A Way Out To A New Life

Nikolas is stressed.

He pinched the bridge of his nose and took a deep breath before exhaling loudly. The other teachers in the office looked at him sympathetically. He was truly in a difficult situation.

As Jenny's adviser, he was of course worried about his student. He personally talked to Jenny. The student admitted that she indeed bullied Hannah, however, she strongly denied involvement in the video accident.

Without bias, Nikolas can tell that Jenny was telling the truth. She really had nothing to do with the video. Unfortunately, he cant just announce Jenny's innocence without concrete evidence.

That's why he's starting to get stressed. They need to find the real culprit for both Jenny's and Hannah's sakes.

IN a Club downtown, a woman sat in front of the bartender. Dressed in a skimpy clothes that shows a lot of skin, she attracted a lot of looks from all the men around her. She smiled in satisfaction before ordering a drink.

"You waiting for someone again?" The bartender started a small talk while making the woman'a drink. The woman was a regular customer in the bar, and the bartender can tell what she does for living.

The woman's red lips curved. "No. I dont have to for atleast a week or two if I want to. Im here for fun."

The woman goes by the name of Joy. She's quite happy since few days ago, a girl approached her. The girl wanted to film a video of her. Joy wanted to refuse first but she was told that she really didn't have to do 'it', she just need to show that there's at least something happening in the video. The huge payment finally made her agree. When she asked what would they use the video for, the girl said that its a gift for someone and that she shouldn't worry. The room is dark, it would be hard to tell it was her. Joy had done worse things to survive, and being filmed from afar for a month worth of money sounds so much better than sleeping around with different men.

Suddenly there was a commotion behind her. Joy turned around to see what it was, her eyes widened. A incredibly beautiful man was walking towards her, no, towards the bar. Joy's eyes followed him until he sat beside her.

The man was exceptionally good-looking. Dark messy hair paired with pale white skin that is even fairer than a woman's, a natural red lips and sharp defined jaw. It is a face that will attract attention no matter where the owner goes.

Sensing the gaze on him, the man looked at her with grey eyes defined by the faint eyeliner he was wearing. Joy was surprised but realized that he must be wearing a contact lens.

The man raised his eyebrow. Joy forced herself to calm down and gave a smile.

"You must be new here." She said.

Facing her after he ordered a drink, the man leaned against the counter. Joy finally got a full view of his face. To answer her question, he nodded then smiled. Joy sucked a breath, her heart racing.

He must be younger than what she thought, she realized. Wearing a grey turtle neck inside and a black leather jacket outside, the man or the boy-rather, carried himself with so much confidence that its hard to think about him as a teenager.

"Just how old are you anyway? You look young." Joy asked before she could stop herself.

"Im of legal age, if that's what you're asking." Kang Jun finally spoke, smiling suggestively.

Of course, Joy who got the full brunt of his charm was no match for him. Her heart fluttered. She thought that she was already experienced when dealing with men, but she was no match to Kang Jun at all.

Kang Jun smiled when he saw her reaction. He leaned in close to her. "Wanna go upstairs?"

Joy felt giddy. She was aware of the jealous looks she was receiving from the other girls around her. She never slept with a man if there is no benefit to it, but if its the man in front of him, she was more than willing to make exceptions.

Seeing no objections from her, Kang Jun nodded at the bartender. If Joy was paying attention, she would have wondered about the wordless interaction between them but her mind felt restless and giddy that all of her attention is on Kang Jun.

When her mind cleared a little, they were already on the second floor of the club. A bouncer led them to one of the most expensive private room in the club and when he met Kang Jun's eyes, the bouncer nodded his head.

Joy went inside the room with Kang Jun. The inside of the room is well lit, with two expensive couch on the other corner and a center table. The table was already filled with drinks.

Kang Jun removed his leather jacket and sat languidly in the couch. He motioned to the space beside him, silently urging her to sit.

Joy sat and took the drink he was offering her. She tensed when Kang Jun moved closer to her, the anticipation slowly killing her.

Kang Jun raised his arm and gently touched Joy's chin, tilting her face gently while gazing at her as if he was scrutinizing a piece of art.

"Do you know.. " he drawled. "That you really look like someone I know?"

Joy was startled by the unexpected statement. She didn't know how to respond.

Kang Jun didn't wait for her answer though. He pulled his hand and used a wipe to clean it. All trace of smile and gentleness gone from his face.

"Did you know that the video you took almost killed someone innocent?" He asked casually.

At first, Joy's mind couldn't keep up with the rapid change of events. However, the word 'video' shook her.

"What d-do you mean?" She stammered. Her human instincts screamed at her. She stood abruptly, her mind racing. "I-I need to go to the comfort room. Just a minute."

Kang Jun didn't stop her.

As fast as she can, Joy walked to the door. Then she froze. The door is not budging. She tried opening it but no avail. She looked at person on the other side of the room.

Kang Jun was swirling his drink lazily in the couch while gazing at her. The addition of coldness in his beautiful face makes it almost painful to look at him. However, Joy cannot look away. He was gazing at her like an animal looking at its prey, and not in a good way.

Kang Jun put down his glass. "Now let's talk about business. Sit down."

Joy didn't move from her position by the door. She was scared. "Who are you? What do you need from me?"

"The video you took almost caused someone to die. It was used to defame someone, an innocent student. She tried to jump off a building because of that." Kang Jun directly went to the point.

When Joy heard that, her face paled. Despite the type of job she has, she tries to live a good life. She never intentionally try to harm anyone maliciously. She would have never thought that the video she shot would be used that way. At most, she thought it would be a material for boys to watch.

"I didn't know that. I never meant for that to happen so that has nothing to do with me." She quickly explained, already forgetting to deny everything.

"Of course it has something to do with you. Go to their school and clear the student's name. Also, make sure to point out who the hell did pay you to take that video." Kang Jun ordered.

"And why would I do that?" Joy was not stupid. She might get into more trouble if things are not handled well.

"Because I can pay you."

Joy was about to reply but Kang Jun cut her off. "Listen first. I can pay you. I can pay you enough so that you can quit your current work and start a new life. You have a sister right? Think about her future before you answer."

Joy trembled. She thought about her sister who was about to enter high school. She wanted to give her a good life. She took a deep breath. "How can I make sure you are not lying? Where would you even get that amount of money?"

Kang Jun rolled his eyes. He removed his watch and bracelet and other jewelry aside from his earing and threw them on the couch.

"Even if you sell them half of their original price, it would be more than enough to sustain your and your sister's needs for atleast three months. Those are the cheapest that I have. Money will never be an issue for me."

Kang Jun was not really exaggerating. His watch alone costs more than $10,000 and its the cheapest in his collection.

Joy doesn't want to believe him, but looking at the items he carelessly threw on the couch, he doesn't seem to be lying. She thought hard about his offer.

The idea of starting a new life and leaving her degrading job.. She really wanted it. She never wanted to become a call girl . No woman with a respect to themselves will want to end up in that kind of profession. She was uneducated but she tried working a normal job before, but it wasn't enough. It just not enough to support herself and her sister that's why she ended up in this job. In order to send her sister to study and give her a different life, she was willing to do anything.

Her shoulders sagged, all the fight leaving her body. She let go of the door handle and faced Kang Jun.

"Tell me what to do."