The Country Life Diary of a Gangster's Secretary-Chapter 134

"Don’t tell me you..."

Park Yul’s gaze dropped to Hyesung, who was panting heavily on the floor.

"I didn’t come here without a plan."

Before heading here, Hyesung had contacted Deoksoo from home.

“Deoksoo, I’m sending you a file. Hold onto it, and when I give the signal, spread the recording to the media. Social media is fine too, just make sure the public can see it.”

Though worried about the dangerous nature of the task, Deoksoo eventually agreed to Hyesung’s request.

The signal had been sent when Hyesung was captured by Park Yul. He had quickly dialed Deoksoo’s number and hung up without saying a word. The act was never intended to call for help.

"But how did you... I definitely deleted that file..."

"Technology is pretty advanced these days."

Hyesung gasped as he sat up straight.

"The recorder I gave Director Choi was synced to my cloud account. Deleting the file on the spot wouldn’t have made a difference. The recording was uploaded to my account the moment it was made. I guess you wouldn’t know that since you’re not very tech-savvy?"

"You bastard...!"

"I was a secretary for quite a while, so I’ve gotten used to managing files in a way that prevents them from being deleted."

Hyesung’s smile grew even more pronounced.

Park Yul clenched his fists. The blood vessels in the whites of his eyes began to burst, and soon he started to kick Hyesung mercilessly.

"Hyung! Hyung!"

The subordinate who had come to report the truth began to restrain the frenzied Park Yul.

"What is it, you bastard! Let go!"

"It’s not that... there’s a call coming in! It’s Director Jung!"

At the sudden mention of the name, Park Yul froze. He glanced at the phone handed to him by his subordinate and reluctantly answered the call.

"Ah... ugh..."

Hyesung groaned quietly as he barely managed to stand. Park Yul’s face contorted with every passing second as he listened to the call.

Realizing Hyesung’s gaze, he ordered his subordinate to keep a close watch before stepping out of the room.

But Hyesung had already taken advantage of the diverted attention to secure something he needed.

He pressed his back against the wall, concealing his hands behind his body as he rubbed the cutter knife dropped by Park Yul against the ropes binding him.

But without being able to see, maneuvering the knife was difficult. His hands and palms were soon covered in blood from cuts caused by the blade.

But there was no time to feel pain now. This was his only chance to escape. Kim Seong-han was unconscious and unable to assist, so Hyesung would have to flee alone.

Then, with a soft snap, he felt his hands lighten. The ropes that had been binding him slipped off, and Hyesung looked at the remaining subordinate in the room.

The man, unaware, was nervously biting his nails with his back turned.

"Uh... excuse me..."

Hyesung’s voice was barely a whisper, causing the man to sharply turn his head.

"My arms hurt from being twisted like this. Could you loosen them a bit?"

"Are you out of your mind? You’re about to die, and you’re complaining about pain..."

"But it really hurts..."

Hyesung feigned a pitiful expression. Perhaps it was the sight of a young, attractive man gasping and groaning that softened the subordinate’s stance. He cleared his throat awkwardly.

Plus, Hyesung’s face was swollen and red in places from Park Yul’s earlier beating, which only seemed to add a strange appeal.

"Where does it hurt?"

The man crouched slightly as he approached Hyesung.

"Right here..."

As if to show him, Hyesung squirmed and turned his back, then suddenly sprang to his feet.

He headbutted the man under the chin with all his strength.

"Agh!"

The man staggered backward, clutching his chin and nose. Hyesung, ignoring the pain in his throbbing head, quickly scanned the desk. He spotted the evidence that Park Yul had carelessly thrown down earlier.

Perhaps, confident that the intruders had been caught, he had been careless with security.

Hyesung hurriedly grabbed the item. Just then, the man who had been hit by Hyesung was rushing toward him again, blood streaming from his nose. Clearly, the thug was far from being incapacitated by such an attack.

"You little...!"

But Hyesung knew from experience how to fight someone bigger than him.

He took a deep breath and swung his right leg upward with full force.

"Ugh..."

His target was the man’s groin.

"You... you crazy bastard..."

The man cursed through gritted teeth as he clutched his crotch and collapsed to the floor.

Maybe I kicked too hard, Hyesung thought with a twinge of guilt, as he bolted from the room.

At this point, there was no need to sneak around like a thief.

He sprinted down the long hallway. He had to get out of here.

He briefly considered using one of the cars parked in the open space by the Yushinpa gang members, but the likelihood of finding the keys inside was too risky. Running on foot was his only option.

Soon, he saw the back door he had used to enter the building. Grabbing the door handle, he was about to dash out when a familiar voice called out from behind.

"Where the hell do you think you’re going, you bastard?!"

It was Park Yul. Hyesung flung the door open and ran.

Through the closing door, he heard Park Yul urgently ordering his men to catch him.

Hyesung darted into the bushes where he had hidden earlier. He decided to cut through the woods and head directly to the road. It would be easier to lose his pursuers that way.

