UNO
As she watched those young people walk closer and closer, Lisa's mind turned this way and that. But then she heard the Irene next to her ask, "How are your skills in a fight?"
"Uh, I go to the gym sometimes."
"Then it's too bad." Irene frowned and said, extremely regretfully, "I thought we were filming a romantic drama; I didn't expect it to suddenly turn into a gangster film. I don't even have the time to memorize my lines."
"It's fine even if you don't know your lines; you just have to know how to run away." Lisa walked forward, placing herself in front of Irene, before then turning her head back to say, "Leave from the left exit."
"And let you stay behind on your own? No way! It's fine if they just want to beat you up, but what if they're planning on sexually assaulting you?"
Lisa's eyes twitched; she didn't think that was very possible at all, but Irene was clearly worried enough about the safety of her virtue that the other suddenly raised a leg to give the car a heavy kick.
"Bang!"
The sound echoed in the air.
This unexpected action brought everyone to a stop.
Irene then took the opportunity to grab Lisa by the hand and run to the left. The moment they moved, the group behind them also immediately gave chase, unwilling to let them escape.
Irene also didn't turn away, simply taking out her cellphone to call the police.
"If you knew that someone was after you, why didn't you bring some bodyguards with you?"
Lisa didn't know how to respond, feeling wrongly accused. If she brought bodyguards with her everywhere she went, how could she enjoy her two-person world with Irene?
"How did you offend this person? Did you steal someone's girlfriend?"
This was clearly just a joke, but Lisa was afraid that Irene would misunderstand and so immediately clarified with, "Definitely not! As for the details of what happened... I'll explain it to you later."
On one hand, she didn't want to let Irene know what had happened, and on the other hand, she really didn't have the energy to talk.
Irene's stamina was quite good, and Lisa's also wasn't bad, but they couldn't compete with twenty-year-old youths after all, and it was clear with one look that the group was catching up.
Irene thought for a moment. Deciding that she had no other choice, she threw out her cellphone, managing to buy them just a bit more time.
However, when the two of them got to the stairwell, they found that two hoodlums were already sitting on the steps waiting for them.
"These two dolls must be tired from running, so why don't you stop here and rest?" The one with the scar remained sitting and said with a peculiar tone.
The other one stood up, dropping his cigarette and stepping on it, while staring fiercely at Lisa. "Our Boss said that we need to teach you a lesson, Miss Manoban, so that you'll know not to meddle in other people's business in the future."
The moment he finished, a fist came flying at Lisa's stomach.
His move was fast and accurate, and Irene didn't even have time to react.
Lisa was someone who had been raised like a princess, so when would she have ever had the opportunity to fight anyone? Not to mention this was an actual beating, so of course she stumbled immediately, sucking in painful breaths. She had originally wanted to protect Irene, but who knew that Irene would immediately jump forward, slamming head-first into the person who hit her.
"Ya, shibal saekkiya!! How dare you touch my woman?!"
This shout was extremely loud, resounding throughout the parking lot, even leaving behind an echo.
Lisa was surprised into a stupor. In her memories, Irene had always been calm and steady; she had never seen the other this worked up before.
And Irene had already begun grappling with that other person. Lisa regained her senses and hurried to jump in to help. The entire scene quickly became chaotic.
Lisa was their main target, suffering the most blows, and even if she had the strength, she wasn't able to use it. Irene was similarly unskilled at fighting, but she maintained one principle—that she'd go against whoever hit Lisa.
But simply getting hit and kicked was also difficult to bear, and while it was painful in the beginning, as time went on, those injuries gradually turned achingly numb. When the one with the scar saw this, he purposely threw out a kick.
Irene felt her anger bubbling forth, her eyes literally seeing red, as she threw out a punch, shouting in a loud voice, "Don't touch her!"
She was very fierce in the moment and used a lot of strength, but when she pushed forward, her foot stepped on air, and it was clear from a look that she was about to fall down the stairs.
"Irene!"
Lisa shouted. While she herself was clearly no longer able to stand steadily, she still reached out a hand to pull Irene's arm. Of course, she wasn't able to hold the other back properly, and the two of them ended up entangled, rolling down the stairs together.
