"I'm even happier to see you again." Myung spoke.
Jia was suddenly puzzled, asking him with a skeptical expression, "Why did you pretend to kidnap me so badly? If you wanted to meet me, you could have just told me directly."
"Because I actually kidnapped you." Myung replied with a wide smirk.
Jia couldn't help but chuckle at his response, still perplexed, "Really? But for what reason?"
"First, you explain me, why were you living in the same house as that f*cking Jitoku?" He asked, caressing her cheeks. She felt disgusted by his touch but didn't stop him.
"It's my choice," she replied simply.
"Have you forgotten that you can't live with any man other than me?" Suddenly grabbing her cheeks tightly, he stared into her eyes, intimidation darkening his expression.
"No, I haven't forgotten."
"Then how dare you stay with him?"
"Because I have some relation with him."
He retorted sarcastically, "Relation? With my enemy?" His grip on her skin tightened painfully, but she refused to look away.
"First, let me remind you that we never had any agreement that I had to report to you about where I live, with whom I live, or with whom I associate." She stated emphatically.
"But our agreement clearly stipulates that you shouldn't be with any other man other than me." He released his hold, his expression hardening.
"Yes," she affirmed quietly, "I remember."
He towered over her. "What should I do with you now for this... mistake of yours?" His voice dripped with false contemplation.
She let out a chuckle in response. "Nothing much, just untie me," she countered flatly, testing the restraints again.
His smirk sharpened into something cruel. "Oh no. Consider this your punishment, you stay exactly like this." The threat hummed under his amusement.
Her glare went razor-edged, not scared, just furious. "You can't do that."
And then he laughed, raw and unhinged, as if the joke was written in her pulse and he'd just read it aloud.
He leaned in, his smirk deepening as he hissed, "If I can keep myself from ravishing your body, I can do anything."
She held his gaze, thinking something intensely before responding with a sly smile, "Yes, I agree that you have a lot of patience."
"But this patience won't last long, so prepare yourself to be intimate with me only then you'll get what you want from me." he warned, leaving her bound and alone in the room as he departed, the door closing behind him. She watched him go, her smirk unfazed as if this situation was somehow exactly what she had anticipated.
"You'll never get what you want from me," she murmured, her tone defiant. "But I'll get what I want from you, Mr. Psycho. It's not you who kidnapped me, it was I who orchestrated this whole thing. I always knew some unknown girl was stalking me. I purposely led that girl to Jae's house, showing I live there with him. That's how I planned to get here without any issues by showing Jae that I have been kidnapped." She chuckled darkly. "Now that I'm here, I can finally discover who and where she is."
She laughed, basking in the thrill of her carefully planned scheme.
●◇◇◇◇◇◇●
Entering the casino, Bella halted in her tracks, taking in the surreal scene before her with shock. All the guards and men in sight were bowing to Jackson as he strode forward confidently. He stopped mid-step when he realized Bella wasn't following and turned back sharply.
"What happened? Come fast." His voice snapped her out of her daze.
She stared at him, disbelief etched across her face. "Have you lost your mind? Why have we come to a casino?"
"Oh, please Bella, I told you not to question me and to come quietly with me," he replied, annoyance flashing across his face.
Bella shot back, voice sharpening, "Seriously? You dragged me to a casino instead of a police station and now I shouldn't even ask why?" Her eyes burned with disbelief.
Jackson exhaled tightly.
"Listen Bella! ask your all the questions later. Right now, we focus on finding Jia. So trust me, and just follow my lead."
"How can I trust you and come with you when we should be at the police station filing a report about Jia's kidnapping? Instead, you bring me to a casino ... .how am I supposed to trust you now, huh?"
"Just like you trusted me enough to stay with me all night… trust me enough now." He was trying to reason with her as she stubbornly refused to go ahead with him.
Suddenly, without warning, a stripper appeared directly between them, throwing both into shocked silence at her abrupt presence.
The stripper wrapped her arms around Jackson's neck, pulling him aggressively close. Bella could only stare in disbelief at the woman, whose skimpy outfit barely covered her body.
