Forbidden (Chapter 8)

Hello everyone! Man, it's been a while right? Sooo sorry for the long wait. My computer had some problems sooo....I couldn't do anything with it for a while. (-cough- more like MONTHS! -cough- ) anyway, about this story... IT'S AWESOME ISN'T IT?! So, I'd like to apologize even more, but I figured you guys have been waiting long enough waiting to see what happens to our heroine soooo....... HERE'S CHAPTER 8!! =D

Chapter 8

I woke up the next morning, in a king-sized bed, feeling very well rested and surprisingly wide awake. I ran a hand through my hair (ignoring the knots), and observed my surroundings. Wait..... this doesn't look like one of the many hotel rooms that I'm oh-so-comfortable in sleeping in.... I whipped my head left and right, trying to find something familiar, other than my suitcases. Nothing. I was about to shoot out of bed and call the cops, when memories of what happened to me so far flooded into my brain. The events replayed in my head until I got to the part concerning my current whereabouts.

That's right... I'm living with Mr. Sexy--no, wait...Detective Kim--now. I had almost forgotten. A small smile played across my face as I thought of the detective, and I felt my face grow slightly hot. Now, this guy was really hot and just drop-dead gorgeous, and for me to be living with him was just..... WOW! Bashfulness and giddiness surged through me and I felt my smile grow until it became a big stupid grin on my face. To counter such an idiotic facial expression, I grabbed one of my pillows, buried my face in it, and squealed. I then flopped down onto my back and stared at the ceiling, my arms spread away from my body.

I lay there thinking and enjoying the silence when I suddenly remembered that there was something important that I had to do today. I sat bolt upright in bed--totally grateful for the fact that there was no other bed above me to cause me searing head pain had I done that at Mi-Young's place and went out to the living room to look at the time. (I didn't have a clock in my new room yet) I yelped when I saw the clock and dashed back to my room, grabbed my towel, and went to shower. I was supposed to be at the Police Agency at 9am and it was already 8:15. Now, to some of you, that might seem like a LOT of time...but I really didn't know how long it would take me to get there, so by my standards... I was already late.

I finished my shower, raked a brush through my hair, dressed in jeans and a white turtleneck sweater, grabbed my purse and dashed out the door. I didn't even bother with breakfast, so I guess I was going to starve until I got back. I assumed that this whole thing wouldn't take more than a half hour or whatever, so the faster I got this over with, the faster I can come back and eat some food!

I dashed down the street and around a corner when I realized... I had no idea where I was going. Goddamn. I sifted through my purse only to find that I did not have my cell phone on me. Strike two. Oh, and I don't have a key for the house--it had been pretty unpredictable the past couple of days, so I wasn't really surprised that I didn't have one. But at a time like this... I sure as hell wish I did.

I huffed and moved my bangs out of my eyes. Well, this is just great. I slung my purse over my shoulder, and started walking. Where? I supposed I could asked for directions to the Police Agency--somebody has to know where it is. I continued to walk along the sidewalk, hoping that by just going straight, I might find the place. I was walking for about 10 minutes when I suddenly heard the screeching of tires, and I shot my head up to see what happened. Before I knew it, I was abruptly man-handled and dragged into the back seat of a van and two guys sat on either side of me, gripping me tightly by the arms. The expression on their faces were one of stone. I tried to shift in my seat, but the slightest movement made them grip my arms tighter, pinching my skin.

My heart started racing, as fear and panic started seeping through my veins. Granted, I should have been scared the minute I saw these guys, but I guess it was just a delayed reaction. Like really delayed. I tried to look at my ambushers but even the shifting of my eyes made them stare down at me, as if daring me to look them dead in they're eyes. And I can honestly say that wasn't a dare I was willing to take.

I did the only thing I could do and just sat in between the two brutes and waited, petrified, until we made it to our destination. I didn't know how long it took us to get to wherever it was they were taking me, but all too soon we had arrived and they dragged me out of the van and to a large cabin in a somewhat densely wooded area. Fallen leaves littered the ground and cracked under our feet as they practically pulled me toward the cabin where they shoved me inside the door. Inside, I saw a doctor, two more big guys, and a surgeon table standing ominously near the door. Before I could get a better look, I was shoved forward placed behind a makeshift curtain where some of the other girls from EGM were huddled in a corner and being watched by another of our kidnappers.

"Kimi!" cried Su-Jung and she held out her hand to steady me as I was flung towards them. I lost my footing, and ended up kneeling beside her and some other girls; I could see the fear in their eyes that was slowly seeping into me as well. Crap..... now, I realize this isn't good. I huddled closer to Su-Jung and she clung to me almost as tightly as my kidnappers had; I could feel her shaking as I glanced up at her face and saw tears glistening in her eyes.

"What's going on? Why are we here?" I managed to ask so low, that I prayed our captors couldn't hear me. She shook her head frantically, staring wide-eyed at me and giving me two answers: 'Don't ask questions' and 'I don't know.' We sat in silence for about 20 minutes, watching the doctor and some other guys go back and forth in our field of vision, carrying needles, and other surgical instruments to the table on the other side of us and I heard footsteps going away from us and another coming towards us as one of our captors came, dressed in all black and stared at all of us menacingly.

"Is that all of them?" he asked his companion in Korean, then looking at us once more.


"It should be," he answered, "Where did Jin-Ho go?"

"He went outside to move the van, because some idiot can't park," said the latter with a sneer.

The other nodded. "All right," the other guy said and stepped to where we were and we all huddled in a corner, whimpering--scared and petrified. We saw him grab a girl in a pink jacket, jeans, and pigtails and drag her on the other side of the curtain where the surgeon table, doctor, and the other guys were waiting. As she was being lugged away, we heard her scream in protest and beg him to let her go, but he wouldn't let up. We all sat in silence and listened, horrified, as we heard her being forced onto the surgeon table and her screams being muffled as they gagged her and her arms and feet banging on the table as they bound her to it.

The rest of us sat still, not daring to move. Some of the other girls started sniffling and whimpering and I glanced at Su-Jung and wasn't surprised that she too was crying. I was too petrified to cry let alone hear the muffled angry cries from outside. Wait, what? I strained my ears to listen more, trying to ignore the sobbing of the girls. Yup...those were voice I heard outside.

What's going on?" I heard one of them ask. It was quiet for a moment, then another answered, "It's the police." My fear immediately subsided as I saw our captors run from their posts of watching over us, and towards the door.


"Get the drugs out first!" yelled one guy.


"B-but the cops are here," answered the doctor cowardly. My insides boiled with anger. If you didn't want to get caught, then why are you here?!


"There's only four of them. Get the drugs out NOW!" ordered the first guy. Not even half a second later, I saw the doctor just jet and the other guys yell "RUN!" and they all started shooting out of there like bats out of Hell. Seconds later, the police came in and quickly pursued them. Detective Kim was the one who spotted us as two of his fellow detectives chased after the felons.

He rushed over to all of us, helping each one of us up and checking to see if we were OK and we weren't hurt. I was the last he helped up, and when he offered his hand and pulled me to my feet, he gripped my arms tightly, gently squeezing them as I looked up at his face. He looked at me dead in the eyes, and I couldn't read his expression.

"Are you OK?" he asked me. He sounded urgent, so I nodded hurriedly in response but said nothing. He squeezed my arms again, then directed his attention to the other girls. They all were still shaking and their faces were still red and tear-stained, but other than that they said they were fine. Detective Kim then beckoned us all to where his fellow detective--Detective Jang--was, freeing the girl on the surgeons table. When I saw him, my eyes widened and I looked from him, to my super-secret guardian. I opened my mouth to ask how the hell they managed to save him from the Triad in Hong Kong, but he beat me with a question of his own, which he asked to his fellow detective.


"Is she all right? She's not hurt is she?" he inquired. The girl sat upright on the surgeon table, too shaken up to speak, so Detective Jang spoke for her.


"She's fine," he answered, "a few scrapes, but nothing too serious." He looked at Detective Kim and added in a final tone, "Now, let's get these girl out of here and back to their families." My stomach pinched, at the sound of those words, seeing as how my "family" was standing right next to me. He wasn't showing me any affection--like putting a protective arm around me--but I wished like hell he was, cuz I was still totally freaked!


My guardian nodded once and ushered us single file to the awaiting police van outside. I saw the other detectives come back with the other crooks and my mind refreshed back to the bar when I was looking for a job. The sleaze-ball looking guy--whom I believed was Mr. Shin (or...I should call him Detective Shin now) came with one suspect in hand and thrust him into an awaiting police car and another--the big, stupid looking one whom I remembered was Detective Nam--came sauntering over with two more suspects.


I was lead into the van with the other girls as we waited to be brought to either the police station or to our families. My guess was the police station--it seemed like the logical choice. Besides, some of the girls' parents might already be there waiting for them. That thought left me with the lingering question as to what I was going to do once we got there. Like I said, my guardian was literally RIGHT OUTSIDE (and was now harassing the suspects). I suppressed a sigh. I suppose I could wait till his shift was over.... and be bored out of my mind while I was at it. But really, what other choice did I have? I'll answer that--none. I dug my fingers in my hair in frustration.


"Are you OK, Kimi?" asked Su-Jung who was sitting on the other side of the van next to the window.


"I'm fine," I answered, not looking at her. "I just have a headache is all." Lie. I'm mentally preparing myself for the infinite hours of boredom to befall my way. Ooh, jooy. I continued to stare at the floor of the police van until the opening of the door made me look up to see--you guessed it--my super-secret guardian.


He looked at all of us and said clearly in Korean, "We're going to take you to the station where your parents await your arrivals. There, they will take you home; I'm sure they'll be more than relieved to see you all well and safe." The girls nodded, and smiled at him--excited about being able to go home and forget all this ever happened. Before he closed the door though, he took one long look at me. I stared back, though I couldn't read his expression. His eyes were fierce as if he was trying to communicate with me telepathically (good luck with that). Eventually, the mini staring contest got to be too much for me, and I looked away, trying to hide a blush that I felt searing across my cheeks.


When the door finally closed behind me, I thought it safe to look up again. Unfortunately, that was also when the girls thought it was OK to start telling me that my face was red and giggling.


"Giggling should be illegal," I muttered, quoting a line from Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (the book not the movie). The girls along with Su-Jung all made comments about my blushing and how cute Detective Kim was. That got my insides all fired up with jealousy. Wait, why should I be jealous? I'm friggen LIVING with the guy!! But still.... they didn't know that. Nor did they NEED to. Besides... it's not like they have a chance of having him. Not that they should even be THINKING of having a chance. I mean, he's like what? 23? Yeah, too old for them.


