Kang Ta aka An Chil Hyun

-Chapter 1-

�SURPRISE!!!�

An Chil Hyun clasped his hands over his mouth in feigned shock when the lights of his dark mansion flickered on. His three best friends Moon Hee Jun, Jang Woo Hyuk, and Lee Jae Won along with his older brother, An Seung Ho were present for his 21st birthday.

�Oh my gosh! You guys shouldn�t have!�

The note of exaggeration in Chil Hyun�s voice made Hee Jun suspicious. Hee Jun gave a derisive snort at Chil Hyun�s overacting and knew Chil Hyun couldn�t act his way out of a paper bag.

�Okay, who told Chil Hyun about the surprise?�

They all turned to look at one another, searching for the culprit. Seung Ho tried to keep his face straight and appear innocent as possible but his playful nature wouldn�t allow it. His face cracked into a smile and he fell to the floor laughing.

�SEUNG HO!�

The other three screamed his name in unison, slightly agitated for his ruining Chil Hyun�s surprise. They should have known better than to trust Seung Ho into keeping the party a secret.

�Sorry, you guys. He�s my little brother. I can�t keep secrets from him.�

�It�s okay, everyone,� added Chil Hyun, grinning easily. �I still love this party even though I found out beforehand.�

Hee Jun gave Seung Ho a final glare, whose ass was getting kicked by Woo Hyuk at the very moment, and decided to drop the matter. He lifted up his glass of champagne to give Chil Hyun a toast.

�Here�s to An Chil Hyun, his being 21 today and his soon-to-be half inheritance of An Corporations.�

Woo Hyuk stopped beating Seung Ho senseless for the moment and lifted up his own glass of champagne to meet Hee Jun�s.

�Here�s to An Chil Hyun, may the number of girls that line up to his bed never surpass mine.�

Chil Hyun blushed at Woo Hyuk�s reminder of his excessive change of girlfriends. Jae Won lifted his glass of milk to join the toast.

�Here�s to An Chil Hyun, he is of now the legal drinking age.�

Seung Ho crawled his way over to join the party and laughed at the bitterness he heard in Jae Won�s voice.

�Cheer up, Jae Won. It�ll be your turn in 6 months. Well, here�s to An Chil Hyun, may he settle down with ONE girl.�

Woo Hyuk gave Seung Ho a glare for counteracting his toast but they were always like that since they were best friends. Chil Hyun gave him a mischievous smile.

�Well, I don�t know about that.�

His glass clinked with the others and they all downed their drinks in a single gulp. After they had set down their glasses, Chil Hyun continued to prod Seung Ho with his comment.

�I thought you�re going to introduce me to the girl of your dreams today, hyung.�

�Maybe some other time, Hyunnie.�

�Who is she?�

Kang Ta�s eyebrows quirked into a frown. His mind gave him a list of names but they were all unsuitable for his older brother. Woo Hyuk joined their conversation just then as he wrestled Seung Ho to the ground and held him in a headlock.

�Tell me who she is Seung Ho or I�ll rip your ears off!�

�Ahh! Not the ears!�

Hee Jun, being the most logical and sensible one, broke up the entwinement of Woo Hyuk�s and Seung Ho�s legs and arms.

�I�m glad that that someone here is settling down besides me.�

All of his friends had the decency to blush since they were all notorious players except for Seung Ho, who was grinning proudly now that he is reformed. Jae Won decided to change the subject in case they turn it on him, seeing how he was the youngest.

�Hyung ah, don�t you have to get married before you inherit your grandfather�s business?�

Chil Hyun and Seung Ho looked at each other, then both nodded in answer.

�Grandpa�s such an old-fashioned fogie,� whined Chil Hyun. �He doesn�t think we�re mature enough to handle the business ourselves if we weren�t married and settled down. Gawd, imagine being chained down at 21 already.�

Hee Jun slapped Chil Hyun at the back of his head.

�Are you saying that I�m chained to Sang Jin?�

�Of course not! Sang Jin is a great noona (not to mention my ex-girlfriend, he thought silently) but I don�t want to get married yet.�

�Neither do I,� chimed in Woo Hyuk. �Women are like a bag of chips, can�t have just one.�

Woo Hyuk�s comment earned him hoots of laughter and high-fives from Chil Hyun and Jae Won. Hee Jun rolled his eyes. Seung Ho�s cell phone rang just then.

