RED STRING || 1

✔️ Chapter nineteen.

She shot up from the bed, her heart racing, a whirlwind of emotions churning within her. She began to pace back and forth, her fingers nervously biting at her nails, a habit she had tried countless times to break but found herself slipping into during moments of extreme anxiety. Each step felt heavier than the last, the weight of dread pressing down on her shoulders like an anchor dragging her deeper into the depths of despair.

“Where is my mother?!” The sharpness of Seulgi's voice cut through the silence, a cry of desperation that echoed off the walls of the dimly lit room. Irene, taken aback by the raw intensity of Seulgi’s tone, felt a jolt of worry surge through her veins. Instinctively, she rushed to Seulgi’s side, concern etched across her features, her heart aching for her friend.

In a swift motion, Seulgi pressed the record button on her phone, placing it on speaker so that the voice on the other end could be amplified, filling the room with an ominous tension.

“Oh, Mama Kang is here with baby Kang. They're gorgeous, too. Especially baby Kang. What’s her name?” The man’s voice dripped with a sickening sense of satisfaction and amusement, completely unaware that the child he spoke of was his own flesh and blood. He was the very embodiment of a monster, the rapist who had shattered Seulgi’s life, and now, in a horrific twist of fate, he had kidnapped both her mother and her daughter.

“Don’t you dare lay a finger on them, or I will burn you alive!” Seulgi’s voice trembled with fury, but beneath that rage lay a deep-rooted fear that threatened to engulf her entirely. Irene, watching her friend’s face pale, recognized the signs of a panic attack creeping in, memories from the past resurfacing with cruel clarity, triggering a visceral response within Seulgi.

“Oh, I won’t. But abide by my rules, and they’ll be left unharmed,” the man replied, his voice dripping with malice, a twisted sense of control that made the air around them feel thick and suffocating.

“What is it that you want? You want me? Go ahead. Just don’t motherfrigging hurt my daughter and my mother!” Seulgi’s words were laced with desperation, her mind racing as she tried to grasp at any semblance of hope.

He laughed, a chilling sound that sent shivers down Irene’s spine. His laughter was that of a deranged man, an echo of insanity that resonated through the phone line and into their very souls. “Come here. Alone. No cops, no guards, no one else. Just you. Bring ₩2,000,000,000 along with you, too.”

“Let me talk to my mom,” Seulgi insisted, her voice shaking with urgency.

“Clock’s ticking. I’ll text you the address,” he replied, his tone dismissive, before abruptly hanging up, leaving a suffocating silence in his wake. Seulgi sighed heavily, the weight of the world pressing down on her as Irene instinctively moved closer, her hand resting gently on Seulgi's back, providing the only comfort she could in that moment.

“Why can’t I ever have peace?” Seulgi whispered, her voice barely above a murmur, a lament that resonated with the struggles she had faced over the years. Irene rubbed her back soothingly, her heart aching for her friend’s plight. In a swift motion, she pulled out her phone, her fingers trembling as she contacted her father and the Baes, desperate for help.

Her father’s voice came through the line, steady and reassuring. He promised to send over the best security team and insisted on accompanying them to search for Seulgi’s mother and daughter. But Seulgi, filled with a fierce determination born of maternal instinct, bravely declined his offer. “Just as I promised that criminal, ₩2,000,000,000 and myself will be enough to get my daughter and mother back,” she declared, her voice firm despite the fear swirling within her.

Irene’s heart raced with concern; she knew the risks involved. “But Seulgi, it’s dangerous! We need a backup plan, just in case!” she urged, her voice filled with worry.