We finally started heading to the Station (the girls still talking about the incident before) and just like Detective Kim promised, the girls' parents were all waiting for their daughters. Each girl ran to their families with tears in their eyes, while I lagged behind and ducked into the women's bathroom and out of sight. They didn't need to know that I didn't have family here (anymore), and I didn't want them to feel sorry for me. I waited in the bathroom for at least 20 minutes before finally coming out only to find Detective Cha outside waiting for me.


"Il-Ju is looking for you," she said to me in Korean. She sounded cross.


"Il-Ju?" I asked also in Korean, confused. "Who is that?"

"Wow.... you're living with him, and you don't even know his name?" she responded, smirking. "Just follow me," and she started walking away while I ran to try and keep up with her. Then it clicked.

"D-Detective Kim's first name is Il-Ju?" I asked in Korean, jogging behind her as we rounded a corner. She didn't slow down nor did she look at me when she answered, "Yes. His full name is Kim Il-Ju; I'm surprised he didn't tell you when you're living with him. Nobody else knows about that right?"

"A-anniyo," I answered, still jogging. Man, this lady walks fast...this is the most exercise I've ever gotten. "Just you...him...and Prosecutor Kim," I wheezed out as we rounded another corner and down a hallway and entered a door with the sign "H.I.T." above it. There was a giant sign that said "Homicide Investigation Team" and an office space with a large desk in the center and 5 computers. Four on about each corner of the desk, and one at the head of it. Detective Cha led me into the office and beckoned me inside.


"Il-Ju will be here in a moment. Have a seat," she said, and left to God knows where. I quietly sat down in the nearest office chair, placed my purse on the table, and tried to make myself comfortable--which was hard considering that I had NOTHING TO DO. I found a stapler in front of me and grabbed it, and after digging around a bit I retrieved a small pad of post-its in one of the drawers. Let the joy commence!

I tore off bits of Post-its and started doing some Origami (yes, I have Origami skillz) and managed to make a small crane, frog, and more frogs. Frogs are the only things I really know how to make. And cranes. Cranes and frogs. Yup. Anyway, after my 10th frog, and 4th crane, I took the stapler and some more post-its and drew eyes on them and stuck them onto the stapler so it looked like it had eyes.

"Raaawr! I am the Stapler Monster! I have come to eat your pathetic frogs!!" I said, moving the stapler around all menacing like. "Not if we can help it!! Cranes! Attack!" And thus the EPIC BATTLE of the cranes versus the Stapler Monster ensued! The cranes dive-bombed the Stapler Monster without any sign of letting up! But wait! The Stapler Monster can fly?!

"MWAHAHAHAHA!!! Fools!! Oh.... wait.... you can fly too?! GODDAMN!!" said the Stapler Monster as the cranes continued their assault. "Noooo!!!"

"Having fun?" said a voice behind me, and I jumped and turned and dropped everything. Detective Kim was standing in the entrance-way, watching me be an idiot. He didn't look happy or angry... just... eh. I quickly stood up and tried to make it look like I wasn't acting like a child approximately 5 seconds ago.

"Uhm....h-how long were you standing there?" I stammered in English, pushing the Origami and Stapler Monster aside behind my back. He smirked (omg, another blush! dammit!!) and came striding into the room, picked up the Stapler Monster, stared at it for a while, then finally answered back in English, "Long enough to see that this guy was losing the battle." I laughed nervously but said nothing. My insides were in a raging inferno of embarrassment.

We stood in silence for a minute while I awkwardly fidgeted waiting desperately for him to say something. When he didn't, I was about to open my mouth to say something, but at just that moment he decided to speak.

"Do you have your things in order?" he asked me. My heart sank into my stomach and I felt myself begin to shake and my body turn cold.

"Y-yes....why?" I stuttered out, "You're not sending me back home are you? I told you that I'm not going back to Canada!!" He raised his hands as if he was surrendering and stared at me.

"Calm down," he said, "I'm not sending you anywhere. I'm just taking you home. And here," he added as he stooped to open his drawer next to his computer and pulled out some papers and handed them to me. "I printed out these applications for schools around Seoul--don't think just because you're living with a cop, you're going to get away with not getting an education. When we get home, I want you to fill those out. I'll have to come back here soon, so I can't stay with you while you do that."

I stared at him. Really? Do I look like I need a babysitter to fill out papers? Please. I sifted through the applications--there were only about four or five, and they all seemed to be in English. Good, I wouldn't have to struggle with it. I looked up at him.

"Ok, so you're taking me home and then coming back here," I repeated to him, "sounds ok to me. But do you mind if we make a pit stop first? I didn't have breakfast, and I'm starving."


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We stopped by McDonalds (HOLY CRAP, MICKEY D'S?! WHY DID I NOT NOTICE THIS BEFORE?!) and I got a chicken selects meal and then Detective Kim drove me home. He said I could eat in his car, just to be sure not to make a complete mess. While I ate I asked him a couple of questions, one that was burning in my mind all day.

"Detective," I started, feeling a little weird addressing him with that title even though we were living together. "How did you manage to get Detective Jang back from the Triad in Hong Kong?" I looked up from munching on a strip of chicken to see that Detective Kim was staring intently on the road, his face held in a dark scowl. It was a long time before he actually started to speak, though when he did, it was as if his words were laced with acid; he sounded so venemous.

"Those idiot police in Hong Kong..." he spat, his eyes narrowing dangerously. I started to get really nervous--maybe I shouldn't have asked. But before I could say anything, he continued on with what he was saying.

"After I had taken you girls to the Korean Consul, I met up with Detective Cha, Prosecutor Kim, and Sung Dong-Joon--the head of the Consul--and a Hong Kong policeman. We told him that Charlie Park must be arrested but he said that he couldn't arrest him because there wasn't any evidence nor proof of his crime. But Detective Cha said that she had been locked up, and that there was a shootout between her and him in the parking lot of the building where she was being held captive."

I listened intently. This was pretty deep stuff; I couldn't believe it. I waited for him to say more, totally forgetting about my chicken strips...and my meal in general.

"When the policeman heard that, he said that since Charlie Park is a UK citizen and a respected businessman, they need to be careful. I was losing my patience; if he was such a respected businessman why would he kidnap others? The police said that was only what we assumed, and that they needed more proof before they did anything. I lost my temper then. Detective Jang was still missing and Charlie Park was still at large and they weren't going to to anything about it?! I already felt awful for allowing them to capture him--I couldn't take another slap in the face. So I told him off. Then he got me even more riled up--I said some things--and then stormed out."

I stayed quiet, waiting for more.

"The other two followed me, which I wasn't at all surprised about," he continued. "I also wasn't surprised when they started lecturing me about where it was that we were and how we needed to be careful. Then I blew up at them too, taking all my anger and regret out on them. I threatened to quit if we didn't get Detective Jang back safely. Detective Cha seemed to agree with me that we should do whatever it takes to get Detective Jang back alive, and when she said that the Triad had the upper hand since they had guns, I went into the glove compartment of the car I rented and pulled out a manilla envelope, weighted down with 3 guns."

"Are you crazy?!" I hollered. "If you had gotten caught, you would've been thrown in jail!! What's wrong with you?!"

"Well, we didn't did we?" he shot back at me, with a smirk. I stayed quiet for a moment, then mumbled out, ".....I guess not....continue!" I was getting into the story now. So not only is Mr. Sexy drop dead hot.....he's a total BADASS!!! I'M LIVING WITH A HOT BADASS!! GO ME!! =D

"So anyway, I had thought up a plan the night before--"

"You mean when we were at the hotel?" I interuppted.

"Yes, then," he answered me. I nodded, and he continued.

"So, that night--when you were at the Consulate--Detective Cha, Prosecutor Kim, and I staked out Charlie Park, and managed to corner him in his van and made him tell us where Detective Jang was. We were going to exchange him for our comrade. So... in the dead of night--with Charlie Park held at gunpoint by myself--we managed to force him to tell us where Detective Jang was being held captive and Prosecutor Kim drove us to the location. Since I was holding Charlie Park at gunpoint, there was basically nothing the scumbag could do but let Detective Jang go. And there you have it," he finished. "But don't repeat a word of this to anyone, understand?" he added sternly.

Yeah, who on Earth am I going to tell? I nodded anyway, just to make him feel reassured. When we finally made it home, he immediately ordered me to fill out the applications (oh joy...) and left without another word. I groaned. Now I'm stuck here....BORED. Luckily, I had brought the rest of my meal, so I decided to munch on that while filling out the apps. I finished them in about 2 hours (taking long breaks in between) and then began to try and find something to do. I took a nap.


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Detective Kim didn't return that night. Nor did he return the next day--not that I was worried, he's a big boy. But I took the liberty of mailing the applications myself, and then I decided to just wander. I'm not going to be stuck in the house all day just because I'm paranoid of people kidnapping me. Come on people, I'm no pussy.

While wandering, I managed to buy myself a digital clock for my room, and some toiletries, and other essentials (like SuJu posters....yeah, yeah, shaddup) to liven up my room. I then bought myself some ice cream, and some instant noodles and decided to head home and decorate. As soon as I locked the door and kicked off my shoes, I was in my room slapping posters on the wall, putting up some really nice curtains I bought, some colorful rugs and some stuffed animals, a bright comforter that I stuffed in my closet, and then I stood back to admire my handy work. Perfect. Now to go watch TV until my brain fries.


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Almost a week passed and Detective Kim dropped by every once in a while, but then always returned to go right back to work. I was used to it, but then I started to feel lonely. Yeah, being in a house by yourself is cool, but after a few days.... IT'S SO BORING!! So I was quite surprised to find Detective Kim home on Saturday and using the shower when I accidentally walked in on him. The glass door of the shower wasn't completely fogged over with steam so..... let's just say that I saw more than I bargained for that day before both of us screamed in shock, and I bolted out the door.


My face was burning, and I had slapped my hand over my mouth (reflex) and started fanning myself in a poor attempt to ebb the blush searing across my face. FAIL. I went into my room and waited until it was safe enough for me to use the shower. After I had finished and dressed in black jeans and my purple hoodie, I joined Detective Kim for breakfast.


"Good Morning," I said warmly, trying to ignore the wake-up call from earlier. He said nothing, and looked at me for a long time--almost glaring at me. I cracked.


"OK, I'm sorry I walked in on you, I didn't know you were even home; you've been gone forEVER!! I-I didn't even see anything! I swear!! It was too foggy anyway for me to get a good look," I blabbered. He raised a questioning eyebrow and I slapped my hands to my mouth, in complete shock and disbelief of what had just vomited out of my mouth.


