Chapter 25 Monroe #2
“The boy,” he answers with a begrudging nod. “I didn’t know he was hiding in that wardrobe. This very wardrobe.”
For a second, Myeong-su gestures to the wardrobe he’s propped open, and we both stare at it as if expecting the piece of furniture to offer further insights into the past.
The knots in my stomach have only tightened, so sickened by thoughts of Jin hiding inside that tiny box for days while his family decayed on the floor.
“For many years I had no idea what happened to him,” Myeong-su muses. “He was sent to an orphanage somewhere. The location was never disclosed. And that friend of his family—she fled to Taiwan to avoid leading me to him. My revenge was left incomplete.
“But then I learned some very important news. It’s been many years since the Hyeonmudan was destroyed and I ran in criminal circles, but I’ve always kept my ear to the streets.
I’ve always made sure to keep up with its developments,” he explains.
He pulls out a pile of linens and sets them down on the floor with a heavy thud.
“Imagine my surprise when I learned Kim Jae-hyun, Baekho-je of the Baekho Pa, had died. That another had taken his place.”
“Seo Jin-tae,” I supply with a shiver racking down my spine. “You recognized the name.”
“See, I knew you were smart after all, Miss Ross. Jin-tae was finally within reach. How could I pass up my opportunity to finish what I started thirty years ago?”
“So you came after me,” I say, forcing myself to stay calm. I’m still picking at the knot on my rope, doing my best to loosen it. “You couldn’t just fight Jin directly, so you went after me instead.”
“Ah, not quite. First I did my research.” He’s started pulling folded towels out of the wardrobe, setting them down in a stack on the floor next to the linen.
“I learned that the great Baekho-je, the feared Silent Hunter of Busan, had a weakness. A sweet, trusting American teacher I could use to control him.”
He pauses again long enough for a glance at me. His eerie smile returns with a fond quality about it.
“It was pathetically easy to create my backstory. A fake resume and some forged references from criminal associates, and I was hired as the new administrator at your school,” he says.
“All I had to do from there was get close to you. All I had to do was be kind to you. You were so grateful for the attention, so touched that someone cared about your pregnancy and your wellbeing.”
“The mugging,” I manage. “That was you too?”
“I paid that strung-out degenerate a hundred thousand won to attack you in that alley,” he answers, chuckling. He’s set down the last stack of old household towels, straightening up. “Then I swooped in to save the day and earned your trust forever. After that, I had you exactly where I wanted you.”
“The baby shower,” I whisper. “The going away party. You suggested them?”
“An excuse to give you things. Like the tea. I knew about the gender reveal because you were so excited, you told Kelly right away. She of course mentioned it to others in the faculty lounge without even realizing what she was doing. I sent the flowers,” he boasts.
“The eyes you’ve felt watching you? That was me.
The run-in at the grocery mart? Sang-cheol wasn’t the only one following you that afternoon.
The car parked outside your window? Me. Always me. ”
“Including the masked men,” I say, my stomach roiling. “You sent them to my apartment.”
“Who else would? More associates I paid for the evening. I’d heard how well you defended yourself against the Bulgeomhoe, and I wanted to see for myself.
Research for when I finally took you.” He tilts his head, studying me almost admirably.
“You fought well, you and your mother. It was almost impressive.”
The knot on the rope is loosening more now, starting to give way. I just need a little more time.
“You’re pathetic,” I spit in distraction. “Thirty years. You’ve spent thirty years nursing this grudge. Hunting down a man for his father’s sins. Jin was a child when his family died. He didn’t betray anyone. He didn’t do anything to you.”
Myeong-su’s smug amusement vanishes, replaced by sudden hot rage. It breaks through in the angry snarl he releases as he stalks toward me, raising his hand like he’s about to strike.
I flinch instinctively.
He stops before he reaches me, catching himself before he truly loses his temper. His smirk returns along with the chuckle.
“How could I forget? Your taunting means nothing because I’ve already beaten your Jin-tae,” he says.
“At the warehouse, when we fought—I had him bleeding and broken and could’ve ended him right there.
But at that very moment I was also taking his son from him.
So he had to survive. Just long enough to experience the devastation.
But now? Now I’m going to destroy him completely. By taking you.”
My heart beats faster at the ominous threat, and I blurt out, “Jin’s a better fighter than you. That’s why you have to cheat. You play these sneaky games and go after the people he loves instead of facing him directly. You’re nothing but a coward.”
“You’re trying too hard to anger me now, rabbit. Isn’t that what he calls you?” he goads. “Making me mad isn’t going to trip me up. I’m not your fiancé, who is led so easily by emotion.”
I’m on the verge of panicking as he starts toward me.
Intuition tells me I’ve stalled as long as I can.
Myeong-su has provided explanation for everything and there’s little else to distract him with. The knot on the rope hasn’t loosened enough, and there’s no way I can hold my own against him in a fight.
My mind goes to Jin and the ache inside me deepens. It’s the fact that I won’t ever get to speak to him again if Myeong-su has his way.
He’ll kill me and then finally succeed in his revenge against Jin and his father.
Jin will be destroyed in a way that’ll be irreparable. Myeong-su knows this, and that’s exactly the point.
…to destroy a man in the worst way.
My fingers work desperately at the rope as Myeong-su closes in, not even hiding the fact that I’m trying to free myself anymore.
He watches on with a gleam in his dark, crinkled eyes, his smirk spreading as if my desperate attempts couldn’t be funnier.
“How does it feel?” he asks, stopping in front of me. “What is it like to have that little bit of hope? It will be your last, little rabbit. You think I didn’t know what you’ve been doing this whole time? How you’ve been trying to distract me? I’m sorry to tell you it’s over.”
Before I can react, he grabs me and shoves me into the open wardrobe. The same wardrobe Jin was once hidden in as his family was murdered.
I scream, thrashing, trying to claw my way out, but he’s stronger than he looks, his grip ironclad as he forces me back into the cramped space.
The last thing I see is his cold smile, then the lid slams shut, plunging me into total darkness.