TDIMEH Chapter 58

  58. Lock

Creaaak.

As soon as the door opened, the rusty hinge let out a loud creak, but it was drowned out by the sound of rain pouring down.  

Se-ah followed closely behind Junhyuk, even lifting her heels to avoid making noise.  

As they stepped inside, they saw a glass-walled room to the right that appeared to be a security office.  

A large chair in the center of the room was, as expected, unoccupied.  

At this hour, only two guards were stationed at the workers’ quarters, while the rest were either resting in their rooms or gathered in the corner guest room gambling.  

Amihan had been forced to run errands at night since he was young, so he knew their routine like the back of his hand.  

In the empty security office, several monitors displayed surveillance feeds of the beach and the workers’ quarters. The low visibility from the darkness didn’t make the images particularly clear, but movement could still be detected.  

Only one monitor was aimed toward the mountains, and even that view was obscured by foliage. Clearly, the guards didn’t expect anyone to escape into the treacherous terrain.  

It made sense—anyone attempting to climb the mountains would likely be caught quickly.  

Even if they managed to get away, escape was impossible without the keys to the boats, which were securely in the guards’ possession.  

On this remote island, no one was expected to arrive. The guards only needed to focus on those approaching the beach, just as Amihan had said.  

Especially during rainstorms, when the currents were rough, the likelihood of anyone arriving by sea was minimal. The surrounding waters had such a notorious reputation that hardly any boats ventured near.  

Accidents like theirs—being shipwrecked and swept to the island—were incredibly rare. The winds had just happened to drive them in this direction.  

Unlucky, to be sure.  

Still, if not for ending up here, Se-ah would never have seen Junhyuk in a different light. She gazed at his strong, dependable figure walking ahead of her.  

As they passed the security office, loud noises spilled from a room at the far end of the first floor. The door was slightly ajar, and Se-ah grew tense, worried that someone might step out at any moment as they climbed the stairs.  

Her heartbeat quickened.  

Surprisingly, reaching the second floor was easier than expected.  

The second floor housed the boss’s room for his occasional visits, guest reception rooms, and a medical storage room used to hold samples and medicine.  

Of course, this information had been pieced together from broken communication and clumsy gestures.  

Since the second floor was used solely for these purposes, it was said to be unguarded. The boss’s room would be locked, but the medical storage room was typically left open.  

They had no business in the other rooms, so Se-ah and Junhyuk decided to head straight to the medical storage room.  

Finding the antidote for Amihan was their first priority; finding a phone came next.  

“Captain, I think it’s here!”  

Se-ah pointed to a metal cabinet-like door.  

It was supposed to be the first door after climbing the stairs, and its storage-like appearance left little room for doubt.  

“Wait here for a moment.”  

Worried there might be someone inside, Junhyuk motioned for Se-ah to stay against the hallway wall while he approached the door and listened closely.  

When no sound came from beyond the thin metal door, Junhyuk slowly turned the doorknob and entered.  

“Come in.”  

Seeing his signal, Se-ah quickly followed him inside.    

“It’s a relief the inside is already lit.”  

Since they couldn’t turn on any lights, they had brought a lighter to create illumination if needed, but luckily, it wasn’t necessary.  

The interior was dimly illuminated by the faint bluish glow from the refrigerators storing the medicines, which was sufficient to see around.  

Se-ah and Junhyuk began searching the refrigerators and drawers for anything labeled as a neutralizer or antidote.  

Since it wasn’t a full laboratory, there weren’t too many types of medicines, making the search relatively simple.  

As Se-ah carefully inspected the refrigerator storing the medicines, she spotted a neutralizer tucked away in the bottom corner.  

“I found it! This is the one, right?”  

“That’s it.”  

Junhyuk, who had approached to confirm the label, nodded. But then, his brows furrowed.  

“What’s wrong?”  

“It’s locked.”  

He pointed to the refrigerator, which was secured with a basic padlock.  

“To get it out, we’ll either have to break the glass or destroy the lock… but that’ll make a lot of noise.”  

“Let me try.”  

