"Myung."
Marley was poking him to get his attention. He was staring at the forest where Orea had disappeared to. Upon hearing Marley call him, he turned to face her.
"Let's go," she said. "The campfire will start."
"I should go and look for Orea," Myung said but Marley grabbed his hand.
"Her idol boyfriend went after her!" she claimed. "Why do you care about her? It's not like she cares about you!"
Myung was still staring at the spot, feeling a little ominous. It was quite dark and Orea might get lost in the woods. Minwoo did go after her but he had not returned either.
"Let's go!" Marley insisted, pulling him away. Myung staggered reluctantly behind her, still looking over his shoulder for any sign of Orea.
Marley led him to the edge of the stream where the students had lit a small fire and sat around it in a circle. The cool night air coupled with the warmth from the fire was perfect for some campsite fun. One student took out a guitar and was playing melodious music while the others listened. Marley and Myung sat on the circle. While Marley enjoyed the music, Myung was still staring at the spot where Orea had disappeared.
Why isn't she back yet? He wondered.
"It was so weird," one student was saying. "I thought I saw some guy hanging around in the forest."
"A guy?" another student asked.
"Yeah," the first student replied. "He was wearing green clothes, similar to the army uniform. Anyway, I thought I saw someone this morning. It was odd coz there's no army camp here. When I approached the guy, he saw me and ran away! So weird…"
Myung was alarmed by those words. He turned to the student and asked, "Where did you see that man?"
"On my way into the forest this morning," the student recalled. "He looked really suspicious. I informed the counselor but they didn't find anyone there. That man was carrying some kinda camera too."
Camera…
Myun recalled that he saw a flash in the forest too! And if the student claimed he was wearing army clothes, then it only meant one thing.
His jaw clenched in anger. So, that bastard is having me spied on! He realized.
There was no doubt that Jonghyun was controlling the army behind his father's back. Yang, now a Lieutenant General and head of the Army, was certainly his brother's loyal lapdog. They had committed many crimes together and now, Jonghyun was looking to dethrone Myung from PM Lee's position as the successor.
"Myung, where are you going?" Marley asked in surprise when he abruptly stood up.
"To get drinks!" he lied. "I'll be back!"
She tried to tell him something but he ran off, leaving the campsite. On his way, he picked up a few half eaten meat from one of the plates on the dinner table. He then dashed straight towards Orea's tent and scanned around. Her scarf lay on the bed so he picked it up before leaving the tent. He ran straight towards the security compound where the guards were busy, talking to each other.
Looking around to make sure that no one was around, he slowly crept towards a series of cages where several trained dogs were kept. They were eyeing him in alert, trying to see if he was going to harm them but Myung took out the meat and waved it in front of one of the cages.
The dog inside was a large black boarhound which was eagerly staring at the meat. Myung opened the cage and brandished the meat in front of him.
"Good boy," he whispered. "Doggy wants meat?"
The dog barked and Myung put the meat in front of the dog, winning its trust. The dog gobbled up the meat. Once it was done with its meal, Myung brandished the scarf in front of him.
"Sniff it and find the scent," he ordered the dog. The dog sniffed Orea's scent and then began to sniff the ground for her trace. Myung held its leash, letting the dog lead him into the forest where Orea had disappeared.
Please be safe, he prayed.
….
The men eyed the petite teenager in front of them and were surprised by her boldness. She was not scared of them. In fact, she was glaring at them like how a predator would at its prey.
"You guys are really unlucky," she said, flexing her knuckles. "Coz I'm very pissed off today."
One of the men lunged at her but she grabbed his arm and before the man could react, she threw him on the ground with surprising strength. More men came at her, one grabbing her from the back while another one tried to attack her from the front.
But she kicked the man in front of her and simultaneously elbowed the guy who was trying to throttle her from the back and punched a third one straight on the nose.
"What the hell?" she heard one of the men shout. "She's fucking trained!"
But she did not wait around and landed another powerful kick on the guy, knocking out several of his teeth. One of the men tried to punch her face but she ducked and hit a critical point in his abdomen. The men were taken aback by her skills as she took on fully trained army men all by her own. They groaned in pain but kept on attacking her but Orea beat them all.
"I told you, I'm pissed off!" she yelled and kicked another man in the groin, taking him out.
"Tase her!" a man growled. Orea dodged another guy who was now trying to tase her. She grabbed him by the throat and threw him over her shoulders, breaking his back. The man cried out in pain but she kicked him hard on the nose.
Her anger was at a boiling point and she took it out on the disgusting men who were trying to mess with her. Their blood was splattered on her face and clothes, scaring the assailants. They had thought the girl would be an easy target but they had never imagined that she would turn out to be deadlier than them.
"Yang told us to bring her alive!" another man shouted. "Do something!"
One of the men climbed a tree and was observing the girl as she beat up everyone to a pulp. He was too scared to do this and if he failed, he would be seriously injured or even die. But the Lieutenant General had ordered them to bring this girl to him and they must obey their orders.
Orea was busy punching another man when suddenly, a shadow jumped down from the trees and fell on her.
"UGH!" she yelled when her hands were pinned to her back and before she could retaliate, a violent shock of electricity coursed through her skin. Orea fainted and the men let out a sigh of relief.
"This girl...she's well trained!" one of the men exclaimed.
"That fighting style is unique," another man claimed. "It's taught in the army for combat but I've never seen a teenager mastering it this easily. Even the highly trained combatants take years to master it. She's not an ordinary school kid!"
"Let's take her to the base!" another man groaned. "And teach her a lesson."
They tied up Orea's hands and feet before one of the men threw her on his back, carrying her away. Their base was not far from there but they wanted to hurry up in case the girl woke up and started to beat them again.
"Lieutenant General will be pleased," one of the men said. "Give him and Sam a call after getting to the quarters."
The men murmured in agreement, still limping and wincing in pain inflicted on them by the seemingly helpless looking girl.