As the raindrops cascaded from the night sky, Ryujin sat perched on her black and dull green sports bike, hidden in the shadows outside an accounting firm. The rhythmic taps of the rain echoed onto her helmet as her gaze remained fixed on the entrance, waiting for her target's appearance.
The glow of the streetlight shone off the wet asphalt. The cool hues mingled with the shimmer of the rainwater below her combat boots. Headlights of the passing cars pierced through the precipitation, creating a symphony of illumination, captivating the hitman.
During the week, Ryujin closely monitored the dark web for any listings that stood out from the rest. Most of the listings were for petty crimes, or people seeking for revenge on a loved one. None of them interested her, except for this one.
Her phone vibrated in the inner pocket of her leather jacket; she took off her gloves to take it out. The bright light of the screen reflected off her helmet's visor.
[Chaerry: Come back before they arrive.]
Ryujin ignored the text message and went to check the contract for her victim.
Name: Han Yongsun
Age: 46
Occupation: Investor
Appearance: Grey-haired, Strong jawline, Bearded, Black-Rimmed glasses.
Reward: ₩₩₩₩
Through her research, he was one of the main perpetrators for a large-scale money laundering scheme, using karaoke rooms as fronts. He was able to move more than hundreds of dollars at a time and invest it into companies that exploit disadvantaged people working for below minimum wage.
This more than motivated Ryujin to eliminate her target. She despised people who preyed on the vulnerable, the misfortunate people who work endlessly to make a living.
She placed her phone back into her pocket and readjusted her blades attached to a sheath on her right thigh. A loud roar of a black van rolled past her and stopped outside the building. Ryujin locked on the opening door, watching several bodyguards step out of the vehicle with large umbrellas as they escorted a man in a grey suit inside.
The hitman reached for her key and killed the engine, she hopped off the sports bike and slowly walked over to the entrance. With her heart pounding and adrenaline coursing through her veins, Ryujin carefully observed the area. There was a group of men standing around the ground floor, chatting with each other as another group accompanied her target into the elevator.
Ryujin carefully watched the numbers beside the elevator rise- G, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.
As soon as the number stopped, she knew it was her cue to proceed. Taking a deep breath, she swiftly reached the blade on her thigh and gripped the handle tight.
She lowered herself to the ground, crouching to ensure she was out of sight. A bodyguard was on his phone with his back facing towards her. As she closed the distance, she prepared herself to attack.
In one swift motion, she placed her gloved hand over his mouth and impaled the knife into the man's neck. She quickly scanned the area, making sure no one noticed her. The hitman held onto the man's body and gently guided him to the floor.
The man's phone began to ring loudly in the almost silent room, catching all the bodyguards' attention. Ryujin knew that her stealth approach was short-lived as the calm atmosphere shifted into chaos with the men rushing towards her. She flipped her visor up in order to catch her breath.
The bodyguards surrounded her, forming a tight circle with no opportunity to escape. She looked at each one of the men, their eyes filled with determination and their muscles tense.
"She killed Hyunjae" A bodyguard yelled out.
They moved in, closing up the gap between them and the hitman. With lightning-fast reflexes, she dodged and weaved between their strikes, her movements quick and fluid. One of the men threw a punch towards her head, to which she countered with a knife to his abdomen. The man wailed in agony which was soon silenced when her blade was inserted into the side of his throat.
The hitman turned back around to see the shocked looks of the other men staring back at her, but they were determined to incapacitate her. Ryujin wasn't willing to forfeit.
Despite the growing fatigue and the lingering pain in every area of her body, she continued to fight with all her might. Her movements remained to be calculated and effective; using her surroundings to gain an upper hand in the battle.
She ran up a wall and pushed herself off, landing on top of one of the stronger men. With her legs straddled on the man's shoulders, he moved carelessly as Ryujin used her strong thighs to strangle him.
The man's legs grew weak and suddenly collapsed to the ground with a loud bang, she quickly got herself up and focused on the two remaining men in front of her. As the minutes stretched into what felt like an eternity, the number of standing bodyguards dwindled. The room now lay scattered with fallen men.
Breathing heavily, Ryujin bent over with her hands on her knees, catching her breath through the small opening of her helmet. The silence of the atmosphere was deafening, broken only by the sounds of her own laboured breaths.
She took a minute to regain her composure before moving forward to her ultimate goal- eliminating her target.
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G, 1, 2... Blood dripped off the tip of Ryujin's razor-sharp knife, forming a small puddle of red beneath her feet. 3... She brought her hands together, cracking each of her knuckles with a loud pop. In the silence of the elevator, she closed her eyes, visualising her strategy to take out the next group of bodyguards. 4... Ryujin tilted her head to the side, cracking her stiff neck and she opened her eyes. She was ready.
5...
The metal door opened with a soft thud, but the hitman was nowhere to be seen. The bodyguards stood guard in front of the empty elevator, left in shock for the missing presence of the attacker.
