Ambush

After she accompanied Ra Hee for several hours, Yeo Ri decided it was time for her to go home. Gun would get worried if she was not home before him, so it was about time for her to leave.

The two traded goodbyes, and with a final wave, Yeo Ri left the room.

After achieving what she had went there to do, Yeo Ri's steps were light.

Yeo Ri had her head in the clouds as she tried to emulate Ra Hee's actions, thoughts, and feelings and consolidating it into her nameless character role. Yeo Ri wanted to be as prepared as possible; this was her first role as a wannabe actress, and she did not want to disappoint Mrs. Choi whom she regarded as her benefactor.

As she made her way to the elevator, she pulled out her phone, texting Gun about her plans for tomorrow and telling him that she was about to head home. She barely looked up from her phone even as she was waiting for the elevator.

Yeo Ri scrolled through her chat logs with a small smile. Gun's replies were often short, concise, and full of concern. The Han couple kept asking about their next meeting which Yeo Ri never even bothered to read. In a group chat, Jang Mi was teasing Min Chae about how the girl was stuck in remedial class.

Her messenger app was always so lively that Yeo Ri could never feel bored. It was no wonder that so many people got addicted to their phones, she thought. Yeo Ri was so absorbed in reading her messages that she did not hear the sound of the footsteps rapidly coming close towards her.

"—!"

Yeo Ri let out a surprised shriek as she felt her arm getting pulled. She whipped her head to the perpetrator, and upon recognising the familiar face, she glared at him in dissatisfaction.

"Again?!" She muttered annoyedly.

Secretary Kwon visibly appeared out-of-breath, as if he had just ran a marathon. He was staring at her in agitation and relief.

"I'm—glad—I—made—it," he said between huffs. "Miss, don't get on the elevator—some bad people are after you."

"How do you know this?" Yeo Ri frowned as she struggled to pull her arm away. However, Secretary Kwon did not allow her to get away. Instead, he pulled her towards the emergency staircase where he seemed to have had came out from.

"Just now, I trailed behind some people who looked like they were going to cause trouble, and they carried a picture of you. I was able to hear snippets of their conversation, and immediately rushed over here. We should hurry and get you to safety," he explained. It had been mere coincidence that he chanced upon the thugs on his way to the wards. It was worrisome to know that there were still so many unknown men actively looking for her, so he could not help but hasten his steps.

"What kind of conversation did they have? Rather, what were you doing, following strangers for no reason?"

"They were talking about kidnapping you, miss. I don't dare to recall the full conversation as they were too vulgar," he replied, ignoring her second question. He was focusing on getting her out of the building and did not want to waste any time.

Yeo Ri did not like the fact that he was being evasive and forceful. Her wrist throbbed with pain, and even though she knew he was protecting her, she could not help but feel disgust and fear from his touch.

"It hurts; let go!" She resisted once she could no longer hold back from recoiling.

"Ah..." Secretary Kwon broke out of his stupor. Looking back at the discontented girl rubbing her sore wrist, a trace of guilt flashed in his heart. "Apologies, miss." He had forgotten the fact that Yeo Ri was aversive to physical contact, especially with men.

"I'm truly sorry, Miss Yeo Ri, but we must move quickly before they notice you are gone," he insisted. His hand that was still holding out to her opened and closed as if he did not know what to do with it. In the end, he took back his hand and gestured for her to go first.

Knowing that it was an emergency and that he really meant no harm, Yeo Ri obediently complied. They descended the stairs quietly.

Once they reached the ground floor, Secretary Kwon made a beeline to the car, leading Yeo Ri while shielding her closely. This time, he made sure not to touch her directly.

However, there seemed to be more people looking for Yeo Ri. As soon as her face was seen at the lobby, several people had begun to move, stalking the duo as they headed to the underground parking area where Secretary Kwon left his car.

The parking lot was surprisingly empty. Except for the rows of cars parked in the space, not even a shadow of a person could be seen.

Tadatadatadatada—

The sound of rushed footsteps rang loudly in the open space.

"Hold it right there!" A masculine voice shouted.

As soon as the man's voice fell, the duo found themselves surrounded by rough-looking men. Some of them wore casual clothes, and some of them wore black suits. Though the two groups created an incongruous image, it was clear that they were from the same side and had the same target.

Secretary Kwon immediately pushed Yeo Ri behind him, taking a defensive stance against the group of men. "Six, seven, eight... twelve," he counted their numbers quietly. His mind whirred with ideas on how he should handle the situation.

"What's the meaning of this?! Who sent you?!" Secretary Kwon roared.

"What about you? Who the hell are you? According to our intel, there shouldn't be anyone guarding her. It's not like she's a celebrity or whatever," one man spoke up. He had been the one to order the men to surround the duo; clearly, he held the reins in the group. "So who the hell are you? Were you the same f*cker that did our boys in the other day?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Secretary Kwon neutrally responded.

"Haha, look at this a*shole," the leader chuckled derisively. He pulled out an item from his back, "Give us the girl, and we'll let you live."