"I didn't mean that," I finally answered, praying that he'd understand. "Really....I swear I didn't--"


"You have a letter," he said, cutting me off and handing me an envelope from the table. I looked at it curiously, and finally opened it. It was an acceptance letter; I was to start school on Monday and I was to get my uniform sometime before then. Ugh....great. Uniform.


"What is it?" he asked. I looked at it, shrugged, and answered "Just an acceptance letter to one of the schools you made me apply too." I wasn't ecstatic about it--I don't know anything about these schools, so my way of thinking was 'if they want you, just go for it.' I handed him the letter so he could read it, while I made myself some toast.


"I'll get your uniform for you, today," he told me, as I sat down and began eating. "I'm hoping to be done early anyway." I looked at him while munching on my breakfast, smiled and nodded in thanks. "Why aren't you at work, today?" I asked in between bites of toast.


"I asked for the day off," he replied. When I asked why, he answered "To spend time with you and show you around Seoul. You're living with me and we haven't actually spent time with one another to get to know each other." He smiled at me, which made me blush and look away and devour the rest of my toast.


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Monday morning came and I showered and dressed into my new school uniform (it was actually pretty cute), and Detective Kim drove me to school. I waved goodbye and turned to look at my surroundings and drink in my new school. There were girls sitting on the outside benches and talking, girls standing in their own little circles and talking, girls talking to some teachers...... wait..... there are girls EVERYWHERE.


I whipped my head around and actually did a mini circle in my place. More girls. No.... there has to be at least ONE guy here. I scanned the area....nope. ALL. GIRLS. THIS CANNOT BE!! I dug my cell phone out of my pocket, punched in Detective Kim's cell number, and waited for him to answer. He answered on the 3rd ring.


"Yes, Kimi?"


"WHAT KIND OF SCHOOL DID YOU SEND ME TO?!" I hollered. There was a pause.


"Sookmyung Girls' High School," he finally answered calmly. My insides shriveled and vaporized.


"YOU SENT ME TO AN ALL GIRLS SCHOOL?!" I'm going to KILL him!!

Forbidden (Chapter 7)

Hey all! WHAT AN INTERESTING TURN OF EVENTS TO HAVE HAPPENED IN OUR LITTLE HEROINE'S LIFE!! Before we begin, I feel I must say that this chapter will be, in the beginning, a continuation of where chapter 6 left off, and then it goes off into ANOTHER twist! YAY TWISTS!! So enjoy chapter 7 my people!! Now, in this chapter, Kimi doesn't call Mr. Sexy "Mr. Sexy" anymore. She calls him Detective Kim. But then that changes too. He goes through 3 name changes with her. lol

Chapter 7

I sat on the bed next to Su-Jung, still confused and slightly scared, barely hearing the harsh words Hee-Jin shouted to her father. She had once again threatened to get up and leave, and had actually made a couple steps towards the door, when her father had grabbed her wrist and actually handcuffed her to the bed railing. (W.T.F.) As soon as he had done that, she turned her head slowly in his direction and stared at him with a mixture of hatred and disbelief. She grinned sadistically.


"Did you just handcuff me? HUH?!" she shrieked. Her twisted smile vanished and was replaced with a scowl as she glared at her father. He looked at her sadly, then walked out of the room while the rest of the girls shouted protests at him and we were left alone with Detective Kim. He didn't seem too happy that Detective Jang had just handcuffed his daughter, nor that he was now stuck here, technically babysitting a bunch of teenage girls. He took one look at us and was about to follow Detective Jang when one of the girls called out to him.


"How did you get here? Don't tell me he 'kidnapped' you too," she said in Korean. We all waited for him to answer, all of us holding our breath. I, for one, really wanted answers, cuz I've been doing some serious thinking since I got here. For one thing, the van disappeared 3 days ago... another, if the van disappeared only three days ago, how is it that Detective Jang (as well as some other officers--I'm positive Detective Kim and Jang are not alone) knew our whereabouts in the first place...and finally, who the hell are the Triad, and why the hell are there fucking Korean cops in Hong Kong in the first place?!


"The least you could do is explain everything to us," I spoke up in English, tired of waiting for Detective Kim's answer. I then continued in Korean, "How did you get here? Are there more of you? Why is Detective Jang in this shady place in the first place? How did he know Hee-Jin was even in Hong Kong--"



"I ran away from home, and joined the talent agency," said Hee-Jin, cutting off my string of questions. She looked at me and answered, "My mother and father divorced because he was always getting sued and we were getting sick of it. We couldn't take it anymore; we just wanted to live happily. So, after everything with my father was said and done, and he and my mother split, my mother took custody of me. However, we were very much in debt so my mother had to work night and day to try and cover it; she was never home, and I never got to see her. I wanted to help her so badly, because neither of us were sleeping through the night; we were both sick with worry. So, I joined EGM hoping that I'll be able to shoot a portfolio and make it big as a model so I can help my mother."



I nodded. "So he came looking for you, and after poking around a bit he figured out where you were," I said still speaking Korean (albeit, slowly), "makes sense." I looked at her and stated, "But that doesn't explain why he's in this--" I gestured around the small living quarters--"place."


"Apparently, when Lieutenant Cha came to investigate where Detective Jang disappeared to, she went to his hotel room and was ambushed," answered Detective Kim in his native tongue.



"Who's Lieutenant Cha?" asked Su-Jung.



"She is our supervisor at the H.I.T. office," he told her.



"What's H.I.T?" inquired Hee-Jin. "I've never heard of it before."



"You wouldn't," he said. We all sat quiet, slightly offended/taken aback by his...arrogance? Nah, more like assholeness. Then he continued by saying, "It's fairly new. Myself, Detective Shin, Detective Nam, Lieutenant Cha, Prosecutor Kim, and Detective Jang are all a part of it. When Detective Jang got word of his daughter's disappearance, he didn't show up at work for a couple of days..." He paused and moodily looked at the floor. I guess he and Detective Jang don't get along so well....



"When he did find out, all he did was leave a message on Lieutenant Cha's cell phone and we didn't hear from him since then, until Lieutenant Cha took it upon herself to figure out where he went. She didn't tell us where she was going, which is against our policy, and this is how this whole mess got started," he finished. We were all quiet.



"Well you just answered my question if there are more of you in Hong Kong," I said in English. He nodded and answered me in Korean (I guess so everybody could understand).



"The entire H.I.T. team is here," he said.



"But what does H.I.T. actually stand for--" started Su-Jung, but I cut her off.



"Wait, I have one more question!" I exclaimed in my language, making the others jump. I apologized to Su-Jung afterwards and said in Korean, "Who is the Triad and where is the rest of your team?"



"Prosecutor Kim went with the consulate to see a Mr. Charlie Park. Later, I went with the consulate to meet Detective Jang and possibly find Lieutenant Cha. It was there that we were followed and chased by 3 men, and that's how I ended up here. Detective Jang thinks that those men, who were chasing us, are Triad members and are involved in international kidnapping," said the Detective in Korean.


"So...they already knew Detective Jang was here?" asked one of the girls. "How did they find--"


"Does he have evidence to prove that they're involved in international kidnapping?!" cried Hee-Jin, now already shaking with anger. "Does he have proof?! IS KIDNAPPING US GOING TO GIVE HIM THE PROOF HE WANTS?!"


I stayed silent a sinking feeling in my chest. He might not have evidence of international kidnapping...but what about the drugs? Should I tell the Detective that I found some in some breast implants? And that two girls that are here might possibly have those exact same implants in their bodies? I bit my lip.


"He doesn't," said Detective Kim, looking at me. I looked back but quickly looked away...it was too hard not to blush. "He's just going on intuition; nothing is based on solid evidence," he continued.


We all sat quiet, absorbing all of this information. Detective Kim then looked at his watch, excused himself, and went to see Detective Jang outside. From my seat I examined the position of the shadows in the wall...it was getting close to sunset. None of the girls said anything. I think we were all just mentally exhausted from all the information Detective Kim just gave us. However, we were all pulled out of our daze when we heard yelling coming from outside, and it wasn't long before Detecitve Kim came back holding a brown paper bag. He ripped its contents out and in his hand was a gun. He stared at it in disbelief for a while before Detective Jang followed two steps behind him then punched him in the face, and he fell to the ground! (this is just a never-ending day of 'wtf' moments)



Detective Jang then took the gun, searched for something else near Detective Kim's feet then stood up and yelled at him, "If you don't want to help, then don't bug me!" Us girls who were cowering on the bed whimpered. Detective Kim stood up, glaring at the other cop and wiping blood from his mouth. (why does he always bleed?!)



"Are you crazy?!" he yelled. "A Korean cop shoots people in Hong Kong...do you know what that means?!"


Detective Jang then went on to say that as a cop he protects the victim, and as a father he has a right to protect his daughter. Then Hee-Jin had to put in her two cents and be all pms-y and yell at him, and then he said something about her being only a high school junior (so what? I am too...big whoop!) and she corrected him and told him she's a high school senior (WHAT?! NO WAY!).Then she went on to say how much he embarrassed her when his arrest was in the news, and how she envied kids who didn't have fathers. After that I didn't listen anymore; I didn't want to.





I couldn't help but feel anger towards her. Couldn't she see that she has a father who loves her? He flew all the way to Hong Kong for her!! And here she is yelling at him and telling him she hates him, and here I am, wanting so much to yell at her and tell her that at least she HAS a father who cares, unlike mine who's a non-stop abusive beast!! And at least her mother manages the household to some extent. Mine just sits on her ass all day and drinks till she passes out or throws up.


I wanted so badly to tell her these things, but I held my tongue. I didn't want to cause more drama, though angry tears threatened to fall from my eyes and I wiped them away hurriedly. Now is definitely not the time to cry. Though, Hee-Jin did when she finished her little emo speech, and Detective Jang stood stunned. He didn't say a word as he took out the key for the handcuffs out of his pocket but let his hand stay by his side. It was Detective Kim who took the key from him and un-cuffed her and she drew back her hand and went to a corner and turned her back on her father as he went outside. Detective Kim followed him.



Once they were gone, Hee-Jin turned to us. "Lift me up," she ordered.



"What are you doing?" asked the girls, all gathering around her, Su-Jung included. I stayed out of it...I didn't really want to mingle at the moment. I was too busy thinking about whether or not I should tell Detective Kim about the drugs and annoyance with Hee-Jin and her dysfunctional family issues. I watched the girls and Hee-Jin go to the opposite wall and saw her pry off some netting from a window and climb out. She said she was going to phone the people from the agency and didn't care whether or not her dad found out. God, she pisses me off!! I ran a hand through my hair, and a cold thought went through my mind sending shivers all down my body.