Se-ah reached into her pocket and pulled out two U-shaped hairpins she had borrowed from Moon Sohee.  

“What are you planning to do with those?”  

“I learned this in a survival class from someone.”  

Se-ah recalled Marino, who had taught her the skill of unlocking doors.  

Although abductions weren’t common, he had emphasized the importance of being prepared for unforeseen dangers when living alone. Instead of self-defense, he had chosen to teach her how to pick locks.  

At the time, she had used the skill to unlock old, jammed doors rather than for any dramatic escape.  

Initially, she had thought it was a pointless skill, but now she couldn’t help but chuckle at how useful it had turned out to be.  

Holding one pin in her mouth, she inserted the other into the lock and began carefully probing the mechanism inside. Fortunately, the padlock was a standard one sold at hardware stores and didn’t have a complex structure.  

This should be a piece of cake.  

After identifying the internal locking components, she bent the tip of the pin in her mouth slightly and inserted both pins into the lock simultaneously.  

The two pins moved inside, delicately pressing and releasing the locking mechanism as she worked.  

“Did you really learn a skill like this?”  

Junhyuk asked incredulously just as—  

Click.

The padlock unlocked.  

“Ha.”  

Junhyuk stared blankly at Se-ah and the padlock in her hand.  

“Are there any other secrets you’ve been keeping from me? Like being a former thief, for example?”  

“Of course not. I just learned it for survival.”  

“Whoever taught you, I have to say it’s impressive that you mastered it.”  

“Is that supposed to be a compliment?”  

“Yes, let’s call it that. Thanks to you, we opened it easily.”  

Shaking his head in disbelief, Junhyuk retrieved the neutralizer from the refrigerator. To avoid drawing attention, he only took about one-third of the supply from the back.  

He also gathered a few other medicines.  

As he packed the supplies into the bag he had brought, Junhyuk chuckled quietly, finding the situation absurd.  

“You really are…”  

He trailed off, but Se-ah could guess what he meant, so she didn’t press for clarification.  

They relocked the padlock before leaving.  

“Now all that’s left is the phone.”  

Se-ah didn’t feel confident about sneaking a phone from the gambling men, so she considered another approach.  

“What if we ambush one of the patrolling guards? We could knock him out from behind and take his phone.”  

“That’s too dangerous. They’re armed.”  

“Then we could wait until dawn and sneak a phone from someone who’s asleep.”  

“But there’s a risk of the guard shift changing. That’s dangerous too. Still, thanks to you, I’ve thought of a safer and better idea.”  

“What is it?”  

Se-ah looked up at him with wide eyes.  

“We’ll check the boss’s room. There’s a chance he keeps a phone there as a backup in case mobile phones aren’t usable. If we can get inside, I bet you could unlock it.”  

Junhyuk gestured to her pocket, where she had placed the hairpins she had used earlier.  

“Wow! I didn’t think of that!”  

“Can you do it?”  

“If it’s a standard door, it’ll be even easier. Trust me.”  

“Alright, I trust you. But from now on, I’ll keep an eye on my wallet around you. Who knows when it’ll disappear?”  

“Did you just call me a pickpocket?”  

When Se-ah tried to object, Junhyuk covered his mouth to stifle his laughter.  

“Sorry. You’re just so adorable.”  

“You think lock-picking is cute? Your taste is pretty unique.”  

“Apparently so. I’m starting to think my taste has always been this unique—because of you. How can I help it when someone as unique as you happens to be my type?”  

Junhyuk’s reply turned Se-ah’s face bright red.  

“Don’t blame me if you end up losing everything to me.”  

With her head held high, Se-ah confidently walked toward the boss’s room.  

As she had promised, she unlocked the door with ease.  

Click.

The sound of the lock releasing was followed by Junhyuk giving her a thumbs-up.  

Unlike the lit storage room, the boss’s room was pitch dark, and it took a few blinks for her eyes to adjust.  

Even as she moved cautiously, her foot caught on the carpet, and she nearly fell, but Junhyuk quickly caught her.  

“Thanks.”  

She shuddered at the thought of making noise by falling and alerting the people below.  

“We need to turn on the light.”  

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