Mi-kyong almost toppled onto her back as soon as the beeping sound echoed across the rooftop.
She quickly turned to gather all their supplies and hide, only for the door to burst open.
Her eyes darted to the figures who entered, and she froze.
Short black hair with one side neatly slicked back. A face devoid of any emotion.
It was her father, Kim Ha-joon.
'How did he find ?'
Ha-joon, who hadn't seen his daughter for over six months, didn't wear the expression of a parent longing for their child, but that of a rchant about to discard livestock.
"Kim Mi-kyong..." he began in a harsh tone. "Where is the thug?"
Mi-kyong pressed her lower lip between her teeth.
He had found out.
She was certain of it.
Even if he didn't know, her swollen stomach was proof enough.
Yet she wasn't planning on betraying Beom-seok.
She would rather die a hundred tis over than do that.
With a wide grin that revealed too much, she answered:
"I don't know who you're speaking of."
Ha-joon's expression remained unchanged. "Is that so?"
He paused, letting the silence hang heavy between them.
Then, with a soft click of his polished shoes, he turned around.
At the door, he halted briefly, giving an order to the five n in black suits who had entered with him.
"Make sure that thing inside her doesn't survive."
With that, he shut the door.
Mi-kyong's eyes widened in shock as the five n fixed their murderous gazes on her.
'I have to protect Jinwoo.'
She placed a hand on her stomach, ready to dash, but one of the n seized her other arm.
Before she could comprehend what was happening, he hurled her to the floor.
Her stomach convulsed as unbearable pain coursed through her.
Blood welled in her eyes as she struggled to breathe.
But the n didn't stop there, they kicked her relentlessly, like criminals punishing a captive, rciless and cold.
Her vision dimd, and she nearly lost consciousness from the agony. Yet her hands never left her stomach.
'If Jinwoo dies, then our family...' Her thoughts faltered.
She had always known her father was cruel, but this was beyond comprehension.
The least he could have done was hear why his daughter ran away, et the boy who had opened her heart.
Even if heartless, he could have taken her to a hospital to remove the baby.
But he didn't care if she lived or died.
The only thing he cared about was the family na.
Soon, Mi-kyong's resistance faded as her body was battered with injuries no human should endure.
Seeing this, one of the n hoisted her from the ground and led her down the stairs.
Using the back exit, they moved toward the place where Beom-seok worked.
First, they bought lunch in an ornate box and hung it around Mi-kyong's neck. Then they dumped her on the street and waited for Beom-seok to arrive.
And almost imdiately, he did.
They spared him a single glance before rushing from the scene.
Beom-seok, holding a freshly baked cake, felt it slip from his hands as he dashed to his lover's side.
"Hey, Mi..." he stamred.
His hands trembled uncontrollably, tears welling in his eyelids.
"Mi..."
His gaze fell on her stomach, now distorted, her gown's hem stained with blood.
A scream tore from his throat as he pulled her into his chest.
With shaking hands and ragged breaths, he fumbled for his phone to call an ambulance, only for sirens to blare in his ears.
But he didn't care.
He barely even registered the noise.
What would the world beco if Mi died?
He had to save her, even if the police took him.
And Kim Ha-joon knew this.
He knew if they called the cops on Beom-seok, the boy wouldn't flee, he would put Mi-kyong first.
And he knew Mi-kyong would choose her love over any pain. She would always choose Beom-seok.
The sirens grew louder, followed by the faint wail of an ambulance.
Beom-seok's face was ashen, but he managed to press a comforting palm against Mi-kyong's bloodied cheek.
"You'll be alright, Mi."
His tears fell on her broken form.
He held her tightly until the police arrived and handcuffed him.
Still, his gaze never left her until she was lifted into the ambulance and carried away.
Inside the cramped police car, a faint, relieved smile ford on his lips.
Even the officers knew the boy before them wasn't the culprit.
His hands bore the roughness of soone who worked endlessly to provide, hands no fourteen-year-old should have.
