Taesung
A bang.
Loud and heavy, it makes me sit up abruptly in bed. I quickly scan the room, but I'm alone. I frown. Then I realise, that I'm not in my own room. It's quiet here. I look next to me, but Hyunjin isn't in the room with me. I wonder if I imagined the sound, but the oppressive silence is broken by another noise.
Shattering glass.
I throw off the blanket and sit up. I listen, but I can't make out the muffled sounds behind the door. I walk quietly to the door. Hyunjin was in a bad mood today, but could his nightmare have been so bad, that it turned into anger and he decided to destroy his own house?
I don't think so.
I press my ear against the door and close my eyes, trying to focus on what's going on behind it. The sounds are coming from downstairs, and there's more than one person making them. There are several people. I don't have a good feeling about this.
I open the door and I am about to run out into the hallway to find out, what's happening. But I don't even make it over the threshold before a hard blow lands on my face. My head flies back and I fall to the floor. For a brief moment, my vision goes dark, and colourful lights flash in the darkness. I blink and the darkness dissipates just in time for me to focus on the masked bastard with a giant knife glinting in his hand. At the last moment, I dodge his blow. The tip of the knife sticks into the ground next to my head and I feel a burning pain in my right ear.
Without wasting any time, I punch him in the face. I hit him on the side of the head and my hand tingles, but it's enough to free myself from his grip. I stand up, ready to kick him, but I don't get the chance. Another masked villain appears in the doorway and runs towards me. Are you fucking kidding me? He shoves me hard with his shoulder, sending me flying over the bed and onto the floor as though I weigh nothing.
The three of us stand facing each other, ready to destroy each other. The first man, who attacked me with a knife, aims at me from across the bed, the second man walks around. I don't have much room to manoeuvre — there's a wall behind me and a window next to me. Suddenly, I have an idea.
It was a mistake to attack me from across the bed. I bend down, grab the big guy by the shoulder, catch him under his arse and throw him out of the window. Shards of glass scatter across the room's carpet and cut my foot.
I don't have time to defend myself against the other guy before he hits me hard in the face and sends me flying towards the bed. I roll over and land on the floor. I spun around and got to my feet. I clench my fists in front of my face, lower my chin and protect myself.
„Come on, you fucking bastard," I challenge the thug, who lunges at me instantly. He pushes off the bed and jumps into the air. I wait until the last moment, then dodge him and attack. He parries my attack and pulls a knife from his chest harness — the same size as his accomplice's. Fuck!
He swings his arm from side to side, trying to hit me. My hands are covered in scratches, but I manage to deflect all of his attacks. I wait for a moment when he seems less on guard and lunge at him. I grab his arm, twist his hand and slam it hard against my knee. However, he is holding the knife very tightly.
He punches me in the side. I tense my muscles and take his blows one after another, repeatedly manoeuvring his hand until the knife falls to the floor. I turn towards him and land a right hook to his lower jaw. I feel my fist crack. His head flies back. I take advantage of the situation and kick him twice in the ribs with my shin.
On the third attempt, he blocks my kick with his hand and hits me in the side with his other fist. I am forced to retreat, hoping that he hasn't broken any of my ribs.
„Had enough, asshole?" He asks me in Korean, rubbing his chin after my previous attack. At least I hurt him somehow.
„How about you?" I return his question and lunge at him. I land one blow after another, which he successfully dodges until he makes a mistake and gives me a chance to hit him hard. I kick him hard in the knee, hear a crack and see the bastard yelp in pain.
If I keep this up, I'll beat him. But I'm at a slight disadvantage. I'm skilled in martial arts, and we train with Hyunjin — but he's a trained killer. And a brute. He attacks with a single goal.
To kill.
This means that, to defeat him, I have to attack him with the same goal in mind.
He lunges at me, limping, and keeps hitting me over and over again. I defend myself, but at one point I find myself at a stalemate, with him holding my arms so that I can't move them. I kick him in the stomach, but he doesn't even flinch. I look up into his eyes and see something flash in them. Then he headbutts me.
And again. I fall to the ground. Blood runs from my nose.
He releases one of my hands, but I'm slightly disoriented after his headbutt to my face and don't think to use it. He punches me. I collapse onto the floor, breathing heavily. I start to feel like I won't be the one leaving this room alive. He straddles me. I come to my senses when I hear the whistling of a knife blade through the air. I instinctively raise my hands to protect my face. He tries to stab me, but I push against his hands with all my might. It's exhausting. I'm getting tired, and I can feel my muscles weakening. The blade of the knife is dangerously close to my left cheek.
The bastard exerts even more force, pushing me much harder. My hands can't take it anymore and give way. The blade pierces my cheekbone and I growl in pain. He sneers.
„You're gonna die, motherfucker," he laughs in my face as he makes a sharp cut up to my throat. I scream loudly. This fucking hurts like hell. The wound is deep and hot blood runs down my face.
I take in as much air as I can. I try to fight him off, roaring loudly as I try to throw him off me. I feel him rise and myself win, but then he moves his hands to the side unexpectedly and my hands fall. He stabs me in the left shoulder with a knife. Deep and painful. Tears spring from my eyes. I'm really going to die here today.
I hit him hard in the throat and he immediately starts coughing. I hit him again and again, throwing him off me. I reverse our roles, sitting on top of him just as he did to me before. He tries to grab my hands, but I hit him with my head. I hit him hard in the nose twice and break it. He grabs his face and that's my chance. I pull the knife out of my shoulder, blood spurts out and runs down my body. The rule when stabbing someone with a knife is never to pull the knife out. But what was I supposed to do?
I gripped the knife tightly and, without hesitation or resistance, stabbed him in the side of the neck. The blade cuts through the flesh so smoothly and deeply that I can see the tip sticking out the other side. He starts to choke on his own blood.
„You were right, you're going to die, you fucking bastard." A sneer escapes my lips. Just to be sure, I twist the knife, ending his life. I feel no resistance, I have already killed. His life fades away and his body relaxes. I pull the knife out — it might come in handy later.
I stand up, my legs are shaky, but I manage to keep my balance. I leave Hyunjin's room. I hear heavy footsteps in the hallway. I turn right and see another hooded figure. They're running towards me. I push him aside with my shoulder and throw him over the railing onto the glass stairs, which shatter into tiny pieces. My legs give way and I lean on the railing, holding a knife, and look down at the mess.
Broken furniture is scattered everywhere, along with lots of hooded figures dressed in black. My gaze meets Hyunjin's. He has just defeated his opponent and I breathe a sigh of relief when I see that he is alive. Everything goes black before my eyes and the last thing I hear is Hyunjin whispering my name.
... ༺༻ ...
BLOOD DEBT (피의 빚)