Whether I die or kill that bastard, it was time to take action. Seungyeon stared intently at the trunk entrance with his pounding heartbeat as background music. How long had he waited after swallowing dry saliva? The car came to a complete stop and soon the engine sound turned off.
His heart beat like crazy. He straightened his posture while running simulations of how to respond immediately. His palms quickly became soaked with tension. Seungyeon held his breath without blinking once.
At that moment, the trunk door opened with a beeping mechanical sound. Instead of glaring at the penetrating beam of light like an enemy, he bowed his head deeply. He hid both hands behind his back as much as possible so it wouldn’t show that his two hands were free.
The trunk door fully opened and a shadow was cast in the backlight. Go Yeongbin, who firmly believed that Seungyeon hadn’t come to his senses yet, reached out his hand toward him.
“Let’s go, baby.”
Seungyeon didn’t miss the opportunity of that moment. He bit Go Yeongbin’s hand with all his might. His eyes full of venom glistened as if reflecting Seungyeon’s state of mind.
“Aaah! Wait, hey!”
You bastard, you’re in big trouble today. Seungyeon applied force to his jaw with the resolve to cut off Go Yeongbin’s fingers. When the flustered Go Yeongbin tried to retreat by stepping backward, he raised his body while dangling from his arm altogether. Go Yeongbin grabbed Seungyeon’s hair with his other hand. Because he was pushing and pulling trying to somehow detach him, it felt like all his hair would be pulled out. But if he backed down here, not just his hair but his neck might be ripped off.
Though unintended, Seungyeon was able to escape from the trunk while hanging on Go Yeongbin’s hands. His knee that hit the ground squarely hurt like hell, but he endured with spite and guts. He headbutted Go Yeongbin’s head as he struggled. Go Yeongbin, who screamed “Aagh!” at the first headbutt, showed no response to the headbutt that continued to the third time. As soon as he realized he’d passed out, Seungyeon stopped his movements.
“Ptui.”
He spat out the saliva pooled in his mouth and quickly looked around. He had to escape from here before Go Yeongbin came to his senses.
“But where is this?”
The parking lot full of new construction syndrome smell was empty without a single car. While looking around for an escape route, he simultaneously rummaged through Go Yeongbin’s pockets. There were no car keys, and he could only find a phone and a multi-tool. Seungyeon’s expression rotted in real-time as he looked at the multi-tool filled with all kinds of sharp things.
“What the fuck is this bastard doing?”
Don’t tell me he was going to threaten me with this? Even while cutting the still-bound hands and legs with the multi-tool, Seungyeon endlessly grumbled. Go Yeongbin had definitely kidnapped him with determination. Bringing him to such a remote place, and seeing with his own two eyes that he’d even prepared a weapon, goosebumps rose all over. Has this would-be murderer bastard really gone crazy? In the Republic of Korea with CCTVs everywhere, pulling this shit in broad daylight?
While spinning his ankle that barely regained freedom, Seungyeon headed to the driver’s seat. Whatever it was, escape was the top priority. He had to drive the car to the police station before Go Yeongbin woke up. No matter how rich Go Yeongbin was and tried to cover it up with money, if he went with the car that was evidence of kidnapping, how could he manage it?
Seungyeon, who entered the open driver’s seat, fumbled around the car. He searched even the passenger seat and glove box, but couldn’t see car keys or a phone. While gritting his teeth and checking the back seat, he heard Go Yeongbin groaning from outside. If he came to his senses, it would really be the end. Not only was it difficult to subdue him due to the physical difference, but since he’d knocked him out once by hitting him from behind, it wouldn’t work a second time.
The presence of rustling Go Yeongbin choked his throat. In the end, Seungyeon cleanly abandoned his plan to escape by car. Rather than just wasting time and getting caught like this, whether it becomes porridge or rice, I’ll just run first. Find a place to hide or someone to ask for help and report to the police. Gauging the escape route, Seungyeon ran without looking back. Only Seungyeon’s footsteps echoed crazily in the empty parking lot.
After running looking only forward for a while, he discovered an emergency staircase. When he pushed the closed door, a dark stairwell appeared. The only light was the sign that said emergency exit. He hurriedly went up while scanning the writing “B4” on the wall.
As he gasped for breath and went up floor by floor, he felt a sense of dissonance. In the interior that was large-scale and neatly organized, not even a shadow could be seen, let alone people. It was also strange somewhere that there was only one car in this wide parking lot.
“What the hell is this place?”
