The leader's shadow loomed larger as Min Hyun stumbled forward, his breath uneven.
"What do you want? Why are you following us?" he shouted, voice cracking under fear and anger.
The man in front didn't flinch. His voice was calm, even cold.
"We want what you have."
Before Min Hyun could react, one of the men struck him hard across the face. The sound echoed against the wet concrete. Soojin gasped, trying to move, but another shadow pressed a boot on her shoulder, forcing her down.
The leader lifted his phone, speaking to someone on the other end. "Yes. We got them."
A pause. Rain dripped steadily from his coat.
"Yes, the bag too."
After a brief conversation, he turned back to them. His expression was unreadable, almost curious.
"I don't even know you!" Min Hyun yelled, blood mixing with rainwater on his lip. "I just wanted to meet my girlfriend—and you psychos started chasing me! What do you even want from me?"
The leader tilted his head. "The file you're carrying."
"What file?" Min Hyun's voice broke with disbelief. "I'm a project manager, not a spy!"
The leader's gaze flicked to the waterproof bag. "Then tell me what's in that."
"Oh, that?" Min Hyun forced a shaky laugh, trying to sound casual. "We were going on a trip without telling her family. Since you guys kept following us, we didn't want to risk her safety. It's just her essentials. You can check, if you want."
The leader crouched beside the bag, rain soaking his coat. With deliberate precision, he unzipped it. Soojin's heart hammered; Min Hyun tensed, ready for anything.
Inside... only Soojin's ID card, a few personal documents, and the usual travel essentials. Nothing else. No files, no secrets.
The leader's eyes flicked to the phone, and he called in a sharp, controlled tone. "Yes... we have them."
A stern voice barked back. "Did you find the file?"
The shadows froze. The leader's brow furrowed. "Nothing... just personal ID and some documents. No file."
"Impossible!" the voice on the line growled. "Check again! That file must be with them!"
Min Hyun's jaw tightened. "You mean... you seriously thought we had something?!" he spat, voice trembling from fear and anger.
Soojin clutched the bag to her chest. Her pulse raced. Even though the bag had nothing of value to the pursuers, the danger wasn't over—the leader's calm, deadly stare promised it.
The leader muttered under his breath, almost to himself, "If the file isn't here... someone is lying. And someone will pay."
Min Hyun's chest tightened. As the rain pelted down, his mind involuntarily drifted back.
Weeks ago...
He had been reviewing documents for one of their biggest clients when a new file had popped up. At first, he thought it was just routine—but the deeper he dug, the more he realized its contents were explosive: evidence of money laundering, illegal transactions, and schemes that could ruin countless innocent lives.
Panic hadn't set in at first—Min Hyun knew going straight to the police wasn't the safest option. Many of those involved had ties that could compromise the investigation. If handled incorrectly, innocent people would suffer.
He had spent nights analyzing the file, trying to figure out a way to make sure it would reach the right hands—someone competent, ethical, someone who could act without falling into corruption. But that meant secrecy was crucial. Anyone finding out about it could become a target—or worse, could use it for their own gain.
And that's how they ended up chasing them tonight.
Min Hyun's jaw clenched. He glanced at Soojin, drenched and trembling beside him. She had no idea what she was carrying—or how deadly it had become. The bag, filled with her essentials and the documents, was now a beacon for the wrong people.
He exhaled sharply, forcing himself back to the present. "Soojin... we have to stay calm," he muttered under his breath. Even if they don't know what's really inside, they'll stop at nothing to find out.
The leader leaned closer, inspecting the ID and papers, unaware of the truth hidden elsewhere. "You're lying to us," he hissed, voice low, dangerous.
Rain poured like shards of glass as the shadows loomed over them, silent and merciless. The leader stepped closer, his boots splashing in the puddles that had formed around the trio. Min Hyun's shoulders rose and fell with each ragged breath, his soaked shirt clinging to his skin.
"Where is the file?" the leader asked, voice low, cutting through the storm like a blade. "You think we chased you across the city for nothing?"
