Frozen Rose (Langa x reader)

Chapter 129

(Y/n)'s POV

The man, sporting closely cropped hair, smirked upon seeing the distress on my face. He held the knife to Langa's throat, drawing a thin line that oozed out thick, scarlet blood. My breath caught, my heart stopped. Anger filled my vision with a violent red.

"Before you go waving your weapons at me, I'd like to make a deal. Kenta and his son for these two," said the man.
"What kinda game are you trying to play?! What the hell have we done?"
"Let them go. I'll gladly offer myself in exchange for them. Just don't take my son."
"No can do."
"I-"

Before he could stab the knife into Langa's arm, I snatched the pistol from Kenta's belt and aimed at the man's wrist. The bullet hit its mark before I began running towards them, flipping and dodging incoming bullets, not caring if one scraped by my skin.

The only thought on my mind was to save Langa no matter what else happened. I didn't think. I couldn't. I simply knew that if I didn't do anything now, he would get heavily injured and it would be my fault.

I eventually had the gun aimed at the man's head though his subordinates had all their weapons aimed at me. His eyes portrayed the fear in his heart despite his expression oozing a false sense of arrogance.

"Ne, you would've killed him eventually, right? Tell me now why I should spare your life," I seethed.
"Girlie, you're surrounded by over a dozen weapons. You really think you can win this? No matter what you do, it's your loss," he replied triumphantly.
"I wouldn't be so sure about that," Kenta exclaimed.

His gang emerged from the shadows, outnumbering the man's subordinates. Their weapons were trained upon the people who had me as their target.

"I called them while (Y/n) was busy distracting your sorry asses. They were already on standby. Now Kenichiro, do you want to keep holding onto your petty jealousy and die here or will you surrender?" Kenta asked.
"You really think I'll give up so easily?! You stole everything from me! The top of the class, the popularity...the girl I loved..."
"That was a long time ago. You only have your own incompetence to blame. Now let them go. We can have a duel, just the two of us to settle this."

The man named Kenichiro seemed to think over his options. My finger itched to pull the trigger, my anger a barely concealed smile stretching my lips. His eyes flickered to meet my gaze, undoubtedly seeing the resolve to kill if he further harmed my friends.

"You'll pull your men back?" Kenichiro asked.
"You have my word," replied Kenta.
"Deal."

Both their subordinates lowered their weapons upon receiving the order. He told someone to untie both Andre and Langa's limbs before pushing them forward. A makeshift bandage was wrapped around his wrist.

Langa immediately took my hand, his warmth and safety a relief that uncurled the worry in my stomach. He carefully took the gun from my tight grip before the adrenaline wore off and my hands shook.

I let him pull me closer, let the tremors pass. Kenta walked up to his 'old friend', tying one arm behind his back so as to not give himself an advantage. Kenichiro shot me a deathly glare, to which I returned with a lazy smile that would irritate him.

"Remind me not to get on your bad side," Andre exclaimed.
"Maybe try getting kidnapped less often."
"Oi, I'd like to see you fend off gangsters while being drugged and gagged."
"Drugged? What the hell were you doing before this?"
"Nothing out of the ordinary! I was just helping some lady who got her bag stolen. She offered to buy me a drink."

I turned to hide my face against Langa's shirt before laughs escaped my mouth.

"Dude, are you laughing at me?" Andre asked.
"You don't have to worry about her. She just went into 'I can't deal with this' mode. It'll stop in a few minutes," was Langa's reply.
"Huh...you two really know each other."
"She's my girlfriend. Why wouldn't I know her well?"
"...fair enough."

I turned slightly to watch the duel between Kenta and Kenichiro. Both were incredible fighters; I wouldn't have stood a chance. The fight was a mixture of punches and counterattacks, a match that bordered on brutality. It wasn't until Kenta landed the final punch that it finally ended.

~Some time later~

Langa's mum came home before her eyes zeroed in on the bandages. I stood up, ready to explain though she simply waved her hand as if she didn't require an explanation. My mouth closed shut.

"It's alright. I trust you, both of you. If there's anything you need to talk to me about, you can. But I'm not some nagging mum who'll demand an explanation for every little injury so you can relax," she exclaimed.
"...thank you, but I don't want to be keeping any secrets that'll damage our relationship. Langa was captured by a gang."
"E-eh?! What happened? Are you both okay?!"
"You're not mad?"
"Honey, I trust you. I'm more worried about the injuries!"

I let her fuss over her son, hugging my knees as I watched her check the wounds and reapplied some ointment to the cuts. She then came over to me despite my assuring her that I had taken no harm.

"Have you two had dinner yet?" she asked.
"Not yet."
"Great. Let me make you something."
"Let me help."
"No, that's all good. You two go relax. I'll let you know when it's ready."

Langa nodded and took my hand, leading me to his room. He immediately flopped down on his bed, too tired to do anything else. I went to sit down beside him only for him to pull me down. A relaxing warmth filled me from the inside as I struggled to keep my eyelids open.

"Langa, we shouldn't sleep yet..." I started, though sleep was winning over my consciousness.