215 Natural Actress, Lee Yeo Ri (1/2)

Outside of Room 302, a man stood in front of the door for a long time, neither knocking nor moving.

The man contemplated on the events which had led him to this moment. The time when he got caught by those two detectives, the time when he agreed to assist them, the time when he joined the first raid team, the time when it was decided that he would sneak into that organised crime organisation's headquarters... his memories flashed in his mind as he squeezed his eyes tightly.

He had been given the chance to see his one and only family member for the last time before the crew sets off for the big operation, and he'd taken the chance without hesitation. But now... he wondered if he shouldn't have.

After several moments of deep thought, he finally made his decision to push open the sliding door, and stepped into the room.

A girl was lying on the bed, her eyes closed. Upon hearing the clattering of the opened door, she slowly opened her eyes and fixed her gaze on her visitor.

A smile slowly spread on her face as she recognised him. ”'Oppa? What brings you here?'”

The man offered her a brief smile, chuckling, ”'Hey, is it that strange for your brother to visit you?'”

”'No... of course not,'” she giggled, ”'It's just that you're always so busy that I hardly ever see you.'”

The man winced at her light-hearted words. ”'Sorry,'” he apologised, grimacing.

”'Why are you sorry? It's my fault that you have to work so hard.'” She lowered her eyes to look at the man's hands that were wrapped with gauze. ”'My hospital bills...'” she sighed, tearing her eyes away from his hands painfully. She vaguely knew what kind of price he had to pay for her sake, but out of consideration for her brother, she played dumb.

”'No, what are you saying? How is it your fault...'” The man said, his tone light. However, one could clearly hear the sadness within his voice.

The two sat in silence.

”'Listen,'” he started, raising his eyes to look at his dear sister. ”'Oppa... Oppa has to go away on a business trip for some time.'”

”'...'”

The man and the young girl stared into each others' eyes. The man's eyes showed hesitance, conflict, worry, and sorrow.

”'I... I promise I won't take long. When I get back, I'll visit you every day, okay?'” He said, stuttering. He didn't know whether he could fulfil the promise. Deep down, he even contemplated on ditching the whole operation altogether... but he knew that that was impossible. It was either the immunity deal, jail, or death.

He didn't have any other choice.

For the sake of his sister's treatment, he'd done so many bad things, and the karma had came to bite him. If he ran away, then his sister would also be in trouble. In any case, not only the police, but even the mobsters were waiting to pounce at him after what he had done. He had to take them down before they could hurt his loved ones, even if it meant risking his own life.

Seeing the determination and grimness in his gaze, the girl knew that this time, it was serious. This time, it was not just some harmless Robin Hood-style job. She also knew that there was a high possibility of her brother breaking his promise.

The girl pursed her lips tightly for a split second before pushing herself to smile. Her eyes reddened but she continued to smile, ”'Mm.'”

Then, his phone rang.

The man took it out and glimpsed at the caller ID.

It was time.

He turned back to his sister and offered one last smile. ”'Oppa will be going now. Take care, okay?'”

He turned away from her, his back looking as if he was carrying a huge burden.

For a split second, Yeo Ri could see her brothers' figure superimposed on her co-star.

”...!”

”Oppa!” She blurted out. Yeo Ri grasped the railing of her hospital bed instinctively, looking as if she wanted to reach out for the man.

However, when the man turned around again, she finally calmed down and snapped out of it. Yeo Ri took a deep breath and returned to her lines. She released her grip on the railing and laced her fingers together on her lap. Unconsciously, she played with her fingers.

The man seemed surprised at the sudden shout. However, he quickly recovered and hid his grim emotions, ”'What is it?'”

She smiled gently at the man.

”'...Oppa,'” she repeated.

”'Oppa.'”

”'Y-yeah?'”

”'Woo Han-oppa,'” she breathlessly repeated, as if she was trying to ingrain his name in her mind. ”'Oppa.'”

”'...?'”

”'Don't worry about me.'” She smiled, a melancholic expression on her face. ”'You've worked really hard these past ten years. I think... it's time for you to live for yourself.'”

”'W-what are you talking abou—'”