Seol Ah sat by the window while Jin-ho bought a cup of ramen and ate it. She held her bag of snacks as she settled beside him, staring out. Jin-ho slurped his noodles and glanced over his shoulder at her. She turned in surprise, and they locked eyes. His mouth went slack. She blushed and looked away.
"Hm… are you studying?" she asked, closing her eyes. Why did he look at me at the exact same moment?
"Huh?" Jin-ho snapped, a noodle slipping back into the cup. He grabbed a napkin to wipe his mouth, chuckled, and laid his chopsticks across the rim. "I… don't really need to study."
"What?!" Seol Ah froze, balancing on the chair, then hauled herself up to the counter. "Why not?"
"Because… I already know what I need to know," Jin-ho replied.
Seol Ah frowned.
"Oh yeah… you're three years older."
Jin-ho laughed and nodded, lifting his chopsticks to eat again.
"Hmm."
Seol Ah rested her left ear on the counter and stared at the side of his face. The cold surface bit at her cheek, but her eyes stayed fixed on him.
"Must be lucky to already know…" she muttered. He paused, watching her.
"You don't even need to go to school every day if you're passing all the time."
He slurped the last noodle, then tipped the cup to drink the soup.
"Yep. I can ditch the entire year and still pass!" he teased.
She growled at him, prickled by the tease.
"Show off," she said, blowing a raspberry.
He smiled and patted her head. She quickly covered her face. When he turned to look out the window, a well-suited man with a tattoo around his wrist glanced at him with a sly smile. Jin-ho felt something prick under his skin, an unease that forced him to look up. What was that? I felt something… weird.
The man held a phone to his ear and chuckled.
"Chairman, she looks exactly like her. Just like the woman seventeen years ago in the States," he said coldly.
From somewhere in the city, an old man puffed on a cigar. Heavy smoke filled the room and a light chuckle echoed.
"I see… dig into it. And if it's true, pass him a note to return—or else… that little girl is next."
The tattooed man brushed past the man in sunglasses, the same watcher who had been keeping an eye on Seol Ah and Jin-ho. Different eyes. Different intentions. He smirked as he continued up the street. Making it obvious that she's important to you. I'll avenge the brothers who died by your hands, Lee Chu Young. Just wait and see. I'll take away the most important thing to you… that little girl.
After the convenience store trip, Seol Ah returned home with a bag of snacks. She paused in the hallway, checking whether the light in the farthest room was on, Po Lim's room. When it was, she took a few snacks for herself and set the rest aside for Po Lim. Then she headed to her own room to study for the upcoming midterms.
ONE MONTH AFTER
For one month, silence replaced violence—but silence never lasts. A month after the midterms, Seol Ah's life had returned to normal. There was no interaction with the gang organizations. Jin-ho stopped talking to Bin Sin and Si Yeon, distancing himself from it all. He spent his time studying like a normal student with Seol Ah, growing closer to her than he ever had when they first met.
Meanwhile, Si Yeon was forced to deal with something unexpected.
An elderly man's swollen, bruised face was shoved hard against the wall by a foot.
"Stop!" Si Yeon screamed, her cheeks twitching.
Two men sat in chairs facing her while another held the old man pinned to the wall. One of the men in the chair wore the same tattoo around his wrist. He flicked his cigarette to the floor and chuckled.
"Aw, should we be doing this in front of a pretty little girl?" he snickered. The other two men laughed.
"Hyung, the Chairman said to find out the truth at all costs… if anything, she can just join us instead," the man in the other chair added.
"Aigoo, to run such a small organization, you must be so proud of yourself, Hyu Kim," the one pressing Hyu Kim to the wall said.
Hyu Kim groaned, tears in his eyes as he stared at Si Yeon.
"Abeoji…" Si Yeon cried.
"Leave her alone… my daughter is only throwing a tantrum," Hyu Kim begged.
They all cackled at once.
"Did you hear that, Hyung? He thinks we're going to violate his daughter…"
"We don't need that dirty gang blood in our group."
"What do you guys want?" Si Yeon cut in, grinding her teeth.
They all darted glances at her. The one with the tattoo rose and strolled toward her, hands in his pockets, grinning as he bent one knee.
"Who's that little girl with the boy you raised?" he asked.
Si Yeon tightened her jaw, tears welling at the corners of her eyes. I promised Oppa I wouldn't tell anyone… but my father's life is on the line.
"Hyung, she won't tell you. I just know it—"
"Shush… let her decide," the man snapped, standing.
The man holding Hyu Kim's head flicked a knife out of his pocket. He grinned at Si Yeon and forced Hyu Kim's hand onto the table.
"Will you answer, or do you want your father to lose a finger—one at a time?" he threatened.
Si Yeon gasped, tears streaming down her face.
"Please… my father and I don't know anything!" she cried.
"I'll count to three for the lady… One—"
"Please!"
"Two—"
Si Yeon squeezed her eyes shut and lowered her head.
"Her name is Jang Seol Ah!" she shouted.
They released Hyu Kim and he stumbled toward Si Yeon. The tattooed man smiled, nodding as if relieved.
"Thank you so much for the information, Young Si Yeon," he said calmly and coldly.
She glared at him, seething, forcing herself to look composed. Asshole.
"But I'm going to need more information if you have it…" the man continued. Then he pulled a knife and swiftly stabbed Hyu Kim's leg. Hyu Kim screamed in agony as his blood flooded the ground.
"No!" Si Yeon yelled.
The man left his knife on Hyu Kim's leg as he smiled at Si Yeon. He leaned forward to Si Yeon, gently brushing her hair behind her ear.
"Tell me more about this… Jang Seol Ah."
Si Yeon whimpered, shutting her mouth as tightly as possible, but her cries refused.
"Why…? Why are you doing this to us?" Si Yeon sobbed.
"Oh, sweet child…" the man with the tattoo stated. Then he grabbed her hair and pulled it down. She groaned. "Because someone she knows owes a debt to us… and it costs more than just her life."
Si Yeon shut her eyes tightly, tears streaming like a waterfall. Oppa, I'm sorry… I can't hold on for you anymore.
"She… has a sister and a mother. Her sister goes to Mejajung Junior High…" Si Yeon blurted.
The man smiled, slow and deliberate. He pulled her closer.
"Name?"
Si Yeon closed her mouth to muffle herself.
"Jang… Po Lim," she forced herself to say.
The man released her head and stood. The two men behind him smiled.
"Hyung, what are we going to do now?"
The man glanced at Si Yeon, then toward the door.
"We will send a message. Something she'll never forget. Because once she takes the bait, she… will become the bait for the bigger fish."