ALWAYS You: Swan's Shadow [YOONGI] (Book 3)

Chapter 32

BOOM BOOM!

The drums banged in unison. 

The incense sticks burned harder and fiercer, coaxing the entire room in thick sweet smoke.

Soo-ji was out of her prison cell. Her feet marvelled at the straw mat of the dojo as she and Chung Ha circled each other. Neither spoke a word to each other since the duel was decided. 

It was an astonishing sight. Chung Ha had her hair tied neatly in a high ponytail, her body carried the dojo uniform and she clung onto her signature katana sword like her shadow. 

Soo-ji, still wearing the dress that Jackson gave her for the fundraising ball, definitely looked out of place but she was dangerously beautiful. Her long silky hair hung loose. She stood tall, confident and alert. Her aura was unbeatable.

All around them, the gangs hooted, shouted, screamed, jeered. Every single person clutched onto the bars of their cells, eager to catch a glimpse of the highly anticipated match. 

Death Ring: The Finale. As Jackson called it.

With bated breath, Yoongi and Chanyeol followed every millimetre  of Soo-ji's movements, not willing to let her out of their sight. Yoongi couldn't believe the words coming out of Soo-ji's mouth when she suggested a duel. Had he known she would say that, he would've slapped some sense into her first and volunteered to take her place second. Chanyeol, on the other hand, was nervous. 

A few minutes ago, when Soo-ji was in the prison cell with him, he managed to catch her arm just as she was about to walk out to her impending doom. 

She stopped dead in her tracks. He was so close to her that his chest was mere inches from her face. His breathy face fanned down at her. Her doe-like eyes peered up at him. They were easily the most beautiful pair of eyes Chanyeol had ever seen. He wanted to say a lot of things to her in that moment; fear ripping his insides apart at the thought that she may die out there and she may never get to hear what he needs to say.

He opened his mouth to speak, but before a single word could come out, she cut him off. "I know." She told him. Soo-ji definitely knew how he felt about her. In the short space of time that she had, the best that she could do was let him know that she definitely, 100%, understood his feelings for her, that she can see just how much he risked his life to protect her safety. It was just that, with regret glimmering behind her eyes, it was not something that she could reciprocate.

She gave him a sad smile. "Kill or be killed." She told him, "that's what you taught me." 

And with that, she left him. She walked out of the prison cell with the ghost of a smile tugging on her lips, reminiscing the lessons she had with Chanyeol. 

BOOM BOOM! The drums sounded again.

Chung Ha sprinted forward. At the same time, in one swoosh movement, she released her katana sword from its sheath.

It was on. 

In a matter of seconds, Chung Ha reached Soo-ji's space. Chung Ha struck, waving her sword in every angle. Her swordsmanship was fast. But not quite as fast as Soo-ji. Soo-ji, completely unarmed, danced around the blade effortlessly, dodging every attack with ease. Her hair and her dress swung with her in unison. 

Soo-ji reached Chung Ha's throne-like chair. She rounded it, sending a strong kick towards Chung Ha's face. 

Chung Ha meets the floor first.

"YES!" Taehee was heard cheering in the background. A wave of hollers erupted in the room. 

Recovering from the kick, Soo-ji stood upright again. A smirk crept to her lips at the sight of Chung Ha beneath her. 

Chung Ha's cheek was sorely red. She glared up at Soo-ji, bounced back on her feet, jabbing the tip of her dagger towards Soo-ji's direction again. Soo-ji slid under the blade, rolled over to a stack of weapons in the corner of the room and grabbed on to a kendo stick. 

She turned, raised her kendo stick in time just as Chung Ha butchered her katana down at Soo-ji's head. Metal meets wood. Strength versus strength. Chung Ha pushed her sword down further, but the kendo stick didn't even move an inch with Soo-ji retaliating strength. 

Chung Ha screamed, retreated backwards and threw her sword at hurling intense speed towards Soo-ji. 

"SOO-JI, WATCH OUT!" Yoongi yelled, feeling his heart jumping out of his chest. 

Soo-ji saw it before Yoongi's voice reached her ears. She spun out of the way, letting the sword slam straight into a pillar behind her. 

BANG!

A gunshot resonated throughout the dojo like an explosion. 

"Ah!" Soo-ji cried out in pain, feeling the strong impact of the bullet hit her arm. She fell backwards. 

Wasting no time, Soo-ji hurled herself out of the flying bullets' way. Chung Ha shot aimlessly, pressing the trigger again and again, praying for Soo-ji to drop like a pinball. Soo-ji wasn't giving up though. 

Soo-ji used the throne-like chair as her shield from the bullets for a momentary second. She could feel where Chung Ha was, hear her pounding footsteps on the straw mat. When Chung Ha was close enough, Soo-ji flew to the side, latched onto the samurai sword she was eyeing up when she quickly assessed her surroundings from behind the chair. 

Soo-ji struck, slicing it into Chung Ha's leg first, then to her back. 

The samurai sword was the same sword used for the executions. 

Now, it was time for Chung Ha's execution.

Soo-ji's wide eyes zeroed in her on prey. Chung Ha scuffled backwards, dragging herself to safety. There was no hiding this time. 

Soo-ji raised the samurai sword above her head. "This only ends when one of us dies. And it's going to be you."

Soo-ji brought her blade down. 

But the blade never met with Chung Ha. 

In the next second, KSI's assassins and snipers infiltrated the room. Soo-ji withdrew herself, leaning behind a pillar, just as a string of bullets flew towards her direction. 

"We're meant to be duelling! Look up the definition of what duelling means if you don't understand!" Soo-ji yelled out to Chung Ha in anger. She should've known Chung Ha never played by the rules. First, it was the no-kill rule at the fundraising ball and now it has become clear that duelling wasn't exactly Chung Ha's forte. 

The snipers honed in on Soo-ji's location. 

"You will never win, Choi Soo-ji!" Chung Ha's shrilling voice echoed. 

Soo-ji pursed her lips together. Anger fuelled her insides. She did not come this far to die in vain.

Ok. Two can play the game. 

Leaping off the pillar, Soo-ji sprinted to the prison cell of the Hope Gang, the chase of bullets following her tail closely. She still had the samurai sword in her hand. Once she reached, her eyes flicked to her gang members. They all nodded, understanding simultaneously that it was them or us. 

Soo-ji slashed the locks with her samurai sword in half. The locks unbuckled, falling onto the ground useless. 

And the Hope Gang was out.