My Bloody Valentine - 18

In front of Tae-sin, who had just gotten out of the car, there was a stylish sign with a sophisticated design.

“Tasenda.”

Not the ideal place to find true love, but it was a place where people constantly gathered to whisper sweet nothings of love.

Tae-sin walked towards the entrance, glancing at his wristwatch for a moment. It was just a bit before 1 AM. He absentmindedly thought, “She should be out by now,” as he walked, and accidentally bumped into someone coming out of the store.

“Ah.”

The person slightly lowered their head and passed Tae-sin.

As if proving that autumn had ripened, a cool breeze swept past the two. In the breeze, a familiar scent lingered.

Tae-sin’s eyebrows twitched briefly. He stopped walking, turned his head, and looked back. However, the figure walking away had long hair, gently swaying, belonging to a woman.

“…”

Lately, there had been many things he couldn’t understand about himself. Tae-sin, thinking about this, bowed 90 degrees to greet the guard and entered Tasenda.

The place was bustling at this hour. Tae-sin, who had just entered, was noticed by a waiter sending business messages to customers from behind the counter. The waiter waved, but Tae-sin’s gaze was directed towards the deeper part of the corridor.

Tae-sin’s eyes scanned the inside of the store as if searching for something. Among the men standing in the hall to greet the guests, there was no sign of Han.

Is he hiding again?

For the entire past week, Han had diligently avoided him, making every effort to hide from him. To make it clear that there was no point in hiding because if Tae-sin went looking for him, he would find him, Han even spared no effort to personally visit Tae-sin’s residence.

“Where is that guy?”

Tae-sin asked Manager Jo Gyeong-cheol, who was coming out of a room.

“Hmm? Who are you asking about…”

“Han.”

“Ah, Han? Since you didn’t specify, he’s probably in the waiting room.”

Han was like a ghost in the waiting room. Even though he wasn’t initially included in the list, Manager Jo emphasized Han’s lack of abilities as he answered.

Tae-sin gestured to a passing waiter to bring Han.

A strange discomfort had been felt since a while ago. It couldn’t be pinpointed, but it was like a summer mosquito buzzing in Tae-sin’s ears, constantly bothering his nerves.

The identity of this discomfort was only realized about ten minutes later, when the waiter assigned by Tae-sin returned with a puzzled expression.

“Uh, he’s not here.”

“What? Not here? Are you saying he’s not in the waiting room?”

Manager Jo was the first to react before Tae-sin. Managing Tasenda’s employees to ensure they don’t leave the premises was the most important part of his job.

“Yes. He’s not in the men’s waiting room, nor is he in the women’s waiting room. So, just in case, I even checked the underground third floor accommodations, but he wasn’t in his room.”

Tae-sin’s forehead wrinkled slightly.

“Where was the last place you saw him?”

The waiter answered Tae-sin’s question.

“Until about 30 minutes ago, I saw him wandering in the corridor. He asked me for the time, and I told him it was around 12:30.”

“Get all the CCTV footage and bring it up here. Right now.”

“Yes!”

“Call Jun-ho, and bring all the guards outside.”

The forehead of Manager Jo, who seemed to be thinking that some commotion was about to happen, started to bead with sweat. The arrow was pointed at Han.

Ah, that little rascal who seemed to adapt well. What on earth did he do to make things come to this?

Soon, Tae-sin, surrounded by guards and including Manager Jo, Jun-ho, and Jina, was standing in the suite room where Tae-sin stayed.

For a low-value player to disappear and bring together important figures, Manager Jo couldn’t understand this situation no matter how much he thought about it.

Seated at the desk, Tae-sin was reviewing the CCTV footage brought from the control room. The high-resolution CCTV was strategically placed to capture the corridor and counter, the mandatory passage for anyone going outside.

He had set the video playback speed to 8x, and Tae-sin’s eyes were closely watching from midnight onwards. His expression became subtle as if he was stirred by something, narrowing his gaze.

With a thud, Tae-sin pressed the space bar with his long fingers.

Tae-sin stopped the video, returned the playback speed to normal, and rewound the screen a few seconds.

“Ha…”

A faint smile appeared on Tae-sin’s lips, as if he vaguely recalled what he had seen. The expressions of the employees watching him were filled with astonishment.

It wasn’t his usual sarcastic grin but a genuine and warm smile. Those who had been by his side for over ten years, like Jina and Jun-ho, could attest that seeing Tae-sin smile like that was a rare sight.

“Beautiful.”

In the paused footage, there was an image of a woman wearing a white shirt and a black skirt. It was the same woman who had bumped into him a short while ago, emanating an oddly familiar scent.

To not recognize her even though she was right in front of him…

Tae-sin tapped the screen with his fingertips, touching the woman’s long hair displayed on the monitor.

“She’s good at acting…”

As if acknowledging her talent, Tae-sin’s index finger gently stroked the woman’s hair on the screen. His gaze remained fixed on the figure inside the monitor as he addressed those present.

“Bring Han’s documents.”

As expected, Jun-ho, already aware of Han’s disappearance, handed over the prepared paper to Tae-sin.

Personal information, occupation, surrounding individuals, and more… Typically, records detailing one person’s life would fill at least a few pages, but Han’s documents could not even fill a single page. Tae-sin tapped the desk with his index finger.

Both Jina and Jun-ho were taken aback by Han’s sudden escape. Despite her usually delicate and timid nature, Han seemed to be a bold child to attempt such a daring escape.

Jina asked Tae-sin, “What are you going to do?”

Tae-sin smiled, pulling the corners of his lips. His appearance reminded one of a hunter with a rifle slung over his shoulder, having just bagged his prey.

