Adjusting the Gangster Male Lead’s Intensity [Novel] Chapter 20

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Translator: Harry Potta

Chapter: 20

Chapter Title: Desperate Truck Escape

-----------------------------------------------------------------

‘I wonder if the rewards change based on favorability?’

Going by current favorability rankings, it would be Yeol Seo, I-heum Seo, Do-gyeom Seo, and Yeong Baek, so it was a plausible theory.

The reason I-heum Seo’s option seemed more dangerous than Yeol Seo’s might be because Yeol Seo was a minor.

The rewards were tied to favorability in the first place, so they had to be connected.

‘My life hangs on favorability levels. And if an uncle’s favorability of 50 gives me a pistol, what the hell do I get for maxing out someone like Yeol Seo?’

I let out a sigh and stood up from my seat. It was hard to regain my balance with my unsteady body, but I gritted my teeth and didn’t give up.

I closed my eyes briefly to steady my dizzy vision, then slowly opened them. It was a little better than before.

For now, without using the gun right away, I moved toward the door and listened to the sounds outside.

‘Even if I escape, if there are people right in front, the chances of getting recaptured are high.’

I only had one chance to use the gun.

So the timing had to be when I-heum Seo and his group arrived, drawing everyone’s attention.

Fortunately, it didn’t seem like I-ryeong Cha was outside—just the voices of middle-aged men talking.

“No way I-heum Seo’s coming to rescue a girl like that, right? I think Captain Cha’s mistaken.”

“Mistaken? Hey, do you know how many years she’s been spying on us? She wouldn’t not know I-heum Seo better than we do.”

Someone rebuked the colleague doubting I-ryeong Cha’s orders. It seemed to be about Yi-hae Baek’s importance.

It was certainly suspicious enough. It’d be better if they just decided she wasn’t needed and let her go on her way.

“And the rumors say she’s been unofficially set as Do-gyeom Seo’s fiancée? Maybe it’s one of those political marriages to merge with another organization or something?”

“You’re crazy. I told you to stop reading those weird novels kids read.”

“Ahem.”

Political marriage? What?

Yi-hae Baek’s expression soured at suddenly being mistaken for the daughter of another organization.

‘From the voices, it sounds like there are only two of them.’

I frowned and strained my ears. No signs of commotion yet, so I-heum Seo hadn’t arrived.

“But what’s the boss thinking...? I can’t figure out what she’s planning at all. She always has that smile, but she’s the scariest one.”

“Yeah. The newbies think Captain Cha’s the scariest since they don’t know better, but really, it’s the boss.”

Someone whose thoughts no one could read.

Even her subordinates saw her that way, so Yeong Baek wasn’t the type to show her true feelings.

Not that it mattered now.

‘Dizzy...’

Dragging this out any longer, and I’d pass out the moment I escaped without even running.

Yi-hae Baek aimed the pistol at the door handle with the latch.

‘Running to the road is impossible anyway.’

Her escape destination was the sea. She didn’t know how long she could hold out, but it seemed better than the road at least.

The moment she tired of waiting for I-heum Seo and pulled the trigger—

“They’re here.”

Yi-hae Baek’s ears perked up at the tense voice from outside.

‘He’s here.’

Sounds of nearby gang members rustling and moving away reached her.

Yi-hae Baek cautiously peeked through the gap in the truck door.

‘What? Our side seems lightly manned—is that okay? No, why bring Do-gyeom Seo and Yeol Seo to a dangerous place like this?! They’re still kids!’

She hadn’t realized Do-gyeom Seo was the same age as her.

She spotted Yeong Baek opposite I-heum Seo, with I-ryeong Cha beside him.

Yi-hae Baek instinctively knew this was her chance to run.

‘The gunshot won’t register to them, right?’

Grasping the gun with both hands, Yi-hae Baek pulled the trigger. No sound came, but the recoil sent her body flying back, landing hard on her butt.

She scrambled up quickly. The pistol was vanishing naturally.

‘Gotta hurry.’

She carefully opened the truck door. No one right in front, thankfully, so she slipped out quietly and glanced between I-heum Seo and the sea.

Going to I-heum Seo seemed safest, but the odds of getting caught en route were high. The path was an open space with no cover.

As she hesitated briefly and turned toward the sea per her original plan—

Someone yanked her hair hard.

“Kyaaak!”

The involuntary scream drew the gazes of I-heum Seo’s group and Yeong Baek’s from afar simultaneously.

