[L]ee Ju-hee took one final look at the motel room window from outside before picking up her pace and scurrying away, as if being chased by ghosts.
Her cap was gone, likely knocked off her head during their intertwinement on the bed. The wind blew her hair across her face, adding to the chill she felt as she walked quickly. Some people gave her odd looks, but she didn't care.
Lost in thought, she wandered without a clear destination, feeling a sense of aimlessness. Finally, it dawned on her that she was lost, and she accepted it with resignation.
"Tsk! Min-ho's going to be mad!" She plopped down on the pavement, clutching the white rabbit plush toy tightly in her lap. With her left hand covering her face, she muttered to herself, feeling frustrated and confused.
Her mind seemed overwhelmed with overthinking and guilt, intensifying her already troubled emotions.
A sudden buzzing sound and a strange sensation on her right thigh jolted her back to reality. She grabbed her phone and lazily glanced at the screen. It displayed 'Min-ho' with a cringy black heart emoji beside his name.
Keeping her voice steady, Lee Ju-hee answered the call with a simple "Yes, what's up?"
Min-ho had a knack for sensing her mood. Pretending that everything was fine would spare her from his nagging.
With a concerned tone, Min-ho asked, "Are you home? It's getting late!"
"Well," she began, looking around with disinterested eyes, trying to figure out her whereabouts, but she admitted honestly, "I think I'm lost!"
She thought she heard him sigh on the other end of the line before he added, "I'll come and get you! I just finished my shift anyway!"
"Ah?! Should I send you my location?" she offered.
But he declined, saying, "No need! I'll track your phone!"
It wasn't that he didn't trust her. It's just that he knew Lee Ju-hee and her tendency to struggle with even the simplest tasks, like reading a naver/kakao map. So, sharing her location accurately might be a challenge for her.
"What are you up to?"
"Like now?"
"Yes! Like right now?!"
"Sitting on the sidewalk and speaking to you!"
Min-ho was quick to come up with a decision, as he suggested calmly, "okay! I need you to stand up and walk your way to the nearest convenience store that's like ten to fifteen minutes from your location! Think you can do that?"
"Yeah! Sure! No biggies!"
"Don't mess it up this time, Noona!"
"Got it mom!"
It was pleasant to hear his voice since it felt like a breath of fresh air to the storm of confusion that had previously wriggled it way through her mind.
"I'll be at ease knowing you're in a public area!"
"I can kind of defend myself now, you know?"
"Yeah! But can you blame me for worrying?" he asked cautiously, followed by, "Besides, you're still not fully recovered! You easily get affected by unexpected things!"
Lee Ju-hee heard him rustling with keys, indicating that he was probably in his car, preparing to leave the parking lot.
"Which leads me to my next question!" he continued, accompanied by the sound of a seatbelt clicking. "Who's that person I don't know about? It's unusual for you to have acquaintances since you're not usually fond of being around people!"
"Well..." There was a brief pause as she stood up, holding the plushy in her right arm and using her left hand to brush off the nonexistent dust from the back of her pants. Then, she continued walking in the direction Min-ho had pointed out.
As she contemplated a suitable explanation, she heard him speculate with a sigh, "What have you done now?"
"You're making it sound like I'm always causing trouble!" she retorted.
"Ju-hee noona, you're always causing trouble!" He stated firmly, emphasizing his last four words for added dramatic effect.
She couldn't argue with that. It was true, and they both knew it.
"Hah?!" She exclaimed in mild annoyance, before confessing, "I met someone!"
"What?!" He exclaimed in disbelief over the phone, accompanied by the sound of screeching wheels in the background, likely indicating that he had lost control of the car.
Lee Ju-hee had to momentarily removed her ear from the contraption to protect herself from the piercingly high-pitched sound of his voice.
"You heard me!"
"Well, I sure hope I misheard you!"
"That's quite the dramatic reaction coming from you, Min-ho!"
"What do you expect me to do then?" He grumbled, clearly irritated about something. "It's not every day I hear that you're hanging out with some random guy! Noona, where did you even meet him?"
"Huh? Well…"
Feeling suspicious by the evasiveness and delay in her response, he prodded, "…Noona?! Where?!"
"Near an alleyway from my trip to the grocery store!"
"What?" Another high-pitch shriek from him, before he accosted sternly, "what if he's a mobster?!"
"He isn't!"
