The Raid
The door exploded inward with a shower of splinters. Joonho's bodyguards surged through like a SWAT team, their polished shoes crunching over broken glass.
"Laptop!" Haewon screamed, shoving the device into my hands as she vaulted over the couch.
I barely caught it before a guard's fist grazed my temple. The taste of copper flooded my mouth as I stumbled back—right into Minjae, who was frantically untying his own gag.
"What the hell did you two—"
"No time!" I yanked him toward the fire escape as Haewon unleashed a fire extinguisher in the guards' faces. The white cloud swallowed the room whole.
---
The Getaway
We hit the alley just as dawn painted the skyline pink. Haewon's designer dress was ripped at the hem, my knuckles were bleeding, and Minjae kept hyperventilating about his scholarship.
"They'll expel me! My parents will—"
"Breathe," Haewon ordered, flagging down a taxi with her platinum card. "We're going somewhere even my father can't touch us."
The driver took one look at our disheveled state and locked the doors.
"Plan B," I muttered, dragging them toward the subway.
---
The Hideout
Haewon's "safe house" turned out to be a love motel in Itaewon with hourly rates and suspicious stains on the ceiling.
Minjae gaped at the heart-shaped bed. "Are we... is this..."
"The only place that doesn't require ID," Haewon said, peeling off her ruined Louboutins. "Also, the Wi-Fi's encrypted."
She hacked into a news site on her phone. The headline blazed:
Yoon Corp Heiress Exposes Father's Corruption
Beneath it, our leaked files bloomed across the screen—every damning memo, every blackmailed official, every blood-money transaction.
Minjae whistled. "You just nuked your inheritance."
Haewon's smile was all teeth. "Worth it."
---
The Fallout
By noon, the motel TV blared with updates:
- Yoon Minho arrested at his penthouse
- Stock prices plummeting
- Protesters swarming corporate headquarters
My phone buzzed with an alert: Campus Security Notice: Kim Dojin & Yoon Haewon wanted for questioning.
"Well," I said, tossing a stale potato chip at Haewon. "Now we're both fugitives."
She caught it midair. "Took you long enough."
---
The Confession
Minjae passed out on the heart-shaped bed by sunset, leaving Haewon and me on the balcony overlooking the neon streets.
"What now?" I asked.
She leaned against the railing, the city lights reflecting in her dark eyes. "Now we disappear for a while."
"Together?"
The word hung between us, fragile as the cigarette smoke curling from her lips.
She didn't answer. Just reached for my hand—and laced our fingers together over the burning skyline.
---
Next Chapter Teaser:
- On the Run (Fake IDs and bus tickets)
- Joonho's Revenge (A bounty on their heads)
- The First Kiss (In the back of a stolen truck)