Double Meaning

13.1

"Lisa."

Lisa awoke from the darkness. She felt someone carefully touching her cheek. Lisa slowly opened her eyes as Jungkook continued to sweep his hand across her face.

"Do you think you'll be able to move?"

"...Yes."

After she had fainted, the men outside the bars turned away and began to drowse from boredom. However, they suddenly began to speak noisily.

"If you're okay, I'm planning on getting us out of here. The transaction will begin soon. When it does, everyone here will scatter, and we'll escape then."

Li Kahui had given Im SungJoon two hours to prepare the money. It was now almost 4 AM. There was less than 30 minutes left. There was no guarantee that they would escape with their lives intact even after the completion of the transaction. Lisa nodded almost imperceptibly.

[The Korean guy says he brought the money.]

[Go upstairs and make sure.]

One of the men pulled back from the mahjong table and checked his phone. Then he hurriedly went upstairs and disappeared. Unable to understand their conversation, Jungkook could only stare outside the iron bars. Suddenly, Lisa softly whispered something to him.

"It looks like the money from YongSung has arrived."

The remaining Chinese man glanced at them before smacking his lips as he tried to win over his sleepiness. He pulled out a cigarette and inserted it between his lips. The best chance to escape was now when there was only one guard left.

"Then we'll go now. It should be okay, right?"

"Yeah."

Their eyes met for a moment.

"Don't look outside."

Jungkook murmured quietly. Without taking his eyes off hers, he began to move his arm. He stretched his hand through the iron bars and quickly snatched the wooden stick that was lying on the floor.

[Ugh, uhh!]

The smoking man got up from his seat in surprise. He approached the iron bars when Jungkook swung the wooden beam with protruding nails precisely at his stomach. As the man let out a cry and clutched his stomach, Jungkook struck a blow at his head. This all happened in a blink of an eye.

[You bastard...!]

Staggering under the sudden shock, the man went back to the table and grabbed a sharp kitchen knife.

[I'll kill you.]

The man began to grind his teeth from the sharp pain. His face was red with rage. As if provoking him, Jungkook threw the wooden stick onto the floor and rammed his fist against the iron bars.

"Come here."

As soon as he saw that Jungkook no longer held a weapon, the man began to charge at him.

[Ugh!]

The man thrust his knife haphazardly through the iron bars. Jungkook grabbed his wrist and wrenched his arm to the side in one breath. It seemed that Jungkook had been waiting for the man to come closer all along.

[Aaagh!]

There was a snap. It sounded like his bone had been completely dislocated from the joint. The man dropped the knife due to the pain. Jungkook immediately snatched the knife from the floor. He didn't hesitate as he thrust the knife into the belly of the man who was still leaning on the iron bars.

Shouting out a few more curses, the man slowly collapsed to the floor. Jungkook pulled the man closer and began to rummage through the man's pockets.