"How would you know that?"
"He doesn't have a tattoo to begin with!" She defended.
Min-ho cleared his throat and queried cautiously, "you saw him naked?"
"How did ya know?"
"Noona! What have you been up too?!" Min-ho chided. "What would you have done if things had turned out… huh… dangerous?"
She felt grateful to him for avoiding any words that might trigger her past traumas. But she was alright now. Especially when it came from him.
"Well! I supposed things could've ended way worse than it did?"
"What's that supposed to mean?!"
"I'll tell you if you don't get mad!"
"Fine!" He growled impatiently and she could hear the outrage from him.
"We kissed!"
"You what?"
"You heard me, Min-ho!"
"Well, I sure as hell hope it's a dream! That's it right? I must be dreaming!"
"You're not and it's the truth! I'm not making this up!"
She heard him inhale deeply before asking, "…and?"
"What?"
"Was he good?!"
The semblance of a smirk tugged at the corner of her lips as she retorted factually, "he was!"
"Woah!" Min-ho sounded momentarily dumbfounded. There was a slight pause, followed by another question: "did you go all the way?"
"What?! No!" Lee Ju-hee quickly protested in firm denial.
"Why not?"
"What do you mean 'why not'?"
"I mean, it would've done you some good to get laid, ya know!"
"Min-ho!"
"What?! I'm just saying! You saw him naked anyway!"
"Won't happen again…"
"Why? Why is that?"
She was about to respond with something sarcastic when someone briskly collided with her left shoulder, causing her to let out a small cry of pain.
"Noona?" Min-ho's voice echoed through the phone as she turned around to catch a glimpse of the person who had bumped into her without much of an apology.
The man wore a cream-colored suit and had a pink shirt with a floral pattern that was untucked. His appearance seemed disheveled, with his face heavily made up and his eyes smudged with black mascara. His hair was stiff and held in place with gray hairspray.
What stood out the most was the strong smell of perfume that reached her nose even through her mask.
Lee Ju-hee concluded that he was likely a male prostitute or something of similar sort.
As she narrowed her eyes at the suspicious-looking man, she noticed his pale and nervous appearance. Sweat dripped from his forehead. Suddenly, he seemed to be terrified by something behind her and quickly scurried away, almost tripping in his haste.
The whole situation was confusing, but when she turned back around, she immediately understood why. Another man had approached her, completely disregarding personal space, and spat at her face as a prank: "Booh!"
Due to her previous distraction, she didn't react or flinch at his actions.
"Why is a nice girl like ya out here all alone, huh?" The muscular man with a strong body asked in a cold and mocking tone. He had a cigarette hanging from the corner of his mouth as he spoke.
Lee Ju-hee caught a glimpse of tattoos on his chest and arms through the opening in his unbuttoned black shirt and rolled-up sleeves. The man had fair skin, a slim face, and jet-black hair parted in the middle.
His dark almond-shaped eyes had thin eyebrows, and he had some facial hair above his lips and chin.
Lee Ju-hee's attention was drawn to a tattoo-like mark on the back of the man's hand. It appeared to be a branded design resembling a skull surrounded by a circle of thorns with wings on each side. The mark seemed familiar, but she couldn't remember where she had seen it before.
Noticing her curiosity, he roughly patted her head and said in a dark and indifferent tone, "Better go back, sweetheart. Monsters come out at night!"
After he moved away, she noticed a group of 6 to 7 armed guys carrying various weapons like hatchets, machetes, chains, and daggers. They hurriedly passed by her, seemingly trying to catch up with the man who had collided with her earlier.
Considering the man's words and the chaotic situation, she started to piece together a rough understanding of what was going on.
As he casually walked away, slipping his branded hand into his pocket, Lee Ju-hee realized that she'd just missed the chance to take a read at him. The situation happened too quickly for her to react.
"Ju-hee Noona? Are you there, Ju-hee Noona?" Min-ho's voice echoed, snapping her back to reality.
She remembered being on the phone with her cousin when everything unfolded.
Looking around warily, she observed that the streets appeared deserted, which felt strangely unsettling.
How did she end up here?
"Min-ho? Something urgent came up... I need to check on something—"
"Noona?!"
"I'll call you back!"
"W-wait... Noona, don't do anything foolish—" He was still talking when she abruptly ended the call and moved towards the group, making sure to remain hidden and unseen.