From this chapter on up to the last one, I might be using the Third Person's Point of View, but the characters will still be speaking for themselves.
In a jerky movement, Seo Jin grabs Jae Nin by the sleeves of her coat and yanks her close. Really close, like a kissing distance, without as much as a word of explanation. Their eyes meet as they inch closer. Those captivating dark chocolate eyes of his…
"What... What are you doing?" she tries to ask him.
But then he just holds on silently, looking right into her eyes. Or is he?
"Why are you being like this?" she asks him one more time.
She squirms at her fullest extent but that only urges him to pull the woman closer, their noses almost touching. Don't tell me, he wants to… O to the M to the G! I'm not ready for any of this yet!
"What are you doing?" Jae Nin asks him for the third time while wriggling out of his grip. "Let go of me!"
But then he just smirks, showing that lopsided grin of his. Oh noes! I am yet to give my virginity to the right guy! Not to some random executive director! This handsome guy here must marry me first! Just kidding.
"That's what I thought." he says out of nowhere.
"I said, let go of me!" she wriggles some more, and finally she gets herself to be released from his grasp!
Well… Not that she got herself to be released; most likely HE pushed her out of his grip.
He turns away from the appalled woman and starts blabbing words off.
"Pulse is normal, temperature is normal, breathing is normal."
What is the hell is he saying?
"My blood pressure is a little high. That's understandable though since this situation is quite annoying." he adds up.
Your blood pressure is a little high? Well, MY BLOOD PRESSURE IS A LITTLE HIGHEST! Am I just a ghost here? From the moment she arrived at his office, he has not answered any of her questions yet.
But then she tries to get his attention one more time. "Look..."
"You can leave now."
Boom! It felt like being hit by a grenade right on the face, insert white smokes all around the room. Did he somehow forget that he summoned me here that now he wants me to leave? How dare he snub my beauty!
"Excuse me? Didn't you call me down here to talk about the gorilla?"
He slowly turns back to face her.
"Gorilla? Ah."
Gorilla? Ah? Is that all he has to say?
"I'm planning to talk to you regarding that matter myself. My circus troupe..."
"Your circus troupe is fired. Our contract has been terminated."
What? Her ears must have been clogged.
He takes his seat on his office chair.
She is totally angry right now. "What are you saying? The terms of our contract are not over yet. Why suddenly fire the circus troupe?"
He stops to think before defending, "The performance is lousy, and the parade is lousy, too. Are you aware that the ticket sales are also lousy?"
This isn't going to work. He can't just fire the circus troupe this easily! Let me try talking this out.
She takes a deep breath and calmly convinces him.
"I know that our circus troupe is not up to the current trends and standards, but I am more than willing to change that. I came from Cirque de Soleil, a famous circus in Las Vegas; and through the ideas I have with me, I'll reformat everything and update our performance."
He pauses while internalizing her proposal, while Jae Nin is hoping at the back of her mind that the Director would somehow give him a chance.
"Sounds like it'll be a nice performance."
Yes! Is this it? Is this really is it is it? His reply finally got her hopes high until he says something in addition.
"Go and knock yourself out. But do it anywhere else except here at Wonderland."
Another grenade is being thrown! And this time, with a fart-like scent! This man right here is really testing her patience!
"Look here..." she looks at the glass plate on the table with his name on it."...Director Goo Seo Jin? How can a person be so selfish and decide something like this?!"
She has lost all her patience, but he unhesitantly answers.
"Because I have the power to do it."
With his last statement, she just trudges back to the circus with her shoulders slumped. Power? That leaves her speechless.
How can a person just decide something so monumental at the drop of a hat?! Yes, he is Wonderland's CEO, he's got everything at a snap of his finger, but can't he even shed a bit of consideration for his workers who are striving so hard to survive?
Jang Jae Nin just came from Las Vegas, and as far as she has been working hard for everyone, she is fully aware that it is just the same case for her circus troupe. Everybody's got a fair share of labor.
