Jae lay on the sofa, his body tense and uncomfortable from a restless night. His eyes, red and puffy from the lack of sleep, stared blankly at the ceiling as his mind was heavy with the weight of his thoughts.
Despite the early morning hours, he couldn't find relief from the pain that consumed his mind and heart. Suddenly he heard a sound coming from outside which made him come back from his thoughts.
He took a deep breath and slowly sat up, his mind still heavy with the weight of his emotions. With a determined effort, he got up from the sofa and made his way towards the door.
As he opened it, and stepped outside, he froze in confusion and unease as he saw Jia descending the stairs, carrying a suitcase and a resolute yet sorrowful expression on her face.
Jae stood frozen in place, his confusion and anxiety growing with each passing second. He watched as Jia made her way down the stairs.
As she reached the bottom of the stairs, her gaze met his, and they locked eyes for a moment. A myriad of powerful and painful emotions passed silently between them, words unspoken yet deeply felt. She took her eyes away from him and quickly started walking towards the door, her suitcase in hand.
Seeing this, Jae quickly moved towards her with long steps, blocking her path. Desperation on his face, he urgently asked, "Where are you going?"
Jia paused for a moment, looking at him with a mixture of pain and determination. After a brief silence, she finally replied, "Given our different perspectives on the situation, it's best if we part ways."
Saying this, she attempted to step around him and continue towards the door, but Jae quickly grabbed her arm, halting her in her tracks and pulling her back to stand in front of him.
"You're not going anywhere." his voice filled with disbelief, desperation and anxiety as he protested.
Jia immediately retorted, "So are you going to change your mind?"
Hearing her words, Jae held onto her shoulder, shaking it urgently as he pleaded, "Why don't you understand, Jia? Why are you being so stubborn?"
Tears welled up in Jia's eyes as she fiercely shook off his hands and spoke loudly, "You're the one who doesn't understand, and you're the one being stubborn."
Her voice trembled with anger and frustration as she continued, "How can I stay with you when I know that you're going to kill my friend?"
As she spoke, she clutched her head, looking around anxiously, the weight of her conflicting emotions becoming increasingly apparent on her face.
"No, I can't stay with you until you reconsider your decision." As she spoke firmly, she shook her head in denial, her emotions visible in her expression.
She then picked up her suitcase, moving towards the door, intending to leave, but Jae quickly grabbed her and pulled her into a tight embrace.
"Why are you doing this to me? Why don't you understand that she killed Leo and drugged Daisy, and I can't let her get away with it? Don't do this to me, Jia," he entreated fervently.
Jia pushed Jae away forcefully, quickly starting to walk away. Jae tried to grab her wrists to stop her, pleading desperately, "Jia! don't do this, Jia."
However, Jia continued to shake off his grip and moved forward quickly, determined to leave. Jae, refusing to give up, chased after her, his fingers repeatedly trying to catch her wrists as she hastily pulled away.
They both continued their struggle, the tension between them palpable as they both held onto their opposing convictions.
She crossed the door and reached the main gate to the house, where a car and her bodyguard were waiting. It was evident that Jia had arranged for her bodyguard to be there in advance. While Jae followed closely behind, still trying to stop her.
Finally, Jia came to a halt and turned around to face Jae, who was pleading desperately for her to stay. She stepped closer to him and gently cupped his face, while he held her wrist then she leaned forward and kissed his forehead before connecting their foreheads as tears still brimmed in her eyes.
Jia continued to hold his face, caressing it, her voice filled with pain and helplessness. "I'm not leaving you, but I can't stay with you either. When you change your mind, I will come back to you," she said, releasing his face and stepping back.
However, Jae still held her wrist tightly, his head shaking in denial as he pleaded, "No, please, Jia."
Jia swallowed, gathering her strength to pull her wrist free from his grip. Without looking back, she walked out the gate, got into the car, and drove away, leaving Jae alone and filled with anguish.
Jae watched Jia drive away, a sense of despair and helplessness washing over him. Unable to support himself any longer, he sank to his knees, his hand covering his forehead as tears streamed down his face.
If he wanted, he could've forced her, caged her again, but now, when they had come so far, it had become forbidden for him to repeat those things.
The feeling of emptiness overwhelmed him, it was as if a vital part of him was ripped apart the moment Jia left, despite him being already broken, leaving him even more broken and alone.
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3 months passed.
