Jeong Taeui's hand slipped and he accidentally honked the horn. On the empty, dark road
with no cars ahead, the horn blared loudly for a moment.
"Yes, he's the worst. Capturing people and...!"
It seemed that old resentments were surfacing as Christoph, who was drowsily sleeping,
mumbled with a voice full of hatred after hearing that name.
Jeong Taeui clutched his chest, trying to calm his racing heart, and looked back into the
rearview mirror. It turned out to be someone else.
"YA, DON'T scare people like that...!"
He was about to yell but stopped when he saw Christoph staring at him.
"If you want to break an arm, use a hammer, not your bare hands."
Even while lying still with a pale face, Christoph's eyes were sharp. Jeong Taeui felt slightly
intimidated.
"Why are you looking at me like that... did he really break your arm?"
"Yes, he even gripped my bare skin. I told him not to touch me."
"If he listened to you, he wouldn't be him."
But breaking with bare hands is better than using a hammer, Jeong Taeui thought.
Meanwhile, Christoph ground his teeth in anger from the back.
"Yeah, after I escaped, I planned to crush him into a pulp. But my client betrayed me, so I
had to deal with that first and forgot about dealing with Rick. Wait, turn the car around."
"What?! Why turn around?!"
"Remembering something means it has to be dealt with. Rick said he would chase us, right?
So just turn around for a bit. Turn the car."
Jeong Taeui almost slammed on the brakes reflexively. He instinctively turned to look at
Christoph.
"Deal with Ilay right now?"
"Who else?"
Jeong Taeui stared at Christoph for a few seconds, then turned back and stepped hard on the
gas."We'll talk about this again when you're fully awake. For now, let's just keep going."
"What are you saying? I said turn the car around!"
"What do you think is soaking your seat?"
"What?!"
Christoph looked at Jeong Taeui with a confused face, then looked down. After feeling the
seat a few times, he looked up again.
"Blood... Just because of this? Even if I'm lightly injured, if there's something to do, it must
be done first."
Christoph spoke with a sigh as if he couldn't believe it.
His words were more coherent than his wound. Jeong Taeui thought it would be nice to
punch him in the mouth a few times and pressed harder on the gas.
At that moment, the lights from the car behind faded and another set of lights appeared.
Another car was approaching.
"Turn around."
"We'll turn later, for now, let's keep going."
"Do what needs to be done as soon as you remember."
"With that body?!"
"Even if injured, work needs to be done."
"Says who?!" – Jeong Taeui couldn't help but shout.
He was frustrated that Christoph didn't take care of himself, didn't see the situation, and faced
anger so foolishly.
Sometimes he felt Christoph was isolated from the world. Though in the same space, there
seemed to be a thin membrane separating him from the world.
When Jeong Taeui shouted, Christoph was silent. He looked at Jeong Taeui with surprise,
then mumbled uncertainty.
"Says who... It's just how things are."
His dejected voice sounded as if he didn't know what to do within that thin membrane,
making Jeong Taeui silent for a moment.
"People with abnormal psychological structures are really detestable..."
He mumbled to himself in a voice so soft it was barely audible.Sometimes unexpected things make people sad. It's better to be angry or have a headache.
"Hey, turn around anyway..."
"We'll meet again soon. Just a bit more and we'll be there."
Jeong Taeui spoke coldly. He glanced at the dashboard.
Although not on the Autobahn*, the speed had exceeded 120 km/h. Yet the car behind—not
the one before, but another—was right behind, not backing off. It seemed to be running at a
very high speed as well.
(*
Autobahn
is the highway system in Germany famous for having sections without speed
limits)
...Suddenly, Taeui had a bad feeling.
While arguing with Christoph about his unreasonable stubbornness, the other car was
gradually closing in.
"Wait... We're running at 160 km/h! How fast is that car going?!"
Jeong Taeui reflexively pressed the gas hard. The speedometer needle slowly crept up. But
the car behind did not back off; it seemed to be getting closer.
Jeong Taeui widened his eyes, staring at the rearview mirror. It was dark, so it was hard to see
clearly. He waited for the moment when they would pass under a streetlight, but the speed
was too fast and the car windows were tinted* darkly.
