Pity is pity, but I still have to find a way home.
The next morning, when Seo went to work and left Dohyun with the neighbour Namu to watch him, the big star started playing detective. He hung around asking Namu questions, trying to find out Seo's birthday or any numbers she mentioned often. Dohyun's goal was nothing other than cracking the code of the padlock on the chain around his leg.
He worked hard, trying one number sequence after another. From her birthday to the last digits of her phone number that Namu provided. But even though he tried like crazy, the results were still totally wrong. This girl's password was way more complex than he had thought.
When Seo came home that evening, Dohyun decided to change his strategy. He wasn't aggressive or threatening any more. Instead he started shooting the breeze and having a light heart-to-heart with her all evening. He hoped that by talking intimately, she would slip up and reveal a clue about the password, or let her guard down so he would have a chance to escape.
While they were talking, Seo revealed her glory days from the past. It turned out the reason she became a wrestling heroine wasn't passion, but a boy. When she was a kid, Seo had a secret crush on a boy in her neighbourhood. She saw him taking wrestling classes, so she signed up too, just to be near her crush. Ironically, that boy studied for exactly one week before getting discouraged and quitting, while Seo was caught by the teacher. He saw she had potential, so he kept her back for strict training, turning her into a professional wrestler before she even knew it.
Dohyun laughed his head off after hearing the story. He said this was the first time he had ever heard of a girl taking wrestling classes just to hit on a guy.
While they were still talking, Seo fell asleep without even knowing it, because she had worked so hard all day. Seeing his jailer fast asleep, Dohyun was overjoyed, and started showing off his lock-picking skills. He used all his brainpower, connecting numbers from her past stories to try the passcode. He tried everything. Birthdays, school years, even the day the teacher kept her back. But the lock wouldn't budge.
Just as he was getting discouraged and about to give up, Dohyun accidentally turned some random numbers and dropped the lock, and click. The lock popped open.
His eyes widened when he saw the numbers on it.
000000.
Oh my god. The big star wanted to cry his eyes out. He had wasted so many brain cells thinking up complex sequences, but who knew this girl was so lazy that she had set the simplest password in the world? It really was a case of being too smart for his own good.
Thrilled to be escaping hell, Dohyun tiptoed over Seo to head towards the door. But right as he was about to take another step, Seo, who was sleeping on the floor, suddenly moved her arm and touched his leg. He jumped, and his hand brushed hers.
Oh my god. Why is she burning up like this?
It turned out that after so many days of working like a dog, skimping on food and clothes to save money for Dohyun's designer gear, and that time she was out in the rain digging the hole, the body of our heroine had officially gone on strike. She had a high fever. Her face was bright red and her breathing was shallow from exhaustion.
Just imagine. This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. The 000000 password was open. The chains were off. The door wasn't locked. Dohyun just needed to step outside to escape this hell instantly.
But at that deciding moment, the big star froze. Looking at Seo curled up on the cold floor, so weak and pitiful, so different from the fierce way she looked when she whacked him with the high heel, Dohyun suddenly couldn't bring himself to leave.
He struggled with his thoughts. If I leave now, she might die. After all, she ended up like this because of me.
So instead of running away, Dohyun rushed to get some water, soaked a towel and gently placed it on Seo's forehead to bring the fever down. He sat by her side, meticulously wiping her face and hands all night long.
In the dim light, he stared closely at the face of his kidnapper. Maybe it was only then that he realised that behind that crazy look was just a small girl pushing herself to survive a harsh life of struggling for every penny.
And so Dohyun stayed up almost all night to take care of Seo. Finally, exhausted after hitting the floor so many times and staying up so late, the superstar loved by millions fell asleep right next to the unlucky girl. The night went by very peacefully, a far cry from the fist fights and the intense mind games from before.
The next morning, Seo woke up after her heavy fever. The first thing she did was look over at the chain on Dohyun's leg. Seeing the lock wide open and Dohyun gone from where he should have been, she jumped up in a panic, her heart racing and her legs shaking, because she thought she was headed straight to jail.
But as soon as she turned her head, she saw Dohyun still sitting right there next to her.
Seo asked blankly, "The lock is open. Why didn't you run away?"
Dohyun scratched his head and made a confession that made her freeze. "Well, because your fever was so high last night. I couldn't bring myself to leave someone who was about to die, just to escape."
After hearing that, Seo quietly went inside, while Dohyun started to regret it. Oh my god, what the hell am I doing? How did I miss a once-in-a-lifetime chance to escape just to play the hero and save the girl?
Back to harsh reality. Seo was completely broke, without a single penny left in the house. After searching the whole place and finding nothing valuable to sell, her eyes landed on Dohyun's pile of expensive designer clothes.
For the sake of survival, I'm sorry.
Seo secretly took photos of Dohyun's designer gear and posted them on a second-hand website. The problem was that this outfit was a limited edition. There was only one in the country, and it belonged to Dohyun. His girlfriend Sarah happened to be browsing the site and immediately recognised her boyfriend's treasure. She rushed to tell the best friend, Miran. The two of them got extremely suspicious, because Dohyun was filthy rich, and there was no way he would sell old clothes for a few bucks like this.
Meanwhile, Dohyun found another chance to sneak out. He ran like crazy towards a police station, planning to scream for help. Right then, Seo caught up. Seeing the police officers approaching, she had to shut the superstar up and avoid suspicion, so she pulled a hardcore move. She lunged forward and gave Dohyun a deep kiss.
The officers walking by saw it and just smirked. "Kids these days are so bold, making out like that right in front of the station."
And so Dohyun was dragged home by the neck, feeling beyond frustrated.
Back at the house, Seo chained him up even tighter and declared martial law for trying to escape.
"No food for you today. And from now on, I'm changing the password every day, so don't even think about getting away."
She even whined and blamed him for stealing her precious first kiss in such a messed-up situation. Seo dreamily described her ideal kiss. "My first kiss is supposed to happen under flickering candlelight, after a romantic dinner, and being walked home by my boyfriend."
Dohyun heard that and smirked. "Stop dreaming about the movies. Getting kissed by a superstar like me is the luck of three lifetimes for you, so quit complaining."
The next morning, the neighbour Namu came over to watch Dohyun as usual so Seo could go to work. But as soon as he looked down at Namu's legs, Dohyun almost flipped out. Namu was wearing the exact same designer pants that Seo had just sold.
"Hey, why are you wearing my pants?"
At that moment, he bitterly realised that Seo had taken his clothes and sold them for cash to spend. Dohyun screamed in despair. "I don't accept this. Are you a kidnapper and a thief now? Give me back my pants."