Chapter 238 - Masquerade (5): The Last Few Hours

KJ's heart skipped a beat. He held his breath, trying to calm himself down. But his insides were boiling like a volcano about to erupt.

"Where is she?" he whispered, barely containing his rage. 

"Very close yet very far," Junhyun smirked. "It's already been over an hour since I've kidnapped her. My guests must be enjoying her right at this moment." 

He could feel KJ's helplessness. The man who stood so tall and mighty over him all these years. It was time for him to fall. 

The others watched in worry as KJ's eyes burned in a wild anger. Something in him snapped and someone will pay with blood. Otherwise the whole country will burn. 

"If anything happens to her-" 

"You're too late," Junhyung stated. "You lost. Kwon Jiwon. Now go and see if you can save the last pieces of hers."

He hung up the phone. KJ stared at it blankly. 

"KJ?" Hyun Jung shook his shoulder but there was no response.

"KJ?" he called out again. 

"Find Mirae," he said in a hollow tone. There was something wrong. Hyun Jung knew that expression all too well. It was the same robotic KJ he saw after Sung Sohee's death. Had something happened to Mirae? 

"Find her!" KJ yelled at them. Startled by his outburst, the others scattered around once again. KJ darted upstairs. 

Please be alright, he begged. His heart was bleeding. Already an hour had passed. If Junhyung had done something to her, he would never be able to forgive himself. This was supposed to be their second chance. This was not how it should end. 

KJ went from room to room, barging in wherever he could. 

"Mirae!" he burst into one room only to find a producer and a new actress n.a.k.e.d on the bed. Shocked by the intrusion, they yelled and cursed at him but he did not care. 

KJ frantically looked around but she was not on the second floor. He climbed up to the third floor. 

"Mirae!" he yelled. His eyes were red as despair caught up to him. He was helpless. Horrible thoughts were playing in his mind and the state she was in. He was too late then. He was too late now. Nothing had changed in all these years. The changing of timelines could not change their fates. Their relationship was always doomed. 

He clutched his hair as his heart rate increased rapidly. He could hardly breathe as his panic attack was triggered once more. It was his first attack since his coma and his hands were getting clammy. Everything was spinning around him. He tried to stay calm but his mind was projecting torturous images of what happened to Mirae. He fell on the ground, his vision almost blurry. 

"KJ?" a voice called out to him. 

Dimly, he saw a tall figure in a blue gown approaching him. Stooping down, his dark eyes met a pair of green ones. 

The green eyes were the last thing he was before completely blacking out. 

…. 

KJ opened his eyes. A familiar ceiling hovered above him. His head felt heavy. He scanned around and realized that he was back in his bedroom. 

What happened? He wondered. 

As if answering his question, the memories of the party rushed into his head. Mirae! Junhyung has kidnapped her! 

"Mirae!" he bellowed, getting up. I must save her. 

His arm was attached with an IV drip. He was about to get the needle off when a pair of hands grabbed his wrist. 

"What the hell are you doing?" a familiar voice scolded him. The voice brought him to his senses. He looked up to see Mirae standing in front of him, unscathed. 

"M-Mirae?" 

Mirae was about to scold him for being reckless when he pulled her into a tight hug. 

"You're safe," he said in relief. "You're alright!" 

"Of course I am!" she said crossly. "You're the one who needs attention now!" 

She pulled back, glaring at him. "Why did you get so panicked?" she questioned him. "What happened?" 

"Junhyung," KJ replied. Now even he was confused. Was it all a bad dream? "Junhyung called and told me that he kidnapped you! And his men were…" 

He could not finish the sentence. Even the thought of it made his blood boil. "We looked for you everywhere and couldn't find you!" 

"Junhyung?" she frowned. "I was on the third floor. I thought I saw you going there but before I could reach out, I was approached by Soyeon. Song Tamlin's daughter. She wanted to talk to me. I was feeling a little tipsy from the drink, so she gave me some medicines to sober up. She even helped me to meet with Song Tamlin. I was with them in their upstairs study." 

KJ was puzzled. "Why didn't you pick up your phone?" he demanded. 

"My purse was missing from my gown's pocket!" she exclaimed. "It had my regular phone in it. Thank god, I had left my secret phone at home. That one had a lot of confidential information. The one which got stolen was new and didn't have anything in it." 

