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Y/N's POV:
I didn't know why or how Myungho was here, and I didn't care. He caught me and brought me into a tight hug.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry I'm so sorry," he whispered, the apologies gushing out.
I didn't know why. I wasn't mad, I was too numb with relief, too jumbled, and too tired to feel much else, to be honest.
Myungho drew back a little and held my arms. "Let's get out of here, okay?"
I managed a nod and he led me through the copse of trees and farther away from the trickling sound of water. Myungho was taking great care to be as silent as possible, circumnavigating the fallen, crunchy leaves for the dewy grass and sturdy rocks. I didn't hear anyone following us, though my ears were still blocked and my temples were pulsing, so I followed his exact lead as best I could. Then we got far enough away from the rushing water that I heard what he must have been so vigilant of. Sirens sounded in the background, but that wasn't it.
Leaves crunching underfoot and the occasional muttered words, as if communicating over the phone, they didn't sound too close, but it was as if we were the target of a search party, except this search party was trying to be stealthy and had weapons. And they definitely weren't trying to rescue me. I trembled, trying not to cry, but if I did it would probably give our location away so I swallowed the thick emotion down, and forced my legs to continue moving. Myungho hadn't once let go of my hand.
Minutes passed that felt like an eternity, but we made it out of the thicket and onto a small sandy trail.
We must have been in some parkland reserve. If we continued down the other way, it would probably lead out to the beach. We went the other way, sticking to the side just behind a line of trees so anyone else walking the trail wouldn't easily see us. We passed a sign informing us we'd be coming up to a street. A dirt parking lot coming into view. Not Myungho's car, though I imagined he would've parked somewhere more hidden. It was quiet, we left the scouting White Dragons behind. For the millionth time, my jelly-like legs threatened to give way, but this time from relief.
A metallic click sounded behind us. Myungho spun and immediately wrenched me behind him.
"Heya there Golden Boy," said the one I thought was called Won-sik. He was pointing a gun at us.
Myungho said nothing but gritted his teeth.
"You know, the boss had high hopes for you," cheerily went on the White Dragons member, though it sounded strained, like he was masking the anger of having to find me. "tell you what, you give us the little lady, and I'll pretend you weren't even here, and we can go on with business as usual—"
"No," said Myungho.
"Or," continued Won-sik ignoring the interruption. "I can shoot you, then her. Sure, you'll be a loss, but I think the boss will understand considering the circumstances. Or maybe I'll just get your shoulder, eh? But your little girl there won't be so lucky."
He said that so cavalierly, and I had no idea what we could do. Being taken hostage again was the last thing I wanted, but I didn't want Myungho to get hurt.
"It'd be a shame to ruin that dream baseball career you got going," said Won-sik in a final warning but Myungho didn't budge, and I didn't have the strength to drag him along with me. We weren't going to get out of here, were we? Won-sik steadied his aim.
"Y/N," uttered Myungho, barely a whisper. "When I move, run the other way." And he pressed a foot back in the ground like he was readying himself to sprint forward. I couldn't believe he was going to do this. Even if he did manage to tackle this guy he was still going to get shot.
But I never had to find out what would've happened when something hit the back of Won-sik's head. The impact made a sickening sound and Won-sik went down, revealing a stunned Haemin behind him, holding a metal baseball bat. The three of us continued to stand in shocked silence for a moment, though the gang member groaned but didn't get up, which at least answered our question. Not dead, then.
"Hope you don't mind," began Haemin, sounding a little dazed. "But I found this in your car."
I considered the bat.
"My car was locked," said Myungho.
"I accidentally smashed a window."
Well that sure sounded convincing. Myungho eyed Haemin with a narrowed gaze, and Haemin eyed him right back. Then Myungho sighed and seemingly let whatever it was go. I didn't think either of us were going to complain at this point.
"Thanks, I guess."
Haemin bobbed his head in understanding, and the two of them shared another look, though this one didn't look like some stupid macho thing. I was still in a state of processing.
"I called the cops to around here when I saw you speed off over the bridge," informed Haemin, and now that my ears had finally popped, I heard nearing sirens. He looked past Myungho to me. "Are you okay, Y/N?"
His voice shook then, and he looked at me with such genuine worry that it brought me out of my own shock.
"I am now. Thank you Haemin. Thank you both." I smiled at Haemin, suddenly not even remembering or caring why I was angry at him. But of course in the state I was, my mind had to zero in on the most random little facet.
"Why have you got a lighter sticking out of your pocket?" Haemin didn't smoke.
He looked down, like he'd forgotten it was there, and looked up sheepishly. "No reason."
"I actually gave it to him," said Myungho.
"Why?"
"No reason."
Then Haemin awkwardly handed it over to Myungho I didn't bother asking any more questions. Boys could make literally any situation weird.
Myungho's phone buzzed, and the moment he checked the text, his face angrily contorted. He looked like he wanted to hit something. And from the glimpse I'd caught of the text, I understood why.
"I'll bring the car around, Y/N," he said quietly. "You can wait in there and stay warm until the ambulance arrives." He eyed the bat Haemin was holding one last time, as if to say: "You keep that ready just in case Won-sik so much as flexes a pinky", stormed over, kicked the gun away, then stormed back to the parking area's direction.
