588.

589.

590.

591.

"Hey, anybody there?"

"Somebody?"

"I'm not a fucking criminal. Stop treating me like one!" Na-Ra banged at the bars. "Where the fuck is my lawyer?" She gripped the bars and shook it furiously. "I've been here forever! Why is no one saying something?"

It infuriated her to no end that the police paid no heed to their outburst.

"You have the right to remain silent. We will send in your lawyer as soon as he's here," they said. But that was yesterday.

Her chest heaved as she walked from one end of the confinement to the other. Through the bars, she could see Na-Rae in one cell and her mother in another. Both were sitting in a corner, staring aimlessly. Na-Rae refused to speak and when her mother started to speak, it was to yell and curse at everyone and anyone. Now she'd been silent for a few hours, but that silence was killing her.

Their lawyer hasn't come to visit yet and they've been to the hospital once for the so-called medical checkup. The food here tasted like shit and she couldn't wait to get out of here. Her frustration mounted. What the hell was wrong with these people? Why has no one come here?

Na-Rae has been in and out of interrogation a few times but no one had come for her or her mother. So he had no clue what was going on. And Na-Rae refused to speak. When she called her name, Na-Rae either pretended not to hear it or just looked away.

Desperation clawed at her chest and she wanted her phone. She already exhausted her five minutes of phone time to talk to Jimin. She should have called the lawyer instead. Now she'd have to wait.

Na-Ra hoped at least her mother would have called for a lawyer but she too exhausted her time, yelling at everyone instead of doing something fruitful. She didn't know if her father was behind the bars as well. He was also in the home when the raid happened and was confined to his office room.

Her throat constricted. She hadn't expected any of this to happen. Out of everything going wrong, this was the last thing she predicted to happen. She didn't even think for once, Jimin was capable of doing something like this.

Did he plant the drugs at Na-Rae's place? He didn't have to stoop that low for something like this. Confusion raked her brain and it didn't help that Na-Rae didn't speak.

She leaned her head on the bars, trying to listen to any other sounds. Somewhere, a door slammed. She could hear murmurs and other distant sounds of the facility. There were people outside the door and they carried on like they had no care in the world.

She took a deep breath, trying to compose herself. She needed to stay level headed for this. As soon as she got outside, she'll deal with Jimin and everyone else. She clenched her jaw. She wasn't going to rest until she had tarnished their reputation. It wasn't like she didn't have any resources at her disposal.

"Just a little longer." She closed her eyes. "This too shall pass."

She kept chanting this when the door suddenly opened, startling her. A guard with an impassive expression stepped inside. He unlocked the door. "You have a visitor," he said in a stern voice.

"Is my lawyer here?"

He stepped aside for her to exit the cell and led her out of the room. In her peripheral vision, she saw her mother perking up and jumping to her feet.

"Hey, what about me?" she demanded. "He's my lawyer too."

The guard ignored her mother and gestured at her to walk ahead.

"Mom, let me go see who it is," Na-Ra told her mom, who wasn't ready to listen. But there was no time to waste. Deep down she was afraid the guard would leave and close the door if she didn't grab this opportunity even though she knew that wouldn't be the case.

She heard her mother's yells even after the door closed. Oh, so they could hear us but chose to ignore us.

The stoic guard with squared shoulders and stiff form led her down a series of long corridors lined with doors and other amenities. There were people everywhere. Some were in their uniforms while the others were in suits.

Her heart leaped in her chest when she was finally let into the room, where a lawyer was waiting. But the relief faded when she saw it was someone else.

The lawyer stood as soon as he saw her and bowed. "Ms. Shin, I'm Attorney Lee from the Kim Associates. I'm here to act as your temporary legal counsel."

Her brows shot up. "Temporary?" she sneered. "Where's Mr. Kim?"

"Mr. Kim is busy handling another case at the moment and he sent me here to handle your situation."

Na-Ra scoffed at that, but took her seat regardless, crossing her legs at the knee. "Fine. When are you going to take me out of here?"

Attorney Lee also took his seat. "About that..." he drawled. "I've gone through the preliminary reports and it seems there has been an accusation of drug possession and trafficking."

"What the hell!" she growled. "What do you mean trafficking? We were framed. This is a premeditated and executed crime. Why aren't the cops after the people who planted the drugs?"

Attorney Lee sighed. "Ms. Shin, I understand your frustration and anger. I'm here to help you understand the situation you're in and help you figure out a strategy to come out of this unharmed."

"This is ridiculous."

"Listen. Jimin is behind all this. I know it's him," she said. "He planned this." Her fists clenched on the table. She had no doubt in her mind about that now. The elites had so many resources at their disposal. This was a child's play if someone like Jimin wanted to play this card.

"Ms. Shin, I believe you, but do you have evidence to prove your claim?" the Attorney asked.

Na-Ra went silent.

"That's some serious accusation. We cannot touch the Park family without repercussions if you were to claim something like that. We need evidence to prove his hand in this."

That was the problem. She had no proof. Even while talking to her, Jimin didn't admit that it was him. He cleverly evaded her accusations and refused to answer.

Na-Ra chewed at her bottom lip and decided to change the topic. "Where's my dad?" she asked. "Did you meet him? Is he detained as well?"

"No, ma'am. If I'm not wrong, he's been in and out of interrogations himself. As for his detention, I'm not sure about it. I haven't had a chance to meet him or speak to the attorney dealing with him."

Na-Ra frowned. That would make sense why her father couldn't help or send a lawyer. "Alright. Do something and take me out of here." She stood. "I'll double the pay if you manage to pull this off today."

"It's not that easy considering the circumstances."

"I didn't hire you to tell me what you can't do," she hissed. "Get. Me. Out. Of. Here."

"Yes, ma'am."

Na-Ra was led back to her cell and this time determination steeled her resolve. She wasn't going to let this bring her down. I'm going to get out of here and deal with you later.

She updated her mom as soon as she was inside but saw no shift in Na-Rae's position. She looked uninterested and said nothing. Myeong-suk didn't look pleased but fortunately, she shut up, mumbling something under her breath.

Na-Ra sat down, thankful for the momentary reprieve and her thoughts raced. Her company stocks would have plummeted. This wasn't just an ordinary hit. Her entire reputation was ruined. She won't let this slide.

***

I was busy streaming on Friday so didn't update. Then something came up yesterday. Short update for now. Will update more during this week.

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