�Hello? Uh huh�uh huh�be there in 10 minutes.�

�Who�s that?�

Chil Hyun queried. The others edge closer as well but Seung Ho pushed their nosy heads away.

�It�s her.�

�Who is HER?!�

�I�ll announce who she is once I can get her to accept my proposal.�

Seung Ho fished out a red, velvet jewelry box from inside his vest and flaunted off the rock-size diamond for his peers to see. The �oohs� and �ahhs� spread among them mostly in surprise that Seung Ho was going that far to commit himself.

�You�re that serious about her, hyung?�

�Yup,� answered Seung Ho, smiling as he snapped the lid shut and then stuffed it back into his own pocket. �Later losers.�

He jumped up and ran for the door, closing it the instant a piece of cake smashed behind him. The remaining four looked at each other and started to gossip.

�I wonder why Seung Ho is so secretive about her?� asked Woo Hyuk.

�Probably because Granddaddy won�t approve.�

�Is he that strict?�

�Nah. Since there�s 2 of us, grandpa let us marry whoever we want.�

After that conversation had ended, they partied onto the long hours of the night. Wrestling, shoving cake down each other�s pants, and getting drunk until they were all exhausted and decided to go home.


--Chapter 2--

Hours later�

�Chil Hyun��

�Hmm�?�

Chil Hyun rolled around in his bed and waved his maid, Park Su Yun to go away.

�Five more minutes, Su Yun.�

�It�s Seung Ho.�

�Seung Ho?�

Chil Hyun�s eyes flew open and he grabbed the receiver from Su Yun�s hands. He raked his hair through his unruly hair and then rubbed the sleep from his eyes.

�Hyung? Where are you? It�s five o�clock in the morning!�

�Chil Hyun�she said no.�

Seung Ho�s voice was cracking on the other line and Chil Hyun knew it wasn�t from the bad reception. It suddenly dawned on Chil Hyun that Seung Ho might be doing something rash at the moment.

�Hyung? Tell me where you are and I�ll be right there.�

�Devil�s Cliff.�

Chil Hyun didn�t bother to wear any clothes and ran out of the house in only his plaid boxers. He continued to talk to Seung Ho, transferring the call to his cell phone. He broke all the speed limit laws and made in there just in time to see Seung Ho standing at the edge of the cliff.

�Seung Ho! What are you doing?�

Seung Ho turned around when he heard Chil Hyun�s yell and gave him a stricken look. Nothing had hurt more to Chil Hyun than to see his hyung like this. His eyes were bloodshot red lined with tears, perspiration damped his body, his hair was in disarray, and he reeked of alcohol.

�Hyung, come closer to me. You�re standing at the edge of the cliff.�

�I don�t give a fuck! She said �NO� Chil Hyun! After I told her I loved her, and I�ll give her the world she said �NO�!�

Chil Hyun eyed the cliff and Seung Ho. Just a few more steps and he would plunge to his death. He decided to keep on talking to distract Seung Ho so he could come closer.

�Tell me what happened.�

Seung Ho closed his eyes painfully and gave an anguished cry.

�Did you know that we�ve been seeing each other secretly for the past 2 years?�

�2 years? And you didn�t tell us until now?�

�She didn�t want me to. She said she wasn�t good enough for me and wanted �us� to be a secret.�

�Didn�t you tell her grandpa don�t care if she�s poor or uneducated?�

�I did and I told her that she�s the only �one� for me.�

�Then why did she say no?�

�She told me that she has someone else, Chil Hyun! She told me that she never did love me, only used me to get closer to him!�

Chil Hyun felt his own anger brewing for Seung Ho. Seung Ho was everything a girl could dream of. Good-looking, romantic, and funny. His wealth and power were just the icing on the cake. What more could this bitch want?

�She�s apparently right when she said she wasn�t good enough for you. Don�t give a shit about her and let�s go home.�

Upon hearing Chil Hyun�s words, it comforted Seung Ho somewhat. He decided it was best that he had gone home and took a nap to sober up so he would be able to think more clearly. But when he took the first step, a wave of nausea hit him.

Black dots were dancing in front of his eyes and his lungs constricted, making it difficult for him to breathe. He shook his head once and the pain increased.