As she reaches the backstage, she overhears her troupe members talking at the circus stage in low spirits.
"He's been doing everything to kick us out since late Leader Jang passed away." Jin Joo rants, worrying about whether they will be out on the street.
"But think about how long our circus has been a part of Wonderland Park." Maknae Eun Chang then points out to the group.
The even sigh on their own share of expenses. Hee Bong has to send his eldest child to another lesson school starting next month. Another colleague blurts out about her landlord who is trying to raise their house rent again, too.
Now, she realizes the real adversity her troupe is facing right now. It's not like working in a circus even has great income.
So this has been their situation ever since Papa died?
She is in her great thoughts when Eun Chang suddenly speaks of hearing from Director Goo's own secretary that he has never, even once, seen him smile; nor has he ever seen him feel bad about anything.
As far as has seen that man, she could really tell that he is a sociopath. He has no feelings and emotions.
Kang Hee Ae is giving a lecture on split personalities with an example from the real-life case of Billy Milligan at Hankyeol University Hospital. Director Goo, on the other hand, is still in his office, tensely waiting for Dr. Kang's call.
After the lecture, Dr. Kang checks her voicemail and is alarmed to hear an emergency message from Seo Jin indicating the code blue. After a few moments, she gives him back a call.
"Doctor Kang! Where are you? I'll come to you right now." Seo Jin says right away after answering the call.
He gets up, ready to have a ride to the doctor's office. I should go there as soon as possible.
"Okay, I actually… have something to talk to you about. Listen carefully, okay?"
Seo Jin gets ready and puts on his suit but stops on his tracks upon hearing Dr. Kang's words: I've found the safest and most perfect method of treatment. Your illness will be completely healed, and you'll be free, Goo Seo Jin.
"Are you serious about that?" He asks blankly, hoping yet doubting at the same time. "What if it becomes dangerous again like five years ago?"
"No, not at all. It's not dangerous and you're not going to die, either. You can trust me."
With that confirmation, he lights up. Seo Jin is genuinely moved and is almost in tears.
"I'll come right now."
And he doesn't waste any time and rushes off to go see her in person.
Seo Jin walks his way out of the building and is about to ride in his car when Jae Nin shows up just in time. Luckily, Director Goo's bodyguards and Secretary Kwon is there to hinder her.
"Ms. Jang Jae Nin, why don't speak to me instead?" he tries to convince Jae Nin by talking to her.
But Secretary's impediment is wasted as Jae Nin brushes him aside anyway and pushes him out of her way. She blocks Seo Jin's car from moving further and tries to stand his way when he's in a big hurry to see Dr. Kang.
Seriously? What's with this woman? Darn her.
Without so much as an excuse, Seo Jin tells her to get in and that they'll talk inside the car (just as an alibi for her to leave the spot) but as Jae Nin leaves the spot, he then tells his driver to take off without her.
That just makes her more determined to ruin his day though, and she follows him in a taxi, ignoring Secretary Kwon who informs her of Director Goo having an extremely urgent matter to get to.
Jae Nin follows Seo Jin all the way to the hospital, not taking her eyes off him.
"You and I need to talk." she snaps to Seo Jin as soon as they got out of their respective cars.
Seo Jin hears her but he just waves his chauffeur at her to keep her away from him.
"You can't go in there." the chauffeur in a clean suit informs Jae Nin.
She challenges him that this isn't his land and she can step foot wherever she wants. "Is this his property or something?"
But the driver points out that actually "Director Goo Seo Jin owns the hospital, because this is the Wonder Group Hospital Foundation."
Enk. Wrong move. And with that, Jae Nin thinks of other ways to have contact with Director Goo, as soon as possible, because her circus troupe's welfare is at stake with every second that passes by.
Once inside the Hankyeol University Hospital, Seo Jin makes his way to the bathroom and douses his face with water.
