Chapter 26- Ride Of a Lifetime (Part 1)

Hyun-Jae looked at Chin-Hwa confusedly for a moment before she gave Talon a glance as if she was telling him that she needed a moment. Talon nodded his head faintly and continued talking with Shin-Il and Soomin.

Meanwhile, Chin-Hwa and Hyun-Jae walked away to a quieter place where no one could hear them.

"So, what do you need to tell me?" Hyun-Jae asked with confusion.

Chin-Hwa shifted his gaze down as he took a deep breath before he finally looked up again and spoke.

"I wanted to apologize for what came out of my mouth the other day. I was angry and worried and it ended up leading me to say dumb things." He spoke truthfully as he instinctively balled his fists.

When he finished speaking, silence took over the two of them for a while which made Chin-Hwa panic, and was about to speak again to clear any possible misunderstanding.

"Your apology is accepted."

"..." When he heard those words, relief filled his heart as his tense expression eased slowly.

"I'm glad I cleared this up." He murmured.

"Anything else?" Hyun-Jae raised an eyebrow and asked.

"... No. That's it."

"Good, then I'm leaving now. Take care of Soomin and Shin-Il for me."

"I will, president."

Seeing the seriousness in Chin-Hwa's voice, Hyun-Jae nodded and finally turned around to leave. However, before she did that, she looked back at Chin-Hwa.

"You're a good friend, Chin-Hwa. I wouldn't want our friendship to end because of something external. So, respect what I want as much as I respect what you want. Ok?" She asked.

"..." Chin-Hwa blinked, clearly taken aback. Hyun-Jae's words were calm and even considered nice. However, the cold prince could sense the warning in them. The warning that he must not cross certain boundaries or their friendship might not stay the same.

But, in the end, he nodded his head in understanding.

"Understood, I won't do it again."

"Good. See you later then."

"See you later..."

With that, Hyun-Jae walked away, leaving Chin-Hwa behind, watching her back with a complicated expression. His heart was squeezing with an unknown feeling. A feeling that Chin-Hwa never felt before in his life.

"Friendship… Huh…" Resting his head on the palm of his hand, his teeth clenched slightly. "What was I even expecting?"

Meanwhile, inside the warehouse, Ryan Seok and the two women were still in the same places and didn't move or that was what the others thought. However, Ryan Seok was actually near the gate listening to their conversations. 

When he heard them go quiet, he finally turned around and walked back to the two women.

"They seem like they're planning something." He said in a dark tone.

"Is that so?" His wife, An Sook, replied with a difficult look on her face as she hugged her son tightly.

"And they didn't even tell us what they're planning. That bastard, Seo Chin-Hwa or whatever his name even threatened me!" Cursing under his breath, Ryan Seok sat in between the two women as he fell into deep thought. His arms naturally went around their shoulders.

The two women seemed really uncomfortable but couldn't speak or push him away. They could only accept it with silence.

"We can't stay under their mercy. We have to either show our presence or take control over this whole place." He finally spoke again.

"Take over? But they have been very kind to us. They gave us food, clothes, and a warm place to hide from the cold weather." Eum Eun said. 

"That kindness could end at any moment and we will find ourselves in the streets again to fend for ourselves against those nasty things."

At the same time as Ryan Seok was speaking, his hand gripped Eum Eun's shoulder strongly which made her lips pursed with pain. But, she held in the groan that threatened to leak out of her mouth.

"Don't you think so… dear?" Ryan Seok looked closely at her as he asked in a slow tone.

"... Y-Yes…" She closed her eyes and replied.

"Good. So we agree."

"Waaaaah!! Waaah!" Out of nowhere, the small kid in An Sook's hand started crying.

"Agh, will you shut him up already?!" 

"I-I'm sorry!!" 

'Tsk, so annoying. Everything here is so annoying. I can't let them keep me at my edge the whole time. Two of them seem to be leaving. I can make use of that.' Ryan Seok thought to himself with a small smile.

***

Outside, Talon sat on the bike seat as he gripped the hand clutch a few times to feel its texture.

"Now, let's see if I still got it." He smiled as he turned on the engine, the vehicle roared loudly as smoke exited its exhaust.