One of the men broke the formation and carefully walked towards the elevator to examine the area. His footsteps echoed throughout the silent atmosphere as they waited in anticipation. The elevator creaked as he stepped inside, he looked around to find any sign of the hitman.
In a split second, the hitman dropped from the ceiling, landing on top of the bodyguard with her knife in the back of his neck. She landed in a lethal pose over the man's dead body and turned to face the other men with burning intensity, who stood frozen in shock and disbelief.
Before the other bodyguards could react, she rushed towards the closest man and stabbed him multiple times in his thigh before finishing off her combo with a stab to the heart. The silence was shattered like glass as the other men were snapped out of their state of shock and lunged towards her.
Her fighting abilities and skills were faster and more advanced than any of them could imagine. She used the men's attacks to counter the others, injuring themselves in the process. With each bodyguard incapacitated, the floors were painted red with the spilled blood.
As Ryujin stood face to face with the last man standing, her phone began to ring inside her pocket. The belief second of distraction was a moment of weakness for her. The last man took it as an opportunity to lunge at her with his knife, cutting her right bicep.
She let out a pained groan before redirecting her attention to the bodyguard. In a quick motion, she took hold of the man's neck and forced him into the wall. The man clawed at her arm, but to no avail due to her leather sleeve. Ryujin grunted as she put her whole body weight into his neck. His face glowed red, veins popping on his forehead as he gasped for air.
"P-Please." He managed to whisper out, pleading for mercy.
His words fell on deaf ears as she continued to constrict his airways. Soon, all desperation ceased as his body fell limp beneath her touch. She removed her hand from his neck, watching him fall to the group with a loud crash.
At that moment, she relished in the dead bodies surrounding her as the rain continued to fall outside. She took off her glove and reached into her pocket, wincing from the pain in her arm.
[Incoming call: Chaerry]
"What." She said annoyed as she stepped over a body.
"Did I call at a bad time?"
Ryujin rolled her eyes, "What do you think?"
She touched her arm which was throbbing in pain, feeling her blood drip down her sleeve.
"Just quickly calling to ask if you could get some drinks for tonight."
"No."
"Thank you~" Chaeryeong said sweetly before hanging up the phone.
Ryujin let out a loud sigh before putting her phone back in her pocket and putting her glove back on. She needed to finish her mission.
With her knife still in hand, Ryujin approached the office, her footsteps echoing like the thunder that rumbled in the distance. She could see the glowing light from under the door, so she prepared herself for the confrontation.
The hitman entered the office, and the air thickened with tension. The target sat behind the glass desk, his gaze fixated on her with a mix of curiosity and prescience.
Yongsun smirked menacingly and gestured to the seat in front of him, "Take a seat."
Without a word, she ignored his command and walked to the left side of the room, looking through the window. Rain continued to patter against the glass, dripping down the pane causing Ryujin to lose her concentration.
"Shin Ryujin. Please take a seat, I insist." He asked again, this time more frustrated.
Shocked from having her identity known, immediately bolted to the man and gripped his tie and bringing his neck close against her knife.
"Who are you?" She said through her teeth, staring at the man intensely through her helmet visor.
Instead of trembling in fear, the man let out a light chuckle and tapped on her hand, "Take a seat."
Ryujin needed answers, so she complied and threw him back into his seat before sheathing her blade. She walked around the table and sat in front of him.
"You know, you're really impressive." The investor reached into his drawer. Ryujin quickly placed her hand on her knife, prepared for any sudden movements.
"Woah, I'm just getting some smokes." He revealed the pack of cigarettes and offered one to the hitman.
She ignored the man's offer and continued to burn holes into his face. He picked up the hesitancy and took one for himself.
"Do you have a lighter on you, by chance?"
The hitman reached into her jacket pocket and produced her lighter and created a flame. Her target leaned in close to the fire and lit the cigarette between his lips. He exhaled a puff of smoke before leaning back into his seat.
Youngsun looked out the window, "Ryujin, Ryujin... You are a special one, you know?"
Ryujin narrowed her eyes, not understanding what he was talking about.
"In the past couple of years, you've managed to kill 72 targets and still have yet to be caught by the police."
"It will be 73 soon." She said lowly, watching the man's every movement.
"I'm not sure about that." He took another puff, then exhaled through his nose. "After you took out Youngjae, I became really interested in you."
"What do you mean?"
"As you know, I am an investor. So, I have plenty of connections. And I want a partnership with you." Yongsun smiled and placed his feet on top of his desk. "I invest in a small group of people that makes a living out of eliminating people that pose as a threat to my organisation."
"And what makes you believe that I would want to join?" Ryujin tilted her head slightly.
Yongsun removed the cigarette from his mouth and moved his legs down to lean on the desk, "You love killing people, don't you Ryujin?"
He took the silence as an answer and continued, "There are people like you. No empathy, no guilt and find pleasure in ending the lives of other people that are a danger to us."
