Codename Anastasia Novel (End) - Chapter 15

It was then. Gunfire resumed from above the water. Kwon Taekjoo retreated back into the car, hiding his body. Although his eardrums were submerged and he couldn’t be sure, the helicopter seemed to have descended to just above the surface. The propeller wash created violent ripples in the water. Along with it, his breathing began to destabilize again.

Not only that, but bullets continued to rain down. The already deceased driver and passenger were repeatedly pierced, their bodies helplessly flailing. His vision blurred with the blood spreading like ink in the water. Useless, anyway. Did Zhenya not know that Kwon Taekjoo himself was in the car? He was firing the minigun as if determined not to leave any living creature alive.

That crazy bastard, he has no limits.

He barely dodged the incoming bullets, grumbling. Waiting for the firing to stop, he gradually ran out of breath. His lungs, deprived of fresh oxygen, ached as if they would tear. If he didn’t go up to the surface immediately, he would suffocate before being shot to death. Just then, the intense firing also ceased. A shadow flickered on the water’s surface, indicating they were assessing the situation, not entirely finished with the attack.

Kwon Taekjoo thrashed his legs, swimming out the window. The surface was only about 3 or 4 meters away. He had to get up before Zhenya resumed firing. He gritted his teeth and powerfully cut through the water. His body, which had been surging upwards, was suddenly pulled down. Looking down in surprise, he saw Psikh Bogdanoff clutching his ankle. The man’s face, as he watched Kwon Taekjoo, was heavily contorted. Perhaps he hadn’t avoided the bullets, as crimson blood gurgled from his left arm.

He mercilessly kicked the man’s face. With a series of kicks, the hand gripping him released its hold. But it wasn’t over. The man soon grabbed Kwon Taekjoo’s collar again, stubbornly clinging on. It was a desperate, almost suicidal, struggle, as if he couldn’t die alone.

Kwon Taekjoo swung his fist at Psikh Bogdanoff. As he hesitated to dodge the punch, Kwon Taekjoo swiftly wrapped his arm around his neck and pulled. Psikh’s body writhed as his neck was suddenly choked. Perhaps due to significant blood loss from the gunshot wound, he couldn’t exert much force. His severe shortness of breath was also a problem. Kwon Taekjoo himself was not in an easy situation either. Kwon Taekjoo tightened his arm around Psikh’s neck even more. Psikh, who had been scratching at his arm and squirming in resistance, convulsed and then went limp. Kwon Taekjoo released him only a few seconds later.

The massive body, now completely still, slowly drifted away. He watched the pale face gradually sink before kicking through the water to the surface.

As soon as he surfaced, his whole body swelled. The breath he had been holding escaped in a rush. His lungs sucked in fresh air with all their might, making his chest and even his windpipe ache. His eyes also opened wide.

It was only after a while that he realized the terrible cold. His lips, which had been open to exhale, began to chatter. He needed to get out of the water, but his limbs wouldn’t move after the recent struggle. All he could do was relax his body and float. Just then, someone unexpectedly grabbed him by the scruff of his neck and pulled him out.

“…Cough. Cough.”

He heavily coughed up the water in his lungs. After coughing for a long time until his throat was sore, his head spun. His abdomen, which had been hit by Bogdanoff, also throbbed. Clutching his stomach, he managed to push his slumped upper body upright and sit. His eyelids twitched. In his now clear vision, two straight legs came into view. Following the pointed toe of the shoe upwards, he saw Zhenya’s chuckling face.

“You’re surprisingly alive?”

“Thanks to you, I almost died, though.”

He scoffed, coughing again.

“What about him?”

“He clung on like a water ghost, so I sent him to his maker.”

Zhenya chuckled, saying, “Not bad.” Kwon Taekjoo glared at him, displeased, then stood up. Water dripped from his entire body. His wet skin was rapidly freezing from the outside. His water-logged lungs were functioning poorly, and even though he inhaled deeply, his breathing continued to rattle. He felt like he needed to warm up immediately.

He was about to go somewhere when Zhenya abruptly blocked his path.

“That’s quite grotesque.”

“What?”

He turned around, and Zhenya tapped his own cheek. He instinctively touched his face, following Zhenya’s gesture. The artificial skin was torn and flapping from the explosion and subsequent car accident. He let out a low sigh, fiddling with the peeled skin. Zhenya’s gaze slowly followed Kwon Taekjoo’s moving fingertips. He said it was grotesque, but his eyes were filled with curious interest, as if wondering what it felt like to peel someone else’s skin.