Her words made KJ even more confused. 

"Then why did Junhyung tell me that he had you kidnapped?" he pondered. "It makes no sense at all…"

His words made Mirae feel unsettled. Was he lying to mess with KJ? That seemed unlikely since he would not gain anything from such an elaborate prank. 

"Wait, you said you saw me going upstairs?" KJ pointed out. "When?" 

"I was at the table where you left me," she recounted. "When I saw you heading upstairs. I thought something might have happened, so I followed you." 

Realization hit KJ. Mirae was lured upstairs before he had arrived with the others. But instead of falling into Junhyung's trap, by sheer luck, she was summoned by Soyeon. 

"You scared me," she admitted. "When I saw you on the ground… I was so scared." 

Her voice was shaky. The sight of KJ, lying unconscious was haunting her. Thankfully, his medicines were in his pocket and she was able to shove some in his mouth before Song Tamlin called a doctor. The doctor checked him and advised complete bed rest for KJ for a week. Afterwards, Song Tamlin arranged for them to be escorted home. 

She leaned over to give him a light kiss. "Don't ever scare me like that again." 

It felt as if the memories of the past few hours had been erased as the couple were lost into each other's eyes. 

"I won't," he promised, embracing her with all his heart. 

…. 

Junhyung was walking towards the VIP room, feeling victorious. KJ was finally defeated. 

"My guests must be done with her by now," he said to himself. "Maybe I can enjoy a little as well…" 

He opened the door. 

"Alright gentlemen let's-" 

He froze. Ash was calmly sitting on the bed, smiling at him. It was a sinister smile. His face was spotted with sticky red liquid and his white shirt was bloodstained. But it was nothing compared to the sight of the room. 

It was a massacre. Six men lay on the floor, dead as blood oozed out of them. All of them were shot dead. 

Ash raised his gun, pointing it towards Junhyung. 

"Hi Jun," he smiled. It was a cold, dangerous smile. "Partying without me?" 

"Ash, what is the meaning of this?" Junhyung demanded. 

"Oh this?" Ash asked, feigning innocence. "Just a little teaser of what happens when you go against my orders."

"Where is she?" Junhyung asked. "Jung Mirae?" 

"Home," Ash shrugged. "Wanna know what happened to your little plan?" 

He stood up, stepping towards Junhyung slowly like a limping zombie. 

"My spies in your group told me of your little plan," he revealed. "So I made my own plans. I stole Mirae's purse while I was dancing with her so that when KJ would try to contact her, he wouldn't reach her. That way, you'll be deluded into thinking that your plan was working." 

Junhyung glared at him in fury. 

"And then, the server you sent with the spiked drink," Ash went on. "Was my spy. He exchanged the drinks when he got the chance. Mirae was a bad drunk so she'd get tipsy anyway. So when you lured her upstairs, she was instead called upon by Song Tamlin's daughter. Meanwhile, the server made another woman drink the wine. She was wearing a dress similar to Mirae's and we put a silver mask over her face. When you were shown the unconscious woman, you didn't even check. Because you're so arrogant that you thought you'd win."

"But I let you think you were winning. After putting that woman in another room, I snuck up here and…well you can see." 

He pointed at the corpses around him. Junhyung was stunned at his actions. 

"You saved her?" he spat at Ash. "Don't tell me you actually feel something for her?" 

"The game is fun with her around," Ash said slowly. He pointed the gun at Junhyung's forehead. "So don't ever try to pull something like this again. If you do..." 

He pressed the gun harder. Junhyung was sweating as his eyes brimmed with fear. 

"I will reveal your little affair with Nida to the President," Ash threatened. "So don't ever work behind my back again. Understand?" 

Junhyung gulped and slowly nodded. Ash pushed him away and exited the room. 

As he was leaving, Song Tamlin came out of the shadows. 

"Should you really let him go?" Tamlin asked lazily. "He'll betray you." 

"He's a coward," Ash scoffed. "He has too much to lose. I only care about one thing." 

He turned around to face Tamlin, a manic grin etched on his face. Tamlin looked warily at him, knowing that Ash had already crossed the line of no return. 

"My birthright," he stated.