How did Go Yeongbin know to come to a place like this? Seungyeon, who barely found the 1st floor, grabbed the door handle. He tried to open the door with urgent gestures, but only clicking sounds were heard and it just kept slipping. Even pushing with his shoulder, it didn’t budge. Is it locked from outside? After trying a few more times, Seungyeon, who realized it was hopeless, swallowed a sigh. While mindlessly rubbing the sweat on his forehead with the back of his hand, he was surprised by the stinging sensation and checked his wrist. Blood had formed on the wound that had been scraped while struggling in the trunk.
“It hurts like hell.”
I will definitely make Go Yeongbin pay for this pain and trauma combined. Seungyeon muttered curses while rubbing his wrist. If the 1st floor doesn’t work, I just need to go up one more floor. As he went, a path would appear somewhere. Advancing forward seemed like a much more plausible option than going back.
Seungyeon climbed the stairs with his footsteps as quiet as possible. The 2nd floor and 3rd floor were locked just the same. Don’t tell me the door itself is designed to open from outside? While chewing over the worst case scenario, his eyes shook roughly.
Should I just go back even now? What’s the probability that Go Yeongbin followed here? He looked down at the pitch-black lower floor and racked his poorly functioning brain. This is the 4th floor, and if I go down to the basement 4th floor where the door was definitely open…… But then how do I find the way in the underground parking lot?
Unable to do this or that, Seungyeon, who had been biting his lips, leaned his back against the 4th floor door. As the breath that had risen to his chin settled, the oppressive feeling of the dark and dry space felt a bit greater. I’m not really going to be trapped here like this, am I? What if this is an abandoned building? What if Go Yeongbin blows up the entire building to destroy evidence? In Seungyeon’s head, the evil deeds of bad guys he’d seen in numerous movies and dramas played back. Kidnapping people to abandoned buildings or empty buildings under lien exercise and burying them in concrete…….
“Mom, I thought I’d at least be able to send you on a cruise trip before I die……”
Mom is probably having fun with Auntie Misuk right now, not knowing her son is at the crossroads of life and death, right? That was better actually. The later the timing when mom’s eyes shed tears of blood, the better. Seungyeon dry-washed his face and squatted on the floor.
“Mom, your son is about to die here…… Hnngh.”
Rage welled up. Why is life like this? Of course, from the time he possessed into Baek Seungyeon, he expected it would be fucking tough. But who would have known he’d experience this kind of thing? I should have known something was going seriously wrong from when the status window suddenly changed its sign……
Seungyeon gloomily summoned the status window with the feeling of grasping at straws. Unlike the impression that it would just babble useless things again, a phrase he’d never seen before appeared before his eyes.
[Crisis signal detected! Crisis signal detected! A threat to the possessed body’s safety has been detected!]
While glaring at the status window’s phrase making a fuss belatedly, Seungyeon coldly snapped.
“Fuck, you really detected it fast.”
His hands and feet were tied and he was imprisoned in a trunk, so what were you doing then to only make a fuss now? He deliberately gathered his increasingly cold gaze and took a small deep breath. Still, the status window must be making that fuss because it can help with something.
He glared at the translucent window with half expectation, half distrust. The status window, which seemed to know the situation was serious and became a bit quicker than usual, made a new proposal.
[The possessed body’s fate can be coordinated through a specific individual. Do you wish to summon a specific individual?]
[YES or NO]
“Yes, yes! I said yes! Hurry up and do your job, huh?”
He spoke first as soon as the phrase YES appeared. Whether it’s a specific individual or whatever, if they’re going to help, is there a need to hesitate? Despite Seungyeon’s urging, the phrase that had been maintained for a certain time disappeared smoothly. The moment Seungyeon was just glaring at empty air, a sound answering the call was heard.
[Summoning the closest specific individual. Coordinating the possessed body’s fate…… Until completion 00:01:00]
A countdown that felt like 1 hour began. A rattling sound reached Seungyeon’s ears as he watched the decreasing numbers with his hands clasped together.
The door he’d been leaning against opened and light seeped in. Seungyeon, who had fallen forward while crouching, looked back in confusion. The other party’s shadow, not properly visible due to the backlight, stretched long. His mouth went dry with tension.
The moment the number changed to 0, the black shadow came a bit more inward. The voice full of bewilderment belonged to someone Seungyeon was well familiar with.
“……Baek Seungyeon?”
Jung Sanho with surprised rabbit eyes pointed at Seungyeon.
“What? Why is hyung here?”
