Chapter 92
Chapter 92
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 92
Chapter Title: Save Yi Bo-ra
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Cheon Mun-sik and Park Deok-gu jumped in surprise and whipped their heads around.
Na Gang-in was looking down at them from a higher spot.
The flustered Cheon Mun-sik raised his shovel upward.
"What the hell is this guy!"
Park Deok-gu pulled a jackknife from his pocket as well.
"Shit! Why's there a person here!"
"You shouldn't be the one saying that! Scouting ahead is your job! You said no one comes here!"
"I checked every landowner in this area! This isn't even a path people use!"
Cheon Mun-sik and Park Deok-gu were both con artists, but they each handled different roles.
Park Deok-gu's specialty was finding neglected land. That's why he knew this area well.
Cheon Mun-sik was the lead actor who found suckers to buy that land and tricked them. Park Deok-gu would assist from the sidelines during those deals.
Yi Bo-ra lay on the ground, her hands and feet bound.
Her eyes had been blurred by tears at first, seeing only shadows. It took a few blinks to make out who had appeared.
Her eyes widened. It was Na Gang-in.
She cried out desperately.
"Gang-in oppa! Save me!"
Cheon Mun-sik's face twisted.
"What? Boyfriend? You came all the way here looking for that girl?"
Park Deok-gu swore.
"Shit. Got yourself a real hero of a boyfriend."
Killing intent flashed in Cheon Mun-sik's eyes as he glared at Na Gang-in.
"Deok-gu. One or two, doesn't make a difference. Let's kill this bastard too."
"Make sure it's on record. You're the one who said to kill him this time."
Yi Bo-ra turned her head to look at the two men.
Cheon Mun-sik held a shovel, and Park Deok-gu had his jackknife.
But Na Gang-in was empty-handed.
She knew he was a martial arts master. Still, she had no idea how he'd fare against armed opponents in a real fight.
Joy and worry flooded her in equal measure.
'Can he win? He has to.'
She grew anxious. If he won, she'd live. If he lost, so would she.
In her desperation, she cheered him on with all her heart.
"Win and I'll kiss you!"
Na Gang-in staggered at her words.
Cheon Mun-sik thought that was his opening.
The moment Na Gang-in wobbled, he swung the shovel and charged. Getting hit properly by the blade would injure as badly as a knife wound.
He had deliberately staggered to show an opening to Cheon Mun-sik and Park Deok-gu.
But only Cheon Mun-sik took the bait. Park Deok-gu was still near Yi Bo-ra.
Time for a new plan.
Cheon Mun-sik charged like a wild boar.
Na Gang-in kicked off the ground and leaped upward. His vantage point was higher than Cheon Mun-sik's to begin with. Thanks to the terrain, even a light jump sent him soaring above the man's head.
Cheon Mun-sik frantically swung the shovel upward.
Na Gang-in kicked the shovel mid-air. It flew forward, forcing Cheon Mun-sik to stagger ahead as well.
Na Gang-in vaulted over him and landed.
Park Deok-gu, watching from behind, yelled.
"He's behind you!"
Cheon Mun-sik tried to spin around, swinging his shovel.
But before he could even halfway turn, Na Gang-in drove a powerful back kick into his back.
"Kek!"
Cheon Mun-sik screamed and flew forward, crashing into the dirt.
The instant Na Gang-in kicked him, Park Deok-gu spun around.
'Take Yi Bo-ra hostage!'
Park Deok-gu thrust his knife toward her and shouted.
"Move and this girl..."
Na Gang-in had jumped over Cheon Mun-sik to close the distance on Park Deok-gu.
Before Park Deok-gu could fully extend his knife, Na Gang-in was there, grabbing his nape and yanking him back hard.
"Guk!"
He was pulled faster than he could thrust. The blade pulled away from Yi Bo-ra.
Na Gang-in dragged him back then hurled him aside.
Yi Bo-ra saw Park Deok-gu's shocked face as he flew.
She let out a small sound.
"Ah..."
Park Deok-gu landed near Cheon Mun-sik.
Na Gang-in turned back toward the two men.
Now, Yi Bo-ra could see his broad back.
Na Gang-in strode toward Cheon Mun-sik.
Cheon Mun-sik, sprawled face-down, struggled to his feet. He turned toward Na Gang-in and raised his shovel.
"You bastard. I'll kill..."
Na Gang-in lightly tapped Cheon Mun-sik's hand.
"Ack!"
The shovel flew from his grip.
Na Gang-in tapped his leg next. Cheon Mun-sik's body lurched forward.
"Ugh!"
Na Gang-in kicked up into his stomach.
Cheon Mun-sik floated upward before crashing down.
Na Gang-in nudged the unconscious man's body with his foot.
Cheon Mun-sik rolled into the pit he'd dug himself.
Park Deok-gu hadn't taken a full back kick like Cheon Mun-sik, so the impact was less.
He recovered after hitting the ground and immediately hurled his jackknife backward—not to attack Na Gang-in, but to aid his escape.
The knife flew slowly. And Yi Bo-ra was in its path.
Her eyes went wide.
Na Gang-in extended his left hand sideways and flicked the knife. It veered off and embedded in a tree.
Yi Bo-ra sighed in relief, then urgently shouted.
"That guy's running!"
"I've seen you fight plenty, but never heard you curse before."
Na Gang-in picked up a small stone from the ground and hurled it at the fleeing Park Deok-gu. His form mimicked a pitcher's pickoff throw.
The stone rocketed into the center of Park Deok-gu's back.
"Kek!"
Park Deok-gu screamed and pitched forward.
Na Gang-in walked over. Park Deok-gu was already out.
Na Gang-in dragged the unconscious man and tossed him into the pit.