�What�s happening to me?�

Then it hit Seung Ho like an icy, cold wave. He had just been poison by his beloved. He shook his head in disbelief and his words had failed him. Instead of taking a step forward, he stumbled back.

�HYUNG!�

Chil Hyun screamed for Seung Ho when he saw Seung Ho take that step back. He ran to reach him and soon, Seung Ho�s unstable body knocked them both over the edge.

For days after, all Chil Hyun could remember were the sharp boulders and crashing tidal waves.

**********

Chil Hyun woke up to the sound of feet shuffling and his beeping monitor. His eyes felt swollen and so heavy, he was hardly able to keep them open.

�Shh�I think he�s waking up.�

�Hee Jun?� he thought numbly. He blinked several times to clear his vision but his right eye only half-opened. Hee Jun, Woo Hyuk, and Jae Won�s faces came into his view.

�Chil Hyun, you�re awake,� said Woo Hyuk in relief, then stroke Chil Hyun�s stray hair aside. �You�ve been in a coma for 3 days.�

�3 days?!�

Chil Hyun sat up instantly, suddenly wishing he hadn�t because of the piercing pain. He turned his head and wasn�t able to locate Seung Ho.

�Where�s Seung Ho?�

The room became silent as a tomb when Seung Ho�s name was mentioned. Their faces suddenly became grief-stricken and a tear slid from Woo Hyuk�s cheek. Woo Hyuk never cries and it made Chil Hyun fear the worst.

�Oh, please no. Where is he?!�

Chil Hyun demanded an answer. It was Jae Won who timidly spoke.

�He didn�t make it, Chil Hyun. Tomorrow is his funeral reception.�

�Don�t worry,� added in Hee Jun. �We didn�t let the coroners examine him since Seung Ho had always been afraid of the doctors.�

He meant to ease Chil Hyun�s pain but it became worse. Chil Hyun fell back, suddenly his inner self became lost.

�Seung Ho�s dead?� he thought blankly.

Just yesterday they were laughing and getting drunk off their ass, he can�t be dead. Chil Hyun pounded his pillows with his fists in anger and then realized that there was something different about him. Out of his concern for Seung Ho, he had not realized that he had been bandaged head to toe.

�Why am I wrapped up like this?�

This time the looks in their eyes are unmistakable. Hee Jun placed a comforting hand on Chil Hyun�s shoulder but he brushed it away. He started to unwrap the bandages himself.

�Chil Hyun, you mustn�t!�

Jae Won and Woo Hyuk tried to stop him but it was too late. Chil Hyun looked down at his own hands to see that they were red and callused. Bile rose in his throat at the horrid sight of them.

Slowly, he edged himself off the bed to get a closer look in the mirror. It literally cracked at the sight of him. Chil Hyun�s face was engraved with scars from both sides of his cheeks and the edge of his jaw, making his face unrecognizable.

His vanity, his dreams, and Seung Ho were all lost to him.


--Chapter 3--

One year later�

�Senior An, did you wish to see me?�

Hee Jun opened the door to the master bedroom of the An mansion cautiously and stood before the doorway, hesitant to come in. However, the old man waved his hand and beckoned him to come.

�Hee Jun�You and your father had been faithful employees of mine these past years. I see you more as my own grandson than my help.�

�My family is grateful for your kind treatment and generosity, sir.�

�Hee Jun, you know that I�m old and I�m about to die soon so I need you to do me a favor.�

�You�ll live forever, Senior An��

�Be honest,� he cuts in. �I already included you in my will with the inheritance of 10% of An Corporations.�

Hee Jun�s eye widened and was at a loss of words of his newfound fortune. Grandpa An continued to tell his reason why.

�I need you to take care of the company for Chil Hyun so he will be able to make arrangements for his wedding.�

�Wedding? I haven�t heard Chil Hyun mention that he was getting married.�

�Tell Chil Hyun to come in and I�ll tell you both the entire story.�

Confusion clouded Hee Jun�s eyes but he obliged with the old man�s request. He knocked on Chil Hyun�s door and an irritated voice told him to come in.

�Chil Hyun, your grandfather wishes to speak with you.�

�Stop calling me that! I told you, from now on call me Kang Ta!�

Hee Jun winced at the rough, unemotional tone of Kang Ta�s voice. He had changed since the day that Seung Ho had died. Sweet, funny, sometimes vain but always the life of the party An Chil Hyun had morphed into a brooding, serious, always working power freak. Hee Jun had grown seriously worried for his friend.

