Chapter 12

Chapter 12

“Ugh!”

Inside the sack, as expected, were snakes. There were over five at a glance: a thick viper, a cobra with its head raised high, and striped snakes of unknown species.

Having just sprung from the sack, the snakes seemed utterly enraged by their confinement. The moment they emerged, they hissed and aggressively reared their heads.

One snake, slithering out in a flash, coiled around the leg of the nearest soldier and attacked. The soldier, who had been grinning with yellowed teeth, shrieked and tried to shake his leg free, but the venomous snake’s fangs sank into his flesh first.

“Argh! Kill it! Kill this thing now!”

His comrade standing nearby didn’t know what to do. He aimed his gun at the snake, but finding it hard to get a shot, he quickly pulled a knife from his clothes and swung it wildly at the reptile.

However, another cobra lunged aggressively at him, puffing out its hood. He tried to dodge in surprise but stumbled backward. Haewon had subtly tripped him from behind. The knife, slipping from his hand as he fell, skittered across the ground and landed right at Yeonwoo’s feet.

“Nice.”

Yeonwoo crouched, picked up the knife, and cut the ropes binding his wrists. Meanwhile, Haewon slowly backed away, not even daring to breathe.

When encountering snakes, the most crucial thing was not to provoke them. It wasn’t that she wasn’t afraid of venomous snakes; her hands were already damp with sweat.

To think she’d encounter venomous snakes in her life. Not just one, but five of them.

“Ugh, aaaargh!”

The screams of the soldiers, now tangled with snakes, echoed through the forest. It was a gruesome sight. A sight that could have easily been her future.

Just as a shiver ran down her rain-soaked skin, she felt the ropes on her wrists snap. She turned her head, and Yeonwoo was already standing behind her.

He looked at Haewon’s face, rigid with tension, and chuckled as if surprised.

“You’re scared of snakes?”

“How could I not be, after seeing that?”

Yeonwoo adjusted his grip on the knife and glanced at the soldiers. Overwhelmed by the venomous snakes in an instant, the soldiers were now too disoriented to even scream, the poison having spread through their bodies.

Haewon swallowed hard and asked Yeonwoo.

“Where do we escape to now?”

“Hmm. I wonder if we can even escape.”

“What?”

It was an unexpected answer, and Haewon looked up at him. Before she could ask what he meant, an enraged voice rang out from somewhere.

Turning her head towards the sound, she saw soldiers standing there, armed with guns. These were the ones who had been digging in the pit earlier. They surveyed the chaotic scene around them with disbelieving expressions, then, enraged, fired their guns into the sky.

Bang! Bang!

It was a signal of distress to their comrades not far away. Yeonwoo clicked his tongue and raised both hands as if surrendering.

“Did you grab anything at your first birthday party?”

“What?”

She stared at him, bewildered by the sudden question. He tucked the knife between his fingers, subtly concealing it, and said,

“I grabbed the thread. If you, Angel, also grabbed the thread, I might rely on that a bit.”

His words implied that there was no other option but to cling to superstition.

Haewon let out a hollow laugh at his bizarre phrasing, yet her heart felt heavy, and she bit her lip.

“You sons of bitches! What the hell have you done?!”

As two enraged soldiers quickly closed the distance, the sound of people running towards them echoed from behind. It wasn’t just one or two. At this rate, they would be surrounded again.

“Goddamn it, seriously.”

Yeonwoo’s voice was a suppressed curse. Haewon’s feelings were not much different.

“Get down! Hands up, get down!”

The two soldiers, now practically upon them, began to threaten them with raised gun barrels. Yeonwoo let out a long breath, then swiftly extended his hand and slashed the face of the approaching soldier with the knife.

“Argh!”

A sharp scream erupted. Just as Yeonwoo snatched the bewildered soldier’s gun, a loud gunshot rang out from behind!

“…!”

Haewon froze. But the gunshots didn’t stop there.

Tat-tat-tat-tat! Tat-tat-tat!

Gunfire shook the forest without pause. Haewon flinched in surprise. They were already surrounded…? They hadn’t even taken the enemy’s gun yet?

“Hah, hah…”

Just as her vision began to blur, thinking she was certainly going to die, she felt something warm grasp her shoulder. Haewon, surprised that her senses were still intact amidst the showering bullets, lifted her head.

