2

Haewon pulled the trigger again, but the man had already seized Kwon Yeon-woo, using him as a shield before she could land the shot.

The man pressed a razor-sharp blade against Kwon Yeon-woo’s throat.

“Drop the gun!”

The man roared. The tip of the blade began to bite into the soft skin of Yeon-woo’s neck.

“I said drop it!”

Haewon swallowed hard. As she hesitated, the man dug the blade deeper. A trickle of red blood began to run down the pale skin of his neck.

She had ways to neutralize him, but if she acted now, she couldn’t guarantee Echo One’s safety.

She forced herself to stay calm and observed Kwon Yeon-woo. If this were his first time in such a situation, he should have been paralyzed with extreme terror…

“…?”

Haewon paused, caught off guard by the expression on Yeon-woo’s face. She had expected him to be in a state of panic, but he was calmer than she had anticipated.

Underneath hair matted with sweat, his striking eyes were fixed steadily on her. They were bloodshot, but the focus in his gaze was sharp enough to feel as if he were piercing right through her.

There was no trace of fear. Just by looking at him, one would hardly believe he had a blade pressed against his throat.

What is this? In this situation… Can a normal person really maintain this level of composure?

He had been kidnapped by an unidentified assailant in a foreign land and held captive for over a day. Seeing the people on the floor around him, whose fates were uncertain, it was hard to fathom. But for Haewon, it was a hopeful sign.

If Kwon Yeon-woo could just keep his wits about him, there might be a chance to do something.

Just then, Kwon Yeon-woo spoke in a low, strained voice, using Korean.

“This bastard doesn’t know Korean.”

As soon as Kwon Yeon-woo opened his mouth, the man yelled irritably.

“What are you saying! Don’t try anything, drop the gun! Now!”

The man’s Chinese had a strong Southern accent. Haewon, who was fluent in Chinese, carefully raised her hands as if surrendering and spoke.

“I’ll drop it. Just let the hostage live.”

“Don’t try to pull any tricks, you damn bitch!”

Looking closely, the man hadn’t completely dodged Haewon’s bullet earlier. Blood was seeping from his side, soaking his shirt.

At least that’s fortunate.

Haewon bent down, pretending to slowly set the gun on the floor, and spoke in Korean.

“When I give the signal, dodge to the left. Can you do it?”

“Fuck! What are you saying? Shut your mouth and drop the gun! You don’t care if this guy dies?”

The man growled, pressing the blade against Yeon-woo’s neck. Perhaps feeling the pain, Yeon-woo’s straight eyebrows finally furrowed.

Haewon spoke again, her voice calm.

“I’ll be the hostage instead. Surely, a woman is more useful, isn’t she?”

 At her words, the man sneered.

“Someone like you might be worth some money, but this one is worth more right now.”

At that, Haewon feigned a troubled expression and obediently set the gun on the floor. She then pushed the weapon toward the man as instructed.

The moment the man looked down to grab the gun and kick it away was her window of opportunity.

She had been watching him with bated breath, and as his gaze finally dipped, she knew it was time. Just as she was about to throw the dagger she had hidden in her clothes,

Suddenly, Kwon Yeon-woo drove his elbow into the man’s solar plexus.

“Ugh!”

“…!”

Though caught off guard, she didn’t miss the opening. She threw the dagger at the man. The sharp blade flew true, aiming for his throat.

“Graaaah!”

Unable to dodge the dagger, the man staggered back. The weapon he had been holding clattered to the floor. Haewon threw herself to the ground, snatched up her gun, and leveled it straight at him.

Bang!

The bullet tore straight through the man’s heart.

“Ugh!” the man slumped to the floor.

“Ha.”

The immediate threat was over. Haewon let out a short breath and stood up. The floor was a mess, stained with the blood pouring from the man.

She dusted off her clothes and approached Kwon Yeon-woo to check his condition.

“Sorry for the late introduction. I’m a Black Agent with the NIS. Are you alright?”

Instead of answering, Kwon Yeon-woo stared intently at Haewon’s face, then thrust his bound hands toward her. It was a silent request to be untied.

Haewon picked up the knife from the floor and cut the restraints on his hands and feet. As she did, she replayed the situation in her mind.

No matter how she thought about it, it was puzzling.

How could someone who had just been threatened with a knife to his throat be so calm?

When she looked up, their eyes met. His large eyes with defined creases. though bloodshot, were objectively beautiful. The black mole beneath his left eye was strangely magnetic.