Jae, Jackson, and Daniel sat in their private meeting room, their faces devoid of any happiness. Instead, they wore expressions of determination, subtle anger, and a hint of pain that they barely kept hidden.
Jae clasped his hands together, his knuckles turning white as he tried to contain his frustration. Jackson was sitting restlessly, unable to find comfort in the stillness of the room. Daniel, on the other hand, sat motionless, staring unfocused at the wall in front of him.
Suddenly Jackson slammed his hand on the table in frustration. "We should have known all along that the damn omnipotent mafia group is behind everything," he exclaimed.
With a determined expression, Jae chimed. "We need to do something that forces Sarah to leave the omnipotent's secure zone," he proposed.
"I can't believe it's been three months already, and we still haven't found Sarah." Jackson exclaimed in disbelief.
Daniel, who had remained silent until now, suddenly spoke up in a mocking tone, his voice tinged with pain.
"Isn't it funny how powerful we are, but our power has never been useful when it comes to getting revenge against our enemies? Can you think of any reason for that?"
Jae and Jackson turned their gaze towards Daniel, listening to his words intently, their expressions sombre.
Daniel gave a bitter smile and scoffed, continuing, "Perhaps being powerful is pointless when we're hollow inside, empty."
He fell silent for a moment before standing up and placing his hands on the table, clenching it while saying, "To be honest, I'm tired of this whole process of revenge. I'm tired beyond words."
Jae and Jackson listened intently, their expressions mirroring Daniel's pain, as he continued, "First, our parents destroyed their family, then they sought revenge by destroying our family, then we wanted to destroy them for the revenge and killed some of their members and now they're taking their revenge on us in a different ways, creating an endless cycle. This revenge...it'll never end, it'll go on forever."
The weight of their circumstances hung heavily in the air, and Jae and Jackson knew that Daniel was expressing the exhaustion and torment that they too felt.
Daniel left the room, and Jae and Jackson remained seated. Jae leaned back in his seat, taking a deep breath, and his gaze shifted upwards towards the ceiling.
Jackson, on the other hand, sat there silently, his eyes fixed on the doorway as he was lost in his deep contemplation.
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Jia slowly pushed her shopping trolley through the aisles of the convenience store in Incheon city of South Korea, her mind elsewhere. Her face wore no trace of happiness or excitement, as if she was going through the motions while being mentally detached.
The usual hum of the bustling store seemed distant to her, her focus purely on the task at hand. She moved from aisle to aisle, picking up vegetables and other essentials, all the while maintaining the same blank expression on her face.
Jia came to a halt in front of the section where cabbage and cauliflower were placed and felt overwhelmed. She was confused as she had limited knowledge of vegetables. Standing there, she began to ponder the question: what should she choose?
In the midst of her uncertainty, a familiar voice nearby spoke up, saying, "Cauliflower is good, I like it a lot."
Jia turned her head towards the sound and found that Jae had picked up a cauliflower and placed it in her trolley. Seeing him there, her expression immediately turned annoyed.
Despite the three months they had spent apart in different cities, Jae seemed to not give up pursuing her and every time appeared unannounced at the most unexpected moments.
Jae continued placing more vegetables into her trolley, saying with each item, "These are good too, these are good as well."
Jia remained silent and quickly started moving her trolley away. However, Jae kept pace with her, grabbing items from each section as they passed by and placing them into her trolley. With every item added, the trolley became fuller and fuller, only increasing Jia's annoyance at Jae's actions.
Jia suddenly came to a halt, closing her eyes tightly to control her frustration. She then turned towards Jae, who was continuing to place another item in her already overflowing trolley.
With a stern voice, she addressed him, "Will you stop doing all this or not?"
Jae immediately stood straight, innocently looking at her as if he was completely unaware of her annoyance.
He innocently asked, "Stop what?"
Jia responded, her voice firm, "Following me," to which Jae's expression turned slightly serious, and he denied, "Never."
Jia let out a sigh and began pushing her trolley toward the cash counter, with Jae following closely behind her. It was evident that despite Jia's annoyance, Jae had no intention of letting her out of his sight.
Jia began presenting all the items to the store assistant at the cash counter, and the assistant proceeded to scan each item, calculating the prices. As they were being packed, Jia observed the total sum on the display, her expression remained unchanged.
Just as Jia was about to pay for the items, Jae quickly drew out his black card and handed it to the store assistant. He calmly instructed the assistant, "Take this."
