Chapter 02
Hee-yeon felt her heart drop.
If these people were gangsters, it was probably because of her brother Pil-mo. What kind of trouble had he gotten himself into this time? Saying he got a job at a decent company after he started sending money must have been a lie after all.
“Inside the shop… there’s… a man…”
Hee-yeon looked toward the store.
A man sitting behind the window with the menu written on it. Most of his body was hidden, but even seated he looked very tall.
“I’ll try talking to him.”
“D-don’t go in. Just call the police…”
“Aunt, please go pick up Ye-rim from kindergarten. And don’t come to the shop.”
“O-okay.”
After confirming her aunt left safely, she stared at the store.
This is a place with laws and order.
Even if they’re gangsters, they can’t just do whatever they want to me.
She lifted her chin and walked in confidently. The bulky men glanced at her, but she didn’t shrink back.
She pulled the door open with force. At that moment, bright light spilled from inside.
…!
Hee-yeon flinched in surprise.
That man… is a gangster?
With smooth skin, strong facial features, a high nose bridge, well-shaped lips, and a tall frame, he didn’t look like a gangster at all. But the atmosphere around him was dark.
It felt as if a black shadow lay beneath his feet. His presence alone felt overwhelming.
Her throat bobbed with tension, but Hee-yeon endured it. As if she had nothing to do with his reason for being there, she spoke to him like she would to any customer.
“We’re just opening, so you’ll need to wait a bit. Are you here for tteokbokki?”
“Do I look like a customer?”
She was startled again by his voice. His deep tone wrapped around her ears.
“Aren’t you? Everyone looks like customers to me. Even though we’re deep in the market, lots of office workers in suits come here.”
“It’s hard to see those big guys as office workers.”
“T-that’s how they look… to me.”
“Are you pretending not to know? Or did you know I would come?”
“W-what do you mean?”
The courage she had built from helping her aunt run the shop for ten years since middle school seemed to vanish. Her voice trembled without her realizing it.
“Where is So Pil-mo?”
“…I don’t know.”
“He’s your brother.”
“I cut ties with him a long time ago.”
Even now, she was protecting Pil-mo. No matter how much she resented him, he was still her only sibling.
She stared directly at the man’s face. Their gazes tangled in the air, and she felt like she might collapse from the tension.
“That doesn’t seem true considering he sent you money regularly. One million won every month.”
The money Pil-mo sent was child support for Ye-rim. After getting a woman pregnant when he was young, he abandoned the child with Hee-yeon and ran away. With no other choice, she had registered the child under her own name—her pitiful niece.
Hee-yeon bit the inside of her cheek in distress. Since he had been sending the support regularly, she thought he at least had some conscience. But now that had become the problem.
“He was just paying back money he borrowed from me. He ran away with my savings five years ago.”
“So you’re saying you had no contact? That he only sent money?”
“…Just because he was repaying money doesn’t mean he had to come see me.”
“That’s true. However.”
The man’s eyes flashed.
Her throat felt tight.
“……”
“I can at least confirm that your sibling bond is quite strong. Judging from the sender names he used every time.”
Thud.
He placed printed bank transaction records in front of her.
To my beloved little sister – 1,000,000 won
Trust your brother – 1,000,000 won
You and Ye-rim are everything to me – 1,000,000 won
I’ll earn money and come back – 1,000,000 won
Haah—
The problem was that Pil-mo left little messages by changing the sender name each time he transferred money.
“He’s done many wrong things to me. Like I said, he owed me money. A huge debt.”
“100 million won.”
“…!”
“Maybe even more. Most of it was settlement money.”
She had no idea how much they had investigated.
They were definitely gangsters.
Pil-mo had been in and out of prison several times due to bad luck compared to his crimes. From a sister’s perspective, he wasn’t evil—just someone who got involved with the wrong friends and ended up trapped in bad situations and debt.
“Th-that’s…”
“Clumsy lies won’t work. Unlike me, my subordinates tend to be rough.”
It sounded more threatening than any direct threat. His eyes turned cold.
Her fingertips trembled, but she truly knew nothing.
Just what…
What did he do?
“What did my brother do wrong?”
“He stole something and ran away.”
Hee-yeon was confused.
No matter how terrible he was, he wasn’t a thief. And stealing something from a man who clearly looked powerful…
“…What… did he take…?”
“A woman.”
Hee-yeon felt her heart sink.
A woman?
He ran away with this man’s woman?
How could he do something so dangerous?
The worst possible scenarios filled her mind. If her brother got caught, it felt like he would be killed.
“So. What are you going to do to me?”
“You’ll have to come with me.”
“What?”
“You’ll be a hostage.”
“…I’m not that important to my brother. I won’t make a good hostage.”
“We’ll see about that.”
At his signal, she turned her head. Her mind suddenly filled with haze.
Behind her aunt’s pale face, a man was holding Ye-rim’s hand. Ye-rim smiled brightly and waved at Hee-yeon. She had clearly told them to go home… They must have been followed.
“Mom!”
“Your daughter should come too. She’s still at an age where she needs her mother’s care.”
“……”
They had investigated her brother, but fortunately they hadn’t discovered Ye-rim’s true identity.
If they found out Ye-rim was actually Pil-mo’s daughter…
Her vision went dark.
For now, she had to go along quietly to protect Ye-rim.
“I’ll go. I’ll do whatever you want. Just don’t touch my daughter.”
Only then did the man stand up. She hadn’t realized while he was sitting, but he was even taller.
He was tall enough that Hee-yeon, who was 165 cm, had to look up at him.
A face without a single scar, despite clearly being someone involved in dangerous work.
He didn’t match the image of gangsters she had imagined, but his sharp presence made her wary.
Her feet unconsciously stepped back.
He smirked slightly, as if he could see right through her.
As he walked ahead, Hee-yeon followed behind him. As soon as Ye-rim saw her, she ran over and hugged her.
“Wow, Mom. This mister is pretty.”
Even a child could see how exceptional his appearance was. Ye-rim stared at him with wide eyes, and his expression stiffened.
“Ye-rim, you shouldn’t say things like that.”
“Why? He’s pretty… hmph…”
“Shh, that’s enough.”
“Okay.”
Ye-rim wrapped her small arms tightly around Hee-yeon. Even while being carried, her eyes never left the man.
Leaving behind her worried aunt, Hee-yeon forced a bitter smile.
“Hee-yeon…”
“I’ll call you.”
She walked with a forced bright smile. As if going on a trip, Ye-rim happily waved her arms. Many eyes followed them through the market.
“Isn’t that Hee-yeon?”
“Who’s that man? He’s quite handsome. Are they on a date?”
“Seriously, was she hiding such a boyfriend?”
She couldn’t understand how this situation could look like a dating couple.
Hee-yeon clenched her fists tightly.
She was being kidnapped in broad daylight, yet she couldn’t ask for help.
At the market entrance, a black foreign car was waiting.
“Wow, Mom, that car is cool.”
“Get in.”
The man personally opened the back door. A fruit seller near the entrance smiled warmly, as if looking at a sweet couple.
Among the rough-looking gangsters, his handsome appearance didn’t match someone in that line of work, so others didn’t seem to notice the strangeness at all.
Click.
In the end, she got into the car of a man whose name she didn’t even know.
I just need to stay calm.
Should I run?
If I find the right moment and escape… how would I survive?
What happened to my brother?
If he returns that woman, will everything be solved?
Her thoughts became hopelessly tangled.
