Jia came to a little while later still being held in Tae's arms.
"Give her some space, please. She needs air" He begged the people crowding around them.
"Tae?" She called, her voice hoarse.
"I'm right here, Jia. It's okay. I've got you. You're safe." Taehyung soothed her gently.
She tried to sit up and he helped her.
She looked around in confusion.
"What happened?" She asked, looking worriedly into his eyes.
Tae lay a soothing hand on her cheek.
"You fainted. You weren't breathing and then you passed out." He answered slowly raising her to her feet.
She stood unsteadily. Holding on to him. Everything suddenly came crashing back to her. Hitting her like a tonne of bricks falling on her head. Her knees buckled. He quickly held her waist and supported her weight.
"She hasn't had anything to eat in a long while and she's feeling a bit unwell. If you would please excuse us?" Tae asked bowing to the investors in apology.
Jia looked around again. The danger hadn't passed yet. They needed to get out of here. And fast.
"I want to go h-home. P-Please Tae" she stammered, looking up at him.
Tae stopped and stared at Jia.
"Need to get out of here" she begged again.
Tae gave her a sharp nod and grabbed hold of her hand. He pulled out his phone with the other hand asking the chauffeur to bring the car around. They speed walked out of the venue, keeping their heads down and avoiding any interactions.
They took the car straight back to their hotel.
"Pack up. We are leaving immediately." Tae announced the moment he walked into the hotel lobby.
"B-But our flight isn't until much later." She hesitated.
"I'm chartering a private plane. We are leaving." His tone left no more room for doubt.
Jia rushed through packing her bags at lightening speed.
When Tae finally left her alone to go the washroom, she quickly pulled out her phone. There were a lot of missed calls and messages. She ignored them all. Pulling up her sister's contact.
She sent a text. Just one word.
Blackout.
Eun-ji knew what that meant. She was supposed to turn away from all forms of tech like phones laptops tabs anything that could track her and go underground until Jia came to find her.
She turned her phone off and slipped it back into her purse before Tae came out.
Once they were done, they headed straight to the airport.
~~~~~~
"Where do you want to go?" Tae asked gently, once they were in Seoul and sitting in the company car.
She looked at Han, Tae's personal bodyguard, staring at her from the rearview mirror. Should she ask him to take her to the penthouse with him? It would be the safest bet.
For both of them.
"I-" she was interrupted by an insistent beeping sound from Tae's phone.
He held up a finger and answered the phone.
"Hyung?" He asked.
"Yes, we just landed a while ago" he answered to something the other had asked.
"I know. I'm sorry it's just..." he paused for something his brother was saying.
"I know I promised her but under the circumstances....." he tried, pausing again for the other to speak.
"She's fine now" he sighed.
"I'll let you know hyung! I can't just leave her to her own devices like that." Tae exclaimed.
"Arasso hyung." He said hanging up. He rubbed his temples in irritation.
"What is it?" Jia asked in a small voice.
"Jin hyung wants me to come home. I had promised Sua I would after the Jeju trip. I didn't expect...."
"You should go" Jia interrupted him.
"What? No! I won't leave you alone." He argued.
"I'm fine now Tae. You should go home." She insisted. "You'd be safe there" she mumbled quietly.
"What?" He asked.
"Nothing"
"Jia for the love of God!" He exclaimed in frustration. "Please" he begged. "Just please, talk to me. Whatever it is, just tell me Jia. I'm not a fool. I know something's up." He turned around holding her hand in both of his. "I meant it when I said I love you Jaagi. Whatever it is I can take care of it for you. You just need to tell me."
"I don't know what you are talking about" her eyes were wide with surprise. She'd had no idea he was suspicious of her.
Just went to show how much love blinds a person.
She huffed in irritation.
"Is someone blackmailing you?" He tried again, with a frown.
"I don't understand what you are on about Tae." She whined, pretending to be stupid just to throw off the suspicion. "I just wasn't feeling well before and probably had a small panic attack because of the crowd. I have a little anxiety but I'm fine now. Please just take me to my apartment and go home to your family."
"Are you sure?" He asked in defeat.
"Yes. Please."