"You'll be free again, Goo Seo Jin." Dr. Kang's words replays again in his mind.
He tells himself not to get his hopes again, despite Dr. Kang's assurance that the treatment method she has found will surely work this time.
He walks down the corridor towards Dr. Kang's office, when his eyes catch a crazy sight out on the window: It's Jae Nin, crossing from one building to the other in midair on a zip line.
Seo Jin did not even realize that he has messed with Wonder Circus' Ring Leader, who has countless of tricks she had brought with her. This is her way of not setting foot on the grounds.
"She's completely insane!" he mutters as his eyes widen at the sight.
Appropriately, he calls her crazy by doing tightropes in a hospital!
After passing through the air, she climbs her way into the open window of a random room in the hospital with an apology for the intrusion…
"Please excuse me... I know that you must be quite shocked but I am in a bit of a rush..."
But when she looks around, she finds a doctor unconscious and bleeding with her head in a pool of blood in the ground, surrounded by broken glass. She takes a closer look to the woman lying on the floor, confused of what's going on.
Worse yet, Dr. Kang's attacker is still in the room. She nervously turns around as she feels someone's presence behind her.
Seo Jin rounds the corner a few feet from Dr. Kang's office when he suddenly sees Jae Nin running for her life from the doctor's office, with some masked man in black sprinting behind her.
Seo Jin immediately turns and runs and reaches the elevator just ahead. He repeatedly presses the buttons on the elevator with trembling hands and his heart rate rises dangerously high as he looks back out to Jae Nin.
"Please save me! Please save me! Save me!" she struggles to reach for his hand, get into the elevator, and escape the masked man.
But even when she reached the elevator before the doors close, he purposely pushes her out, leaving Jae Nin outside with the culprit.
He's struggling to breathe and clutching his heart the whole time, but even when he's out of immediate danger; his heart rate only goes higher when the attacker goes after her.
The elevator doors close, and soon Seo Jin is overtaken by his pounding heart. He falls to his knees and clutches his throat in pain, gasping for air. His last thought is "No!" as his head and body falls limp, losing consciousness.
On the other hand, the hit man takes Jae Nin to the rooftop ledge of the hospital, where he holds her over the edge, choking her. She fights her way to break loose from the strangler. Her last thought: Save me, somebody…
Back in the elevator, Seo Jin's fingers twitch and he suddenly stands up tall. He ditches the jacket, the tie, the heart monitor, and the glasses. As the elevator doors open, it reveals a totally different man - Robin, who notably wears his collar open, showing the Big Dipper necklace that Seo Jin otherwise keeps hidden under his clothes.
He walks down the halls and looks out the window to see a woman being strangled out on the ledge, and runs to her. He arrives not later and manages to pull the hit man away from her with a swift move, sending him into the rooftop ground. But despite this fleet throw, it also sends Jae Nin flying off the ledge.
She falls, and he takes off in a big hero run to fly into the open air.
Although she is already too far out of reach, Robin doesn't hesitate a beat and launches himself over the edge after her. He grabs her into an embrace midair, and they land with a splash into the lake below which is just besides the hospital building.
Robin cradles her gently in his arms as they both sink deeper into the cold waters. Jae Nin opens her eyes and looks up to see him and his Big Dipper necklace.
Despite being unconscious in the water, her mind lapses on an unfamiliar streak of memory: the same necklace worn by a different man.
And from there she passes out.
A/N:
1. I'm so sorry if this chapter is so meh. I don't want these parts to be omitted from my story that is why I am keeping them. The next chapters may contain major differences from the actual scenes of the drama.
2. What do you think of improving Tae Joo and Jae Nin's love line? I think this would be great because their characters need melioration as well, aside from Seo Jin's. We'll be able to see Jae Nin differentiate her feelings for Tae Joo and Seo Jin/Robin. I also want to show Tae Joo being sane but crazy in love before being a psychopath.
3. Please please don't be confused with Jae Nin and Ha Na J