Chapter 198 - A Chance to Escape

Ji Hyeon opened her eyes, hearing the sounds of footsteps echoing outside the container. Although it had been awful to get there the way she did, and all the fear that went through the first few days, it was the most certain chance she had of escaping in years.

The reasons why Dae Won brought her here were pretty obvious now, although they weren't at first. He was thinking about getting rid of Ji Hyeon, but he still didn't know how. And he thought about outsourcing the situation, pushing the problem to someone who sold his qualms and was already involved in the crime, when years before, he found a body to be cremated instead. It wouldn't be long before the chief of those men got tired of the situation of having a useless hostage, and decided to 'have a problem that needed drastic measures'. Dae Won's hypocritical and sick mind longed for something like this. At least that was what Ji Hyeon believed.

But, things have changed a little, leaning favorably to her side after all.

Thanks to loneliness.

There were three shift changes around her cell, which came with her meals. Normally she cleaned her cell each morning, under surveillance, and her jailer in the morning even allowed her to stay outside the container for a while, claiming that 'even prisoners need a yard time'. It wasn't a yard time in the strict sense, but she could stretch out and see a little natural light through the tall windows of the shed. The morning man was also the one who brought her clean clothes and sanitary pads and headache remedies. Ji Hyeon could see that he was obsessed with health and hygiene by the little she talked to him about.

The man in the afternoon did not speak to her or let her out, except when that was inevitable. He used to receive visitors and spend time watching sports or discussing stupid things, making a racket and causing the headache that Ji Hyeon cured with painkillers. 

The man of the night, Jake, did not receive visitors nor did he like to stay there.

One night through the door he asked whether she would like to watch TV, and thirsty for an opportunity to get out of the container, Ji Hyeon agreed. From that day, after a certain time, he would unlock her and they would spend some time chatting, watching the evening TV shows or playing cards.

Jae Ik, who was what they called him, had already been in prison, and also, in the lockdown, from what she understood from the conversations they had. And he was kind and patient, to the point that Ji Hyeon wondered why a man like that was associated with that gang and what crime he committed to having gone to jail. But she always preferred to keep matters neutral so as not to lose the perks she had. 

She intended to probe the possibility of making a deal. Jae Ik didn't want her dead, he had no interest in that. But he also didn't want to get into trouble with the rest of the gang, she was sure. But maybe Ji Hyeon could start to put the idea in Jae Ik's head that helping her escape or handing her whereabouts to the police would be quite financially advantageous for him. They could think about it together, since the only experience she had of it was watching movies.

She didn't want him to be harmed if he decided to help her. But also, Ji Hyeon was afraid to start the subject and be refuted and locked up. 'What to do?' For the past two nights, his thoughts had only revolved around that. But she felt inclined to try, even today, to introduce the subject. Ji Hyeon didn't know how much more time he had left in that container.

She couldn't wait too long.

That afternoon, however, the big boss himself had come here. She overheard his conversation to his men apprehensively. The place full of echoes didn't let her know if they were near or far from the container, but she managed to understand part of the conversation,

"... Prepare this corner here so that nothing will slip. The police are looking for her right now, and I want to make sure I don't have this on me," she recognized Hong Gi's cynical and unpleasant voice. The men started dragging things around and making comments and suggestions among themselves, while Ji Hyeon struggled to hear more of Hong Gi's voice. At one point, she heard him explode,

"Aishh that bastard isn't answering my calls, is he?! But I'll not get this on me, I'm not holding his hot potato anymore! Either he solves his problem or I'm going to blow him up!"

Ji Hyeon felt nauseous when she realized that her life was on the line again. She didn't know what was going on, but she had understood that the police were looking for her! What would be a relief, she discovered, only increased her tension. Then someone said,

"Boss, I just got a message from one of the guys. Apparently they are alive, but you will not like to hear. In fact, I don't even know how to interpret what is written ..."

