Twenty Four
Remnants Of The Heart
“What do you –?”
“Go!”
“No, no no. . . .”
She was being pulled away from him. She holds on tighter but he was prying her hands off of him. “Let go, Dara!”
“No. . .!”
With a sigh, Jiyong struck the back of her head, leaving her unconscious. “Do you really have to do that?” Seunghyun hissed.
“She wasn’t going to let go, you know,” he grinned.
“Bastard,” the other murmured making Jiyong laugh. But then, he took Dara away from him and started carrying her. They both stared at each other, a knowing look in their eyes. Words weren’t needed to be exchanged. A nod was exchanged before Seunghyun turned away and ran to the cave as instructed. He half-walked and half-ran, the soles of his shoes scraping the rough soil. He turned left on the first turn as instructed and came across a brick wall. He didn’t bother wondering how the cave walls became bricked as he counted three from the top to the left then four down before tapping the sixth from the fourth.
A rumbling sound started invading his ears same as the ground seemed to shake as if something big was coming, reverberating and vibrating life. The ground started to move, making Seunghyun back away. He wondered if he followed Jiyong’s instructions correctly or not. He was just about to turn around when at the corner of his eye, he saw the ground on his left start to pave away. he sighed in relief upon seeing the ground paving way to a stair going somewhere he wasn’t really sure where. He went to take the stairs and pressed on a button Jiyong told him to press on. As he did, the lights flickered on the same time the fake ground above started moving and covering him from view.
He blinked several times before his eyes finally adjusted to the dimly lit place or more to say, a tunnel. A chuckle of disbelief escaped from him as he stared at the tunnel in front of him, a sad sigh followed as his thoughts went back to Jiyong. He would be forever grateful to that guy once he’ll be able to get Dara through this – alive.
But before taking the tunnel in front of him, he went to the first door he saw on the left side. Jiyong said he’ll need a few things from that room. Upon entering the room, he let out a low whistle and gently placed Dara on a table, his eyes scanning the room. The room was basically filled with all sorts of guns and items for survival. He mentally cursed Jiyong in his mind as he took a gun or two. He was in the middle of looking around the room to look for anything that would be helpful when he started hearing distant sounds from somewhere most likely associated with explosion. He looked around the room again and mentally cursed as the room can pose a threat if found by the enemies. With a moment of decision, he then started clearing the room from guns, hiding them away behind the hidden door located behind the cabinet. He was starting to wonder how he remembered everything that Jiyong told him but it didn’t really matter. He made a pause when the whole place shook. His eyes widened and he immediately went to Dara, threw her over his shoulder and went peeked through the door. Upon seeing that the tunnel was still safely sealed, he stepped out of the room and started heading forward – the dimly lit tunnel seemed to stretch in front of him, his footsteps echoing while his breath came out harshly and rapidly. He already encountered a lot of forks and he just turned right for the nth time when Dara started stirring back to consciousness. She gave a grunt and not wanting her to panic, Seunghyun called out her name gently.
“Seunghyun?” she responded quietly, a bit drowsily.
“Yes, it’s me. How are you feeling?”
“Dizzy. . .” she answered followed by a minute of silence. Then, she gasped. “Seunghyun, put me down!” she ordered, tone alert.
“It’s fine, I can still –.”
“No, put me down now!”
“Dara, we need to hurry –.”
“NOW!”
Seunghyun stopped and put her down to her feet. He then grabbed her hand and started pulling her with him in hurried steps when she took her hand away from him. “Dara, we need to –.”
“Where’s Jiyong?” she cut off. “Where is that bastard?”
“Dara, please don’t force me to do what Jiyong did to you just so I can bring you out of here.”
She started taking steps away from him. “I need to know where Jiyong is,” she said, her voice trembling. “How dare he hit me. . . .”
“Dara, this isn’t the time for this!” Seunghyun exploded.
Dara shook her head, looking as if she’s not ready to accept anything he says. He took a step forward but then, Dara bolted away, running as fast as she could. Tears were starting to form in her eyes as the wind whipped harshly against her face, her palms clammy and sweaty as she tried to figure out from all the forking ways where they came from. She choked back a sob as her frustration grew by the minute. She turned here and there, not sure if the path she was taking was right. The place was like a mine of puzzle that can easily get her lost.