The store assistant looked surprised and looked back and forth between Jae and Jia, where Jia wore a mix of disbelief and annoyance on her face, looking at Jae.
The assistant then turned to ask Jia, "Princess, is he your boyfriend?"
Before Jia could answer, Jae swiftly replied, "Husband."
Hearing this, the assistant's eyes widened in surprise, and he stared at them in astonishment.
Jae, not wasting any time, then said, "Hurry up and pay the bill with the card."
The sudden assertion of his husbandhood left the store assistant momentarily bewildered, but he quickly recovered and began processing the payment using Jae's card.
Frustrated, Jia shot Jae a glare as she began to pick up the bags filled with items. However, before she could finish, Jae quickly grabbed them from her hand and made his way out of the store with the bags in hand without waiting for her.
Just as Jia had started to follow him out of the store, the store assistant called out to her from behind, "Princess, the card."
Jia instantly turned around and took the card from him, and the assistant bowed then thanked her before she hurried outside.
Jae exited the store carrying all the bags of purchased items and approached Jia's waiting car. Beside it stood her bodyguard. Jae placed all the bags in the car's trunk, then closed the car's trunk, standing there as Jia got into the car without sparing a glance in his direction.
She quickly drove off with her bodyguard.
Seeing Jia leave, Jae quickly ran to his own car and got in. He accelerated rapidly, determined to reach Jia's apartment before her. It was as if internal competition to reach her apartment had ignited within him.
The car raced through the streets, Jae's eyes fixated on the road as his thoughts were consumed by the need to reach Jia's apartment before her. The determination in his gaze was almost palpable.
Within a few minutes, Jae arrived at Jia's apartment building before she did. He quickly got out of his car and sprinted towards the building, making a beeline for the elevator. However, he found that the elevator was already in use, so he quickly changed course and darted towards the stairwell. Without pausing to catch his breath, Jae ascended the stairs at lightning speed, his only goal to reach Jia's apartment floor as quickly as possible.
After what felt like an eternity, Jae finally reached Jia's floor. Without wasting any time at all, he hurried straight towards her apartment door and leaned against the wall next to it, bracing himself with an elbow on the wall and his head resting in his hand. He stood there, anxiously waiting for Jia, legs crossed and breathing heavily, his eyes fixed on the elevator, anticipating her arrival.
Soon the elevator door opened, Jia stepped out with her bodyguard, who carried all the bags filled with items. Despite spotting Jae standing there, Jia continued to ignore him and walked toward her apartment door.
Seeing this, Jae silently gestured for the bodyguard to leave. Understanding the command, the bodyguard placed all the bags on the floor near the door before silently leaving, leaving Jae and Jia alone in the hallway.
As Jia approached her apartment door and was about to enter the password, Jae tried to sneak a peek, trying to catch a glimpse of her entering the code.
However, Jia noticed his attempt and shot him a disapproving glare, causing him to quickly avert his gaze to the side and look away. With a swift motion, Jia entered the code, unlocking her apartment door.
Jia quickly picked up all the bags from the floor and entered her apartment. Just as she was about to close the door behind her, Jae seized the opportunity, swiftly stepping inside before the door could shut. The sound of the door closing echoed in the apartment as Jae found himself inside Jia's space, a mix of determination and ease etched on his face.
Frustrated, Jia let go of the bags she was carrying, sending them crashing to the floor. She looked directly at Jae with an annoyed expression and asked, "What do you actually want?"
Jae met her gaze, a hint of pleading and affection in his eyes, as he responded, "Nothing, just you."
Jia fell silent, her eyes narrowing slightly as she continued to glare at him.
The atmosphere was taut with tension, and both of them were acutely aware of the unspoken emotions swirling between them.
Jia spoke, her voice laced with frustration, "You should have thought about this three months ago."
Jae attempted to move closer to her, but she immediately raised her hand, halting his advance. "Don't take another step," she warned.
Jae froze in place, helplessness etched on his face as he replied, "Why can't you understand that I can't give you what you're asking for?"
Sorrow filled Jia's eyes as suddenly tears streamed down her face. She desperately replied with a trembling voice, "But it's what I want."
The sight of her tears caused a pang of pain in Jae's heart, reflecting his inner turmoil. He stood there, torn between his desire to reach out and the knowledge that he can't give her what she was asking for.
