Just like his body, Hanbin's eyes froze in place and not even the sight of Tae-Oh's arrogant triumph managed to bring him back. He stood there, motionless, in front of the guy who continuously tried to get on his nerves.

 

Tae-Oh's unshaped eyebrows and cropped lips suddenly curved upwards, displaying the joy of an enemy after the battle is won meanwhile his tattoos, piercings and scars made the whole body look like a manifest against the society he has been raised into.

 

Hanbin released his jacket's collar just to grab my hand and pull me closer to him.

 

''Let's go.'' He softly whispered before our fingers intertwined into a tight hold. 

 

A small drop of sweat slid down from his temple and curled under his jaw before he quickly rubbed it off with his shoulder. I was about to say something but I swallowed my words when he raked his eyes over my face. His gaze ensnared mine and it felt like we couldn't look away from each other.

 

''I wonder if you ever get high into my eyes just like I always get into yours...''

 

  My stomach twisted when the smell of fresh blood and sweat smashed me. I burrowed my face into Hanbin's shoulder and rushed past Tae-Oh, hoping that the air would stop aching my nostrils once we get further.     ''You won't get there in time.'' He monotonously said, adjusting the messy collar of his jacket back to its normal spot.     Hanbin's deep distrust towards the speaker made him ignore the words and continue his way until we have been forced to stop. Five men with black masks appeared and sprouted us between the walls of the buildings, blocking the only way out from that place. We were clearly outnumbered by Jiyong's men and no matter how much Hanbin hated the situation, he knew that there was nothing he could do about it.     "I will teach you how to win a game of chess.'' Hanbin squeezed his eyes and clenched his fist at the sound of those words. "First, you eliminate the peons who are willing to protect the king. Then..." He suddenly paused in the middle of the sentence just to get in front of us.  "... you kill his beloved queen.'' He snarled, placing both of his hands on my shoulders. ''And in the end, you chase the lonely king... When the king is trapped by the enemy with no available escape route, all you have to do is to say: checkmate.''     Tae-Oh last word synced with the sound of a gun and creaks of the wheels. The screams and cheers of joy hummed in the air between us for a few seconds, making me realize that Tae-Oh was right...It was too late to stop the race now. I turned my head to check if Hanbin was alright but, I saw only the perspiration of panic and guilt planted on his forehead.     His eyes darkened as he edged closer to Tae-Oh whose large hands were now painfully gripping my shoulders. A yelp found its way out of my mouth when he dug his fingers even harder into my frozen skin.      ''First of all...'' Hanbin calmly started to say before he shoved a ruthless punch into Tae-Oh's stomach, leaving the tattooed monster knelt down in front of us. "Bow to my queen. Secondly...'' Another hard punch in the face made Tae-Oh fall down helplessly in the mud. ''If my brother ever dares to touch my bestfriends... I will make sure to eliminate all his peons starting with you