If Hee-Jin tells the guys where we are, they'll most likely come with guns...and guns make noise. Meaning that it will disturb the people around here and they'll call the police and we'll be taken downtown, we'll all be fingerprinted or whatever, the girls will be sent back to Korea and--although I have a Visa, Green Card, passport etc--I am still legally a minor and as of now, I have NO current residence in Korea. I might have to get sent back home. The words of Mi-Young's father rang in my head.



"Don't come here if you fail..."



Technically, I didn't fail but I suppose this counts as near close to failing. Or just completely passed 'failing' down to 'how the hell did I end up in this mess?' I'm thinking the second option. Either way, I can't go back to Mi-Young's place, and I will sooner than later drop DEAD before going back home. I clawed my fingers into my hair trying to think, but no bright idea came into my head. Fifteen minutes passed and Hee-Jin came back, much to the delight of the other girls. Unfortunately, her father and Detective Kim came in at that exact moment and Detective Jang was none too happy. Actually, he was more panicked than happy. Hee-jin explained everything when he asked her where she had been and he got even more panicked.



"We've got to get out of here," he told us and attempted to drag Hee-Jin out the door, but she stayed put and sat in a chair and told him that we're not going anywhere.



Tch. To hell with her, I'm out! I don't want any part of this anymore; I've had enough excitement in my lifetime, I'm done. Why can't I just be a normal kid, who just goes to school and has a loving family?


Because that would be waaay to boring! I thought. Hee-Jin and her father started arguing again, but this time, instead of it continuing back and forth, Detective Jang knelt in front of his daughter and actually begged her to follow his directions. We all sat, stunned at Detective Jang's actions as he begged his daughter (who started crying again). Then there was knock near the window sill and everybody stood shocked still, waiting.



"Are you sure, they're Triad?" asked Detective Kim. He looked scared and he was pale...well...paler than usual. As an answer, his fellow Detective took out whatever it was he was searching before when he punched Detective Kim in the face and handed it to him. He told him that they were keys to a boat out back and that he should take it and us to safety.



"Is anyone in there?" asked a voice outside and I recognized it to be Chen's. My mood quickly brighted, but was snuffed out when we heard gunshots. We screamed and coward behind the detectives, and Detective Kim ushered us out the door and onto the waiting boat. I sat next to Su-Jung and we clung to each other petrified. Detective Kim went to go get Hee-Jin who had stayed behind clinging to her father, but after a couple seconds he managed to drag her to the waiting boat and they both climbed in. We heard more gunshots and we screamed and clung to each other and ducked our heads as Detective Kim stared at the scene, waiting for Detective Jang to come on board.



He called his name in warning, but the other Detective refused to come on board, saying that whatever happens to him it is of the utmost importance that Detective Kim gets us back to Korea safely. More gunshots were fired but Detective Kim didn't move. It took a verbal assault from Detective Jang to actually make him move us out of the line of fire and into open waters. The rest of us didn't look back, except for Hee-Jin who was in hysterics, though we all found it very hard not to. Su-Jung was crying onto my shoulder and I hugged her, but said nothing as I looked behind me at Detective Kim. He looked like he was fighting back the urge to turn the boat around and help Detective Jang.

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It was nighttime now, and Detective Kim managed to book us all a room in a small hotel (*dirty thoughts*). Though I'm pretty sure none of us will be getting much sleep tonight, partially because of all the events that have happened and also because Hee-Jin was still crying...and everybody was still crying. In fact, the only people who weren't crying were me and Detective Kim. He wasn't crying because I think he needed to be a manly-man and not show weakness in times of immense peril and danger (or something), and I wasn't crying because I guess there's something wrong with me. I didn't feel the need to cry. Truthfully, I was getting a little sick of the water works... but I was also worried about Detective Jang and a whole lot of other things. Right now, those things pretty much outweighed the crying.



Detective Kim took time to try and comfort Hee-Jin who was sitting on a chair...but she kinda ruined it because she went back to being emo and started crying again. This time I couldn't blame her. She had every right to be emo now. I watched from my seat on the bed with the other girls, as Detective Kim stood up and slowly walked out. Instead of sitting with the others, like a good cry-pillow, I stood up and followed him out of the room, down the hall and out the hotel door. I thought he was leaving us, so I ran the last couple of steps but he was only standing near the entrance. He was brooding.



I watched as he paced slowly back and forth across the entryway, seeming to become more anguished with every step he took. He constantly shook his head back and forth and seemed to be fighting with himself. I steeled myself and stepped out from the shadows onto where he was standing. He seemed to have heard my footsteps because he turned sharply and looked at me and I stared in shock. He had tears in his eyes.


Now, I've never seen a grown man cry before, and I honestly never expected to. Like most people, I thought a grown man crying was an EXTREME sign of weakness, and mamby-pansy and junk.... but when I saw the tears in Detective Kim's eyes, and how in pain he looked, those feeling pretty much went out the window. Although he and Detective Jang have their differences, I could see now that he really cares for him, and right now he'd do anything to get him back safely.


"What are you doing out of the room?" he asked me in English. I blinked, realizing I was still staring at him and tucked some hair behind my ear, stalling for time.


"Um....I was...uh...." I stammered like an idiot and looked anywhere else but at him. I fixed my gaze at the nothingness in front of me and added timidly, "Do you think Detective Jang will be all right?" He didn't say anything. I glanced at him and asked another question, "Are you angry?" I don't know why I asked it, but he did seem angry.


"Yes," he told me, "But not about Detective Jang getting us into this mess. I'm more angry at myself."



"Why?"


He sighed and said,"I've always followed "The Book" when it comes to police work and not doing anything by intuition or instincts. It's what's made me keep my job and how I was also promoted through the ranks. I wanted to go by the book on this investigation, but now I don't think that will help us much here. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I want to be a little more like Detective Jang; I envy his character... when before I used to look down upon it. I don't know how to explain it..."

"What rank are you anyway?" I asked, raising a questionable eyebrow.

"Lieutenant," he answered quickly. I thought about this for a second before asking again.

"Why are you on the H.I.T. team when there's already Lieutenant Cha?" He looked at me, then up at the night sky and gave another exasperated sigh, his breath crystallizing in the frigid air. I totally forgot it was winter and I just realized that I'm only wearing socks, jeans, a turtleneck, and a white zip-up sweater. I. am. freezing.


"That's not important right now," he told me, as I stood beside him with my arms wrapped around myself, shivering. Yup...I'm an idiot. "What's important now is that I get you girls back to Korea safely...and I get Detective Jang back from the Triad." He looked at his watch. "It's getting late," he said, looking at me, "you should get some rest. You've had a long day." I nodded and was about to go back inside when I felt weight around my shoulders. I looked down at myself and found Detective Kim's black leather jacket around my body. I stared at him.

"Go inside before you catch a cold," he ordered me.

"Aren't you coming inside?" I asked.



"I'll be in shortly. You just go inside and get some sleep."


I nodded, said a timid "thank you" for the jacket, and went inside, but not before stealing a glance at how his grey turtleneck fit him perfectly!! (omg....did I mention TEH HOTNESS?!!) When I got back into the room, to my surprise, all the girls including Hee-Jin had managed to cram themselves onto the one and only bed in the corner (which was fairly big) and were all sleeping. There was no pull-out bed, but there were a couple of long couches and I immediately lay in one and went straight to sleep, breathing in the scent of Detective Kim's cologne that had lingered on his jacket.

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I woke up the next morning with quite a stiff neck, not being very well rested. I sat up and saw that I still had Detective Kim's jacket, which I had used as a blanket. I blinked groggily at it, as I ran a hand through my hair, and found out that it was filled with knots and tangles, so I came to the conclusion that I must look like crap. Oh joy...

I looked around the room and saw that the girls were still sleeping but Detective Kim was nowhere in sight. At first I thought he was just going to the bathroom or something, but then my mind got the better of me, and I thought that he had actually left us last night to go and get Detective Jang by himself. With that completely possible (and technically rational...I mean, he's a guy, guys do that...) thought in my head, I shot out of my makeshift bed, still holding on to that leather jacket, and ripped open the door....only to find Detective Kim staring at me surprised.

"Good Morning," he said. I could smell the mint of his toothpaste, as his breath washed over me. I waved, not wanting to open my mouth because I had stinky morning breath. I looked down and saw that I was still holding his jacket, and thrust it to him. He smiled and took it as I pulled a Siwon and thanked him for it with elaborate hand gestures and such. In return, he handed me a toothbrush in a little plastic package, and some toothpaste and told me the directions to the bathroom. I nodded then went straight to cleanse my mouth of the stinky germs.

When I arrived back in the room all the girls were awake, and Detective Kim was nowhere in sight...again. Instead of obeying the annoying voice inside my head to go and find him, I decided to sit with the girls and wait for him to come back. Hopefully he brought food cuz I was starving. Unfortunately, he didn't because when he came back, he told us to get ready quickly because the Hong Kong police were coming. He had told them everything that had happened, and they were coming to get us and take us to the Korean Consulate (but I'm hungry!! I want food!!)

The rest of the girls freshened up, while I waited outside the room, since I was already dressed, with Detective Kim. I didn't speak to him, nor did he speak to me...which I was quite fine with seeing as how I was too hungry to talk. I think the last thing I ate was a bag of chips....yesterday. (soo hungry!!) Half an hour later, we were ushered outside to an awaiting police van and car. Detective Kim beckoned us towards the van and told us to sit and we would be taken to the consulate. I sat in between Su-Jung and Hee-Jin. I stretched my already stiff neck (bad idea) but I didn't see where Detective Kim walked off to. Sooner than I realized, we were off to the Consulate, where we were told we will be questioned later and we were brought to another nearby hotel. There we finally ate and around 2 in the afternoon, we were finally questioned by the Hong Kong police.


One by one the girls were asked their current residence and citizenship, and I grew even more nervous as they came closer to me; but I had no choice but to answer.


"My name is Kimimela Holmes, I am 17 years old, I am originally from Toronto, Canada, I am a Canadian citizen, though I do have a Visa and passport," I told them. Obviously, this shocked almost everyone but right now, I didn't really care. They then asked me what I was doing in Hong Kong and I told them that I came here for a job with EGM working as a stagehand. They kept asking me a string of questions, and when they finally got to the reason why I was part of the kidnapping...that was when I hesitated. Hee-Jin had already explained about the implants...but she didn't know about the drugs...I guess I would have to explain then. So I did. Not to my surprise, everyone was stunned.


The police asked me if I knew which of the girls who had implants, and I said no. They asked the other girls if they had implants and they said no, but I saw a couple of them shift uncomfortably in their seats. They were lying. After a few more hours of non-stop questioning, we were returned back to the hotel, where we waited until nightfall. We hadn't seen Detective Kim since this morning, and I was kind of worried about what has happened to him along with Detective Jang. It was about 11:30 at night when Mr. Sung Dong-Joon--the head of the Korean Consul--came and asked for Hee-Jin. She practically flew to him.