"Bang!"
Another loud sound echoed.
Actually, this stairwell wasn't very high, but they had rolled down one step at a time, so the resulting noise ended up sounding very frightening.
Perhaps they had fallen down the stairs too miserably because no one gave chase to continue the beating. They simply heard the voice of the one with the scar, disjointedly saying, "The Boss said that... it should be just a beating to let out our anger... be careful not to do anything lethal..."
Lisa was knocked dizzy by the fall, all the bones in the body aching with soreness.
Other than the sounds of those people's departing footsteps by her ear, she also felt a warm liquid dripping onto her face. Lisa hurried to open her eyes, and only then did she see that Irene was leaning against her body.
The person had suffered an injury on the left side of her forehead, and dark-red blood was currently trickling down that beautiful face. However, Irene seemed totally unaware of it herself.
"How are you? Are you injured anywhere from the fall?" Irene anxiously asked. The hands touching her face were trembling slightly.
Lisa's heart practically seemed to stop and then, immediately afterwards, started pounding with even greater force.
She had never known that Irene also had times when afraid. She couldn't help but remember that car accident from the year before last; she had heard that, when she was rescued, she had looked extremely frightening, with blood all over her face.
How much of that had been Irene's own blood?
At the time, was Irene also like now, anxious yet scared to look at her, trembling all over because of worry for her injuries?
This person had always hidden away her heart.
Only at such a critical moment as this one did she reveal even the slightest bit of it.
But it was already enough to allow people to sink into its depths.
"Irene..." Lisa opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but because he had no strength, her voice came out so soft that it was practically inaudible.
Irene lowered her head, and then lowered it again, putting her ear next to the other's lips, and only then did she hear those words.
—Saranghae.
Irene had originally wanted to examine Lisa's injuries, but when she heard those words, her mind turned blank at once, and all her strength suddenly seemed to leave her body as she softly collapsed on the ground in an instant.
Lisa was stunned and hurriedly shouted, "Irene?"
Irene's heart was practically about to split open. Unwilling to lift her head, she felt as if she'd rather leave her face stuck on the cold cement floor.
Lisa gasped and used some strenuous effort to reach out a hand, wanting to turn her face around. But Irene stiffened, unmoving, and simply waved a hand in the other's direction.
But the moment she saw Irene's reaction, she felt as if all of that didn't matter. As long as two people's hearts were linked, then no matter how battered, it would still be sweet.
Right as Lisa was thinking about how she'd get Irene to turn around, she suddenly heard a strange burst of sound ringing by her ear. When she turned toward that sound, she saw a car barging violently into the parking lot, its fast-as-lightning speeds making it look as if it would hit a wall and crumble to pieces at any moment.
It wasn't until the car almost did hit the opposing wall that the driver suddenly stepped on the brakes. And then a screech resounded, and the car managed to stop just a few centimeters from the wall before the sharp sound of the engine turning off pierced their ears.
Irene naturally also heard that sound. Her taut nerves hadn't loosened yet, so her first thought was to crawl up to protect Lisa.
But no one expected that, when the car door opened, the one who stepped out of the car would actually be Jun Cotton.
With one glance, Director Kim was able to see the injured appearances of the two of them and couldn't help frowning.
"It seems I still came too late." And then, he opened the rear door and walked over to them in long strides, supporting Irene up by the arm while saying, "Quickly get in the car. I'll send you two to the hospital."
Irene made a sound in affirmation, but she still turned around to look at Lisa and say, "Can you walk? Do you want me to carry you?"
Lisa naturally refused, and with Irene's help, she managed to stand up with much difficulty.
It wasn't until this movement that Lisa's injuries were discovered to be actually a bit more serious than Irene's. While Irene was at least still able to walk, Lisa felt a stabbing pain the moment her foot touched the floor, and it wasn't clear whether the injury had reached bone.
Luckily, Jun Cotton was also around, and with the three of them each putting in some effort, they finally managed to make it inside the car.
