Jia climbed back through the same window she had escaped from, moving as silently as a shadow.
For a brief second, she allowed herself to believe she had made it back before the world — and her father — woke up.
Then—
The sharp click of a lighter sliced through the darkness.
"So, you're finally back," her father's voice rasped.
He wasn't drunk.
That frightened her more than anything.
The faint flame illuminated his face — steady, cold, and dangerously aware.
His eyes shifted toward the empty tin box resting on her bed.
"I found your little secret," he said slowly.
"All that money… gone. Who did you give it to?"
Jia's throat went dry.
"I—I lost it, Father. Please—"
"Liar!"
His voice thundered through the room.
Before she could step back, he grabbed her arm and dragged her down the narrow hallway.
"Father, please! Stop!" she cried.
But he wasn't listening.
He shoved her into the small storage room at the back of the house — a suffocating space filled with broken furniture, dust, and thick cobwebs.
The smell of rot clung to the air.
The heavy wooden door slammed shut.
Then came the metallic scrape of the bolt locking from the outside.
"You'll stay there until you learn to tell the truth," he barked.
Silence followed.
Jia slowly slid down against the door, her knees giving out beneath her.
The room was pitch black. The air was thick and heavy.
She didn't have her phone.
She didn't have Jinu's number.
And for the first time, the girl who had saved someone's life was completely powerless to save herself.
___________________________________
Meanwhile, at the hospital—
Jinu sat at the edge of his bed, his injured body still weak, but his eyes fixed on the door.
The breakfast tray beside him remained untouched.
Every time the door opened, his breath caught in hope.
But it was never her.
Only nurses.
Only silence.
A heavy realization settled in his chest.
He didn't even know her last name.
He didn't have her number.
The girl who had given her life's savings to save him had disappeared.
And now he was left alone — wondering if he had pushed her too far… or if he was about to lose her completely.