"GET AWAY FROM HER!!" Kangwoo shouted, charging forward.
The biker turned around just as Kangwoo tackled him.
THUD!
Both slammed hard onto the asphalt, gravel spraying like tiny shards of glass. The biker groaned in pain. Kangwoo quickly crawled, reaching for the crowbar on the biker's hand, his grip landed on it, but the biker's grip held fast.
The rider forced himself upright, crowbar in hand.
They locked in a deadly tug-of-war. Kangwoo oblique kicked the biker's feet, sending him stumbling to one knee.
The biker quickly surged forward, grabbing Kangwoo's injured arm.
THUD! With a judo throw, he slammed Kangwoo onto the asphalt. Pain exploded along Kangwoo's back. He groaned as the crowbar was pulled out of his grip.
The crowbar rose, the sharp tip aimed right at Kangwoo's face.
CRACK! Kangwoo barely twisted his head in time, brushing past the sharp tip. Instinctively, he lifted his hands, gripped the crowbar hard again. The biker yanked back, dragging Kangwoo across the gravel.
Kangwoo got on his feet as they continued with the twisted game of tug-of-war.
The biker noticed one of Kangwoo's arm was out of place, so he immediately threw side kicks on his injured arm. Kangwoo clenched his teeth, refusing to release the crowbar. The biker's frustration grew; kicks came faster, harder, striking with rage.
Finally, Kangwoo screamed as he pulled the crowbar with all his might, pulling the rider forward. Kangwoo quickly leaned forward, and drove his elbow into the rider's helmet. CRACK! The impact staggered the biker, the crowbar slipped free of his arm.
Kangwoo lunged for it– but the biker quickly recovered his footings, swinging a brutal punch into Kangwoo's jaw.
THUD! Pain shot through his face. He hit the ground, groaning, breath ragged, clutching his arm.
The biker leaned down as he took the crowbar, approaching Kangwoo.
Kangwoo pushed himself behind with his elbow and legs.
Tap. His shoulder hit a solid object, he turned behind– it was one of the toppled motorcycle.
Kangwoo quickly got on his feet, pivoting as he ran past the motorcycle.
The biker lunged, thinking that Kangwoo was running to get his metal bat as he jumped to get across the motorcycle–
Kangwoo stopped right behind the motorcycle–
He jumped toward the mid-air biker, his shoulder going straight for the biker's chest with full force.
CRACK! His shoulder slammed into the biker's chest mid-air. The man's breath burst out in a grunt, something broke.
THUD! The biker fell, slamming his back onto the toppled motorcycle.
…
Kangwoo sank to his knees, shoulder flaring with a white-hot jolt of pain. For a whole second, he thought the fight was over.
…
Engines tore across the cracked road, vibrating through the soles of Kangwoo's boots, headlights bloomed on the horizon. A swarm of bikers were approaching, rolling like a living wave.
He pushed to his knees, then rose slowly, each step jagged, limping toward Darin.
Darin's eyes fluttered open. She saw Kangwoo from an upside-down angle, her head turned back, the morning light glinting on his battered form.
Despite the bruises, the exhaustion, Kangwoo still moved forward, his injured arm dragging at his side.
The world seemed to stretch, every detail was magnified… the gravel shards stuck to his bloodied hands, the sting of sweat in his eyes, the roar of engines like a beast's growl in slow motion.
Kangwoo sat down, lifted her head gently, letting her rest against his legs.
Dust spiraled in the air, sunlight catching on scattered gravel, the bikers' engines rumbling like distant thunder.
Her gaze shifted to the pack of riders, a wall of black jackets, each marked with the fractured wolf's jaw, tore toward them like a stampede, and then down to the metal bat lying uselessly far behind them.
"Hyung…" Her voice was a whisper, fragile against the growl of engines. "You can't fight without your bat."
He tilted his head slightly, pain pulling at his jaw, a thin smile breaking through. His voice was almost intimate in the chaos. "It's okay, Darin. Wherever this road ends… I'm with you."
The bikers surged past in a blur, each machine a living blur of motion, wind ripping at their clothes, gravel spraying like frozen sparks. Time seemed to snap back into real speed, the roar fading into the distance, leaving only the ragged echo of breaths.
Darin kept her eyes on him, memorizing his warm smile, the light tilt of his head, and the way his hand rested protectively near her.
The edges of her vision darkened, the world contracting to his steady presence. And then everything went quiet, like the world unplugged.