THE MONEY'S GONE

** Episode 21 **

"And who's Muchen?" Min-Jun asked, genuinely curious. With the way she speak about it, and how she suddenly get angry when her mom brought it up the last time, he must be someone close to her.

"Am I supposed to tell you that?" she shot back.

"I guess so," he replied, with smile flashes on his face. After a moment of hesitation and staring at Min-Jun face, Qing found herself opening up about her past, something she had kept to herself for too long.

"He's my ex fiance. I broke up with him after I caught him having sex with Linglong," She explained, her eyes welling up with tears.

"What?" Min-Jun exclaimed, stunned.

Qing nodded, her voice smooth and gentle. "Linglong was once my best friend. I never imagined she would betray me like that, especially with Muchen and she didn't felt remorseful. After that night, they both vanished. I still wish I could find them and give her a piece of my mind for breaking my heart and trust."

"What about…," he hesitated, unsure if he should continue but then he did, "your dad?"

A single tears rolled down her cheek at the mention of her dad. She sighed, letting her head dropped down. Her lips fell apart but struggled to find her voice.

"It's okay if you don't want to talk about it," Min-Jun said gently sensing the taut.

But suddenly, her voice broke through, "My dad abandoned us and ran off with a wealthy woman from Seoul. My mom almost committed suicide when he left, but she found the strength to carry on for us. It hurts so much that I hurt my mom Everytime running away trying to look for my dad."

"Why do you want to look for your dad anyways?" He asked curious but just then, the door opened, both Ari and Ms Gwon walked in and Qing quickly wiped the tears from her face and pretend everything was fine.

Min-Jun greeted Miss Gwon as she stepped in, but Qing frowned, pretending still upset with her mother. Ms Gwon was quick to noticed her daughter's face and paused, asking what was wrong, but Qing simply looked away and headed to her room, ignoring her mom's questions. Min-Jun followed.

Ari followed them later on and immediately, She saw Qing's face as well. "What happened?" she asked, but Qing brushed her off.

"Just pretend you didn't see anything, okay?" Min-Jun suggested, hoping to stopped her from asking.

"But I can't pretend! It looks bad," Ari replied, concern etched on her face.

"Aren't you hungry? You must be! Let me get you something to eat," Min-Jun said, trying to change the subject. But Ari wasn't letting it go. Her sister's hurt and she knows it. "I already ate at the restaurant. Can you please tell me what happened to her face?"

Just then, there was a knock at the living room door. Min-Jun seized the opportunity to avoid Ari's questions and flee to answer it, only to get stunned by who was at the door.

"We're from the Ponjiyo police station. We're here for Miss Qing," said a police officer standing at the door, flanked by two other officers and one of the girls Qing had fought with at the electronic store.

"Uh… S…Sh…She…" Min-Jun stammered, struggling to find the right words. He can't get involved with the police, what if they took him with Qing to the station and then his identity is review. Just then, Qing's voice called out from her room, "Tao, who is there?"

Before he could respond, the girl barged in, pushing Min-Jun aside. "There you are, you brat!" she exclaimed.

Both Qing and Ari stood up, surprised to see her but Qing wasn't scared in anyway even with the officers with her. "What the heck is this cockroach doing in my house?" she shot back, just as the police officers entered.

"Miss Qing, You are under arrest for public assault," one of the officers stated.

"Mom! The cops are here!" Ari shouted, her voice rising in panic when she heard what the officers stated. She knew something wasn't right when she first saw Qing face.

"Public assault? What does that even mean?" Qing asked, bewildered.

"You'll find out when you get to the station," the girl sneered, turning to the police. "Take her away."

The officers cuffed Qing and began to lead her out. Min-Jun rushed forward, trying to intervene, while Ari called out for her mother. Ms. Gwon appeared, bounce on the officer, grabbed onto his collar and shaking him roughly. "I won't let you take my daughter away!"

The other officers tried to get Ms. gown off the officer to no avail. It lasted until one of the cops leaned in close to Ms Gwon and whispered, "How about a free bowl of mapo tofu in exchange for your daughter?"

On hearing that, she let go of the officers and muttered, "Fine! Tomorrow at 11 a.m., it's all yours," she replied, determination in her voice. The officer smiled and ordered Qing release.

"I beg your pardon!" the girl exclaimed, shocked facing the officers, waiting for a very reasonable explanation.

"What? You claim she assaulted you, but she's the one with cuts while you're not? I bet it's the other way around," the officer replied.

"Officers, you're absolutely right. They assaulted her; I saw it with my own eyes," Min-Jun jumped in.

"They? Are you saying there were two of them?" the officer asked, and Min-Jun nodded vigorously showing three of his fingers.

The officer turned to the girl and said, "You and your friends assaulted her, and you have the audacity to report it? You should be the one arrested." He ordered for Qing to be released, and she was freed. The girl stormed out in anger.

The officer winked at Ms Gwon before leaving with his colleagues. Miss Gwon shot a frustrated look at Qing before retreating inside without a word.

"Qing, you fought and was beaten up? Oh, now I see where those bruises came from!" Ari exclaimed before following her mother inside.

"Who on earth entered my room and took my money?" Miss Gwon roar from her room, her voice echoing through the roof of the house.

She was preparing to leave for her restaurant, wanting to return the loan she had finally managed to save up, but to her dismay, the money was nowhere to be found. "Who took my money?" She roar again, rushing out of her room with a hard comb in her hand, frustrated.