POV: Unknown
The three people glance at each other.
"I am old now," Shinja says.
"I knew you would volunteer."
Shinja continues, "So if I take a life now, I would have little to no time to repent. Therefore, it can't be me."
Sunwoo scowls while Jae Hyuk looks like he already expected this from her.
"Very well," the other woman says. "I am married, I have a dear husband who is a police officer. If I commit a crime, it would affect his life too."
"In that case, my family would get affected too. We all have reasons to not do it," Jae Hyuk brushes a hand through his hair. "This would not do. Let's spin a bottle. Like truth and dare. The one it lands on, they will do it."
Others nod in agreement. There's no bottle in the room, so from some pocket in her Hanbok, Shinja takes out her inhaler. It's small but it would do.
Sunwoo spins the tiny thing. It's not smooth like a bottle. After two rotations, it lands on Jae Hyuk.
The man curses under his breath.
The women settle back in their seats, their stiff bodies visibly relaxing. "Make sure to not let anything connect back to His Majesty."
"I will get someone else to do it."
"Get someone trained. Elite, professional."
"It's just one delicate woman."
Sunwoo groans. "How many times do I have to say don't underestimate women?"
"How many times have you managed to beat me in a fight?" Jae Hyuk arches a brow, mocking her.
Everyone present knows that when it comes to martial arts and technique, Sunwoo has always lost to Jae Hyuk.
"That's because my speciality is dagger combat. You would die if I used it on you."
"One doesn't always have a dagger at hand. And it can be knocked out of your hand too. Through good close range combat."
Before the situation could turn dire, Shinja intervenes. "Make it quick and painless. Hae Nari shouldn't feel a thing."
Their focus returns to the purpose of this meeting. Her words cast a dark cloud over the room. No one disagrees with her.
Jae Hyuk's gaze turns dark. "Don't worry. It will be over before she realises what's going on."
And with that, the meeting is over.
★★★★★★★★
POV: Hae Na Ri
The sign on Cafe Hanul's door says 'open', but there's no customer inside. Just Park Miyoung, Jieun's lookalike, mopping the floor. She is wearing a dark brown apron and denim jeans.
She looks up, surprised to see me.
"What? You thought I would not come back to return your money?" I say. My tone is playful.
She lets out a sigh. A rueful smile plays on her lips as she stops mopping. "You have no idea how many people I have lent money to in trouble, only for them to disappear on me."
She must be rich.
"I was about to say you shouldn't trust people so easily, but that's wrong after I have taken advantage of your kindness."
Miyoung laughs, putting away the mop. "You look like someone honest who says all their thoughts out loud. Even if they get you in trouble."
"Not really. It's just that I have become reckless lately," I say and resist the urge to tell her all about my recent adventures and theories. It's like swallowing a sliced lemon dipped in salt. "I have experienced some…unique things lately."
I put down my bag–the bag Mrs. Kang gave me with some money and told me to not buy lavish things. It's not a luxury cafe, so I buy myself a latte. Since there are no customers, Miyoung sits down with me and we chat.
I can't really tell if Miyoung's personality is much different from Jieun. I lost contact with Jieun a few years after I went abroad. I only recently got in contact with her and learned that she had moved to Thailand after finding a job there. She also got married there.
Yet even after all these years of no contact, she still cares about me. She returned to Korea after I told her about my plans.
Not really plans. A suicide mission. She came simply to stop me. Right now, she is probably mourning me, assuming I am dead.
I return to the present when Jieun fixes her glasses and sighs. "I only have had one customer since morning. I don't know why people are not giving my place a chance too."
"You just opened. At least you got one customer."
"You are that customer," she deadpans.
"Oh…" I look out of the glass at the passerbys and suddenly remember something. "Miyoung-ah, is there a dance studio in this area? Something called Bisang Dance Studio?"
"I think I have seen a dance studio down the street, but it's called Yeoljeong Dance Studio," Miyoung says. "Do you want to learn dancing?"
"No, I used to visit a dance studio here when I was in highschool. Well, not exactly here but-anyways, I learned ballet there." After I came back, I got busy with other things and didn't visit any of those places that I had missed badly when abroad.
"I have always wanted to learn ballet. But it messes up your feet and I love them."
She peers down at her feet as if they are her beloved baby. I don't dance as much as a professional so they are in better condition. And not dancing for a while has made them also healed up.
Yet, they are still not a sight to behold. Ballet does wreck them badly.
"I also loved pretty feet, but it is silly, the reason I learned ballet. It didn't feel that way back then though." I smile as the memory comes to me. "I had this huge crush on a guy from another school. My friend stalked him enough to find out his uncle was in jail for murder, he was adopted and he had a thing for ballerinas."
"....um, can I have your friend's contact? Asking for a friend."
"She is not in this world."
Miyoung's eyes grow slightly wide. "Oh my God, I am so sorry!"
"No, that's not–" I slap myself inwardly. "Anyways, back to the story. I got myself into a dance studio to impress him, learned ballet and wrecked my feet."
"So did you get the guy?"
"No," I answer, taking a sip of my latte. "He did ask me out. But I realised he was not all that. I rejected him." I chuckle. He was such a jerk, flirting with girls all the time, bullying boys from my school. Now that I consider it, I can't remember a single reason for liking him. Someone made me see him for who he was and I backed away.
"But ballet stuck with you and you continued to dance and turned into a career?"
I laugh. "Yes, and no. I still dance." When I am down and when I am happy and sometimes for no reason. "But I didn't make it into a career. Takes the fun out of something when you must do it to pay the bills."
"That's right…" Miyoung turns and stares at the cakes, pastries and donuts in the display shelf. This must be her passion. Not that rich then, if she has to worry about paying bills.
She is about to say something when a customer walks in. I say my goodbyes and leave. I have places to visit.