"Leave me, b!tch," Jackson growled coldly, his expression unflinching, but she ignored him and yanked him even closer against her. Suddenly, more strippers appeared and encircled him completely.
Meanwhile, Bella's face shifted violently, first shock… then boiling rage.
"I'm so happy to hear that name from your lips again... but when you call me Julia, it sounds even better." The stripper's words dripped with flirtation as she continued, "Why've you been away from the casino so long? I've missed you so much."
"Stop this nonsense and get off me immediately." His demeanor remained icy, even as he tore himself free and attempted to push off the surrounding strippers. But they clung even tighter to him, refusing to let go, their grip surprisingly firm.
Julia traced her fingers down Jackson's chest, voice dripping with seductiveness. "You look so stressed… why not let us relieve it for you? We have… certain capabilities—"
Suddenly a pained groan cut her off as Bella yanked Julia backward by her hair, throwing the entire room into stunned shockness.
Bella's grip only tightened as Julia writhed, clawing at her wrist uselessly. "Didn't he JUST tell you to get lost? Why are you still hanging onto him?" Bella snarled, shaking Julia like a ragdoll.
"Who are you, w!tch?" Julia spat through gritted teeth.
Bella's fingers twisted deeper into Julia's hair, yanking her forward like a puppet before slamming her forehead into the wall, making her scream.
"Don't." Bella growled, "call me w!tch."
Jackson stood frozen, eyes wide, jaw slack, watching violence unfold in front of him like he'd just witnessed hell break loose.
Chaos erupted as all the strippers lunged at Bella in unison, but before they could land a hit, she hurled Julia to the ground and spun into action.
Kicks flew like pistons, a whirlwind of precise strikes sent every stripper crashing to the casino floor in seconds. The crowd roared with applause, clapping, shocked spectators cheering the brutal display... until Jackson's sharp hand gesture silenced them mid-clap.
While ready to unleash another beating, Bella stalked toward Julia who sat dazed, rubbing her throbbing forehead.
"You f*cking b!tch! How dare you touch him without his consent?"
She lunged forward, but Jackson's arms locked around her waist, hauling her back mid-strike. Julia scrambled to her feet and bolted like a rabbit chased by wolves.
Bella thrashed against Jackson's grip, fingers clawing the air where Julia had stood seconds ago.
"Where are you running, coward? W!tch! V@mp! Come back here, I'll END your seduction tricks!"
Jackson tightened his hold, dragging her backward as she unleashed curses like grenades.
"Nightmares of full-body clothes for you! May loose misery wreck your stomach!"
Coming to an empty hallway, Bella growled as Jackson let her go, her hands curling into fists while staring in the direction they came from.
"If you hadn't stopped me, I would've decapitated that w!tch," she hissed while stomping her foot.
Her eyes burned with anger as she suddenly turned to him.
"And that w1tch claimed you visited here often." She grabbed his collar, "Admit it, or you'll find yourself buried 6-feet under. Now. Tell me the truth!" Her eyes demanded an answer.
"Why should I tell you? Are you jealous?" Hearing his mocking question, Bella quickly left his collar and stood properly in front of him. She scoffed.
"Jealous? My foot! Don't even imagine that I would be jealous of other girls for you." She crossed her arms over her chest showing him attitude. While he chuckled after hearing her words as he also crossed his arms.
"I have proof that you're jealous of other girls for me."
"Stop spitting nonsense."
He smirked, raising an eyebrow as he looked her in the eye. "Want to see the proof?"
She maintained her defiant stance, staring back at him without a word.
He pulled out his phone and held it up in front of her face, showing a captured image. "So, tell me this, the woman who beat up the waitress in the restaurant's washroom for asking for my number wasn't you?"
She stared at the picture, her mind briefly flashing back to that fateful scene—her anger, her frustration at the woman asking for Jackson's number.
With a quick clearing of her throat, she opened her mouth to speak, "I don't have your number," she explained, her gaze darting away from his, "So she needlessly wasted my time by asking me. I beat her because of that."
"That wasn't a good reason to beat her. But wait, I have one more proof." He smirked while swiping his phone screen to show another picture. "The woman in this picture was snatching another woman's bouquet and crushing it under her feet when she found out that woman was coming to propose to me. So now tell me….this wasn't you?"