I didn't know what time Hee-Jin came back because by the time I went to sleep, it was 2 in the morning, and when I was lightly shaken awake by one of the Hong Kong police at 7am the next morning, Hee-Jin was already asleep in one of the pull-out couch beds. The police man told me to get up and get ready and to meet him outside; there were several people who wanted to speak to me. I nodded, still half-asleep, but followed his orders nonetheless, and by the time I was fully awake, I was shaking with nerves.


I was led to a room where Detective Kim, a woman whom I assumed was Lieutenant Cha (she had short hair and was wearing a track suit), and a man I assumed was either one of the other two male Detectives that Dectective Kim talked about. Though he didn't quite look like a detective. He wore a beige trench coat, and dark-wash jeans. The room they were sitting in was an interrogation room...and I was the one that was going to be interrogated. The police man opened the door for me and I went and sat in the sole chair behind the only desk and waited.


"Is your name Kimimela Holmes?" asked Lieutenant Cha in Korean. I jumped...I wasn't expecting that. I was still a little groggy.


"Yes," I answered also in Korean.


"Are you a citizen of Canada?" asked Detective Kim in English.


"Yes."


"Do you have a Visa and passport?" asked the other guy also in English.


"Yes."


"Where are they?" said Lieutenant Cha. I thought for a moment...and then my heart sank into my stomach.


"I left them in a drawer of the hotel I was staying at before I was brought here," I answered. They all sighed and bowed their heads at my stupidness. Why am I such an idiot? Detective Kim looked at me and asked, "Do you have family in Korea?"


"No. My family is in Canada, but I will kill myself if you send me back there," I answered menacingly, looking him dead in the eye. I was prepared for this question; no way was I going back home. "Please don't send me back home, I can get by on my own once we're back in Korea. I've done it before; I have money, I can get a job, get an apartment--"


"What about school? You're just going to quit school?" asked Detective Kim. I hesitated. Lieutenant Cha asked me what grade I was and I said I was a junior in high school. They all looked at each other, then excused themselves and went outside, but not before telling me that I will have to tell them the name of the hotel and the room number where I stayed so they can search for my passport, Visa, and--I just realized--my wallet. It felt like forever, but they came back and spoke to me again. Well, Detective Kim was the only one who came inside.


"When is your birthday?" he asked me.


"I'll be turning 18 next month," I answered. He nodded. "My colleagues and I have talked it over and we feel that you going back to Canada is the best--"


"No! I'm not going back there!!"


"Why not?!"


"Would you want to go back to a broken home with your abusive father and drunk mother who do nothing but beat you and drink until they pass out while you clean up their vomit all over the carpet?!" I shrieked, my voice choking inside my throat. I stared at him through eyes that were gleaming with tears. I brought my knees up to my chest and buried my face in my arms and just cried. Detective Kim was silent for a long time. When he finally spoke he told me a suggestion rather than a question.


"We could send you to a foster home--"


"I'm not going to a foster home either! I wouldn't be Kimi there, I'd be just another kid with problems, living with other kids with problems who talk about nothing but their own problems all day!!" I shouted, my voice muffled slightly. I looked up at him with my tear-stained face and added, "I don't want to be another kid with problems. I just want a normal life; that's why I came to Korea in the first place. I don't want to be put in a foster home, I sure as hell don't want to go back to Canada.....I just want a life. A normal one." Detective Kim stared at me for a long time, then nodded and excused himself and went back outside, while I went back into my little ball.


It felt like another 3 or 4 hours before Detective Kim came back. I was still in my little ball of securedness nodding off to sleep, when I felt his hand on my shoulder and I looked up. He sat down in front of me with his hands folded on the table and looked me in the eyes. Somehow the air felt ominous, and I waited with bated breath.


"I talked it over with the consulate as well as my colleagues," he said. "Lieutenant Cha is too busy with her own work--she only sees the suspect and not everyone around her--so she's definitely out, Prosecutor Kim is too busy worrying about Lieutenant Cha, Detective Shin is as corrupt as a crook, Detective Jang has his own issues to sort out at the moment, and Detective Nam is an idiot."


I stared. "That's a pretty harsh thing to say about your fellow workers....especially Detective Nam. Wasn't he just here?" I asked.


"That was Prosecutor Kim, but that's not the point," he told me.


"Then what is the point, Ajusshi?" I asked, giving the Korean term for "mister." He gave me a look that said 'don't be a smart-ass, I'm doing you a favor.'


"You don't want to live in a foster home, and you don't want to go back to Canada," he said. I nodded. "My colleagues and I feel that you do still need to have proper guardianship, and an education...both would be in your best interest." And? I already knew that. I waited for him to continue. "So...I talked with my colleagues....and we've agreed that you will come and live with me."


I stared at him for a long time before finally speaking.


"......What?" I said. I was going to live with the epitome of sexiness? Holy shit....

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I left Hong Kong with the other girls and the Korean detectives in the afternoon. The Hong Kong police had retrieved my bag and passport and Visa, so I had no problem boarding. Detective Kim told me to keep my living quarters a secret to the other girls, which I had no problem doing because, really....I had a hard time believing it myself.


When we finally landed on Korean soil, Hee-Jin and the other girls were sent home, while the other detectives went to the Police Agency. Detective Kim--my new guardian--would meet them shortly after he had taken me to his house. As he drove home, neither of us said a word. I'm guessing because we were both trying to mentally get used to our new company. He lived in an apartment on the 6th floor of a building which I thought looked pretty damn awesome considering where I've been living.


He opened the door and allowed me to step inside. I looked around in awe...it was a pretty spacious apartment and had all the essentials a house needs and then some. It looked pretty sweet! He led me to my room (apparently he had a second room) and placed my bags on the floor and gave me a tour of the house. I stand corrected....his apartment is AWESOME! When the tour was concluded, he led me back to the living room/kitchen.


"I have to get back to the agency, but this is pretty much it," he said. "Tomorrow morning come by the agency at 9 with the other girls. We'll figure out where to send you to school later, but for now just get some rest." I nodded as he put on his shoes and headed for the door but he stopped and turned to me.


"I hope you enjoy your stay....and...uh...welcome to your new home?" he said, awkwardly (and rather cheesily). I nodded and put on a smile and waved goodbye. When he closed the door, I lay down on the couch in front of the big screen tv (holy crap~!!) and stared up at the ceiling....a giant grin unconsciously spreading over my face.


I am living with Mr. Sexy.....holy shit, holy shit, holy shit!!! :DDD *big grin of doom!!*

Forbidden (Chapter 6)

Yaaay! Thanks so much for the comments guys!! Truthfully, I HATED! that chapter while writing the middle part, but I grew to like it towards the end. Now...in THIS chapter, Kimi OFFICIALLY meets Mr. Sexy!!! (as well as the other ones....but they're not that important) YAAAY!!! *dance* and then after that the story can REALLY begin!! >:3

Chapter 6

It had been a couple of days since the outdoor photo shoot, and the disappearance of the van full of girls. Two days had gone by. No van; no girls. I was starting to get really worried. Where the hell could they have gone? What the hell could have happened to them? WHERE THE HELL ARE THEY?! I tried to go on with my work as usual, (or rather...as Ken ordered me too) but I couldn't shake off the never ending growth of worry and anxiety.


Ever since the van had vanished, Chen and his guys had been gone the past two days searching for them, meaning I hadn't seen him at all since....meaning I was getting a little depressed. -sad face- I mean, sure, I barely knew Chen, but it's not a crime to miss him is it? Even a little bit? I knew he was doing his best to try and find the others, but seriously, it wouldn't kill him to come and check on the others (*cough-mainly me-cough*) to see if they hadn't vanished either. I mean....he does work here too.


To try and keep my mind off of the situation, I threw myself more into my work, having decided that keeping busy would make me worry less. That worked up until a certain point, and then I found myself working while worrying at the same time and I ended up making mistakes. One day, I almost knocked down a lamp and had I not caught it in the nick of time, it would have seriously injured one of the models. That got me in big trouble, because I got a huge lecture from Ken and he made me feel awful and just plain *blah* so I decided to try and not act worried while on the job. (Easier said than done.)


It was now nearing the third day of the incident, and still. no. van. I was taking a break sitting in one of the chairs far from the stage, having been on my feet for most of the day and contently munching on some chips I had brought with me from the hotel. I was watching the others getting photos taken when all of a sudden, Chen burst in through the doors and rushed to Ken to whisper something in his ear. I assumed it was about the missing girls and/or the van (hopefully both) because I saw Ken look alarmed. Then his expression changed into 3 other ones at once so I couldn't tell what he was thinking. He nodded and whispered something else to Chen and he inclined his head once and left as abruptly as he came.


Curiosity boiled inside of me, but I knew better than to go ahead and ask up front. So, even though it pained me to do it....I sat quietly and continued to eat my snack...until I was summoned by some of the other girls to give advice on how their hair and make-up looked. Not that I minded that sort of thing, but seriously....they're models! They're make-up will obviously look flawless!! I sighed, and went towards them all clustered in a corner of the studio and they started chattering away at me while I told them my opinion (almost all consisting of "it's nice," "you look great!" and "your hair is fine, really.").

After that, I busied myself with work and didn't really have time to do anything else. It was nearing 12 in the afternoon and even though I had just eaten some chips...I WAS STARVING! Chips can only last so long. Ken told us to pack up for the day and go home (more like our hotels) to relax and enjoy the day and weather. The way he said it though made me look at a him weirdly. His tone was on the brink of anxious and sadistically amused at the same time. I quirked an eyebrow as he turned his back to me and began to gather his things.

I puffed strands of hair out of my eyes (I love my new hairstyle! omg!) and went to my little corner and gathered my own belongings. I slung my purse over my shoulder and turned to head out the door, but was greeted by the sight of several girls calling my name and waving me over to them and smiling. I huffed and marched towards them, not really in the mood to do anything with a group of people; all I really wanted to do was go back to my hotel room, take a long, hot shower and relax and try to calm myself from the disturbing situation of the missing van and my friends. Plus, I really had to use the restroom and I didn't want to stand around talking when my bladder felt like it was going to explode.

Nonetheless, I hitched a smile on my face and managed quite the friendly "hello" and "what's up" at them--all the while thinking, Get the fuck outta my way, I gotta pee!!!

"We were wondering if you'd like to come and have lunch with us and hang out," said one of them. She wore a dark brown, tight knitted sweater, a white vest and mini skirt with a small golden chain belt around her waist, nude colored stockings, and white high-heeled boots. Her hair was in a bun and small wisps of it were framing her face and light make-up decorated her features.

