40 - Traitor

Jieung-yong's lips went from ear to ear. He chuckled in the same tone I used to laugh at Xiao's or Henriette's jokes.

How could he be happy to do this? Jieung-yong, I thought. What made you become like this?

As he stepped toward me with his polished shoes, I retreated while shaking, "Please, tell me you're not going to obey that order."

He didn't answer. The man I spared from death in an authoritarian country became my executioner in a free country. I should have known he changed since he electrified me in my right flank.

Talking wouldn't walk on him. It'd be a better idea to just run for my life. Running away like a coward was my specialty, right? Jieung-yong always said so. I glanced at the doors, overflowing with journalists. I could sneak in, but... Jieung-yong wouldn't hesitate electrifying innocent people.

The spectators were screaming in terrors, running for their lives.

I grabbed my skull, "I have no choice but to fight him. Ugh...Why do things like this only happen to me?"

At least, we'll be the only one fighting, on the stage of the opérette.

"Song-ho, my darling! I should be the one you should be looking at! For your last minutes alive," He swelled out his chest, "I allow you to watch my muscular torso. I know you dreamt about it from the beginning, am I right?"

"I don't have time to laugh with you, Jieung-yong."

He put his hands inside the pocket of his jacket, "I just wanted to be nice, that's all."

I knew he was going to pull out his favorite taser gun. My muscles contracted in fear.

He unsurprisingly took out his taser from his pocket, as well as a rope. That was a surprise.

It was a very long rope, making me think of a lasso.

"I dreamt about you too. I've dreamt of making you my little guinea pigs. I never thought that dream would become reality so quickly."

A lasso was a weird weapon of choice for Jieung-yong. It was surely an extension of the taser gun, a new invention he loved to create so much. If his weapon worked like I thought it would, I was dead. But I was stronger than that: I resisted a helicopter crash, a mass shooting, and Boss's wrath. I didn't avoid all those deaths to die only now.

Jieung-yong swirled his lasso up in the air. He then pressed a button on his taser gun, making the rope electric. Blue charges twirled around the rope, deadly, dangerous...

I was only meters away from him, but my hair rose up in the air, as tension attracted me toward the whirlwind of electrical power.

Inside the hurricane's eyes, Jieung-yong's own hair rose too, while thunderbolts flashed before his black eyes. He chuckled, then burst out laughing, "You can't dance your way out of this, Song-ho."

Oh, God. My flank was hurting so bad with a simple discharge...Just thinking about what was awaiting me made me pale in fear, "You don't have to do this! I never hated you! I even loved y-"

Without listening to what I had to say, he glared at me and toppled his weapon at me.

I turned my pointes shoes at 180 degrees and managed to avoid the worst. I couldn't avoid all of t, though. A flash of pain bit my wounded flank again. I fell on the ground and panted.

When I touched my flank, my blood was covered in blood, "Fuck," Xiao and Boss couldn't like this pitiful show. "Please! Boss! Xiao! Help me. I beg for your forgiveness...."

I heard my echo, but no response from them. I raised my face, to look at them. No one on the left, no one on the right. No one sitting, and no one standing up.

They were nowhere to be seen.

Xiao...

Boss...

David...

"Where are they?"

The growl of a 4WD roared. They were... not even looking? Did they run away? "No!"

Jieung-yong looked at me swallowing the truth with glee, as if I was the cutest puppy he had ever seen, "I'm sorry, Song-ho, but my Boss is pretty busy. She can't witness the execution of a useless employee."

Xiao... That is how you see me? My tears wet my bloody hands, and I couldn't stop, "'My' Boss? Are you trying to make a joke here? What about this rebellion you held dear in your heart? David was right to stop trusting you. You're nothing but an egoist and a bad influence on him!"

Jieung-yong stopped smiling. He raised his lasso again, "Take back... Take back what you just said!" He toppled it again, but this time, the lasso tore apart the stage curtain behind me.