"Okay." He said signalling to Han who was obviously listening in to their conversation.
"Can you just send me the location to your apartment Do Jia-ssi?" Han asked quietly.
Jia shuffled through her purse. Knowing full well she wouldn't find her phone. She had cleared all her data, broken the phone and thrown it in the trash at the airport. She didn't want her uncle to contact her.
"Oh my phone! I think I've lost my phone." She said in fake surprise.
"Seriously?" Tae asked.
"Its not here." She shuffled around in her purse again.
"Just tell him the address, he'll punch it in." Tae said.
She was sure they both knew where she lived. Tae was right, he was no fool and she had been stupid to think he wouldn't notice.
"Actually I have vacated my apartment. Could you take me to my cousin's house instead? Its closer."
"You vacated your apartment? Why?" Tae asked with suspicion.
"The rent was too high and my neighbours were too loud." She shrugged.
"Okay. Where is your cousin's house?"
Jia narrated her address to Han quietly and he punched it into the navigation, then pulled into the traffic.
"Han, please have a new company cellphone delivered to Jia-ssi today." Tae instructed when they were headed to her apartment.
He turned back to her.
"Jia, are you sure you will be okay?" He asked his eyes wide in concern. "I would like to ask Han to stay close by if you'd allow it. It would make me feel better"
"No. I'll be fine Tae. You should take him with you."
"Why?" His eyes narrowed again.
"Because you barely had any sleep last night. You had a long day and an exhausting flight. You shouldn't be driving." She explained.
He looked at her again. Searching her face for any sign of her lying. When he didn't find any, he nodded.
Tae insisted on accompanying her, to her door, when they reached her apartment,
"I'll see you Monday then?" She asked.
"I was thinking of coming back tomorrow." Tae answered, sounding hopeful.
"You should spend the weekend with your family, Tae. They are important."
He silently looked at her for a moment.
"You are important to me too, Jia" he said staring deep into her eyes.
Her heart fluttered.
"You are important to me too, Tae" she said looking up at him.
He smiled so beautifully at that, her heart swelled to twice its size.
"I am?" He asked, stepping closer to her.
"Of course, bear. You are very important to me." Jia answered honestly.
Tae groaned pulling her close and slanting his mouth on hers. He kissed her softly at first and then more hungrily.
"I'll take whatever I can get" he winked, pushing her towards the door.
She chuckled shyly. "You need to go home baby" she reminded him.
He groaned again, moving away from her.
"You take care of yourself, you hear me? And text me as soon as you get the new phone." He reminded her sternly.
He softened the tone with another quick peck. "Ah! How am I to survive two whole days without you, Love?"
"Just like you survived your whole life" She laughed.
"It was meaningless until I met you" He laid his forehead on hers. "Won't you miss me?"
"I would. Very much so." Jia answered.
Tae hesitated for a moment and then shook his head. "Would you like to come home with me Jia? I want to introduce you to my family."
Jia gasped dramatically. "Yah! At least buy me dinner first" she joked.
"Aish!" Tae laughed softly and brushed his lips against hers again. "I'm serious"
"I know. Rain check?" She asked.
"Don't you want to see my home? My family?" Tae asked.
"Not today. Someday, maybe." Jia answered vaguely. She wished with all her heart she could simply go with him. But Joonie would recognise her. She couldn't risk having her cover blown.
Tae frowned at her.
"Go now." She said mockingly pushing him away. He needed to reach home, to safety. Every moment outside was a risk he didn't know about.
"Fine. I'm going. Call me tonight okay?" He winked at her.
She smiled and waved as he walked back to the elevator.
When the elevator doors closed after him she slumped against the door. It had been a hard day. She knew she would have to pay for what she had done. But she wouldn't have done it any differently. Given the chance she would make the same choice.
Every single time.
She would always choose to save him.
She unlocked her front door and stepped into the darkness. She barely had a second to breathe before rough hands grabbed her. Someone had placed a rag on her mouth stifling her scream and dragging her inside, closing the door behind her.
She knew she should have gone to the penthouse.
Jia's eyes watered as her lungs burned from the lack of oxygen. She struggled against the man holding her. But he was too big, too strong and she was starting to lose consciousness. Her struggles became more and more feeble.
