Alliance

XXVIII

Before she got taken...

Victoria Agosti

It was afternoon when I woke up from my peaceful nap. Since it's only mid-afternoon, I have a lot of spare time to kill. I guess I'll pamper myself with a full-body massage, and after that, I'll buy another gift for my boyfriend.

Damn. It feels good to hear he's mine.

Out of nowhere, my stomach grumbled, and I immediately held on to it. I let out a sigh and a light chuckle. "I guess I'll eat before I pamper myself."

I dressed myself up and covered my face with a face mask and baseball cap before leaving the suite room. I'm not familiar with my surroundings, so I took a small map of the hotel that Joshua gave me earlier.

The map contains directions for where I should go, and it also shows some nearby stores around the hotel. Feeling skeptical about where to go, my stomach complains once again. "Fine, we're eating," I muttered.

The whole afternoon of pampering myself is now done. My body felt nice and light. I have nothing to do now except buy Jeonghan another gift.

I'm outside the hotel, strolling the sidewalk while gazing at some stores. As I strolled down the sidewalk, my eyes finally caught something to buy.

A bright flower shop caught my attention. A certain flower display reminds me of him. I didn't hesitate to walk towards the shop and grab a bouquet of lisianthus.

A woman who seems young, maybe in her 20s, approaches me. She looks cute in her white dress with a brown apron.

She spoke in Korean, which I do not understand.

I apologize to her for saying I don't speak and understand Korean. She quickly nodded her head, saying that she seemed to understand what I said.

"I'm sorry, I said. Do you like those lisianthus flowers?" She asked with a smile. Her English was fluent, which surprised me and, at the same time, relieved me.

"Yes, I like them! Remind me of him!" I chuckle somehow as I talk about Jeonghan. "How much is this?" I asked immediately.

"A 100k won, maam," she answered, to which I quickly took my card and gave it to her.

"You must really like him to do it," she said, staring into conversation with me as she did her thing. "Lisianthus here in Korea means 'Everlasting Love.' Giving it to someone must be so special," she said, giving me the card back.

I chuckled and excitedly nodded my head. "I do really like him. I hope we last long, just like you said."

"Well, fortunately, my shop is like a charm. You two will last," she said, beaming her grin. "By the way, would you also like to write a short note?"

I nodded my head. The lady grabbed something and went back with a pen and card. "Here, you can write anything you want."

Behind my mask, I'm smiling widely. I grabbed the pen and wrote something.

'I miss you and I love you so much, mon amour. Surprise <3'

-V.S

With that, I give back the note and pen. "By the way, someone will pick up the flower later. Is that okay?"

"Of course! They can pick it up later," she enthusiastically said, which made my heart warm.

"Thank you!" With that, I left the shop and texted Joshua about the flower.

Now that I brought something for Jeonghan, I want to buy something again.

What should I buy next?

In the middle of my stroll, I just realized the sun was about to set. The skies are bright orange and pink. The skies are also clear; there is no sign of rain today.

I hope everything will go well today.

However, today will not go as I want. Out of nowhere, a van stopped in front of me and aggressively opened its door, showing that a bunch of men had shown up.

I quickly guarded myself. As soon as one of the guys tried to hold me, I quickly kicked him in the gut, causing him to kneel down and hold on to his crotch.

Another man tried to hold me, but before he could, I knocked him down. I continue to fight them, but I'm getting tired, which they see as an opportunity.

I tried to keep up my stance, but I felt a hard thing hit my head, causing my body to collapse on the floor and my vision to get blurry. Slowly, as my vision starts to get dark, so does my consciousness.

....