SOG Ch 75

Won Seong-il’s breath quickened as he didn’t know what to do. Anger boiled within him at the hostage who had caused him such turmoil and anxiety.

Fuck! Won Seong-il silently cursed and kicked the chair. In a state of panic, he forcefully dragged the irritating hostage out.

Slap!

Before he could think, his slap flew out like a habit.

The hostage’s pretty mouth, which had already been ruined by the slap an hour ago, tore once again. Slap, slap, slap! He struck the hostage’s head repeatedly until a clear thought finally entered his mind.

Fuck, he should have punched him…!

The slapping sound seemed too loud. Won Seong-il glanced at the door and threw the hostage away. He hurriedly spread out the code and documents on the floor. He continuously used the flash and collected pictures.

Then the sound of footsteps approached.

Damn it. he swore silently as he hurriedly wiped his hands. He barely managed to take the final picture. He stuffed the documents hastily into a gap at the bottom of the desk drawer and simultaneously opened the door to the study.

“… Won Seong-il?”

The person who sensed a suspicious presence and came to visit was the guard.

He was perplexed as he gazed into the dimly lit study. Won Seong-il was holding on to someone who was rolling on the floor. Soon the guard’s eyes widened. The missing hostage was there.

“Hey, Kang San.”

Won Seong-il called on the guard. He frowned at the guard, who now had an accusatory look in his eyes.

“Did you know the hostage was hiding here?”

But the guard didn’t just let it slide. The guard, who had seemed dazed, slowly regained focus and asked with a serious expression.

“… But Seong-il, why are you here?”

Won Seong-il’s nose twitched at those words. Neither the leader nor that guy cared about the actual important hostage, and he didn’t understand why they bothered him with trivial details.

“I came back because I was afraid of pissing myself, you bastard. Why are you making a big deal out of this? Just call the leader. Tell him I found the hostage.”

The guard rolled his eyes at Won Seong-il’s words but quickly called the leader.

Won Seong-il chewed his lips nervously. His agitated eyes returned to the drawer where all the documents were hidden. He sighed and shifted his focus towards the hostage, who was trembling.

‘…I have to make him keep his mouth shut.’

He feared this bastard might say something unnecessary when the leader returned.

Won Seong-il eventually chose violence. Slap, slap, slap, unfiltered violence was poured out on the hostage again. The guard who was on the phone with the leader looked back in surprise, but Won Seong-il was consumed by the desire to blow the hostage out of his mind in order to prevent him from even murmuring a word.

Ruthless violence paralyzes the brain. Won Seong-il himself had been beaten as he grew up, so he knew it well. It would be a relief if the mild-mannered hero Seon Min-yeol never beat him to the point pissed himself.

A joyful smile flickered on the hostage’s lips. He was about to strike the unblemished cheek, which had been smooth and unmarred.

The palm that was cutting through the air stopped.

Won Seong-il’s eyes twitched. When he looked closely, he saw that the hostage was smiling heartily, with a red face that had started to swell.

‘Have he lost his mind?’

Why was he laughing like that? Won Seong-il made eye contact with the whimpering and laughing hostage. The pitch-black irises gleamed like obsidian beneath the disheveled mop of hair, filled with laughter that seemed almost demonic. The eyes did not appear to be intimidated by the violence. The hostage sucked the blood from his mouth’s corner. Won Seong-il felt an unexplainable shiver down his spine.

Something happened in an instant.

The hostage naturally wrapped his arms around Won Seong-il’s waist. Won Seong-il couldn’t avoid it because it was so unexpected and quick as if he had planned it.

The hostage reached for the handgun with a touch that seemed all too familiar. Unlocking the safety, chambering a round, and setting the striker all happen in a single fluid motion.

Seon Jae-chan grabbed the gun faster than anyone else and pointed it straight at Blink without stopping. It all happened in just one breath.

Even before firing, there was not a single hesitation.

…!

The gun just fired. A gun with a silencer flashed and burst into flames in the darkness, with only light from the crack in the door. The scarlet light flickered and faded like lightning.

Time seemed to have stopped.

Blink stared surprisedly at the drops of his own blood splashing into the air. His body was slowly falling backward.

In contrast to Blink’s slow movement, Seon Jae-chan’s hand remained steady.