�So are you going to see him?�

Kang Ta glared at Hee Jun and didn�t answer. He got up and headed for his grandfather�s room with Hee Jun right behind him.

�Haraboji, did you wish to see me?�

�Chil Hyun, you know very well that I�m going to die soon--�

Grandpa An raised his hand so that Kang Ta wouldn�t protest for his change of name and the fact that he was going to die. He didn�t want any interruptions.

�You�re 22 already and I wish for you to be married.�

Kang Ta stiffened.

�I don�t even have a girlfriend.�

�I know. I�m sorry and regretful that I failed to mention this but you were betrothed at birth.�

At this, both Kang Ta and Hee Jun�s mouths fell open in shock. Kang Ta recovered quickly and sneered.

�And why did you mention it now?�

�Please, Chil Hyun. I want to see you get married and settled down before I can hand over An Corporations to you.�

�Haven�t I been handling the businesses very well this past year? Getting myself a nagging wife would just distract me!�

�Chil Hyun, please don�t raise your voice.�

Kang Ta calmed down immediately and regretted for yelling at his grandfather. Hee Jun gave him an understanding look and patted his back.

�So who is she?�

�She�s the granddaughter of an old friend of mine, the Kims. Her name is Kim Hyun Ji. If it weren�t for her family, our family would have never reached our status and unlimited wealth today.�

�So you engaged me to this royal bitch as repayment?�

Kang Ta�s voice was dripping with cynicism. Hee Jun glared at him but he chose to ignore it.

�True, she might be a brat but her parents are beautiful people so I believe she would be just as lovely. That should compensate for her attitude, don�t you think?�

Grandpa An meant to coerce Kang Ta into the marriage with Hyun Ji�s beauty but it seemed to enrage him even more. He stood up abruptly and left the room without further ado. Hee Jun gave Grandpa An a reassuring nod and followed Kang Ta outside.

�An Chil Hyun, you come back here!�

Kang Ta turned around slowly and scowled. Hee Jun used that moment to come closer and stood face to face with him.

�Whether you like it or not, your grandfather has given his word and you as a grandson, are to fulfill his death wish.�

Kang Ta knew his grandfather�s health had been depreciated over the last year since Seung Ho�s death and he didn�t want his refusal of marriage to bring upon his death. He would accept the marriage but with his most ill grace.

�She�s a beautiful, rich bitch, Hee Jun. What do I have to offer her?�

�You�re her equal! Only you could match her standards.�

An angry flame burned in Kang Ta�s eyes at Hee Jun�s obliviousness. He spat out his next words in his usual acidity.

�Her wealth I do not care for and I spit on her beauty, for every time she looks at me, I know she�ll turn away in revulsion.�

Kang Ta strode away and the pain filled Hee Jun�s eyes as he understood. Kang Ta�s looks had used to be a great asset to him in attracting the opposite sex, but since that fateful day he had lost it all, he was left with only scars that disfigured his face as a memory.

**********

Su Yun heard the door to her room slammed and turned around to see who it was. She shuddered slightly at the sight of Kang Ta although she knew he wouldn�t hurt her. She sighed inwardly and knew what he was here for.

Comfort.

Over the past year, Kang Ta had grown quite attached to her, craving for her warmth. Su Yun often tried to recall how handsome Kang Ta use to look when she held him but his scars prevent her from doing so. They held her fear in the worst way.

Kang Ta took deliberate, long strides towards her and soon enough, she was cradled in his arms. His hold around her tightened as he wanted to hug away all his hurt and her bones were crushing in his grasp.

Su Yun cried but not that his touch had hurt her, which it never does, but that Kang Ta was still a softie underneath his tough exterior. He usually would shower her with gifts galore if he had hurt her, which never happened but he never knew that.

She started to daydream about this ruby necklace she had been eyeing just yesterday as her crocodile tears began to slither down her cheeks.


-Chapter 4-

�What? Old man An found our Kang Ta a wife?�

Hee Jun turned to glare at Woo Hyuk, not by his improper way of addressing Senior An but his indecency of bringing 2 girls into his house.

