Her Tempestuous Villain

The second guard came out to see that his partner was nowhere around. He scanned the area, taking out his gun.

"Jeong?" he called out. "Jeong, where are you? Jeong-"

SMACK!

A large stone hit his head and the guard fell down, unconscious. Myung quietly dragged his body away, praying that no one would come out. There were probably two or three more men inside the cabin, guarding Orea. He stooped down to steal a bunch of keys from the guard before stripping him off his uniform and hat.

Changing into the army man's clothes, he quietly dumped the unconscious man in a shallow ditch where his partner was also hidden. Myung had hit them hard enough to knock them out for several hours. Taking the bullets from his gun, he proceeded to enter the cabin.

Meanwhile inside the cabin, three burly men were observing the girl on the chair. They had tied up her hands and feet to make sure that she could not escape but they were on high alert. The girl was dangerous and even the slightest movement was scaring them.

"This is ridiculous!" one of the men whined. "She's just a teenager! Why are we scared of her?"

"This teenager just knocked out half my teeth!" a second guard gritted. He spat out blood, unable to fathom this girl's strength.

"Did you tell Yang about her?" the third guard asked, still pressing his knees with a warm cloth.

"And get an earful from him about how a tiny girl nearly beat us up?" the second guard scoffed. "No way!"

They were murmuring amongst themselves, puzzled by their prisoner. Orea slowly opened her eyes. She could hear the voices of a few men around her but her vision was a blur. She could make out three figures in front of her, their backs to her. They were discussing something with each other, not noticing that she was awake.

She quickly closed her eyes again and listened carefully. The people who attacked her must have brought her to their base. But why did they attack her?

"Yang is busy with an event but he'll come tonight to check up on our prisoner," one of the guards was saying. "He got instructions from the top boss."

"Top boss?" another guard queried. "Who's that? The owner of the Company? Is it the General himself?"

"Don't be ridiculous!" the third guard snapped. "The General knows nothing! Not that top boss. The other one. Lee Jonghyun."

Orea froze upon hearing that. Jonghyun? He had her kidnapped?

"He wants to keep his brother under check," the first guard grumbled. "That kid has been snooping around recently about the events of twelve years ago. You remember them, right Chun? The time when we tracked down Princess Areum in that dingy apartment? Word is that the little brother of Lee Jonghyun saw everything that night."

"How do you know, Yeon?" the man named Chun asked.

"I was one of the officers there that night," Yeon revealed. "It was a highly secret mission so only Yang and Jonghyun knew about it. Even the Prime Minister didn't know. But after a few days, Yang summoned us into his office and told us that the Prime Minister found out. Apparently, his younger son had witnessed the execution and told his father everything. The Prime Minister proceeded to inform the Company who had decided to bring the army under their control and Jonghyun was put under heavy scrutiny for doing this."

"I thought the Company hated the royals?" the third guard asked.

"They do, but Jonghyun went rogue," Yeon explained. "Using the army to kill the royal princess! If word went out, the Company's image would be ruined. Officially, they had claimed they were still trying to locate down any living members of the royal family to re-establish them to the throne. In reality, they're secretly stomping them out through skilled assassins so that the blame wouldn't be put on the Company. By using the army, Jonghyun was trying to assert his control over the country and also indirectly threatening the Company."

"You know a lot about it, Yeon," Chun whispered.

"I've worked with them long enough to know that there are cracks in the Company," Yeon grimaced. "I don't know the details but I know that Yang and Jonghyun are working together to take over the throne and also the Company. They're determined to do so."

There was a long silence. The guards were unaware that Orea had heard everything. She tried to keep up the ruse but it was so difficult to control her anger. All these years, she thought that Yang acted on his own but now…

Lee Jonghyun is behind all this, she thought bitterly. That bastard!

There was no end to her desire to bring him down and take the throne which was rightfully hers. She did not want power nor did she desire to be the Empress but she could not let the Company take over the empire. And especially not that asshole who killed her mother.

She took a risk by opening her eyes a little to take a peek. They were still talking about the Company but there was no time for her to listen any further. She tried not to move as she fidgeted with the ropes behind her. There was a blade hidden in her watch which she used for emergencies.

Rolling the dial on her watch, she soundlessly opened the watch and felt a blade fall on her palm. Orea caught it and slowly began to cut through the ropes. The ropes were very thick so it was going to take a while.

"Where are the other two?" Chun asked.

"Outside," Yeon replied. "I'm hungry! What do we have for dinner?"

"Ramen and soup," the third man said. Yeon let out a grumble.

"We've been eating that for the past two days!" he complained. "I want some real food!"

"That's all we have," Chun stated.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. The guards were alarmed and took out their guns.

"Lee, is that you?" Chun asked out loud.

"Yes!" a deep voice replied from outside. "It's me! Kim's missing!"

Chun looked at the others and slowly stepped forward to open the door. Meanwhile, Orea had managed to cut the ropes and free her hands. The army men were all staring at the door so they still did not notice her awake. She crept up like a cat behind the third guard, keeping a low profile.

Chun was at the door and opened it-

BANG!

"What the-" Yeon yelled as Chun staggered back in pain, blood oozing out of his abdomen. Orea did not waste any time and hit the tird guard's head, making him unconscious while Yeon was in a state of confusion. He looked at Orea and was about to lunge at her when another figure stepped forward to shoot Yeon in the neck, paralyzing him.

Orea spun around, ready to take down the unknown assailant but to her shock, it was Myung!

"Myung?" she frowned. "What are you doing here?"

"Rescuing you, idiot!" Myung scowled. "Come on! Let's run!"