Chapter 87
Chapter 87
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 87
Chapter Title: A Fleeting Dream (1)
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There’s a common misconception people have.
The illusion that nights in the Middle East are warm.
What a crock of shit.
*Crackle! Snap!*
Kanghyeok had built a campfire with bushes, dry branches, and clothes from the corpses, and now held a cigarette between his lips.
Beside him, Leila and Aiden lay with their faces flushed red in the firelight.
*Fwoosh!*
“Hoo!”
Kanghyeok exhaled a plume of smoke and dusted off his bag.
The bulletproof case, impervious even to gunfire, had protected its contents, but the scratches left on its surface were strangely irritating.
“Ugh…”
A groan of pain.
Kanghyeok shifted his gaze to Aiden, who struggled to open his flickering eyes and looked up at the night sky.
“Wa… water.”
Kanghyeok opened the canteen beside him and slowly tilted it to Aiden’s lips.
“Pfft! Cough!”
“Endure it and drink.”
Kanghyeok held Aiden’s cheek and slowly poured the liquid from the canteen into his mouth.
It was a canteen taken from one of the terrorists’ bodies, but unfortunately, it wasn’t water.
The bastards had filled their canteens with either alcohol or just air.
“Damn it, water.”
“There is no water.”
Aiden drank the alcohol in agony, while Kanghyeok took a drag from his cigarette.
His gaze lingered on Aiden’s left hand, which looked as if it had grown two extra joints.
“My arm… I can’t feel…”
“Your arm’s still attached.”
Kanghyeok stopped Aiden from looking down at his left arm by grabbing his chin.
“Don’t look.”
That’s the thing about wounds.
Whether emotional or physical, looking at them only makes them feel worse. And if you see something like Aiden’s crushed left arm, an unbearable wave of pain is sure to follow.
“Nngh, ughhhh.”
Whether from the memory of the ambush or the pain itself, Aiden let out a series of groans before his eyes met Kanghyeok’s.
“What… what happened?”
Since it wasn’t a situation for formalities, Aiden’s question was short and to the point. Kanghyeok, for his part, dropped the corporate act and replied in his usual tone.
“They attacked, then retreated.”
“Damn it! Those bastards.”
Aiden didn’t ask any more questions, likely assuming the terrorists had retreated thinking everyone, including Kanghyeok and himself, was dead.
Instead, he asked something else.
“Are you… unharmed?”
“As you can see.”
“Lucky bastard.”
I agree.
Thanks to luck, Kanghyeok had died and still been given another chance.
His abnormally fast recovery had allowed him to drive the enemy off, when he should have been unconscious like Aiden and Leila.
“You’re not so different.”
“Heheh, what about the driver?”
“Killed instantly.”
Even as cold sweat beaded on his forehead from the pain, Aiden’s expression hardened, sinking like a stone cast into the deep sea.
“Were you close?”
“He was a subordinate of mine for a long time.”
That was reason enough to grieve.
Kanghyeok took out a new cigarette, lit it with the one he was smoking, and placed it between Aiden’s lips.
Aiden, apparently a regular smoker, accepted it without a word.
“We need to get back to base.”
“Then go.”
Aiden’s eyes darted toward Kanghyeok.
It had sounded as if he was telling Aiden to go back alone.
“Don’t be ridiculous. You and your secretary are coming with me.”
“We have things to do.”
“That’s insane! What the hell can a civilian like you do?”
“We’ll return after we rescue the hostage.”
It was then.
Aiden’s gaze wavered noticeably.
“You fucking idiot.”
“Were you always this foul-mouthed?”
“Shut up.”
Aiden clamped his mouth shut and said nothing for a long time. Then, his lips twisted as he shot Kanghyeok a fearsome glare.
“I have to contact the base. Rescuing the hostage is our job.”
“The job you were hired for was only to guide us.”
Act like a mercenary if you are one.
Kanghyeok conveyed this message with a calm gaze and continued.