She examined the picture carefully, the memory flashing before her eyes - how as they were leaving the restaurant a woman had come running toward Jackson from behind with a bouquet, but before she could reach him, Bella had blocked her path. And after asking, as soon as she learned, the woman was going to propose to Jackson, she snatched the bouquet away and crushed it under her feet.
Fake coughing first, she spoke again, "I did this because if she had proposed to you, it would've taken time for you to reply to her and even more time for us to reach Jae's house." She lied, though in truth she didn't even understand why she'd behaved that way with those girls.
Jackson smirked. "This is a good lie to hide the truth," he remarked, slipping his phone back into his pocket.
"This is not a lie. And what you want me to say, I love you? That's why I'm jealous? Huh?" Her eyebrow arched challengingly.
He shook his head slowly, shoulders lifting in a shrug. "No, I didn't say you love me, I just said you're jealous of other girls for me."
"Which means the same thing that I love you."
He leaned closer until their breaths mingled, smirking while studying her pupils like they held answers. "Do you?"
A beat passed. She suddenly shoved at his chest to break the tension, "Oh shut up!" then narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "...Wait….how did YOU know she was coming to propose to you?"
He stood upright, tucking his hands into his pockets as she stared at him agape. "I was close enough to hear your conversation."
"And these pictures…when did you take them? Are you stalking me??" She asked in a sudden realisation.
"I'm not stalking you and how could I-?" Pausing, his eyes closed briefly, "I'm simply keeping proof."
Her eyes rolled in frustration. "Yeah, bullsh!t 'proof' to prove that I'm jealous of any girls for you." A sudden realization crossed her face. "Oh my god….Jia! Kidnapped! Why are we standing here chatting about nonsense?"
Jackson's expression shifted to one of realization as well. "This all happened because of you, if you hadn't needlessly fought with Julia, our time wouldn't have been wasted. We need to hurry now." He said while proceeding to his destination room and Bella started following him immediately as she didn't know where to go.
"All of this happened because of YOU, not me. If you hadn't taken the time to show me those useless 'proofs,' we wouldn't be losing precious time." Quickening her pace to catch up with his long strides, she muttered through gritted teeth.
"If you hadn't kept asking questions and just quietly followed, then our time wouldn't have been wasted."
"If you hadn't brought me to this crappy casino, then our time wouldn't have been wasted."
"This casino was our destination, so where else would I have brought you if not here?"
"I can't understand how this casino could possibly be our destination! But whatever, our time was wasted because of you only."
Jackson shot her a glare as they turned down another hallway. "Why won't you just admit it's your fault? You're the reason we lost time."
The bickering continued, each accusation met with an immediate counter, until they finally reached a heavy door. As Jackson input the passcode, their argument died mid-sentence. The electronic lock clicked open.
As soon as they entered their first step inside the room, their eyes widened in sudden shockness. The room's decoration was like a meeting room but everything in the room was scattered here and there on the floor. Even a laptop completely broken lying in the corner of the room. It was looking like a strong tornado just smacked the place destroying it in a few seconds.
Their eyes fell on a figure and he was none other than Jae. As soon as they saw him, it didn't take them long to understand that because of whom all this devastation had happened. All destruction was caused by Jae. His light brown coloured hair was covering his sweaty forehead. The veins of his neck and hands were looking like they would pop out any second the way he was clenching his jaw and fist.
Jae's bloodshot eyes burned with rage as he glared at Daniel, who cautiously attempted to step forward. Without warning, Jae snatched the chair from the floor and hurled it directly past Daniel's head, crashing into the wall behind him with a thunderous crack. The impact forced Daniel to freeze mid-step.
"J-Jae, please calm—" Daniel's voice died in his throat as he suddenly sensed movement by the doorway.
His gaze snapped toward the entrance, where Bella and Jackson stood frozen in shock. Jackson's hand still gripping the doorknob, their bodies half-turned as if caught mid-stride between entering and retreating.
