"Taehyung, what are you doing? You're going to get shot!"
"So you do care about me."
The very second he turns to say that, the gun goes off and he makes a run for it. Haneul starts wailing, Taehyung is on his knees clutching his side and I'm in shoc...
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chapter forty-nine: the deal
"LET ME GET this straight," Taehyung says, uncrossing his arms. "You're going back to Sicheng? What for?"
"He's the only one left that I can use to help me get the notebook back."
"Aera, no. What did I tell you about the notebook? Even I, the rightful owner don't desire it as much as everyone else. Why? Because I know the sort of things that happen when you do. I've seen people die-"
"Yes, I know. But this might be our last and only chance to do this right. If I get my hands on the notebook, I'll finally know why people want it so bad. Then, if it's worth it, I'll destroy it."
He laughs. "Do you not realise the uproar you'll cause if you destroy that thing? It'll be the next Purgatory-gone-Purge."
"Maybe it's worth doing that then. Let them do whatever they need to do to console themselves. At least we'd be getting ourselves out of this once and for all."
I say those words with the intent of providing some sort of comfort to his troubled mind but I seem to have made things worse.
"What's wrong?" I ask. "Don't you want to leave?"
"I do, Aera, I do. But you know how the saying goes. It's gonna sound cheesy, but it's true. You live by the sword, you die by the sword. I'll never truly be 'out of it'. There's always gonna be some 'last man standing'. I mean, you're family, for instance. We could never take them out."
"We can figure something out."
"You don't get it, do you?" He says. "They'll track you down. Somehow, they'll always get it done. They will find us and eventually they will kill us."
My eyes inevitably cite our son.
"Well, what do we do? As much as I want Haneul to have a father, he can't have one with that sort of background, no offence."
"Well, there's only one way we can go about this. While I can't fully be out of this, I can promise you our son won't even see to this at eye level."
"Taehyung, that's great and all. But I still don't hear the disappearance of that damn notebook in that equation."
"I just don't get why the notebook has to be involved at all."
I stand abruptly and grab my car keys as I walk toward the exit. "Whether you like it or not, I'm getting my hands on that notebook. Look after the baby."
-
I never thought I'd ever have to visit this place, especially under this circumstance, but here I am.
BSB is your typical corporate building. Tall. Bland. Bricks, of course. Glass windows, obviously. Nothing too special.