(*
Car window tinting
: a thin film applied to car windows to improve features like heat
insulation, UV protection, and privacy)
"Damn it."
He mumbled a curse.
Finally, Christoph noticed the car chasing them and turned to look.
"What is that, it's here already? Good."
"Good? No, it's not him! That's not him!"
Contrary to Christoph's calm tone, Jeong Taeui shook his head and pressed the gas pedal to
the floor.
At that moment.
The phone placed next to the gearshift started ringing. It was Christoph's phone. Jeong
Taeui's hand gripping the gearshift tightened.
Christoph reached for the phone while Jeong Taeui glared at it angrily."Hello. ...Yes, that's right. ...Yes, long time no see. What's up?"
Hearing Christoph's lethargic voice from behind, Jeong Taeui pricked his ears and then
calmed down.
Whoever called at this time couldn't be a normal friend. Anyway, if they called at this hour
when everyone was sleeping, they weren't ordinary friends.
Jeong Taeui thought so and focused all his attention on the rearview mirror.
Even though he had floored the gas pedal, the distance between the two cars didn't increase.
He could only maintain the current distance with all his efforts.
"Hey Young Soo. Kim Young Soo... Jeong Taeui."
After calling Jeong Taeui a few times, Christoph gently patted his shoulder. When Jeong
Taeui looked into the rearview mirror, he saw Christoph still holding the phone to one ear and
speaking.
"The speed limit on this road is 100 km/h. There will be a speed camera ahead. If you don't
want to get caught, slow down."
"Now's not the time to worry about speed... …What?"
Jeong Taeui turned sharply to look at Christoph. Chris, with his usual indifferent face, tapped
lightly on his phone.
"Rick said so. Huh, it seems he's worried about you. He never calls me, but this time..."
"You just met him, how can you say it's been a long time?" - Taeui
"It's been a long time since he called." - Chris
"TELL HIM TO SLOW DOWN!!!!" - Taeui
"Huh? …Did you hear that, Rick? Taeui said to slow down—.…His brakes are broken. This
is troublesome."
The distance between the two cars had closed enough to see the driver.
Although his face wasn't clearly visible due to the tinted windshield, his hands tapping
rhythmically on the steering wheel were. His characteristic gloves seemed to smile
mischievously.
And the moment those gloves appeared, it looked like they were smiling.
Unexpectedly, those gloves tapped on his car's windshield.
And… unbelievably, the windshield began to crack like a spiderweb from where it was
tapped.*Bang Bang Bang*
- After three more taps, the rear windshield shattered more than halfway.
Through the remaining broken glass, Jeong Taeui could clearly see the driver's faint smile.
The driver was wearing crescent-shaped headphones* and muttering something. He seemed
to know Jeong Taeui was making eye contact with him. He gently waved with a friendly
smile.
(*Crescent-shaped headphones designed for cars usually offer comfort and convenience for
drivers while ensuring safety)
Ilay Riegrow.
Jeong Taeui had forgotten that terrifying strength due to living in peace for too long.
"He said he's happy to see you sooner than expected."
Christoph still mumbled nonchalantly, making Jeong Taeui want to stop the car and punch
him.
…Damn it.
"Should we stop the car?"
Jeong Taeui mumbled to himself. His foot automatically lifted off the gas pedal. As the
engine noise seemed to die down, Christoph excitedly shouted from behind.
"That's right, stop! Now we don't need to turn back anymore!"
Seeing Christoph excited but slumping back into the seat, Jeong Taeui slowly pressed the gas
pedal again.
Damn it. Stop? Stopping would mean at least one person, or maybe more, would die.
Moreover, thinking rationally, the remaining distance wasn't far.
Right ahead, just crossing the bridge over the river and driving for a few more minutes would
reach the mansion. Even if they had to meet right after passing through the mansion gate, it
would be fine. Just getting inside the mansion gate would be the end.
Jeong Taeui decided to keep driving.
Thinking rationally, the probability of being caught in the remaining distance was 50-50. In
reality, the probability might be higher, but with a monster behind, it was 50-50. If he didn't
slow down, they might still escape.
