The clouds parted separately as the early dawn was breaking through a sunrise. Little birds began to warble beside her, then a hand was gently placed on top of her shoulder, nudging her to wake up.
"Miss?" A voice called out.
Valerie slightly grunted when she fluttered her eyelids open. Her vision started to become clear and wrinkled her eyebrows in astoundment. She jolted and slammed her hands on the bench. "Sorry! I must've fallen asleep."
"Yeah, I kind of worried you may be drunk," the guy answered, frowning.
"No, no. I didn't drink or got lost. Thank you, though for waking me up," Valerie smiled with a faint laugh.
"No problem," the guy gave her a curt nod.
What time is it?" Valerie wondered.
"7:00 am," he said, checking his watch on his wrist.
Valerie nodded and shrugged her hands out. She slipped her arms through her blazer and stood up.
"You stayed here all night. Did something happen?" The guy became curious.
"Hmm, but I'm fine, actually. I just needed to take a breather," Valerie chuckled casually.
The guy nodded in understanding and smiled warmly at her. "Well, I hope everything is going smoothly for you. I got to go. It was nice meeting you!"
"Thanks again. Bye!" Valerie waved at him, who did the same and went for a run.
She sighed as she brushed her hair and left Hangang Park. Strolling over the sidewalk as she traveled all the way to Myeongdong street while she was looking through her phone. Then, she bumped into a tall figure in startlement. Both of them backed away as they examined one another. Her jaw dropped in awe, saying. "Lee Joon Gi?!"
"Valerie Nown?!" He uttered shockingly.
"I can't believe you're here!" Valerie said.
"Yes, I am. In fact, I'm on my way to have breakfast," Lee Joon Gi chuckled as he rubbed the back of his head.
Valerie looked at him with a nod and pointed out jokingly. "Ah. I see. You got to get that energy, right?"
"Haha. Of course. Would you care to join me?" Lee Joon Gi asked politely.
Valerie gaped her mouth for a moment, then approved happily. "I'd love to."
"Great. Let's get going," Lee Joon Gi grinned in delight.
They continued to walk side by side and passed through the stopping lights. Once they settled at the Racoon cafe, they ordered heavy breakfast meals on the square rounded table.
Lee Joon Gi was chewing on the last piece of his toasted butter bread and drank a cup of his coffee. Valerie, on the other hand, was munching on the crackers as she was staring down distractedly on her plate.
"I heard you were on the news and it seems you've been trending lately. The famous Valerie Nown, eh?" He stated, smirking coolly.
She simply snorted and replied back. "I wouldn't bet on it."
Lee Joon Gi chuckled a bit in amusement, saying. "I'm just teasing, you know. Every celebrity has gone through those experiences, especially the paparazzi, the rumors, scandals, and the list continues. Needless to say, my fans speculate I'm dating my co-star from the upcoming movie I'm working on and I denied that rumor to be a false claim. It's not easy for celebrities to be famous since everyone knows who they are. Luckily for me, I'm on a low profile right now."
"I see that," Valerie nodded, pointing towards his cap, and asked blankly. "So what movie are you filming?"
"Never Said Goodbye 2," Lee Joon Gi answered and continued on. "The scenes I will be doing are very intimate as it is so to speak, but it is still quintessential. How about you?"
"Ah. I-uh... I've been going through some explorations and sightseeing the places here in Seoul," Valerie said lightly. Yet in her mind, she was definitely trying not to be uneasy. "I was going to spend some vacation time with my friend, but um..."
Lee Joon Gi quirked an eyebrow inquisitively and guessed. "Had a tussle?"
"More than that, really," Valerie added in with a faint giggle and continued on. "He didn't want to talk to me anymore, so I'm assuming he will fly back to our home country."
Lee Joon Gi leaned in back on his chair, nodding in understanding. "Oh... I'm sorry to hear that. Do you both constantly fight?"
"No. This was our first time and a huge one," Valerie murmured softly, looking down onto her lap.
Lee Joon Gi was gazing at her serenely, then they continued to finish eating their meals. An hour later, the two of them headed out where he asked her if she needed a ride home.
Valerie approved once they entered his silver Hyundai car. She turned around to pull the seat belt from the right side.
"I'll tell you my address-" She got interrupted when a few liquids sprayed near her face. "What...?"
Her vision started to get hazy as her head was tilted upward and dozed.
Lee Joon Gi lowered down the mini bottle and threw it behind him. "It must've been shitty that everyone is hating on you because of your recklessness. Looks like you failed again, detective. Didn't your friend ever tell you not to trust someone so easily? Too bad, he won't be seeing your pretty little face of yours, Valerie Nown..." He smirked evilly as he looked down on her unconscious state, then started driving off. Her hair was displayed out with her eyes closed and hands were dangling loosely over the chair.
He dialed the phone number when it began to ring three times. "Bro, I got her already. I'll be there soon."
Meanwhile back in the apartment, Bryan checked his time on his phone, pacing anxiously in the living room with wonder.