Frustration and longing overcame Jae, and despite the warning, he moved forward and embraced Jia tightly, refusing to let go. He buried his face in her hair, his voice filled with emotional pain.
"It's hurting me to be away from you."
Jia struggled against his grip, trying to push him away, but Jae held her tight.
He continued, his voice laden with desperation, "Is it easy for you to be separated from me? Do you not feel any pain?"
His question hung in the air like a heavy weight, his raw vulnerability had temporarily stunned her as Jia suddenly froze, her struggle coming to an abrupt halt. Tears streaming down from her eyes, glimmering like tiny diamonds in the dimly lit apartment.
Suddenly, in a flash, Jia pushed Jae away forcefully, causing him to stumble back and struggle to regain his balance.
He quickly steadied himself and looked toward Jia, who suddenly burst into convulsive sobs, crying with such intensity that the sound of her weeping echoed throughout the entire apartment. The sight of her pain sent a pang of distress through Jae, his own heart aching at her misery.
Jia clutched at her hair, repeatedly crying out, "What happened? Why isn't my mind working?" She stumbled forward and leaned against the wall, her hand pressing against it as she continued her desperate pleading. "Why did everything change? Why did this happen? I don't understand anything. Everything feels like a painful dream to me."
Suddenly, her legs gave way, and she collapsed to the floor, still clutching tightly onto her hair. She continued to cry out, her voice filled with anguish as she questioned her fate.
"Why is life like this? Why are there roadblocks everywhere? Why does anyone I love get involved in dangerous things?" Her voice trembled as she asked, "What did I do wrong? Why do I have to suffer like this?"
Her despair-filled cry pierced the air, a heart-wrenching plea for understanding and justice.
Jae stood there, witnessing her pain and feeling utterly powerless to ease her agony. The intensity of her suffering was painfully clear.
He clenched his fist tightly, his chest aching with a mixture of helplessness and sorrow. His hand extended, itching to reach out and touch her, but before he could, he caught himself, pulling back and wrestling to regain control of his emotions. He blinked rapidly, trying to fight back the overwhelming flood of emotions coursing through his veins.
Finally, he took several deep breaths, desperate to steady his racing heart. Without giving himself time to second-guess, he quickly turned and opened the apartment door before stepping outside and closing it behind him.
Back against the door, he placed a hand on his chest and took several deep breaths, attempting to regulate his breathing.
He closed his eyes tightly, a battle raging inside. Then suddenly he slipped and found himself on the floor.
Jae struggled to compose himself further, but his efforts were in vain. The tears began streaming down his face, his anguish and heartache finally overcoming his attempts to keep his emotions in check.
Behind the apartment door, he could hear Jia uncontrollably sobbing, a direct contrast to the sound of his own tears.
The irony of the situation struck him hard – the person he loved, the person he wanted to hold and comfort, was just on the opposite side of the door, but completely out of reach.
His body trembled, his head resting against the door, separated from her by only a thin barrier of closed door.
The sound of their sobbing intertwined, filling the hallway with a poignant blend of sadness and longing.
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Jae was riding his bike through the crowded Incheon city streets, he suddenly noticed a small stall selling various women's accessories. He immediately stopped his bike, parked it to the side, and made his way through the crowd towards the stall.
The shop was bustling with women, and there was no other man in sight.
Jae stood near the stall, his gaze drawn to the array of earrings on display. He began to imagine how they would look on Jia, a faint smirk appearing on his face at the thought.
He picked up a pair of delicate, sparkling earrings and held them up, mentally picturing them adorning Jia's earlobes. A mixture of anticipation and excitement washed over him as he visualised how beautiful she would look wearing them.
He quickly purchased the earrings and tucked them into his pocket. He then navigated back through the crowd towards his bike, but an unexpected scene caught his attention.
Through a gap in the crowd, he could see a middle aged man was desperately trying to save his briefcase from a street thug.
He couldn't see the man's face as his back was turned, but he could sense the fear in the man's voice. Suddenly, the thug quickly yanked the briefcase, accidentally tearing the man's shirt and exposing his whole muscular arm. And as soon as Jae saw something on that man's exposed arm he was stunned and shocked.
There was a tattoo, a sword tattoo, the same one that Gale had mentioned years ago.
At that very moment the thug with the briefcase started running, and that man also started chasing the thug, seeing the man going away, Jae immediately tried to follow him, but the throng of people blocked his path. He attempted to catch a glimpse of the fleeing man, but he had vanished into the crowd.
