(Hyerim Hospital, Seoul)
"Why are you so stubborn?!" Min Jae exhaled a long-exasperated sigh as he pinched on the spot between his eyebrows. However, before the other person could respond, he interjected and frustratedly ordered, "Meet me at my flat! We need to discuss this face to face."
A sigh was heard from the phone before a soft voice answered, "Okay, I will be there soon, Honey."
Min Jae hung up and put away his phone. It was then he noticed the look on his mother's face. He sighed. "Don't read too much into this, Mom."
Park Hye-rim raised an eyebrow. "I'm not even saying anything."
Min Jae only clicked his tongue at his mother's defense. He knew very well how Hye-rim was. After this, she would surely turn into a detective and like they said, when a woman was curious, she would be scarier than a CIA.
Nevertheless, he didn't have time to entertain his mother right now. He needed to hurry back to his flat. So, he took off his white coat and wore his black suit. "Okay mom, I need to go now. Are you going to stay here or?"
Hye-rim chuckled and waved her hand. "I'll stay for a bit longer. You go and take care of your stuff. I'll be fine here. I'll call our chauffeur to pick me up later."
Hence, Min Jae left straight away for his apartment while Hye-rim smirked and dialed a series of number. "He's on his way to his apartment. You know what to do," she said as soon as the call was picked up.
"Yes, madam," said the person on the other side before the call was disconnected.
"You can thank me later, Son." Hye-rim chuckled cunningly.
********
(Trimage Apartment, Seongsu-dong)
Min Jae paced back and forth inside his apartment as he waited for the person to arrive. He kept glancing at his watch and sipping on his wine every now and then in order to calm himself. He swirled the glass wine as he stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, wondering how to convince her not to enter the entertainment industry.
However, amidst his train of thoughts, a scorching heat burnt through his body all of the sudden. It sent him frowning and he immediately put the wine away. He was a bit surprised at the reaction of his body. This was the first time he tasted this wine but, he thought it wasn't too strong and yet, here he was feeling hot all over.
His body temperature kept rising. Min Jae just felt more and more uncomfortable over time. So, he began to remove his suit and loosen his tie. But, it didn't seem to help much. It pushed him further to undo his sleeves, fold them and after that unbuttoned his shirt whereby, he exposed his broad chest in a teasing manner.
Min Jae hadn't even freed himself yet from this boiling sensation when suddenly his vision blurred and a burning desire engulfed him. His eyes darkened at the feeling of his lower part hardening. The bulge in his pants became more visible each second.
"Damn it!" He cursed, finally realizing what was going on and he didn't have to guess who the culprit was.
*******
Meanwhile, after the call ended, the person immediately dialed another number and commanded, "Go to Trimage Apartment now! Help me buy some time until I finish the audition."
The person on the other side was silent for a while before a sweet feminine voice came through. "Do you really have to do this, Unni?"
"Okay, I know what I'm doing and as for you, you just need to shut up and do as I order. So, get your ass to the apartment right now!"
And the call was hung up right away. The lady closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. When she opened them again, that pair of brownish eyes were laced with immense sadness. But, just like her older sister had said, she only needed to be quiet and obey her commands.
*******
Soon, the lady found herself standing in front of the apartment door. She was feeling a bit jittery but she tried hard to compose herself. 'Alright…just hold on till Unni comes. You can do this!'
So, she went ahead and knocked on the door only to hear clattering noises coming from the other side. She frowned as she put her ear against the door. But, there was only silence. Thus, she tried to knock again yet, it was still silent.
'Should I just enter? Is it locked?' She wondered.
However, she decided to wait for a little bit more. But when she still didn't receive any answer, she became worried. She tried to open the door and only then realized that it hadn't been locked.
The moment she entered the apartment, her eyes widened at the scene that greeted her. The living room was a mess with broken glasses everywhere and red liquid all over the marble floor. Though the lights shone through the window, the afternoon never looked so dark and somber before. It was eerily quiet inside the apartment as if the whole room was covered under an eldritch veil.
Hong Shu-hwa anxiously called out, "Min Jae?"
But no one answered. There was only a faint sound echoing from one of the rooms. Shu Hwa knitted her eyebrows as she walked towards where the noise came from. When she passed by a door, Shu Hwa decided to open it to check inside.
"Min Jae?" she called again as she entered the bedroom. She continued to venture deeper towards the balcony when all of the sudden a creak sound ensued.
Shu Hwa immediately turned around and she received the shock of a lifetime as she bumped into something hard. The impact sent her falling onto the bed, making the few pieces of feathers scattered all over the place. Shu Hwa flew into panic when she saw him standing right before her with his burning dark eyes staring back at her.
Shu Hwa gulped. A nervous chuckle escaped from her mouth. She scratched her head as she said, "You scared me."
She tried to maintain her cool on the outside but deep down, she was screaming frantically. Her heart was galloping like a wild horse. She tried to get up then when suddenly, she caught on a weird scent. It gradually grew stronger and the aroma overwhelmed her entire being.
"What is th-"
"Get out!" Min Jae exclaimed. Beads of sweat running down his skin.
"Huh?" Shu Hwa raised her eyes to look at him. "Are you okay?"
"Just-" He held on to his forehead. "Shit!"
And then without warning, Min Jae pushed Shu Hwa down against the bed. Shu Hwa gapped at his action and her eyes stared at him in horror. "Min Jae! Wait-"