Standing between Haemin and where Myungho was going off in the opposite direction, I didn't know what I should do. I knew what I wanted to do, but I owed Haemin too.
"Go after him," said Haemin. "I'll be okay. This guy's head's bleeding, and the cops will be here in a minute."
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah." He smiled, even if his eyes looked sad. "Really, you should."
And I did, feeling a sudden new wave of energy, but not before rushing up to Haemin and hugging him and kissing him on the cheek. I hurried after Myungho, who had made it to the side of the road, and reached out to his shoulder. He turned halfway, but I still had to round him.
"Myungho, tell me what's wrong." I already knew; that text had been from Helios. But Myungho huffed and wordlessly handed over his phone.
#:
There's been a minor setback
with one of the bases, but the
transport's still on, we're moving
it to next week. See you then,
Golden Boy ☀️
Helios meant sun in Ancient Greek mythology, so I'd guessed it was from the Dragons' leader Myungho had described from the way the text had been signed off on. As I read it, I noted Myungho scraping his palms up his face before roughly running fingers back through his hair.
He released a shaky, exasperated breath. "Helios'll know soon enough that I was the one that helped you escape. I told Haemin to stay outta sight, so he should be fine."
Still, Myungho really looked like he wanted to hit something, and it occurred to me then that his distress was probably concerning Jaeyun and Seungheon's dad's hospital. Those files. And the USB. So overwhelmed, I'd somehow managed to completely forget about those two other things they were using to keep Myungho in line.
"I found some things in a safe near the room they were keeping me in," I started, then pulled the soggy but mostly intact files from where I'd shoved them down the front of my tights. Damn, the breathable, waterproof material really lived up to its claim. When I unzipped the front pocket, the USB and my phone were barely even damp. "Were these what you were talking about?"
I handed him both and he gazed down at them like they were an impossible magic trick I'd just conjured. Then he slowly peeled the papers apart and skimmed through them, lastly turning the USB over in his hand. Then he scoffed. Then the scoff turned into a slightly concerning giggle. Then it turned into hysterics. Then he reeled it in on an elated sigh because clearly Myungho was having some bipolar-oriented psychotic break.
"Uh, Myung-ah," I said sweetly, like I was talking carefully to a patient. "You good?"
Myungho looked back at me, grinned, then held my face and mashed his lips against mine. Now, I didn't mind the intense makeout session, especially from Myungho. But I was still in a sort of shaky and feeble state. Still, I let him have his way.
He finally parted, inching back only slightly. "You're literally perfect, Y/N." Then he went back to looking over the items he held. "This is all of it. The hospital files, the USB I gave to them. Everything, every single piece of legitimate proof."
"I can't believe it," I heard him utter to himself.
Even though I was slightly woosy and breathless now, I was still overjoyed for Myungho. For both of us. "What do you want to do with them?"
"I'll hand the USB over to the police," he said, then took the lighter out from his jeans' pocket. "These though..." Myungho set the files down on a boulder and then lit them up. It didn't take long for the scrunched-up ball to become a pile of ash.
I took the USB from him. "It'll probably be easier to explain if I give them this."
Police cars and an ambulance sped around the corner and slowed at the parking lot, with Myungho calling out and gesturing to where Haemin was. As several officers rushed past us and I saw Haemin come over to direct them more specifically, I returned my attention to Myungho when he craned his face down to rest our foreheads together.
"I love you," he said.
I backed up a little to take in his face better at those words. It wasn't a bad thing to hear Myungho say, but it was a shock, and not to mention our current circumstance. But he pulled me back before I could say anything and gently pressed a finger to my lips.
"Please. You don't need to say anything now. Just...let's just have this moment."
"Okay," I answered with a small smile.
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Changhoon's POV:
This stuck-up rich asshole. Of course he'd gotten his way. How he'd rescued that Y/N bitch was all over the news. How police had caught several of my uncle's members. One of which had been holding Ji-freaking-Myungho and Y/N at gunpoint. Couldn't he have at least shot that dumb daddy's boy before getting arrested?
There were even online articles calling Myungho a child prodigy; a once-in-a-generation sporting talent. Not only had he been officially scouted by the most successful team in the KBO League, that prick had also caught the interest of the American major leagues. His talent was so overexaggerated, and I hated that everyone actually seemed to buy into his bullshit. He was clearly only getting these opportunities because of his daddy's connections.
And then there was Uncle Helios himself. He hadn't told me much, but I'd overheard enough. He was furious. Something about Y/N...and missing documents. I didn't know exactly what he was on about, and how Y/N was involved, but I bet it was about Myungho. I bet it was his fault.
MNH's arrogant little golden boy needed to be taken down a notch. Or ten.
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Hey there folks, this is sort of random and I guess it doesn't really matter, but I know there are no beaches in Seoul. I actually imagined the setting to be Yeongjong Island, which is about an hour's drive from Seoul and close to Incheon Airport. There is a metropolitan hub, which is where I put my fake MNH school.
Just in case any readers were actually wondering why I'd magicked a random beachside city within Seoul when the city's completely enclosed by land lol.
Lastly, mature smexy scenes coming up next chapter (😏😈) that might not be appropriate if you're under 14 (and yes, I know no one's going to listen to my content warning but I thought I'd let ya'll know anyway.
~ Daci