Belligerent

05

Chances.

When someone who's hurt you wants to come back into your life, deciding what to do next isn't easy. Should you give them a second chance or not? If you still have feelings for them, giving it another go may seem worth it. Sometimes people will make the most out of a second chance and end up staying together. But the reality is, it's never guaranteed to be the latter.

Chances may revolve around opportunities that are often looked over.

"Detective Kim!"

"Detective Im!"

The sound of footsteps echoed through our precinct's walls. I looked up and saw Jae, who is out of breath and panting, speeding his way towards our space. He paused for a sec, catching his breath, clutching on a phone.

"A hostage is being held right now in the city bank and we need your help." He said, finally catching his breath. I glanced at the TV screen at the side and quickly looked at Sangwoo and we immediately rustled out of the precinct. The feel of adrenaline suddenly kicks at the moment I stood up on my spot. I was never a risk-taker myself. The trauma I felt a few years back imprinted on me like a scar that could never be stitched nor heal. It haunted me every time but I took an oath, a will to allow myself to be of help to other people. To think that someone else out there is willing to sacrifice themselves for the sake of others leaves me with a knotty feeling in my stomach. But at the same time, I admire them for being brave. So much that I wished I could do the same thing as they did.

A crowd was gathered in front of a huge building, the sound of murmurs was heard at each corner and a line of officers with tactical shields filled the whole block. Inside the building was a group of men, who I assumed were armed judging on their stances, stood guard in the tall, glass windows. One of the officers held a megaphone and started talking to the armed robbers, "Drop your weapons. Come out peacefully and no harm will be intended".

Sangwoo and I blended in with the crowd for a few minutes before I caught the glance of one of the armed men. I watched the man gesture one of his people and saw him point a finger towards my direction. I narrowed my eyes at the men and started feeling uneasy about the situation. I glanced in Sangwoo's direction and saw a stern look, plastered on his face. His fists were slightly clenched and his eyes were filled with a hint of angst. Finally, the sound of a gunshot was heard from the inside.

The sound was too loud that it made each other people in the area duck and scream. My heart was racing and my breath became uneven. Sangwoo grabbed my wrists, "Let's evacuate everyone in the area to a safe space. Now!". I nodded and ran to the other side of the crown and hurriedly ushered everyone away from the building. The air was tense and filled with suspense, I could hear distant sobs and panic as were evacuating everyone out of the area. When everyone was safely away from the supposed hostage-taking, I quickly looked back at the front entrance of the building and saw one of the armed men coming out, with a hostage on hand. The hostage was a man, who had taken quite a beating, was pushed to the ground at gunpoint.

"Put the guns down, or else this man takes a bullet through his brain", the armed man shouts, posing a more threatening point. I looked at the officer in charge and saw a glint of hesitation in his eyes as he gestured his men to hold their ground. "As you know, we mean no harm, but if you give us what we want, we'll let everyone go", the armed man replied, looking in my direction.

"Am I right, Detective Kim?"

Sangwoo stood in front of me.

"Well well, always the knight and shining armor now, are we Detective Im?"
Sangwoo clenched his jaw and felt his burning gaze towards the perpetrator in front of us. "You make it hard for us, this man right here, dies. Make it easy for us and he lives another day", he added with a smug on his face.

"What do you want from Detective Kim," Sangwoo replied.

"That's so vague of you! Did you really expect for me to pick one and get over it?" he said and the sound of roaring laughter echoed throughout the almost empty area. A pure disgust washed over my body and a shiver went down my spine.
"Detective Kim, do you not feel ashamed of someone else taking the blame for your own mistake?"

I looked at the beaten up hostage and felt sympathy, mixed with guilt and rage. I was enraged at the thought of him taking in the pain, yet he had no connection to any of the situation, but he was somehow being pulled along like strings on a puppet. "It would honestly be a shame for this man to not see the light of the day after I pull this trigger."

My emotions were all over the place. At that moment of life or death, I had a split-second decision. "Take me, but don't hurt anybody else. It's not him that you want." I said, revealing myself behind Sangwoo.

"Taerin what is wrong with you?!"
Sangwoo said, grabbing my wrists, slightly pulling me back.

"I just want everybody to be safe. Let me do it, please." I replied, feeling the tears slowly well up in my eyes. Sangwoo looked at me worriedly and felt his hesitation as his grip became tighter around my wrist. I held his hand and he let go of it. A part of me was pulling my other half away, while the other half was trying to push through the barriers that I have built. My mind was having its own battle against my own heart.

Everything laid silent around me. 

I approached closer to the building's entrance and saw the hostage who has almost unidentifiable as they took quite a beating from them. A gut-wrenching feeling starts to develop the longer I stared at the innocent person as they were hunched over. "Now wasn't that easy!" He said, followed by a burst of roaring laughter that echoed throughout the block we were at. I held my breath for a second and said, "What do you want, Dami?" 

Narrowing my eyes at Dami, he signaled his men to let the remaining hostages inside the building out in front of us, looked back at me, and smirked. "Oh dear, where's the fun in that?", he said with a mocking tone. My heart starts pounding harder that I could almost feel it burst out of my chest. "Now now, let's get this party started, shall we?" He continued, but with an almost icy tone to his voice. Now he signals one of his men once again, one of them grabs me by arms and locks me in a tight handcuff, while the other ushers me into the same building as the other hostages were held. 

I glanced back at Sangwoo and met with his disgruntled eyes. He looks away and saw him clench his fists. The other officers were still on guard but the main thing I saw was the unamused face of their Chief. As I was hastily pushed inside the building, many questions suddenly fill my mind, looking at each different unfortunate hostage. I will never forget their faces even after all of this ends. 

"The forces nowadays are so naive! I mean look at this, we even got a bonus out of it!"

"Boss never lies, right?" 

"Is this the girl we've been ordered to look for?"

"Perhaps. Wonder what the boss wants with her though."

"C'mon, seriously? Is that even a question? Obviously boss would-"

I looked down to the ground and felt my blood rage at the thought. I knew exactly what they wanted. But in many years I have avoided contact with any of these people. If it weren't for one of my father's rivals, I wouldn't be in any of this trouble. Apparently, this has been going on for many years now, even before I was born. I always knew my father was dealing with shady business, but he never showed signs of it. One of his siblings said that he was often getting phone calls even during his teenage years. No one knew who or what my father has been, unfortunately, I got caught in it long enough to realize there is no way out of this maze.