Jae's gaze followed Daniel's and caught the sight that had silenced him. As Jae's intense gaze met their eyes, their balance momentarily wavered.
After collecting courage, Jackson stepped through the door, and approached Jae with a steady stride. Meanwhile, Bella and Daniel watched him with apprehensive expressions as Jae's gaze remained fixed on Jackson, seething with barely controlled fury. After daringly planting himself in front of Jae, he placed a hand on Jae's rigid shoulder.
"We'll find her soon, one of our men works for Myung as a servant." As Jackson spoke, Jae's tension seemed to ease slightly, his clenched fist slowly loosening.
"Why didn't you tell us earlier? This could help us a lot." Daniel's query drew their attention.
"I didn't think it was necessary. I didn't consider Myung a significant enemy that warranted our time or attention before." Jackson answered seriously, unfazed by Daniel's surprise.
"Whatever it is, but it's really helpful for us to bring her back because I'm not able to crack any of Myung's systems. His firewalls were locked down like a vault as if another professional hacker was shielding all his technology at every turn." Daniel uttered in a serious tone with a gratified expression before pointing towards the broken laptop.
"Now you yourself must have understood why its condition is like this."
Hearing him, Jackson looked towards the broken laptop and understood all the things that Jae had caused this destruction because of not being able to hack.
Jackson sighed, exchanging a tense glance with Daniel, both understanding the urgency but also hesitant under Jae's volatile mood. Suddenly,
"DON'T WASTE TIME IN UNNECESSARY TALKS, TRY TO CONTACT THAT MAN IMMEDIATELY!!!"
Jae's roar shook the room as he kicked a chair, sending it skidding across the floor. Jackson immediately pulled out his phone, fingers flying to search for the contact until an unfamiliar voice cut through the chaos.
"What the hell is going on here?" Bella demanded, stepping completely into the room with slow, deliberate steps. "Whose enemy? Whose man? What are you all even talking about?"
The three exchanged a loaded glance, a silent realization crashing over them. Apart from them, there was someone uninformed, who was now standing in the middle of their chaos. Someone who didn't know their real work… their real identities.
"I asked something." Her voice was steel wrapped in confusion, clueless yet unwavering under their collective stare.
Daniel and Jae turned their heads sharply toward Jackson, eyes burning with silent accusation, why would he bring an outsider into this? Jackson swallowed hard under their glares before launching into a rushed explanation.
"Umm…actually, she was with me all night—I couldn't just leave her alone on some dark street! And I didn't have time to drop her off somewhere safe before coming here..." His voice trailed off, mentally dismissing her as harmless, just some clueless stupid goat who couldn't possibly threaten them.
A heavy silence followed. Neither Jae nor Daniel spoke, but their tightened jaws and unblinking stares said everything, this wasn't ideal... but they were stuck with her now, there was nothing they could do but accept her.
"Not them, explain to me!" Bella snapped, shoving Jackson's shoulder hard as she stepped into his space. "What kind of shady talk was that instead of just going to the damn police station?!"
Jackson rolled his eyes skyward, grinding his teeth before letting out a frustrated groan. "I can't understand why you are stuck on the word police station?"
Bella's eyes slightly widened in disbelief at Jackson's response. "Oh really? Then tell me, what exactly should I be paying attention to right now, huh?" Her glare was scalding enough to melt steel, but Jackson just exhaled sharply through his nose, his patience wearing thin.
"Listen—" Her voice was a tight coil of restraint. "She's been kidnapped. She didn't just wander off to her aunt's house! We need the police for this." Each word came out sharper than the last. "And I don't care or deal with who your enemy is or which man works for them. None of that matters! I just want Jia back SAFE."
Jackson stood rigidly in place, fist clenched hard.
"And you—!" Bella whirled on Jae, storming into his space like a hurricane. "Her safety was your responsibility! SO WHERE THE HELL WERE YOU WHEN SHE WAS TAKEN?" Spittle flew from her lips as Jackson and Daniel tensed, watching her like she'd just lit a fuse attached to a b0mb.
Jae tilted his head down at her, those bloodshot eyes locking onto hers with lethal stillness. "Lower your voice," he growled, the kind of tone soldiers hear right before gunfire erupts in trenches.