"You drove bikes before?" Hyun-Jae asked casually as she was about to get on behind him.

"I used to work as a delivery. Driving one of these as fast as possible is one of the few skills I'm very proud of." Talon replied.

'Those were the good days. Having to deliver a pizza in 3 minutes to a place 10 minutes away. Ah, nostalgia! Literal chills!' Talon thought to himself with a wry smile.

"I see…" Hyun-Jae looked at Talon curiously for a while.

"Anyway, get on. Let's get out of here."

The girl then got on top of the bike as she adjusted her position. Then, she put her arms behind her to grab the metallic arm protruding out of the bike.

"Are you ready?" 

"Yes."

"Good. See you later, guys!" Talon bid everyone farewell as he turned the bike around and stormed out of the warehouse before the gates could close.

Immediately, they were met with Dimension Walkers moving through the street around the warehouse. Their mindless walking and silence made them eerie to look at let alone fight.

Luckily, their numbers were reduced a lot after what happened the day before as they seemed to have moved away to another place.

"Looks like we already have company," Talon murmured as he accelerated with the bike, moving past the monsters quickly.

"I will deal with anything that tries to stop the bike, you just focus on driving," Hyun-Jae said as she unsheathed her sword, ready to slice any monster.

"Ok." 

The bike continued moving as it dodged the monsters. Talon skilfully maneuvered around them with ease while keeping their speed consistent. 

However, moving through the relatively narrow streets of the neighborhood was still problematic even with Talon's skill.

A few turns later, they found themselves facing a street filled with Dimension Walkers. There was no way to get past them normally.

Meanwhile, behind them, the rest of the Dimension Walkers were running as fast as they could to catch up to them.

When Hyun-Jae saw that, she was immediately alerted. They were stuck with no way to go back or forward. However, what made her even more alert was that Talon wasn't slowing down at all.

"Talon… Slow down…" She said in a quiet tone as she tried to keep her cool. But, her companion didn't slow down and instead accelerated even more.

"Talon?"

*Vnnnn*

The engine of the bike roared as it moved like a flash through the street, heading straight toward the monsters.

"Talon?!" She called him again.

"Hold on!!" He said as he suddenly changed the direction and drove toward one of the run-down houses.

"Oh no!!" 

Hyun-Jae instinctively bent forward as she grabbed into Talon's shoulder ready for the impact. However, what she didn't notice was that the bike was driving toward one of the broken pillars of the house which fell over the wall.

'Or in other words… A perfect stunt jump!!' Talon smiled as he twisted the handle, making the bike accelerate even more.

*Swish*

Climbing the pillar, the bike was launched into the air, right over the street.

"Ah!" Hyun-Jae's arms wrapped around Talon's back as she pressed her body against his.

"Shit! This is too much fun! Haha!" Laughing excitedly, Talon made the bike land on the other side of the street as it glided with a screech, stopping its momentum. Then, without wasting a moment, he accelerated again and drove off before the Dimension Walkers could catch up to them.

"What was that?!" Hyun-Jae exclaimed as she knocked on Talon's head with her fist.

"Ouch, ouch! I had no other choice!" Talon protected his head from Hyun-Jae's relentless attacks.

"I know! But, at least warn me before doing it!"

"I had no time to war-" Feeling the deadly glare on his back, Talon decided to wisely not continue his words. "Ok, I'm sorry."

"Geez…" Sighing, Hyun-Jae looked behind her. Her heart was still racing a little from what happened. But, for one reason or another… It felt good.

The thrill of that jump and the monsters chasing them was really something she never experienced before and it felt amazing. 

'I'm enjoying this?' She asked herself. What she didn't notice was that during this whole time, her body was completely pressed against Talon's back, her breasts deformed as they stuck to his body.

Talon felt the softness clearly and he could only take a deep breath and try to ignore it.

'Isn't this a little too good to be true?'

Meanwhile, the bike continued its trip, moving through the streets like a flash. 

"The 24th route, we're close!" Talon pointed ahead as he shook his thought away. They had to focus since they were about to reach the main street.

However, when the bike finally emerged into the route, the two were met with a sight that truly shook them to the core.

And the adventure begins.