"If only my phone wasn’t broken..."

He muttered regretfully.

"There he is!"

"Hey, everyone! This way! Catch that bastard!"

He had no time to look back as the sound of footsteps drew closer. All he could think about was how to move his legs faster.

They say desperation brings out superhuman strength. He had never aced a physical fitness test in school, but at this pace, he might have gotten not only a perfect score but also an invitation to join the school’s sports team.

Hyesung pushed past the pain and ran as fast as he could.

Fortunately, the terrain wasn’t too challenging, making it easier to navigate the forest. But the same went for his pursuers.

"There!"

As the black-suited men drew closer, Hyesung realized he couldn’t shake them off. Spotting a large tree, he quickly ducked behind it.

"Hah... wasn’t he just here?"

"Where did that little rat run off to?"

"Ugh, who is this guy anyway?"

"How should we know? We’re just doing what Hyung ordered. Hey, let’s check over there."

Hyesung covered his mouth with his hand, holding his breath. He heard the sound of footsteps gradually fading away.

"Hah..."

He exhaled quietly, scanning his surroundings. Apart from the men who had just left, it seemed no other pursuers were nearby.

He couldn’t stay hidden in the bushes forever. He had to find a way down to the main road and flag down a passing car for help.

"Ugh..."

Just as he stood to move, a wave of intense pain washed over him. His hands, cut and bloody from sawing through the ropes, were throbbing. Now that he was aware of it, the pain felt even worse, threatening to overwhelm him. Moving forward was almost impossible; it was pure willpower that kept him going.

Luckily, after a short struggle, he spotted a path leading down to the road.

But the real challenge began now. As he had noticed earlier when taking the taxi, this place was incredibly isolated. Would anyone be passing through this desolate area at such a late hour? At this moment, not even a single car or person was in sight.

As Hyesung frantically tried to think of what to do next, he heard the sound of a twig snapping underfoot behind him.

A chill ran down his spine.

"There he is!"

It was one of the men who had been chasing him. It seemed they had split up to search the area more thoroughly.

"Come here quietly while I’m still being nice," the man taunted, beckoning Hyesung with a crooked finger. Hyesung had no choice but to start running again, this time heading directly onto the road.

If the earlier chase through the forest had felt like a scene from a spy movie, he now realized it was more like a tear-jerking survival thriller.

Hyesung couldn’t help but think that today he had exhausted a lifetime’s worth of running. He prayed desperately for a car to pass by, any car, as he forced his legs to keep moving, ignoring the pain that had become numb from overuse.

Screech.

A familiar sound echoed behind him—the noise of tires skidding across the road. Hyesung gradually slowed to a halt, turning to see what was happening.

Behind him, two cars had come to a stop. They were the same ones he had seen earlier at the gang’s hideout.

"Did this crazy bastard really think he could get away?" Park Yul stepped out of the lead car.

He laughed unpleasantly as he slowly approached Hyesung, who stood frozen in place.

"Hey, thanks to your little stunt, I got chewed out pretty badly. I’ll postpone killing you for now, but you’re going to have to help me blow off some steam."

Hyesung couldn’t think of anything to say or do. His mind had completely shut down, like a spinning top that had finally hit an obstacle and come to a sudden stop. No solutions came to mind.

Even if he couldn’t save himself, he had hoped to at least get the evidence out to the public.

"Come on, you bastard," Park Yul snarled, grabbing Hyesung by the hair. The sudden shift in weight caused Hyesung to topple forward and hit the ground hard.

But Park Yul didn’t care. He continued dragging Hyesung by his hair across the rough pavement.

At that moment, Hyesung felt a faint vibration through the ground.

The familiar sound of tires and an engine. A car was speeding down the road. Could there really be someone passing by?

But even if there was, would there be a citizen brave enough to intervene and rescue him from these gangsters?

Hyesung was on the verge of giving up when the sound of the approaching car grew louder. Soon, its headlights blazed brightly in their direction.

Sensing something unusual, Park Yul slowed his pace.

The sudden burst of light blinded Hyesung, who had grown accustomed to the darkness. He squinted and shielded his face with his hand.

"What now?" Park Yul grumbled.

With his vision obscured, Hyesung’s other senses became more acute. He clearly heard the sound of a car door opening.

And then he detected it—a scent that was painfully familiar. The clean, refreshing fragrance of citrus.

Hyesung’s heart skipped a beat.

The scent was unmistakable. It was the same one he had long associated with a specific person. As his mind raced, piecing together what was happening, he dared to hope that perhaps, against all odds, salvation had arrived.

As the figure emerged from the car, stepping into the light, Hyesung’s breath caught in his throat. He didn’t need to see clearly to know who it was.

“Lee Hyuk…” Hyesung whispered, the name barely escaping his lips as his body gave out, collapsing onto the cold asphalt.

The last thing he heard before darkness claimed him was the commanding voice of Lee Hyuk, filled with both anger and relief, cutting through the night.

"Get away from him, or you’ll regret it."

And then, everything went black.