The Life I Found With You

The streets of Seoul were unusually quiet that night.

Rain had fallen earlier, leaving the roads covered in a thin layer of water that reflected the golden glow of streetlights. Most people had already returned home, leaving only a few cars moving through the empty streets.

Inside one of those cars sat a young woman.

Her hands were firmly wrapped around the steering wheel as she drove through the darkness.

She glanced at the clock on the dashboard.

1:17 a.m.

“Too late,” she murmured.

She was exhausted. All she wanted was to reach home, take a warm shower, and sleep.

She turned onto a quieter road.

For several minutes, nothing seemed unusual.

Then she noticed the black vehicle behind her.

It had been following her for the last few minutes.

Her eyes narrowed.

She changed lanes.

The vehicle changed lanes too.

She slowed down.

So did they.

A strange feeling settled in her chest.

“Who are they?”

She pressed the accelerator.

The vehicle behind her followed.

Her heart began beating faster.

She suddenly turned into a narrow road leading toward the coast.

The other vehicle followed.

“Seriously?”

She gripped the steering wheel tighter.

The road eventually became almost completely deserted.

Then—

BANG!

A bullet struck the rear window.

The woman ducked instinctively.

“What the—?!”

Another shot rang out.

She slammed on the brakes and jumped out of the car before the attackers could surround her.

Four men stepped out of the black vehicle.

All of them were carrying guns.

One of them pointed his weapon at her.

“Don’t make this difficult.”

The woman stared at them.

She was frightened.

But she wasn’t helpless.

Without warning, she grabbed the arm of the nearest man and twisted it violently.

He cried out.

Before the others could react, she drove her elbow into his stomach and sent him crashing onto the hood of the car.

The second man lunged at her.

She ducked beneath his punch, grabbed his wrist and used his momentum to throw him onto the ground.

The third man fired.

She moved.

The bullet missed.

She kicked the weapon from his hand and struck him across the jaw.

He collapsed.

The last man stared at her in disbelief.

“You—”

He raised his gun.

She rushed toward him.

Bang!

Pain exploded through her shoulder.

She stumbled backward.

Her hand immediately covered the wound.

Blood seeped between her fingers.

For a moment, everything became silent.

The man smiled.

“You should have stayed quiet.”

She looked at him.

Then at the blood on her hand.

And somehow, despite the pain, she smiled.

“That was a mistake.”

Before he could react, she charged forward.

She struck his wrist, forcing the gun from his hand, then slammed her fist into his face.

He fell unconscious beside the others.

The woman stood there, breathing heavily.

Her shoulder burned.

Blood continued to flow.

She looked at the unconscious men.

Then at the dark road behind her.

More people might be coming.

She had to leave.

Now.

She ran.

She didn’t know how far she went.

Her vision slowly blurred.

The sound of the waves became louder.

Finally, she reached the shore.

There was a small boat resting near the water.

She stumbled toward it and collapsed beside it.

Her breathing became shallow.

She pressed her hand against her shoulder.

“Help...”

No one answered.

The night slowly began to fade into morning.

The sun was beginning to rise when a luxury yacht approached the coast.

Standing at the front was a woman in her early fifties.

She wore an elegant cream-colored coat, her dark hair neatly tied behind her.

Beside her stood her secretary.

“Chairwoman Kang,” the secretary said, “we should return soon. You have a meeting at ten.”

Chairwoman Kang Mi-rae barely heard him.

Her eyes had fallen on something near the shore.

“Wait.”

The secretary stopped.

“What is it?”

Mi-rae pointed toward the beach.

“Someone is there.”

They moved closer.

As soon as Mi-rae saw the young woman lying beside the boat, her expression changed.

“Stop the yacht.”

She hurried toward the shore.

The girl was barely conscious.

Her clothes were stained with blood.

Mi-rae immediately knelt beside her.

“Miss?”

The girl’s eyes slowly opened.

She tried to speak.

“Please...”

“I’m here. You’re safe.”

Mi-rae looked at the wound.

“She’s losing too much blood. Call an ambulance!”

The secretary immediately reached for his phone.

But the girl suddenly grabbed Mi-rae’s wrist.

Her grip was surprisingly strong.

“Don’t...”

Mi-rae looked into her frightened eyes.

“Don’t what?”

The girl struggled to breathe.

“Don’t contact... my family.”

Mi-rae frowned.

“Why?”

The girl’s lips trembled.

“Whatever happens to me...”

She swallowed painfully.

“Please don’t contact my family.”

“Miss, your family needs to know that you’re alive.”

“No.”

There was genuine terror in her eyes.

“If you contact them...”

Her voice became weaker.

“They’ll kill them.”

Mi-rae froze.

“Who will?”

The girl tried to answer.

But her eyes slowly closed.

“Miss!”

Her hand slipped from Mi-rae’s wrist.

She fainted.

Mi-rae immediately stood.

“Get her to a hospital!”

The secretary nodded.

As they carried the unconscious girl away, Mi-rae looked back toward the dark sea.

She couldn’t explain why.

But something about that girl felt strangely familiar.

As though fate had deliberately placed her in Mi-rae’s path.

And Mi-rae had no idea that the mysterious girl she had just saved was about to become the most important person in her life.

Nor did she know that the girl wasn’t simply running from danger.

She was running from a life she had completely forgotten.

A life that would eventually come looking for her.

And somewhere in Seoul, someone was already searching for her.

Not to save her.

But to make sure she never returned.