Chapter 24 - Escape (Complete)
“Hoo….”
He sweeps back his sweat-matted golden hair with one hand. This is probably the first time he's sweated this much in his current life. Well, except for those rough romps with Min Eunjeong. But those don't count.
He straightens his disheveled clothes, ruined from her rough grip, and glances down at Min Eunjeong, sprawled out on the ground.
“Kkh, guh…. Eugh.”
Surprisingly, Min Eunjeong hadn't died from the shock. Sure, blood was pouring from her ears like she was on death's door, but if someone found her soon enough and left her be, she might just pull through.
This woman really isn't human.
Even hearing it described would rupture an eardrum—the gunshot blast, right up close, amplified a thousandfold. Any normal human would've dropped dead on the spot. But Min Eunjeong, without so much as earplugs, just collapsed, twitching sporadically. (Though, as mentioned, both eardrums were blown out.) Her eyes had rolled back, so she was out cold, deep in unconsciousness.
“Alright then.”
Click. This time, he presses the barrel not to her arm, but to her bleeding ear canal. His finger settles on the trigger again.
If bullets can't pierce skin, just shove them through an already open hole. And conveniently, there's something perfect for the job right here.
“Farewell.”
The time he'd spent with her was short if you called it short, long if you called it long. Yeah, bad blood counts as blood, right? Their meeting hadn't been pleasant, but a goodbye seemed fitting. Oh, but with her eardrums burst, she probably couldn't hear it anyway.
With that lame joke in his head, he starts to squeeze the trigger, firing the shot.
“….”
Or tries to. But his finger feels like it's locked behind a heavy deadbolt—it won't budge.
What the hell kind of feelings does this woman inspire that I can't even do this simple thing? All he had to do was pull the trigger….
“Damn it….”
In his past life, this was routine, like grabbing a bite. He'd done far worse without blinking. And now he's getting cold feet over mercy? No way. He wasn't about to turn hypocrite now. He'd slaughtered plenty of innocent superhumans without a second thought—didn't have the guts for one woman? Pathetic. Even he could see how idiotic it looked. If his loyal brother Dmitri were alive, he'd be laughing his ass off, shaking some pricey vodka bottle around.
“Hoo….”
A deep sigh escapes him unbidden. His trembling hand lowers the gun.
And then, randomly—though he'd mentioned it before…. She has the face of a classic beauty. Yeah, like those K-pop stars from his childhood TV days.
Did that face ever look that lewd?
At a glance, she looks like an innocent girl, but once sex started, she turned into some lascivious demon, manhandling his small body every which way….
But even then, it wasn't something he could call bad, not even as empty words.
Yeah, that was it. Sure, he'd whined like a kid getting a shot—“No, stop”—but once things got going, he'd bucked his hips and dove into every filthy act.
Haa…. Fine. Just this once, I'll let her live.
It wasn't weakness. He could gun down a random passerby without hesitation—he was that ruthless. But Min Eunjeong was… a special case.
Yeah. Once I get stronger, we'll throw down again.
He'd beaten her with some unmanly trickery, a cheap win against a woman. Was that real victory? No, he'd lost—mentally, physically… well, physically he won, but whatever. Point was, he didn't deserve to kill her here.
“Ahem. Live well.”
He gazes at her pitiful, collapsed form. She probably couldn't hear him. Still, he offers the kindest words he can muster. No obligation, but he wanted to.
“Hoo.”
He turns and walks away slowly. His feet feel glued to the ground. But he had to go. He knew how cool it was to know when to walk away.
Oh, right. Just in case, better call 119 before he leaves.
***
“Hii, hiiik!”
“Don't look back. Drive to the address I give you. Unless you want a bullet in your skull.”
Having picked a random cab on the street, Ivan greets the driver not with a card or cash, but by jamming a cold black pistol against her head.
Even if the driver was a superhuman, at this range, Ivan was faster—and could blow straight through her skull for an instant kill.
The terrified cabbie trembles like a leaf, slowly lifting her hands from the wheel.
“A-address? B-but this is Sky Island, they say it's a bad area, we don't go there much….”
“Don't talk back. Shut up and drive. Before I drill a new hole in your ugly mug besides your eyes, nose, mouth, and ears.”