He looked different from the photo. When she had received the photo of Kwon Yeon-woo from Jeong-in, she had assumed he was a sheltered, pampered son of a wealthy family. The smiling face in the picture looked so pure and innocent.

She had concluded that, unlike her, he was the type to have grown up sheltered, smothered with love and without a care in the world. She had believed that he thought the world was a beautiful place, came abroad for a trip alone, and got kidnapped by criminals disguised as benevolent strangers.

But the face she faced in reality was neither a naive heir nor a greenhouse flower.

To be so steel-nerved that he didn’t even blink when a blade dug into his neck, she had heard he was a twenty-seven-year-old college student, but his actions were closer to those of a trained agent.

And what about those muscles visible on his upper body?

Haewon’s gaze swept over Yeon-woo’s sturdy torso. They weren’t the kind of ornamental muscles men his age built just to show off. These were muscles clearly forged through years of intense training.

What kind of guy is he?

“What are you looking at? Do you like what you see?”

She looked at him with an expressionless face. Unlike his pretty face, his voice was low, and his tone was cocky, with a reckless edge.

Haewon pictured the serious, dignified face of President Kwon Il-do over his. Just as she thought they shared no resemblance. Then Kwon Yeon-woo opened his mouth.

“Don’t look alike, do we? Everyone says that.”

“…Are you drugged?”

She glanced at the empty syringes scattered around him and the injection marks on his arm. Only then did his erratic behavior start to make half-sense. Haewon waved a hand lightly in front of his eyes.

“Is your vision clear? Can you walk?”

“Hahaha.”

Kwon Yeon-woo burst into laughter, his shoulders shaking, before standing up. He was tall, forcing Haewon, who was over 170cm, to tilt her head back.

“Does it show? The world is all rainbows right now, so it’s driving me crazy.”

Looking around, she saw empty syringes scattered near the other fallen men as well. It seemed they had been continuously injecting the hostages to keep them incapacitated.

The side effect was… taking their clothes off? Every single one of them was nearly naked.

It wasn’t a pleasant sight, so she averted her eyes from the naked men with a grimace.

“I see.”

Haewon stripped the jacket off a nearby fallen man and tossed it to Yeon-woo.

“Wear this, at least.”

“Why? Are you attracted to my body? I put quite a bit of effort into it.”

He said readily, and Haewon, looking at him, wondering if he was truly just high, replied with a deadpan expression.

“Then go out like that.”

There was no time to waste here. Haewon left Yeon-woo and checked out. The support team didn’t seem to have arrived yet. Holding her pistol, she scanned the perimeter and made a call.

Before the ringing had even finished, Team Leader Min Hyeon-seok’s voice came through.

How is it?

“Echo One is safe. But the support team seems very late.”

The support team can’t get into Myawaddy because of the Myanmar civil war. The rebels mistook our personnel for government troops and attacked them. So they’ve pulled back and are currently waiting.

“…….”

It was a frustrating situation. To think the only one she could rely on here was Ha Gyu-ho.

Haewon glanced around the hotel room and said,

“I think you need to request an investigation from the local authorities. There are quite a few other Koreans here besides Echo One.”

Understood. I’ll find a way to get in, no matter what.

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

She hung up and turned around. Kwon Yeon-woo, wearing the suit jacket over his bare skin, was stretching. His movements looked lighter than she expected.

He looked fine on the outside, but she couldn’t be certain of his condition. Haewon asked in a flat voice.

“We need to escape from here. Can you run? Is the world still all rainbows?”

Yeon-woo tilted his head and smiled. “It’s rainbow-colored, so it’s been a while since I’ve felt this alive.”

Veins pulsed on the back of Haewon’s hand, which gripped the gun. His smug, grinning face was getting on her nerves.

 Does he think this situation is fun?

“Answer me, can you run or not?”

“I’m fine. At least I won’t be dead weight, will I?”

He nodded toward the bed, lowering his voice to a suggestive tone.

“I’ve got enough stamina left to roll around in there, even after all this.”

“Ha.”

 Haewon let out a low, dry laugh. His words were halfway jokes, and the content was sleazy.

Is he looking down on me just because I’m a female agent?

Haewon stared at his polished face in silence for a moment before stepping closer to him.

Click.

In a flash, she racked her gun and pressed the barrel against Yeon-woo’s left chest, right under the jacket.

“…!”

The smile vanished from Kwon Yeon-woo’s face. Haewon looked him in the eyes and spoke.

“I decide that. If I feel like you’re dead weight, I’ll be the one to abandon you, so keep that in mind.”