Then, she saw something or more so, someone that made her stop in her tracks. At the end of the middle fork a figure was just about to past when he suddenly stopped. Dara’s eyes widened as she met Minwoo’s eyes. Cold ice embraced her whole frame as she backed away and turned to the very first escape route she saw. She was tired, she was breathless, she was scared and she was crying as an unwanted poisonous thought invaded her mind, Jiyong’s last words pounding in her ears. She refused to acknowledge the poisonous thought of Jiyong being possibly. . .
Tears flowed freely from her eyes. She knew there was no way Jiyong would let Minwoo get to her even if it would cause him his life. She turned to an opened space and collapsed to her knees, feeling weak. No, she didn’t want to die, not yet but she felt like the will to live has been stolen away from her already. She then started hearing them – gunshots of which she wasn’t really sure what for.
“What the hell are you doing kneeling there like your life isn’t at stake?!” an angry hiss came from behind her.
Dara jumped to her feet and turned around. “Jiyong!”
“Why do you look so surprised? Am I too handsome for you to take? And no, don’t give me that teary-eyed look. It isn’t the time for you to spazz over me. Where’s Seunghyun?”
Dara’s eyes widened. “I. . .”
“I’ll look for him,” he said. “Now you have to get away from here. There’s a path behind the –.”
“I’ll go with you,” she cut off. “I. . . I saw Minwoo a while ago,” she added when she saw Jiyong was about to protest. She knew Jiyong knew how absurdly scared she was with Minwoo.
“Oh, damn him,” he whispered. “He used distraction to divert my attention. I should have known better. Now listen, that guy isn’t going to hesitate killing me now as apparently my uncle wants me out. So I need you to run or escape at any possible chance you can get, okay?”
Dara didn’t answer, she didn’t even nod or shake her head. Everything was just too much for her to take. Jiyong squeezed her hand lightly and she returned it quite tightly. “I’m scared,” she confessed.
Jiyong looked at her. “I know,” he whispered. Then, a small smile curved his lips. “Before I forget. . . .”
“Huh?” she asked blankly but Jiyong’s head was already descending and the next thing she knew, soft, gentle, warm and familiar lips were on top of hers. She didn’t even hesitate, it was as if she just. . . let go of any inhibitions and let her instincts take over. She felt her body swayed closer to him, her body pressing urgently against his. Her arms lifted on their own accord and wrapped around his neck, her fingers finding the soft hair at the base of his nape soft, warm, silky and y.
She opened and welcomed his invasion. Her eager response seemed to have surprised him but nevertheless, he was quick enough to recover as he slid his tongue inside , entangling it with hers. A soft moan escaped her lips as she tiptoed to press her lips closer to his. “We. . . should. . . not. . . be. . .” he whispered in between kisses. “. . . right. . . . time. . .”
“Hmmmn. . .” was her only response.
He nibbled on her lower lip before pulling away. “Oh darn you,” he whispered before shaking his head. “Let’s go.”
Just as Jiyong stepped off around the corner, he immediately backed away the same time he felt his cheek stinging. He lifted his gun-bearing hand and felt something wet on his cheek. When he pulled his hand back, he saw his own blood on staining his finger. A smirk then curved his lips. “Losing sight, Minwoo?” he called out, backing further away. “You missed me!”
“I’m not planning to kill you at once,” Minwoo called back. “I plan to torture you to death.”
“How about we make a deal?” he called out, turning to Dara and signaling her to go the other way but the girl stubbornly shook her head.
“Making a bargain with me? Why? Can you feel your death coming that you’re willing to strike a bargain with me?”
Jiyong laughed while widening his eyes at Dara. His jaw clenched as he pushed her to the other direction, silently signaling her to run away. But when the girl stood stiff and still, he heaved a sigh, took out a spare gun from behind him and handed it to her. Run, he mouthed at her, his jaw clenching.
Dara shook her head again.
Now, he mouthed again, anger flaring his eyes. He pushed her harder this time. “You could say that,” Jiyong then called back to Minwoo.
Minwoo’s laughter echoed through the tunnel and it brought goose bumps all over to Dara’s body that when Jiyong pushed her harder this time, she ran. “Oh boy, did I wait for this day to come,” Minwoo laughed. “What are you offering, Jiyong?”
