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The strangers who emerged from the car pulled out hunting knives from inside their clothes. Jakyung first tucked the gun back into her waistband, then ran toward the car. The swarming people blocked her path one by one. Gleaming blades moved before her eyes with a whoosh, whoosh sound.
Jakyung grabbed an opponent's arm, tucked it under her side, and snapped it in an instant. Then she quickly snatched the falling knife, drove it into the attacker's instep, and worked her way up to sever the carotid artery in a flash. Dark red blood spurted into the air as the opponent fell clutching his throat, flopping around like a fish.
Whirling the knife in her hand skillfully, she changed direction and threw it at the face of the man behind her. The blade's tip embedded precisely into his eye, and the man screamed as he collapsed on the spot. Jakyung drew her gun and aimed at those approaching threateningly. Pew, pew—flashes of light and the flying bullets struck chests and heads.
At the unexpectedly fierce response, several in the group pulled guns from inside their clothes. Jakyung hid among the parked cars. After diving beneath a vehicle, she aimed at their ankles. She shot the heads of those who fell from ankle wounds, completely shattering them. The moment she rose, bang—a bullet grazed past her face.
A man with half his face covered suddenly jumped out from behind a van. Just before he could fire a second shot, Kang Ilhyun appeared from behind, grabbed his neck, and twisted it in one motion. Seeing him grin, Jakyung gritted her teeth. When did he get over there?
One wrong move and she might end up wearing a flowered lace dress today. Just the thought made goosebumps rise all over her body. While her attention wandered for a moment with other thoughts, a blade came whistling toward her. She dodged by a hair's breadth, but her neck had nearly been pierced.
She grabbed the arm and twisted it, seized the opponent's knife, then struck the neck and face with her fist before grabbing his hair and slamming him into the car windshield until it shattered. As soon as she threw the bloodied man to the ground, someone leaped up onto the car roof.
This time it was a large man in a suit. Seeing the gun in his hand, she quickly dove and rolled under the car. Bang, bang—bullets embedded into the floor where she had just been lying. From under the car, Jakyung assessed her surroundings.
Fuck. They really gathered with purpose. Just then, people who had been inside the building came rushing out toward the parking lot exit en masse, timing it with the end of the movie. Amid the commotion, she rolled out from under the car.
Running at full speed while dodging between cars, bullets flew in. Bang, bang—car windows shattered and vehicle alarms blared loudly. The people who had come to the entrance screamed and ran back into the building, and perhaps conscious of that, the attackers scattered one by one.
Security guards who appeared after receiving a report ran out with batons, but seeing the situation with guns and knives, they urgently radioed somewhere. Upon reaching the car, Jakyung looked around. It had become a scene of chaos, but Kang Ilhyun was nowhere to be seen.
Did this guy get shot somewhere? He wasn't someone who would die easily, but she still worried. She got in the car first, and contrary to her concerns, Kang Ilhyun was sitting in the passenger seat. Smiling like a pervert.
"Lee Jakyung, lace dress winner."
Jakyung clenched her teeth and started the engine. She pressed the accelerator, pulled the car out immediately, and began escaping the parking lot at lightning speed. Several black cars followed behind. They smashed through the barricades the guards had set up to block the entrance and exited the building.
As soon as they got out, she turned right immediately and ran through red lights.
"How did you get here first?"
"Hid and sneaked."
Jakyung looked at him with an expression of disbelief.
"Wow, that's cheap. I was fighting for my life."
"Fighting is about technique. Who told you to fight to the death?"
Jakyung glared at him.
"Just wait. Later when it gets dangerous, I'll run away first using my 'technique.'"
"Why the change of words? Who was it that proposed this morning saying they'd protect me?"
Proposing, engagement—he made up words that were never even spoken. This delusional patient. Feeling unfairly treated, she cursed with just her mouth shape, but the pursuit became even more fierce. Moreover, ahead, the signal had traffic lined up in a long row.
Jakyung turned directly into the alley on the right. Honk, honk—she kept sounding the horn and pedestrians parted like the Red Sea. The pursuers also followed close behind. Thump, thump—each time they hit the speed bump and became airborne before landing, the car body shook violently.
Trying to exit the alley, a van was parked ahead. Jakyung turned the car toward the empty sidewalk and drove straight across the flower bed. The wheels caught on the flower bed's edge and the car went airborne before dropping onto the road with a thud.
Ilhyun unconsciously grabbed the handle, scowled, and looked back.
"You do have a license, right?"
"Don't worry. Not as good as Wang Ryun, but my driving skills aren't lacking anywhere."
"Ahead."
"I see it."
Looking ahead, this place was equally crowded with cars. Jakyung squeezed between cars parked on both sides and burst through the gap. The car escaped by a paper-thin margin, and thanks to that, the side mirror was shattered. However, those pursuing were no pushovers either.
As they drove, they reached an intersection. She tried to turn left when a car that had been following from behind shot forward and blocked the side. Suddenly she was forced to go straight, against her will. Seeing the tunnel sign right ahead, Jakyung looked at Ilhyun.