Bella barked out a caustic laugh. "Oh now you want me to lower my voice? You had ONE JOB! You failed so spectacularly that she's gone, and you think I'll just whisper sweet nothings about it?" Her finger jabbed at his chest as she verbally flayed him alive under the weight of his own negligence.
Silence, not a word from Jackson or Daniel. Not a flinch. Their horrified gazes flickered between Bella then Jae, who was rigid, his entire body trembling with barely leashed fury, knuckles white from how hard he clenched his fists, unclenched them, then clenched again. His eyes? Pure inferno. The memory of Jia's kidnapping flashed behind them—raw, violent guilt feeding the rage boiling under his skin.
Bella didn't back down. "You know what? If it wasn't her wish, I would never have let her stay with you."
Right that moment Jackson moved before anyone could blink. He seized Bella's wrist in an iron grip and yanked her toward the door without explanation, just pure urgency as he shoved his phone at Daniel mid-stride with sharp instruction.
"Contact our man, his number is under 'C' in the top row."
While Bella twisted against him, nails scratching at his hand, but he didn't flinch. No chance. Not when Jae looked like a detonated gr€nade with its pin pulled out.
Daniel's fingers tightened around the phone, eyes lifted to Jae who was still standing rigid, fists clenched at his sides, fuming in anger. The door had barely shut behind Jackson and Bella before Daniel swallowed hard and took a step forward.
"J-Jae—?"
The name was barely out of his mouth before chaos erupted.
Jae exploded, screaming, hurling whatever he could get his hands at. Every truth word Bella had thrown at him burned in his skull like gasoline set alight, and now there was no stopping it.
Jae's fist smashed into the table, once, twice, wood cracking under each hit like bones snapping. Blood bloomed across his knuckles with every impact, splattering onto broken edges. But he didn't flinch. Didn't stop. His breaths were raw animal snarls between punches, as if destroying something tangible could erase what he hadn't destroyed, his own failure to protect Jia.
Daniel was facing a hard time to control Jae as Jae was more powerful than Daniel, and in anger no one could control him, not even he himself.
"Jae stop! Your hand is bleeding. And you're not recovered yet so please stop doing this–"
Suddenly Jae stopped and snatched the phone from Daniel's hand aggressively and called their man in a hurry.
Daniel let out a little sigh of relief after seeing Jae calling that man because at least he stopped hurting himself. While Jae was impatiently waiting for his call to be picked up on the other line, what he heard from the phone was enough to bring his anger temperature beyond the limits as the recorded message blasted from the earpiece.
'The number you are trying to contact is not answering, please try later'.
"I DON'T HAVE MUCH TIME TO WAIT TILL YOU PICK UP THE CALL!!" Jae roared, throwing the phone on the floor harshly, making it shatter.
Flinching at his outburst, Daniel tried to calm him down but was facing a hard time as Jae took one chair and threw it on the other side of the room.
Then—suddenly, Jae stopped. He stood unmoving, staring at nothing in particular. His expression became inscrutable, leaving Daniel baffled and confused.
Slowly, Jae retreated step by step until his back hit the wall. Then, he slid down onto the floor, his body slumping against it. His head automatically lowered.
Daniel looked down at him, bewildered by the sudden silent change in Jae's behavior.
"If my Gale was here, he would have been very disappointed that I was not even able to take care of Fairy. What would he have done in this situation?"
Jae's sudden voice was low, but the pain cut through clearly. At the mention of 'Gale', Daniel's heart twisted sharply, his gaze dropping to Jae with raw sympathy.
"Jae…!" The call slipped out softly from Daniel's mouth, barely louder than a whisper, but Jae heard it.
He lifted his head slowly. Tears welled in his eyes, obscuring his vision as he met Daniel's stare with a hollow expression. "Yes... Jae."
Seeing which, Daniel clenched his fists until his knuckles whitened, pressing his lips into a tight line.
"What would he have done in this situation?"
