As we got closer, he sprinted up the broken escalator in a single leap, using my back as leverage. Boa barely turned in time before he grabbed her by the collar. I rushed up after him—just in case, but as we slammed the figure down.
It was the face of a terrified old lady.
"Mother of mercy~!" the woman shrieked, scrambling to her feet and bolting into the shadows.
"…What the hell…" I muttered, stepping back—and right into a guardrail that felt dangerously loose.
"It's a trap!" Lucky's eyes went wide. He looked over my shoulder—and I caught the faint rose-colored glow of my ball-phone.
"Look out!" I turned just in time to catch a streak of bright pink light rushing toward me. I stumbled over the broken railing.
It gave way.
"No~" Lucky caught my arm just in time. Footsteps echoed behind us. Sharp, slow, and deliberate.
High heels.
"Don't let go!" Lucky yelled, gripping me tightly. "Urgh—!"
His eyes widened. Something sharp had struck him from behind.
"Hold on tight, now~" a familiar voice whispered behind him. I saw Boa leaning over the edge, heel digging into Lucky's back as she pressed down and twisted.
"Even if Lucky falls, he'll survive. But you?" She smirked. "That's a different story, Mr. White."
"You… you were behind Iris too!" I shouted, struggling against gravity.
"He knew too much. Had to keep things clean and efficient, you know? But even when he tried, he couldn't hide from me." She knelt on Lucky's back now, gripping his hair and yanking his head back. "Funny, right? A whole company brought down by one single lady~ Mheheha"
Lucky strained, holding onto me, pain etched across his face as her heel dug deeper.
"You think you can fix me, you blue-haired freak?" Boa sneered, voice low and venomous. "I live for the day I watch people like you break. Those corporate fools hated each other; it didn't take long to turn them. They handed me everything—all the data you tried to recover. And now? I've got a Plan B." She leaned close to Lucky's ear. "But first~ don't drop him."
I saw my ball-phone floating just below us—still recording, still live.
Lucky shouted in pain.
"Boa! Stop!" I yelled.
"Oh? Begging now, sweetheart? Last time you begged me, it was so you could fuck up Minjun's rep and climb the ranks. Still not even for that, hmm? So tell me—are you begging for Lucky's sake… or because you don't want to die?"
Lucky's eyes snapped to mine—hurt, betrayal, agony—like the truth had finally reached him right where it could never be taken back.
The girl nodded, waiting for what I had to say. "You.... Sasaeng Bitch!" I shouted, flicking a finger toward her. My ball-phone shot upward and slammed into her face, sending her sprawling—giving Lucky just enough time to pull me back up. I grabbed her pink ballphone from her hand and smashed it to the floor.
"You've been lying to me all along," Lucky said, standing over the woman whose mouth was smeared with blood.
She laughed as she slowly rose to her feet. "Men like you are too naive. If you really wanted to be my friend, would you die for me, Lucky?"
"It's over," Lucky said flatly. She had nothing left up her sleeve.
Just then, an alert sounded from her wristwatch.
"No—it's not," Boa hissed, looking at a CCTV feed she had installed at the mall entrance—police officers were swarming in. Panic flashed across her face before she raised her wrist, tapping frantically. "It's too late for you now. All the dirty secrets are finally going public. Enjoy your last big bonus—and say goodbye to your pretty rep' Mhehe!" She held up her watch, showing the progress of an upload bar labeled with the company's stolen classified data.
From her side of the glass, she grinned wide. "We're cut from the same cloth, aren't we, Mr. White?"
-Continued in Patreon-