Woo Hyuk had changed since the night of Seung Ho�s death, he usually wasn�t so public about his girls and more so, these girls had been best friends. He usually was considerate of these things but now, he would let those girls just claw at each other.

�Woo Hyuk, my wife wouldn�t like it if you brought your girls here.�

Woo Hyuk grinned as he settled the 2 lovelies into both sides of his lap.

�Your little wife likes me. She wouldn�t mind.�

�I beg to differ.�

�Where is Sang Jin noona, by the way?� inquired Jae Won, looking around for her. �I haven�t seen her all these times I�ve dropped by.�

�I don�t know,� answered Hee Jun, his shoulders drooping. �She�s been acting strange these past 2 months.�

�You think it�s another man?�

Hee Jun shot Woo Hyuk a chilling glare for his suggestion of his wife�s infidelity. He wouldn�t have taken it so seriously if he hadn�t had doubts himself.

�Shut the hell up, Jang Woo Hyuk.�

�So, who�s the girl Kang Ta going to marry?�

Jae Won wisely intruded, changing the course of the conversation.

�Listen closely since I�m only going to say it once. Her name is Kim Hyun Ji, and she�s almost 20 years of age. Her parents had passed away already and she�s been lost at birth.�

�So how the hell do we find her or know who she is?�

Woo Hyuk nearly caused the 2 girls on his laps to fall over when he leaned closer to the table. Hee Jun rolled his eyes as he continued.

�I know for a fact that she was last seen on Kimpo Road. Follow that path and I�m sure we�ll find some clues. She also has a birthmark of 3 red dots on her butt.�

�So we have to pants off every girl that looks around twenty?�

�That shouldn�t be difficult for us.�

Jae Won hinted mischievously. Woo Hyuk chuckled at the thought. Hee Jun leaned over and knocked their heads together so they would be serious. Woo Hyuk�s girls were already massaging his temples.

�I need you 2 idiots to go with Kang Ta to look for her while I manage the company. Am I to be understood?�

�Yes, sir,� they mumbled and left to fulfill their duty. Outside, Woo Hyuk was linking arms with both of the girls and he talked to Jae Won.

�You think Kang Ta accepts this marriage?�

�I don�t know but whoever the girl is, I feel sorry for her.�

**********

One month later, the girl that Jae Won pitied for didn�t even know who she was and she had a betrothed. Kim Ji Hyun was too busy stealing cars and slaving away at The Neon Light as a bartender to get a decent day�s meal.

She was in a hurry to get to work until a sleek, stunning black Porsche stood parked in front of her apartment. The Porsche alone outclassed everything on the street and didn�t fit in with the scenery.

Ji Hyun looked around conspicuously for the owner and seeing that no one was around, she changed into her most famous disguise as the Green-eyed Bandit.

Donning on a fake blonde wig and green contacts, with her pale skin she could pass for a foreigner. She tied the bandana around her face, leaving a slit of her eyes revealed.

First she peered into the Porsche�s windows but they were the mirrored kind, revealing nothing to her. Ji Hyun tapped the windowpane softly but no response came. Sensing that the coast was clear, she started to work.

**********

Kang Ta stirred in his sleep when he heard the sound of the door opening and then closed. He wondered faintly if it was Woo Hyuk or Jae Won since they insisted on dragging him here to this roach-infested side of Seoul.

He had decided to take a nap while they questioned the tenants of the whereabouts of Kim Hyun Ji. They had been searching for nearly a month already, and Kang Ta grew weary each time they produced nothing.

When he leaned forward from his backseat towards the driver�s, he was surprised to find that it was neither Woo Hyuk or Jae Won but a girl. Underneath all that black clothes and disguise, Kang Ta could depict that the slimming physique belonged to a female.

An amusing smile came to his lips when he realized what she was about to do. He also realized that the girl hadn�t seen him in the backseat either or she probably won�t have the guts to do so.

�Tsk tsk�I don�t think Hyukie will like it if you stole his car.�

Kang Ta could tell that the girl was an expert because no sooner when the thought had crossed his mind, she was gunning the engine and sped out of there.

**********

Ji Hyun smiled to herself and hummed proudly at her accomplishment. This Porsche was guaranteed to bring her in a fortune. She might even be able to quit her lousy job and rid Lady Wang of the contract that binded her. She glanced in the rearview mirror once and her heart stopped cold.