The engine roared fiercely as Jeong Taeui couldn't press the gas pedal any further (it was at
maximum speed). If an accident happened, it would truly be the end… While thinking this.
Suddenly, there was a strong impact on the rear of the car, shaking Jeong Taeui's entire body.
"WHAT THE–…?!"Jeong Taeui rubbed his nose (which got hit), turned back, and was momentarily speechless.
From inside the following car, through the shattered windshield, a thick, large steel cable flew
towards them. At the end of the steel cable was a 50 cm diameter iron hook that struck their
trunk, deforming it and hooking into it.
The cable connecting the two cars made Jeong Taeui feel the heavy weight being pulled from
behind. Ilay had started braking.
"YOU SAID YOUR BRAKES WERE BROKEN!!!"
Even though he didn't believe it, Jeong Taeui still shouted, knowing Ilay couldn't hear him.
But even if he couldn't hear, Ilay was certainly laughing joyfully as if he had heard the shout.
"...Christoph, hold onto the handle!"
Jeong Taeui lifted his foot off the gas pedal a bit. Christoph raised an eyebrow, then looked
ahead at the approaching river. Across the bridge was a road almost cutting across in the
opposite direction.
Christoph understood Jeong Taeui's intention and frowned.
"Tae-ui, if we turn at this speed, we'll plunge into the river."
"Then can you unhook that iron hook?"
"...Never say I have no solution again."
Christoph clicked his tongue and gripped the handle tightly. At that moment, the phone rang
again.
Without looking back, Jeong Taeui held tightly to the steering wheel. Christoph mumbled
nonchalantly.
"Tae-ui, Rick said—"
Stop doing dangerous things."
"
Jeong Taeui instinctively stuck his head out of the car window and turned back to look. At
this speed, the wind pounded painfully against his ears. The man who just damaged his car
and hooked it dared to say that.
Certainly, Christoph thought so too. He listened to the phone with an expressionless face,
then glanced at Jeong Taeui.
"Really troublesome, really troublesome. If it were someone else, he would have laughed and
hooked the head... I won't answer his calls anymore."
Christoph spoke irritably and threw the phone away. The innocent phone slammed into the
front windshield and fell to the floor of the passenger seat. Christoph's fierce eyes glared at
Jeong Taeui."Before, when working with this guy, we encountered a similar situation. He told me to climb
the cable to get into the car ahead and catch the driver. At that time, the car was moving close
to 200 km/h."
"...And then?"
"I did it."
"Hey, what if the cable broke or the hook came loose...???"
"But now he's telling you not to do dangerous things." (.....Discrimination)
Hearing Christoph's sarcastic tone, Jeong Taeui felt uncomfortable and looked into the
rearview mirror.
He didn't know how deep the hook was, but to escape the following car, the cable had to be
cut first. In this urgent situation with not much time left, there was only one way.
But clearly, by normal standards, unlike these monsters, it was very dangerous. If he turned
the wheel at this speed to merge into a side road.... In the best case, it would only slightly
collide with the guardrail, denting the car in a few places and completely changing direction,
but… in the worst case, they would plunge straight into the river. Even if everything went
smoothly, a minor collision with the guardrail could still cause a serious accident.
When Jeong Taeui lifted his foot off the gas pedal, recalculating in his mind—"How many
years has it been since I turned the wheel like this?"—Christoph gently touched the back of
his neck and mumbled irritably.
"Alright, stop the car. I just remembered a few debts to settle with him, plus… I don't like
seeing you in danger. Not that I'm too worried but..."
Jeong Taeui looked at Christoph through the mirror in the car, seeing him turn his face
towards the window and mumble coldly.
Jeong Taeui felt slightly embarrassed, glanced at the mirror, then looked ahead a few times.
...Right. Thinking back, turning around might unhook the cable, but it would take more time
to reach the mansion. That certainly wasn't good for Christoph.
Maybe it was best to keep driving.
As he thought this and adjusted the steering wheel…
*********************
cable with his own strength instead of using a machine…>