Min Hyun's pulse hammered, but he kept his eyes blank—confused, innocent. "File?" he echoed, shaking his head slowly. "You mean... the one from my office? That's probably still there—why would I bring work files on a trip?"
The man's jaw tightened. "Don't act smart. We're talking about the HN Corporation file. The confidential project documents. Where are they?"
Min Hyun blinked, feigning realization. "Oh... that one." He let out a shaky laugh, trying to sound casual despite the tension clawing at his chest. "That should be in my company's archive section, third cabinet in my office. I don't handle those outside of work—it's protocol. You can check if you don't believe me."
The leader's eyes narrowed suspiciously. The storm hissed between them. Finally, he pulled out a small device, muttering something in code before speaking into it. "Check the company's Seoul branch. File section. His office."
They waited. The seconds dragged like hours. Soojin's breath trembled beside him, and Jihoon's hand still clutched his ribs, blood mixing with rainwater.
Then, a voice crackled through the device. "We found it, sir. Labeled under Min Hyun's section."
For a fleeting second, Min Hyun's lungs filled with air again. He almost couldn't believe the bluff had worked.
The leader studied him for a long moment, expression unreadable. "If you're lying," he said finally, stepping back, "you won't live long enough to regret it." He signaled sharply. The shadows loosened their grip, shoving the trio away.
Soojin stumbled to her knees, gasping. Jihoon grabbed her arm to steady her, his own face pale from pain. Min Hyun remained standing, though barely, his body shaking from the tension.
The leader turned away, speaking once more into his device. "Bring the file to me directly. I want confirmation."
That was their chance.
Min Hyun's gaze darted sideways, meeting Jihoon's. A silent understanding passed between them. Jihoon nodded faintly.
Thunder roared overhead, drowning out the storm's rhythm. In that single, deafening moment, Jihoon lunged—shoving one of the guards aside.
"Now!" Min Hyun shouted.
Soojin didn't think—she just ran. The three of them bolted through the sheets of rain, splashing across the rooftop, feet slipping against the slick tiles. Shouts erupted behind them—orders barked, boots clattering.
They vaulted over the ledge, sliding down a lower roof, landing hard in the narrow gap between buildings. The air burned in their lungs, hearts hammering against soaked clothes.
"Go—keep going!" Min Hyun rasped, pulling Soojin forward. She was shivering, trembling, barely keeping up.
Behind them, the leader appeared at the edge of the roof, his dark silhouette framed by lightning. "Find them again!" he roared. "If that file isn't real, I want their names erased before dawn!"
The trio disappeared into the maze of alleys, breathless, dripping, half-broken—but alive.
Minutes later, they collapsed under a metal awning, hidden behind stacks of crates. The rain beat on the tin above them like drums of war.
Soojin turned to Min Hyun, voice barely a whisper. "You lied to them... didn't you?"
He met her gaze, his expression unreadable—somewhere between guilt and grim satisfaction. "Sometimes," he said quietly, "the only way to survive is to lie well enough to live."
Jihoon exhaled shakily, running a hand through his drenched hair. "But they'll find out, Hyun. When they open that file—"
"They'll find routine documents," Min Hyun interrupted. His tone hardened, eyes distant. "Nothing that matters. The real one's not there."
Soojin blinked. "Then... where is it?"
He didn't answer right away. The storm reflected in his dark eyes, heavy with secrets he couldn't yet share. "Somewhere safe," he murmured finally. "Far away from anyone who'd use it to destroy lives."
The night fell quieter around them—just the rain, their breathing, and the sound of their pounding hearts.
And though they'd escaped death for now, none of them could shake the same thought:
the storm was far from over.
The storm hadn't stopped.
Rain fell in angry waves, washing the streets of Busan into silver reflections. The trio ran — breathless, soaked, half-blind from the wind.
Behind them, engines roared. Headlights cut through the darkness like hunting blades.
