1134.

1135.

1136.

1137.

1138.

Sohee:

"Did you find something?" Seo-Yeon asked as soon as Sohee entered the home. She jumped from the couch from where she was lounging, eyes wide with anticipation and traces of hope dancing on her features. "Was he there?"

Sohee shook her head, barely containing her rage. "That fucker is gone," she growled. "He dipped. Fucking gone. Puff."

Minhyuk and family vanished into thin air, leaving no traces at all. Their family home and Minseok's studio apartment were closed. She even went to Minseok's office and was told it had been closed for a while now.

"Frauds!"

She threw her shoulder bag on the floor with a hiss and buried her hands in her hair, pulling at it with another frustrated growl. Regret settled in when she heard a soft crunch of plastic wrapper inside the bag.

Shit. She forgot she had some convenience store food inside. That thought also brought a grimace to her face. Life the past few weeks had been shitty and they barely had any food to eat.

Honestly, she didn't know it could get this worse. These unforeseen changes had thrown her off the grid. She tried to sell some valuables she owned but no one was even ready to purchase it from her.

It was as if the entire pack avoided her. They stopped interacting with her. Last time her mom tried to borrow some milk for cereal, they shut the door in her face.

It was all because of the challenge with June. She should have rejected it. Who knew June was that strong? She ran a hand over her face.

Why did she have to be impulsive and fall into her trap like that? She should have thought about it first, but she'd been too furious to think about it.

"Where could they have gone? They don't even have connections," Seo-Yeon wondered. "Do you think they left the country?"

"No idea."

"Did you go to the Jeon Group?" Her mom approached her cautiously, having been at the receiving end of her outbursts these past few weeks. "What did they tell you?" she asked. "Did he go there?"

Sohee scoffed. "They didn't even let me in." She planted both her hands on her hips. "Blocked me at the entrance as if I'm a fucking intruder," she griped. She didn't wish to delve into the details after suffering through enough shit these past few weeks. "He's not there. Hasn't been to work all these weeks and no one has seen him."

One of the securities she knew had told her that much. He said Minhyuk might have quit the job since he hasn't seen him in a while and appeared surprised when she said he hasn't gone home.

Minhyuk must have dipped along with his family as soon as he realized what was happening. Or he knew about her father's situation and the amount of debt he had accumulated.

Shit.

How could she be so blind? She should have kept an eye on him. Who would have thought he would do this? Where did he go? Did he find a job elsewhere?

She growled in frustration. Even his mom was so silent about everything. Her anger switched to Minhyuk's brother who'd taken so much money from her mom to invest in his business.

"What are we going to do?" Sohee could hear the panic in her mom's voice. Her scent was troubled. "They will evict us in three days. We don't have a place to go." She shifted uncomfortably in her seat. "Someone from pack HQ visited this morning to hand us another eviction notice. They said they will forcefully remove us from the property if we aren't gone in three days."

She fucking knew that. Sohee carded her fingers through her disheveled hair. Her useless father was in jail and their measly assets were all seized by the debt collectors. When it became clear they would lose the wretched den they called home, her mom cleverly moved back to the Jeon mansion and Sohee moved to Seoul in the pretense of Minhyuk's job.

Even Minhyuk didn't know the extent of damage her father created or how much they lost. She didn't dare tell him, fearing he would break the engagement and her dream of becoming a part of the Jeon pack would forever remain a dream.

But without him now, she didn't know what to do. Her friends Eunji and Yuna weren't answering her calls. She was afraid of texting them with that Nightmare watching. Sohee had silenced her phone, fearing the hacker. She couldn't even travel to Busan because she had exhausted all her money and hit the limit with Minhyuk's card.

Seo-Yeon went back to sit on the couch and was trembling slightly. "I'm so scared." She brought both her hands to her chest as if she was praying. "Your dad took all my jewelry and the ones I managed to save are all in the Jeon mansion. They didn't let me take anything else other than my clothes when they threw me out."

Sohee didn't know what to do or where to go. "We need to figure something out." Otherwise they will end up on the streets. No. She can't let that happen. She wouldn't let it come to that.

They could drive away to some unknown place, but there wasn't even enough gas in her car. Also the fucking permanent paint June left on her car wouldn't fade. She was stuck in every way. Sohee never felt so helpless in her entire life.

"Do you think we could ask Kim pack for their help? We could try and get a job under one of their beneficial plans," Seo-Yeon asked hopefully.

