They feared me because
I feared no one.

There are so many readers. I get notifications of adding the book in reading list and unexpectedly find some of the RLs having my book saved... but so less of votes and interactions.... I wonder if people are even reading.. except some (uk whom i am meaning by 'some'💜) or maybe the book isn't good enough..

Nvrmind... pardon my dramatic ass and lets get it!

Sri was about to tell Taehyung about her sudden attack when suddenly the glass window broke startling her. She turned around towards the source of the noise and saw a crow flying away. It was probably the naughty bird. She was about to curse when she heard Taehyung's static voice in her phone. "Got damn,Sri answer me! Are you okay??"

"I am finee, Tae." She extended the word 'fine' to assure him, "The window just broke. It was probably the crow that was pecking it. Taesoo is in her school. I will call you back after I clean this up." She replied to the panicking Tae.

As soon as she ended the call, her eyes fell on an arrow that had struck the floor. It didn't take her time to realize the window was broken by the arrow, not the crow. She ran to the window avoiding the glass pieces and hover over the broken frame. Her dark bulging searched for its owner.

It was hard to spot a particular figure in the concrete forest before her eyes. People were busy in their daily lives . The wind blew her raven locks which made the glistening beads of sweat visible on her forehead. She heard the  honks of vehicles and the chaos of the crowd. No one seemed suspicious in her near periphery. She was eight floors above the ground and thus it was not possible for a person to target her from below. Whoever it was, sure had escaped by now. Failing to spot the attacker, she went to check on the arrow.

Sri saw crimson liquid at the pointy edges of the arrow. She knelt and touched it, skin slightly tickling at the contact of the liquid. It smelled like blood. Sri wasn't sure if it was of human. She didn't miss noticing the little chit attached to it. Sending letters via arrows were never a good sign in her mafia world.

Her heart raced as she began unfolding the paper. The words were written by hand.

"Mary had a little lamb,
whose fleece was white as snow
And everywhere that Mary went,
the lamb was sure to go.

It followed her to dark one day
which was against the rules.

It made the monsters laugh and play,
to see a lamb like a fool.

Why does the lamb love Mary so?”
the eager monster cry.

Why, Mary loves the lamb, you know.”
the Satan did reply.

-

Well-wisher of Mary."

Confused was an understatement for what Sri felt then. It was a famous nursery rhyme. However, the lines had been altered. This meant they were riddles. She furrowed her eyebrows and re-read the poem. The sender didn't leave any clue about his identity except 'Wellwisher of Mary', which by now she had understood, was sarcastic.

Sri was afraid of herself. She didn't want to get back to her previous life. Summoning S would start a war. The bloodthirst, the fear, the merciless nightmare would resurface once again. She possessed the power to take down a gang in a flick. The writer knew Sri and was well acquainted with her past. Maybe he was an old accomplice. But his words seemed more like a warning to her.

Was he foolishly trying out his luck? The answer was no. His attacks and tactics were all pre-planned. He had been collecting information on S for quiet an amount if time. He surely had some backup before challenging her. She began connecting the dots.

"Marry had a little lamb.." she read out the lines aloud. "..and It followed her to dark one day
which was against the rules..?" Sri began chanting the words, "Mary, lamb, dark, monsters....." Her brain was indicating the easiest possibility but she refused to accept the answer, "Why, Mary loves the lamb, you know.”
the Satan did reply...."

Sri wasn't an idiot. Every line was implying the worst thing. The lamb was Taesoo and the Mary was she. "Oh my god!" She clutched her head and stood up, bewildered as the realization dawn upon her.

Sri didn't waste any time before grabbing her car keys and dashing out of the apartment. She didn't care if anyone attacked her at the present. Only her daughter mattered. She indeed loved her lamb very much.

She drove above the speed limit to Taesoo's school. "Please let my intuitions be wrong. Please." She chanted as she walked through the corridor to the reception.

"How can I help you, ma'am?" The receptionist sweetly spoke in Australian ascent. Her naturally blonde hair shone under the light.

"Can I meet Taesoo for a moment? I have to give her the lunch box. She is in Kindergarten section B." Sri replied in Korean ascent but her English was fluent and understandable.

"Just a min, ma'am." The receptionist stood up and went inside the school to bring her. Every passing second became harder for Sri. She wouldn't be calmed until she saw her child.

After some minutes which felt like hours to her, the receptionist returned. "I am sorry ma'am. But Taesoo has already left. Someone introduced himself as her uncle and picked her up telling her there was an emergency."