As the offer hung in the air, Ryujin mentally debated with herself with conflicting emotions. It was all too tempting for her. She never felt like she belonged, always feeling like an outcast in a society filled with good Samaritans and people with their hearts on their sleeves. Now, an opportunity to be embraced by a group of people that are just like her arises, she didn't know what to do.
But as she glanced at Youngsun's expression, mixed with anticipation and arrogance, would she really be willing to work under someone else's command?
The whole purpose of her becoming a hitman was to kill people out of her free will. Not to be someone's slave to kill people, just because she was told to.
"So, what do you say, Shin Ryujin? The Black Card. Are you in?"
Ryujin met with his gaze, "No."
The room fell into an uneasy silence, the weight of her decision hanging heavy in the air. The mask he wore cracks, replaced with anger and frustration.
"You're making a terrible mistake," Yongsun said gravelly, locking his eyes onto the hitman's. "You do know that with the decision you're making, you are now a threat."
"Then so be it."
The second she stood up from her chair, multiple footsteps could be heard running towards the office. She whipped her head back to face the noise coming her way.
A group of four women came bursting into the room. They all wore matching combat suits, sleek black body suits with weapons attached to their belts and thighs. Ryujin scanned their half-covered faces, and immediately recognised one of them.
"Karina." The hitman whispered out through her helmet.
"Long time no see, Ryujin." The tall, black-haired woman smiled through her mask.
Yongsun stood up from his desk, "Aespa, girls. I'm sorry to disappoint you all but, Ryujin here decided to decline the offer."
A woman that she didn't know gasped loudly in the quiet room.
"Giselle, contain yourself." Karina faced the woman to her right, side-eyeing her.
The woman, who she knew now to be Giselle, placed her gloved hand on her chest, "I'm sorry, but who wouldn't want to join our amazing group?!"
"Not her apparently" Another woman with blonde hair spoke up, staring Ryujin down.
"Ryujin, right?" The bobbed-cut woman made her way to her, causing Ryujin to take a step back. "Since you don't want any part of being in our group, you just made yourself a priority on our list."
The hitman couldn't help but to chuckle, "Is that so?"
"We can't have any potential threats, can we?" Karina said slyly and came closer to her.
"Well, I'd like to see you try." Ryujin let out before she ran towards the window and shattered the glass with her body weight jumping out of the window, and leaving everyone in shock.
She took a hold of the drainpipe attached to the nearby building and slid down, gracefully landing on the ground. Ryujin tilted her head up to see the group of women also jumping out of the window, coming after her.
Ryujin began to run out of the alley and onto the main road, looking for her keys in her pocket. As she ran past the front of the building, she could see four motorbikes parked at the entrance. She knew she was in for a chase.
The rain poured down on her, her footsteps splashed through puddles as she ran, her heart pounding with adrenaline. She reached her motorbike, and without a moment lost, she swung her leg over her bike and turned on the ignition. The sound echoed through the rain, blending with the drumming sounds of the heavy raindrops on the road.
She revved her bike and looked at the entrance, watching the four women hop onto their bikes and came her way. Ryujin placed her foot on the road as she leaned to her right and accelerated, leaving skid marks on the asphalt, and sped away.
The rain lashed against the small opening of her helmet, stinging her face, it took all the strength in her body to not close the visor as it would've obscured her vision. So, she continued to persevere. She was able to hear the engines of the pursuing motorbikes behind her, prompting her to accelerate faster.
With each twist and turn, Ryujin pushed herself further, her body becoming one with the bike. In hopes of losing the women on her tail, she merged into oncoming traffic, loud horns and tire screeches created chaos in the city.
As the pursuit continued, the hitmen closed in. Ryujin looked to her left, to see Karina's eyes peering through the helmet, determined to eliminate her. So, she swerved into an alley filled with tight corners and dumpsters that made the path narrow.
She easily maneuvered through the alley and returned back to the main road, knowing Karina's level of skill, she had brought herself time to escape from their sights. And she was right. Ryujin looked back to notice them missing.
The hitman took the moment to slow down and catch her breath. But before she could calm down, she noticed a familiar woman walking the street with an umbrella in hand.
"Shit, Yeji." Ryujin whispered to herself before pulling over to the side.
She took off her helmet, revealing her hair wrapped up in a messy bun. "Yeji!"
The cat-eyed woman turned around to the hitman, "Ryujin, you ride a bike?"
While Yeji walked over to the bike, Ryujin turned back to see four headlights racing towards them.
"Damn, maybe you're not so boring after all." Yeji joked, closer examining the bike.
"Yeji, hop on. Now." Ryujin said, distressed.
"Wait, wait. I want to see." She replied lightly, oblivious to the bunch of motorbikes quickly approaching.
"We need to go. Now!" The hitman yelled, shocking the other woman.
"Okay, okay!!" Yeji hopped on the bike and held Ryujin's waist tight.
There was nowhere to put Yeji's umbrella, so Ryujin threw the umbrella and her helmet onto the footpath.
"I'll buy you a new one." Ryujin quickly said before accelerating.
"Don't look back."
Note:
Eat more fibers so you won't be constipated.