Chapter 26.2

At that moment, the door was shattered, and someone entered amidst the debris. Despite her heart pounding as if it would burst, the atmosphere felt strangely calm.

Every space around her seemed to dissolve away, leaving only her eyes, nose, and ears vividly alert. Even Lee Woo-shin’s emotionless voice was no exception. Only the voice of that man was heard.

—And even if you die, try to take down or hurt at least one of them.

“……!”

—That way, I’ll recognize that bastard at a glance.

He had a ruthless attitude of discarding what needed to be discarded and seizing what needed to be seized until the end.

Lee Woo-shin remained undeterred and consistently assessed the situation. Whenever she panicked, his calm and decisive words echoed in her mind.

Although luck wasn’t on their side, the mere presence of Lee Woo-shin oddly provided some relief.

However, the issue was Seoryeong’s precarious situation. Her left hand was holding Channa’s throat, while her right hand, holding the gun, kept slipping due to sweat and blood.

In the end, she clenched the upper part of the gun with her teeth, trying desperately to pull the slide..

Struggling to pull the slide, she met Channa’s eyes. Seoryeong’s cooling skin reassured her.

“It’s okay, this time I’ll help you. If they come to kill you again…,” she promised with her eyes, “I won’t let you die alone.”

As soon as she said this, the warehouse door rattled.

“―!”

Her whole body tensed, and she couldn’t even breathe properly. The same was true for Lee Woo-shin, who was listening on the other side.

No sound of breathing escaped their lips. Channa tightly shut her eyes. Yet, Seoryeong could feel strength in her eyelids, which reassured her.

Clack… clack… The slow sound of high heels lingered near the door before fading away.

“Don’t be fooled. They’ve already figured out you’re there,” Lee Woo-shin warned coldly. He knew. That person was a hunter, only pretending to hesitate for the hunt.

“Don’t move. Keep aiming and wait.”

Seoryeong tightened her grip on the gun and aimed at the door. There wasn’t a part of her that didn’t tremble, from her hand to her shoulder. The muzzle of the gun kept wobbling, unable to hold the aiming point.

But if the door were to open―.

She was on the verge of pulling the trigger. It felt like her head was about to explode from the relentless repetition of that thought. A low voice seemed to lightly scratch at her eardrums, preventing her from slipping into unconsciousness.

―Yeah, grip it tightly. The moment it fires, your wrist will shatter.

Finally, with a bang, the door opened.

“―!”

The appearance of the assassin was far from what Seoryeong had expected.

She failed to properly pull the trigger and the gun slipped from her hand.

Even though Lee Wooshin shouted like thunder, it sounded inaudible to Seoryeong.

The person who chuckled as they looked at the two hiding like rats in the corner was a petite woman. Despite her plain skin, she had flashy features, wearing hot pants, a tank top, and high heels.

Even though she didn’t look like an assassin, this split second of hesitation changed everything.

When her hand slipped, Seoryeong was immediately subjected to a brutal counterattack. The woman slashed at Seoryeong with a crescent-shaped comb with a joyful expression.

Missing her shot, Seoryeong reflexively raised one arm to defend her face. Her other arm was inexplicably slashed repeatedly.

—Damn it, Han Seoryeong!

Her attention was solely focused on the fingers blocking Channa’s throat. If she removes it, Channa will die. If she moves even a little, Channa will start bleeding again.

Seoryeong didn’t even flinch or groan. Eventually, when her arm was mangled, she met eyes with the assassin who was about to kill her.

“…!”

That gaze. That discomfort. Where have I seen it before? Where have I felt it?

At that moment, as if refusing to think any further, her body moved first. She picked up the gun that had fallen to the ground and kicked roughly between the assassin’s legs.

Then the assassin bent her waist and took a step back. She felt something thud in her hand.

It reminded him of the city he’d left with Channa, the alleyways he’d quickly returned to, the prostitutes hawking tourists, and… hot pants. Shoes, the smell of heavy perfume.

“You’re an asshole, but you’re not a woman.”