Chapter 20 - Chapter 18: Episode 17 - Pain
Listening to the conversation inside the container, Yu-rin clenched her fists in a fit of anxiety.
Blood began to seep from her palms where her fingernails had dug deep into the flesh.
The crushing weight of helplessness washed over her. Seon-ah had been kidnapped, and she couldn't do a damn thing on her own.
And then there was that statement—Seon-ah offering his body to Min-ji.
It was agonizing. It was infuriating.
Feeling as if her entire world were collapsing, she began to move toward the container, her feet moving before she even realized it.
She broke into a run, picking up speed with every step.
I'm going to tear those Scavenger bastards apart and take Seon-ah back from that bitch.
In her fractured state of mind, her instincts were screaming the wrong orders.
Logically, she should have stayed hidden, monitored the Scavengers' movements, and reported back to the backup team so they could move in with proper intel.
The right call would have been to wait for the Hwaryong Guild members, who were due to arrive any second, and let them subdue the suspects. But...
The sheer panic of Seon-ah being touched by anyone other than herself was too much to bear. Yu-rin burst into the container.
She let out a scream as she saw her lover on the verge of being violated.
"Yu-rin!"
Seon-ah was already completely naked. Min-ji was right behind him, her hands trembling as she reached for the waistband of her skirt to pull it down.
"You fucking bitches!"
The sight sent Yu-rin over the edge. Hurling profanities she would never normally use in front of Seon-ah, she swung a desperate fist at the woman in the black suit.
The woman ducked with effortless grace, the punch whistling harmlessly over her head.
In one fluid motion, she drove her left fist deep into Yu-rin's solar plexus.
Yu-rin collapsed, rolling across the corrugated floor of the container while clutching her stomach.
The pain was paralyzing. She couldn't even draw breath to scream, her brow furrowed in agony as her entire body began to convulse.
"What's with this bitch? What do we do with her?"
Seon-ah's mind raced as he processed the horror: Yu-rin's sudden appearance, her failed attack, and the terrifying realization that she was about to be killed.
He threw himself to his knees before the Stalker, bowing his head until it hit the floor.
"She's my girlfriend! Please, spare her! I'll do anything you want, just please..."
The woman's voice took on a manic, excited edge, as if she'd just discovered a new toy.
"Oh, I won't kill her. I was planning on sending her the photos and videos anyway, but this is much better. Now she gets a front-row seat. You're a lucky guy."
At the Stalker's command, the Scavengers grabbed the fallen Yu-rin, forcing her upright and pinning her head so she had no choice but to look at Seon-ah.
The Stalker leaned in close to Yu-rin, her expression twisted with sadistic glee.
"Your boyfriend is about to get raped right in front of you. How does that feel?
I usually just send the footage to the other bitches, but I never get to hear their reviews.
This time, I have a live audience. You'll give me a proper reaction, won't you?"
"If you're a good girl and answer me, I might even tell them to stop."
The cruel curl of her lips made it obvious she was lying just to see Yu-rin break.
Yu-rin knew it, too. She didn't beg.
"Go fuck yourself, you crazy bitch."
She growled the words through gritted teeth, her eyes promising to tear the woman's throat out.
The Stalker's face darkened, her amusement replaced by sharp irritation.
"Hey, hurry up and violate him already. Fuck him until his dick goes limp right in front of his girlfriend. If you don't do it right, I'll kill Seon-ah, you, and this bitch. Now get to it."
Faced with the threat of death, Min-ji looked at Seon-ah, her eyes pleading for forgiveness.
Seon-ah gave a small, defeated nod.
"There's no other way... If we want to stay alive... this is it."
He turned his gaze toward Yu-rin, his voice cracking.
"I'm so sorry, Yu-rin."
Min-ji began to lower herself, positioning herself over Seon-ah's lap.
.
.
.
Yu-rin's mind raced.
She knew why she hadn't Awakened until now.
She was terrified that if she became an Awakened, Seon-ah would look at her like she was some kind of monster.
From daycare all the way through high school, she had secretly used her fists to deal with anyone who tried to get close to him. She'd made sure they were too scared to even look his way.
Even with the strength of a normal person, violence had always been her easiest tool. She'd been frequenting the Hwaryong Guild's training grounds since she was a child, honing her body into a weapon.
She believed that the 'Park Yu-rin' who could play nice with others without resorting to brutality only existed because Seon-ah kept her on the right path.