When she had said her piece the other girls behind her started chittering away and asked me to join them. I smiled apologetically and answered, "Thank you for the offer guys, and I'd really like to but....I'm just really tired today, and I kinda just want to go back to my hotel room." I didn't tell them I was still majorly worried (and I needed to pee!!) because I'm pretty sure that one of the girls I almost caused to have a concussion was in the pack...and I sort of didn't want to start a fight with her or something.

"Aww, come on. Please? It'll be fun. Please join us?" they pleaded. I smiled again and politely refused. They started up once more, but I held up my hands and this time firmly told them no, and that I was really, really tired and I really, really, didn't want to do much of anything. They eventually accepted that (though with lots of pouting and puppy dog eyes) and allowed me to go on my way. I apologized again and told them that maybe next time if I wasn't so tired we could hang out. They offered up tomorrow, and I accepted.

"We're holding you to that promise," said another one of the girls, smirking. I grinned and waved goodbye as I practically ran out the studio, finally able to look for the bathroom. I speed-walked through the hallway, past some doors, finally found the restrooms and shoved the Women's door open. SWEET RELIEF!!! After I finished my business, I washed my hands and fixed up my hair (I'm obsessed with it!) and headed out. I went back the way I came, only this time a bit more slowly and observed my surroundings.

I walked a little ways and found a door slightly ajar. I stopped in front of it and stared at it, trying to get a glimpse of what was inside without looking nosy. I moved my head to the left and right and squinted, trying to get a good view. I failed.

"Screw it," I muttered and went to peer inside. I opened the door a little wider and had to stifle a gasp. There was all this medical equipment; from a surgery table and scalpers to small towels for soaking up blood. Basically it looked like a hospital's O.R. I stepped inside--curiosity exploding in my brain--and looked around the room.

Why would they need all this stuff?

I poked around the room and saw that the surgeon's table hadn't been used recently, but there were some towels stained with blood around the floor. I gingerly kicked those aside and explored a bit more, every step I took sending shivers of wonder--and more surprisingly fear--down my spine. I walked over to the surgeon's table, just to take a peek, and saw that there was a small square-like tin bowl in the center. I scrutinized it for a second, then peeked at what was in it.

I peered inside the bowl and found a pair of Silicon breast implants.

Breast implants? Why would they...? That's when I saw them...I actually had to do a double-take, but they were there. Inside each implant there were two small packets in plastic bags. Drugs. They looked like crack...but they were more of a crystalline-type substance. Each one just sitting in there. I suddenly remembered what Chen whispered to Ken on the day the second van disappeared.

"5 and 2..."

Five girls must have disappeared....and two must have had breast implants. The same ones that I was looking at right now with small drug packets inside. I suddenly felt sick to my stomach...like I was going to vomit. I hurriedly took a few steps back from the surgeon's table and leaned up against the opposite wall, trying to calm myself. I was suddenly very afraid....and disgusted. I closed my eyes and took several deep breaths, trying to shake my sick feeling. Who exactly are these people that I'm working for?

"HEY!"

I shot my eyes open and looked at the entrance to see some guys in black suits standing in the doorway, looking more than a little pissed off that I was in here.

"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING IN HERE?!" The guy in the middle yelled at me, and he and the others started coming towards me, the intent in their eyes one of malice.

I was consumed by terror, and I instinctively started to back away until they were far enough away from the door so that I could make a clean get away, and I bolted out of there, my sneakers making little squeaking noises down the hall. (Looks like I won't be meeting the girls tomorrow). One guy tried to grab my purse, but I slipped my arm through the straps, leaving him holding it and continued to run. I didn't care about my purse; my cell phone was in my pocket anyway and I had left my wallet in a drawer in my hotel room. (Good thing I left it there today, cuz I was cursing myself before)

I ran out the studio and into the busy streets of Hong Kong, for once grateful that it was always wicked crowded. I ran into the busy streets filled with people, pushing and shoving them out of the way. I weaved in and out of street vendors and carts but I could still hear my pursuers following me and yelling at me to come back and not to run.

Yeah, right! Fuck that...

I jumped over a--rather small--fallen street cart, nearly tripped over a little boy(much to the dismay of his mother), and pushed myself to run even faster, frantically searching for any place where I could hide behind. My legs and chest burned and I was gasping for air, but I dared not rest, even though it felt as if my whole body was on fire. (I really need to do some more exercise) I looked to my right, and finally found a street vendor with a display that I hid behind, careful to conceal most of my body. I peered around the little stand, and quickly ducked behind as the guys ran past my hiding spot.

"Oh crap...oh crap, oh crap, oh crap, oh crap," I muttered. I looked up and saw a man staring down at me, obviously wondering what the hell I was doing hiding behind this display. He was wearing a grey hat, though I could see some of his grey hair, khaki pants, sneakers, and a grey and white buttoned-down striped shirt. Attempting to bring humor into my scary situation (I must be out of my damn mind!) I put on a nervous smile and waved. He just stared. (Yay for looking like a psychopath!) That's when my cell phone rang and I dug it out of my pocket and checked the caller-ID. It was one of the girls who tried to get me to hang out with them today. I figured, maybe they could help me so I answered.

"Yobuseyo?"

"I just called to make sure you were all right, and if you need anything," she said. "I'm sorry we tried to make you come with us, even though you were so tired..."

"Anniyo...it's fine. Um..listen...I actually need your help--" but I couldn't tell her anymore, because the guys who were chasing me came running back and I had to shut my phone. I took out the battery out just in case she called back and I really didn't want to blow my cover.

"Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit...." I muttered in Korean. "Watch your mouth," said the guy beside me...also in Korean. I looked up in surprise. Wasting no time, he looked to where my pursuers were headed, then kneeled beside me and took out his wallet and police badge. A police man?! All right! I'm saved!!

"My name is Detective Jang of the National Police Agency in Korea. You are being chased by the Triad who are involved in International kidnapping. If you listen to me, I can help you escape them," he said staring directly into my eyes. I looked at him for about a half of a second and agreed to let him help me, and the next thing I knew he grabbed my arm in a surprisingly firm grip and we were off running again this time being chased.

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I don't know how long we ran for, or where the hell we ended up, but I knew a couple miles and some weaving in and out of places later, we lost our chasers and I ended up on a little boat headed somewhere near the docks of Hong Kong. Detective Jang didn't ask me any questions, just sat quietly beside me as I sat, stone-faced and terrified. We stepped off the boat and Detective Jang paid the man, and he led me to a small little.....thing. It was like a small makeshift apartment type thing. Except the front door was like...the doors of a jail cell. He unlocked the door (it was padlocked! wtf?!) and led me inside...where I was splashed with a bucket of cold water from somewhere above me.

"OH WHAT THE FUCK?!" I screeched and looked up to see Hee-Jin, towering over me, the empty bucket in her hand. She and I stared at each other, stunned. She was standing on top of a rather large bed where four other girls sat, staring at me as I stared at them.

"Su-Jung?!" I exclaimed as I saw my friend. She shrieked and hopped off the bed towards me and gave me a hug, and started to weep. I looked at Detective Jang who was sitting in a chair beside the bed, next to a small closet on his cell phone. I took a better look around the room, and it was like a rather musty looking hotel room. (Who knew?) I stared at the other girls, none of whom were saying anything.

"What's going on?!" I asked. "You all were here the whole time?! What happened?!" Hee-Jin was the one who spoke up...and she looked pissed. "He took us!" she shouted at Detective Jang and pointed and accusing finger at him. "He took us from the parking lot, claiming that he's protecting us from kidnappers!! They didn't kidnap us; we chose to come here!! What? Now you think you can come back into my life and act like my protector?! I can't believe you would do this, Appa--interfere in my life when you haven't even been there for MOST OF IT!"

"A-Appa?" I stuttered looking from Hee-Jin to Detective Jang (Su-Jung was still weeping over my shoulder). "He's your dad?!"

"Ye! My stupid, alcoholic, father who's been sued multiple times and jailed and left me and my mother neck deep in debt!!" she shrieked, completely livid. One of the girls spoke up, finally, and said to me, "Sorry she splashed you with the water. That was supposed to be for her dad. We didn't know he would take you too."

"But I wasn't--he didn't--I was being chased!" I stuttered. Su-Jung finally released her hold on me and wiped her eyes. "What?!" she said. "I was!" I said, "By these guys that worked at the agency--"

"Bullshit!" cried Hee-Jin. "You worked there and why would they chase you!? He probably told you some cock and bull story to get you to come with him!!" She glared at her father who , by now, had shut his cell phone and had put his hat back on.

"Where are you going? Let us out of here!" shouted Hee-Jin. Her father ignored her, but I could see that it pained him to have her here like this. "I called the consulate, I am to meet with the representative, Sung Dong-Joon and Detective Kim at 3:30. I'll be back," he said. I looked at my watch...it was about 2:45, but I didn't know how long it took us to get here. He took one look last look at us, and left, securely padlocking us in.

"YA! WHERE THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE GOING?! LET US OUT!!" shrieked Hee-Jin as her father left. She stood on top of the bed for a moment, her feelings of anger so intense, I swear I could actually see it ooze out of her. Then she threw the bucket on the floor, growled, and sat down glaring at the floor. None of us said a word. I felt a mixture of emotions and I didn't trust myself to speak just yet, so I stayed quiet, but after a while, I started talking to the girls who were all as scared and confused as I was.

We waited for about an hour or two, when Detective Jang finally came back and this time got splashed with a fresh bucket of cold water.

"Lets us out," Hee-Jin demanded again. He ignored her and went to get a towel and wiped his face and another man followed close behind him, looking slightly displeased. My eyes widened and I gasped and my heart went a million miles per second.

"MR. SEXY?!!" I shrieked in surprise in English. He looked at me. He was wearing a close-fitted grey turtleneck, black slacks, shoes, and a leather jacket (OMG, TEH HOTNESS!). His hair, was once again sculpted marvelously with gel, but his turtleneck was slightly damp from sweat around the neck area, and I assumed he and Detective Jang had been chased as well. Mr. Sexy eyed me for a minute (I blushed....red) as if he didn't quite hear what I had just blurted out.

"What did you just call me?" he asked me....in English!

"Oh shit..." was my answer, and I quickly slapped my hand to my mouth and turned away.

"This is Detective Kim Il-Ju. He's now part of this little...operation," said Detective Jang. Oh great...Mr. Sexy is now Detective Kim Il-Ju and he speaks English!!! AND I JUST EMBARRASSED MYSELF IN FRONT OF HIM!!! FML!!!