After Jun Cotton sat down, he didn't even put on his seatbelt, and with a single step on the gas, the car once again began rushing out like crazy.
On this turbulent car ride, Irene carefully examined Lisa's injuries.
"Can you tell me now what exactly was the trouble you caused?" After a pause, Irene shot a glance at the driving Jun Cotton and added, "Does it have to do with Director Kim?"
Not only did Lisa's wounds hurt but her head had also started to ache, and she didn't know how she should open her mouth to explain.
"I better be the one to explain." It was actually Director Kim who snapped his fingers.
What he said were all the parts that had to do with him. He mentioned that, because of the earlier commotion with the sex scandal, a certain someone from the Kim family misunderstood his and Irene's relationship and so had used some despicable methods, digging up Irene's nude photographs from that year. And then, for the sake of retrieving those photographs, Lisa had started a feud with that certain person, which resulted in today's "lesson".
Although Irene heard only the gist, she was still able to guess how much effort Lisa had put in, as well as how much risk the person had taken, and she couldn't help but tightly hold the other's hand.
Although Lisa's lips were also wounded, she still smiled at Irene.
Irene felt her heart ache, and she looked at Lisa for a while, before she then suddenly seemed to remember something.
"Director Kim, I remember that you don't seem to know how to drive?"
"Oh, it's just that I've never tried, that's all." Jun Cotton didn't turn around and answered very carelessly, "Now that I have, I realized that it's pretty easy."
No wonder the driving was so wild, with no regard at all for traffic laws.
The moment she heard this, Irene grew alarmed, and she was frightened no matter how she thought about it. Hugging Lisa with a hand, she shouted out, "Stop the car!"
Jun Cotton furrowed his brows, but he really did step on the brakes. However, it wasn't due to Irene's shout. Instead, several cars had caught up to them from behind and was now skillfully blocking their way forward, forcing him to stop the car no matter what.
All of the tailing cars were black without exception. Among them, one car was particularly conspicuous, and the one with the scar from before was faintly visible in the driver's seat.
Another person was also sitting in the back, but because of the windows in the way, his facial features were obscured.
Jun Cotton pressed on the horn, rolled down the car window, and coldly said, "Out of the way!"
The cars didn't move at all.
But the one with the scar actually got off the car, saying rather deferentially to Jun Cotton, "Young Master Kim, you've played around long enough outside. It's about time you returned home." He rubbed his nose and said with a chuckle, "You also know the Boss's temper. If you really make him angry, then it won't be easy to deal with."
Jun Cotton silently stared ahead, holding the steering wheel in a death grip, "Just go through me if you have any issues. Stop making trouble for my friends."
The person in the car let out a low laugh and then succinctly spat out the words, "Get in the car."
While the voice couldn't be considered severe, the tone was tyrannical to the extreme, as if daring people to disobey.
Jun Cotton turned back and threw the key at Irene, saying, "You two go to the hospital first. I'll come to apologize another day."
And then he fixed his collar, still wearing that arrogant and cold expression, before walking around to open the rear door.
Upon seeing this, the one with the scar also hurried into the driver's seat. When this car started up, the other cars also started up in unison, and they all quickly drove off not long after.
Because the night was already late, and they were on a small, remote road, they didn't cause too much of a disturbance in the end.
While holding the car key that Jun Cotton had thrown over, Irene asked, "Nothing will happen to Director Kim, right?"
"It's his own uncle, after all, so the most that'll happen is probably a beating like we got."
Irene nodded, though in her heart, she thought that that person might not necessarily be able to bear making a move against Jun Cotton. In her current condition, she naturally didn't dare to drive and so, in the end, still called for an ambulance.
Lisa's face was full of bruises, and she definitely couldn't be considered nice to look at right now. Although she was lying on the stretcher, she still kept thinking about what had happened earlier and pulled on Irene's hand.
"The atmosphere today was too awful. Wait for me to recover, and I'll say those words to you again."
Irene was very clear on what words she was referring to, "Are you sure... you're already able to move forward?"
Lisa didn't even need to answer that. She simply smiled gently and grabbed Irene's right hand, softly kissing the scar on the palm.