"That's enough" a loud, authoritative voice called out.
The hand on her mouth disappeared at the command and she fell to the ground immediately, gasping lungfuls of some much needed air.
"Well well well. You thought destroying your cellphone would hide you? You think I don't know your hideouts?" Choi Kang-Dae sat with his legs crossed on her coffee table.
Jia squinted in the darkness of her apartment.
"Samchon?"
Kang-Dae laughed. "You are so naïve sometimes Jia-ya, that I wonder how you made it this far. Of course its me. Now you will ask me how did I find this place? Well, I can tell you that I know everything you and your sister are doing at every moment of your pathetic existence."
Jia gasped at the mention of her sister.
"What did you think would happen when you pulled that little stunt of yours? You thought I would just let it go? That you could simply hide from me?"
Jia gulped. Honestly, she hadn't thought at all. She hadn't thought past the fact that she couldn't let Tae die. Or that she would die with him. Everything else had been secondary and unimportant in that moment.
"You blocked my fucking sniper! He didn't get a clear shot. He recognised you and thought I would kill him if he shot you. I shot him. He should have killed you both" he said menacingly. "I was watching the live broadcast waiting for blood but I was served with a stupid speculation about you two secretly dating and you fainting off stage."
"I should have known, the moment I found out that you were sleeping with him, that you could no longer be trusted with the mission. Yet I figured, No, my niece is smarter than that. She knows the consequences of crossing me. She would never chose anyone over her sister. Proved me wrong, didn't you?" He snapped.
"Eun-ji is safe" she mumbled, her panic constricted her throat.
Kang-Dae laughed louder at that and Jia shuddered in terror.
"Women" he mumbled shaking his head.
"Is she really safe? Why don't you tell me about her new amazing boyfriend?" He asked slyly.
"B-boyfriend?" Jia stuttered. Eun-ji had told her about the new kid in her school who was cute. They had gone on a few dates but that was as far as it went right? She usually just ignored all the silly things that Eun-ji talked about when they spoke.
"Ah! I'm sure you know of him, Jia-ya" Kang-Dae had a maniacal glint in his eyes now. "Why don't you look into him?"
"Y-You sent a spy to act as her boyfriend?" Jia asked worriedly.
"Me?" He laughed again. "I don't play such petty games Jia. You know me better than that."
"Then who?" She asked pitifully. She should have paid more attention to what her sister had been saying.
"You really should look into the boys your sister dates." He sniggered.
"And when you find out. You complete the mission and come back to me. Is that clear? I don't give second chances but there have got to be some perks to being my niece, right?" He laughed.
His laughter was really grating on her nerves.
He signalled his man who bent down to grab her shoulders. Jia moved so fast he didn't even have the chance to touch her. Before he could blink, he was on the floor with his hand twisted awkwardly behind his back and her knee pressing on to the back of his neck. He sputtered painfully.
"Grab me once, shame on you. Grab me twice shame on me." She chuckled.
She saw her uncle move in her peripheral vision. She grabbed the gun from the man under her hold and pointed it at her uncle.
He froze when he heard the click of the gun.
Then he smiled.
A sly, cunning, disgustingly coy smile.
"Are you going to shoot me, Jia-ya?" He asked eyeing her with a smirk.
"I want to. I would. But I know you would have safety measures in place. I have risked my sister's life enough for today. Terminate the mission. I'm not working for you anymore." She bit out.
Choi Kang-Dae laughed again and Jia's finger almost squeezed the trigger out of sheer irritation.
"Okay Okay. Let the poor man go. We will leave. Just look into that boy your sister has been seeing and then we will talk again." He said lazily.
Jia let go of the man and stood up, gun still pointed at her samchon. He scrambled up to his feet rubbing his hand.
She watched them both exit her apartment, locked her door and flew into her bedroom to find her old laptop. She hastily plugged it in and turned it on. Browsing through her emails until she pulled up the one from her sister that she was looking for.
✉️✉️✉️
Dear Unni,
I miss you. You know that, right? We hardly ever talk these days and I feel like we are drifting away from each other.
