The Black Rose

Chapter Eighteen

After making sure that the others weren't following her with a gaze, Minzy ran towards the direction where she saw Seung Hyun and the other man went to. She needed to ask him a lot of questions that she knew Jenny would have also asked. As she made a turn to the corner of the street where she saw the two men enter, she slowed down to a halt. The two men were standing in the middle of the street. Seung Hyun was coughing continuously while the other man was patting his back, coaxing him to walk a little more towards a black car parked several feet away. Minzy walked silently yet hurriedly towards the two struggling men. She then blocked their path.

"Seung Hyun...," she called out to the coughing man in front of her whose head was lowered and covered with a black coat. She needed to make sure if he was really the person she saw earlier. The man slowly looked up at her. Minzy's eyes grew wide as she finally confirmed who he was. "Min... zy...," he said in between coughs. "Miss, I'm sorry but I need to take him home now," interrupted the middle-aged man who had been holding Seung Hyun for support. Minzy looked at the man questioningly. "You see miss, it's getting colder and he cannot be exposed to the cold evening air for a long time because he starts to cough continuously. I need to get him to the car now," he explained. Minzy did not move. "I have a lot of questions for my friend here and I need the answers... now," she said a bit sternly. "But miss..."

"It's okay Mr. Chung. Just... let her... inside... the car," said Seung Hyun in between coughs. Minzy then decided to help Mr. Chung walk Seung Hyun to the car.

Just as they got inside, Seung Hyun's coughing started to subside. Mr. Chung started the car and was about to drive off when Seung Hyun suddenly spoke, "Mr. Chung, just drive around the area. The others will be wondering about Minzy if we take her with us." Minzy looked at him, and then at Mr. Chung. Surely, the others will be wondering where she had been if she took a long time to come back, but she had a lot of questions for him. Mr. Chung drove off just as Minzy started to fire off her questions at Seung Hyun. 

"How long have you known we're here in Korea?" asked Minzy sternly.

"Not that long," answered Seung Hyun simply, now fully recovered from the sudden coughing fit he experienced earlier.

"When?" she asked, a little irritated.

Seung Hyun didn't want to lie to her but he can't exactly tell her the truth either. Because he knew that once he tells her something, she'll just come up with more questions. "I happened to be in Hongdae when I accidentally bumped into Bom," he answered, choosing his words wisely. Minzy didn't like the simplicity of Seung Hyun's answers. She needed detailed answers and she was starting to get aggravated. She carefully thought about what he said and tried to remember if she happened to chance upon a man in a gray hoodie lurking somewhere near during the times they were in Hongdae, but she could not think of such instances. Suddenly, she remembered that first day they went to Hongdae. "Did you say 'bumped'?" asked Minzy, confirming what she heard from him earlier. Seung Hyun nodded. "So, that was why Jenny was lying on the pavement when we saw her from afar. Good thing she didn't see you," she said aloud. It was just then that Seung Hyun realized that Minzy was with Jenny during that time but as to why she didn't see him help her friend, he was not sure. He decided to keep this information to himself. 

There was a minute of silence, but Minzy broke it by asking more questions. "So, from that day onwards, you've been spying on us? Do you follow us everyday? Why the hell are you doing this in the first place?!" asked Minzy without pause, her voice growing louder and fiercer. "You left her! You left her just like that!" shouted Minzy, hatred now taking over. She slapped Seung Hyun hard in the face. "That's for my bestfriend," she said sternly. Mr. Chung looked at the rear view mirror and saw sadness and hurt paint across his boss' face. 

Seung Hyun did not move. He just let her finish her ranting. He waited patiently for her to calm down before talking to her. "I'm sorry," said Seung Hyun sincerely without looking at her. "Sorry?! That's all you can say?!" challenged Minzy. Seung Hyun looked at the rear view mirror and caught Mr. Chung's eyes. He then gave him a quick shake of his head and Seung Hyun understood.

"The others might already be wondering where you are. You've been gone long enough. Where were you headed anyway?" he asked Minzy, abruptly changing the topic. Minzy looked at her watch and saw that she was indeed taking longer than usual. The convenience store was not that far from the pojangmacha so she should be on her way back now. She could see that they were already nearing the street they came from earlier. "Could you just please drop me at the place where you were parked earlier?" she asked Mr. Chung. "Are you sure you don't want to be dropped off at your destination instead?" suggested Mr. Chung, glancing at her once. "No need. Thank you," she said. She then turned towards Seung Hyun and handed him her phone. He looked at it quizzically. "Punch in your number. We're not finished yet," instructed Minzy. Seung Hyun reached for the phone and typed in his number. As much as he wanted to never cross paths with Minzy again, he was already cornered.

The car finally came to a stop. Just as Minzy opened the door, Seung Hyun suddenly spoke. "Please don't tell Bom about our encounter," he pleaded. She paused, one foot already set outside, and looked at him sternly. "You're still hoping I would tell her? Not in a million years," she said. Minzy then came out of the car. But before she could close the door she gave Seung Hyun one last look and warned him, "Make sure you'll answer your phone when I call you."