Despite the obstacle, Jae persisted, determined to follow the tattooed man. He tried to push his way through the crowd, but the sea of people seemed impenetrable.
As he manoeuvred through the crowd, he accidentally bumped into someone, and when he looked down, his eyes widened in shock as he realised it was Sarah, her face concealed under a hood.
She stared back at him in shock, and on seeing him she immediately began darting away urgently, trying to put some distance between them. Without hesitation, Jae rushed after her, the adrenaline fueled chase beginning.
The thrill of the pursuit filled his veins as he chased after Sarah, his footsteps quickening. The crowded streets created obstacles and challenges, forcing him to weave and navigate through the crowd to stay close to her.
Sarah seemed determined to put as much distance between them as possible, her movements urgent and frantic. Jae could see the fear and panic in her appearance, but it only fueled his determination to catch her.
Sarah ducked into a maze of narrow alleys and hidden passageways, desperately trying to lose Jae in her wake. But Jae was relentless, following her every turn, determined to not let her escape his sight.
The chase became a high-stakes game of cat and mouse, with Sarah using every corner and alley to her advantage, but Jae's pursuit was unyielding. His breathing grew harsher as he pushed himself to keep up, never losing sight of his target.
In a last-ditch effort to escape, Sarah darted down an alley that led to a dead end, with no way to go but back.
She spun around to find Jae a few steps away, blocking her only exit, gun in hand, aiming at her.
Both of them were panting heavily, adrenaline coursing through their veins from the intense chase. The silence hung heavy in the air for a moment, the tension palpable.
In that moment, Jae was about to pull the trigger when a haunting voice echoed in his mind—Jia's pleading voice, imploring him not to take Sarah from her.
Her words cut through him,
"I don't want to lose Sarah, please understand my pain."
"Jae, there's no one else who can understand the pain of losing a friend better than you."
"Please Jae, listen to me."
The sound of Jia's desperate pleas filled his thoughts, weakening his resolve. He tried to regain control, fighting to block out her voice and tried to pull the trigger again but failed.
He squeezed his eyes shut, struggling to keep his focus, but Jia's anguish-filled voice continued to echo through his mind.
Frustration coursed through him, and he tried to gather himself once again, fighting to regain control, to remain steadfast despite the emotional onslaught. However, the power of Jia's words and the emotions they stirred within him proved too strong.
Overwhelmed, he found himself paralyzed, unable to bring himself to pull the trigger as he grappled with the conflicting emotions swirling within him. Despite his internal struggle, Jae kept his eyes closed, his gun still aimed but unmoving.
He managed to speak, his voice firm yet conflicted. "Before I kill you, leave. Get out of here." The sternness in his tone reflected his inner turmoil.
Sarah frowned slightly, taken aback by his command. But Jae's voice rang out again, this time more forceful. "Quickly, get away from here!"
Without wasting a moment, Sarah sprinted past Jae, leaving him standing there with his eyes still shut tight.
The silence that remained was deafening as Jae stood there, his eyes still closed, his mind racing with conflicting thoughts and emotions.
He was now alone.
He slowly opened his eyes, his vision confirmed what he had sensed—Sarah was gone, vanished from sight. A shaky exhale escaped his lips as he lowered his gun, his hand trembling. With unsteady steps, he moved towards the nearby wall and leaned against it, resting his weight against the cool surface. His feet were shaky, and his breaths came in short gasps.
The pain from Jia's voice had left him physically and emotionally drained. He leaned his head back against the wall, his entire body exhausted. In this moment of solitude, he allowed himself to collapse to the ground, his back sliding down the wall until he was sitting on the cold, hard pavement, still trying to catch his breath.
The gun slipped from his trembling hand. He clutched his forehead, his emotions overwhelming him.
He muttered to himself in disbelief and anguish, his voice quivering with a mixture of guilt, regret, and confusion.
"What have I done? Why did I let the killer of my brother and sister go free? I had her in my sight, ready to pull the trigger, but I spared her life. How could I do that? What came over me? She didn't deserve my mercy."
Jae's head was spinning, he sat there, utterly overwhelmed by the magnitude of what had just happened and the implications of his actions.
He couldn't shake off the feeling that he had done something which wasn't supposed to, a decision that would haunt him for a long time to come.
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