Chapter 4.2

Chapter 4.2

“Hey, Kwon Yeonwoo! Where are you going?”

She shouted, but Yeonwoo didn’t look back. He ran at full speed, like someone with a clear destination.

Haewon couldn’t comprehend the situation.

If not for her, there would be no one to help him. Why was he running away in this unfamiliar foreign country?

If he ran away like this and got caught by the rebels, it was obvious he would become a hostage again.

“Mr. Kwon Yeonwoo! Hey, Kwon Yeonwoo!”

When Haewon shouted, Yeonwoo glanced back. The distance was quite far, but Yeonwoo’s expression was clearly visible.

“…!”

There was a subtle hint of amusement in his eyes. It was as if he was inviting her to play a game. Haewon wiped the rain from her face, clenching her teeth.

“What the hell is he doing!?”

She cursed inwardly. The wet dirt beneath her feet squelched, splattering everywhere. But she just ran forward relentlessly. She couldn’t lose Kwon Yeonwoo like this.

As the distance closed, he playfully slowed down a bit, teasing her, then changed direction and started running into the forest.

“Into the forest at this hour?”

It was almost sunset. The sky was already heavily overcast, so what was the point of going into the forest now?

Once the sun set, they would be trapped in there without a doubt.

“Is the medicine kicking in late, or is he completely insane?”

She swallowed another curse but followed him into the forest regardless. The moment her feet touched the forest floor, Haewon suddenly realized something strange.

Kwon Yeonwoo, who should have found this area unfamiliar, was running as if he knew the way.

The more she chased, the more certain she became. In this dense forest, Kwon Yeonwoo was running without hesitation in one direction.

This was very strange. But at the same time, curiosity stirred within her.

She wiped the relentless rain from her face with her hands and desperately pursued Kwon Yeonwoo. She prided herself on her running ability, but catching up to Kwon Yeonwoo was proving quite difficult.

Haewon recalled what Jung-in had told her about Kwon Yeonwoo and clenched her fists.

A normal college student, my foot.

Just then, a dilapidated shack appeared through the thick undergrowth.

Among the three or four shacks, only one was still intact, its form not collapsed. The others were mere skeletons or had half-caved roofs.

Just as she wondered why such a thing would be here, Kwon Yeonwoo entered one of them.

“…!”

Haewon was at a loss as to how to react to this.

She halted her full-speed run, loaded her gun, and began to scan her surroundings.

Shhhhwahhh— The sound of rain beating against the leaves was deafening.

A remote forest in Myawaddy.

An unknown shack within it.

The president’s son, who had vanished inside.

No matter how she thought about it, it was an incomprehensible combination. She ran her tongue over her mouth, then tightened her grip on her gun.

She had a bad feeling, but there was no way Haewon could avoid entering. After all, her mission was to rescue Kwon Yeonwoo safely.

Yet, she couldn’t shake the feeling that he had deliberately lured her here.

Haewon took a moment to steady her breath, then slowly moved her feet to enter the shack.

“…!”

The interior was very small. And empty. Though crude, it was clearly enclosed on all sides, yet Kwon Yeonwoo was nowhere to be seen. It was baffling.

“Ha.”

Haewon bit her lower lip. The Kwon Yeonwoo she had chased couldn’t be a ghost, so where on earth had he disappeared to?

Haewon’s sharp gaze began to search every corner of the shack.

Then, she found a door under a dirty carpet on the floor, just large enough for one person to pass through.

The moment she saw it, the back of her head tingled.

She hesitated for a moment, then, as if making a decision, pushed down on the wooden door. It opened easily, revealing a dark space below.

There was no hesitation. Haewon leaped inside, landing on what felt like a pile of straw.

The depth felt like about three meters.

A space of this depth beneath a shabby shack. It was utterly suspicious. In the darkness, she aimed her gun and keenly scanned her surroundings. The space was even wider than she had imagined.

“Is it a bunker?”

As she muttered softly to herself, a low voice came from somewhere.

“Welcome, Angel.”

She turned her head towards the sound and found Kwon Yeonwoo sitting comfortably in an armchair beneath a dim lamp.

Haewon aimed her gun at him and said, “Who are you?”

Kwon Yeonwoo merely smiled faintly at the gun and shrugged. The curve of his lips was refreshing, incongruous with the situation.

“Who am I? I’m Kwon Yeonwoo. President Kwon Ildo’s youngest son. Oh, in your terms, Echo One?”

“So, why did Echo One lure me to a place like this?”

Haewon’s gaze keenly swept through the bunker. It was hard to believe this was the space beneath that shabby shack, as quite cozy furnishings were visible.

Kwon Yeonwoo chuckled, seemingly amused by Haewon’s reaction.

“Just because. I wanted to be alone with you?”