"Where could you be...?" He muttered, then he got startled after he received a message with photos being sent to him.
"Fetch the evidence to us or your friend's head will be blasted into smithereens."
"No, Val..." Bryan's hollowed expression became appalled at the sight of her being tied up in a chair and duct tape around her mouth.
"You have 50 minutes. If you contact the police or anyone, we won't hesitate to kill her," they said through text.
Bryan was shaking his head, grunting annoyingly at himself. "This is all my fault. I left her."
Then, he went through his contacts and forwarded the photo to the group chat. He breathed out, hoping they would reply back to him as soon as possible.
Two hours later, Valerie fluttered her eyes open, waking up once again. This time, she was inside an industrial empty building with no windows and doors occupied. She began to examine the room she was in, which was wide and open space. Her gaze hovered towards where the rest of the henchmen were, including the boss standing near her. His arms were crossed as he started to approach her.
"Well, well, well. I guess you've seen the video that became prominent. I take it you've given credence to my friend, Lee Joon Gi. He is a very slick guy. Hah. I never knew you could become such a naive young lady. Ms. Nown," Kai chuckled haughtily and continued on, gripping her jaw to look at him. "Even after putting my friends and I in jail, you obviously think you can outwit me with your obstinacy? News flash, you lose and now everyone in this country is resenting you. This time, I will make sure that every single thing you have is destroyed once I get a hold of that moronic Bryan."
Valerie was shooting fierce daggers at him as she was breathing through her chest. She tried to squirm out of her seat but kept struggling with a slight growl.
Kai chortled sparsely in enjoyment. He placed his hands slyly on both arms of the chair, saying. "Aww, don't worry, darling. He is only bringing the evidence you two collected before. It will be a fabulous present for me, then I will annihilate him from top to bottom."
Valerie continued to glare at him without breaking contact while he stood up in his posture and faced his back on her.
"You, Dong-Min!" Kai snapped his fingers twice as he pointed at him.
"Sir!" He saluted in startlement.
"Watch over her and the diamonds on the right side. I'll be meeting up with Soo-man and my crew," Kai ordered when he started walking away.
"Yes sir!" Dong-Min replied back and bowed his head down.
"Later gator," Lee Joon Gi glanced sideways with a flaunted smile, following him behind.
Valerie watched the two disappear, whereas Dong-Min was guarding her with his hands folded in the center firmly below his stomach.
"Crap. I've got to get the hell out of here," she said urgently in her mind.
Soon, she silently switched on her bracelet into a circular saw, cutting the ropes from her wrists and ankles gradually. She muffled sounds from her mouth, catching Dong-Min's attention on her.
"What is it?" He asked dimly and stepped forward.
Swiftly, Valerie dropped the ropes on the floor and pummeled her fist onto his stomach before she twisted his arm over his head with a taser.
Dong-Min was wobbling involuntarily and collapsed onto his knees until the other backup subordinates showed up, much to Valerie's alarm.
"Hey!" One of them called out angrily, but she didn't intend to listen as she was dashing her way across the right side of the room.
A few gunshots were fired in her direction, but she dodged them and rolled over the front to grab on the aluminum briefcase.
"Fuck! She's so fast!" He exclaimed.
"You think?!" The other guy huffed and pulled the trigger at her. He grunted in irritation as he noticed her exiting the stairs. "We got to split up!"
The others nodded in agreement when they grouped into pairs and scattered. They were running down.
Valerie went to the emergency door and skipped a couple of steps by climbing down the ladder. She snuck out of the back door and saw two subordinates patrolling the jeep wrangler, yelling out. "Chumps!"
Both of them were alert as they turned their heads at her in fury. They promptly pulled out their guns and started to take an advance on her. They were shooting at her, but she shielded herself using the briefcase that fired back at them.
About a few meters away, Valerie grabbed one of their arms and hammered them with her moves. The subordinates directly end up striking one another, falling proceedingly.
She then snatched the keys from their pockets and sprinted towards the vehicle. She turned on the engine and started to drive away from the isolated area.
Fifteen minutes later, she located her apartment and arrived. She rushed into the mac computer and entered the password. Simultaneously, she inserted the key inside the lock and decipher the numeral codes of the briefcase.
Cursing under her breath, she wriggles the lock with strong pluck, but won't detach. Her phone was low battery, so she decided to use the home phone and dialed the number. "Bryan..."
"Val! Where are you?!" He asked, panicking while he was driving the car, and continued on. "I'm on my way to rescue you!"
"No, I broke free from them," Valerie replied back.
"Really?! That's great! I'm so glad you're alright!" He said in relief and questioned for the second time. "Where are you, then?"
She answered with a whisper. "I can't tell you yet, but you have to stay there."
The pistol was clicked against the back of her head with a voice warning her in a deadly tone. "Do not move."
Valerie's body became stiffened, yet Bryan kept calling her name out on the phone.
"Val! Val! Hello?!"
She was peeking slightly over her right shoulder. Her hands were raised up in the air as soon as the call ended in a continuous droning sound.
ns 15.158.61.17da2
