Pay With Your Heart

Chapter 461: A Choice

Eun-sun and Mi-Cha paled white at the unexpected sight before them. A tall, burly man was holding a gun in his hand as he stood in the heart of the room, with Mi-Cha frightfully perched against the wall and Eun-sun petrified in her seat, where she had grown too limp to stand up from.

Eun-sun swore in her heart she had seen that face before, and recently too. Her mind made a quick spin as it hassled to remember where she had seen him, and her eyes widened when she did remember.

It was the restaurant where Dan-Han had introduced her to Kim Yong-Gun, her uncle.

He was seated at the restaurant, near the private room where they had met Mr Kim. He was similarly dressed in a black suit and was sitting with another man, one with a far more austere face than his.

She wouldn’t have noticed him had it not been the way Dan-Han had darkly glanced at them back at the restaurant. She had been suspicious of his silent reaction, but now she understood why.

He worked for the very person who wanted her dead. Eun-sun’s heart skipped several beats as she paled even more.

Her eyes darted towards Mi-Cha, who was quivering with fear as she fearfully glanced at the gun in the man’s hand.

.....

“W..who are you? W..who sent you?” Mi-Cha asked with deep fright, her heart pounding so heavily she could hear it drum in her ears. She stiffened when the man turned towards her and met her gaze.

“Move this way.” He grimly ordered, gesturing at her to walk towards the bathroom door. Mi-Cha’s eyes darted towards the door, and she shook her head.

“Please, you don’t have to do this.” She pleaded, but the man hardly frowned.

“I won’t repeat myself.” He drawled while Mi-Cha panicky looked at Eun-sun.

Eun-sun knew Mi-Cha was scared out of her mind, and she understood why.

Unlike Mi-Cha, she wasn’t as frightened as she was supposed to be. Maybe it was because of her prior experience of having a gun pointed at her, or maybe all the death-threatening experiences she had encountered in the last few months.

Her heart thumped loudly with fear, but one thing that made her less scared was that he wasn’t going to hurt Mi-Cha. It was obvious he wasn’t, as he had his gun only pointed toward her while he asked Mi-Cha to step into the bathroom.

There was no doubt that he had been sent solely for her. Either to kill her on the spot or to take her away. Whichever it was.

Eun-sun shifted her gaze towards the man ordering Mi-Cha to do as he had said, and her hand stealthily reached for her bag. She placed it on her thigh and slipped her hand into it.

Her heart thumped hardly when she felt the handle of the gun Dan-Han had given her against her fingers. She felt fear intensify in her stomach, but it wasn’t for fear of being shot at, but rather of what it meant to have a gun in her hand.

She slipped her finger through the trigger guide and placed it on the trigger just as Dan-Han had told her.

She looked at Mi-Cha and managed a smile, but she was nervous as her hand held the gun in her bag. “Mi-Cha, you should do as he says.” She told her, and Mi-Cha panickly looked at her. Her eyes were filled with horror.

Mi-Cha felt the urge to scream and cry for help, but she knew that wasn’t a good idea, as it would only complicate things and maybe close whatever window of escape they might have, not that she could see any at the moment.

“I won’t say it again.” The man said, and Eun-sun nodded at Mi-Cha to do as she said. Mi-Cha didn’t think it was right to leave Eun-sun alone, as she was the target, but what could she do?

Where had Dan-Han gone? Didn’t he say he had this all planned out? She always knew there would be some problem with his supposed ‘flawless’ plan. There she was, being scared for her father, not knowing the anticipated trouble would be on their end.

“Just do as he says.” Eun-sun calmly encouraged her, and Mi-Cha wondered why she was being so calm. Her eyes fell on Eun-sun’s thigh, where she seemed to bury her hand in her bag. Her eyes narrowed at it and a slight frown formed on her face despite the bundle of nerves jungled up in her stomach.

She nervously turned and started towards the bathroom door, but as she approached it, her hand hurriedly grabbed a vase sitting on a desk just by the door. With no hesitation, she turned and threw it at the man who wasn’t fast enough to evade as it hit his hand and sent the gun falling out of his grip.

Eun-sun instantly jerked up to her feet and pulled the gun out of her bag, hastily firing a shot, which had her slightly stumbling back, but unfortunately, she missed as the bullet only grazed past his ear.