Filling her vision, to her astonishment, was Yeonwoo’s face. He wrapped his hands around Haewon’s shoulders and smiled, his eyes curving.

It was a smile that felt somehow unreal. To smile like that, in this situation.

“We’re alive.”

“What?”

“I said, we’re alive.”

Why…?

The gunshots still tore at her ears. But realizing she was facing Yeonwoo, unharmed amidst the gunfire, a sense of unreality washed over her.

We’re… really alive? Could it be backup?

She looked around in surprise. The soldier who had been threatening them moments ago now lay on the ground, shot. And it wasn’t just him. The soldiers who had been rushing from behind were also falling helplessly under someone’s gunfire.

Haewon followed the direction of the gunfire and raised her head to the sky. Several helicopters hovered overhead. The loud thrumming of their propellers was a welcome, tear-inducing sound.

“Ah… We’re safe.”

At that moment, Yeonwoo reached out and cupped Haewon’s cheek. She looked at him in surprise, and Yeonwoo, meeting her gaze, pulled her waist closer with his other hand. Their bodies touched abruptly.

Before she could even process what he was doing, their lips met.

“…!”

Soon, something hot and wet parted Haewon’s lips and entered. He caressed Haewon’s stiff back, and with a hot breath, delved deep into her mouth.

As he traced her delicate membranes, bit at her soft flesh, and licked ceaselessly, Haewon’s entire body tingled with dizzying stimulation. It was difficult to comprehend that she was currently kissing Kwon Yeonwoo.

She belatedly came to her senses and pushed him away, but he held firm, refusing to budge. Instead, his large hand caressed the nape of Haewon’s neck and pulled her body even tighter against his. He was excessively hot and intense.

“Mmph!”

Struggling to push him away, she bit his tongue hard. Only then did Yeonwoo release her lips and look down at Haewon, letting out a soft laugh. Bright red blood stained his tongue as he ran it across his lips.

Haewon pushed at his shoulder.

“Are you crazy? What the hell do you think you’re doing?!”

But Yeonwoo was laughing as if greatly amused. His unique, refreshing smile fluttered towards Haewon.

“Because I like you. You saved me today.”

“What?”

“You keep saving me? Don’t do that, Haewon. It makes me want to cling to you.”

“Ha!”

Her words were choked off by the absurd statement. Just then, a familiar voice rang out from somewhere.

“Won-ah! Lee Haewon!”

She turned her head. In the distance, she saw gray hair. Haewon closed and reopened her eyes, wondering if she had seen wrong. But even looking again, it was unmistakably Ha Gyuho.

He was alive.

Gyuho leaped from the helicopter before it had even fully landed, then rushed straight towards Haewon.

Lost in the relief that he was alive, she watched him blankly. In the next moment, Gyuho, who was now right in front of her, pulled Haewon into an embrace.

“Won-ah! Ha, damn it. How much did I regret it, thinking something happened to you!”

“Hey, what….”

Gyuho, who hugged her so tightly she could barely breathe, even had tears welling up in his eyes, which was uncharacteristic of him. Normally, she wouldn’t tolerate such behavior, but now she understood his feelings, so Haewon let him be for a moment.

“Hey… I’m fine.”

“Let me see. Are you hurt anywhere?”

Gyuho pulled away and began to examine Haewon from head to toe. Haewon found Gyuho’s excessive fussing both amusing and bewildering, so she lightly pushed his shoulder.

“I’m fine. As you can see, I’m not dead.”

Then, inadvertently, her gaze fell on Kwon Yeonwoo, who was standing nearby. He stood with his arms crossed, an expression of displeasure on his face.

Kwon Yeonwoo glanced between Haewon and Gyuho, then poked Gyuho’s shoulder.

“Hey. Shouldn’t you be checking on me? I’m Echo One. Your protection target.”

Only then did Gyuho turn his eyes away from Haewon. The tender gaze he had given Haewon was gone, replaced by a cold, dry stare directed at Yeonwoo.

“Ah, you.”

Gyuho slowly turned to face Yeonwoo, then swiftly grabbed him by the collar.

“Who the hell are you?”