"And what job is that gonna be?" Sohee growled. When she glanced at her mother, her fury only spiked. "You didn't even graduate college and hid that from your father. You never did any job in your entire life. What work is it gonna be? Sweeping? You don't even know how to hold that stupid broom."

Not that Sohee knew much work. She was as good as her mom when it came to working skills. At least she knew how to clean. Have watched Minhyuk do it and been doing it since they couldn't afford a cleaning staff.

Seo-Yeon looked away with a guilty expression. "Just saying... We have nothing to eat."

"That's because you can't keep your mouth free for one moment and had to finish everything we had," she growled, causing her mom to flinch.

"Sohee...don't be angry. You know how mom eats a lot when I'm stressed." She squeezed her hand and tried to scoot closer but Sohee pulled her hand away with a scowl. "What about the Kim pack one? Your father is in jail. They should show us some mercy. There should be some scheme we can apply for."

What scheme? Head Omega Kim was Jungkook's lap dog. She had almost chewed her head off the last time during the pack trial.

"The Kim pack already has an inquiry on us. We are blacklisted anywhere we go. Even the petrol stations don't want me. I don't even know how they know me. The moment I mention my name, they sent me away." Her frustration mounted. "This is what Jungkook wants. That fucking bastard. He planned all this. What for?" She threw her hands in the air. "Minhyuk wasn't even worth it. I'd have let him keep the fucker if I knew he was this important to him."

Seo-Yeon grimaced. "I don't think that's the case." She cleared her throat. "He's just like my brother. You hurt his pride. He's furious that you stole Minhyuk from him and he isn't someone who lets go of his vengeance. Why would he do something like this now? After all these years..." she whined. "I thought he'd let it go because he was silent."

Sohee huffed. "He was just waiting for a perfect moment to strike." She clenched her fists, thoughts racing.

"They will cut power this evening because of pending bills," her mom said. "The convenience store refused to give anymore credit and neighbors are glaring whenever I step out."

Sohee went to sit on the empty side of the couch, kicking her legs on top of the coffee table. Jungkook had effectively ruined her life. She laughed humorlessly. She was done for. Cornered like a bloody prey.

She despised being in such a position. Her blood boiled with fury and the urge to do something even worse to Jungkook grew stronger. "I won't let him walk away like this. If I'm going down, then I'll take him with me," she growled.

"That won't be easy."

Sohee smirked. "I'm not afraid of him."

"Can't we do something else? We can move to the Song pack or the Kwang pack," she suggested. "I'm sure they will accept us."

"I don't want to fucking move to the Song or Kwang pack," Sohee bellowed and Seo-Yeon shrank in her seat. "I want to end Jeon Jungkook and now he has ruined my life, I won't let him walk away that easily. He's gonna pay for this."

"Sohee... We don't have much choice left."

"Don't," she warned. "You can either help or just sit back and watch." She ground her jaw. "The alpha challenge is gonna happen at the PRA gala. If the Song pack or Kwang pack wins then there's still a chance. If not, I'll still find a way to end all this."

"What about food? I'm really starving. Just a little bit is enough."

Sohee rolled his eyes. "I found some changes in the car and bought some ramyeon." She jumped to her feet and headed to the bathroom, her determination strengthening with every step she took forward. "Don't touch the food before I come back. I'll kill you if you finish it all again."

Seo-Yeon gave her a constipated smile and went to grab her bag but since she didn't trust her mom to keep her hands and mouth off the food, she snatched it. With a hiss, she hugged the bag to her chest and stormed to her room.

"You're waiting until I get back," she yelled over her shoulder before slamming the door shut.

"Fine!" Seo-Yeong grumbled.

Sohee opened the door and poked her head outside. "Get ready. We are going to Minhyuk's parent's place. If they kick us out of here, we can stay there. It's their own home, isn't it?"

Seo-Yeon's face lit up considerably. "And they will have food, right?"

The Kangs always had a well-stocked pantry. So if they had left in a hurry, they must have left something behind. Also they'd have a roof over their head.

Sohee grinned. "Possibly."

"That fucking Minseok. He owes me so much money. I'm gonna ask him to pay me back."

"Good luck finding him." Sohee shut the door again. Suddenly, there was clarity. At least she averted one crisis for now. Now she needed to figure out her next step before it was too late.

***

See you soon...