Her Tempestuous Villain

"We're lost!" Orea declared.

"No, we're not," Myung claimed. "I know the way."

Orea looked at the pitch black darkness in front of them. It was so dark that it was impossible to decipher even the shapes of the trees. They had to tread carefully as they walked so that they did not fall in a ditch. But as the night went on, Orea felt as if they were wandering blindly and only going deeper into the forest, not escaping it.

"I'm telling you, we're gonna get lost if we go on!" Orea insisted. "It's too dark to see! We should stop and rest somewhere."

"What if a wild animal comes?" Myung countered.

"You have the guns, right?" Orea pointed out. "Just shoot them."

They had picked up the guns from the army men and also some extra bullets when they escaped. On an instinct, Orea also picked up their phones and walkie talkies. As soon as they were out of the army's zone, she took out the batteries and smashed the phones for better measure. That way, the men would not be able to communicate with anyone.

"Just sit here and rest," she said. "We need to wait till morning so that I can track the stream and then we can follow it until we reach the camp. Besides, I don't think those army men will follow us for hours. We've beaten them up good and they don't have ammunition."

Myung wanted to argue but she was right. There was no way they would be able to find their way in the dark and they might even fall into a ditch.

"Fine," he conceded. "We can rest here until dawn."

Orea was relieved. She was tired from the fighting and wanted to sit down. Taking a few branches and leaves, she piled them up.

"What are you doing?" Myung frowned.

"Making a fire," she muttered.

"How?" Myung asked. "There's no match!"

To his surprise, she took out two stones from her pockets and rubbed them together to create sparks. The sparks fell on the branch pile and a blazing fire appeared.

"You had two stones in your pocket?" Myung frowned. "Do you always carry them?"

"These are handy when you're in a forest," Orea explained. "In case you get lost, you can make a fire. Even cook stuff using this. I had a lighter but it got lost when those men tased me."

She sighed loudly and sat on the bark of a tree. Myung sat next to her. He was studying her in a new light, frowning a little.

"What?" she asked. "Is there something on my face?"

"I heard those men talking about you," he stated. "How you beat them up all on your own even though they were trained soldiers. A normal teenager can't do it but you had no difficulty in defending yourself, that too against five men."

"I just happen to know martial arts," Orea said. It was partially true. She was trained in it.

But Myung shook his head. "You're hiding something," he stated. "I know the army men of our country. They're among the best fighters in the world. The strength of our army is no joke. They say that whoever controls the army, effectively controls the country. There is no way an ordinary school student can beat even one army personnel. Martial arts or not, very few people have a chance against them."

"Maybe they're just weak men!" Orea exclaimed. "I just happened to be lucky-"

"They were Yang's men," Myung revealed. "And Yang's men are among the top tier fighters in the military."

"Y-Yang?" Orea asked. "Lieutenant General Yang?"

"Yes," Myung replied. "They were Yang's men. I heard them talking about it. Apparently Yang was supposed to make an appearance there."

Orea was suddenly scared. Did Yang find out about her identity? How? That was impossible! There were no records of her true heritage anywhere. SD and Five made sure that she would be well hidden. Then how the hell did they find out?

"Why would Yang be after me?" she laughed. "He's the army chief! He can't be after a regular high schooler-"

"He's not after you," Myung stated. "He tried to kidnap you to send me a warning."

Orea was now confused. Why would Yang threaten the son of the Prime Minister? What was he planning?

"Which is why when they kidnapped you, I was scared that they would kill you," he went on. "So, imagine my shock when I found out that you managed to beat them up singlehandedly and that they had to tase you."

He looked directly at Orea, who did not flinch from his gaze.

"Heo Orea, who the hell are you?" he demanded.

Orea was silent for a while, debating what to tell him. Myung was the son of Lee Weijong, one of her biggest enemies. But Myung was different from his family members and he was a genuinely nice person. She knew that SD would not approve but she trusted him.

However, she was still careful of what to tell him.

"I'll tell you everything, if you tell me why Yang kidnapped me," she stated.

"Yang worked under someone else's orders," Myung replied.

"Whose?" she demanded. "Whose orders does he follow? The Prime Minister?"

To her surprise, Myung let out a laugh. "The PM?" he snickered. "Yang and the PM hate each other's guts! They only pretend to work together as a show. Yang follows someone else."

Someone else? Orea was now thinking hard. All these years, she and SD assumed that Yang was the PM's lapdog. But who the hell was this new player?

"The person Yang reports to," Myung began. "Is my dear elder brother, Lee Jonghyun."

Orea's eyes widened in shock. Lee Jonghyun? But how? Why?

"How do you know?" she asked. "I mean, you might be mistaken-"

"Twelve years ago, I witnessed them murdering a woman in cold blood," Myung revealed. "Her name was Areum and she was murdered by my brother with the help of the army. I know it because I witnessed the whole murder. I was there when my brother shot her in cold blood."

The images of the lifeless woman were swirling in front of him, tormenting Myung as he finally revealed his deepest secret.

"Yang was there with him and disposed of the woman's body," he continued. "The way they spoke, they seemed to have known each other but I can't be too sure. All I remember is that Jonghyun was the one who pulled the trigger and killed her. He knew her and yet…"

He turned to look at Orea but to his shock, she was crying. She was panting as tears rolled down her cheeks nonstop. Her mouth was gaped open as if she was about to throw up any moment while her heart was feeling a mix of grief and infinite rage.

"Orea?" Myung asked but she did not seem to hear him.

"Mom…" she whispered.

"Huh?" Myung was confused. Mom?

"He killed my mom!" Orea cried. "THAT BASTARD KILLED MY MOM!"