CHAPTER 46………………………………………..
“It’ll be uncomfortable, but please bear with it.”
The servant opened the car trunk. A blanket had been laid out inside beforehand. Yeong-in nodded and put her legs into the trunk.
Even though they were moving at night, someone from the mansion might see the car, so they had decided it was safest for her to hide in the trunk.
By curling herself up, she barely managed to fit inside. It was cramped, and her body ached all over, but this wasn’t the time to complain.
After one last look at Yeong-in, the servant closed the trunk.
The outside world was swallowed by darkness. Now she couldn’t get out until they arrived.
She had shut herself inside a small trunk in order to escape the mansion. Was this really the right choice? The question gnawed at her, but the car was already moving.
The engine’s growl reached her. The car jolted over a stone, and her body lifted and slammed back down against the trunk floor.
Her ribs and shoulders hurt, but she didn’t make a sound. Even the smallest gasp felt like it might awaken Choi Hyun-ha back at the mansion.
Yeong-in pressed her cheek to the trunk floor. The vibration of the car passed through her skin. The wheels rolled, the engine turned. The mansion was getting farther and farther away.
What would Hyun-ha do to her father when he returned?
Relief at finally escaping the mansion was quickly replaced by thoughts of her father. Guilt huddled with her in the darkness.
She told herself to focus only on running away—for now, that was all she could do. She steadied her thoughts the way she always had.
A thin ray of moonlight slipped through the gap in the trunk and sliced across her face like a razor.
If her father knew what she had decided today—would he forgive her?
She wanted to believe he would, that he’d only wish for his daughter’s safety, no matter what. But deep down, she knew he wouldn’t.
The car jolted again. Yeong-in closed her eyes, tossed about like a piece of luggage in the trunk.
*
She was trapped in a narrow darkness.
There was nowhere to go—except toward the piano before her. In the dim light, Yeong-in stared at it.
A spotlight flicked on. Only the space around the piano was illuminated. Yeong-in sat on the piano bench. Her limbs moved on their own, like a puppet being controlled.
Play.
The conductor inside her head commanded. Yeong-in’s fingers brushed the keys. Clear tones sounded. Play. The order repeated.
Someone grabbed her arms from behind, binding them. She couldn’t move freely. Play. Keep playing. She tried to obey despite the pressure, but then—the piano lid came crashing down.
Crunch.
Her finger bones bent in unnatural directions.
Everything broke apart—
“Miss!”
The call reached her faintly. It wasn’t the same voice that had spoken inside her head. Yeong-in’s upper body shot upright.
The servant, who had been leaning over her, flinched back.
“Gasp—haa, haa…”
Her breath came in ragged bursts, as if she’d been running for her life. She clutched her throbbing fingers.
“Are you all right? You screamed—I thought something terrible had happened!”
The servant spoke carefully. Yeong-in touched her throat. It hurt. Even swallowing was difficult.
“I… screamed?”
“You were shouting loud enough for the whole world to hear. It’s lucky there weren’t any cars nearby. I stepped on the gas—didn’t want anyone to notice.”
From what he said, it seemed she had lost consciousness and screamed inside the trunk. If a passing driver or police officer had heard, things could’ve gone very wrong. Yeong-in wiped the cold sweat from her neck.
“I’m sorry. I had a nightmare.”
“Must’ve been rough in the trunk, huh?”
The servant watched her cautiously.
Yeong-in shook her head weakly. Being in the trunk hadn’t been harder than being trapped in the mansion.
It had been so long since she’d woken from a dream that she’d almost forgotten what nightmares felt like. Lately, she’d only blacked out after exhausting herself with Hyun-ha. A bitter smile crossed her lips.
Finally free from Hyun-ha, only to reunite with nightmares. Still—better to suffer in dreams than in reality.
As soon as she stepped out of the trunk, Yeong-in clutched her leg and stopped. Cramped so long, it had seized up. Her muscles ached as though she’d been worked over all night by Hyun-ha himself.
Before she’d climbed in, it had been pitch-black; now the sky was tinged with dawn. The sun hadn’t yet risen, and everything was still dim.