"Speak up! What's wrong with interpreting? Where are those three and why did they disappear without warning? I was already starting to think it was a problem ...!" the boss replied angrily. The henchman started to read,

"'I'm not going back and I don't think the others are going either. The Pearl's hot singer is related to black magic, and last night we had proof of that. If you don't believe it, just think about why it is still there. This has always been inexplicable but now we know why. They are witches! Don't try to convince me. If coming back means staying close to Pearl, neither I nor the guys want to.' End."

During the reading, Ji Hyeon heard poorly contained laughter, and finally, they lose it. Hong Gi himself gave a dry, humorless laugh,

"Witches… That would explain a lot. I don't know what they're talking about, but I can't get rid of that damn Pearl no matter how hard I try!"

"But… doesn't the pretty chick have a good contract now? She has even done a farewell show!"

"Hmpf! Stopping to think, this is even worse. Now with money, that dumb woman might well want to finance that failed place and disrupt my plans. No. I need to be more incisive. And if she is a problem and if she is involved with magic, black or whatever..."

Ji Hyeon would normally have found it all very ridiculous, a gangster who is superstitious and who believes in witches. But that seemed to disturb him even more than her presence, so she could only think it was a good thing he was superstitious.

But after that, she was taken out of the container and placed in front of a cardboard wall. They didn't bother to hide their faces, and that was an awful sign, she assessed.

One of the men turned on a cell phone camera, and they started to record her. Ji Hyeon's heart raced and a thousand contradictory thoughts and theories came to her mind. She couldn't stay calm and tears started streaming down her face, even though she didn't dare open her mouth. Nobody said anything for the short time they shot it, and then with a wave from Hong Gi, she was taken and locked up again.

Ji Hyeon realized that they never imagined that she could hear their conversation when she was inside, no matter where they were.

"What are we going to do with this footage, boss?"

"This is my safe way out of this situation. If that insane playboy is not going to solve this mess, I'll fix it for him… But I want my guarantees to get out of it."

It wasn't possible to understand just what the gangster's plans were with just this piece of information, but Ji Hyeon at least realized that he had a little more time. She had to act fast.

Then, at night, when Jae Ik came to ask her to dinner in the mezzanine office, in front of the TV, she was determined to take the chance.

But Jae Ik surprised her when he placed the delivery package in front of Ji Hyeon and commented,

"You are the national affair today, Ji Hyeon."

"...!" it was shocking but at the same time, it made sense. It explained a lot. Jae Ik turned on the TV, and pointing at the device with the remote while chewing, shrugged,

"I didn't think the story was that brutal, girl. I didn't even know you were KIM JI HYEON. I mean, the dancer."

She stopped unpacking the food, looking at the screen. They're airing a retrospective of her life, and ended with the twist about her supposed death, involving her fiancé at the time, Dae Won as the main suspect. He had killed someone, but Ji Hyeon didn't pay any more attention. She turned to her friendly jailer,

"Jae Ik! Help me! My family can pay a reward! We can get everything arranged for you! Please help me! I know this is the critical moment!"

Jae Ik stared at her, swallowing the food in his mouth with difficulty. He seemed to reason about the possible outcome of this case and his role in all of this. Ji Hyeon took advantage of his thoughtful and uncertain expression to insist,

"You know you will never get rich here, living like this, but if you help me, I'll help you back! Just help me escape! Let's think about how to do this! Help me escape and my family will make you rich! I promise!"

At that very moment, her brother's face appeared on TV. Reporters surrounded Dr. Kim Jun Hyeon, at the door of some place that Ji Hyeon did not identify. He reinforced the information,

"Yes, it is true. There is a reward for the person who gives us concrete clues that lead us to my sister Ji Hyeon. I am sure that someone may have seen her recently, since according to witnesses she managed to escape once from her captivity. So I come forward to ask," he stared at the camera, "if you saw her, let us know. You will be rewarded."

Then the journalist reported the reward amount and the police phone number. Aside from the police number, Dr. Kim opened a call center for news from his sister. It was an absurdly tempting amount as a reward for information.

"Jae Ik! Be that person!" Ji Hyeon leaned towards him, pleading.