**Episode 10 **
Kim Min-Jun wandered tiredly through the small town of Fenghua for hours in an empty growling stomach until the night fells in and then, he began the search for a place to spend the night.
He passed by a group of homeless people laying under the bridge, some of whom seemed a bit unhinged, and he imagined himself lying among them. But when it came to reality, he couldn't bring himself to do it. After a few minutes of aimless wandering, he barely know anyone or anywhere in this strange town. He might as well searches the whole night, he thought and considered going back to join the people under the bridge, but then, fortune smiled upon him as he finally found a safe and tidy spot to rest for the night. In a town as small and undeveloped as the part he's in Fenghua, finding a place as good as this to sleep was a relief.
At dawn, Min-Jun was still half-asleep when he felt something brushing against the skin of his hand.
Groggy, he tried to grasp whatever it was, but it slipped away. Then he felt it again, this time tugging at his wrist. He opened his eyes just a crack and caught a glimpse of someone standing before him. When he fully opened his eyes, he was startled to see the girl from earlier, her hand gripping on his wristwatch in a freeze.
He quickly pulled his hand away and stood up, backing away slightly. "You? What were you trying to do?" He asked and then the realization quickly dim on him, "Wait, you steal too? W ere you trying to steal my watch?"
"No…" she replied, a hint of defensiveness in her voice quickly feeling ashamed being caught in the act.
"Well, I just caught you in the act. With that innocent face of yours, no one would suspect you're a thief," he said, trying to keep the mood light despite his irritation.
"I'm not a thief! I was just trying to survive and find my way back home," she shot back.
"Then go back home!" he suggested.
"Not when I don't have a penny to my name." She said and her face fall. Min-Jun notice her sudden sad expression and he found himself feeling sorry for her for whatever reasons.
"And you, what are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be at some business meeting?" she said teasingly.
Min-Jun quickly remembered he lied about some business meeting, so he has to keep up. "Well thanks to you, I couldn't make it and I'm finding it difficult to return home aswell. You gave that thief my backpack, remember?" he replied.
"Stop making it a big deal; it was just a bag," she said, rolling her eyes.
"And that bag contained everything I had, including my phone!" he exclaimed.
"Whatever," she replied, seemingly unconcerned. "I can get a new phone, you know."
Min-Jun observe her for some seconds, she was with nothing, trying to steal his watch a minute ago, how's she going to get him a new phone. Is this another trick she's pulling, he thought. He tried but just couldn't read her mind.
"You know, something tells me you're in cahoots with that criminal." He finally speak up.
She sneer. It understanding for him to say such after he caught her almost stealing her watch. "Say whatever you want. If you decide to get a new phone and get back to your business meeting, come find me." She said, having the feeling that he might actually need her help.
"How can you get me a new phone?" he asked, immediately before she could take a step away.
Smile crept to her heart. She was certain he's going to ask. She'd been looking for him everywhere after she realized there's something left with him that definitely could help her get back home. He look for him everywhere until she got lucky at dawn.
She pointed to his watch.
"What?" Min-Jun muttered not quite understanding what she meant.
"We can use that in exchange for money."
"What? You want me to sell my watch?"
"It's just a watch. You can get another one when you get back home." she said matter-of-factly.
"That's not happening. Do you know what this watch is worth? It's not just any wristwatch; it's…"
"Fine, fine, fine, dumbass. You can keep your wristwatch and become a beggar in this streets, or you can sell it and go back home. It's your choice." She said, tired of trying to convince him. She knew from the start he was definitely going to be like this and that was the main reason she wanted to just take it at first.
Min-Jun thought about it. The watch was the last thing he had from Ha-ri, and the idea of parting with it felt painful. But she was right; he had to make a choice. After a moment of contemplation, he sighed. "Fine," and she smiled pleased.
"Really?" Her eyes lit up with excitement. "Give it to me."
Min-Jun reluctantly took off the watch and handed it to her. She examined it closely, noting that it was of pure gold but clearly designed for a woman.
What kind of guy wore a lady's wristwatch? She raised an eyebrow, wondering if he was a bit of a sissy or perhaps even gay. But as she looked at him, she realized he was quite manly, with a handsome face and soft skin that seemed to contradict his rugged appearance. He's surely rich and spoilt. The rich are unpredictably stupid sometimes, she said to herself.
"Shall we?" Min-Jun's voice snapped her back to reality.
"Right, let's go," she said, shaking off her moment of distraction.
They stepped out into the early morning light, the town still quiet and sleepy. The streets were lined with small shops, most of which were closed, but a few had their shutters half-raised, hinting at the day's potential.
They made their way to a small shop where an older man, likely in his late sixties, examined the wristwatch closely. After a moment, he was amazed by the quality, he confirmed it was pure gold, worth over million Yuan. He raised an eyebrow examing them both, curious about where such an expensive watch had come from, but he was pleased with the potential business.
After some minutes, he offered to pay them just some few yuan with certainty do not worth it.
"What? Just that? That watch is worth over ** million Yuan, how could you offer to pay that little?" Min-Jun protested.
"Are you selling or not?" the man replied, unfazed.
"Let's leave," she said to Min-Jun, and attempt to take the watch back but the old man already got greedy and wanted it badly as well. His menacing voice speak up.
"I assume you both are thieves!"
"What?" Min-Jun and the girl exclaimed in unison, halting in their tracks. How could he assumed they were thieves.
"Tell me, who did you both stole it from before I call the cops on both of you?"