The Price of a Life

But while she could have found out more she ended up ruining things by being swayed by personal emotions.

‘You…… are you really confident?’

After answering so boldly.

Hae Su looked at the stream of water wetting the sink in a circle and then firmly pressed the faucet.

As the water that had been pouring out coolly stopped the sound of dripping water echoed faintly.

“Pathetic really.”

Hae Su brushed back her long hair and faced the mirror once more.

But at that moment.

“……Huh?”

Hae Su’s eyes widened as she saw her ear where the earring had disappeared.

She touched her empty earlobe late but it was a meaningless action.

She checked the bathroom stall she had just entered just in case but she could not find it.

It seemed the earring had fallen off when she was slapped by Lee Jacheong.

That meant it was either dropped somewhere in the room or broken.

It was one of the two.

Either way it was not a good situation.

If someone found the earring and the fact that a wiretap was inside was discovered it would not end with just a slap.

‘If a problem arises you must get out immediately. You know what happens if things go wrong…… right.’

Now that things had come to this she had to leave this place safely.

To promise a next time and to get another opportunity…….

Hae Su who took a deep breath while repeating that several times closed her eyes tightly once more.

Her mind was filled with the thought that it was an infiltration close to failure but there was nothing she could do.

“……”

She slowly opened her eyes and turned her steps.

When the dizzyingly high heels hit the floor a thin resonance echoed.

But the sound of the shoes did not last long and eventually faded.

It was because she was frozen after being captured by the cold gaze she encountered as soon as she left the bathroom.

The man was standing still as if he had been waiting for her.

The sound of his shoes ringing in a leisurely stride was heavy unlike her own.

As the distance narrowed Hae Su intentionally dropped her gaze.

It was a high-pressure gaze that she had no choice but to avoid even if she did not want to.

Eventually her body froze under the gaze that sank coldly and made it difficult even to catch her breath.

Goosebumps spread down her spine.

The man who had not even given her a proper look until just a few minutes ago stopped at a distance of less than a span.

Soon.

“……!”

He snatched her chin with his large hand.

Her red cheek was exposed to the light as her chin was forced upward.

The man scanned her face with a brilliant gaze that made it impossible to tell what he was thinking.

His eyes narrowed.

Before she could even grasp what this situation was.

“You were begging for your life…… and now this is it after barely escaping?”

A high-pressure voice mixed with mockery pierced her ears.

“Ugh.”

Hae Su unintentionally let out a groan as the stinging cheek and the burst inside of her mouth were stimulated.

Even so the man only looked at her with an indifferent expression.

Hae Su’s eyes wavered gently.

‘Pl, please save me.’

The dark gaze pouring down was not much different from six years ago.

Since the man spat out the words she had said exactly he seemed to remember the events of that day.

‘Run as far as you can.’

After hearing what he said she ran and survived like this.

And at this moment she felt that he was someone who would give her a chance again.

He was a person who knew a past she did not want anyone to find out.

If it was someone who knew Jo Hae Su the nineteen-year-old girl running away from the brothel he would never imagine that she had become a police officer now.

Her appearance now was completely different from usual.

Led by the Madam’s hand she was dressed from head to toe like a high-class prostitute.

It was an appearance that matched the nineteen-year-old Jo Hae Su he remembered so well.

Therefore she had to deceive him if she could.

“……Ah now…… I remember. Who you are.”

Even though she was certain he was the man who saved her six years ago as soon as she saw him.

She acted as if she only now recognized him.

Hae Su threw a question through her lips which were slightly parted by his force.

“We have met before right?”

At her slightly slurred pronunciation he spread a faint smile.

But it was only a moment before the bright face transformed.

The man who let the smile fade put strength into his grip.

Hae Su’s straight eyebrows contorted at the increasing pressure.

“Indeed. How ironic.”

As expected the man did not seem to doubt her.

It was like a curiosity about the young girl he had met in the past appearing here.

“You do not even recognize your savior…… how ungrateful.”

