chapter thirty five; hunters

    Jae Ah nervously wrung her hands together, tightly clasping and unclasping them. She exhaled a shaky breath and quickly glanced around the nearly empty cafe but nothing had changed since the last hour she’d been sitting there.

She quickly looked down to her phone, on the table in front of her, and her anxiousness only increased when she saw the message Mark had sent.

Good luck. Be safe.

Her eyes shut momentarily as she took a deep breath again. She couldn’t chicken out. Not a week after the plans had already been made to do this. She couldn’t be scared.

“Jae Ah?” A familiar voice called her name and her eyes snapped open. She stumbled out of her chair and swallowed as her eyes raked over Jinwoo’s familiar features.

“Oppa.” She mumbled quietly as he glanced around before slowly lowering himself onto the seat in front of her. She followed suit after a moment, clasping her hands together once more.

Jinwoo wasn’t sure what to make of this. He had been confused from the moment that he got the message from Jae Ah pleading him to meet her. His anger momentarily subsided as he wondered if something had happened to her.

Whether he was mad at her or not, she was still his childhood friend and his first love. She would always have a soft spot in his heart.

Jinwoo waited a few moments in silence, watching her. She refused to meet his gaze, staring down at the table. The entire action was so unlike Jae Ah. “What happened?”

“Um,” Jae Ah hesitated, wondering how to phrase her words, “you see…” She knew what she had to say. Jin Young had repeated it to her last night itself. And, despite Mark’s protests, she had agreed wholeheartedly to do this. She couldn’t chicken out. She in a breath before bursting, “I know.”

Jinwoo blinked a few times, unsure of what she meant, “What?”

“I know.” Jae Ah repeated with an exhale. “Um, about, you know, Mark… and his friends. I know their secret.”

Jinwoo’s expression shifted so drastically, it startled Jae Ah. An expression of hatred and disgust contorted on his features and Jae Ah was surprised by how ugly it looked. She’d always found him incredibly handsome but, then and again, she had never seen such an expression.

“Oh.” He muttered, glaring down at the table. “So?”

Jae Ah was at a loss for words. Even though they were fake, and rehearsed, it was still hard to say. She had never liked lying but that was exactly what she had to do. Because that’s what this was: a lie.

“Oppa,” Jae Ah spoke quietly, her hands shaking for a different reason than fear, “I’m scared.”

Jinwoo’s lips parted in surprise, “You’re- what?” He wasn’t expecting that. He was expecting her to be mad, even disgusted, with him. If she was really on Mark’s side now, then wouldn’t she be against Jinwoo?

“I’m scared.” Jae Ah repeated in a low voice. “I found out everything. And… oppa, it’s terrifying. H-He won’t let me leave. He’s hurt me.” The words tasted like acid in Jae Ah’s mouth but she kept going. “I don’t want to be with Mark, oppa. I need to get away from him before he hurts me anymore.”

Jinwoo was silent for a long moment, hi