“You can torture me to death all you want,” he answered then went silent for a moment, squeezing his eyes tight as he leaned back against the wall.
“In exchange of what?” the other called.
“Let Dara live,” he softly called.
Silence greeted his offer. “You’re willing to get tortured in exchange for her life?”
“Yes,” Jiyong answered firmly, without a trace of hesitation
“You disgust me!” Minwoo hissed angrily and Jiyong noticed that his voice seemed to have gotten closer.
Jiyong braced himself for a face off when out of nowhere, she heard a high-pitched scream followed by a gun shot. His head flew to where he pushed Dara to go. “Dara,” he whispered and immediately left his post and ran towards where the voice came from, his footsteps light even through his frenzied state.
He docked down when a prickle came to his nape the same time he heard something flew past him in a lighting speed. He knew Minwoo was just behind him and ready to shoot. He can’t afford to get killed right now. He could just face Minwoo and finished him off but it might take some time and time is something he can’t spend on right now as Dara could be hanging on for her dear life.
The people that his uncle sent to manhunt him aren’t the ordinary chess pieces that they have to serve as the front liners in times of emergency just like the previous ones he sent. It was scary to think even the possibility of Dara being in the hands of someone like him, like Minwoo, someone trained to kill without remorse. He already killed three of them but he wasn’t sure how many of them are left out there. He saw Minwoo killed one of them a while ago when the other got in his way while aiming at him.
“DARA!” he called out, not really caring if he’s calling the attention of the others’ on him. it would be better that way anyways.
He turned around a corner, aware that Minwoo’s somewhere trailing behind him. As if reading his thoughts, he heard Minwoo scream his name and if only there wasn’t a pressing matter, he would have laughed his head off.
He heard a soft sob just as he came around the corner. A sigh of relief washed over him upon seeing Dara scooted over a corner, unharmed, trembling but unharmed. “Dara. . .”
She looked up. “Jiyong!” she cried, dropping the gun he gave her to the floor. “Seunghyun. . . he. . .”
“Shh. . .” he shushed. “Later. . . Minwoo’s not far behind.”
“I. . . I got so scared when that guy came. I forgot I got a gun. . . I just screamed then I heard a gunshot. Seunghyun shot him but I think he got shot as well although I didn’t hear any. . .”
“Their using silencer,” he answered and looked around, finally realizing that there was a dead body lying in the corner. “Where’s Seunghyun?”
Dara turned red. “I. . . I asked him to lukoryu.”
“What?” he asked, pulling her with him.
“I asked him to. . . .” she started again then her voice faded at the latter half of the sentence.
“WHAT?” he asked again, half-running the tunnel with their hands joined together.
“I asked him to look for you! Happy?” she burst out, her voice echoing down the tunnel, causing the walls to vibrate.
He blinked at her in surprise, then, the corners of his lips starting to pull upwards until his face broke into a full gummy smile – all teeth showing. Without straining his eyes from her, he lifted his gun bearing hand and pulled the trigger. Dara jumped at the sound of the gun and had her eyes wide open when she saw a body suddenly dropped out of nowhere to the ground, unmoving. “You’re worried about me?” he asked, looking like a kid who’s about to receive a lollipop.
“No, I’m not!” she answered too quickly and defensively that it turned her cheeks red.
Jiyong chuckled in response then started moving again. “I don’t know how many of them are left so I guess we have to stick together for the meantime.”
“Good,” she answered, acting all tough. “I hate being alone.”
“Admit it, you just don’t want to be away from me,” he joked, turning around a corner and ducking down the lever. He expected Dara to answer in a snap but when no response came from her, he stopped and looked back, his eyes searching hers. But she was avoiding his gaze. “Dara?” he called softly.
“I’m. . .”
A wild gasp suddenly escaped Jiyong as his arms went around Dara, his body protectively covering her as they both fell sideways. Jiyong felt a bullet pierced his right shoulder followed by a low laugh. He knew Minwoo can aim better than that and he wasn’t really sure what game he was trying to play for prolonging the agony.
“I could have shot you in the head, you know,” Minwoo said. “But there’s something I’m really curious about. . .”
“Are you alright?” Jiyong asked Dara in a whisper.