Irene's heart trembled, and her eyes darkened. After she sucked in a deep breath, she was finally able to reach out her hand and touch Lisa's eyes as she wished. Although her face bore some injuries, she was still as dazzling as ever.
"Then you best prepare your heart because I'm going to start pursuing you."
÷÷÷
On that day when the two of them were brought to the hospital by the ambulance, after the examination, Irene's injuries were found to be light ones, and Lisa's were also not very serious. It was only that her right leg's bone had slightly cracked, most likely from falling down the stairs, and it'd take about one or two months to get better, so she had to remain in the hospital for the time being.
Fortunately, Jun Cotton had given the cast and crew a week of vacation in order to handle some personal matters, so Irene had grabbed the opportunity to stay at the hospital to take care of her.
With how long Irene had known Lisa, Irene had long already figured out everything the other liked. No matter if it was breakfast, lunch, or dinner, or the books and magazine she brought to relieve boredom, all of it were perfectly in line with Lisa's tastes.
The only issue was most likely Irene's method of so-called "pursuing".
Lisa had never been pursued by someone like this before, and it really was a bit hard to take.
For the sake of not worrying her family, Lisa didn't spread the news about her injury, but those who should know still learned about this matter, and not long later, her father and Seulgi both came to visit her, one after the other.
Mr. Manoban didn't stay for long. He simply sat there for a short while, saying 'get better soon' and other similar kinds of courteous small talk before then taking his leave.
Seulgi, however, stayed to talk with her sister for a long time, but all of her words were mostly about how much their father had been pampering her recently, implying that Mr. Manoban had already lost faith in Lisa and that Seulgi was about to be promoted to successor.
Lisa laughed after she heard this, not believing a word.
Seulgi not only failed in her goal of showing off but also was almost blinded by their sweet behavior. In the end, she left in a fuming huff and didn't forget to slam the door purposefully loud on her way out.
"Your family's little bear is still as cute as ever." The moment the door closed, Irene laughed until she fell onto the bed.
Lisa immediately reminded her, "No matter how cute she is, you can only admire from afar."
"Nae. Nae. Araseo." Irene was still collapsed on the bed, not getting up, as she looked at Lisa, "But since you've taken sick leave and can't go to work for so many weeks, there might actually be a big impact."
"If my dad really has his heart set on Seulgi, then it doesn't matter if I go to work or not."
"What if..."
"Anyway, it's just losing a job." Since Lisa had dared to go against Mr. Manoban, she had naturally already made her preparations. "Actually, it wouldn't be too bad if I started another Loud Ent; it'll just be a bit harder at the beginning."
This was easy to say, but it might not actually be easy to do.
Lisa had been born into riches and had never had to worry about food or shelter. Now, there was no need to say for whom she was willing to go through this kind of suffering.
Irene's eyes softened in an instant, and she slowly sat up, moving over to kiss the other on the lips. "It's fine. Anyway, I make enough to support you."
At those words, Lisa laughed.
Although the two of them had confessed their mutual feelings, because Lisa was injured and hospitalized, they practically hadn't had any time to be intimate. And now that they were kissing, it was hard to avoid sparks flying, the longer they went on, the more loath they were to part.
Irene felt her throat dry, and both of her hands started being mischievous, gently sliding their way down Lisa's back, as if trying to entice her.
"Irene, this is a hospital." Lisa felt a bit out of control and said, with gasping breaths.
"Since it's a private room, the soundproofing should be pretty good, right?"
"I'm still a patient."
"It's only your leg that's injured. It's not like you've been injured there." After a pause, she purposely put on a surprised expression and said in amazement, "I need to examine it immediately."
As she spoke, her right hand reached down there.
With one look, Lisa could tell she was acting—the 'examination' was obviously fake, what she clearly wanted to do was to take advantage.
"Indecent." She grabbed Irene's wrist with a hand and said, with a helpless sigh.
"If I wasn't indecent, how could I make you happy?" Irene laughed upon hearing that. Lisa really didn't know how to respond.
― 31 ―
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