Jin-ho grabbed the man's wrist and shoved him backward, placing himself between Seol Ah and the blade. Seol Ah stood there, stunned—until she saw it.
"Jin Oppa, you're bleeding!"
"I'm fine," Jin-ho said tightly. "This bastard had a weapon hidden under his sleeve."
Seol Ah clenched her teeth, glaring at the man. He only smiled, lifting both hands as if he were a cornered prisoner.
"A duo tangled in lies…" he murmured to himself. "Hyung, this is going to be entertaining."
With that, he turned and ran.
Seol Ah stepped forward, fury pushing her after him, but Jin-ho caught her by the elbow and pulled her back.
"Oppa!"
"I don't want you getting hurt," Jin-ho said firmly.
She frowned, then lowered her gaze, giving in.
"Fine…" she muttered.
He let out a quiet chuckle and patted her head. Her cheeks warmed, her heart suddenly racing.
"Don't worry," Jin-ho said softly. "I promised I'd protect you. Trust me when I say I really want you safe."
She kept her head down, but her eyes lifted to meet his.
"…I still need to get us new drinks," she complained quietly.
While she rushed back inside to grab new drinks, the man slipped away into an empty alley and waited. Moments later, a black sedan with dark, heavy tint pulled up beside him. He climbed into the car, laughing under his breath.
In the backseat, the man with the tattoo flicked his cigarette out the window. The other man immediately turned and bowed.
"Hyung."
The tattooed man glanced over calmly.
"What were you able to do with that boy?"
"She's protective of him," the man replied. "Just as much as he is of her."
The tattooed man let out a soft giggle.
"Protective?" He reached for another cigarette. "Does she really not realize she's being used by him—and his uncle?"
The driver and the man beside him chuckled, their gazes drifting lazily out the window.
"If anything," the driver added, "Lee Chu Young would come back because of him… not because of us."
The tattooed man exhaled a slow stream of smoke before breaking into a low laugh.
"Then let's see how it plays out," he said calmly. "We'll toy with them for now."
"Yes, Hyung," they answered in unison, bowing their heads.
Their voices faded into silence, stretching from the shadowed alley all the way to the distant path where Seol Ah and Jin-ho walked together on their way home.
As Seol Ah reached Jin-ho's front door, she hesitated to enter, fearing facing Woo Sol's sister. Jin-ho reached out his hand to her with a bright smile.
"I'll be standing beside you, so don't mind anyone else."
She nodded and held his hand as they entered the house. He didn't say anything, but he led her to the mattress by the backyard door.
"Thank you…" she muttered. Jin-ho grabbed the medkit and sat beside her. She glanced over her shoulder to look at him, then at the medkit. "Yes?"
He chuckled. He turned his head and showed his cheek, the injured cheek, pointing at it.
"I can't see it."
"Oh!" she jolted. She grabbed the kit and wiped his injury.
While she applied antibiotic ointment on it, he stared at her, watching her as time spanned slowly around them. His heart skipped a beat, thudding louder. His cheeks reddened each moment her skin brushed against his as she opened a bandage and applied it gently over his wound.
The moment she finished, she froze, realizing that Jin-ho was intensely staring at her. Her heart beat rapidly as her hands trembled. Why isn't he looking away?
Jin-ho caught a glimpse of her shaky hands and smiled. He reached for her hands, pulling her to the side as he cleaned up the materials that had his blood.
"Thanks," he said.
After putting the medkit back in its place, Jin-ho opened his door slightly and changed his clothes. The door cracked open, curiously pulling Seol Ah to peek.
A piano.
She froze, noticing the grand piano that looked familiar… like the one she dreamt about when she was eleven years old in the States. That… could it be a coincidence? Am I crazy? I haven't had the dream in years since I told him that I'll be leaving the States.
She hadn't had that dream in years—not since the day she told him she was leaving the States. Her head spiraled with questions she couldn't answer, her stomach twisting as nausea crept in.
Jin-ho returned to Seol Ah with a brand new T-shirt and stared at her as he closed the door behind him.
"Do you want to head out somewhere before my Noona comes back?" Jin-ho asked.
Seol Ah flinched and looked at Jin-ho.
"Huh?"
Jin-ho chuckled, sitting beside her again.
"Do you want to go to my hideout or stay here? I'll be by your side," he stated.
Seol Ah blushed, giggling awkwardly.
"We can go there…" she replied slowly.
Jin-ho stood and reached his hand out for her. After she took his hand, he pulled her up, and they headed to his hideout. Once they were inside, Seol Ah stopped by the doorstep.
"Jin Oppa…" she called.
He turned around and glanced at her.
"Yes?"
"Do you know how to play the piano?" she asked, her heart racing at the question left her throat.
Jin-ho flinched silently, closing his mouth as he swallowed his anxiety.
"Me? No… why do you ask?" he stuttered.
"Well…" she paused, averting her eyes. "There was a piano in your room…"
Jin-ho forced a smile and locked eyes with her.
"My aunt bought me that piano… just a faded memory to remember her," Jin-ho solemnly replied.
Seol Ah bit her lower lip, not expecting that answer. Guilt didn't linger, but shame and disappointment were written all over her face.
"Oh… I see—"
"Why do you ask?" he wondered, interrupting her.
They locked eyes with each other, but his eyes were hollow and distant… as if he meant to push her away if she crawled closer.
"I remembered someone… teaching me piano when I was eleven," Seol Ah revealed. Jin-ho nodded nonchalantly. "And… after I told him that I would no longer be in the States, he disappeared."
"Oh… so are you saying I could be him?"
"No… I don't know…" Seol Ah frowned. "I just really wished to meet him again."
Jin-ho smiled and walked to her.
"So it's a boy… are you in love with him?"
Seol Ah jolted and shook her head.
"No! We were just kids… I…" she paused, staring at his eyes. Dead and hollow just like the first night she had seen the boy. Empty. "Tang?"
"Huh? Ting as in…?" Jin-ho wondered.
Seol Ah huffed with disappointment and shoved past him, heading upstairs.
"I'm going to nap…"
"Okay. I'll be cleaning," Jin-ho chimed.
Seol Ah pulled the pillow against her face, sighing in frustration. She turned to the small window and frowned.
"You definitely act like him… but are you really not him? Am I just overthinking?"
Before she realized the answers that she wanted, her eyes closed with heaviness. Jin-ho slowly stepped closer to her, sitting on the edge of the bed. He stared at her, caressing her hair gently without a touch on her skin.
"If you knew, you would probably be at risk more than being safe…" he mumbled, his chest tightening. He clenched his hand above her. "I'm sorry, Sela."
Sela. Her American name before she came to Korea.
The guilt trickled inside him as he stood, turning his back on her. He knew, yet he refused to admit.
His eyes glared at Seol Ah from the side of his eyes.
Until the revenge plan is complete.