Yi Bo-ra still lay there, hands and feet bound.
Na Gang-in knelt in front of her and peeled the tape from her cheek first.
"You okay?"
Yi Bo-ra finally realized it fully.
"Ah... I'm alive now, right?"
"Of course."
Her tension shattered. Tears burst forth.
She sobbed openly, without restraint.
Na Gang-in untied the tape binding her limbs as he said,
"Crybaby."
Now free, she half-clung to him and wept.
Na Gang-in let her cry it out.
Once she'd calmed down, he asked,
"Can you stand?"
"Yeah."
Na Gang-in stood first. As Yi Bo-ra stretched her legs to rise, she let out a short yelp.
"Ow!"
Na Gang-in touched her ankle to check.
"How rough did those bastards handle her to sprain an ankle? Maybe I should kick them a few more times."
Yi Bo-ra shielded her head with her hands.
"Sniff. Yeah. My head got hurt too."
Na Gang-in checked her head. There was blood.
"Doesn't look too bad, but get it checked at the hospital anyway."
To go to the hospital, they had to get down the mountain first.
But Yi Bo-ra's sprained ankle made walking the trails impossible.
Na Gang-in looked troubled.
"We need to get down, but with your ankle..."
Yi Bo-ra quickly thrust both arms toward him.
Shin Eun-ha waited for Na Gang-in at the base of the mountain.
She had parked her car next to Cheon Mun-sik's.
Na Gang-in had deduced Yi Bo-ra was in the mountain from the bloodstains in the trunk.
Bringing Shin Eun-ha up would slow the search, so he'd gone alone.
Shin Eun-ha waited below, ready to jump in her car and flee if she spotted anyone suspicious.
Her anxious wait ended when she saw Na Gang-in descending. She sighed in relief.
"Phew."
Na Gang-in carried Yi Bo-ra piggyback down the mountain.
Yi Bo-ra spotted Shin Eun-ha and burst into tears again.
"Eun-ha! I thought I was gonna die. I really thought that."
"Yeah, yeah. Get off Gang-in oppa's back first."
"My ankle hurts."
"I know. Sit in the back seat of my car. Plenty of room. Hurry up and get down."
Na Gang-in briefly explained what happened up top, then asked,
"Police report?"
"I called 112 the moment you headed up."
She hadn't just waited idly.
Cell service was spotty on the mountain. She'd handled communications from there.
"And Detective Park's already on his way."
Moments later, Detective Park Ki-jeong arrived.
He checked Yi Bo-ra's condition first.
"Yi Bo-ra-ssi. Police here. You know me, right?"
Yi Bo-ra nodded, sniffling.
"Yeah. The detective ajusshi from our neighborhood."
"You're safe now. Police are here."
"I've been safe since Gang-in oppa arrived."
"Pardon? Oh. Right, of course."
Park Ki-jeong hadn't fully bought their story when they reported her missing. He'd investigated just in case.
But seeing her here confirmed it.
'She really was kidnapped.'
He was curious.
"Na Gang-in-ssi. How did you know a crime was happening here? Pocheon wasn't even on our radar."
His team's chief hadn't been idle. He'd made calls from the station and uncovered Cheon Mun-sik's con artist background.
He'd also learned of Cheon Mun-sik's recent frequent visits to Pocheon.
Tipped off, Park Ki-jeong had sent a colleague to the actor linked to Yi Bo-ra's scandal and come to Pocheon alone.
'Where in this huge Pocheon do I even start? This is hopeless.'
But right after arriving, Shin Eun-ha had called him here.
Park Ki-jeong asked,
"How on earth did you two know to come here?"
Na Gang-in deflected.
"Came for some mobile galbi."
"Pardon?"
"Saved Yi Bo-ra-ssi along the way. Lucky break."
Park Ki-jeong narrowed his eyes.
'Not luck.'
Considering Na Gang-in's past feats, "luck" didn't cut it.
'But I can't press too hard.'
Na Gang-in had rescued the kidnapped Yi Bo-ra, after all.
Even if he'd bent a few laws finding her, Park Ki-jeong wasn't eager to dig.
But one thing nagged at him too much.
"How'd you find this mountain?"
A dirt road connected the first empty house they'd checked to this spot.
Na Gang-in pointed at it.
"Followed the fresh tire tracks."
His Combat Support AI, Jeon Ji-in, had tracked them.
Park Ki-jeong eyed the road. Tire marks were visible.
"Just from this? It's barely noticeable."
"That's why you look closer."
"Okay, but the mountain? You found her deep inside. How, with it being so vast?"
"Tracked their footprints—crushed grass from carrying something heavy."
Jeon Ji-in had followed those.
Yi Bo-ra protested softly.
"I'm not heavy."
Park Ki-jeong stared at Na Gang-in, bewildered.
"You some kind of wildlife tracker? How do you even distinguish that?"
"Worked, didn't it?"
Soon, local police arrived. They panicked at the sight.
"Huh? Is that Yi Bo-ra?"
"Shin Eun-ha's here too!"
"Hey, call for backup. And an ambulance. Hurry!"
Park Ki-jeong checked Cheon Mun-sik's car interior.
There was a phone inside.
"How many phones does this guy have? That fancy decorated one's probably Yi Bo-ra-ssi’s. This old one's a burner, I bet. Explains why location tracking pinged his Seoul place. He left his real phone there."
Moments later, the 119 ambulance arrived.
Yi Bo-ra moved to it with the paramedics' help.
Before boarding, she grabbed Na Gang-in's hand tightly.
"Oppa, come with me?"
Shin Eun-ha pried Yi Bo-ra's fingers off one by one.
"I'll visit later. Let go. Good girl? Hospital first. They're waiting. And stop calling him oppa."