It was a tone so cold it was chilling.

Hae Su hurriedly lowered her eyes fearing that her expression would change due to her quickened heartbeat.

“I did not know I would meet you like this here.”

She had to act shamelessly.

Hae Su smiled faintly and opened her lips.

“Back then thank you. I was too busy running away to even say hello……”

With a refined and elegant voice she finally conveyed the gratitude she could not deliver before.

“Thanks to you I did not end up living a filthy life.”

This was sincere.

Though she really did not know she would be doing this.

But after hearing the answer he gave a short laugh.

It was a clear sneer.

“……Why are you laughing?”

“I was wondering if being like this here means it is not filthy.”

It was a remark that hit the mark.

For a moment her chest felt tight as if something were stuck and her fingertips turned cold but she maintained a shameless expression as if nothing were wrong.

“……It is better than selling my body in a brothel.”

She retorted as if a life serving alcohol to prestigious men was better than being a brothel prostitute giving up her night to men whose names ages and origins she did not know.

“……There is no helping it. This kind of thing is all I have seen and learned.”

The words she did not mean got caught in her throat a few times but they came out quite calmly.

The man did not speak further and just met her eyes silently.

Hae Su slightly moved her straight eyebrows and raised her hand.

She grabbed the large hand holding her face.

“I think I should go for today though.”

It was a statement mixed with the meaning that she could not stay here since she had even been slapped and that they should end this unwelcome reunion here.

He slightly raised one corner of his mouth.

“You are just going to go…….”

The moment the strength left the hand holding her face.

“……!”

Her thin wrist was caught by his other hand.

Hae Su who was pulled toward him looked up at him with wide eyes.

The grip tightening more and more reached the point where her fingertips felt numb.

However the man slowly arched his dark eyebrows with an expression full of leisure.

“I do not think that will work.”

“What?”

As soon as she threw the question Hae Su was pushed by him and ended up hitting the wall.

Thud!

Her face crumpled at the impact that carried the dull resonance.

“Ugh…….”

The man’s leg dug into the middle of her tight dress.

The weight on his solid thigh made her lower body feel stiff.

“Haa.”

Separately from the previous pain a shameful groan burst out of her mouth.

“What are you doing now…….”

As she looked up at him with wide eyes his dark gaze shot down at her.

Hae Su’s pupils shook slightly at the gaze that had the power to stop her words.

He smiled as if he liked her distorted expression.

“Did you not say you were grateful?”

At the same time a gaze that desperately craved something pierced into Hae Su.

Hae Su who was trapped helplessly in his rough and aggressive grip bit the inside of her lip which tasted of blood.

And she could soon grasp his bad intentions.

Hae Su etched a frown on her brow at the vivid sensation felt below.

Her shoulders flinched and trembled as his firm muscles stimulated the area near her genitals.

“If you are grateful you should pay it back.”

He spoke soothingly in a pleasant mid-range voice.

In contrast his eyes which were fixed obsessively were filled with excitement.

“The price of your life.”

A suffocatingly dangerous yet beautiful smile was drawn on the man’s lips once more.

The men she encountered every time she was in this state had the same purpose.

Though he had a good excuse like the price of her life he was a male who was not much different.

Hae Su looked directly at him.

It was enough to shake him off.

However a conversation that suddenly came to mind made it so she could not do that.

‘Ah is CEO Lee not married yet?’

‘Yes. I am still alone.’

‘This fellow…… he lives only for work. It is not fun at all to watch him.’

Lee Jacheong’s closest aide.

The person in charge who would take over the Busan casino business.

Although he was a new person with no information shared he was someone more closely related to this operation than anyone else.

Lee Doguk.

Perhaps the thought occurred that he might be helpful more than necessary.

‘If a problem arises you must get out immediately. You know what happens if things go wrong…… right.’

But if a chance still remained for her.

She also thought it would not be bad to take that chance.

Hae Su opened her lips which she had been biting tightly.

“How do you want me to pay it back?”