Chapter 19 Gun
NINETEEN
GUN
“This is a bad idea.”
Elise sighs from where she stands at my sides, huge sunglasses on her face and a wide-brimmed hat on her head. “We have to keep KD in the loop on what’s going on. He has a right to know the Cheongryong now suspect him.”
I grunt my dissatisfaction with this entire plan.
Everything about meeting up with her ex-partner—and ex-boyfriend—feels like walking into a trap we’re setting for ourselves.
But Elise insisted KD deserved to know.
It’s late afternoon when we arrive at the neutral location we’ve chosen—one of Pangyo’s bustling retail streets where a café sits tucked between designer boutiques and electronics storefronts.
The area buzzes with enough foot traffic that we should blend in.
The café itself is quaint and cozy, all exposed brick walls and hanging plants that give it the kind of hipster charm Seoul’s young professionals flock to.
KD’s waiting at a corner table, his brawny frame folded into one of their minimalist chairs as he sips from the straw of a cold brew coffee. The cup looks comically small in his massive hands.
His face lights up the moment he spots Elise, genuine warmth and relief flooding his features before his expression sours when he notices I’m with her.
He was hoping she’d turn up alone so it could be just the two of them.
“I really don’t like this guy,” I mutter under my breath as we approach the table.
“Shhh,” Elise shushes.
We take our seats with me constantly scanning our surroundings. Even in Pangyo, even with Elise disguised behind sunglasses and a baseball cap, we have to be careful.
The Cheongryong’s search net is wide. It would only take one sharp-eyed foot soldier to turn this cautious meeting into a bloodbath.
“Are you okay?” KD asks immediately, his attention focused solely on Elise. I might as well be invisible. “Do you need help getting out of this situation?”
I scoff before I can stop myself. “And what situation would that be?”
“The situation you’ve got her in,” he snaps, sparing me a look of loathing.
“Please behave like adults,” Elise groans, pinching the bridge of her nose in obvious frustration. “I’m not in the business of babysitting grown men.”
KD leans back in his chair, still working on his cold brew coffee. “What’s this about then? What did you want, EQ?”
“We wanted to meet so you could know the latest of what’s going on... since it involves you.”
Elise goes on to explain how the Cheongryong are convinced he’s the real assassin they’re hunting, and how his face is probably plastered on wanted posters throughout their network by now.
KD just shrugs like she’s telling him the weather forecast.
“So? Me and Vanguard are after them. You used to be too, EQ, ’til you started sleeping with the enemy.”
I slam my hand down on the table hard enough to rattle every cup and saucer in a three-foot radius.
The noise is even louder than usual in such a small café, drawing stares from other patrons and baristas.
I couldn’t give less of a shit about our cover right now.
“Hey!” I snarl, half rising out of my chair. “Don’t you ever disrespect her, or I’ll cut your fucking tongue out.”
KD holds my eye contact, completely unfazed by the threat. “I’ve always respected EQ. It’s you that doesn’t… which is why she’s been bruised and hunted ever since you two got involved. I always protected her. Can you say the same?”
“Get up. We’re going to the alley outside. I’ll show you exactly how I can protect her.”
“Stop!” Elise interjects. “People are staring. If you two don’t stop right now, I’m out of here, and you can argue over air.” She turns to KD with fire in her eyes. “And you’ve never protected me. Because I don’t need anyone to. I stand on my own and always have.”
KD’s jaw drops open, suddenly mortified. “I didn’t mean it to sound like—”
“We thought it was fair to keep you in the loop about what to expect from the Cheongryong,” Elise cuts him off. “Now that that’s out of the way, I have nothing else to say.”
She starts to stand, but KD hasn’t had his last word yet. He can’t help getting another judgment in.
“You’re making a mistake being with him, EQ. And if you go rogue against the Cheongryong, then you’re compromising the agency’s operation. I’ll have to take it to the director.”
“Are you threatening to snitch on me?” Elise spits out in disbelief.
“Yes,” KD answers without hesitation or apology. “If it means protecting you from him and them.”
Elise makes a sound of pure disgust. “Then we’re not only no longer partners, KD. We’re not even friends.”
She storms out of the café, leaving behind a trail of shocked silence from the others seated around the room.
I follow only after shooting KD one last glare that promises this conversation isn’t over.
Not by a long shot.
If he does anything to hurt or ruin Elise in any way, I’ll do more than slam a pipe down his throat like I did that Jeokpa.
Outside, Pangyo’s afternoon bustle swallows us up, the crowds impressive given how far out we are ’til the holiday season.