Daniel didn't reply. He stood motionless in silence. Glancing at Daniel's face, Jae let out a pained scoff before leaning his head back against the wall. He turned his face upward toward the ceiling, desperately trying to hold back his tears. But eventually, he closed his eyes - letting the teardrops escape as he swallowed hard against the lump in his throat.
The two men remained frozen in their positions, engulfed in palpable yet unspoken agony. The heavy silence between them was thick with grief and regret.
But this fragile quiet couldn't last.
"I'll go to Myung myself," Jae suddenly declared through gritted teeth as he pushed himself off the floor with sudden intensity. "I'll bring her back...and I will kill him for sure."
Before Daniel could even process this declaration or form a response, Jae was already striding toward the door with deadly purpose.
"What? What did you say? Are you going to Myung yourself? N-no, no, no, Jae stop, you can't go there. JAE PLEASE STOP!!" Daniel screamed his last sentence with a horrified expression before running after Jae to stop him who had already gone outside the room.
••••••
"After all, where are you taking me? And leave my wrist."
Bella struggled violently in Jackson's iron grip as he dragged her down the empty hallway toward the exit. But because of her constant struggle to escape, he suddenly halted. His entire body stiffened with visible irritation before spinning to face her.
"Why can't you understand," Jackson shot back, staring at her with a mixture of annoyance and frustration. "I'm just trying to get you away from Jae before he goes angry and explodes it on you!"
Bella huffed irritably, her eyes narrowing in disagreement. "Explode with anger at me? How can you even say that? You of all people know that this is all his negligence. We should be angry with him, not me."
"I know, but can't you see his condition? How restless and anxious he is to find Jia asap?" Jackson countered, his expression caught between disbelief and desperation.
Bella fell silent at his words, though the fury burning in her eyes never wavered. She held Jackson's stare for several tense seconds, jaw clenched, then finally spoke through gritted teeth.
"He deserves this uneasiness. Because he failed to protect her properly and—"
Jackson cut her off mid-sentence, "Listen," His voice low and seething. "I'm his cousin, I've known him since childhood. And I can tell you this, he has never been this desperate over any girl before today." His fingers tightened briefly at her wrist. "Even if he failed to protect her, there had to be a reason for it. But look at what he's doing now, how far he's willing to go for her! That alone proves how much she matters to him."
A beat of silence before his next words came out sharper, each one a warning. "So don't you dare speak against him in front of me again." A step closer now, eyes locked onto hers like steel. "I trust him more than anything... and you will remember that….Understood?"
Bella listened intently, wanting to understand him, but the thought of Jia's kidnapping kept replaying in her mind. How scared would the girl be, alone out there? The thought made her jerk his hand away as soon as his grip loosened.
"To hell with your faith in him. And let me tell you what the hell he is doing for her all this time. He is doing nothing but devastation."
Jackson sighed wearily at her stubborn defiance. "I have never seen such a stubborn woman like you in my life." He shook his head, irritation flashing across his face as he stared at her.
"My stubbornness is justified because I'm not wrong, and deep down, you know it too." She took a sharp breath, forcing her anger under control before continuing, "You know what? I was the fool to leave her in the hands of strangers. Who are you people, huh? Just strangers whom I barely even know!"
He didn't respond, just kept staring at her in cold disbelief.
"Disbelief that a bodyguard could be this upset and furious for her owner to such an extent."
"Enough! My patience is gone. All you've done is waste time waiting for some miracle. Not me. I'm going to the police."
She pivoted toward the exit, already yanking her phone from her pocket to call Police but Jackson seized her elbow from behind, jerking her to a stop.
Slowly, dangerously, she turned… Her eyes burned into his like smoldering embers.
"Let go of me." Bella hissed through clenched teeth. But Jackson didn't ease his grip, he was about to speak when...
The sound of rapid footsteps in the distance made both of them turn their heads. Their brows frowned in apprehensive…it was Jae, striding forward with long, decisive strides. He looked enraged, as dangerous as a storm.
Their eyes followed him as he passed, his ominous aura and bloodshot stare causing them to reflexively shrink back. His relentless strides and fire-like eyes made it seem like the very air around him was crackling with danger. Bella and Jackson stood frozen in place, their own earlier argument forgotten in the face of Jae's frightening advance.
