!" And then he clapped his hands. He actually clapped his hands right there and there. Jung and Eun Mei simply stared at him.

"We will bring the girl to the station so that we can get a statement from her."

"Maybe it is better if you get the statement when she is at her house," Jung suggested. The militiamen's eyes hardened. "So that she will be more relaxed and give you a more complete statement later."

The militiaman named Byeong-ho pondered that for a moment and absently started nodding his head. "Fine, you can go," he said. "But stay in places where we can find you. Do you understand?"

Both Jung and Eun Mei nodded in relief, and then silently, Jung pulled Eun Mei out of the basement and onto the factory floor. Jung noticed the small woman named Chaeyoung sitting in a wooden box and anxiously looking at the stairs in the basement. Another militia member, the shooter's partner, is guarding her.

When the woman noticed Jung, she recognized him, and then she started shouting, "Where is Jae Kyung?! I heard a gunshot. What happened to Jae Kyung?!"

Jung could not look at her and instead pulled Eun Mei away and out of the factory. Just at the entrance of the abandoned factory, Eun Mei suddenly collapsed. Jung stopped the last of her fall, but just barely, and they both stumbled to the floor. Eun Mei bit JUng's shoulder and smothered a scream before it started.

Jung endured it with out a word and carried her to a nearby bench near a tree and activated his first aid skill. HIs perk, "healing aura" is already working and one of the reason why Jung continued to be near her. He quickly tore a piece of his shirt and started binding the swollen ankle. In her pain, she leaned closer to Jung, and her nails dug deep into Jung's shoulder. Jung felt it, but he didn’t say anything; the sting he felt was nothing compared to what the girl felt. When he tightened the knot, Eun Mei almost collapsed. "Are you okay?" Jung asked her gently when he was finished.

The girl didn't even look at him. "Just... just take me home." big drops of salty tears trailing down her face.

One looked at her swollen ankle, and Jung knew she couldn't walk. So he silently offered his back for a piggyback ride. Eun Mei hesitated, but after a moment, she leaned over his back, and Jung started to carry her.

The girl weighed nothing, and it concerned Jung a lot. Is she starving? Maybe I should look for a place for her to eat, but damn it, I don’t have any money with me. Well, I could just negotiate with the seller for future work. If she needs to eat, then-

He started walking away when he heard the telltale sign that Eun Mei was crying. The sob grew louder, and Jung could feel her entire body shaking behind his back. Jung desperately wanted to say sorry for taking so long to find her. But…

"I hate this town," she whispered so silently to herself, but Jung heard her nevertheless. "I hate everything about this place."

The girl continued to cry behind him.

Jung didn't say a word as he started walking toward Eun Mei's house.