Dara stared up at him with eye b with tears; she nodded once and bit on her trembling lower lip. Jiyong nodded to one side of the space, silently signaling Dara to go there as he slowly stood up and faced Minwoo.
“What is it about her?” he asked. “What is it about her, Jiyong? You never screwed any of your missions before but you did with her and now, you even turned your back on your uncle for her when she doesn’t even give a damn about you. Oh, why do you look so shock? Are you surprise as to how I came to know this? Jiyong, you were trained for this, how come you haven’t noticed we’ve implanted something in Seunghyun to track him down? You’ve realized about Sunhwa’s tracking device in her blood so you killed her to deactivate it.”
Jiyong laughed. “Did you really think I didn’t know that Seunghyun got a tracking device implanted in his blood? But I can’t kill him, can I?”
“Why not?” Minwoo asked, frustrated. This made Jiyong curious. Minwoo’s always been composed, well, most of the time anyways. He just got this cold-hearted aura in him that you can easily feel and smell right off from the distance. Seeing him frustrated right now made him frown. Why was he so upset about it? He just can’t understand him right now. “Is it because of her?” he asked, hissing at Dara. “What? You can’t kill Seunghyun because it will hurt her, huh? Is that it? You’re willing to get tracked just because of that girl?!”
The tunnel shook from Minwoo’s scream. He started pacing back and forth in his position, his hands pulling out the hair at the side of his head from frustration. Then, out of nowhere, he pointed his gun straight right up and pulled the trigger. Jiyong blinked when the bullet missed his cheek only a few millimeters. He was just about to comment on another failed shot of Minwoo when he heard a thud behind him. Unable to stop himself, he turned to look back and saw a dead man’s body on the floor. He was more than surprised to see Junghyun who idolizes Minwoo to the point of getting in bad terms with Jiyong.
“Did you just kill Junghyun?” Jiyong asked.
“He got his gun pointed at your head,” Minwoo answered absentmindedly. “I don’t want to be disturbed when I’m talking.”
“You’re out of your mind,” Jiyong whispered.
“What is it about her, Jiyong? I need to know because I can’t see anything special about her.”
Jiyong was silent for a few good minutes. Then he quietly said, “Everything about her is special.”
Minwoo stopped pacing and glanced back and forth from him to Dara. “Everything?” he repeated. “Even the fact that she seems to like Seunghyun more than you?”
“What are you trying to do, Minwoo?”
“I’m trying to understand why my archenemy is acting like a moron! I can’t compete with you like this! That girl has to die and she has to die now so you’ll get back to who you were before this happened! A notorious cold hearted killer! I’m going to kill her!” he snapped, lifting his gun to point at Dara when Minwoo winced three times before diverting his attention to the newcomer Seunghyun. But he still managed to pull out another gun from his behind and targeted Jiyong’s gun-bearing hand the same time he aimed at Seunghyun’s hand as well. The impact was so strong that his gun flew a few feet away from him. “You’re leaving me with no choice, Jiyong.”
Dara immediately jumped in front of Jiyong, her arms spread wide apart as she tried to shield him with her body. Minwoo pulled the trigger of the guns he was holding together. The gun pointing at Seunghyun didn’t fire up however, the latter, who wasn’t much of a hit man managed to hit his hand holding the gun pointed at Jiyong and he saw it flickered to the side a little. By reflex, Minwoo pulled the trigger thrice.
“No!” Seunghyun screamed as the gun stopped firing up as well and Minwoo was just about to pull the trigger for the fourth time. He jumped over Minwoo, causing him to clash against the wall.
Meanwhile, Jiyong stood frozen on his spot, paralyzed as he stared up at Dara who was staring back at him as well. Tears were falling silently from her eyes. “Ji. . .” she tried opening but a bubble of blood drowned her words. “Jiyong. . . Jiyong. . .” she choked as she swayed forward, knees losing strength.
The sight of blood stirred something in Jiyong that made him lurch forward to catch her. “W-what d-did y-you do. . .?” he asked in a husky, almost breathless voice.
“Jiyong. . .” was all she said.
- - - - - - -
2nd to the last chapter... thanks to those who stayed with this story from the start 'til the end.
Soon, we'll have to say goodbye, nevertheless, THANK YOU!
the one and only lazy hagocimit, near to signing off!!
ppyong
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