"Jae–!" Jackson tried calling out his name, but Jae didn't react, he just stormed on by, leaving them in his wake.
They barely had time to process Jae's sudden departure when Daniel came sprinting toward them, his face pale with panic then skidding to a stop, gasping for air.
"Daniel! What the hell is going on?" Jackson demanded, his frown deepening.
"He—he's going straight to Myung…!" His voice was frantic. "To bring Jia back himself ... .we have to stop him now!"
Before either could react, Daniel took off running again, chasing after Jae like a man possessed.
"What?? After Jia's kidnapping, why is his brain not working properly after all?" Jackson muttered to himself before running after Jae and Daniel, Bella was jerked along with him, since he still hadn't released her elbow.
Jackson was focused on catching up as quickly as possible, barely noticing that he'd been yanking Bella along by her elbow. For a moment, she was too bewildered to protest, just letting his grip pull her along as she tried to make sense of the chaotic events unfolding before them.
••••••
Jae arrived at the casino's underground parking area. Heading towards his car, he checked his pockets but his face twisted into a furious snarl as he realized he couldn't find his keys. He slammed his foot into his car in a burst of rage as a frustrated groan escaped him before abruptly stopping and searching for an alternative. He knew the casino kept a spare car available with its key in case of emergencies, reserved only for staff and his own team.
Jae wasted no time, he spotted the emergency car, yanked the door open, and slammed his foot on the accelerator. The engine roared to life just as Daniel, Jackson, and Bella skidded into the parking lot.
The sound of tires screeching made their heads snap toward the sleek black car already pulling out for the exit. There was no question—it had to be Jae. They bolted toward it in desperation, but Daniel's eyes locked onto something else, the number plate. His blood ran cold.
"Oh SHIT! Jae, STOP—!" His voice tore through the parking lot as he sprinted after the car, arms waving wildly. "That car's out of order!!"
Bella and Jackson froze mid-step. "What?" they shouted in unison, shock ripping through them like a live wire.
At the same time, Jackson suddenly registered Bella's presence that his grip had dragged her this whole way. He released her elbow like it burned him.
Bella's face twisted with alarm as she took in Jackson's worried face. "We have to stop him!" she said, her voice frantic. "Or he could be in danger."
Jackson nodded grimly. "Come on. Quickly." He gestured urgently for her to follow, already racing toward his parked bike.
While Daniel came to a sudden halt, gasping for air. Jae's car had long since vanished from view. He then ran towards his parked car, just then his eyes flicked to Jackson and Bella, already mounted on the bike, while helmet secured only Bella's head by Jackson as there was only one.
Daniel and Jackson's gazes met, a silent agreement passing between them. They had to stop Jae before it was too late.
Without another second wasted, Daniel sprinted to his own car, engine roaring to life as he swerved out of the parking lot in pursuit.
They all started chasing Jae's car by increasing the speed of their vehicles as Jae had reached far away from them.
••••••
The rising sun burned away the last remnants of night, casting a golden glow over the Han River as commuters streamed across the bridge in their vehicles. But Jae saw none of it, his foot pressed harder on the accelerator, increasing the speed of the car.
His knuckles whitened around the steering wheel, every vein in his hands standing stark against his skin as memories of Jia's kidnapping played on a loop in his mind. Thinking that because of whom everything happened, a feral snarl ripped from his throat as his vision tunneled into shades of crimson.
"I will kill you, Myung." The vow tore from Jae's clenched teeth like a curse.
Then suddenly something strange happened which caught all his attention.
He realised that the speed of the car automatically was at its highest speed. He tried to decrease, but the car wouldn't slow down.
"What the f*ck is happening?!"
He tried to stop the car but saw that the pedal of the brake wasn't working, he continuously tried to stop but the car went out of control due to his repeated attempt. He was trying his best to control it but due to its full speed, he was finding it difficult. As the bridge was packed with vehicles, and if Jae's car collided with any of them, the resulting crash would be catastrophic, countless lives lost in an instant.
While Jackson, Bella, and Daniel were close behind, trying to close the gap between them, their hearts pounding as they watched Jae's car swerve dangerously.