Dark circles hung beneath his eyes, his lips cracked and bleeding where he had bitten them raw.
His hands shook, and his feet tapped rhythmically against the car floor.
The young officer sighed. "Bla your luck, kid."
He watched Beom-seok raise his gaze. "You shouldn't have gotten mixed up with the Kims, let alone giving their daughter a child."
Beom-seok didn't respond for a full minute.
Then, in a hoarse voice, he asked:
"Will Mi be alright?"
The officer's eyes widened. "Kid, you might end up in juvenile detention, and you're thinking about a girl?"
Beom-seok's eyes snapped to him, his voice rising.
"Please... Don't call her just a 'girl'" He pressed a trembling hand to his chest. "Mi is my life. If she dies, what reason do I have to live?!"
The officer's eyes softened. 'Damn brat. What does he know about the world?'
Yet he couldn't help but admire their courage.
Even when faced with death and punishnt, they chose each other above all else.
'Is this what true love is?' He smiled faintly. 'Can't believe I'm learning love from a kid.'
He fixed his gaze on Beom-seok, resting a reassuring hand on his shoulder.
"Trust . You both will be fine."
And just as he said, Mi-kyong survived, but Jinwoo did not.
After she was discharged, her family took her back and told her Beom-seok had run the mont the police arrived.
They claid he had erased all traces of himself.
At first, she refused to believe it. But as days turned into weeks, and weeks into months, her mind began to crack.
'Was everything we built together a lie?'
'Was I only trying to escape reality, like my mother said?'
'What was even real to begin with?'
Questions piled endlessly until she beca a hollow shell.
Even then, one na haunted her, Beom-seok.
Each ti she heard it, she flew into violent rages, destroying whatever was around her.
And the word 'Jinwoo' always cald her, softening her into submission.
Her family used this to mold her into a loyal, grateful daughter.
At least, until the phone call ca.
Her parents had stripped her of any contact when her madness began. She couldn't even leave the house.
But the call didn't co through a mobile, it rang through the landline.
With hesitant steps, like a primitive creature wary of technology, she picked up the phone.
"He..." Her voice trembled. "Hello."
For a mont, there was silence.
Then, a soft baritone voice spoke.
"Is this Mi-kyong?"
Mi-kyong pulled the phone away, stared at it, then slowly answered.
"Yes, this is Mi-kyong."
The voice paused before continuing.
"It has been over three months since your partner Beom-seok entered juvie. Aren't you going to visit him?"
The voice was undoubtedly the sa as the officer who had arrested Beom-seok.
"I know you may not be in your right mind, but that young man was arrested because he made the ambulance take you first.
Not only that, he agreed to testify against himself because your father promised not to hurt you if he did."
Mi-kyong's world spun as those words sank in.
The voice kept speaking, but she no longer heard.
Beom-seok hadn't betrayed her?
The ambulance that saved her life, he had called it?
And her father had known, and used her as leverage against him.
Did that an Beom-seok still loved her?
Did it an she was the one who had betrayed him?
Her stomach lurched, her knees buckled, and she vomited.
Her hand clawed at her face, nails digging into skin as tears poured.
"What—what have I done?"
She had vowed to love him forever, yet she was the first to betray that vow when things grew difficult.
"I'm such a fool."
She had to do sothing.
But would he forgive her?
Mi-kyong's hands clenched into fists, slamming against her stomach again and again.
The tears wouldn't stop, and for the first ti in years, her mind was clear.
"I'm such a fool," she sobbed bitterly. "I'm sorry, Bemm..."
But she couldn't finish it.
'Bemmy' was a na only his lover could call him.
And she wasn't that anymore.
She had ceased to be his lover the mont she abandoned him and swallowed her father's lies.
Yet she had to make things right.
She had to protect Beom-seok, even at the cost of her life.
Slowly, she staggered to her feet and lifted the phone once more.
"Hello, mister." Her voice was calm now, laced with a faint edge of madness. "Where can I see you?"
─── ✦ End of Chapter ✦ ───
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