CHAPTER 33

SAIA'S POV:

"Wh-What are you doing?" I ask Kang Woo.

"Taking your irritating ass to the airport." He snaps.

"Why?"

"You need to leave."

"I won't go."

"WHY?" He thunders. "After everything that has happened what is it that you still don't understand about the seriousness of this situation?"

"I'll give you three reasons why and they are still sitting back at that warehouse!" I yell back.

"I can't do anything about them." He says uncomfortably.

"Then why were you able to help me?"

"You are just one person…"

"Your father is going to figure out you helped me."

"Maybe, but I can deal with him."

"Kang Woo please. Help us put a stop to this."

"Are you asking me to go against my own father?" He asks in disbelief.

"Yes. I am. I know better than anyone what it's like to have a father that does terrible things-"

"How can you even compare your father to mine? Your father has killed people!" He yells at me.

"And so has yours!" I yell back. "He may not be the one to pull the trigger but he has still ordered it. He has still killed people and he's tried to kill me."

Kang Woo clenches his jaw and his hand tightens on the wheel but he stays silent. Frustrated and worried, I turn my attention to the window. He finally pulls up in front of the airport but keeps the doors locked.

"It's your choice if you go or you stay." he says as he hands me an envelope. Inside there is money, an airplane ticket to China, and a forged passport. "But if you choose to stay, I won't be able to protect you anymore."

"I'm not asking you to."

"I've never understood you. You have had such a hard life and yet you still fight for everyone else. Will you ever do anything for yourself for once?" He quietly asks.

"I try do something for myself every day. I make the people I love smile and that makes me happy. That's why I want to protect them. Please help us Kang Woo."

"…You need to go." He refuses to look at me and I finally climb out of the car.

My only choice is to stay but I have to be careful. I need to delay Tae Mu finding out about my "escape" for as long as possible. I don't have my phone and calling the F4 from a payphone would be unwise. I don't know who could be listening in. Making my decision, I hail a cab and give the driver directions. At least the cash Kang Woo gave me will be put to use.

After I buy myself a change of clothes, I find one of the clubs that Woo Bin owns. The club is exclusive and I've never tried to get into a place like this. Maybe if I just act like Boo Ki and bat my eyelashes…? I'm no good at this kind of thing. I stink at flirting… I groan to myself. Seeing a group of snobby looking girls approach the doorman, I place myself close to them and try to blend in with their group. I smile at the doorman and he waves us all in. That was a lot easier than I thought.

Fortunately for me, I have come to recognize many of Woo Bin's men over the past few weeks. If I can find one of them, they can take me to Woo Bin without being noticed. The club is dark and loud. It may not be easy to find anyone I recognize here. Glancing up at the VIP booths, I squint to see if Woo Bin happens to be here but I'm not surprised that he isn't. I know he's probably looking for us. If anything didn't happen to him. I don't know for sure that the F4 are okay. I sink deeper into the shadows of the club and I'm grateful that the clothes I bought are black. I want to be able to look around without being bothered.

I'm approached a couple of times by guys asking me to dance but for the most part I am left alone. After a couple of hours, I finally recognize one of Woo Bin's men as he approaches the bartender and ironically it's my bodyguard that I ditched the other night. I quickly move to a spot that's closer to him and wait for him to walk away from the bar. As soon as he moves by me, I grab his arm and pull him towards me against the wall.

"Look, I really don't have time for this tonight." He says in exasperation.

"DK it's me!" I have to shout in his ear for him to hear me over the noise. His head snaps down to look at me and he stares at me in disbelief.

"What the fuck? What are you doing here? The boss is crazy out of his mind with worry over you and the other girls."

"I know. I need you to take me to him and the F4 but no one else can know. We need to keep quiet."

"Okay. Leave it to me. Stay close." Taking my arm, he leads me to the back of the club. I never realized just how good DK is at his job until tonight. Then again, I honestly haven't really taken the time to get to know the guy. He takes me out the backdoor of the club and to his car. We drive through a back entrance of Woo Bin's house and we even manage to get through the house without running into anybody.

My pace quickens as we approach Woo Bin's office and I have to keep myself from running. I want to see Ji-Hoo. Swallowing hard, I reach for the door but my hand is shaking so bad that I hesitate. DK puts a reassuring hand on my shoulder and I quietly open the door. All the F4 are here, just as I hoped they would be. They all have their backs to me, along with Boo Ki and Seo Hyun. Jun Pyo is looking out the window next to Woo Bin who is quietly talking on his phone. Yi Jung is staring at his hands while Seo Hyun rubs his back in comfort. Boo Ki is looking through files on Woo Bin's desk but my eyes fall on Ji-Hoo. He is sitting in a chair with his elbows on his knees and his face in his hands. I suddenly can't seem to talk. He's okay… My legs are shaking so bad I can't walk another step.

"Boss…" DK says behind me. Woo Bin turns to look at us and he drops his phone in surprise.

"Ji-Hoo-ah…" I quietly say. His head snaps up at my voice. In seconds, he is on his feet and I'm pulled into his crushing embrace. I bury my face in his neck and lean against him in relief.

"Oh my god! Saia!" I hear Boo Ki say. I can feel her hand touch my back.

Ji-Hoo finally pulls away and grips my shoulders with his hands, searching me for any sign of injury. His right eye is starting to turn purple and his lip is still swollen from this morning.

"Are you okay? Are you hurt?"

"I'm okay. I have a lump on the back of my head but I'm not hurt." He pulls me close again to feel the back of my head and I wince when his hand finds the tender spot.

"I'm so sorry that I couldn't stop them." He says in frustration.

