The Request (16): The Caller

Jinhyun waited all day, waiting for Jumyeon to call. He tried to distract himself with various chores but his mind was preoccupied with the whole mystery behind Jenna. It was hard to believe that his friend might be involved in conning others but there was also the possibility of her being framed.

And then there was Seyoung's warnings which were swirling in his head. Finding his birth mother and not to let go of the one in his heart...these two were understandable enough. He was reluctant to find his real mother because what if he puts her in some kind of danger by contacting her? But Seyoung seemed adamant on Jinhyun to complete his tasks.

Moreover, do not let go of the one in his heart. Undoubtedly, Seyoung was talking about Cherry. She was the only woman he ever truly liked to this extent. Despite her harsh words, there was something pulling him towards her. He could not stay away from her and the six months they spent without talking to each other was pure torture for him. The woman he loved was so close and yet so far. Seyoung told him not to let go of her and Jinhyun had no intention of doing so. Even if she never loves him back, he would keep holding on to her as a well wisher.

The problem, however, was the third task.

"Do not let her win…" Seyoung's voice echoed in his head. Who was he referring to? It was obvious that he was not supposed to let someone from his contestants win, but he could not do that. It went against his ethics to rig the outcome. Besides, there were twenty contestants and it would be difficult to find out who Seyoung was talking about.

"I'll worry about that when the time comes," he decided. He would just go with his gut feeling when the final round arrives. He had more pressing matters in hand.

Instead, he focused on doing his laundry while waiting for Jumyeon to call. He had not heard from Jumyeon on the progress of the job he had entrusted him with. Jumyeon had mentioned a detective friend of his who could bring him information on Jenna but so far, Jinhyun did not receive any response.

He was putting his dirty clothes into the washing machine when his phone began to ring from inside his pocket. Turning on the knob of the washer, he glanced at the caller ID, hoping it to be Jumyeon. To his disappointment, it was an unknown caller.

"Hello?" he greeted. "Who is this?"

There was a silence from the other end but he could hear someone's hoarse breathing.

"Hello?"

Silence. Nothing but the inhale and exhale of raspy breaths. Whoever it was, only wanted to hear Jinhyun's voice. Jinhyun drew a sharp breath, his irritation increasing. No doubt it was an obsessive fan who got hold of his number through some illegal means.

"If you call again, I'll report you to the police for harassment!" he yelled. His normally affable temper fired up whenever obsessive fans disturbed him or his friends. He was not known to be merciful to them since it was a violation of his privacy.

"Incheon post office," a robotic voice came from the other end. "Locker number two zero zero four."

The caller was using a voice modifier. It was impossible to tell if it was a male or female.

"Who the hell are you?" he demanded.

"Someone who loves you to death," the caller claimed. There was something eerily disturbing about the caller. The lack of empathy in the mysterious voice sent a chill down his spine. Even with that brief sentence, Jinhyun felt his blood freeze at the caller's total fixation on him.

The line was disconnected from the other end. Jinhyun stared at his phone, too shocked to react. He had countless fans calling him everyday but he usually ignored them or reported the malicious ones to the police. The fans knew him as a no-nonsense person despite his laid back personality.

But this caller felt more...familiar. It was as if he knew the person but he could not pinpoint on who it could be. Moreover, the person gave him a location to a locker. Why? What was in that locker?

Forget it, he told himself. Don't fall for such tricks. The caller was only trying to mess with your head!

He took a deep breath and tried to focus on his chores. But the chilling voice of the caller would not leave his head.

It was evening by the time he was done with his work. He glanced up at the clock to see that it was already 7 PM. He was supposed to meet Jenna and Park Kwansik in an hour to discuss the investment opportunity. Sending a text to Cherry, he started to get ready for the meeting.

Half an hour later, he was outside Cherry's apartment, knocking on her door. He was wearing a simple white shirt paired with black blazer and pants. They were going to a high profile restaurant in the city where the dress code was semi-formal to formal. He was not wearing any tie since he did not know how to make the knot.

It was taking her a while to open the door. Jinhyun kept on checking his watch. Jenna had already texted him that they were waiting for them at the restaurant. He was leaning against the wall, writing back to her that they will be a little late. Dimly, he heard the door open.

"Are you ready to g-" he was asking but the words got stuck in his throat.

Cherry was standing there, wearing a knee length red dress. It was an off shoulder frock, finely embroidered by hand. It fit her perfectly, making her features more refined. Her fair skin shone like pearls as she wore very little makeup, letting her natural tone stand out. Her dark red hair was styled into soft curls which reached till her waist. She complemented the look with a peach colored clutch and scarlet heels.

The moment his eyes fell on her, he could feel his heart skip several beats. She was breathtakingly beautiful to the point that it intimidated him. Her eyes were shining with a strange innocence and added with her natural elegance, she was like an unearthly being. If he thought that she could not be any more beautiful then he was wrong. Her beauty increased every time he laid his eyes on her but at that moment, it felt as if she was the only person left in the world.

It was like she was walking in slow motion. Her every step was enticing him, making him want to run up to her and embrace her. He wanted to take her hand and run away. Away to a world where there would be only the two of them.

She stopped in front of him, a smirk playing on her lips. "I know I'm beautiful but the way you're looking at me is just creepy," she sneered at him.

Jinhyun's bubble shattered into millions of pieces. Her tongue was sharper than her looks.

"You're looking so beautiful that I couldn't help but admire you," he said outright. There was no point in hiding his shameless feelings for her. He may have dug his own grave but it was still worth it to see her irritated expression.

"I hope your smooth talking skills can work on them," she gritted, raising one of her finely done eyebrows. "They certainly don't work on me."

Jinhyun leaned close to her. "But my sexy smile seems to catch your attention," he grinned.

She stepped on his foot hard, sending causing him to jump in pain.

"OW!" he yelled. Her sharp heels had stomped on his toes, almost crushing them.

"If you're done with your silly antics then can we please go?" she snapped as Jinhyun reeled from the agony. Shooting a deathly glare at him, she strutted on towards the elevator.

"Why am I in love with such a cruel woman?" he muttered as his toes throbbed.

"What was that?" her shrill voice came at him.

"Nothing!" he lied as he followed her, half hopping all the way to the car park.