Eun-sun didn’t know how it had happened, but suddenly she felt the food cart ram against her legs, and she stumbled to the floor with the gun falling out of her hand

“You bitch.” The man growled. He touched the tip of his ear, which burnt with pain. He glared at Mi-Cha and cussed as he tried to reach for his gun again. And just as his fingers reached for it, Mi-Cha hopped after him, her arms clinging around his neck as she tried to distort him. The tip of her shoe forcefully kicked the gun an inch away from his grip, and he cussed even louder.

The man shot up to his feet and reached for her arm, pulling her off him as if she weighed nothing before gripping his gun. Mi-Cha was stunned at his agility seeing how burly he looked.

She winced at the force at which he held her. He placed her in front of him and pointed his gun at Eun-sun, who was equally pointing hers at him. She had been struggling to get a shot, but Mi-Cha had been in the way.

“I’d advise you drop that.” He ordered.

“Don’t you dare, Eun-sun. Shoot him!” Mi-Cha countered with a yell.

“Shut up.” He roared at her as he placed the nuzzle of the gun on Mi-Cha’s head.

“I’m going to ask nicely just once. Drop the gun and quietly come with me. Else I’m going to shoot her.” He threatened, but Eun-sun shook her head.

“I know you won’t.” She replied, with a desperate attempt to hide the anxiety in her voice, as well as stop her hand from trembling as it was threatening to. She was certain he wasn’t going to shoot at Mi-Cha, as she was the daughter of the man who sent him.

The man’s face hardened wickedly as he took a step closer with Mi-Cha still in his grip and front of him, and Eun-sun took a step back towards the open window.

“Are you sure about that?” He coldly asked, and the inscrutable look on his face puzzled Eun-sun for a minute.

She couldn’t be exactly sure whether or not Mi-Cha would be hurt. A man like Yong-Gun seemed like someone who’d spare anyone that came between him and his plans. If he could take his child from her mother the moment she was born, depriving her of the privilege of being loved and cared for by her just because of his greed, then she couldn’t trust him to leave his daughter unharmed.

After all, if he killed them both as well as her father, then her mother would be all that’s left, and what’s the guarantee that he wouldn’t harm her too? None!

Of course, he would.

Eun-sun didn’t know what to do. He could kill her on the spot, but that didn’t seem like his order. He must have been ordered to bring her somewhere, and she wondered for what purpose. Did Yong-Gun want to do it himself? She guessed he must have. Of course, he’d want to confirm her death with his own eyes. Or his evil mind might have more intentions towards her.

They might kill her the moment he takes her to wherever he had been ordered to. If that were the case, then he wouldn’t harm Mi-Cha. With that thought solidifying her heart that he wouldn’t shoot at Mi-Cha, Eun-sun pointed the gun at Mi-Cha, who instantly frowned at her.

“What are you doing?” Mi-Cha asked in horror.

“I’m sorry.” Eun-sun flatly apologised before darting her eyes towards the man.

Her countenance was deeply sombre as she spoke. “You must know that I’ve lived a rough life, and I’ve been shackled to the most ruthless man you can imagine in the past months, so believe me when I say I’ll shoot a girl I’m only meeting for the second time to save my life. You can dare me, and I’ll let you explain to your boss why his plans might never come to fruition. And if you try to use yourself as a shield, I can assure you that I won’t miss this time. It’s your choice now. Me, you or her.” She said, grimly meeting the man’s gaze.

“You think I can’t-”

“I’m sure you can do whatever you want, and I can do the same.” Eun-sun coldly cut him short. Mi-Cha stared wide-eyed at Eun-sun as she was utterly puzzled about what they were talking about. What did she have to do with anything? She mused.

She looked at Eun-sun with shock and surprise. “I don’t know what’s going on here, but I must say I’m surprised. But why should I? When I’ve known humans are unpredictable, even those we consider family. You amaze me.” Mi-Cha disappointedly hissed, making Eun-sun dart her eyes to her.

“I’m sorry I made you feel this way, but that’s how I felt when you said you had a crush on Dan-Han. I almost felt like crushing your feet with my heels at that moment instead of your heart. That way, you wouldn’t have missed the pain that was supposed to come with the disappointment.” Eun-sun’s eyes intently held her gaze as she said those words, and Mi-Cha’s face slightly contorted with a frown.

Eun-sun’s words felt odd, but her eyes suddenly narrowed, and the next second that followed, she stomped her heel on the man’s foot with every strength that was in her leg, and in the split second when his grip loosened, she slipped away from him, and just as she docked, sounds of two gunshots echoed in the room.