Around the stopped car stood a single dilapidated rectangular building, a field overgrown with weeds, and low hills behind. Unlike the mansion, there was hardly a soul in sight.
“May I make one phone call?”
Yeong-in asked.
“To where?”
The servant, already nervous, looked at her with sharp suspicion.
“Don’t worry. I’m not calling the police—we agreed about that.”
They’d already decided the police were out of the question. Choi Hyun-ha would never be punished; she’d only be revealing her own location.
“I just need to call somewhere. Just once.”
“No. Not with my phone.”
He bit his lip, hesitated, then shook his head.
“We can’t leave a record.”
He tried to soften the refusal, but Yeong-in hardly heard him. She’d known he might say no.
“I understand. Thank you—for helping me this far.”
“So, who did you want to call? A friend?”
Yeong-in simply shook her head. She didn’t want to explain—and she didn’t know what to call him anyway.
“This is your uncle’s old warehouse, right?”
She remembered hearing about it when they’d made the plan. The building ahead really did look like a worn-out warehouse. Beside it were traces of an old greenhouse, long abandoned.
“There’s really no one around here?”
“Not unless you go far off that way. Behind us is mountain, and the town’s miles away.”
Even though they’d already gone over this at the mansion, the servant repeated it patiently, stealing anxious glances at her.
“You’re not feeling unwell, are you? Let’s go inside and talk.”
The warehouse’s shabby exterior didn’t promise much better inside. It certainly wasn’t built for hiding or housing anyone.
The plan was to stay here for a while, then move again. But seeing it now, Yeong-in realized—without a license or help, she couldn’t go anywhere alone.
It was unlikely to be a trap Hyun-ha had set. His temperament didn’t fit with letting her get this far from the mansion.
“That’s the entrance?”
Ah. Yeong-in froze mid-step. Through the dusty warehouse window, she saw the faint outline of a person.
Someone else was inside. Someone the servant hadn’t mentioned.
He didn’t seem to notice—too busy watching her. That was lucky.
“My leg’s cramped—from the trunk, and I can’t breathe well. Could you wait a moment?”
Pretending to tie her shoelace, she hid her alarm.
She’d hoped she was wrong. But bad premonitions had a way of being right.
The loosened laces tightened. That meant she had one chance. She wondered if she’d remembered the number correctly—she’d soon find out.
After double-knotting her shoes, Yeong-in stood. Her gaze flicked, almost unconsciously, toward the mountain.
“What was your name again?”
“Pardon?”
“It’s strange that I don’t even know the name of the person helping me. Please tell me.”
The servant’s mouth twitched—an odd reaction to a simple question. Seeing it, Yeong-in swallowed a sigh.
He knows what he’s doing is wrong.
It wasn’t unexpected, but it still tasted bitter.
“Over there, inside—”
“Huh?”
She redirected his attention. He turned his head fully toward the warehouse, also focused on whatever was inside.
The grip on his handbag loosened.
Yeong-in didn’t waste the moment—she snatched it and ran.
Like a pickpocket bolting with stolen goods, she clutched the bag and sprinted with everything she had.
Her destination: the mountain behind the warehouse. The path was nothing like the tended woods near the mansion. There were no trails, no steps—just wild earth. Her foot struck a rock; she almost cried out but bit it back.
“Miss! Miss!”
His voice chased her from behind, but she kept running. When she glanced back, there was no one yet in sight.
Deciding she’d gained enough distance, she ducked behind a tree and opened the handbag. Only a few items inside.
Some odds and ends. A wallet. And a cellphone.
Now came the real problem.
She took out the phone. Using a simple pattern she’d memorized from before, she unlocked it, opened the dial pad, and pressed the numbers one by one.
The ringing began. She gripped the phone tightly, praying.
The endless tone finally broke—and the voice she’d been waiting for answered. Yeong-in spoke urgently.
“Please help me.”
*
Choi Hyun-ha’s eyelids fluttered open. His long black lashes cast a shadow as dark as his pupils.
It had been a long time since he’d slept so deeply. The rest had been deliciously sweet.
He had paid the price for it, of course.
“Uh, sir… We’ve looked everywhere, but we can’t find her. She’s nowhere near the mansion.”
