Chapter 109 - Confrontation (1)

Jiwon sped towards land using a speed boat. He had woken up his boss, requesting for a way to go back home. Upon hearing of Jiwon's wife going missing, the manager had made arrangements for him to go ashore.

He tried to reach Mirae's phone but to no avail. It was switched off. Please be safe, he prayed. Don't do anything stupid…

…..

"D-destined to...die?" Mirae repeated those words.

"Yes," the red lady said, examining her perfectly manicured nails. "Unless you stop him."

"How?" Mirae demanded. "How can I save him?"

"If you tell him the truth about the events that transpired today," the red lady explained, still studying her nails. "Then your husband will go after Ziko. And if he goes after Ziko, he'll die. After all, Kwon Jiwon had been obsessed with finding Ziko ever since your parents died."

She looked up to meet Mirae's eyes. "All those secrets, missed chances and marital issues you guys had, was due to your husband's obsession with this man."

"But Jiwon is bound to find out," Mirae reasoned. "He'll know that I'm missing and I'll be questioned! I can't lie to him…"

"If you can see him die, then go ahead," the red lady shrugged. 

Mirae was in a dilemma. If she did not inform Jiwon about Ziko, then there is a chance the latter will come after them again. If Ziko finds out that the baby was not aborted, she was sure he would do something even worse. But if she told the truth, then Jiwon will go after Ziko…

"But wait a minute," she frowned. "How do you know so much?"

She looked accusingly at the red lady. It was suspicious that some stranger knew about the details of their lives. 

"Are you with the Cartel too?" she accused.

The red lady stared at her before bursting out into a fit of laughter. 

"Girl, you're funny," she giggled. "Even after my grand show of power, you doubt my words? I know everything about you two. After all, your time lies in my hands."

Mirae was confused. Their time lies in her hands?

"You can decide what to do on your own," the red lady went on. "I hope you'll know what to do."

Mirae stood there, unable to speak. What was going on? 

"But who are you?" she insisted on knowing.

"That is irrelevant," the red lady said. "But if you want to know my name, then let me tell you, it changes on a daily basis. You can call me...Cherry today."

"Thank you, Ms. Cherry," Mirae bowed in gratitude. "I don't know how to thank you."

"Don't," Cherry said sharply. "It's too much of a hassle to have people on my debts. But I would like to tell you one more thing."

She stepped forward and reached out towards Mirae's neck, taking the locket by its chain.

"You can use this locked only one more time," she warned. "It has been designed to fulfill to summon for my services only twice, that too when you'll be in desperate need. You've already used up one wish. So use your next wish wisely. Now go. Your husband is probably on his way to your apartment."

Mirae nodded and sprinted out of the room. Cherry watched her go.

"Poor girl," she sighed. "Too bad, you're going to be using that locket tonight once again. Good luck, Jung Mirae."

She swiftly turned around and snapped her fingers, vanishing into thin air.

Mirae ran past the corridor of the isolated clinic; no doubt it was an illegal facility. She hurried through the exit and hailed a cab. 

Please let me get there on time, she prayed.

….

Jiwon's phone was vibrating in his pocket. He had called upon a taxi to take him home from the port.

He flipped the phone open to see one of Mirae's bodyguards.

"Did you find her?" he demanded, answering the phone.

"Sir, one of our men saw her exiting an illegal clinic," the guard informed him.

"An illegal clinic?" Jiwon frowned.

"Yes, sir," the guard replied. "It's owned by Kim Jisook, a doctor known for his underhanded work. He operates an illegal abortion clinic right outside Seoul's shopping complex."

Jiwon felt his blood drain from his face. Abortion clinic? Why did Mirae go there?

"Was there anyone else with her?" Jiwon questioned. 

"No sir," the guard said. "She was alone. She hailed a taxi as soon as she came out. Our men are tailing her but it seems she is heading home."

"I...understand," Jiwon said in a robotic voice and hung up. Why was she there? He thought. Is she going to…

Jiwon shook that thought from his head. Even if they were going through a rough patch, Mirae would not do that. 

"Keep calm Jiwon," he scolded himself. "Everything is fine."

….

"What did you say?" Ziko thundered into the phone.

"Boss, we managed to get the fetus out of her," Teppei said from the other end. "But the girl escaped."

"That girl just had an abortion!" Ziko shouted. "How did she get the strength to escape?"

"As soon as she woke up, she managed to run away," Teppei said. "She injected the attending nurse with an anesthetic and escaped when we weren't looking."

Ziko was fuming. Even if the fetus was torn apart from that girl's womb, he wanted to use her to mentally torture Kwon Jiwon. Now she is going to run off and blab her mouth.

"We'll have to find her," Ziko said. "I'm sure by now, Kwon Jiwon knows his wife is missing. No doubt, she's off to meet him. Find his location, and we'll find the girl. I've changed my mind. We'll kill both of them tonight. No more waiting."

"Yes sir," Teppei said in obedience. "We'll look for her."

Ziko hung up the phone, his eyes seething with anger. He threw a punch on a wall mirror, shattering it into pieces.

"Tonight, we'll end this," he vowed. "Kwon Jiwon."

His hands bled but Ziko did not care. His prey had escaped but it was not too late. His phone rang again. It was Teppei.

"Did you find Kwon Jiwon's location?" he demanded.

"Sir, he is heading towards his apartment," Teppei answered. 

Ziko's eyes narrowed. He will have to confront them there then. Hanging up the phone, he headed towards his car.

It was time to end what they had started.

….

Mirae reached the apartment. Paying the cab driver, she stepped out. Remembering how Ziko easily entered her house, she hesitated to go in. Instead, she paced outside, wondering what to do when another taxi stopped right in front of her.

Jiwon exited the taxi. Upon seeing his wife, he rushed towards her.

Mirae, too, let out a sigh of relief as she saw her husband approaching her. What do I do? She thought desperately. How am I going to hide such a big incident?

He stopped short in front of her.

"Jiwon-" she started but he cut her off.

"Why were you at the abortion clininc?" he questioned her. Mirae blinked her eyes in surprise. He already knew?

"Why were you there?" he demanded again, his tone hinted underlying accusation. 

"Jiwon I-" Mirae began but suddenly noticed a movement over Jiwon's back. A tall, grey haired man was standing a little distance away, hiding behind a pole. But Mirae caught a glance of him under the streetlight. Ziko was eavesdropping on them.

Mirae looked back at Jiwon, whose eyes were questioning her. 

"Tell the truth, Mirae," he demanded. 

"I-I," Mirae stuttered. Her mind was in a confusion. What to say? She thought desperately. How do I stop Jiwon from going after Ziko and also protect my child?

She clutched onto the locket on her neck. She can only use it once and she did not want to waste the remaining wish. Thinking deeply, she blurted out the first lie she could think of.

"I aborted out baby!" she exclaimed.