Who Will Punch Who?

The group had gained another member and so far they had smoothly moved forward, it was only until they had found a staircase on the current floor level. It was guarded by one of the perpetrators, who wielded a metal bat with nails embedded. The perpetrator didn't move from his position and it was unlikely that he would move any time soon unless he would spot a trespasser. By the time he did, that would be the death of the trespasser.

Han Si-Woo and the company had no choice but withdraw the place and think of a plan to go through the staircase. They entered an empty room, Chun Dong-Min and Park Hae were assigned to keep a watch out from the door. It wouldn't be good if an enemy came and cornered them.

"We only have about five hours left. God knows how many floors we have left…" Na Byeol sighed.

Chun Dong-Sun scratched his head and finally asked something that he had wanted to ask for a while, "Uh, how can we be sure that the gate is even outside the building? What if it's in one of the rooms? What if it's on a level above?"

He asked a good question, Na Byeol couldn't help but also ponder about it. The mission on the phone didn't mention it other than stating that they had to find it. In the end, they were the ones who had only assumed that they would find it if they got out of the building.

However, Kang Jin-Ho didn't think the same. "The previous floor is probably the highest one. I didn't find stairs leading to a higher level. As for the rooms… Well, I guess we have to gamble."

"What Kang Jin-Ho-ssi said is right," Han Si-Woo agreed and added, "We need to check out as many rooms as we can when we pass by. Though, I have a feeling it's outside of the building."

"A feeling..." Behind Kang Jin-Ho's smile, there was a hidden meaning.

Han Si-Woo didn't mind him and continued, "Anyways, we need to do something with the guy out there. It's reckless to face him straight ahead without a plan…"

Na Byeol nodded and said, "We need to distract him somehow so he can leave his spot. Then we will have a chance."

Even though she was scared, she still wanted to be a part of the discussion and be of help as much as possible. She didn't want to be a burden to everyone. It was just that she wasn't much of a brainer so she didn't know how much she could help. She looked through her phone but she wasn't able to tap on anything other than the popup message containing the mission and the timer. She also couldn't go back to the home screen. So, the phone, as far as she knew, was useless to them at the moment.

"We can't get anything out of the phone, so we need to rely on ourselves. Do any of you have a plan?"

When Han Si-Woo heard that, he touched his chin and seemed to be thinking before responding. "Well, I wouldn't say it's a plan per se, but I do have something in my mind…" As he said that, his gaze landed on Kang Jin-Ho who in return wore a curious expression.

"Hm?"

Han Si-Woo grinned and said, "We will be in your care on this matter, Kang Jin-Ho-ssi. I trust you will do a fine job."

A sudden bad feeling emerged inside Kang Jin-Ho, his smile faltered.

"You..."

The sound of something dropping on the ground kept coming, one after another in a specific rhythm. The perpetrator narrowed his eyes and held his bat tight. He took a step forward and strode to the direction of the sound. He picked up his pace once the sound ceased and soon enough, he was outside the room. He looked right and left, he didn't see anything suspicious and was about to turn back but then the sound came back from the other side of the hallway. With a dark expression, he ran towards the sound.

Right after, five people hurriedly went to the staircase that was now unguarded. The perpetrator knew something was off and when he turned around, he saw the trespassers and his face turned angry. He roared and changed his direction to them.

"Fuck, fuck, he's coming!" Chun Dong-Sun screamed.

"You guys, don't stop running," Han Si-Woo reminded them.

They listened to Han Si-Woo and did their best to run, eventually, they were able to reach the staircase. However, they couldn't have the perpetrator keep following them so Han Si-Woo stopped in his tracks in front of the staircase and turned to face the perpetrator while the others continued to run. Because of his action, the perpetrator also stopped. He raised his bat at Han Si-Woo, seemingly to be ready to attack him at any time.

Han Si-Woo spoke, "Hey, has anyone told you to watch your back?"

It was as if his words didn't reach him because the perpetrator began to swing his bat at him. Just as he did that, he was bashed from behind. However, it looked like he didn't feel the pain and only focused his attack on the trespasser in front.

'Wait, wait, this is not…!' Han Si-Woo didn't expect that the perpetrator would ignore Kang Jin-Ho and fixate on himself.

He dodged the bat, although it was a close call. He firmly gripped his dagger and tried to attack back but was blocked by the metallic bat. The strength of the perpetrator had exceeded his expectation so Han Si-Woo was flung back at a wall. He coughed harshly from the impact. He lifted his head and fear could be seen on his face. He didn't know if he could survive the next hit. What was Kang Jin-Ho even doing? He had ceased his attack once he realised the target didn't react to it. Han Si-Woo couldn't see him because the perpetrator was blocking his view. Seconds felt like minutes to him.

The perpetrator grinned at the sight and was about to swing his bat to finish him but before he knew, his head flew off from his body and landed on the floor. Blood spurted everywhere and because it happened too fast, his body had yet to process what had happened and collapsed only after his head was already on the ground.

Han Si-Woo, who was almost drenched with blood, was dazed. His eyes fell on his hands with blood and it took a while for him to open his mouth.

"A-ah…"

Kang Jin-Ho, who just killed another perpetrator, smoothed out his shirt and looked at the absent-minded Han Si-Woo. He was most likely shocked and got scared.

"Hello? Are you still alive, Han Si-Woo?" Although his words might sound concerned, his facial expression showed otherwise. "Oh, don't be like that. Wasn't this your idea, to begin with?"

Throwing pens that he had in his bag to distract the perpetrator, using that opportunity to reach the staircase, him stopping the perpetrator from coming down the stairs, and letting Kang Jin-Ho finish the perpetrator off… these were all his doings. At first, Kang Jin-Ho didn't agree but soon after, he had changed his mind and followed along. Han Si-Woo didn't doubt that he was thinking about leaving them all and ditch the plan to escape by himself. The fact that he didn't finish the perpetrator off sooner was proof that he had the intention.

Nonetheless, he didn't imagine that Kang Jin-Ho would be this strong. He could actually behead someone so easily too. Other than being messy from blood and dirt, he seemed perfectly fine, not even tired.

"... You could have killed him sooner before he could attack me. Why didn't you?"

Kang Jin-Ho shrugged. "What does that matter? I killed him. That's what you wanted and that's what you get."

Han Si-Woo gritted his teeth and he felt his temper rising. Getting up from the floor, he rushed to grab Kang Jin-Ho's collar grimly. "You—! You fucking bastard! If you could kill him sooner, then you should have done that in the first place!"

At this sudden reaction, Kang Jin-Ho frowned and didn't like how Han Si-Woo was treating him. "Calling me a bastard, that's rude. I think you're misunderstanding something. Yes, I could have, but why should I? You should be grateful that I actually killed him and did not leave you behind. Don't you think so?"

Han Si-Woo knew he was right but he couldn't soothe his displeasure. He narrowed his eyes and carelessly retracted his hand on the collar.

He sneered, "Next time this happens, I'll punch you."

Kang Jin-Ho knitted his eyebrows but then eased up and let out a small smile with a hint of scorn. "Punch me? I dare you."

Han Si-Woo took a deep breath and looked away—he needed to calm down but it was hard with all the blood on him.

'Fuck, this bastard! He didn't have to go so far as to sever the whole head!'

Seeing that Han Si-Woo had stopped arguing with him, Kang Jin-Ho didn't continue and didn't add oil to the fire. However, his impression of him worsened. This guy didn't know when to be grateful and was full of himself. Kang Jin-Ho wasn't satisfied, he didn't even get a thank you.