Jae-chan pointed the muzzle down without slowing down. Click! The gun with the silencer fired.

He shot the approaching guard directly. He knew precisely where and how to shoot to immobilize a person, causing no harm to their life. Just as he had studied how to safely parachute from a helicopter.

A moment later, Won Seong-il and the guard were writhing on the floor.

Jae-chan lowered his gun. Ugh… ugh… Pain and confusion mingled as groans escaped from their mouths.

Stains of blood traced paths on the floor, leaving behind messy tracks. Seon Jae-chan spat a mouthful of blood into the spot, adding his trace. He immediately approached Won Seong-il and kicked him several times.

“Argh… ugh…!”

As an A-class Esper, Won Seong-il tried to resist, but there was nothing he could do in front of a loaded gun. Besides, his injuries were very severe.

Avoiding vital areas, he shot two more bullets into the man, rendering him completely silent. Seon Jae-chan shook his aching head once again and, filled with resentment, delivered several more sharp slaps to the man’s face.

The third purpose of being brought here.

To capture Won Seong-il if possible.

Excessive defense, unintentional manslaughter. If he was unlucky, he might end up in prison for manslaughter, but Jae-chan couldn’t let go of a high-ranking member of Black Swan. He was even the one who had taken Woo-jin’s eyesight.

‘I want to kill him as I thought of that.’

A morbid desire for vengeance swelled up once again. Bzzing, the abnormal buzzing reached the point where even a constant screeching wouldn’t faze him.

Because Won Seong-il has not yet committed all of those things.

Seon Jae-chan needed to be satisfied with incarcerating him in the Esper Detention Center.

Jae-chan gave a final kick to the unconscious bodies. He held his throbbing head, reminiscing about the previous moments.

He couldn’t comprehend why he had laughed amidst Blink’s relentless blows to his face, the burning sensation on his cheeks, and the feeling of his bones rattling.

What a lunatic.

Seon Jae-chan did not forget to look at the unconscious guard. Crazy bastard. Jae-chan didn’t know why Won Seong-il didn’t use the gun. Jae-chan wondered if he was trying to humiliate him, but slapping him in the face was the height of inefficiency. It would have been far safer for the perpetrator to kick or shoot him.

In fact, the gun used in the hostage situation was hanging proudly at Won Seong-il’s side. He reached out his hand, and easily pulled it out.

As a result, he didn’t need to use his ability. He waited until he became used to the pain. Even though his bones were rattling, he regained control over his limbs with the certainty that the pain was subsiding and reached out with his hand.

He grabbed the gun like a robot programmed to do so, reloaded it, and fired.

‘It’s a bit unfortunate that the others have been alerted… but…’

Seon Jae-chan checked the time once again.

He needed to hide before the criminals returned. Whether outside or by stabilizing his ability.

There was something he had to take care of before that. Jae-chan quickly moved behind the desk without letting go of the gun.

Won Seong-il’s crumpled documents were under the desk drawer. The sheets were deeply wedged. In the attempt to extract them, Jae-chan was searching for any tools that might help.

Seon Jae-chan noticed a faintly acrid smell lingering on his already sensitive sense of smell.

‘…Gas smell.’

He raised his head.

He realized it was too late when he looked around. Objects appeared to quiver and waver, almost as if they were revealing themselves while hiding. This was evidence that gas, which was colorless and odorless to the general public, had already filled the building.

The good news was that the smell of gas that quickly took over the space was familiar. A Fentanyl-based psychotropic anesthetic…

The military has arrived.

‘What, why are they so fast?’

Seon Jae-chan’s eyes were slightly tinged with confusion. He pulled his shirt’s hem over his mouth to block the air but then checked the clock again. It was only around 3 a.m.

He had no idea since when the military had become this efficient, but there was no time for complaints. His knees were already growing weak.

He stumbled toward the desk. Since there was a teleporter involved, the plan seemed to be to suppress him with gas without his knowledge. It was indeed a reasonable tactic. But why were they showing their competence at such a critical moment? Oh, not now… Why did they come to the rescue so quickly?

Jae-chan reached under the desk. The edge of the paper barely touched his fingertips. The gas was intensifying. Eventually, he gave up trying to cover his nose and mouth and used both hands to push the desk with all his strength.