Forbidden (Chapter 5)

Thank you my lovely commenters!! I am very glad you are liking the story!! NOW LET'S GET TO THE GOOD PART SHALL WE?! (though....the REALLY good part(s) come laaaterrr.....)


ps- because of the Goddamn Macs at my school, some of this chapter had to be rewritten from my memory....which is really bad, so i ended up rewriting the entire scene with Mi-Young and Kimi at the airport. -dies- all i have to say is....FUCK YOU MACS!! -sticks up middle fingers-



pps- In episode....i think 6 of H.I.T. the three guys who pick up Kimi, are really in the drama, they just don't have names....so, i'mma make them up. but i don't feel like making up names for all 3 of them, so i'm just gonna make up a name for one of them. cuz i'm a lazy ass like that.


ppps- this chapter was a BITCH to write, so I apologize if it gets boring at some points. On most of it my brain was, like running on empty, so I just typed whatever came into my head so I'm sorry if I put you to sleep. ^^;;

Chapter 5

I had been meeting Mr. Park and Su-Jung frequently to discuss more about the job and Hong Kong in general. During the time we took to prepare everything we needed, I noticed Mi-Young's family had been treating me somewhat different. No...I shouldn't say that; they had been treating me with the same love and respect as they had when I'd first shown up on their doorstep with my many bags and saying in broken Korean, "Thank you for inviting me into your home!" but I couldn't help but notice that the air between her family and I had changed.


For one thing, whenever they spoke to me it wasn't in the same way they had been talking to me before I had told them what was going on. It seemed like they were now treading on eggshells and always choosing their words carefully around me. Another would be the fact that they don't question my whereabouts anymore as they did before. Like this one time I planned to go meet with Su-Jung and Mr. Park in one of our many meetings about Hong Kong, and I had stayed out a little past curfew (about 15 minutes). I walked inside, apologizing for my tardiness and was expecting an "OMG, WHERE WERE YOU! WE WERE SO WORRIED!!" but what I got was an "At least you're home," from Mi-Young's father and an added, "Safely" from her mother.


So, yeah. I was feeling pretty down and ostracized. Just a little bit. (Note the sarcasm.) In order for me to not think about how differently I was treated now, I kept telling myself that the reason for their actions was because they were mentally preparing themselves for when I left them permanently for Hong Kong. At least....I hope they were....


Finally--after weeks and weeks of planning and preparing--the day came when I had to leave South Korea for Hong Kong. Mr. Park had gotten me a plane ticket for 10am Tuesday morning. Mi-Young had persuaded her parents to let her go to school late so she would be able to say good-bye and wish me luck, as her parents were willing to drive me to the airport. I was flying alone (again) and once I reached the Hong Kong International airport, I was to meet three representatives from the agency who would take me to the studio. There, I would meet Mr. Park, informing me on what to do and where I will be able to find a place to stay for the duration of my employment.


I have to say, driving with Mi-Young's family to the airport was very.....awkward. For one thing, her father didn't even say two words to me, and her mother attempted to try and make conversation with me, but it always failed one way or another. She would ask me questions that can be answered with one word and then we wouldn't speak for another 10 or 15 minutes. Mi-Young wasn't any well off either. She was very quiet on the car-ride and just stared out the window and didn't look at me. Well that just made me feel even more like a big pile of dog shit for my actions!! So, to pass the remainder of the very awkward car-ride, I dug out my iPod from my carry-on bag, stuck the earbuds in my ear, and pressed play. But even the sounds of my newly downloaded Super Junior mp3s did not make the empty feeling in my chest go away. (Damn you Super Junior! You're supposed to make everything better!! -uber sad face!-)


We arrived at the airport with plenty of time to spare, so I checked in my bag and went through the standard airport procedure (really annoying) and then hung out at my gate for a bit with Mi-Young and her family. They were still really quiet. So quiet, I couldn't stand it, so I told them I was going to go for a walk around the airport. It was, like, 9 so I had boatloads of time to kill....even if it was only an hour. I seriously wasn't expecting company, but Mi-Young decided to walk with me, and although I was hesitant at first because she seemed to be taking my leaving the hardest, I eventually let her keep me company.


We walked around and got some Airport!Starbucks (because every airport has a Starbucks) and then to a small Airport!convenience store and bought some gum. (What else is there to buy at an airport?) We walked around for a while, neither of us saying anything. I didn't say anything because I didn't know what to say, and I'm guessing Mi-Young didn't say anything because she was still pretty hurt by my leaving....and my lying to her. (Well, that makes me feel even more like dog shit!)


We walked around for another 10 minutes not saying anything to each other. We were about to turn around and go back to the gate when Mi-Young finally spoke up.


"I'm sorry I yelled at you," she said, not looking at me. I stopped sipping my Frappuccino, and stared at her for a long time. When she still refused to look at me, I opened my mouth to say something, but she suddenly cut me off.


"I'm also sorry about what my father said to you. If it were my decision, I would without question welcome you back home if things didn't work out for you in Hong Kong! You know I would!" she then looked up at me, tears threatening to fall from her eyes. I watched her, not knowing what to say. Then she started to cry, bringing me out of my momentary stupor, and I pulled her into a tight hug.


"Don't worry! It's not your fault, don't beat yourself up over it. And--God forbid--if I do fail, I know--had it been your decision--you would totally let me come back," I said as I hugged her. She cried even harder after I said that, which made me feel really awkward because I thought I was trying to make her feel better. Turns out my words had zero effect, though I continued to do everything in my power to try and make her feel better. I promised I would send her emails everyday, and call and let her know how I would be doing so she wouldn't have to worry too much about me. I released her and wiped tears from her eyes.


"Don't cry, I'll be fine. I promise," I told her, smiling, "I promise." I dug inside my pocket and handed some napkins to her so she could wipe her face, and she blew her nose. I made a joke about the sound her nose makes, and that made her laugh. God, it was good to see her perfect smile again!! Then out of nowhere she pulled me into a big hug!


"I'm going to miss you soo much!" she wailed. She hugged me tighter, as I awkwardly patted her back. I would have embraced her too....but she was sort of crushing me.


"Mi-Young...." I choked, "...you're crushing my lungs."


She immediately let go and I smiled at her. "I'll be all right," I repeated, "I swear."


"You'd better be. If not, I'll come get you and drag you back here," she threatened, grinning. I laughed and checked my watch; it was about 9:30 so we decided to head back to my gate, though we thought it would be fun to skip the rest of the way. That is...until airport security stopped us and told us to walk.


We made it back to the gate just as my plane was boarding. I gathered my carry-on bag and looked at my best friend and her family, and thanked them for everything they had done for me until now. I hugged Mi-Young's mother and father and told them that I would be safe and I will do my best with everything. I hugged my friend one last time and was surprised when she wiped tears from my eyes.


"Don't cry," she said, though I could already see tears welling up in her eyes again and her nose started to turn red. "I have absolute faith in you. Fighting!"


"Fighting!" I said and we hugged again. When the last boarding call came, I showed my ticket to the lady at the desk where she validated it. As I went through the tunnel I took one last look back at them all and waved.

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I arrived in Hong Kong, a really long 5 hours later, feeling extremely tired, groggy, and just *dead*. I descended the plane, went to the bathroom to wash my face and freshen up to the best of my ability, then proceeded to gather my belongings from customs. Once that was all cleared out of the way, I checked my passport and was about to sit down and rest for a while, when I saw 3 guys holding up a sign with my name on it. I raised a questionable eyebrow, but I went up to them anyway....ever so cautiously. They all looked like they were in their early 20's-ish; one was bald, the other had a buzz cut, and one was really cute with wavy hair cut neatly so it rested on his neck, and a very fine looking face. The all wore black suits....

"Um...excuse me," I said, timidly. They looked at me, then the cute one said in English, "Are you Kimi Holmes?" I nodded. He smiled, making my stomach perform loop-de-loops, and introduced himself and his colleagues to me and we bowed respectfully in greeting.

"Our employer, Mr. Park sent us. We are to bring you back to the studio where you can begin your work, and there you will be able to chat with him about housing accommodations," he continued and smiled again. He was no Mr. Sexy (God, that man's hot!) but he was cute so I smiled back and said thanks. They helped me with my bags, and I followed them out to their Studio Van, as they called it. I was expecting it to be shiny and black, but it was gray and boring. I climbed in and sat between the bald guy and the guy with the buzz cut (I forgot their names). The cute one, Chen, was driving.

We drove around the city, Chen occasionally making small talk with me, and I answered trying not to sound nervous. The other two just sat on either side of me, staring out the window and not saying anything at all and that kinda made me nervous anyway, so....either way, I still tried to sound like myself while Chen spoke to me.

We drove for about and hour and a half or so, when we finally made it to the studio, someplace near the docks; I heard steamboats and foghorns everywhere....and it smelled strongly of fish. Chen parked the car in the parking lot and they led me to the studio, already buzzing with the flashing of cameras and really bright, blinding, umbrella lights, and stage settings and whatnot. I looked around at the girls getting their pictures taken. They all wore expensive looking clothes and their hair was all done elaborately and they had makeup on, and they just looked AMAZING!

I supressed a sigh, and looked down at my jeans, sneakers, dark purple hoodie, and my bag. Glad I was working in the background, where no camera would ever capture me. I looked up and couldn't help but admire the girls....and also feel a tad bit jealous. Or maybe that was just the jetlag talking. Anyway, as the girls posed and the photographer shot, Chen and the other two guys told me to wait in the studio while they went to get Mr. Park. I nodded and continued my observing of the models and my surroundings, trying to take everything in. While in the middle of shooting one of the models, a girl came up to me and I recognized her as Su-Jung. When we saw each other we hugged and started talking.

"What are you doing in Hong Kong? I thought you were still in Korea," I said in Korean, glad to see a face I recognized.

"Oh no, I came back to shoot more of my portfolio! My plane left a few days before yours," she answered. "But hey, you made it! You're going to love working here, everyone's so nice. Come! I'll introduce you!" She took my arm and led me to a corner of the studio where a whole bunch of girls were clustered, either hanging out or waiting for their turn to be photographed.

"Everyone, I'd like you to meet Kimi," Su-Jung introduced me. She spoke in Korean, so I assumed most of them were from Korea. "She'll be working here from now on. She'll be helping the photographers with the equipment."

"Anyunghaseyo," I said sheepishly, bowing. They smiled and gave little bows in return and Su-Jung started ticking off their names. I got Hae-won, a girl with long hair wearing skinny jeans, gold metalic flats, an off-the-shoulder long-sleeved shirt and a black tank over it, Eun-Jung, another girl with long hair wearing a mini-skirt, heels, and a beaded halter, and some others whom I don't remember their names (bad, I know...) and finally to a girl named Hee-Jin. She had short hair cut to her ears, thigh length stockings and black heels, shorts, and a black and white shirt.

