"Ahhh!!!"
A blood curdling cry escapes Ning Mei's mouth and she falls flat onto the bathroom floor.
The bullet was indeed aimed at her, but it did not penetrate through her skull, instead it grazed her right arm. It wasn't deep, but for someone who has never shot at, the pain was too much for her to take in.
She bites down on her bottom lip and crawls to the bathtub. Forcing herself to sit up from the floor, she leans against the wall and held her arm that had little blood. Her chest heaves heavily as she stares with teary eyes at the still opened door.
Seeing that the mask man had not followed her in, she sighs in relief. Maybe he is only after Director Yeun and is giving her a chance to live.
"Phone… Where is my phone?"
She whispers under her breath and frantically search for her phone with her eyes.
"It's here."
The same deep voice sounds as light footsteps approach the bathroom. The man's dark figure towers at the door and held a phone out to the rookie model.
Ning Mei's eyes widen in horror when she saw that it was her phone. She had forgotten that she left it in the living room.
"W-What do you w-w-want?"
Terrified out of her wits, she cries loudly, and her face distorted into pure ugliness.
"I haven't done anything. P-Please let me live. Wuuu!"
Seeing the naked woman cry so pitifully, there was no reaction from the mask man. He drops the phone onto the floor, then steps on it and breaks the screen. Taking another step inside, he reaches for a bathrobe.
"Put it on."
He toss the robe at Ning Mei and it covers her trembling body.
Afraid of being killed, she quickly oblige and puts it on. However, despite her doing as told, she still continues to cry.
"Get up."
Her shoulders jump at the words and she secures the belt around her waist. Not wanting to make any mistake, she force her trembling body to stand up.
"P-Please, don't kill me. I have money. I can give it all to you."
"Renounce."
The man interrupts her with one word that caused Ning Mei's eyes to widen. Endless streams of tears fell down her cheeks as she could not believe what she just heard.
She was testing her luck in trying to bribe the man as people love money. However, that one word was enough for her to understand the situation.
Director Yeun had abandoned her and sold her off.
She press her lips tightly together and her fingers curl into tight fists. Even when her nails dug deeply into her skin, she did not care.
Her path to becoming Imperial's number one model hasn't even been reach and now, she's going to die like this?
No, she cannot die. Until she hears that Yue Ling and Zhao Ya'Er have been taken care of, she will never be able to die peacefully.
Staring at the eyes of the mask man, she takes a deep breath. Ignoring her red swollen eyes from crying, she slowly undo the belt that she had just tied.
"Since I have been sold to you, I… I can show you a good time. Y-You don't have t-to do anything and leave it to me."
Her voice cracked in between her sentences, but she made sure to sound as soft and seductive as possible. Slowly taking a step towards the man, she tries her best to not waver.
With her appearance and voice, any man who saw her would fall for her and agree with her deal. However, the mask man was the total opposite.
When she was about three feet away, he slowly raise one arm and the gun in his hand points at her.
"Děvka." [means 'whore' in Czech]
Ning Mei froze in her steps when she heard the foreign word. She didn't know what it meant, but from the way the man said it, she knew it meant something insulting.
*Pu!
The trigger pulls and another silent bullet is fired directly at Ning Mei. Her eyes shot open and she saw her life flash before her eyes.
However, like the first one, this bullet did not kill her. It swiftly flew pass the side of her head and hits the wall behind.
Shocked and afraid beyond anything she's ever felt, her mind went blank. Even she didn't feel the warm liquid that slid down between her shaking legs.
Her eyes rolled back and she falls onto the bathroom floor.
The mask man stares down at the woman laying on top of her own urine. His head slightly shakes and his hand holding the gun lowers down to his side.
"Take her away."
Just as his words fell, another man's figure with silky long hair appears from behind. Clothe in a grey plaid suit, he poke his head inside. Like the dark figure wearing a red hannya mask, this new person wore a black gas mask.
"Ew! Did she piss herself? Disgusting!"
The red hannya mask man doesn't say anything but turns to leave the bathroom. Passing the huge bed, he looks at the unconscious Director Yeun then a picture frame on one of the side tables.
"Send it to the media."
["Roger."]
Without giving the unconscious man another glance, he walks out of the bedroom. At the same time, the gas mask man also steps out from the bathroom and follows in pursuit.
As a person, he has his own standards too. So, he made sure to put a new robe on the rookie model before placing her over his shoulder like a sack of rice.
Both figures walked out of the penthouse like they were leaving their own home. Entering the elevator that laid wait for them, the man wearing a gas mask puts down the unconscious Ning Mei.
He didn't do it in gentle way but toss her on the elevator floor like she was a bag of dirty waste.
"Man, for someone this small, she weighs like a hippo."
Pressing the button to go down, he takes off the gas mask. Keeping only the cloth mask that covers the bottom half of his face, Nie Chen flicks his long hair away from his face and leans back on the wall. He cross his arms over his chest and glance at the other person.
"What's the plan now?"
Like the man, the other figure removes the red hannya mask. A pair of bluish green eyes comes into view as a cloth mask covers the bottom half of her face.
Yue Ling stares down at Ning Mei's pitiful figure, then glance to the shut elevator door.
"Bring her to our 'friends'."