THIS CHAPTER IS DEDICATED TO ORIGIN_FIEND. THANKS FOR FINALLY POSTING A NEW REVIEW. I HAD PREVIOUSLY PROMISED THAT I WOULD UPLOAD EXTRA CHAPTER FOR EVERY NEW REVIEWS. EVEN THOUGH THIS CHAPTER IS SHORT, THIS IS THE BEST I COULD COME UP WITH SINCE I HAVE AN EXAM TOMORROW. SO, NOW THE HUNT FOR GUN PARK BEGINS!!!
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Seongji and Goo stood facing each other. Both of them were badly hurt. Seongji's body was covered in slashes and stab wounds, and Goo's left hand and right ankle were broken in ways that made them hang wrong.
Seongji's breathing was rough and uneven. "Is it really necessary to go this far?"
Goo breathed just as hard. "If it wasn't, why would I fight a monster like you? You're doing all this for your friend, aren't you? It's the same for me."
Seongji nodded slowly. "If that's so, then come on. Let's finish this."
Goo raised the rod and took his stance. "Yes. Let's finish it in the next move."
Both of them pulled every last bit of tension into their bodies and held it. The air between them went still. All that was left was to move.
Then they heard footsteps.
Seongji turned. Vin Jin was running toward him from down the road, his face tight with alarm. Seongji stared at him. "Vin. What are you doing here?"
Vin Jin reached him and grabbed his arm to steady him, eyes sweeping over the wounds. "Teacher, what happened to you?"
Seongji didn't answer. He pushed Vin Jin back by the shoulder. "It's not safe here. Leave immediately."
---
Goo turned at the sound of footsteps from the other direction. Samuel was coming toward him, and when Samuel got close enough to see the state of Goo's hand and ankle, he stopped short. "Mr. Goo, are you okay?"
Goo put his arm around Samuel's shoulder and let him take some of the weight. "It's nothing. How did you find me?"
Samuel's expression shifted. "I was contacted by that man."
Goo went still. "What? Gun contacted you?" He shook his head slightly. "That doesn't suit him at all. What did he say?"
Samuel cleared his throat and looked away, clearly not eager to repeat it.
"Did he say something bad?" Goo asked. "Tell me."
Samuel nodded. "I'll repeat his exact words. He said, 'A money-loving sadist will try to help me but fail spectacularly. Go and save him.'"
The color drained from Goo's face. His jaw tightened. "That bastard... And here I was trying to help him."
Samuel looked past Goo toward Vin Jin and Seongji. "Should I take care of them for you?"
Goo's expression soured. "You can't handle him."
Samuel studied Seongji for a moment. "Someone on par with Mr. Goo is definitely above me, that's fair. But I can handle the other one."
Goo closed his eyes and took a slow breath, then shook his head. "There's no need. Did you bring your car?"
"Yes," Samuel said.
"Then let's go."
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Vin Jin watched Goo and Samuel walk away. "Teacher, they're leaving. Should I go after them?"
Seongji shook his head. He looked over at the crashed taxi. The driver's chest was still rising and falling. Seongji exhaled through his nose. "Call an ambulance."
Vin Jin made the call and gave their location, then hung up and turned back. "Should we wait for them, or should I take you to a hospital now?"
Seongji was already moving toward the taxi. He reached inside and picked up the briefcase, then straightened up and clutched his side. "We're going to Seoul Central District Court."
Vin Jin looked at the wounds across Seongji's body and then at his teacher's face. There was nothing negotiable in that expression. "Okay," Vin Jin said.
---
Daniel woke up gasping in his second body. He sat up in the dark, sweat soaking through his shirt, and pressed his hand flat against his chest until his breathing slowed.
Procecutor Kangmi. He had to get to her.
He got up, changed, and grabbed a spare phone from the drawer. Before the fight he had slipped his other phone into Kangmi's car, just in case, and now he pulled up the tracking app and waited. The signal appeared on the map, small and steady and moving.
He wrote down the location, grabbed his jacket, and walked out the door. He had a few calls to make.