"Ani! We both did everything we could. There was just too many of them." I reassure him.

"Are you alone?" Yi Jung asks.

"Yes but I know the general area of where the girls are. If we act fast, we should be able to get to them before Tae Mu realizes I'm gone."

"Show me." Woo Bin says. I try to walk towards his desk but my legs give out and Ji-Hoo's arm slides around my waist to keep me from falling.

"Sorry…" I mumble in embarrassment and he helps me walk the rest of the way. I point out on the map the general area of where the warehouse is and explain what I remember it looking like. Ji-Hoo's arms stay wrapped around my waist with his chest pressed against my back the entire time. I lean against him, grateful to be in his arms again.

"How do we know this isn't a trap? How do we know you are not a part of this whole thing?" Seo Hyun asks.

"What do you mean?" Yi Jung asks her.

"Why are you alone? If you managed to escape, why didn't the other girls come with you?" Jun Pyo asks.

"Because Kang Woo bribed one of the guards to let me go." I feel Ji-Hoo stiffen behind me. "He dropped me off at the airport and he wanted me to leave the country. If I was a part of all this, I would have just left. But I'm not. They are my friends and I want them back safe."

"We can talk about all of this later." Woo Bin says to Seo Hyun. "You girls stay here. I mean it. DK is going to stay with you." He says pointedly at Boo Ki and me.

"Let's go." Jun Pyo says to the F4 members. Ji-Hoo hesitates and looks down at me.

"I'll be okay. I'm not going anywhere till you get back and I have Boo Ki here. Go with them." I reassure him. He nods and leans down to give me a lingering kiss. "Just be careful." I whisper.

"We will be back soon." He says with a nod before following the others out the door. Boo Ki glances at Seo Hyun and takes my arm.

"Come on. Let's go to my room." She says.

"Leaving so soon?" Seo Hyun asks. "I would really like to hear your explanation of what happened tonight."

"Why don't you just shut the fu-"

"Boo Ki!" I cut her off. Turning to Seo Hyun, I feel conflicted. A part of me wants to kick her ass and the other part feels she is a waste of my time.

"I don't owe you an explanation. Why should I tell you anything? You are nothing to me." Turning back to Boo Ki, we walk towards the door and I see DK hide a smile behind his hand before he turns to follow us.

(^_^)

WOO BIN'S POV:

Signaling to my men, I watch them make their way around the building to cover the exits. I want to be sure that they don't try to sneak the girls out another way. The weight of the gun in my jacket really makes me uneasy. Saia said these guys are armed and that's the only reason I have it with me. I really hope that I don't need to use it.

Once inside, Yi Jung and I make our way along the wall while Ji-Hoo and Jun Pyo work their way towards the center of the building. The rest of my men split off towards the back. As we make our way along the wall, we come up against a concrete room. Signaling to Ji-Hoo and Jun Pyo, I look around the corner and see the two guys Saia described guarding the door. Jun Pyo nods at me and we lunge towards them. We manage to catch them off guard but one of them still fires a shot off before I knock him out. I look in disgust at the new hole in my sleeve where the bullet grazed my arm.

"Damn it! This is my favorite leather jacket! Bastard." Planting a solid kick into the ribs of the asshole that did the damage, I watch Yi Jung unlock the door. Ji-Hoo looks around, keeping watch for anymore of Tae Mu's guys. I follow the other two inside and while they are having a heart-warming reunion with their girls, I have to duck as Jae Kyung takes a swing at me.

"Ya! What took you so long! Do you have any idea how uncomfortable we've been? Plus they took Saia away and we haven't seen her since!" she yells at me. I laugh and grab her flailing arms.

"Nice to see you too baby." I sarcastically reply.

"Saia is already at Woo Bin's house. She told us where to find you." Yi Jung says.

"Thank goodness she's alright!" Ga Eul says in relief.

"Let's get out of here." Jun Pyo says as he drags Jan Di towards the door. The rest of us follow but Ji-Hoo and I fall back as the others make their way towards the exit.

"Didn't Saia say there were three of them?" I ask Ji-Hoo. He nods and continues to sweep his eyes around the building. Once outside, I make sure the girls and the F4 are safe in one of the SUV's before I gather my men around me.

"I want everyone to search the area. See if you can find anything that might-" I'm cut off as a bullet rams into my shoulder. Several of my men fall around me as bullets start to rain down on us. I hear one of the girls scream as I duck behind the other SUV. The barrage of bullets continues and I look around for the attackers but I can't see them.

"Get them out of here!" I yell at one of my men and point at the SUV with my friends. He nods and climbs into the driver's seat. I'm glad that the cars are bullet proof. They will be safe inside. I try to pinpoint where the shots are coming from when I feel a strong hand grab my uninjured arm and yank me into the car. My surviving men dive inside the vehicle as Ji-Hoo lets go of my arm to look at my shoulder.

"What are you still doing here? You should be in the other car with everyone else." I tell him.

"What about you? We need to get out of here." He says calmly as we take off. "And we need to get you to the hospital."

"Ani. You know how much I hate that place." I say. I grit my teeth in pain as he helps me pull my jacket off so that he can take a better look at my shoulder.

"The bullet went all the way through. I should be able to treat you at your house with Jan Di's help." I breathe a sigh of relief and lean my head back against the seat as Ji-Hoo puts pressure on the wound.

"We got lucky. We may not be so lucky next time." He says quietly.

"I know..." Damn it… Tae Mu has covered his tracks so well that we can't dig up enough dirt on him to bring him down. We need a break and we need it fast before somebody gets killed. I already lost some men tonight. I don't want to lose anyone else.