I know what you will say,
"You are a big girl now Eun-ji-ya, you don't need me."
But the truth is, I always need you unni. You are my home. My eomma, my appa, my best friend, my sister. You are everything to me.
So call me please. There was something I was meaning to tell you for some time now but since you haven't called me, I will just tell you about it here.
I had told you about this new boy at college. Do you remember?
Choi Yeonjun. He's just so cute. Extremely polite and well mannered, not to mention, handsome.
He's from Seoul too. What are the odds of that happening here, in Sydney? He's gentle and kind. Very sweet. He takes care of me and protects me. He actually listens when I talk, like what? I know!
We have been seeing each other for a while now and I think I'm falling in love, Unni. I wanted to tell you before I tell him.
So here he is, my Yeonjun-ah.
I really lucked out, didn't I, Unni? Like who even makes them like that anymore.
Everyday with him is a blessing. He took me on a picnic to the park yesterday. It was a double date with Jenny and her boyfriend. We had so much fun.
I just love him so much Unni. My heart feels like it would burst with the amount of love I hold for him.
I really want you to meet him.
Will you come? Please?
I hope you read this soon. I miss you every day.
Awaiting your call.
Love you Always,
Eun-ji.
✉️✉️✉️
Choi Yeonjun.
Jia stared at his picture. He looked like a harmless little kid but Jia knew more than anyone, that looks could be deceiving.
She tried a general search on him but it showed only his social media. Nothing of substance. She would need to hack into government records.
She rummaged through some of her old stuff trying to find some usable equipment and software she would need to use. She hadn't gotten around to replacing any of her equipment that she had lost yet but she couldn't risk being tracked by the police now. She had too much to loose.
She huffed in frustration.
Her doorbell buzzed and she froze. She hoped it wasn't Tae as she walked to the door in silence. She peeped through the peep hole on the door and saw a boy wearing the Kim Industries I-card standing outside.
Jia took a deep breath, calming herself and opened the door.
"Anneyeonghasseyo Do Jia-ssi. I'm here to deliver your phone." He said bowing to her and then handing her a box with the latest Samsung Galaxy phone.
"Ghamsamnida" she bowed slightly with a tight smile.
"It has already been programmed and the sim is in the box. If you need any further assistance please let me know. This is my card." He said handing it to her.
"Yes I will. Thank you" she bowed again and headed back inside.
She opened up the box and put in the sim card and set it aside, going back to her earlier task.
She couldn't find anything usable and was starting to lose her mind. There was no other option. She was going to have to make the call.
She picked up her new phone again and dialled.
"Yeoboseyo?" He answered dryly, a few rings later.
"Seo-Joonah, its me, Do Jia" she said softly.
"You shouldn't be calling me Jia" he said in a stern voice.
"I know. I wouldn't if it wasn't important." She pleaded.
"I would have to inform Boss Choi about this call, Jia. You have been blacklisted. I hope you know that"
She sighed. "Please Seo-joonah, I need a favour."
"What do you need?" He asked after a moment's pause.
"I need information on someone."
He sighed loudly. "Jia" he warned.
"It's just a kid from Seoul. You won't have to dig too deep. Please, I'm begging you Seo-joonah"
He hesitated and she felt crushed.
"Tell me his name."
"Choi Yeonjun" she said crossing her fingers and closing her eyes.
He didn't reply but she could hear his fingers flying across his keyboard. He was her uncle's most trusted hacker. He was also her friend. But she knew, if it came down to it, he would side with Samchon.
"There's very little information. He was arrested for possession a few times. I'm sending you his file."
He said after a few minutes.
"Thank you Seo-joon. I owe you one."
"You don't owe me anything. Consider it a goodbye gift. Please don't contact me again Jia. It's not personal. There's someone I'm protecting too." He said pointedly.
"I understand. Thank you" she said as the line went blank.
Jia quickly turned to her laptop pulling up the file he had just sent her. It contained all the usual information. Name, date of birth, orphan, raised in Seoul, multiple counts of drug possession she read through it all.
When she was almost done with the report, her heart stopped at the last line.
Possible gang ties: Bangtan
~~~~~~*~~~~~~*~~~~~~