“Y-yes….”
The driver starts off slowly, and Ivan pulls the barrel from her head to let her focus. Though he keeps it trained on her to prevent any funny business like calling the cops.
Villain Hotel, huh….
Not long after dropping Min Eunjeong, a message had popped up suddenly in his Status Window. He summons it again to check.
Ivan Sergeevich Ivanots, you are invited to the villains' hideout, Villain Hotel!
Click the message to confirm the detailed address.
Password: One glass of whiskey—no, make it three.
A gathering spot for all the so-called villains?
Perfect timing. With nowhere else to go, this was an ideal new nest.
The address was on Neo Seoul's Sky Island, supposedly rarely used now. Some sector must still be running that sketchy, unstable floating rock instead of scrapping it.
Well, East Asia sector never had those crashes like back home.
Sky Islands were massive artificial landmasses levitated into the air—manmade terrain to expand usable land. Various sectors had competed to build them back in the day. But after the tragedies in Moscow and LA, safety concerns killed the practice.
So that's why they built a hotel there?
Smarter than he thought. Remote, uninhabited—no one would suspect it.
But a whiskey password….
Been ages since he had a drink. This little body couldn't even buy a beer, let alone booze. Brimming with anticipation for his long-overdue drink, Ivan heads to the Villain Hotel on Sky Island.
“Ugh….”
With an unexpected passenger in tow.
***
Hero Association.
Over 32,000 staff on payroll, with 10,000 possessing unique abilities. Unless you combined all 17 provinces of the China sector, nowhere in the world rivaled this Korean sector HQ for hero numbers.
“Team leader, I'm here.”
And in this prestigious organization, one woman had been two weeks late.
In a place ranking top for integrity and work hours, this took guts—transcending all common sense.
“Eunjeong, you trying to get yourself killed?”
Kim Chaemin, in snazzy glasses and a sharp black suit, rubbed her temples in agony.
“What the hell have you been doing for two weeks?”
“Told you, I was on vacation.”
“Without a word to me? Hey, you're a civil servant. Civil servant. Not a freelancer.”
“Overtime every day—who's the real civil servant? No wonder you're single.”
“Hey!”
Like she'd shoved the Yoannis Declaration up her ass! Chaemin glares at the rudely emboldened Min Eunjeong, ready to yell.
“Write a report by end of day. This insolence—”
“Team leader, instead of the report, I'll go A-rank. That settles it, right?”
“...What?”
A-rank hero. Not just a shiny title. They wielded massive influence in the Association, overseeing entire cities—not mere districts or wards. The responsibility was immense, comparable to a brigadier general in the military.
“Huh, what's with you? You always bitched about the hassle and refused. Not ditching the report over one sheet, are you?”
“Too public here—I'll explain later.”
Chaemin smirks and presses on.
“Fine. But A-rank means starting your own department in your name. You cool with that?”
“Yeah, no problem.”
“Hmm….”
“Oh, one more thing.”
Min Eunjeong locks eyes with her former team leader. The intense gaze makes Kim Chaemin look away first.
“A-rank gets command over investigations for a 'specific villain,' right?”
“Uh? Y-yeah?”
“Got it. Thanks for everything, team leader. Heading out early today.”
“Wait, promotion isn't instant…. Hey! Finish your work first!”
Min Eunjeong strides out without a backward glance. Clutching her chest—ablaze with liberation and desire—she grins brightly.
“S-senior, something good happen?”
A man from the same department breaks the blissful silence….
Tch, a guy.
Min Eunjeong wrinkles her nose. Look at him fumbling like a wimp.
“Yeah.”
Now that she'd known Ivan, no other man registered as male. Her cold reply was kindness enough.
“R-really…? Uh, wanna grab drinks to celebrate? My treat!”
“No.”
“...Pardon?”
“Don't wanna drink with you.”
Her blunt tone and dry voice—pure dismissal of a worthless male. An instinct to block inferior genes.
“...O-oh, right, got it…. Sorry, I'm clueless, haha….”
The old spinster Min Eunjeong would've jumped at the chance. Not now. She'd tasted a real man.
Wait for me, Ivan….
Soon. She leaves the crestfallen man behind and heads out.