Third Person's POV
"Thank you," said Sergey as he shook hands with his new business partner.
"Thank you too. I'm looking forward to work with you," Mr. So replied, his smile evident.
"Same with me. Alright then, we're off," Sergey said.
Accompanied by his three bodyguards and Zach, they walked towards the parking lot.
"Oh, I forgot to grab the copy of the updated project!" Zach exclaimed as they neared the exit door. "Sir, I'll just quickly retrieve the document. I'll be right back."
"Ok," Sergey replied simply, and they continued walking out.
Zach returned to the elevator to retrieve what was left behind, while Sergey and his bodyguards proceeded to make their way out of the building while the parking lot was just in front of them.
As they stepped outside, they caught sight of Sergey's car when suddenly, a man appeared out of nowhere and attempted to stab Sergey. Thankfully, one of his bodyguards stepped in, stopping the attacker by taking away his weapon.
Realizing he couldn't succeed, the attacker hurriedly ran away.
"Go and get him!" Sergey commanded, his hands still tucked into his pants pockets. No slight panic is evident in his face.
Without hesitation, his three bodyguards sprinted off after the escaping attacker, quickly disappearing into the distance as they chased him.
Sergey didn't know it, but it was just a trap so his bodyguards would leave him alone. As soon as his bodyguards left, six big men suddenly appeared, holding a bat and a knife.
"They instructed us to teach you a lesson. Don't worry, we won't kill you," said the mustached man calmly.
Sergey didn't reply. Instead, he loosened his tie and unbuttoned his tuxedo jacket knowing where this conversation was going to end.
The six men were impressed by Sergey's calm reaction, so they smiled.
"Hey, kid! If I were you, I wouldn't fight. You'll only get hurt even more," the guy on the left said arrogantly, holding a white bat.
"Yeah, he's right," agreed the bald guy next to him. "You better watch out. We might lose our cool and end up killing you," he added, causing them all to laugh.
"Who sent you?" Sergey asked calmly, not feeling any fear.
"You don't need to care about that!" the mustached man replied rudely.
"You answer my question!" Sergey demanded with authority.
"What? You got something to say, kid?" the guy on the right taunted.
"I hate it when people make me repeat my questions!" Sergey said sharply, glaring at the men.
"Hey! Hey! Hey! What are you looking at, huh? You want me to gouge your eyes out?" the mustached man said angrily. "Fine! Go get him!" He signaled.
The two men on the right move forward simultaneously. With a swing, one aimed for Sergey's head while the other, wielding a knife, went straight for Sergey's side.
Sergey simply dodged their attacks and countered it with punches, causing them to release their weapons on the ground.
This made the mustached leader angry more, so all of them attacked simultaneously. Sergey noticed they were targeting his head, so he quickly dodged. What he didn't know was that the opponent behind him was aiming for his right leg.
Sergey couldn't dodge the attack from behind, so he was struck in the leg by the opponent. Despite this, Sergey still fought back, enduring the pain. He picked up their weapon and stabbed the man who attacked him.
Everyone loses due to Sergey's strength.
"You'll pay for this! Men! Get him!" the mustached man said while seated on the ground.
As he said that, the six others waiting nearby emerged. Since they all came from different directions, Sergey took this chance to escape. He knew he didn't stand a chance against so many opponents so the better thing to do is run.
Though he struggled to walk, he quickly ran towards a nearby alley. Misleading the enemy, Sergey gain some time to fine where to hide but they still caught him
"There! He went this way!" the opponent shouted upon seeing Sergey enter the alley.
They chased him until Sergey reached an establishment. Because there were few people around, Sergey blended in and walked as if nothing happened. He was gasping for breath, but he couldn't afford to relax.
Gasping for air and enduring a throbbing pain in his right leg, Sergey continued his journey down a narrow hallway lined with towering walls that seemed to close in on him.
Unbeknownst to him, at the opposite end of the hallway, Dara cowered, concealing herself from the looming presence of the loan shark, Mr. Kim, her heart pounding with fear at the thought of being discovered.
Since both were seeking refuge and not looking ahead, they didn't notice each other and accidentally bumped into each other.