Jae's eyes darted across the sea of cars ahead, families inside would be sitting, his jaw clenching tighter with every near-miss. The wheel jerked violently under his grip as if possessed by some unhinged force. It wasn't driving anymore, it was lurching, skimming over asphalt like a plane struggling to stay airborne before nosediving into chaos.
Meanwhile, Jackson and Daniel's concern skyrocketed. With no other choice left, Daniel slammed the accelerator, swerving past cars with desperate precision until his vehicle finally pulled parallel to Jae's.
The other drivers on the bridge gaped at their reckless speed, whispers turning to shouts as panic rippled through traffic. Then—police car sirens. Sharp and blaring in the distance, cutting through the chaos like a blade.
Many police cars barreled toward Daniel and Jae's car. No wonder they were all suddenly showing up.
Daniel's car stayed parallel with Jae's even as he shouted out, trying to get his attention. "Jae! You okay??"
Jae's gaze snapped to the car by his side, meeting Daniel's eyes for just a split second. His grip tightened on the wheel as they continued their perilous dance, dodging vehicles like a high-speed chess game.
"From which angle I look okay to you?" Jae roared back, his voice almost lost in the din.
Just then, a police car slid in on his other side, the police shouting out through the window.
"Hey sir! What happened to your car?"
"Brakes failed! Can't slow it down! Still speeding up!"
The Police face paled, "Oh gosh! with this traffic? We gotta stop the car NOW or people are gonna die!"
Then suddenly they all saw something that made their heartbeat and breathing stop for a moment. A massive truck and a school bus crawled forward in the lane, completely unaware of the disaster speeding toward them. The road had no gap left, nowhere for Jae to swerve without causing a massacre.
Daniel's breath lodged in his throat as he choked out, "There's... no space left."
"Sir, try to reduce the speed or else your car will collide with them and many children will die due to collision."
"I SAID NA THE SPEED IS NOT DECREASING!!!" Jae shouted, getting frustrated.
"So I don't see any other option but to stop your car by shooting and puncturing your car's tyre."
"Who made you the police after all? Why didn't you think about this earlier? There's no space on the road! Even if you shoot now, my car's not gonna stop fast enough. It'll keep going—"
"But Jae... we don't have any choice here. We have to take the chance. We gotta risk it." Daniel's voice cut in, urgent and worried.
More Panic surged through the atmosphere, as Bella and Jackson also noticed the truck and school bus ahead of Jae's car.
As Jae stared at the bus, kids inside, laughing, oblivious, his pulse pounded like a drum in his ears.
"I won't gamble with their lives."
His gaze flicked to the bridge's edge, the dark void beyond it where the river churned below. This was such a time in his life where he had to take a split-second choice, risk Jia's rescue… or save these innocent lives right now? But the thing that became an obstacle in this dangerous situation, was his out of control car.
Jae's gaze flickered to the empty passenger seat to his side, his lips twisting into a bitter, resigned smile, as if someone was sitting there, but in reality there was no one.
Then, without hesitation, he wrenched the wheel hard toward the bridge's edge.
The car shattered through the railing, soaring for one weightless moment before plunging into the churning river below. A deafening crash of water erupted, waves surging violently as metal and man disappeared beneath the depths.
Witnessing Jae's this dangerous stunt to save the childrens, everyone Jackson, Bella, Daniel and Police's heart clenched. Due to sudden fear thinking about Jae's death their eyes remained wide. They all immediately braked their vehicles in the middle of the road before getting down from them and running towards the edge of the bridge.
The group stood frozen at the edge, gazes glued to the water like it could offer any answers. Jae was gone. Not even a ripple disturbed the surface.
But Jackson refusing to accept it, muttered hoarsely, "We have to save him…he can't die,"
"Send rescuers NOW." The police officer roared, taking control, gesturing to his police force. After hearing the command of their senior officer, they quickly leaped into action.
Soon Jackson and Daniel also set out to find Jae into the river without wasting any further moment.
The atmosphere there was such that even those who didn't know Jae, their mood was tense—a heavy mix of fear and hope.
The air was only filled with terror.
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