12 The Ship (2)

KJ's eyes were fixed on the screen. He saw Madam Lim's men taking out the boxes.

"Where are all the guards on the ship? Madam Lim frowned. "Weren't they supposed to keep an eye on the girls?"

Teppei frowned. He could not see any guards either. Suddenly, an old man came running towards them.

"I am the captain of the ship, madame," he bowed to her. "My men are inside. Since, we brought the girls secretly, we did not place too many people on the deck to avoid suspicion."

"Alright," Madam Lim waved him off. "Just let my men take over now."

The old man bowed once again and hurried off to oversee the unloading. As soon as they were done, the ship began to raise its anchor. Soon, it was backing away from the port.

Madam Lim turned back to the goods in hand.

"Take them all inside the warehouse!" she barked at them. "Quickly!"

The camera followed them into the warehouse. After all the boxes were brought in, the madam hurried towards them. The man called Teppei walked alongside her.

"Time to check out our loot," Madam Lim smiled. Teppei smirked and opened the first box.

As soon as they unlocked the box, Madam Lim let out a shrill cry. Inside the box was an unconscious man.

"What is the meaning of this?" she shrieked. "Open all the boxes! NOW!"

In a panic, they opened all the boxes. There were no girls in them. Instead, they found unconscious bodies of their men who were supposed to be guarding the ship.

"What the-?"

Realization dawned on Teppei.

"Stop the ship!" he yelled. They scurried outside only to find the ship had already sailed off.

"What are we going to do?" Madam Lim panicked. "They'll kill us! We lost the consignment!"

Teppei was quiet. He had to figure out a way to save himself. If the Cartel found out, he'd be killed. He looked at the panic stricken face of Madam Lim.

"There is one way," he said quietly.

Madam Lim felt relieved. There was hope after all.

"What is it, Teppei?" she asked enthusiastically. But her hopes dashed when she saw him pointing a gun at her.

"Teppei no-" her words were cut short by the gunshot. He put a bullet straight through her brain.

He saw the body of Madam Lim fall to the ground, blood and brains gushing out of her head.

"Tell the Cartel that she double crossed us," Teppei ordered the men. "She had the men in the ship killed, stole the goods and sold them to Abyss. When we confronted her, she tried to run."

The men, who were fearful of Teppei, could only bow in silence. Teppei then went back into the warehouse. He now had to deal with the unconscious men.

Over the next five minutes, the guards outside heard numerous gunshots. Each shot was a warning sign to them that their lives could also be cut short like this.

The CEO turned the TV off. KJ had seen a lot of cruel men in life. But the Teppei was on a whole different level of cruelty.

"Where are the girls?" he asked, shaken by what he saw on screen. "How did you manage to steal them away?"

"I instructed your men to find out from which port the ship was leaving," the CEO said. "I had one of my detective friends leak a false trail that the police were going to scout for their ship in their planned route. When Teppei heard the news, he changed the route, just as I had planned. When the ship used the longer route, they were actually entering an area secretly monitored by Abyss. Hence, my men were able to easily locate and infiltrate the ship. They put sleeping powder in the drinks of the guards and made them unconscious. As soon as the guards fell asleep, my men got the girls out of it. They're now in one of my rehab centers."

KJ let out a sharp breath. The CEO really knew how to pull the strings.

"But this Teppei won't stay put," she said in a serious tone. "He seems to be in cahoots with Ziko. The latter won't stay put. He'll strike soon. We'll just have to be careful."

KJ nodded. "My men are yours to use," he told her. "They'll always aid Abyss."

"My job here is to protect you," the CEO reaffirmed. "You and someone I deeply care about."

KJ looked at her quizzically. "Who?" he asked. For some reason, he dreaded the answer.

She looked at him and replied, "Someone very special."

Her eyes softened at the mention of that person. KJ could feel his heart ripped out of his chest. Jade was right. Mirae of this timeline was not his wife. Yet, he could not help but be devastated. He lost her. Forever.

Outwardly, he maintained his stone cold expression.

"Is that person very close to you?" he asked.

"Not yet," she replied. "But I want him to be."

Fighting off the urge to shake her and confess the truth to her, he replied, "Then I will also protect that person," he resolved. "No matter what happens."

If not as a husband, I will protect her and her beloved one as a friend, KJ vowed.

The CEO was grateful to him.

"Thank you," she said sincerely, patting his hand.

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Mirae checked herself in the mirror. She went through her numerous clothes and finally decided to wear a red, off shoulder dress. It was not too glamorous but had an elegant touch to it. Despite her usual bold attitude, she felt extremely nervous.

It was her first real date in years. The last time she dated was in high school and after that, she had zero luck in finding the right person. Even though she had been Ash's fan for years, she was still giddy about tonight.

"What if he doesn't like this dress?" she wondered out loud. "Ugh! Why is it so hard to find something to wear?"

She wanted to try out more clothes and even debated whether she should buy everything from the clothing store, but decided against it. It was almost 7 PM and they were supposed to meet by 8 PM. Mirae sighed. Now she knew what other girls felt like.

Since Mirae was not going to use her mask, she took a secret, built-in elevator directly from her apartment. Unbeknownst to KJ, she had this built specifically for her before moving in. It was hidden behind a bookshelf at the study room. It only went from her apartment till all the way down to the car park.

Mirae got off the elevator and took out her Porsche. "Mirae, hwaiting!" she told herself. She had no intention of returning home that night.

She stepped out of the elevator and approached Ash's apartment. She took a deep breath.

"You can do it, Mirae!" she chanted. She mustered the courage and rang his doorbell.