I avoided it again. But it's not because of my reflexes or anything like that. He deliberately failed to touch me. That was only a threat. He really wanted me to apologize about David, "Jieung-yong, I'm sorr-"

"Please, no!"

I knew that voice... my two last brain cells thought hard about the owner of that voice. When I finally understood, I jumped and turned towards the fallen curtains, "Samira!"

Behind the burnt curtains, Samira was protecting her face, while Charlotte held her in her arms. Deborah did the same with Bienvenue.

"What are you all doing here? This is dangerous!"

Deborah pointed at Jieung-yong, "You're the one in danger here. You're next to the crazy thunderbolt guy. And now, you ruined our hiding spot!" Spat Deborah.

Bienvenue spread her arms toward me, "Come, Song. You can't fight him alone. You're just a training ballet dancer, like us."

I sighed and took off my top. I threw Henriette's padded bra on the ground, before their baffled eyes, "I'm not a woman, nor a mere dancer. My real job is a dangerous one, and I need you to avoid me! run away at once! Please!"

Jieung-yong laughed again, "Good evening, Samira. That's your name, right? Do you know it's your fault I had to be chained inside an empty room for a whole week? But that's fine, you're forgiven. But I won't forgive what you did to my David! It's your fault I lost David's trust and love." He toppled his rope toward Samira.

Deborah threw me one of the plastic rifles we used for the show. I grabbed it and threw it in front of Samira. The toy weapon was sacrificed instead of Samira.

"C'mon, you're no fun... I just need to know what'll happen when I electrocute her for a minute."

"Have you lost your mind? I won't let you touch them."

The dancers finally ran away by the backdoor.

"You're playing the prince here, in a foreign country, when you didn't even move a finger to save your own mother from death. Do you think you'll make her happy by dancing?"

I adjusted my tutu dress, now empty from fake boobs, "I know she'll be ok." I clenched my fist, "Zheng Tai promised me not to touch her."

"He didn't like this little game you played earlier in front of the journalist. I don't know much about your deal, but you clearly broke it." Jieung-yong lowered his eyes, and spoke in a melancholic way, "I heard Zheng Tai earlier... He ordered Yoh Chihiye's hanging."

Mom?

He raised his eyes toward me, filled with anger, "It's all your fault?" He hit me on my chest.

I didn't avoid it this time. How could I...? My mind was only focused on this one thought:

Mom...was dead?

Mom!

"No..."

I visualized what could have happened to my Mom. I thought of Zheng Tai, pulling the rope breaking the nape of my Mom. I thought of him, smiling.

"He can't do anything else but blackmailing. I should tear him off. Break him off... I hate him!"

Jieung-yong whipped me out, again and again. He wasn't hesitating to hurt me, putting blood off of me again and again. My body was even reacting.

So, this was the end. Zheng Tai took everything from me and didn't let me say goodbye to them.

"He'll pay for this."

I came to Paris, hoping to dance with my Mom in the Garnier Palace. Since the day I had to compromise myself, I was torn between Zheng Tai and Boss's orders. But that pissed me off. I didn't want to do that anymore. Was it too much to ask to spend time with my best friend and my boyfriend? I didn't want to pick any clan.

Jieung yong raised his lasso. I charged on his knees and made him fall on the ground. I then ran backward, and when he raised the head, the last thing his right pupil saw was his own weapon fall straight into his eye.

He screamed to death.

My heart skipped a beat. I kneel near him, and looked at his eye soaking in blood, "I'm so sorry... I never wanted to..." I reached out to him, but he scratched it off

Police sirens drew themselves near us. That wasn't good. I ran toward the back door, whispering a last 'sorry' to the lying Jieung-yong.

I was finally out. That's when I heard White Boss's voice. It wasn't its live voice. It was a broadcasted one, over the radio of police cars.

"Those mobsters tried to kill me and accuse me of being a stealer!"

I clenched my fist. What a liar.

Before dealing with that little son of a bitch, I had to find Henriette.

I didn't search for long.

Someone pulled off the security of their gun, making it click.

"Should I explode your brain? Or not? Convince me to stop, Song ho."