The fact that she never showed a hint of violence or even used a swear word in front of him was all to maintain the image he wanted of her.
But once she became an adult, she realized how little violence could actually accomplish.
The adult world was a web of countless connections—teachers, friends, seniors, colleagues.
There were endless numbers of people stronger than her. As an un-Awakened ordinary person, she was at the very bottom of the food chain.
That was why, feeling the shame of her inability to protect him with her own hands, she had tried to use the power of money instead.
She'd used a private investigator to blackmail Min-ji, using the girl's younger brother as leverage.
But she had slammed head-first into reality: in the face of true, raw power, money was useless.
She craved power now more than ever, yet she was still paralyzed by the fear of how Seon-ah would look at her once she had it.
That was the truth of Yu-rin's heart.
Even though she had trained relentlessly since she was twelve, she had never truly, desperately wished for an Awakening.
The desire to be perfect for Seon-ah, the limits of her own strength, and the search for a substitute for that strength...
Those three things had kept her in a state of denial, always looking for a way to survive without having to change.
But the realization finally hit her as she watched the most precious thing in her life being destroyed.
She didn't know how much time had passed, but suddenly, her body felt both impossibly light and incredibly heavy.
It felt as if she could crush the Scavengers holding her with a single twitch of her muscles.
She could feel an explosive speed and agility coiled within her, ready to be unleashed.
Yu-rin simply let her heart take control.
.
.
.
The Stalker watched the two of them, completely ignoring the girlfriend pinned to the side.
At first, as Seon-ah and Min-ji joined, they both looked pained. But soon, as the pleasure took hold, the woman began to move her hips frantically, riding the man with desperate intensity.
The Stalker glanced at Yu-rin, eager to see the look of devastation on her face.
But Yu-rin's eyes were closed. She was silent.
Is she checking out? Did she finally lose her mind?
But when Yu-rin's eyes finally snapped open, the Stalker felt a cold shiver of dread.
It was the same feeling she got when facing the high-ranking hunters of the Daesan Group.
It felt like standing before a massive predator that could swallow her whole without a second thought.
Terrified by the sudden shift in the air, she tried to shout for the two Scavengers to kill the woman.
But she was too slow.
The two Scavengers sensed the danger and tried to strike, but Yu-rin was faster.
In a blur of motion, Yu-rin's hands shot out, catching both Scavengers by their throats.
She squeezed.
A sickening, wet crunch—a sound no human neck should ever make—echoed through the container.
.
.
.
Yu-rin had spent her life torn between the gentle girl Seon-ah wanted and the violence that lived inside her.
To save him, she had finally abandoned that facade.
The delicate, sweet Yu-rin that Seon-ah loved was gone forever.
Even though she had just taken a life for the first time, that was the thought that haunted her most.
To break the seal on her Awakening, she'd had to discard her most precious, useless desire.
There was no going back now. No way to undo what she'd become.
All that was left was to decide exactly how she was going to kill this Stalker bitch.
.
.
.
Seon-ah and Min-ji were still entwined, both drowning in guilt.
Seon-ah felt sick for trying to use Min-ji, and the shame of what was happening in front of Yu-rin was eating him alive.
Min-ji, meanwhile, felt a sickening jolt of excitement at being forced to violate Seon-ah in front of his girlfriend. For the first time, she saw the true, trashy nature of her own soul.
Forcibly taking a man in front of the woman who loved him...
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No matter how much he had once confessed to her, this was a line that should never have been crossed.
As they moved together in that desperate, forced rhythm...
It happened.
Yu-rin had grabbed the two thugs and snapped their necks like dry twigs.
Seon-ah watched in absolute shock.
Yu-rin wasn't an Awakened... was she?
The Stalker, paralyzed by what she'd just seen, finally snapped out of it and tried to bolt for the container door.
Yu-rin moved.
She was a blur, moving with a speed that looked like a video being fast-forwarded.
It was the unmistakable, terrifying power of an Awakened.
In the blink of an eye...
She lashed out with a kick at the Stalker's legs.
The woman's lower legs simply vanished.
Where her limbs should have been, there was only empty air.
Her calves, severed below the knee, were embedded in the metal wall of the container.
The Stalker fainted instantly, foaming at the mouth as her body went into violent shock.
Then, Yu-rin turned and walked toward Seon-ah and Min-ji.
Her breathing was heavy, her eyes wide with an excitement she couldn't hide...