“Besides, we don’t have time to wait for support.”
The enemy’s surprise attack had made him anxious.
It seemed the terrorists never intended to hand over Jeff peacefully.
Their goal was likely the money Kanghyeok had brought.
If so, Jeff might already be dead or on the verge of being killed.
The worst-case scenario.
And yet, a sliver of hope remained.
Sometimes, hostage-takers like these terrorists were the type to flex their military muscle, and those types often demanded more money.
It was a ploy used by those who wanted to appear like uncontrollable, dangerous madmen.
‘In this situation, Jeff might still be alive.’
In any case, it was clear they were out of time, so Kanghyeok refused support. Aiden’s mouth twisted in pain.
“You son of a bitch.”
“Give me the contact info for your mercenary HQ.”
“Quiet.”
Aiden snapped, his eyes bulging as if they might pop.
“I can’t just go back alone knowing you’re walking straight into a death trap.”
“So?”
“I’ll protect you until you get back.”
Kanghyeok glanced down at Aiden’s left hand, then curled his lip.
The searing pain screaming from that arm had to be extraordinary.
Aiden himself would know best that he needed immediate medical attention, and that delaying treatment could lead to permanent disability.
“Why are you being so stubborn?”
“I don’t like seeing people die.”
Aiden replied in a very subdued voice.
Kanghyeok held Aiden’s gaze for a while, the two of them conversing with their eyes alone.
That was the feeling.
He couldn’t understand Aiden’s unwavering determination, and Aiden, in turn, couldn’t understand why Kanghyeok was refusing his help.
“How long has it been since you were discharged?”
Aiden answered with a look that said, *What’s this all of a sudden?*
“Less than a year.”
Kanghyeok nodded in understanding.
‘So that’s why.’
Aiden was less a mercenary and more a soldier.
And breaking the stubbornness of a man like that isn’t easy.
“Do what you want. But if you slow us down, I’ll leave you behind.”
“Cocky bastard. Do you even know how to hold a gun?”
“Ha.”
Kanghyeok’s only reply was a bitter smile.
“Ugh.”
Leila groaned and began to stir.
“Excuse me.”
Kanghyeok handed the canteen of alcohol to Aiden and went over to Leila.
Leila blinked several times, like someone waking from a long sleep, then pushed herself up.
“Kanghyeok?”
She looked around, then sighed with an expression that said she understood what had happened.
“You’ve been through a lot.”
“Can you get up?”
Kanghyeok gave a slight nod toward Aiden. Realizing he was awake, Leila nodded and struggled to her feet.
She stumbled and sat back down. Kanghyeok draped her arm over his shoulder and moved away from Aiden.
He wasn’t sure what misunderstanding was taking place, but he could feel Aiden’s knowing gaze on the back of his head.
In any case, once they were far enough away, Kanghyeok looked at Aiden lying by the fire and spoke.
“You remember being ambushed, right?”
“Yes, though I don’t know why.”
“We have to track Jeff.”
Then they would naturally find out why the enemy had attacked.
Leila, having read Kanghyeok’s mind, nodded and shifted her gaze to Aiden.
“What are you going to do about him?”
“We’ve already talked. He’s coming with us.”
“What?”
As Leila gave him a questioning look, Kanghyeok shook his head slightly.
“He’s the only one who might know the way.”
“But taking him with us is…”
“He says he’ll protect us.”
Leila crossed her arms, watching Aiden and fiddling with her lip.
She looked like she wanted to say something, or perhaps was just organizing her thoughts.
“…I understand for now. But there is one thing that worries me.”
“What is it?”
“Can he walk?”
“His legs are fine. His left hand needs treatment, though.”
“If there’s a spare rifle, I can make a splint.”
“There’s one by the fire the terrorists were using.”
“Then when do we leave?”
“As soon as we’re ready.”
Leila swept her hair back, closing and opening her eyes.