Ignoring Zhenya’s curiosity, he took a step forward, his movements sluggish. The man then leisurely followed, saying, “Why don’t you just take that off?” His shallow trickery didn’t even elicit a laugh.

Ignoring him, he reached the main road, and a wind from across the river enveloped his entire body. His teeth began to chatter again. He glanced at Zhenya, who was now beside him. He coveted the thick coat Zhenya was wearing immensely. He shivered and tried to gauge the man’s mood, but Zhenya merely met his gaze with a nonchalant expression, as if asking “What’s wrong?” There was no sign of generosity from his colleague, who would likely die of hypothermia right then and there.

He quickly resigned himself and waved at an approaching taxi. The taxi, which had been slowly stopping at Kwon Taekjoo’s call, abruptly sped up and drove past him. Was it worried about the seats getting dirty? Or perhaps it was startled by the passenger’s wretched appearance.

He let three or four taxis pass by for free. Each time he failed to catch a taxi, laughter erupted from Zhenya. Instead of helping him, everything the man did seemed to displease him. Sensation gradually disappeared from his fingertips and toes.

“No matter how I look at it, it’s because of that.”

Zhenya, who had been observing all along, remarked teasingly. Kwon Taekjoo glared at him irritably, and Zhenya tapped his own cheek again with his fingertip, saying, “Is there a need to be so stubborn?” It wasn’t exactly that. No, he was too cold to even think about it that far.

Since the man was interested, Kwon Taekjoo also slowly began to care. He idly fiddled with the flapping skin in the wind. Just then, something suddenly flew close to his face. He instinctively pulled back and swatted away the approaching object. Zhenya’s hand, which had been reaching for Kwon Taekjoo, froze in mid-air. Their gazes met through space. Zhenya wasn’t wearing his usual mischievous expression. A keen interest flickered in his slightly narrowed eyes.

“Why are you resisting so much?”

“And why do you keep coming at me?”

He retorted complainingly, but Zhenya ignored him and reached out again. “Don’t,” he said, grabbing Zhenya’s wrist to stop him. He also pulled his head back. But the next moment, Zhenya’s other hand lunged and grabbed his jaw.

“……!”

Before he could react, the tattered artificial skin was ripped off. His entire stimulated skin stung. A sharp pain made him instinctively frown. He swore and opened his eyes, which had been briefly closed. Zhenya, standing in front of him, had an expression as if he had encountered something utterly foreign. His pale jade eyes slowly rolled, examining Kwon Taekjoo’s face feature by feature. After intently staring at his face, he scanned his entire body before returning his gaze to his face.

An unreadable smile spread across the man’s lips. To Kwon Taekjoo, such a reaction was even more puzzling. Zhenya must have already seen his real face in a picture. Of course, he might feel that the photo and the real person were different, or he might have become accustomed to Sakamoto Hiro’s impression and found Kwon Taekjoo’s true appearance unfamiliar. Still, was it necessary to stare like that?

His face was being scrutinized the entire time, but somehow, he felt as if he were standing naked before Zhenya, not just his physical form, but his thoughts and inner feelings relentlessly exposed. He felt unnecessarily intimidated and uncomfortable.

Suddenly, Zhenya’s lips parted. His voice wasn’t clearly audible. He seemed to mumble, “This one’s better…”

Again, a fierce wind blew. He hunched his shoulders and gripped Zhenya’s hand, which was holding him. Then, suddenly realizing his own action, he shook off the man’s hand.

Kwon Taekjoo turned back to the road and attempted to hitchhike. However, there was no one willing to help a soaking wet, clearly suspicious foreigner. Numerous cars passed him by without stopping.

Just when he could no longer feel the cold, something nudged Kwon Taekjoo’s shoulder. He glanced sideways and saw a smoothly gleaming card. Zhenya, holding the card between his thumb and forefinger, was tapping Kwon Taekjoo with its edge.

“What is it?”

“You might get more surveillance or pursuit going forward, so dig a burrow and hide quietly.”

“A burrow?”

He felt like he’d heard something strange. Was there some other meaning to the Russian word for ‘burrow’ that Kwon Taekjoo didn’t know? Like a ‘tiger’s den’ or a ‘wolf’s lair’ or something…