But it couldn’t be helped—yanked with such force, she fell to the ground and was dragged along.

Her legs scraped the cement, drawing blood, but what terrified her more was the man gripping her hair.

A hulking man covered in tattoos up to his neck glared at her menacingly.

“How’d you get out? The boss is focused right now—don’t cause unnecessary trouble.”

It hurt. And it was scary.

Yi-hae Baek shed tears. She vaguely heard a commotion from afar, but she couldn’t focus on that.

‘Forget favorability—I just want you to do something about this guy!’

Yi-hae Baek’s paper-thin body was slammed to the ground by the man’s hand. Not content with rolling her around, his foot now mercilessly aimed at her.

The moment she squeezed her eyes shut, bracing for the impending pain—

Thwack-!

The dull thud sounded more like punching meat than hitting a person.

Opening her eyes, Yi-hae Baek saw the man sent flying by Do-gyeom Seo’s kick.

‘No way. A guy that huge.’

Was it because he was the male lead, or did Do-gyeom Seo have high stats?

His response was so swift she hadn’t even noticed him approach. As Yi-hae Baek watched, tears streaming, Do-gyeom Seo came closer.

“You haven’t even gotten chewed out by me yet—why’re you crying?”

His blunt face spat rude words, but the hand wiping her tears was gentle.

“Do-gyeom Seo... What if you come here alone? It’s dangerous—go back. If you get hit too...!”

“Who hit you?”

Do-gyeom Seo’s face hardened menacingly.

His gaze sharpened as he inspected her. She hadn’t been hit, but her pale face and battered skin would be visible.

‘No, I wasn’t hit exactly. But still, it was tough!’

Yi-hae Baek shook her head frantically in panic.

“I wasn’t hit. I was just locked in there. It’s, uh, claustrophobia from tight spaces, so even knowing it was dangerous, I came out. Sorry if I’m in the way.”

She babbled incoherently with dilated pupils—he might not have understood.

Maybe because Do-gyeom Seo had come to rescue her, she felt relieved. Her vision kept blurring, so she blinked hard.

Vaguely, she heard I-heum Seo raising his voice from afar. But no fighting.

I-heum Seo said something to Yeong Baek, then headed this way. Yeong Baek just watched.

‘Why isn’t he stopping him?’

Some kind of deal, maybe.

As Yi-hae Baek watched I-heum Seo and Yeol Seo approach, she blacked out.

“Yi-hae Baek!”

Do-gyeom Seo caught the fainting Yi-hae Baek before she hit the ground and called her name.

But no response. Her ragged breathing and pained face told him her condition was poor.

I-heum Seo arrived soon after and asked about the situation upon seeing her.

“What happened? Did she get hurt badly?”

“No. She said she was locked in that truck.”

“Truck?”

I-heum Seo’s gaze turned to the truck, heat radiating from it.

His expression hardened terrifyingly. He recalled Yi-hae Baek mentioning her trauma.

“We’re pulling out. Tell O Seo-bang not to waste energy either.”

“They’ll let us go easily?”

“I already talked to Yeong Baek. This was just a threat to shut down our business in White Blossom Gang territory from the start.”

A gang fight would benefit neither side.

They’d targeted Yi-hae Baek to threaten that her safety wasn’t guaranteed if they didn’t comply.

Abandoning the business wasn’t a big loss. Without Yi-hae Baek, pride would’ve kept them from backing down easily, regardless of investment.

“I warned them we retreat this time, but next time we won’t hold back.”

Carrying the unconscious Yi-hae Baek, I-heum Seo stood with a fierce glint in his eyes.

Do-gyeom Seo nodded up at him. He’d felt nothing toward White Blossom Gang before, but today changed that.

“We’re taking Yi-hae Baek as promised. And we’ll drop the business as discussed.”

I-heum Seo approached Yeong Baek with Yi-hae Baek in his arms.

He found it odd how Yeong Baek couldn’t tear her eyes away from Yi-hae Baek, but continued.

“But the price for making my family cry—you’ll pay someday.”

Yeong Baek neither affirmed nor denied. He just gestured once, making his fighting members fall back.

Do-gyeom Seo glared at Yeong Baek. To etch the White Blossom Gang boss’s face into memory forever.

Yeong Baek glanced at him briefly before turning away. For a split second, his gaze shifted back to I-heum Seo carrying Yi-hae Baek.

Do-gyeom Seo didn’t know what it meant, but it left him displeased.