*Clank.*
Picking up the terrorist’s rifle, Leila hesitated for a moment as she looked at Aiden’s left arm.
“What are you doing?”
Without a word, Leila shifted her gaze from Aiden’s arm to his face and stuffed a piece of cloth into his mouth.
“Mmph! Mmmph!”
“This will hurt.”
As Aiden struggled, Leila disassembled the rifle and placed the barrel under his left arm.
Then she wrapped it with cloth and used the rifle sling to bind his arm to the barrel, securing it so it wouldn’t dangle.
“Ughhh!”
Leila finished the job as quickly as possible.
After looping the sling around Aiden’s neck to hold his arm firmly against his chest, she removed the gag from his mouth.
Aiden glared after the silent first aid, but he obediently took Leila’s hand to pull himself up.
He tried moving his arm, then wiped the sweat from his brow.
“Not bad.”
“I heard you’re coming with us.”
“Are we leaving now?”
Leila said yes and handed Aiden his rifle.
*Click.*
Aiden slung the rifle over his shoulder and adjusted the strap so he could pull the trigger with one hand.
“There’s an abandoned building nearby.”
Leila and Kanghyeok, who was a little behind her, focused on Aiden’s words.
“The bastards might be using it as a temporary hideout. We should head there first.”
“Is that information reliable?”
“Trust me.”
Aiden began to walk, his steps somehow labored.
Leila looked back at Kanghyeok, who picked up the bag he’d set down and pushed sand over the campfire.
*Psssssh!*
With the fire extinguished, plunging the desert into complete darkness, Kanghyeok and Leila started walking, following Aiden’s lead.
*Scrape, scrape.*
Aiden walked with desperation.
His arm was a wreck, but his shoulders felt heavy.
‘I have to keep my head straight.’
The Kanghyeok and Leila he knew were civilians.
People who had nothing to do with firearms, moths drawn to a flame, rushing headlong to save a hostage named Jeff.
He was the only one among them who knew how to handle a gun.
With this thought, Aiden tenaciously ignored the pain in his arm and pushed forward.
After about an hour of walking, Aiden unconsciously raised a clenched fist and spoke.
“Stop.”
He then crouched low, pointing with his chin to a derelict house in the distance.
“Just as I thought. I can see a faint light from the window.”
Kanghyeok, who also spotted the car parked in front, spoke to Aiden.
“Wait here.”
“What?”
Not *I’ll* wait, but an order to wait?
“What are you thinking?”
“I’m going to get what we need. Painkillers too, if I can find any.”
As Kanghyeok and Leila prepared to move on without him, Aiden growled in the lowest voice he could manage.
“Stop, you idiots. Are you trying to get yourselves killed?”
“Aiden.”
Aiden looked back at Leila.
In contrast to the flustered Aiden, Leila’s face was calm.
“Consider what’s about to happen a one-night dream. Any mention of it will not be tolerated.”
“What?”
“I’m telling you to erase it from your mind. Completely.”
Just as Aiden’s expression went slack.
*Clack.*
Kanghyeok opened his bag and pulled out a rifle.
“What the…”
Aiden was stunned by the vicious-looking rifle—so brutal that the word came to mind reflexively—which Kanghyeok raised with practiced ease.
*Clack.*
Then he opened another bag.
This time, it was a pistol.
So at first, he wasn’t too surprised.
‘Wait, what model is that?’
But the fact that it was a pistol he had never seen before, with a tactical design that looked anything but ordinary even at a glance, kept Aiden’s eyes glued to it.
“I’ll need backup.”
Leila caught the pistol Kanghyeok tossed her and spoke cautiously.
“Am I cleared to use this?”
When Kanghyeok nodded, Leila loaded his pistol with careful, deliberate movements.
*Clack!*
At the sight of her fluid, natural movements, as easy as breathing, Aiden could only stare at Kanghyeok and Leila, thinking, *‘What the hell are these two?’*