Dara was surprised by the incident but managed to remain standing. When she turned to see who she bumped into, she saw the man sitting on the floor. She quickly helped him up to his feet.
"So—" Dara began, about to apologize, but the man brushed her off with his left hand.
Without a word, Sergey arrogantly continued on his way, ignoring her completely. Despite his limp and the pain in his right leg, he forced himself to keep walking.
'Why is he so quick to dismiss me? The collision wasn't even that strong,' Dara wondered to herself.
Feeling somewhat responsible for the man's demeanor, she pitied him and felt it was her duty to help. She approached him and offered assistance.
"Sorry. I didn't mean to bump into you. Please let me help you," Dara offered, but the man remained stubborn.
"Mind your own business," Sergey snapped.
Attempting to leave again, Sergey stumbled, prompting Dara to quickly grab his arm to steady him. At that moment, a group of men arrived from where Sergey came from.
"We finally caught up to you," said the man in the middle, who seemed to be the group's leader of this new group.
"Who are you?" Dara nervously asked, feeling intimidated by the size and number of the men.
"Miss, don't meddle in this if you don't want to be involved," their leader arrogantly replied. "Get him," he ordered.
The five men stepped forward, ready to grab Sergey, but Dara suddenly blocked their path.
The man grabbed Dara's shoulder, triggering her muscle memory of fighting.
Reacting swiftly, Dara stepped back and elbowed the man using her right arm, followed by her left.
The man was hit in the face, causing him to stagger back and clutch his bleeding nose.
"So, she's with you. Are you this weak? Your little hero is a girl?" the leader taunted, waving his hand as a signal for them to attack together.
Dara defended herself against the attacks and retaliated with consecutive strikes using her elbows. She also kicked some attackers coming from behind.
Meanwhile, Sergey stood behind Dara, amazed as he watched the girl. To him, it seemed like she was dancing, but with each retaliatory strike, she always hits the enemy.
The fight didn't last long, and Dara quickly knocked down all of them. At that moment, she only realized what she was doing and reacted instinctively. She didn't know she had it in her. It was the first time something like that had ever happened to her.
"Wow!" Dara exclaimed, amazed at herself.
Before she could even process what had happened, another man came running towards her. Unsure of what to do, Dara pretended to be skilled and instinctively positioned her hands in front of her like a professional martial artist.
The man just ran past Dara without paying her any attention, leaving her feeling embarrassed. Instead, he went straight to Sergey and checked on his condition.
"Sir! Are you okay?" Zach asked as he approached Sergey, avoiding revealing his identity to strangers.
"I'm fine," Sergey replied.
"Do you two know each other?" Dara asked curiously, referring to the two men she didn't recognize.
"Yes, and who are you?" Zach asked, looking confused.
"I-" Dara was about to answer when she spotted Mr. Kim and his henchmen approaching from behind Sergey. She quickly bowed and used the two men as a barrier.
"Aren't you two acquainted right? Since we're equal, I will leave you here," Dara interjected, glancing at Sergey. "Mr. Handsome, can you take care of him? Please I'll go ahead of you," she instructed Zach.
Before they could say anything, she hurriedly left while keeping her head down. Zach watched her, puzzled, as she disappeared into the foliage.
"Ugh!" Sergey groaned as his wound throbbed slightly, catching Zach's attention.
"Oh right," he said, assisting Sergey to stand up. "Sorry," he added.
Zach quickly took Sergey to his house and called a doctor while on the way. When they arrived, he immediately attended to Sergey.
"Find out who's behind the incident today," Sergey ordered, his face contorted in pain as the doctor wrapped his leg in a bandage.
"Right away," Zach replied, about to leave when Sergey stopped him.
"Wait," Sergey interjected. "Also find out who that woman was," he pointed out the woman who had saved him.
"Absolutely," Zach replied, then left the room.
On the other side, Dara safely returned to the Star Company. When she arrived, Uriah was already waiting outside.
"My gosh! I thought you left me," Uriah exclaimed.
"Sorry, something came up," Dara explained, her appearance indicating that she had been running.
"Where did you join a marathon? You look exhausted," Uriah asked as he pulled Dara and left the arena.
"It's a long story," Dara replied simply before they left the place.
~To Be Continued~