Chapter 3.2

Chapter 3.2

A burning pain flared. She had been hit by a dagger pulled out by a falling man. Haewon identified the culprit and stomped her foot on the hand holding the knife. Then, she plunged the dropped dagger directly into his heart.

She felt blood flowing from the open wound but paid it no mind.

“Ahkh–uk!”

Bodies piled up in front of Haewon. Now, only about ten men remained. Realizing Haewon was a formidable opponent, they began to tense up and move cautiously.

She spat the mouthful of blood that rose to her throat onto the floor and re-gripped her gun barrel. If they gave her distance, she was the one who would benefit.

Bang! Bang!

There was no hesitation in her trigger finger. Seeing this, some of the cornered men rolled their eyes and lunged forward instead.

“Die!!”

Haewon urgently shot the leg of someone rushing her. But the huge man didn’t flinch and charged at Haewon like an armored vehicle.

As she pulled the trigger at him again, click. An empty sound.

The magazine was empty.

“Ah, damn it.”

She instinctively discarded the gun and picked up a fallen dagger, but then, Bang! A gunshot rang out from behind her. It was the unsuppressed gun she had given Yeonwoo.

“……!”

She glanced over her shoulder to see Yeonwoo, holding the gun with both hands, firing at the men.

Bang! Bang!

Loud gunshots echoed through the building hallway. Haewon’s eyes widened.

Every time he pulled the trigger, the charging men collapsed. This was truly unexpected.

Despite not being a trained agent, he showed no hesitation in shooting people? And his accuracy was unusual as well.

…What kind of person is he, exactly?

While Haewon was distracted, the situation ended absurdly fast. She and Kwon Yeonwoo were the only ones still breathing in the hallway.

“Ha.”

Haewon let out a faint, disbelieving chuckle, and Yeonwoo, lowering his gun, relaxed his shoulders and smiled brightly. His expression was as light as someone who had just finished a simple workout.

“See? I told you I’m useful.”

“……”

She was a little confused. For him to shoot a gun that accurately meant this man was currently sane.

“Let’s go downstairs now, Angel. The scenery is very unhealthy.”

Nope, he must be insane.

Haewon stared at Kwon Yeonwoo as if he were a strange creature before turning away. There was no time to linger here. Kwon Yeonwoo’s actions were suspicious, but at least it was a relief that he was a hostage who could protect himself.

Before opening the door to the stairs, she discarded the empty magazine and inserted a new one. As the joints clicked into place, Haewon flung the door open.

She met Ha Gyuho on the stairs leading to the third floor.

“Haewon! Lee Haewon!”

Ha Gyuho, his gray hair splattered with blood, greeted Haewon as if reunited with a lost family member.

“You’re safe, I was so worried. Are you hurt anywhere?”

“No. Echo One is safe too.”

Gyuho checked Yeonwoo, who stood beside Haewon. But seeing Yeonwoo, the protection target, looking perfectly fine and even holding a gun, he seemed a little surprised.

“Kwon…Yeonwoo? Ah, I’m a Black Agent too. You can relax now.”

“Yeah, whatever.”

Yeonwoo’s reply was half-hearted. Having no interest in the man, his gaze remained fixed on Haewon. A strange glint in his eyes showed a different expression than before.

‘Did he find something amusing on my face?’

Haewon ignored Yeonwoo’s persistent stare and spoke to Gyuho.

“The support team can’t come. We have to get out of here ourselves.”

After she updated him on the situation, Gyuho frowned.

“Why is it so tough? I even gave up my precious vacation to come here.”

Watching Gyuho begin to grumble, Haewon led the way.

“We’ll head to the safe house and wait there for now.”

“I heard the Myanmar safe houses are really crappy.”

“Still better than a coffin, probably.”

Haewon replied dryly and descended the stairs. Fortunately, they didn’t encounter anyone as the three headed to the first floor. This was all thanks to Gyuho’s clean work.

Just before exiting the building, Haewon contacted Jung-in.

“Yes, Senior!”

“Give me the route. The closest safe house from here.”

“Yes. I’ll tell you right away. Um… but Senior!”

“Why?”

“You should probably get out of there fast. Rebel forces were caught heading your way on the drone. They’re about 300 meters away.”

As soon as she heard Jung-in’s words, Haewon spun around to Gyuho and Yeonwoo and shouted.

“Run!”

The three instinctively began to run. However, due to the short distance, the rebels spotted the three escaping the building and immediately began to pursue them.

“Shit, why are those bastards chasing us?”

Gyuho shouted, frustrated, and Yeonwoo calmly retorted beside him.

“They’re the ones who captured me.”

“What?!”

This was an unexpected detail. Trapped in a Chinese crime den, she’d naturally assumed it was their doing, but it was actually Myanmar rebel forces involved?

“Why them?”

“Beats me. Shouldn’t the National Intelligence Service be figuring that out?”

“Ha.”

Gyuho’s disbelieving chuckle was the last of their conversation as the three ran without another word. Soon, they broke out into the outskirts of Shwe Kokko and hid among the dense cornfields.

Swish-swish-swish. Rustle.

The sounds of tall grass parting, and the crunching of stalks underfoot, followed.

Haewon, breathing heavily, looked back. She thought the pursuit would stop once they hid in the towering cornfield, but the rebels began to fire their guns indiscriminately.

Rat-a-tat-tat-tat! Rat-a-tat-tat-tat-tat!

As loud and chilling gunshots echoed repeatedly, Gyuho and Haewon realized the gravity of the situation.

In a scenario where an engagement with government forces might occur, deploying such a large force to relentlessly pursue them couldn’t simply be to eliminate an escaped hostage.

Their target was probably Kwon Yeonwoo from the very beginning.

Haewon, having come to her own conclusion, turned to Gyuho.

“I’ll be the decoy. You protect Echo One and go to the safe house. It’s the only way right now.”

“What? No!”

Gyuho adamantly refused. Just as she was about to persuade him that there was no other way, Yeonwoo suddenly pulled her wrist with force.

“You be the decoy. Whether it’s the safe house or the River Styx, I want to go with you.”