Chapter 145
Chapter 145
Translator: Penny
Chapter 145
"Shouldn't we run away right now?" Ryu Jaehee whispered, his voice trembling as he grasped the situation.
Kim Dobin, already in a state of panic, stood frozen, his face ashen white.
"If all three of us run at once, we won't know who the gunman will target. Stay close together for now."
To be honest, I was terrified having a gunman behind me, but I couldn't show my fear with my younger brothers beside me. If I showed any sign of anxiety, their mental state would completely collapse.
Still, I had something prepared for moments like this. I tried to act calm as I reached into my jersey pocket, but I froze.
Shit, where did it go...?
My hands trembled as I stared into the empty pocket.
To hide my shaking hands, I kept them shoved deep in my pockets while racking my brain.
When did I drop it? Was it because I left the pocket unzipped?
Meanwhile, the man following us was closing in. As the distance narrowed, Ryu Jaehee and Kim Dobin gripped each other's hands tightly, shivering.
Wait a minute... this isn't a Gun-Permitting Country. How the hell does that bastard have a gun?
The man finally caught up, pointing the gun at us and shouting something.
At such close range, the gun barrel felt like ice against my skin. I shoved the Maknae Line behind me, their bodies stiff with fear, and scanned the assailant.
The assailant's build was small enough to overpower, but the gun he held was the problem.
Just then, a shiny sticker caught my eye, affixed to the gun's barrel. The moment I saw it, my tension eased, and I could roughly guess what was going on.
"Go ahead, shoot," I said to the assailant with a crooked grin.
Beside me, Ryu Jaehee panicked.
"Hyung, are you crazy? Why would you provoke someone with a gun?!"
"He probably doesn't understand Korean, right...? Shouldn't we just give him the money and whatever else we have and run...?"
"Guys, this isn't Gun-Permitting Country."
"Then what is that?"
"A fake."
As I slipped my hand into my pocket, the assailant's threatening voice grew louder.
Ignoring him, I pulled out the can of cola I'd carelessly shoved into my pocket and repeated, as if hammering in a nail:
"That's a prop gun I brought."
Still keeping my finger on the trigger, I watched the raving assailant for a moment before popping open the cola and spraying it squarely into his face, aiming for his eyes.
As the assailant screamed and clutched at his eyes, I twisted his arm to subdue him and snatched the prop gun. I spun the gun once in my hand and said:
"Sorry, but props have to be returned."
Let's see if he knows it's a prop or not.
When I pointed the gun at him, the assailant panicked at the sight of the barrel aimed his way. He stumbled backward before bolting away in a frenzy. He clearly hadn't known it was a prop.
As the assailant vanished, Kim Dobin slumped to the ground, his legs giving way beneath him.
"Hyung, you can't just collapse here! Get up! At least make it to the hotel before collapsing!" Ryu Jaehee forcibly pulled Kim Dobin to his feet.
"It's okay. I've got this," Kim Dobin said, hooking his finger through the gun's latch and spinning it lightly. Ryu Jaehee noticed a sticker on the barrel and asked, "Wait, isn't that a prop from our music video?"
"Yeah, I told them I'd return it in Korea since the hotel area has a bad reputation. I brought it for self-defense."
"Wow, I was totally freaked out thinking it was a real gun!" Ryu Jaehee wiped his chest and blinked. "But why was our music video prop in that guy's hands?"
"I brought it just in case, but it must have fallen out of my pocket, ha ha. Who would have thought someone would pick it up and try to blackmail us?"
As I laughed, Kim Dobin tore at his hair and shouted, "I'm so confused! Should I be grateful to Eden Hyung, or resent him for bringing a prop gun and causing this whole mess?"
"Hey, kid, he chased off the robber, so you should definitely be grateful."
"Yeah, let's thank him, Hyung. After all, Eden Hyung was the one who realized the gun was fake first and told us, and he's the one who disarmed and subdued the guy."
"Is that right?"
Kim Dobin tilted his head, seemingly convinced by my and Ryu Jaehee's words. Ryu Jaehee turned to me with sparkling eyes and said, "Anyway, Hyung, you were so cool."
"Uh, yeah, sure."
Thank goodness I was wearing a jersey. It hid the cold sweat soaking my back from the Maknae Line.
Holy shit, I thought I was about to get shot in a foreign country and end up on the news!
As soon as we got back to the hotel room, Kim Dobin rushed over to Seo Yehyeon. It was clear they'd grown much closer while practicing their dance together.
"Yehyeon Hyung! You won't believe what happened! Seriously, I thought I was going to get shot today! I almost traded my midnight snack for my life!"
"This isn't a Gun-Permitting Country, you know."
Seo Yehyeon smoothly snatched the snack bag from Dobin's hand and dodged away.
Seo Yehyeon examined the bag, her expression shifting subtly as she took in the snacks we'd bought: chips, bread, jerky, beer, and other treats. When she spotted the soda, she raised an eyebrow, a look of surprise on her face.
"Oh, you didn't get any soda after all? Good job, seriously. Though, when you think about it, it's kind of absurd to praise you for something so trivial..."
The three of us exchanged glances. We had bought soda, but we'd had to give it up to that jerk with the gun.
"What happened? I told you to be careful—the area isn't safe." Gyeon Hajun patted Kim Dobin on the back, his voice gentle.