Staring back at her was a set of gleaming, gold eyes, like that of the devil�s. She immediately braked the car to a stop and her heart lurched in her throat.

She turned around to the back seat and the eyes continued staring at her. Ji Hyun bolted out the door and ran for her life into the distance.

**********

Kang Ta started to laugh merrily when he saw the frightened girl take off. He knew she wasn�t able to see him since he hid back into the dark shadows of the car.

The girl had intrigued him. That wig of hers had been so fake but her eyes, although he knew that they weren�t real, were his favorite shade of green.

Too bad he wouldn�t be able to see her again. After his amusement left him, he took the liberty of driving Woo Hyuk�s car back to their original spot.

�Where the fuck did you go? I�m freezing my ass off here!�

Woo Hyuk was shivering violently and Jae Won was too cold to protest.

�Sorry,� said Kang Ta, without any sincerity. �What now?�

�I need a babe to warm me up.�

Despite feeling cold and numb, Jae Won smiled superbly and nodded vigorously to join Woo Hyuk. Kang Ta rolled his eyes as they hopped in and drove towards the closest bar--The Neon Light.

**********

Ji Hyun�s heartbeat continued to pound relentlessly in her ears as she slammed the door to her dressing room shut.

�Shit! What the hell was that?�

She wondered feverishly, recalling the predatory look of those golden eyes. They had been huge with an exotic slant, and would have been labeled beautiful if there wasn�t that evil glint in them to make it appear so scary.

When her heartbeat started to recede, Ji Hyun gathered her makeup and clothes to set to work. After working at this bar since the death of her adopted mother, she learned how to manipulate makeup to give herself a grotesque look.

Ji Hyun was unsure if she was classified as a pretty girl or not but she rather not find out. She owed Lady Wang a tidy sum of money and would rather stay as her bartender than her �girls�, although they made so much more.

When she was done, she checked her work in the mirror again. Young Hee, a part-time prostitute/bartender had been sick today and Ji Hyun had to fill in. She was a pretty girl and Ji Hyun pitied her since her alcoholic boyfriend forced her to acquire this line of work.

�I hate men,� she muttered as she headed out towards the noisy, disco light room.


-Chapter 5-

�You know, I heard the bartender is fine.�

Jae Won chugged down his beer and waved to the barmaid for a refill.

�How would you know that Woo Hyuk?�

�Seung�� he caught himself before he let that name slip. �I mean, the guys at the office come here often. She�s pretty but hard to get though.�

�She won�t be if we offer her twice as much as these cheap asses here.�

Woo Hyuk smiled at Jae Won, admiring how fast Jae Won was learning . He was silently applauding inside.

�Quite right.�

Kang Ta slumped into his seat to appear discreet as possible, sipping on his cheap beer.

�Hurry up already so we can leave.�

�Patience, Kang Ta,� insisted Woo Hyuk. �I want to take my time seducing her.�

�If it was me, I�d have her by now.�

�Oh really? You think she�d choose you over me?�

It was meant to be a tease but Jae Won had already choke on his breath and Woo Hyuk realized the cruelty of his taunt and lost all color in his face. They had used to joke around like this all the time, claiming to be better looking than each other.

Kang Ta had been the most handsome--before he was disfigured trying to save Seung Ho.

�Kang Ta, I didn�t mean��

Woo Hyuk was too ashamed and appalled with himself that he wasn�t able to continue. Instead, he left his chair and headed for the exit without looking back.

�Woo Hyuk was only joking,� offered Jae Won when the atmosphere suddenly became tense. �He would have said the same thing back in high school.�

�I�m not stupid Jae Won, I know. Now go after him before he starts to do something stupid like crying, thinking that he offended me.�

Jae Won smiled in relief to know that Kang Ta was okay. He left the table in search of Woo Hyuk. Truth was, Kang Ta was not okay. Woo Hyuk�s unconscious remark had wounded him deep.

The scars on his face had been constant reminders that women of all types except maybe whores who only saw his money, chose to avoid him.

Kang Ta sat there a little while longer, deciding to finish his beer and then join Woo Hyuk and Jae Won outside but then he noticed the new bartender coming in. He wasn�t sure why he noticed her, but it could be that Woo Hyuk claimed that she was pretty.

She was not.

Her face was a shade of gray pallor, her hair tied tightly into a black bun, and she dressed like a man. By her movements, she walked like one too.

