Pursuit Of Fate

Chapter 9

Standing opposite the cafe, he leaned forward with his arms comfortably resting on the metal railing and took a puff. He exhaled a cloud of smoke, observing her every single movement.

He watched her as she went out of the cafe with a window swiper in one hand and a spray bottle of cleaner in the other hand. He stubbed out his half burnt cigarette and walked acrossed the road to the cafe.

Seong Im sprayed the cleaner onto the window and placed it on the floor. She positioned the window swiper against the surface of window and dragged it downwards.

As she bent down to pick up the spray bottle, he grabbed her by the arm and pulled her to a side, away from the cafe. "Who are-" she stopped short of finishing her sentence after looking at his face.

"Ahjumma, remember what you promised us? It has already been a month and our boss is expecting something from you." Dong Hoon took off his shades and stared at her.

"I can't leave now. I still need to close the cafe." Seong Im replied and hurriedly walked off. Dong Hoon stretched his arm out and pressed his hand firmly against the wall. He blocked her from walking any further.

"I'm giving you two options. One, I'll drag you to the van. Or two, you can walk to the van by yourself. Choose one." he threatened with a smirk on his face.

Seong Im rolled her eyes and let out a defeated sigh. "Fine. I'll walk there but at least let me inform my colleague that I got to leave."

"Sure." his eyes followed her everywhere as she brought the cleaning items back into the cafe. He watched her as she spoke to her colleague and came out after five minutes.

"Where is the van?"

Dong Hoon pointed at black van just across the road. He stood behind her as they walked to prevent her from running away. He opened the side door and instructed her to get in which she unwillingly did.

"Where is the other guy?" Seong Im asked upon seeing only Jong kook in the van.

"You shouldn't be worrying about that now. " he scoffed and told Dong Hoon to drive off.

The van was bumping up and down as Dong Hoon drove over the little stones scattered along the dirt path. He drove a little farther down and pulled over at the front of a two storey cabin house. Jong Kook held on to Seong Im's arm tightly as they alighted from the van. It was uncomfortable. The more she struggled, the tighter his grip was. "Stop fidgeting and just walk." Jong Kook instructed.

"This isn't the place I was brought to a month ago." Seong Im mumbled as she looked around at the surrounding. It was eerie. The woods were just directly behind the building and all that could be heard were the loud chirping sound of the crickets. She spotted Hee Gun sitting at the front door. Probably to keep a lookout, she thought.

"Hyung-nim is waiting inside. In the room at the second storey." Hee Gun stubbed out his cigarette in the ash tray and informed them. He glanced at Seong Im as she walked past him. Following them from behind, they entered the brightly lit and well-furnished house. Hee Gun led the way to the room. He knocked on the door twice and entered, informing the boss that Jong Kook and Dong Hoon had arrived and were waiting outside. Suk Jin was sitting comfortably on the single couch with his legs propped up on the coffee table. He nodded his head in acknowledgement and gave them the permission to enter.

"Ah.. The pretty lady is here. Take a seat." Suk Jin offered as she entered. Seong Im and the three guys sat down at once. Suk Jin glared at his men. "Not the three of you. Only the lady."

The three men bowed and got up immediately. They stood behind the couch where Seong Im was seated at. "So let's get straight to the point, shall we?" he looked at her with a smile on his face. "Where's the money?"

Seong Im unzipped her bag and rummaged through it. She took out a piece of paper that was folded and slid it across the table to him. He looked at her with a skeptic face and picked up the paper. His brows shot up as he unfolded it. "Are you kidding me? $5000?" He threw the cheque on the table and looked at her.

"That's all that I have." she pleaded for an extension but Suk Jin was not going to allow it.

"We had a deal. If you managed to pay the full amount, you're free to go. But since you didn't managed to, then you have to listen and do whatever that I told you." he reminded her. Seong Im bit her lips and stared at the floor. She let out a deep breathe and lifted her head.

"So what do you want me to do?" she asked.

Suk Jin grabbed the cheque on the table and leaned forward. With a smirk on his face, he lowered his voice slightly. "It's simple. I'll pay for your clothes and your living expenses. In return, you just have to be my woman to pay off your debts. " He slid his hand down her arm. Her smooth skin. Hee Gun tried stepping forward only to have Jong Kook stopping him with his hand grabbing onto his arm. Hee Gun could only looked on as Suk Jin continued to touch her.

"I can't." She stood up with her arms crossed and her hands pinching her inner arms.

"That was not an option. It was an instruction." He forcefully pulled her back to the couch and held her face with his hand. "Listen. I'm not a very patient man. For every hour that you spend with me, I will deduct ten dollars from your debt. Well, if you provide some services, of course I will deduct even more. But if you dare to do anything funny, I can't guarantee what will happen to your pretty little face." He released his grip and stood up.

"This house will be our meeting place. My men will pick you up from the café once you're done with your work. And regarding your extra job at the convenience store, I've already settled it. You don't have to report to work anymore."

"You can't do that! You can't control my life!" Seong Im stood up and shouted.

Suk Jin turned around and walked towards her. "We had a deal, young lady." he smirked and walked out of the room with his men following behind. They bowed as their boss drives off, only lifting their heads when he was out of sight. "What were you trying to do just now?" Jong Kook stared at Hee Gun and questioned.

Hee Gun kept quiet and looked away. He was fuming with anger but he couldn't show it. "Just stay out of it. Getting blacklisted by the boss won't be a good thing." Jong Kook warned and went back into the house to get Seong Im. They were tasked to send her back to her house safely.