"No, some crazy guy with a gun started following us! Turns out it was Eden Hyung's gun... but it was a fake! So Eden Hyung took him down...!"
"What are you babbling about...?"
Seo Yehyeon raised an eyebrow, twisting open the cap of a bottled water provided as a hotel amenity while Kim Dobin rambled incoherently.
"I ran into an armed robber, but it turned out to be my prop gun I'd dropped. I managed to subdue him, retrieve the prop, and get back to the hotel safely."
At my concise explanation, Seo Yehyeon's jaw dropped.
"Wow, you almost traded your midnight snack for your life! If you'd just stuck to your diet, none of this would have happened."
"Eden."
The moment Gyeon Hajun called my name, I knew it. Ah, here comes Gyeon Hajun's lecture mode.
Pretending to hang my head in shame, I frantically texted Ryu Jaehee:
Kid, what time is it in Korea right now?
Seeing the text message on his phone, Ryu Jaehee shot me a look that seemed to say, "Why are you texting me when you're right here?" I gestured urgently for him to reply.
Ryu Jaehee: 8 PM
Me: Hurry, open the OA App!
Ryu Jaehee: Huh? Why suddenly?
Me: Just open it! Now!
This was the only way to escape Gyeon Hajun's nagging.
"Okay, protecting the younger members is good, but why the prop gun—"
"Hi, Ilmongs! Long time no see!"
Ryu Jaehee, his hood pulled up tight and Kim Dobin's cap firmly on his head, greeted the camera while looking at his phone screen. Gyeon Hajun's head snapped around reflexively.
"Jaehee, did you start the OA Live?"
"Y-yeah..."
Gyeon Hajun narrowed his eyes as he watched Ryu Jaehee nod and desperately signal me with his eyes.
Gyeon Hajun snatched my phone and quickly scrolled through the recent chat log with Ryu Jaehee.
With a look that said he had plenty to say but wouldn't, Hajun tucked the blanket over Seo Yehyeon's head, completely covering her face. He then grinned at Ryu Jaehee's phone screen and greeted him warmly.
"Hello, Daydream. Long time no see."
"Hi, Daydream," Seo Yehyeon said, her hand peeking out from under the blanket to wave. When Ryu Jaehee personally adjusted the camera to focus on her, she mumbled, hiding her face under the blanket, "Ah, I'm not wearing any makeup right now..."
"Daydream, I missed you!" Hajun suddenly shoved his face into the phone screen, blocking Yehyeon from view, and waved his hand wildly.
Thanks to you, I finally escaped Gyeon Hajun's nagging! Thank you so much! Kim Dobin, who had slipped beside me with his hoodie pulled up, also greeted Daydream with fervent enthusiasm, echoing my heartfelt exclamation.
"Me too! I missed you so much! I really thought I'd never see Daydream again!"
Why? What happened???
Didn't the kids leave for their music video shoot?
Our precious Kang-Gang-Jwi, what's wrong? ㅠㅠㅠ
As the chat log scrolled rapidly upward, Kim Dobin excitedly recounted our late-night snack run gone wrong—when we encountered an armed assailant—while I chimed in with occasional details.
Wow, it's so lucky the prop gun had a sticker on it... Otherwise, we wouldn't have known it wasn't real!
Still, it's amazing how he shielded the younger members behind him in that situation.
[True Leader]
[Wow... he sprayed cola into his eyes...]
[How big is Yoon Leader's liver?!]
"Anyway, that's how we made it back safely. It was a close call."
"The manager? We snuck out to get late-night snacks without Manager Hyung knowing, haha..."
Gyeon Hajun's expression, already grim from my brief summary, grew increasingly serious as Kim Dobin embellished the story with a bit of exaggeration.
And after OA Live ended, I found myself enduring an endless lecture in the hotel room Gyeon Hajun and I were sharing.
So OA Live was just like taking a stone from the bottom to prop up the top? Either way, it always ends with a lecture.
It was my first weekend back in Korea after my comeback.
"Oh, it's starting!" Ryu Jaehee shouted, and the members began filing into the living room one by one. I sprinted forward, faster than anyone else, and tried to snatch the remote from Ryu Jaehee's hand.
"Ah, don't watch it!" I yelled, struggling desperately as Gyeon Hajun and Seo Yehyeon grabbed my arms before I could even touch the remote.
"Hyung, if you're acting like this, we're even more curious and want to see it more!"
"Exactly! What scene could be so desperate that you're trying so hard to stop us?"
"There's nothing special! It's boring! Just don't watch it!"
"If there's nothing special, why are you trying so hard to stop us?"
Images flashed through my mind: me nervously singing along to military songs, bursting out of CBR training covered in tears and snot, getting drenched in muddy water during Trench Fighting, and rappelling training.
Shit, I have to stop them from watching this at all costs.
📝 Translator’s Note:
You may notice that certain lines or phrases in this novel appear both in their original Korean (or Hanja) form and in English translation.
This is intentional — these phrases are classical idioms, divine titles, or poetic expressions that carry layered meanings.
To preserve their original tone and authenticity, the raw text has been kept for reference, while the English interpretation is provided right before or after it. This helps convey both the literal and cultural nuance of the original work.
but if you guys dont want tha raw for future chapters or my future other novels u can just text me on discord and say so discord name Mr.Penny