**********

Ji Hyun noticed him right off, and nearly dropped her tray in fear. It was those glowing, yellow eyes again. She forced herself to not look at him but did anyway, and she saw his hand beckoning her to come.

�Oh Gawd no, please don�t be those same eyes.�

She swallowed the lump in her throat as she approached him and then breathed an immense sigh of relief. The candles were what caused the golden hue of his eyes. They weren�t yellow at all, but a rich, chestnut brown that she felt herself drowning into

Her face broke into a smile when she reached him since she concluded that it couldn�t be the same eyes in the black Porsche to her utmost relief.

�How may I help you, sir?�

**********

Her smile stunned Kang Ta. It had been such a long time since he had seen a girl smile at him. Usually women and men both alike, stared at his scars in morbid fascination that they were too embarrassed to say anything else.

Even Su Yun, although he came to her for comfort, he would never forget or forgive that look on her face that day he came home from the hospital with those scars.

This peculiar girl, however, didn�t seem to notice or maybe because she was ugly herself that she didn�t care. Now that she had come closer and Kang Ta was able to inspect her more thoroughly, he found something vaguely familiar about her.

He had to admit she had a perfect white smile underneath that ugly face of hers and was probably her best feature. Maybe it was men�s intuition and his mind finally registered it when he saw her green eyes so he took a wild guess.

�Were you that scared out of your mind to forget to take off your green contacts?�

At her gasp, Kang Ta burst into laughter. Ji Hyun started to fish out the contacts in her eyes. When they were quickly disposed of, she sat directly across from him and greeted his challenge.

�So�you know who I am.�

Kang Ta smiled amusingly at the girl�s cool counteract. Although she might be grotesque-looking to many onlookers, Kang Ta was unsure why he found her so attractive.

�It can be our little secret.�

�Oh, can it? And what do I have to pay to keep your silence?�

�You.�

Ji Hyun blinked several times to make sure if she heard him correctly.

�Excuse me?�

�You.�

So she did. His response shocked her nonetheless. Her looks were supposed to scare people off, not attract but this guy was not like many people.

Ji Hyun studied him right then and noticed how impressive he looked. He was dressed in the most stylish and expensive style that today�s men wear.

His shiny, black hair fell smoothly around his face, framing his high cheekbones. He had lean features with a straight aquiline nose, perfectly arched brows, and smooth, flawless skin except for the scars.

On the left side of his face a trail of 3-4 scars traveled from the end of his eye to the base of his neck and the right side was identical, except they were longer and one of it slashed over his eye, like a pirate�s.

She knew he must have endured a lot of pain from his scars and pain was something that she related to all her life. Whatever he wanted though, her empathy wasn�t enough to help him out.

�Sorry, that�s not my area. I�ll get one of the girls for you.�

Ji Hyun got up to leave and suddenly felt a pair of hands around her waist, pulling her backwards. She fell on top of the strange guy�s lap and he was smiling at her.

�For your services.�

Kang Ta handed the girl a lump sum of money. Ji Hyun stared at the money in wonder. She was holding one year�s pay in her hands. She was so tempted but she could never degrade herself like that. She was about to tell him �no� until another guy invaded their table.

�Sorry Kang Ta, about a while ago. I didn�t mean it. Eww�what�s this?�

Woo Hyuk eyed the girl that was sitting on Kang Ta�s lap distastefully. She looked like something the cat dragged in.

Ji Hyun looked around her and realized that the �eww� was meant for her. She knew she was ugly at the moment but no one had ever been rude enough to say it to her face. She got up and gave that arrogant bastard what he deserved.

Woo Hyuk�s face stung from the wad of bills that girl used to slap him with. The money fell to the floor and Woo Hyuk gave her a dangerous glare. He was about to retaliate but Kang Ta held his hand back. Ji Hyun looked at both Kang Ta and then at Woo Hyuk, and pranced off.

�That bitch slapped me! How could you let her get away with it?!�

�You deserved it.�

�Well�yeah, I guess. But gross Kang Ta, you didn�t have to sink that low and go for her. Let me find the pretty bartender.�

�You moron. She was the bartender.�

�She�?� Woo Hyuk glanced back towards the direction where the girl had ran off and blinked once. �Hell, be glad that I came in time to save you.�


Copyrighted by val

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