Inked Bonds- My Demon

(14) The Masked Killer

As we entered the house, the culprit had managed to slip away once again. I saw Min-Jae approaching from a distance.
"Yeona, are you alright?" Min-Jae asked.
I nodded.
"Sit down..." He gestured me to sit down on the couch and he went straight to the kitchen and returned shortly with a cup of tea.
"This might help you."  he handed me the cup.
"Thank you." I smiled.
"Are you feeling okay now? Do you want to go to the doctor?"
"I'm fine now."

"The electronic lock was broken." Gu-won sat down beside me.
"He seemed to enjoy it, it was as if he was there to watch me die and that song, killing me wasn't his only goal." I replied, my voice trembling slightly.
"He was about to capture the prey he had missed many times, he must've been thrilled." Gu-won said.
"You seem very familiar with how a murderer thinks." Min-jae narrowed his eyes.
"I'm familiar with how a predator thinks."

"He looked nothing like the man, who tried to kill me before, he looked completely different." I said.
"Then could there be involvement of more than one person-" Min-jae spoke but Gu-won cut him off, "There were some scratches on his neck."
"The driver also had them." I said.
"Could it be that he's changing faces? That's why I couldn't find him because I never saw his real face." Gu-won furrowed his brows.
"What do you mean by changes his face? Like changes disguise or something?" Min-Jae wondered aloud.
"Yes, like a masked killer." I added.

While Min-Jae and Gu-won were discussing something in my room, I excused myself and stepped out onto the balcony. I couldn't shake the feeling of unease that clung to my heart. The realization that I could have lost my life struck me like a bolt of lightning. I staggered back, collapsing onto the floor.

"Are you okay? What are you doing out here?" Min-jae rushed to my side.
"Until now, I had been taking death too lightly not because I was brave but because I really didn't know what it's to die. The feeling when the world begins to disappear and you're left completely alone." I whispered, my voice quivering.
"He was hovering around me all the time to kill me. The security guard I greeted this morning or the employee I talked to yesterday, he could be anyone... Tomorrow he'll go out again with a different face and will try to kill me." I continued.
"Don't fight this dangerous battle by yourself anymore." He softly said.

"Yeona, let's get married. You don't have to be all alone." He extended his hand forward.
Just as I began to process Min-jae's proposal, Gu-won approached us.
"How about you marry me instead?" Gu-won reached out his hand.

My mind seemed to spin as conflicting thoughts and emotions clashed in my mind. I took a deep breath & stood up on my own,
"I need some time to think."

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Gu-won's POV

I sat on my desk, my mind lost in staring at Yeona inside her cabin through the blinds.
She still hasn't accepted my proposal.
Is she making me wait over a mere human!?

Just then my phone buzzed on the desk. I picked up the phone to see a call from my manager.
"What?" I asked.
"Let's rendezvous. Look behind, master."
I swiveled my chair slowly and there he was, standing just a few feet behind me. I flinched, startled by his sudden appearance.

"What's with the rendezvous? Are we spies or something?" I scoffed.
"Who knows what that AI-like secretary would do if she sees me again? My neck still aches from being struck by her." He groaned.
"You exaggerate too much."

He sat on the chair next to me, he took out a packed lunchbox from his bag and slid it across the desk towards me.
"Ta-da! Lunch prepared by Kim Bok-gyu with love. You may cry if you're touched by my love master!" He chuckled.
"Did Kira send you?" I raised an eyebrow.
"No, she didn't."
"Then why are you here?"
"You stormed out last night & stayed out during the whole night so Kira... No, I was really worried about you."
"So you are a spy sent by Kira." I smiled.
"Darn it. Anyways where were you last night? You took off so abruptly, it was as if your butt was on fire."
"Yeona could've really died this time but thanks to that we found out that the culprit was a masked killer."
He gasped, quickly covering his mouth with his hands.

"Then I proposed to Yeona." I casually added.
"I see..." He nodded & took a sip of tea.
"Wait- what? You proposed to her!?" he shouted making heads turned in our direction.
I gestured for him to lower his voice but he ignored me & shouted again, "Why would you do that after rejecting her at the speed of light?"

I grasped a fork from my plate and pointed it towards Mr. Kim, instructing him to lower his voice.
"You said it'd be crazy to marry a human? So why!? What changed your mind all of a sudden?" He whispered.
"It's just, it'd be indecent of me to hold a married woman's wrist all the time." I leaned back in my chair.
"What kind of a demon is so moral?"
"Why shouldn't I be?"
"Does that mean you'll be a married demon? Once Kira finds out, she'll turn the whole world upside down!"

I sighed and turned my attention to Yeona's cabin. Through the window, I could see Yeona and Min-jae laughing there. Yeona was holding some potted flowers in her hand.
"What's so funny!?" I muttered.
"Master, are you getting jealous!" Mr. Kim chuckled.
"Jealous? Never..." I rolled my eyes.
"You should understand your emotions, Master, focus on what your heart is trying-"
"Enough of your blabbering, here comes Ms. Seo." Without wasting another moment, Mr. Kim dashed towards the restroom to hide.

I grabbed my cup of instant coffee and took a sip, Mr. Lim, who sat across from me in the office, caught my eye and smiled mischievously.
"Instant coffee is truly our savior." he exclaimed.
"I don't know how humans drink this crap everyday." I shrugged.

I decided to ask him the question that had been on my mind since yesterday. I cleared my throat and looked directly at him.
"Look, I have a question. What does it mean when a human saves your number as their emergency contact?"
He leaned forward, "Simple, it means they trust you more than anyone."
I smiled but it quickly faded from my face as a thought struck me.
Does Yeona trust Min-jae as well?

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Yeona's POV

I got inside my car and Gu-won took his position in the driver's seat. He adjusted the rearview mirror, his eyes meeting mine through its reflection.
"Can I ask you something, Yeona? Why did you save mine & Min-jae's number in your emergency contacts?"
"You're my bodyguard & Min-jae is like family." I replied.
"What about you? Why did you propose me when you turned me down earlier?" I added.
"I don't want you to die."
He said, his gaze fixated on the road ahead.

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I decided to attend the inauguration ceremony for our company's new factory, my family members were shocked to see me there. I stood beside them on the stage and talked to  Jae-eun, "Why do you look so surprised?"
"You never show up at events like this, you think they're superficial." He furrowed his brows.
"Superficial things can really help sometimes." I chuckled & moved towards my sister-in-law, who had just finished delivering her speech. The crowd applauded but I couldn't help but notice a mistake in her words.

"Sang-mi, you made a mistake, you're not the chairwoman but the acting chairwoman." I whispered.
"Do we have to advertise that? Especially when we're in this situation?" She replied while smiling for the camera.
"So it wasn't a mistake, by the way I'm getting married tomorrow."

The entire family stared at me with shock.
"I didn't have the time to prepare invitations but you understand right? We're family after all." I smiled and walked out of the stage.

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After much thinking, I decided to call Gu-won into my office. It dawned on me that perhaps there was a way we could mutually benefit from each other's situations. I needed his protection, and he needed his powers.
With this in mind, I contemplated the idea of marrying Gu-won but not out of love. It seemed like a win-win situation; only we both can help each other escape from the situation we're facing right now.

I prepared a pre-marital contract which clearly stated that our marriage would be a mere act just to show my family & the lawyers. We would be required to play the roles of a loving couple in public but behind the doors we were free to live our separate lives. The contract will expire when both of us will achieve our required goals.

I handed Gu-won the contract papers, he began to read through the document & finally signed it.