Seeing the item, Secretary Kwon's jaw clenched. He glared at the man warily.

"Knife...?" Yeo Ri muttered. She managed to sneak a peek at what the leader had taken out. Without anyone's notice, Yeo Ri held her bag closer and subtly slipped her hand inside, grasping a certain item in her hand. She lowered her head and drew her shoulders in, acting scared, as she slid the item into her sleeve in one fluid movement.

"Why do you need the girl?" Secretary Kwon asked. "Who ordered you to do this?!"

"Hey, do you think someone like you is qualified to know that?" The leader barked. "Out boss wants her, so he'll have her!" With a gesture, he signalled his men to rush at the duo, not wasting any more time speaking to the man.

Secretary Kwon immediately grabbed the closest person lunging at him, throwing him at his accomplices in an attempt to block them. He managed to land several hits on his enemies. However, he was clearly on the losing side; they outnumbered him twelve to one, and they even had weapons on them—he was bound to lose.

He pulled Yeo Ri in his arms, shielding her with his body as he tried to rush past the attackers.

"Uhgk—!" Secretary Kwon was suddenly kicked to the side, and somebody pried Yeo Ri out of his arms.

Yeo Ri stifled a scream as the leader trapped her, aiming a knife at her throat. "Don't move, girly, or you might cut yourself."

"Wait!" Secretary Kwon coughed as he tried to stand up. "Didn't you say your boss wanted her?!" He glared at the sharp, pointy end of the knife that was digging into Yeo Ri's skin. A dot of red appeared, causing him to tense.

The leader shrugged with a nonchalant expression. "Boss never specified that he wanted her alive," he stated.

Yeo Ri's heart was palpitating. Being cornered like this brought back her bad memories. She breathed heavily, trying to control her emotions. The knife pierced deeper into her skin, yet she could barely feel the pain.

The leader seemed distracted by her movements. He pulled the knife back slightly, leaving some space so that he wouldn't accidentally stab her throat if she fussed too much. It would be a shame if she died before the boss could 'play' with her, after all.

The leader tilted his head towards Secretary Kwon, "Kill him," he ordered his men.

"Wait—!" Secretary Kwon shouted, as if in desperation.

"What now?" The leader sighed exasperatedly, waving the knife lazily as if annoyed. "Are you going to beg for mercy? Don't bother—you're going to die today, and I'll make sure that not even the doctors upstairs can save you fast enough!" The way he acted, it was obvious that he had already thought of the man before him as dead.

His lackeys moved, hurling hits after hits on the lone man.

Screeeeeeech—

The sound of tires screeching against the somewhat slippery cement floor assaulted their ears.

"Miss Yeo Ri, get away!" Secretary Kwon shouted as the silhouette of a car approached the group. "To the car!"

Upon hearing Secretary Kwon's voice, Yeo Ri strongly jabbed the man holding her captive with the item hidden in her sleeve.

"Aaahk—?!" The leader felt a sudden pain on his side. Unable to recollect himself quickly enough, the girl broke free from his hold and pushed him away.

Yeo Ri ran quickly to Secretary Kwon's car, hiding behind it.

Before any of the attackers could catch up to her, two black cars appeared and ran over some of the attackers, including the leader.

In disciplined uniformity, the doors of the two black cars swung open, and more people in black suits came out.

"Mr. Kwon, are you alright?" One of them spoke, bowing his head politely as he greeted the battered man.

"Apprehend these people and teach them a lesson," Secretary Kwon instructed. He wiped away the blood at the corner of his mouth. Walking towards the leader writhing on the ground in pain, he spat out some blood, "It was a good thing that you were so talkative. Bought my reinforcements some time to get here," he said, kicking the man. He'd called for them the moment he noticed something was awry, and luckily, they got there just in time.

With an elite group of bodyguards by his side, Secretary Kwon made a quick work out of the ragtag group of thugs. Alone, he had been helpless, but with his team behind his back, the attackers could barely fight back.

"Get them to spill everything they know and send it to the man upstairs," Secretary Kwon said to his men as he took out a handkerchief and wiped his bloodied knuckles.

"Yes, sir," the men bowed politely, sending him off while keeping the group of attackers in check.

After the commotion died down, Yeo Ri finally came out of her hiding spot. Her hand shook as she stared grimly at Secretary Kwon as he walked towards her.

The man returned her stare with a similar look. "Miss—you're hurt," his brows furrowed as he noticed the trickled of blood on her neck. He wanted to look at the wound more closely, but Yeo Ri evaded his hand.

He pursed his lips at her rejection. Turning away from the girl with slight frustration, he informed her, "There's a first-aid kit in the trunk. I'll get it for you, so please wait inside the car." He unlocked the car and opened the backseat door for her before moving to get the kit.

"...Thanks," Yeo Ri murmured to the man as he walked past her.

Secretary Kwon nodded in acknowledgement, his eyes glancing at her hand that was still trembling slightly.

Blood dripped down slowly from the pointy tool peeking out of the hem of her sleeve.