I catch up with Elise, reaching for her by the elbow.
“Slow down or you might mow someone over,” I tease.
She gives me a look that’s half angry, half amused, like she’s fighting the urge to smile despite the fury still radiating from her in waves.
I dart in front of her, walking backward through the plaza because she clearly needs some cheering up after that disaster of a meeting.
“Is that a smile I see on the Ice Queen’s face? I think it is. So it’s possible after all. What do I win if I get you to laugh?”
Elise rolls her eyes with theatrical exasperation. “First I’m a feline. Now I’m an Ice Queen?”
“I’d say it’s fitting. Felines are Ice Queens, Goyangi.”
We slow our pace halfway down the plaza as my hands slide around her waist and we come together for a series of small kisses.
When we break apart, she’s looking at me like I’ve performed some kind of magic trick.
“I don’t know how you do it,” she murmurs. “But you do melt the ice I have. You might be the only one who ever has.”
“I’m going to take that as a compliment.”
“It is. Except when you get in pissing contests with other men.”
“Can I help it if I’m territorial?”
“Sounds like a dog marking his territory.”
“I’d say that’s fitting. You’re the feline, and I’m the canine.”
We’re teasing each other now, huddled close in the middle of the retail chaos. It starts to feel like we’re two normal people flirting as we spend the afternoon at a shopping district, not a pair of fugitives being hunted by a mafia syndicate.
“Black Suit!” yells someone in the distance. “Black Suit!”
Reality comes crashing back in at his calls.
We both turn to see a Jeokpa across the plaza, one hand clutching a baseball bat and the other pointing directly at us.
We’re completely fucked. He’s sprinting toward us, shoving people out the way and making quick ground.
“Shit, c’mon.” I grab Elise’s hand as we do our best to lose him and take off down a narrow passageway between shops.
If I remember correctly, this passage leads straight onto the main street.
But when we reach the end, there’s chain-link fence blocking our path. A bright orange sign announces ongoing construction that might as well be our death warrant.
We’re trapped like rats in a maze, the Jeokpa’s heavy footsteps pounding after us. It’s only a matter of time before back up shows.
That’s if he hasn’t called them already and notified them just who’s with Elise Quinn.
“Climb it,” I tell Elise, nudging her toward the fence. “I’ll handle him.”
“Gun—”
“GO!” I bark over her.
I whip around in time to dodge the Jeokpa’s first swing of his bat. His eyes widen when he sees my face.
“Yongsa Rhee! You’re with the Black Suits? The Cheongryong-je and his lieutenants will hear about this!”
A bloodthirsty grin spreads on my lips. “Who’s going to tell them, jjilbaengi? You?”
The soldier glares at me, insulted by me calling him a pathetic wimp. His nostrils flare before he goes in for the attack.
He swings the bat at my head. I dodge at the last second. It’s such a close call the wind from his weapon ruffles my hair.
I come back up and deliver a punch to his temple. He stumbles backward, nearly knocked the rest of the way off balance. Shaking his head to clear his vision, he comes at me again in a series of wild swings.
I’m forced to stay one step ahead. I jump, duck, and swerve like I’m performing some new dance.
But he finally gets a hit in when I wrongly anticipate his next swing.
The bat connects with the side of my head in an explosion of agony. I stagger sideways into the wall, my ears ringing like whistles.
The pain is paralyzing. It’s like the wires in my brain have been set on fire and I can no longer do anything but process how badly my skull hurts.
“Gun!” I hear Elise’s voice in the darkness. Then comes the clang of the chain-link fence. She’s scrambling back over to make it to me.
I push through the pain, forcing myself to shake off the crushing pressure on my brain.
It’s just in time for the Jeokpa to raise his bat for another strike.
I grab the weapon mid-swing, locking us into a deadly tug-of-war. We push and pull in our fight for control. The solder is determined, but he’s still no match for me.
My size and strength give me the edge. I shove him backward until he’s the one slammed against the wall.
I crack my elbow into his face and break his nose. He drops to his knees as I wrench the bat from his weakened grip and then bring it down on his head.
Over and over and over again.
I beat him until his body stops twitching and his pulse fades. The baseball bat slips from my grip and clatters to the ground beside his body.
My fingers come to my temple and are immediately coated in blood. I wipe it away and stagger toward the chain-link fence, my skull still ringing with pain.
“Gun.” Elise rushes to me as soon as I’ve managed to climb to the other side. “We have to get you emergency treatment. Your head is bleeding.”
“Loft,” I grunt. “We’ll figure it out there.”