"It's such a shame you'd be working with the equipment," said Hae-won, "you have such a nice face!"

"And I like your hair," added Eun-Jung. My hair was in a ponytail, as usual, so I don't know what there was to like about it.....maybe she was just being nice. As for Hae-won...I think she needs glasses. She's prettier than I am!! But the others nodded in agreement anyway at what the two of them said. Uh-oh....

"Oh! Um...thank you, but....really, I'd much rather work behind the scenes. I'm not one for the spotlight, y'know? I tend to keep to myself..." I explained, feeling more than a little embarassed. They "aww"d and started telling me awhole bunch of other nice things, but I cut them off and told them I was quite happy with the job I had gotten and had no intention of changing it no matter what they told me. Su-Jung backed me up on my statement, then led me away.

"That's the girl I was telling you about back in Korea," she whispered when we were out of earshot of the girls. "Hee-Jin. She's the girl that doesn't like to talk about her parents."

Oh yeah...that girl; the one with the divorced parents and alcoholic dad who left her and her mother knee-deep in debt. I nodded and told her I remembered, but didn't want to pursue the subject as it was none of my business in the first place. She agreed and was about to introduce me to more people (omfg! there's MORE?!) when Chen and.....his people, I guess.....came back with Mr. Park. When he saw me, he shook my hand and smiled.

"Glad to see you made it in one piece," he said in English. "I trust you had a nice flight?"

"Yes. It was long, but enjoyable," I answered, also smiling.

"I'm glad. You must be exhausted, so I will discuss with you your hours and pay in my office, then Chen will drive you to a small hotel where you will be able to stay. It's cheap, but very nice, so I hope you will enjoy it there."

"Oh! Thank you, Mr. Park," I said, smiling. He nodded and gestured me to follow him to his office while Chen and the other two guys kinda chilled in the background. It took about 10-15 minutes for Mr. Park and I to discuss my hours and pay, which was good considering I was really getting tired and cranky because of my long-ass flight. By the 10 minute mark, I couldn't really care less about the words that were coming out of his mouth, and I just nodded my head, not hearing a thing. He must've noticed, because he cut the meeting short, and led me to where Chen and his dudes were, and the next thing I knew I was in Chen's car driving to this hotel that Mr. Park told them to take me to.

I checked in, they helped me drag my bags to my room, and told me that they'll pick me up at 9am tomorrow morning and to be ready. I nodded, thanked them and proceeded to place my bags haphazardly near my bed and then I just collapsed and went into a deep, deep, really welcoming sleep.

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Overall, my first day on the job went quite well and I started to get the hang of things by the second week. I had managed to stay well into the sidelines but every now and then I would stand and admire the girls getting their photos taken and gawk at how beautiful they looked. That happened one day while I was supposed to be moving some of the props into the back room. Hee-Jin was getting photographed today, wearing an elegant flowing red dress, the bright lights eluminating her and made her look almost angelic. I frowned and looked at my own attire, consisting of my denim mini skirt, black leggings with lace trim, sneakers, and orange hoodie. My hair, as usual, was placed in a ponytail. How boring.

I admired and envied Hee-Jin as I watched her pose one after another. I stood there, watching and was knocked out of my trance when Su-Jung stood next to me and said, "Ya~h, she looks beautiful doesn't she?"

"Huh?!" I stammered, just now noticing her. She grinned. "You've been staring at Hee-Jin for quite some time; you almost look envious."

"Me?! Psh. I'm not jealous," I stammered. She continued to grin, while I continued to get defensive. When she got tired of teasing me, both of us stared at Hee-Jin for another minute each not saying anything. "She really does look pretty; makes me feel plain," I ended up saying out loud. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Su-Jung nod and grin slyly. Then out of nowhere, she grabbed my arm and dragged me through the studio calling some of the other girls to follow her. Which they did. Oh crap...

"Hey! Where are we going?! Where are you taking me?! What are you going to do to me?" I yelled as she placed me in a chair and called some more people and the girls clustered around me.

"You'll see," replied Su-Jung. She called the hairdresser, and makeup artist and started barking orders at the other girls who started to look more and more excited and began helping too. They took out my ponytail and just told me to relax and not freak. That's when the scissors came out.

"Hey! Are you gonna cut my hair!! No way!!" I shrieked starting to panic and squirm in the chair. The girls pinned me down and assured me that everything's going be fine and they're only going cut my hair a little bit. 'A little bit?!' I haven't had a haircut since...ever!! I squirmed more in the chair trying to escape, but they held on and Su-Jung told me fiercely, "Kimi, if you keep moving, we're gonna cut your ear off!!!" That made me shut up and sit still. All right....fine. I'll give in. They win. I sat down and finally began to relax and tried not to cringe with each snip of hair that was cut.

I don't know how long they had me sit in that chair or what it was they were putting on my face or how well it was all going to come out. All I knew was that when that whole ordeal was over, I could not WAIT to get out of there and I immediately tried to escape, but they nailed me down in the chair again and spun me around to the mirror. I almost didn't recognize myself.

They had cut and layered my hair; it was now shoulder length, and they had put mascara and eyeliner on me. Light blush colored my cheeks and pink lipstick and gloss shined on my lips. I blinked and tousled my hair a bit and shook it out. It always managed to come back to somewhat of the same position. Su-Jung came up beside me and placed her face against mine smiling cheekily.

"See? You can look beautiful too," she told me. I smiled and said nothing. Then one of the girls said something and the others started squealing and then the next thing I knew I was being dragged onto the stage while Su-Jung asked Ken to take some snapshots of me. I started to decline, telling him that if he did, I would quit right then and there.

"Nonsense!" he said, grinning. "I'll just take a few shapshots of you, you look great! Did you girls do this?" They nodded and snickered at me while I stood awkwardly on stage, messing with my now cut hair. Ken started telling me how to pose and I did the best I could do, and he ended up taking probably 4 or 10.....or 20 (omfg!) photos.

"Are we done yet?" I asked, starting to feel even more awkward. "One more," said Su-Jung as Ken snapped the last photo. Then it was strictly business as Ken started telling the girls to get ready for the outdoor photoshoot that was scheduled for today. I quickly got off stage, more than a little relieved and started gathering equipment to be hauled to the photoshoot. Ken explained that we will be taking two vans, and I was to ride with the other equipment people and some girls in one, and the other models in another. I nodded and packed some things and a tripod and a whole lot of other photo-stuffs and went with the others to the parking lot.

Chen was driving again, making me feel quite happy and I found myself fluffing up my newly cut hair, and hoping that he will notice. He did and that made my heart flutter like thousands of hummingbirds high on crack, coffee, and opium (um...wow). He opened the door for me and helped me put the photography equipment in the trunk.

"You look nice. New haircut?" he asked. I blushed and nodded.

"Yeah....the girls ambushed me and got the hairdresser in on it and then Ken took some pictures of me. It was really embarassing."

"Aah...well, I'm sure the photos will look lovely." He winked at me and got in the drivers seat, leaving me gawking and blushing like an idiot. GODDAMN!! I got a hold of myself and smacked my face somewhat, mentally scolding myself for allowing this guy to make me feel this way. WHAT THE HELL?! I growled loudly, causing him to look out the window at me.

"Everything all right?" he asked, grinning.

"Yes! Yes, yes! Everything's ok, I'm just...uh...umm...err...." I stuttered like an idiot as he continued to grin at me. I fidgeted a bit and finally said, "Uh....I'm...uh...I"m just gonna go and see if there's anything else that needs to be taken to the photoshoot....kthanxbye!" I was about to run back to the studio, but the other workers had already brought everything and placed them into the van. I froze then turned back to Chen, who had a raised eyebrow and a smirk on his face.

"Yeah, I'm going in the van now," I stated and climbed in, digging my iPod out of my pocket. As the other workers sat beside me, and the other models in the seats behind us, I placed the earbuds in my ears and blasted Epik High (it was the first song that was up) as Chen drove off to the location while I thought to myself how much of a big RETARD I acted. DEAR GOD, WHY MUST I ACT LIKE A HUGE IDIOT IN FRONT OF HIM?! I NEED TO DIE!

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We got to the location just fine, and I helped the workers unload the stuff as the models got ready. Chen helped me with some and, in my haste to unpack everything, I accidentally brushed his hand as he and I both tried to get the tripod.

"Sorry! I-I didn't mean that," I stuttered, blushing. I put a lock of hair behind my ear, grabbed some other belongings, and dashed away from the van and Chen towards the other equipment people and started setting up. I could feel his eyes watching me, but I ignored that fact and tried to focus on my work....however hard that would be.

It was a bright day so that would make the shoot go by smoothly, I guessed, as I finished setting up everything and took my place beside the rest of the workers and out of sight. As everyone was setting up, I couldn't help but notice that only one van (mine) made it to the photo shoot. I looked around hoping to see it, thinking that maybe the driver took an alternative route or something....no van. I started to get anxious; Su-Jung was in that van, as well as the other girls and Hee-Jin. I darted over to Ken who was setting up his camera.

"Ken...the other van isn't here," I said nervously. He looked at me, alarm flashing across his face, and then at the surroundings, probably hoping that it would come any minute.

"Shit," he muttered and called Chen and his goons to come over and they started speaking in hushed voices in Chinese. The three of them then walked away from us and I saw Chen take out his cell phone and dial a number. I turned to Ken wondering what was going on.

"Don't worry about it," he told me. "Just do your job and we'll shoot the other girls for now. I'm sure they just persuaded the driver to take them someplace fun, like for a day off. They're still young, you know." He tried to reassure me, but I saw beads of sweat form on his brow and he stared intently at Chen and the others talking in the distance. Something wasn't right. Doing this meant everything to these girls...why would they just "persuade" the driver to take them somewhere else?

Chen came back to us and he started up with the Chinese again while Ken listened intently. He then presumed to ask a couple questions to which Chen answered "5" and "2." The photographer swore loudly, making me jump. In a low whisper Ken gave them orders and stared at them directly in each of their eyes and all three nodded, their expressions deadly serious. I heard a squealing of tires, and I turned to see three black cars come screeching to a halt and Chen and his cronies climbing in each one and speeding off into the distance.


I turned back to Ken to try and ask some more questions, but he told me to shut up and do my job. More pissed than offended, I did what I was told and went back to my little area with the other workers whom Ken had just called to gather around him, no doubt he was going to fill them in on what just happened. I stayed where I was watching the photo-shoot commence, trying to reassure myself that my friends will be found eventually safe and sound. But there was a nagging voice inside my head that was telling me otherwise.