Bad X Bad: My Dear Hana - Chapter 33

“I am glad that you came.” The groom thanks Ahn Hana after the wedding ceremony. “I couldn’t have gotten married without you.”

Ahn Hana smiles politely at the groom. “If you are really thankful to me, get her pregnant as fast as you can. She should nag her children instead of me.”

“I know how she is.” Her husband nods sympathetically at Ahn Hana. “That’s one of the reasons why I love her.”

“Hello?” Bo Ji-Won claps multiple times to get the attention of her husband and her childhood friend. “I don’t nag that much.”

“Honey, you do.” He clasps her hand. “Thanks to your friends, we are late. if we don’t run now, we would miss our flight for our honeymoon.”

“Ah!” Bo Ji-Won freaks out. “It’s already the time. Ahn Hana, take your medicines on time. Don’t skip meals. Don’t overwork. Remember your promise. You owe me a lot.”

Ahn Hana watches her run with the groom. She takes a breath of relief. Now, there is no one to scold her for a while. Until Bo Ji-Won comes back from her honeymoon, she is free to do whatever she wants.

“Should I take you back home, mentor?” Do Sejin asks her. She is looking far ahead with a sly smile on her lips. He can already guess that she is happier than the bride currently. With Doctor Bo gone for a while, there is no one to scold Ahn Hana.

“No. You can go back home.” Trying to rush into the car, she steps onto the frills of her dress. The fragile fabric is torn apart by her heel. She looks down, flabbergasted. Do Sejin stifles his laugh. His laughing eyes are not missed. She takes off her heels and tosses them inside the back seat of the car.

Do Sejin takes this opportunity to slip into the driver’s seat before she could. “Mentor, you are tired. Get in. I will drive you to your home.”

“I don’t think that you know Kwang-soo’s home address.” She sets the GPS and puts it in front of him. “Just follow it.”

So, she is really staying at that man’s house. “Mentor, are you going marry Lawyer Jung?”

She answers him in a beat. “It’s none of your business.”

“I see. My apologies.” He clenches his jaw and looks ahead in the road. “Noe Kyung-Hee… was she chosen because she found out something about the murderer? Did she connected the five-stabs murders before anyone else did?”

She doesn’t answer him. Her fingers are frozen on a page of the book. Do Sejin doesn’t bother her on the rest of the way. When they reach, she silently walks out of the car. He accompanies her to the door.

“You can leave now.” She punches the code and opens the door. “Take my car. Go back home. ”

Before she can close it, Do Sejin steps inside and closes it behind him. She glowers at him. “What are you doing, Intern?”

“I will stay here until Jung Kwang-soo comes back.” He makes himself at home and sits on the couch. “Since the killer and my mentor are engaged in a game, I don’t want to leave my mentor alone.”

She resists the urge to bash his head again. “I told you that he won’t-”

“Mentor, you should change.” Do Sejin points at her torn dress. “I can see your bȧrė legs.”

She grits her teeth and storms toward the bedroom. She changes out of the troublesome dress quickly. She has never liked wearing frills. If it hadn’t been Ji-Won’s wish, she wouldn’t have worn it. When she comes out, she finds him lying on the couch.

Her resting place is taken away like that. Where will she sleep now?

“What’s wrong, mentor?” He lifts his head. “I am taking a nap until Boss Jung comes back. You should also sleep. You have dark circles around your eyes.”

Exasperated. She fists her hands. Jung Kwang-soo has told her to restrain herself from killing him. She has no choice. She locks herself in the room and sits on the bed. She starts reading the book again. This is the last book that Noe Kyung-Hee returned to the library before she was murdered.

It feels like she knows this book. Did she read it before? She thinks hard. Where?

In Jung Kwang-soo’s study room, she browses through the titles. She finds it in the corner of the shelf with a layer of dust on it. She compares the cover of both books. Different editions.

***

“The gate is not closed. Don’t fall. Don’t give in to the light. Touch the gate. Drink the darkness. Come back to me,” The man softly whispers in her ear. “You are not prepared for death, my dear. Come back to me. Your time hasn’t come. Not yet. Come back to me.”

He kisses her between her brows. Her eyes flutter. He smiles at her. “I have chosen you, my dear. Even death must wait when I am here for you.”