Chapter 16
I wanted to disappear.
A hand clamped around my wrist, yanking me upright.
“Stay still,” someone snapped.
My face burned with humiliation. It felt like I had been trampled—like I was covered in dirt, like I’d been stepped on.
“N-no…”
I tried to explain, to say I wasn’t a runaway.
But the moment I opened my mouth, the stares hardened.
Gazes like knives.
If eyes had teeth, they would have eaten me alive.
“Thank you! Thank you, everyone!”
A grateful voice rang out.
An elderly couple—the housekeeper and driver from Eun Sol’s parents’ home—were approaching with smiles.
The crowd parted for them like a scene from a nightmare. Some people slowly returned to their seats, but others stayed to watch.
And behind them, sipping a carbonated drink with infuriating calm expression, was Jin Eun-sol.
He watched me like this wasn’t his business at all.
I felt sick.
That indifference—
That look—
It sent my thoughts spiraling.
Why won’t you just let me go?
Bile rose in my throat. My chest heaved.
Without thinking, I bit the wrist holding mine. Hard.
“Agh!”
The man recoiled, and I tore myself free.
I dashed into the gap in the crowd and sprinted again.
People gasped.
Some pointed.
Others simply stared, stunned, as I shoved through the door and burst outside once more.
Down the stairs.
Into the parking lot.
Cars honked as they came and went. The voices behind me grew fainter, but my fear didn’t.
Because I knew—somewhere behind me, Jin Eun-sol was still watching.
Watching with that cold, perfect stillness.
I didn’t stop.
I ran.
Back the way I came.
As I reached the platform, the Busan-bound bus was just starting its engine.
The deep growl of the motor felt like salvation.
I stumbled onto the bus, panting and disheveled.
“Oh my, you scared me,” the driver said, glancing back with concern. “I would’ve waited. You didn’t need to rush like that.”
“Please—please just go. Sir, please!”
My voice cracked, desperate.
The driver looked hesitant.
I could barely breathe. It felt like time was dragging, like I was stuck underwater.
He looked toward the station, maybe to check if someone was following me.
No one.
No one was there.
But I couldn’t trust it.
I couldn’t feel safe.
“Sir, please! Hurry!”
“Calm down,” he said gently. “We can’t start unless the young lady is seated.”
“Y-yes. Okay. Yes, I’ll sit. I’ll sit down.”
I stumbled into the nearest seat. I could feel everyone’s eyes on me, but I didn’t care.
The doors closed with a soft hiss.
The engine roared louder.
And finally, the bus moved.
That was when the tears came.
Hot, helpless sobs.
Tears that had been waiting to fall.
My eyes burned with the weight of it all.
I didn’t get caught.
I didn’t get caught.
“What the heck!”
Then it happened.
The bus, which had just begun to pull away, screeched to a sudden halt.
The driver cursed loudly.
Without a seatbelt, my body lurched forward. My face slammed into the seat in front of me. Pain exploded across my nose. My head spun.
Outside, the driver was shouting—furious.
Everyone leaned toward the windows, craning their necks.
I clutched my aching forehead and peeked into the aisle.
There it was.
A black car.
Blocked diagonally in front of the bus.
My stomach dropped.
I knew that model.
I knew that color.
Too well.
“Ah…”
The bus driver stormed out, still yelling.
And then—the black car door opened.
No.
No.
A pair of legs stepped out slowly, deliberately. I ducked, shrinking into my seat, heart slamming against my ribs.
It’s him. Jin Eun-sol.
My whole body trembled. My vision blurred with fear.
Please, please, no.
The argument outside escalated. Angry voices rising, overlapping. I shut my eyes and prayed.
And then—
“AHHHHH!”
Agonizing pain tore through my scalp.
Someone was ripping my hair out.
My head yanked back so hard it twisted awkwardly. I instinctively reached back—and felt a large, strong hand gripping a fistful of my hair.
I was pulled upright.
And there he was.
Jin Eun-sol. Standing right in front of me.
Before I could speak, scream, run—he turned and began dragging me down the aisle like I was nothing more than luggage.
“Ah—ugh—it hurts!”
“It hurts because you’re moving,” he said flatly, yanking harder.
Gasps erupted from the other passengers.
I saw people halfway rising from their seats.
Help me.
Someone, please—
But no one moved.
No one came.
I was being hauled like an animal—my scalp screaming, my legs stumbling behind me.
Outside, the driver had given up fighting.
He took the money.
And returned to the bus.
That final betrayal burned more than the pain.
Then—
I was shoved into the back seat of the car. My body folded awkwardly over itself.
The grip on my hair loosened. My head slumped forward.
Jin Eun-sol climbed in beside me a moment later.
“Song.”
The order was cold, like he was telling the stereo to play.
He brushed back his hair, yawning like none of this had required effort.
Then he looked down at me—crumpled, shaking on the floor of the car—and smirked.
“Noona, you actually look better down there.”
And just like that—
I was home.
Not in the main house.
But in the separate building.
It was a place where they sent things they didn’t want anyone else to see.
