Chapter 4 Disaster

• Before today, I didn't know that human life is so fragile. Because the quiet and secure life I'd lived for 24 years–which I thought would last forever–had changed in just one day.
• This morning, I was awakened in my luxurious bedroom by a noise coming from downstairs. When I went to check, it was the debt collectors who were destroying our house and looting our belongings because my dad couldn't pay the debt.
• Debt.
• I never imagined that my wealthy dad, who always surrounded me with luxury and gave me everything I wanted, had been having trouble with his business for some time and had to take out a huge loan. But because things didn't improve and he couldn't pay back the debt, he had to lose everything, including me, his only daughter, who the debt collectors forcibly took as collateral.
• "Sweetheart, you don't have to be afraid. Things will get better soon. You believe in Dad, don't you? I'll find a way to get us out of this situation."
• Those were the words my dad said to me as he chased after the car that was taking me away. Even though I was so scared and desperate, I tried to believe his words.
• 'Daddy will go into hiding, and you won't be able to contact me for a while. You have to hide, too. When it's safe, I promise to get you. Just wait until I come.'
• But the text he sent me made me doubt him. I had lived under his protection all this time, but how could he now hide by himself and just tell me to hold on until he rescued me? Didn't he think that I might die at the hands of those debt collectors if he left me alone?
• I wiped away my tears, but they wouldn't stop, and I kept crying until my head felt dizzy. I got up to wash my face in the bathroom when I heard voices outside.
• I stood by the window and peeked through the crack in the curtains. Down there, I saw Aeturnus's boss and Dean talking to some people dressed in black. The conversation seemed serious, and I felt a chill run down my spine when I saw a gun in the boss's left hand, reminding me of the tragedy that had happened at the club a few hours ago.
• "Oh!" I squealed in shock as the boss suddenly turned his head toward the window of my room on the second floor. I hid behind the wall and covered my mouth, worried if he saw me looking at him.
• Slowly, I peeked out again. I sighed with relief when I saw him talking to the men again. Not long after, they left together.
• "Right, the mafia works at night," I muttered. "He attacked the club earlier and is probably going to attack another place now. What a busy mobster."
• I was about to return to my bed when suddenly an idea crossed my mind. Right now, the boss was away working with Dean, and there was only Theo in the house. The security in this house was being reduced right now, so I thought it was a good time to escape.
• "But what if I get caught?" I thought, doubting my desperate idea.
• But quickly, my optimistic side denied that. "Getting caught or not is for later! What matters now is that I don't have to– Ah!"
• I let out a startled squeal and all my ideas about running away were instantly shattered as I opened my bedroom door and saw Theo standing beside it with both hands stuffed in his pants pockets. He turned to me, and a mischievous grin appeared on his face as our gazes met mine, still unable to control shock.
• "Though it hasn't been so long since you made sure not to try to escape from this place. But you changed your mind this quickly, huh?" he teased.
• "I have no intention of running away!" I retorted in a high tone, trying to cover up my nervousness that he'd caught me red-handed when I'd just opened the door. "What were you doing in front of my room while everyone was gone?"
• My words made Theo's grin grow wider. "So you deliberately observed the situation and decided to run away when you saw the boss and Dean leave? Good idea, but not wise enough," he said as he folded his arms in front of his chest. "Because no matter how you plan to leave, you won't be safe once you get out of the gate–"
• Bang!
• The sound of a gunshot from outside made me flinch, and Theo stopped what he was saying. His face took on a serious look as he whispered, "It's started."
• "What's going on? Are the people from the club coming for revenge?" I asked anxiously as the sound of gunfire outside triggered my unhealed trauma from the incident at the club.
• "It could be them or someone else. Aeturnus has a lot of enemies to suspect," he said, still sounding casual despite the serious look in his eyes. "With this much noise, you probably won't be able to sleep. Let me take you to another room at the back. Or do you want to go to the theatre room and spend time there until things calm down?"
• "Are you seriously telling me to watch a movie while people shoot each other out there?" I asked Theo incredulously, unable to control my high pitch.
• But he still calmly responded to me. "This will happen often as long as you live in this house. So get used to it. Make yourself comfortable."
• "Theo, is she safe?"
• In the middle of my and Theo's conversation, I heard the boss's voice with gunshots in the background. Theo brought the watch around his left wrist closer, and while glancing at me, he replied, "She's safe. I'm with her."
• "In the meantime, take her to my room and–"
• "Why should I stay in your room?" I interrupted the boss, only to instantly regret it when I remembered that it wasn't just some pervert who wanted me to stay in his room but a mafia boss who was in the middle of a shootout with his enemies.
• But instead of getting angry, I heard his soft chuckle.
• "I don't know what you think about staying in my room, Miss. The enemies could break into the house, and I want you to stay in my room because it's the safest place in the house. Right now, my intention is purely to protect you by offering you my room. But I wouldn't mind talking further about the idea you thought of earlier," he said, teasing me in a tone that was as calm as ever despite the gunshots becoming more and more frenzied around him.
• "I'll make sure she's safe, so you don't have to worry. I'll take her to your room now." Theo ended the conversation with the boss, and he looked at me with a smile that annoyed me. Although he didn't say it, he clearly wanted to gloat about my bad thoughts on his boss.
• Having no choice but to trust the boss, I finally agreed to stay in his room. Theo stood guard at the door as before, and I was amazed that I didn't hear any gunshots from outside after the door was closed. Although it looked like an ordinary room, leader Aeturnus' room clearly had something sophisticated to protect the big boss. That's why he called his room the most secure place in his house.
• However, this seemed a bit odd to me. How could the boss of Aeturnus trust me, the stripper he had just met today and taken prisoner, to enter his room? Wasn't he worried I was an enemy in disguise and could find something no one else should see in his room?
• I looked around me. I didn't pay much attention before, but now I could observe every corner. This room was bigger than mine. The bed was also bigger. And the air was cooler here, too. It looks like the boss likes to set the air conditioner at a low temperature.
• "He has a lot of luxurious things here," I muttered as I looked at the collection displayed on the shelf on one side of his room.
• There's a work desk and a sofa here, too. With the black and red colors dominating it, this room really looked like a mafia boss's room—a room that screams luxury and mystery.
• I sat down on the red sofa to wait for him. There was a TV here, but I was worried that the boss would think I was presumptuous if I turned it on. So I spent what seemed like a long, boring time just sitting quietly, waiting for his arrival.
• The door opened just as I was about to fall asleep. I stood up immediately, and the boss approached me with several scratches on his face and hands. I hadn't had a chance to ask him about his condition when he first asked me in a serious tone that sounded dangerous.
• "Who are you?" he asked. His voice was full of suspicion. "Why did they bother to come here, risking their lives for a stripper? Did you miss something when you introduced yourself as just a stripper, Scarlett?"