You & Me [KARD FF] ✔

Chapter Fifteen: Part Two

"I did it..."

Jiwoo pulled her wrist out of his grip and stopped walking.

"What?"

"I called the ambulance that night in Sokcho..."

She felt the same uneasy feeling in her stomach every time she heard that wicked word.

"When...?", her throat tightened only thinking about the mess she left behind, but Matthew seemed to understand what the rest of her question would be.

"As soon as you confessed, actually. That motel was the only object in kilometers so I tested my luck and found out that only guests besides us were... was your husband. You left the door unlocked and made it even easier, and there he was - lying on the floor as pale as flour with low pulse. I have to say, wonderful work. No blood, no weapons. Just empty bottle of wine, combined with so much medicine... He's a reserved man, soon-to-be CEO. Everyone would think he tried to kill himself because of depression buried behind a fake smile. They would feel sorry for a while and then forget him. Who would even think of a homicide? That is, of course, if there were no other person's fingerprints in the room..."

Matthew noticed her lower lip trembling as she looked away, clearly uncomfortable with all the information he was revealing.

"That's why you wanted to go to the airport, right? Aware of the fact that you're going to be discovered sooner or later, your plan was to escape, get rid of the past, maybe even change your name and citizenship if needed... And time was the key."

Her eyes filled with tears and she sat down on the nearest bench, pictures from that day rushing through her head yet again.

"But that key locked your destiny's door instead of opening them for you", he finished, sitting down next to her.

Jiwoo allowed a gasp escape her throat, but it didn't make the tightness any easier. If anything, the urge to cry was only bigger. She concentrates on her own heartbeats, trying to calm down and reply as coldly as possible.

But what could she say? How does a lawyer defend accused when all evidence speaks against him?

"Was it fun? Having that same key in your hands and locking that door for me?"

Matthew raised his eyebrows, already losing his nerves. Who does she take him for? He promised not to lose his mind because of her, but she turned out to be more stubborn than he thought. His tone was bittersweet.

"You could've called a cab. I don't understand why you stayed when you should've left as soon as he arrived at the hospital."

That was a very reasonable explanation. She could've taken the money without her mother's notice and just made her way to the airport. No fuss, no explanations, no regrets.

But the guilt was killing her ever since she saw her mother in pain.

"I made a promise", Jiwoo admits, lowering her voice. Her gaze was fixed to the horizon, but her soul was stuck in time. She was reviving painful memories again, and somehow she felt they weren't going to leave her alone soon.

"What promise?"

"I promised my mother to stay by Taehyung's side. I owed him that much..."

After asking her to get a divorce, Na Seo Hee remembered the big pact they made with Kim's and started begging her not to leave, saying her disappearance won't hurt only her, but her whole family, and even their business. Her brother who was studying in Europe would stop receiving his scholarship from her in-laws and everything they worked on for over three decades would fall like house made of cards.

Jiwoo owed nothing to her husband. Just an explanation that he was going to question even more once he's out of the hospital. She had to prepare even more deceptions and make them seem realistic.

At the same time, Jiwoo wanted to tell him full truth and try to start over. To be free to tell him how much she loved him, even though it took her two years to develop romantic feelings. They've been through so much together that life without him at this point seems illogical, empty. Just like her heart.

Matthew sighed deeply and opened front camera on his phone, offering it to her. Jiwoo was confused but accepted. She was surprised to see tiny teardrops falling down her cheeks - she didn't even see them.

Blonde hurriedly cleaned her face, sniffing a little. She thanked him and got up, ready to leave, but Matthew grabbed her hand, looking up at her.

"When can I meet you again?", he asks hopefully as Jiwoo tries to figure him out by staring deeply in night-dark eyes. There was something mysterious about this man, but she didn't know what. Whatever it was, felt attracted to it.

She had to shake such thoughts out of her head, as they made her uncomfortable and confused.

"I doubt that's going to happen", she claimed confidently, even though she was trying to convince herself more than him. He was like a tip of the knife that she's buried in her husband's back and that tip could easily hurt him again if Matthew was to speak to Taehyung as a witness.

"I believe otherwise, Miss Jeon. You never know what future holds", he replied and gripped her hand significantly.

Smirk faded away as he watched her back becoming a dot out of his reach. The meeting left him with a bittersweet feeling. She was everything he never liked in women: stubborn, abstained, too confident, sassy, blonde...

She clearly never thought bad about herself, nor she's dealt with people like him. That could either make his plan go completely downhill or ten times easier.

You don't even know how many times I'll see you again, Jeon Jiwoo, Matthew thinks, picking up his phone after two rings. It was Devin, one of Kevin's closest friends and most devoted workers. Somin often referred to him as Devil's right hand.

"Hello?", he speaks tiredly, expecting usual information about deliveries.

"We recently received information that you left States without anyone's knowledge...", the voice on the other side replies without significant introduction. Matthew rolled his eyes, speaking like they're some kind of cult annoyed him.

He thought about things he'd do when he gets his hand on that snitch, Jack.

"It was kind of urgent. Besides, I was free for the weekend," he explains calmly.

"Kevin is very angry with you, Big M", Devin didn't bother listening to him - as always.

Tell Kevin he can go fuck himself, he thought but dared not to say out loud.

"Tell Kevin to talk to me himself next time he wants me to take him seriously."

There was a sigh on the other side.

"You know how he is about technology. You wanna talk to him, knock on his door."

After the police caught their previous leader by spying on his phone conversations, Kevin was paranoid about any kind of technological devices that allowed him to communicate on distance. He spent most of his free time in Las Vegas and Los Angeles, so Matthew knew paying him a visit would only be a waste of time.

"Expect his visit soon..."

Devin hung up.

Great, Matthew thought. In Kevin's case, the visit was just an announcement never specified by time. It could be one hour from now or two weeks from the moment one receives the call.

That's when it hit him.

Somin.

"Shit!", he curses, running as fast as he could to the place where he parked his car half an hour ago.