He didn't look like someone being chased, but rather someone enjoying a game with a relaxed expression. Regardless, she took out a loaded gun and handed it to him.
"You see the tunnel, right? Once we're inside, shoot at the tires."
Ilhyun nodded. Shortly after, they entered the tunnel, and he opened the window and aimed the gun at the car behind them. Pew, pew, pew—flashes spurted from the silenced pistol. Sparks flew on the road and bullets embedded into the bumper, but the tires remained intact.
Jakyung looked back and scowled fiercely.
"What is that ridiculous skill?"
"It keeps moving."
"Well the car moves—if it stayed still, would it be a car?"
"Keep complaining and I'll shoot you instead."
Ugh, seriously. As if waiting for this, bullets flew from behind. Thanks to the bulletproof glass, it didn't shatter easily, but the remaining side mirror was destroyed. Jakyung snatched the gun, then pulled Ilhyun's hand over to make him grip the wheel.
"Hold onto it."
She opened the driver's side window, leaned her upper body out, and counterattacked. She aimed at the tires with the gun and pulled the trigger. The pursuing car's tire burst, the car lost balance and zigzagged before bang! crashing into the tunnel wall and stopping.
The car following behind also stopped as its path was blocked, and in that gap, Jakyun quickly pulled her body back inside and increased speed. There was no talking from beside her, so she looked—Kang Ilhyun was staring at her with a half-dazed expression. It was similar to his reaction when she confessed this morning.
"W-why?"
"Do you know how sexy you are right now?"
At the unexpected statement, Jakyung was flustered. Ilhyun sighed and muttered to himself simultaneously.
"Ha, fuck. I'm hard."
Jakyung was so dumbfounded she lost words. This crazy person. Getting aroused at any time and acting up. Should she shoot his dick with the gun? While glaring at him, he sneakily pulled her hand and asked if she could just touch it once. She was struggling to push his hand away when bang—they were hit from behind.
Looking back, another car had closed in right behind them. She missed Wang Ryun more desperately than ever. He would have shaken them off in one shot. There were many of them, and whether by chance or design, at every intersection they would overtake and force them only forward.
"Seems strange, doesn't it?"
"Yeah."
As time passed, the mischievous expression on Kang Ilhyun's face disappeared and turned cold. It was a rarely seen expression, so Jakyung also became tense. As if that wasn't enough, the sky that had been heavily overcast started pouring rain again. Damn it. Even the weather wasn't helping.
With the rain coming down in torrents, no matter how much the wipers moved, visibility was difficult. Each time they rounded corners at high speed, the tires slipped on the rainwater and swayed. At some point, they stopped attacking or responding and were only following from behind.
Perhaps....
"They're herding us."
At Kang Ilhyun's words, Jakyung gripped the wheel tightly. Recognizing the gravity of the situation, Kang Ilhyun immediately requested support from Taesu, then leaned his body out the rain-pouring window and aimed his gun. Please, shoot properly this time. She prayed earnestly, and he hit the tires consecutively, bursting them.
When she looked at him in surprise, he was reloading the magazine with ghost-like skill. There were no gaps between loading, aiming, and firing. It was absurd to think this was the same person who had been shooting wildly earlier. After using up the last magazine, the number of cars was reduced to a third.
There was no time to rejoice—as soon as the cars stopped and tangled, they regrouped and broke free. It meant they weren't amateurs, and it was also proof that they wouldn't be going home easily today.
They came out to a quiet outskirts area, but nothing changed. The rain still poured with frightening intensity, and darkness settled all around. For some reason, the speed of the pursuing cars gradually slowed. At the moment when all attention was focused behind, Ilhyun beside her gave an order to stop.
She had seen black-shaped objects laid on the ground, but by the time she pressed the brake, it was already too late.
Thud—the car shook, then the tire blew and slid on the wet road before crashing into the guardrail with a bang. Her body swayed, but fortunately the impact was less than expected. At least if she got out and fought without weapons, she wouldn't be at a disadvantage.
But that relief didn't last long. Watching behind, light bright enough to blind the eyes poured in all at once from outside. Jakyung covered her face with her arm, and immediately heard Kang Ilhyun cursing beside her.
"Fuck."
Without needing to ask more, Ilhyun wrapped his arms around Jakyung's head and pulled her down. Then bullets rained down like a hailstorm. Even the barely-holding bulletproof glass shattered, and the seat backs were torn to shreds.
If you put iron beads in a tin can and shook it wildly, would it make this sound? Ear-splitting gunshots continued in succession, then stopped all at once. Jakyung and Ilhyun, crouched and breathing heavily, slowly raised their heads.
The searchlights' glare disappeared, and beyond the window that had become like a rag, dozens of fully armed men revealed themselves. Their gun muzzles were all pointed this way.
And in the center of them all, Chairman Kang stood holding an umbrella like a messenger from the underworld.