P R O L O G U E

“!” Jiyong groaned when a bullet grazed his upper arm. He fired back, but the culprits were fast enough to ran to their car and drove away from his house. Cursing loudly, he grabbed his keys on the center table and ran to his motorbike. Thankfully, it was midnight and the road in Gangnam village seemed like of a ghost town already, and no vehicles will ever hurdle him if he drives real fast. He wasted no time. He accelerated the engine in full speed, and followed the car until he kept enough distance with it. The car then screeched into a halt loudly in the middle of an empty road, after he shot its back tires.

Four men hastily emerged from the car and scampered away, while detonating him with bullets. One had successfully hit his front wheel, which caused his big bike to stumble down and thrown him out on the ground. 

“Ugh!” he grunted. 

He touched his pocket to search for his cellphone to call for backups, but he instantly cursed upon realizing that he unfortunately left it in his house. Left with no choice, he stood up and ran after the men, staggering, enduring the stinging scratches and aching body he got from his stumbled bike. 

Automatically, he stopped with brows knitted together upon setting his feet in the dark. He lost the men and he's in the middle of nowhere. He didn't know where he was, though, he was sure he didn't drive that long. He wasn't just sure if he's in the middle of forest or he trespassed someone's backyard. Left with no choice, he hesitantly walked the dark path. Luckily, the half moon was bright enough to provide him enough light source to see at least the tall trees above.  

He carefully watched his steps, trying not to make a sound as much as he can. His focus was on the ground he became oblivious of his surrounding, and didn't hear the movements from his right side.

“Hhhmmp!” His eyes widened in shock as his steps abruptly halted when someone suddenly latched him from the back, locked his neck and covered his mouth. 

Instantly, his heartbeat raised erratically, thinking that he's probably caught by the four men, which supposedly be the other way around. It's his job. What would be his father's reaction once he knew about this? He will ruin their family reputation and be the shame for them. Resisting to be captured, he stashed his body but to no avail. The person behind him was strong enough to keep him tucked. 

He was about move again, but his eyes abruptly widened and a gasped escaped his mouth, muffled by the palm covering it when a loud gunshot resonated somewhere quite far from where they were. 

“ing pesticides. I'm gonna kill them!” a woman's voice emanated making him scowled. 

‘A woman?’ he thought confused. 

He may not saw the faces of the four thefts, but by their big features, he could tell that they are men, unless they are body builders. Tightening his hold to his fourty-five caliber gun, he waited for the perfect time to turn the table. However, it didn't came though, because another gunshot roared, taking his attention away. And the woman behind him angrily spat profanities, cursing those said pesticides she called. 

“You're not one of them, right?” she queried almost a whisper on his left ear.

Goosebumps ran down his spine, not because of how cold and sharp her voice was, but because of a tingling sensation that brought by her breath behind his ears. That was his soft spot. Shutting his eyes, he just shook his head, even though he didn't know what she meant. He was alone when he got there afterall. 

“If I caught you lying, start praying that those pesticides will help you”

He shook his head again, this time vigorously. He wanted to tell her that he's after them, but her palm was covering his mouth, hindering him to even open it. 

The woman then sighed and loosen her hold to his, giving him the opportunity to raise his gun. However, before he could fully lift it, she immediately grapped his wrist and twisted his arm in an incredibly fast pace, causing him to let go the gun with a painful grunt. 

“You think you can escape me?”

He blamed his slowliness with his bad condition. If only he wasn't wounded and beaten up, he could've turn the table swiftly. Unfortunately, he's whole body was aching, and so thus the graze of the bullet in his upper right arm, which bled more after the woman twisted his scraped arm.

His grunts muffled as he tried to jerk his arm from her hold. 

Silently, the woman let his arm go and stepped sideways, dragging him. She pushed his back on the tree, too fast and too hard that shocked the hell out of him. 

Mouth finally uncovered, he painfully groaned loudly. With shut eyes, he felt like his body will break into pieces. 

“Name,” she commanded, bringing back her arm on his neck, while the other was holding his wrists upward. She wasn't contented with it, she also s