Untouched [minsung]

Chapter 86

The doctor had said that once it got to be 3, that it would be safe for me to rest. Lee Know didn't trust him, though, and had made me stay up the whole day yesterday, only allowing me to go to bed for a very early night at 7 pm.

I'd fallen asleep on the couch the minute the clock hit 7, and since I'd gone to bed super early, I also woke up around 5 am. I was no longer on the couch, but in the bed...Lee Know must have carried me.

He had put a pillow under my hurt leg and had his arm under my head, but hadn't wrapped himself around me, likely out of fear of injuring me further.

I poked his face until he woke up.

"Good morning," I whispered and kissed him sweetly.

He smiled warmly at me, not even a little annoyed that I'd just woken him up early as payback for making me stay awake later.

"Good morning, pretty boy," he grinned as he stretched.

"What do you want to do today?" I asked. I was feeling very chipper since I didn't have to fear for my life now that Jeongin was locked up.

"I was thinking we could go see Chan's new place."

He used his arms to pull me closer to him. I conceded. He was so clingy sometimes...it was cute.

"That sounds good. Should I wear another skirt," I teased.

The one I had on had moved while I'd slept and was threatening to expose me. Lee Know noticed and bit his lip.

"I think you should wear something a little warmer."

"Oh, do you? Because I think a skirt would be cute." I rolled over so that I was straddling him. I held his wrists down above his head, but only because he was allowing me to...he was stronger and could push me off if he really wanted to.

"It would be cute. I just don't want you to turn yourself on again in front of the other guys," he smirked, recalling my failed efforts to tease him yesterday.

I was just about to clap back at him when my phone rang on my nightstand. Lee Know reached for it and handed it to me.

"Hello," I answered as he swirled his hips under me. I rolled my eyes and tried to focus on what the guy was saying on the other end.

"I'm sorry, what was that?" I playfully slapped Lee Know's chest, and he stopped moving so I could focus.

"Is this Han Jisung?"

"Yes, this is he," I replied and furrowed my brows.  Who was calling at 5:15 am without even knowing me?

"I have some unfortunate news..." he began and my mind went blank. My vision went blurry. I couldn't catch my breath. Before I could fully process what he'd just said, I passed out on Lee Know's chest.

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When I woke up, everything felt dizzying. My brain was trying so hard to piece everything together. My head was on Lee Know's lap, and I sat up as he pulled me into him.

"I'm so so sorry, Han," he whispered as his hand held the back of my head protectively.

I wrapped my arms around his neck and sobbed into his shoulder.

"I'm so sorry," he repeated over and over again as he held me and rubbed his other hand up and down my back.

When I finally calmed down enough to breathe, I felt an immense amount of guilt. "I should've called more. I should've introduced you..." I began listing all my regrets but Lee Know hushed me.

"You couldn't have known this would happen. And I'm sure you treated them better than the rest of us ever treated our parents."

My parents...both of them...gone.

"Did they say what happened?" Lee Know asked.

I nodded as I tried to put the words together, "There was...a fire."

Lee Know nodded, but I could tell he had something he wanted to say.

"What is it?"

"Nothing," he mumbled. I knew he was trying to protect me.

"Tell me," I demanded, and Lee Know sighed.

"Does it feel like a coincidence that Chan's house burned down the same day as your parents'?"

And he was right...it didn't feel like a coincidence, but Jeongin was in town the entire time. There would've been no way for him to come after us, get chased, and get caught, and also drive several hours out to town and back.

"Jeongin was here the whole time," I reminded him.

"It's not Jeongin I'm thinking of."

"You think the Hwangs did this? Why?" my voice cracked. The thought of my innocent and kind parents being killed by sociopathic selfish murderers was too much to imagine.

"Jeongin had said that they planned to kidnap and train you. It'd be easier to do that if you had no ties to the outside world."

I stared at him in shock. I knew this world was horrible, but I hadn't expected just how far they'd go to get me. I wondered how many other innocent people had fallen victim to these families.

"That means you're in danger," I realized immediately, and saying it out loud was deafening.

"I know," Lee Know whispered as he embraced me tightly. "But I'm not going anywhere."

He kissed the top of my head, and I wondered how I could assure his safety. What could I do to defend Lee Know from an army of killers?

My heart hurt for my family and the old Han who knew nothing about this world. If I'd just reached out to my family that first time Lee Know and I had broken up, maybe I could've stayed with them. I'd never have found out about my real parents, Mr. Hwang wouldn't have known he was my dad, and my family could've lived happily ever after while not knowing just how dangerous and dark the world around us was.

Ignorance truly was bliss.

Ever since the door cracked open to this world and revealed itself to me, everything had gone wrong. Lee Know and my friends were the only good thing that I had left and even that wasn't certain. We'd all almost died several times, and it was only a matter of time until we joined my parents.

"I'm so sorry, Han," Lee Know repeated as he was still astonished at the news. I just held onto him. I held onto him and grieved for the loss of my parents.