“What can we do? We have to catch him.”

Erasing the cruel smile that lingered at the corners of his lips, Tae-sin stood up from his seat, holding the car keys. Then, he walked straight out of the room.

With a clang, the sound of the door closing echoed. After Tae-sin left, Jina circled around the desk and looked down at the screen he had been watching. Why did Tae-sin smile like that after seeing whatever was on the screen?

Observing the scene on the screen, Jina’s head tilted in puzzlement. Soon, she realized something and her eyes widened.

“Oh my… Goodness. Can you believe this?”

Seeing Han and Manager Jo talking on the screen, Jina burst into laughter. Manager Jo and the guards, who had opened their eyes in surprise, couldn’t blame them entirely.

“What did you capture? No, why did he run away in the first place?”

Manager Jo, his face distressed, asked while roughly ruffling his hair. Jina replayed the footage, laughing again.

“Manager Jo missed it right in front of him. Having a conversation standing so close.”

“What? What are you talking about?”

Approaching Jina with an expression of incomprehension, Manager Jo’s mouth widened in surprise.

Upon checking the screen, he immediately recalled the woman. With her dazzling appearance, it was hard not to remember her.

“I-Is this… him? Han?”

The woman, entering as early as just past 2 AM, especially on the underground first floor, seemed suspicious. However, her haughty attitude and speech made it clear she was a customer.

“No… How could…”

“You would have known if you had looked a little closer.”

“How, how is that possible? Who would think that a man was dressed as a woman?”

“Didn’t you sense anything strange? Look. Dressed like this and carrying a raggedy bag.”

Jina’s navy-colored manicured nails, smoothly applied with nail polish, poked at the eco-bag that Han was carrying in the screen.

Even with Jina’s explanation, Manager Jo still couldn’t close his open mouth. It felt like he had been hit hard on the back of his head.

After gazing at the screen for a moment with a dazed expression, Manager Jo still couldn’t fathom it and asked Jina.

“But now… Is Director Jang personally going to catch him?”

“Seems like it.”

“Why in the world?”

“….”

He was undeniably handsome, but aside from that, he was a guy with no redeeming qualities. Whether it was his sociability or quick thinking, he was unmatched in this field. Moreover, he had a timid personality, shivering at the mere gaze. No matter where you looked, he was completely incompatible with this line of work.

Suddenly, the memory of the day when that guy fled from the room with Director Jang flashed in his mind. Not long ago, he had even called him to his room separately.

“Is it my misunderstanding? Director Jang seems a bit extraordinary with that guy.”

“Yeah, it might be a bit too much.”

After a brief moment lost in thought, Jina muttered as if talking to herself.

“Since he’s gone, might as well escape well, sweetheart… The hunter is coming.”

How long had she walked? Repeat running and walking in a daze, she didn’t even know she was in an unfamiliar neighborhood. The aftertaste still lingered, and the tremor at her fingertips didn’t stop. Her breathing became irregular, and her chest tightened.

Han took out an inhaler from her bag and took a deep breath. Perhaps it was because of her mood, but it seemed to help her calm down a bit.

Sighing, she looked up at the sky. It seemed like it could rain any moment now, with a hazy moon hanging in the pitch-black sky.

Thinking about the last moment when she met Tae-sin, a chill ran down her spine. Dressing as a woman was a brilliant idea.

It would take time for them to realize her absence. Since Tae-sin was the only one looking for her, and he had called her to the room and visited her room, today wouldn’t be any different from usual, even if it was around 9 PM when the business ended.

Han flagged down a taxi on the street and mentioned the name of the neighborhood where her sister lived. After quickly packing her things at home and changing her clothes, she decided to leave for Seoul immediately.

Looking at the meter on the taxi, it was 1 AM. She had enough time, but impatience crept in.

The taxi driver kept locking eyes with her through the rearview mirror. It could be considered a coincidence twice, but not from the third time.

“Ugh… You’re too beautiful. Tall, slim figure… Are you a model? Are you going home after having fun until now?”

The taxi driver’s cheeky voice was nauseating.

“Yes.”

Han deliberately answered in a lower voice than usual. Startled, the taxi driver finally properly observed her and didn’t speak anymore. However, every time the car stopped at a traffic light, he grinned at the rearview mirror again.

“Could you stop here?”

The taxi pulled over on a narrow street. As Han checked the meter to see the fare, she noticed a luxury sedan parked in front of her sister’s house.

It was a British brand, adorned with a leaping wildcat emblem—an uncommon car for this neighborhood. The person who came to mind as the potential driver of such a car had black fur that matched well with a Jaguar.

“Oh, sir, please just go back.”

“What?”

“I changed my mind. Please start driving quickly.”

At that moment, she saw a man in formal attire coming out of the building. Han’s breath quickened.

“Hurry, please. Fast. Okay?”

“Good grief… Alright.”

Feeling strange about the abrupt change, the taxi driver turned the car.

Han recalled a food alley she had visited a few times when she lived with Hae-jun. It was crowded with people, and there were many motels nearby.

If she had gotten out of the taxi without a proper look, she could have been caught right there. The thought alone made her skin crawl.

How did they find out so quickly that she had disappeared? Anxious, Han put her thumb in her mouth and bit the tip of her nail.

Then it happened. The taxi driver looked in the rearview mirror and clicked his tongue.

“Goodness, what’s that guy up to?”

“What? Why do you say that?”

“Well, someone is coming from behind, as if filming a chasing scene or something.”

With a face expressing disbelief, Han turned to look behind her.