Her Uprising

Chapter 3 - Bring It On

I had no idea how long I sat on my couch not moving, just staring into the distance. Once again drowning in memories.

**** Flashback ****

"I better go now, saran'ah."
"What? No. Please stay", I pouted. Which made him chuckle.
"You know about the rules your dad set up. I better listen to him if I want to keep being your boyfriend." He put his lips on mine in a tender kiss.
"But you have to admit that his rules are ridiculous. We are both grown-ups but he wouldn't allow you to stay overnight."
"He's just worried."
"Stop defending him. Say it how it is. He doesn't want us to f*ck." Min-Jun laughed out loud.
"If he only knew", he said in a hoarse voice, throwing me a heated look.
"Stay the night and we'll give him a real reason to punish us", I purred, letting my hand wander down his chest.
"Tempting ..." Min-Jun leaned closer. I also leaned in, my eyes already closed and my lips parted in anticipation.
"Even more reason to leave", he stated. My eyes shot open, giving him an incredulous look.
"Are you serious?"
"Come on, saran'ah. Do you know what I'll have to face when he finds out? He'll make me guard the doors again, just as he finally started to send me out on minor jobs."
"I would appreciate if you wouldn't be so enthusiastic when it comes to working for my dad. Why do you want to move up in the ranks so bad?"
"Because I want to be good enough for you", he said in all earnesty. First I didn't know how to reply to that. Did he seriously think so little of himself?
I put my hand on his cheek, to turn his face towards me. "You are more than enough, jagiya. Even if you are only guarding the doors."
"But your dad doesn't think so."
"Shouldn't you care more about what I think?"
"Not if I want to marry you some day." The wind was knocked out of me by his confession.
"You want to marry me?", I asked, to which he only nodded. Then a crazy idea formed in my head. "Let's run away together."
"What?" Min-Jun released an incredulous laugh.
"I mean it. Let's run away. We can do whatever we want. No unnecessary curfews anymore. And we could get married when and however we want. You would only need to worry about my opinion anymore."
"You are crazy", he said, before pulling me into a searing kiss.
"Crazy for you, jagiya", I said inbetween kisses.
We were abruptly interrupted by a sharp knock on my door.
"Min-Jun! Boss wants to see you!"
"Shit", Min-Jun cursed under his breath.
"Relax. I bet it's nothing serious. And if it is? Then I'm gonna protect you."
"God, I love you."
"And I love you."
I wistfully looked after him as he disappeared through the door.

****

Suddenly I was startled by my doorbell and rapid knocking. That's when I noticed that it was already light outside.
"Su-Mi! Su-Mi, you there? Open up!"
"Na-Ri", I whispered and stiffly walked to the door.

As soon as I opened it, I was almost knocked out by the force of Na-Ri crashing into me. We just stood there for a couple minutes, hugging.
"Are you ok?", she said, after leaning away, so she could check if I was alright.
"Yes. Would you just relax a little? What is up with you?", I asked, irritated by her over caring.
"What is up with me? You called me out of the blue, asking for my help, sounding like you had a panic attack. But you're asking what's up with me?"
"Okay, I get it." She glared at me for a couple more moments, before releasing a sigh.
"Honey, could you make us some tea, please?", she asked.
"Sure", came the reply from beside me. As I turned my head, I looked into the worried face of Han-Seo.

I let go of Na-Ri to greet him with a hug.
"Hey, Su-Mi."
"I'm so sorry to interrupt your vacation. I didn't mean to", I began.
"Nonsense. It's okay to call if you need us. That's what friends are for", he put me at ease. "Now sit down, I'll bring you and Na-Ri some tea in a short while. Alright?"
"Thank you", I said with a little smile.
"Anytime."
"Now tell me what's wrong", Na-Ri demanded as soon as we were seated, forgotten was her little outburst mere minutes ago.
"Min-Jun found me", I informed her.
"Holy Moly! You serious?!", she yelled out.
"Shhh!", I hissed at her.
"We need to call Vincenzo ASAP!"
"No!" I stopped her from getting her phone. "I don't want anyone involved. It's already bad enough that I dragged you two into this mess. Also, no one here knows about my past", I admitted sheepishly.
Na-Ri's eyes got wide in shock. "Are you serious? We talked about this after ... you know." For the second time I was reminded of Han-Seok and again it left a aching feeling in my chest.
"I know. I just couldn't bring myself to do it yet. And what good would it do anyways?"
"Oh, I don't know? Maybe everyone would know how to protect you?"
"I don't need protection", I stated.
"Sure you don't", she retorted.
"What's going on?", Han-Seo asked, as he came over with the three mugs. Na-Ri looked at me a little while longer before spilling everything.
"You see, Min-Jun ist Su-Mi's ex-fiancé. But that is not the worst. Her dad is a Mafia Boss in Japan. They are a huge deal, just like the Cassanos in Italy. They are the Cassanos of Japan, if you will. I bet he sent Min-Jun to bring Su-Mi back home." She looked at me questioningly and I confirmed her suspicions with another nod. "Su-Mi was successfully hiding from him for years. But now it seems like he found her."
"Is that true?", Han-Seo asked with big eyes.
"Yes. Everything. But Min-Jun didn't just come here to take me back home. He wants to carry on with our wedding plans too. And the worst thing is: He knows everything. At least starting when Paolo sent me to Korea to keep an eye on Vincenzo. He knows all of you and he also knows who Vincenzo is. My father apparently gave him three months to persuade me to come back home."
"What happens when the three months are up?", Han-Seo asked tentatively.
"Min-Jun will probably force me. And he threatened to k*ll anyone who stood in his way. I'm worried about you guys. And Yeo-Sang", I voiced my concerns.
"I can imagine", Na-Ri said, rubbing my back while looking over at Han-Seo.
"But that means we have three months to come up with a plan to deceive him once again", Han-Seo said with an upbeat voice.
"I don't want anyone else involved."
"Well, we will promise to keep your secret as long as we can handle it ourselves."
"Right", Han-Seo agreed.
"It's time to pull yourself together, girl! You're Kim Su-Mi, for f*ck's sake!"
"Why are you yelling at me?"
"Never heard of prep talks? The yelling is kind of required. Right, hon?", she asked Han-Seo who eagerly nodded. "So stop panicking -"
"I am not panicking", I interrupted.
"Uhm, you kind of were on the phone though."
"Well ... That was just the initial schock. Now I'm myself again", I stated..
"Good. Because I want you to get your *ss up and be the k*lling machine that you are, baby! You can take that bastard!"
"Only if you stop yelling at me!", I yelled back. "But you are right. I am f*cking Kim Su-Mi. If Min-Jun thinks he has something on me, I say bring it."
"Yes! That's what I'm talking about. Bring it on, Min-Jun!"