"Left!" Jihoon shouted, gripping Soojin's hand. They darted into a narrow alley, splashing through puddles, clothes clinging to their skin.
Min Hyun stumbled, chest burning. "We can't keep running like this!" he gasped. "They'll find us in minutes—"
"Then we disappear," Jihoon said sharply. "Now."
They burst into a side street lined with small, shuttered boutiques. Neon lights flickered faintly through the rain — one of them, a second-hand clothing shop, left half-open under the flicker of a dying signboard:
"LUNA'S VINTAGE — Since 1995."
Jihoon didn't hesitate. He smashed the lock with a loose brick and slipped inside.
The bell above the door gave a faint ding — drowned by the storm.
Inside, it smelled of perfume and dust. Racks of old dresses and wigs swayed in the draft.
Soojin closed the door behind them, breathing hard. "We can't stay—"
"We're not," Min Hyun cut in, grabbing a towel from a display rack. He wiped his face, his mind racing. "We need to blend in."
Jihoon raised an eyebrow. "Blend in? We look like drowned criminals, Hyun."
"Exactly," Hyun replied. "So we stop looking like them."
He pointed at the racks — women's clothes.
Soojin blinked. "You're not serious."
"Oh, I'm serious," Jihoon said grimly, already grabbing a floral coat. "Desperate times."
In five minutes, chaos turned into quiet transformation.
Jihoon emerged first — wearing a long beige skirt, oversized cardigan, and a red scarf that half-covered his bruised face. He looked ridiculous, but the effect worked: unrecognizable.
Min Hyun followed — a long dark wig tucked under a hood, a black dress over his soaked jeans, and Soojin's spare shawl draped around his neck. His eyes, still sharp with focus, darted toward the window.
"They won't look for two women and a girl," he murmured.
Soojin adjusted the scarf around her neck, still shaking. "You really think this will fool them?"
"It doesn't have to fool them forever," he said. "Just long enough."
They slipped out the back, the rain masking their steps.
The streets were alive with noise — honking cars, distant sirens, the metallic hiss of rain on rooftops. Two of the pursuers ran past the boutique, glancing briefly inside, then moving on.
Hyun exhaled shakily. "Keep walking. Don't run."
They walked — three drenched silhouettes under the storm, blending into the scattered crowd of night workers and stragglers taking shelter.
For a brief, precious moment, it worked.
They crossed a street toward the docks — the air reeking of oil and sea salt. The alleys narrowed, and the sound of waves mixed with the hum of freight machinery.
Soojin whispered, "Where are we going?"
"Old industrial district," Hyun said. "Warehouse 17 — it's abandoned. I used it during a past project shoot. No one goes there now."
As they turned the last corner, a spotlight swept across the rain. Voices shouted in the distance.
"They're still searching," Jihoon muttered.
"Then we move faster."
They ducked between stacked cargo crates, slipping through gaps and shadow. Every few seconds, headlights flashed across the water — black vans circling the area like sharks.
Finally, they reached the warehouse — its steel doors rusted, half-open, creaking in the wind.
Soojin hesitated. "Hyun... are you sure it's safe?"
He pushed the door slightly. The echo of emptiness answered back. "Safe enough for now."
They slipped inside, closing it behind them. Darkness swallowed the space — only broken windows let in streaks of lightning.
Jihoon collapsed onto a pile of old tarps, groaning softly. "I swear I'll never wear a skirt again."
Soojin let out a shaky laugh that almost turned into tears. "You looked... convincing, though."
Min Hyun gave a small, weary smile — but his eyes were already scanning the shadows. "Don't unpack yet. They won't stop until they find us."
Then, from outside — a crack.
A bootstep.
Soojin froze.
Jihoon's grip tightened on a metal pipe beside him.
Min Hyun whispered, "They found us."
The light from a flashlight sliced through the crack in the door.
And that's when the next chapter begins — "Echoes in the Rain", where you left off: the confrontation, the bluff, and the escape through the storm.
What would happen when they are found again by the goons ?