Sri couldn't believe her ears. Her world came to a standstill. "This can't be happening..." She whispered and stepped back, sweat trickled down her forehead. Her breathing became uneven in panic. Her throat got dry.

"Ma'am, are you okay?" The receptionist reached out for her but she snapped.

"What do you mean by 'she is gone'?! Who took her?? How can the school be so careless?!"

"Calm down ma'am. You can try calling your relatives. You are probably overestimating-"

"I am her mother and she doesn't have any uncle!"

"That person showed Kim Taesoo's parental id card. Even the child didn't seem to react in any way." Another man spoke up from the cubicle. He was probably a teacher.

"She is a child, for god's sake! She can easily be tricked!" Sri fired back. She was just an inch away from completely losing it.

"Ma'am sorry to say but how are we supposed to know?"

Sri closed her eyes and puffed the air out of her mouth, "Can you define the man?"

"He was tall and had black hair. His eyes were sharp but looked like a foreigner's. He was speaking in Taesoo's native language. His mouth was hidden behind a mask."

Sri took out her phone and showed him a picture of Taehyung, "Was it him?"

"N-no. He was fatter than this man." Her last hope was crushed. Even out of a miracle she thought that the stranger was Taehyung.

"Okay! Please contact me if you get any notice about my daughter's whereabouts."

"Shall we call the police?"

"No need, I will talk with them myself." Sri grew up in a dark world. She knew involving the police would only make the matter worse. If Taesoo was kidnapped by some gang then they would surely hurt her. They were courageous to challenge S, it meant they could go to any extent to get what they wanted.

"We are sorry ma'am. I hope this is just a prank on you and you get your daughter back." The teacher bowed.

Sri threw a judgemental look at them. Once she had got back her daughter she would make sure to sue the authorities. No matter what excuses they gave, the school couldn't let any student disperse without informing the parents.  Besides, Taesoo was just a kid.

Sri knew she wouldn't get information at the school campus. She left the premises thinking about the probable places the little one might be in. Australia was a big country with a scattered settlement. It would be like finding a grain in the heaps of shafts.

She drove to the nearby forest. She knew there were some deserted houses. Taesoo could be temporarily kept there. She needed Taehyung's help in this in. She took out her phone.

Sri tried to call him several times but he wasn't picking up. She didn't realize that her eyes were already overflowing. Anxiousness was getting the best of her because she was well aware of every type of torture a victim could go through. But she continued to drive through the forest road hoping for the best.

Another unknown number called her before she could dial her husband for the seventh time. She reluctantly picked up the call.

"Jeon Sri- Oops- It's Kim now." The voice on the other side was filtered yet filled with amusement. It was in Korean.

She gripped the streeing tightly. "I will ask only once, where is my daughter?" Her voice was sharp enough to cut an apple.

"You mean your little lamb? Why so impatient? I assure you she is okay... For now."

"If you know who I am then you are probably acquainted with my horrors. I warn you, don't try to mess with me or you will face the doors of death."

"Haha, someone else also told me the same thing." The robotic voice was now mocking her.

"CUT THE CRAP AND TELL ME WHERE IS SHE?!" She abruptly pressed on the brake.

"Ohoo, lower down your voice. You are at the edge of the cliff right now. So don't try to act feisty. One wrong step and your daughter will fall."

Sri puffed the air out of her mouth to calm her nerves. "What do you want from me? Let her go. You have nothing to do with that child."

"Oh- believe me, I have many things with her. She is like the hen which gives me golden eggs. We'll meet in Korea, S." The call ended with some glitches. She hazily made out the last few words were 'goodbye my Mary'.

"Hello?! Yah!" She called back at the same number. But it said 'the number you have dialed is currently unreachable'. The person probably destroyed the sim by now. Sri threw the phone in the passenger's seat in frustration. She knew there was no reason for her to search Taesoo in Australia. The kidnappers took her to Korea.

Sri tightly closed her eyes as the past played in her head like a film. How would she avoid everyone? How would she hide from the police? She was probably still a wanted criminal. But her daughter was more important than her well-being. She needed to save her at any cost. She could relate to the lines,
"It followed her to dark one day, which was against the rules." Little Taesoo had unknowingly followed her in the world of darkness.

The phone lit up with another incoming call. Sri jolted in anticipation thinking it was the kidnapper again until saw Taehyung's id. How would she explain? She failed as a mother. Tae had left her side for the first time in six years and this happened. She failed to protect their only daughter. But at the same time the only person in her team was him.

She picked up the call with shaky hands, "Taehyung... Taesoo is missing."

Cliff hanger- BWAHAHAHAH 😈😈

Kim fucking Taehyung won't let me breathe in peace!!