Her Point of View
"You're not unlucky, hija. You were just born in a cruel world." Señor Miguel stated, his gaze full of empathy.
"I escaped from Eve and Samuel's house after six months. I never dared to go to another orphanage so I gave myself to the streets. I experienced every kind of hunger and poverty. I would eat off of leftovers in the garbage while I was looking for a place to work." I paused, picturing the past in my head. "That's when I met Diego. At first I thought I was being brought to a job interview as a maid, but it was far more different from a mere job interview."
"Hello, there." A mischievous voice spoke behind me. I looked back and saw a man with a perfectly styles hair and sharp facial features.
I looked at him, full of doubt.
"Hi. I'm Eight. I'm here for the job interview." I innocently uttered. I wouldn't deny that I was a bit intimidated by his appearance.
He looked like he was a couple years older than me. He was probably 18 or 19.
He let out a chuckle. "There's no job interview."
I started to feel uncomfortable. The fact that there were also 5 men in the room made me more uneasy.
"I know you're not Eight. You're Yang Haera, daughter of Yang Do Yoon."
"What do you want from me?"
"Uh-uh." He said, shaking his head. "You're the one who needs me."
I frowned.
"You see, I hate my father. I fucking hate El Señor so much. He wants me to do this, do that, do every fucking thing. He sends me out to different missions like his own pup dog." He looked at me directly in the eye. He looked crazy to me. "I'm getting tired of him and his missions. So, I told my men to look for you and bring you to me in disguise of a job interview."
"I don't understand."
"You need money, right? I have been monitoring you and I have seen you eating leftovers from a garbage. First of all, that's disgusting. And second, I want you to work for me."
"What?"
"You'll be my ghost assassin. You will be doing every mission that my father will task me. I'll pay you 85,000 dollars monthly."
My eyes grew in shock.
That's a big amount of money. I can save up for myself.
But to be working for the son of my family's killer...?
Can I really stomach that?
"Why me?"
"You're the best child assassin out there. I'd give that to you. Your age makes you look innocent, and that's your advantage."
"Why would I work for the son of my family's killer?"
"Oh, come on." He sassed out. "I literally just told you that I fucking despise my own father. I'd even kill him if I had the chance to. And besides, I'll also give you a house, a car, whatever you need. Just kill who needs to be killed. And kidnap who needs to be kidnapped."
I stayed silent.
"Decide now. You don't have all day. You still need to save yourself from poverty."
"So, what did you do? Did you accept it?" Señor Miguel looked like he was full of curiosity.
"Yes. Diego was the reason why I was able to fend for myself for six years." I paused. "As much as he made me live, I just can't thank that son of a bitch. He made me kill innocent people. And I can't forgive myself until now."
"You had to survive." The señor gently said.
I simply nodded.
"We'll make him pay." A very familiar voice spoke from behind me. My heart skipped a beat when I realized Jeno was listening.
"How long have you been there?" I asked turning my wheel chair towards him.
"He heard everything. I could see him getting red out of anger from my position." Señor Miguel slightly chuckled.
Jeno walked towards me. "Now that's the version that I wanted to hear before."
I realized that he was talking about the time when I lied to him about my past.
"Are you mad?" I asked, looking away.
"Why would I be? That was your only option before." Jeno said.
I didn't know why, but for some reason it gave me reassurance that no matter how shitty and fucked up I am as a person, Jeno will always be there by my side.
"It's time to forgive yourself for all the things you had to do to survive, hija. We'll always be here to support you." Another voice spoke but it was not from Señor Miguel.
I looked at the owner of the voice. "You were listening too?" My eyes grew in shock.
Señor Carlo laughed. "Well, I wouldn't be an assassin if I wasn't good at eavesdropping."
I rolled my eyes at the two, sneaky men in front of me.
I was laughing when I suddenly remembered Jaehyun.
"Señor Miguel," I suddenly called. "Do you think Jaehyun meant what he did to me?" It was a stupid question. I felt like a lost kid who already knew the answer but was still hoping for an answer that I wanted.
"What made you ask that?" He questioned.
"It's..." I stopped. I couldn't find the right words to explain how I felt. "It's just that... It's so hard to let everything that he did sink in. I can't accept it."
"I know how it feels to be betrayed by a close friend. He had his reasons why he did that to you, but it doesn't justify the fact that he put your life in danger. Jaehyun is not a friend if he could bear to see you struggling with your life. So, to answer your question, yes, he meant that. He planned everything just so he could have his revenge." Señor Miguel straightforwardly answered.
What he said struck my heart with a pang of pain.
But Señor Miguel is right. It's time for me to accept that I could never bring back what was gone.
I can never bring back our friendship again.
The Jaehyun I once knew was already gone when he decided to betray me.
It's time to let go.
