Dopamine Addiction - Chapter 13

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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13.
Liam sprinted to the opposite side and dropped into the driver’s seat, tossing the luggage behind him in one fluid motion.
Just then, a dark-haired man grabbed Liam’s shoulder. Crack. Without any telegraphed movement, Liam snapped the man’s chin upward.
While the man staggered, Liam slammed the driver’s door shut and jammed the accelerator. Screech—the van lurched forward with a terrible noise. It was a white van with “White Cleaning” stenciled on its side.
A uniformed man came running from the opposite direction, spreading both arms wide to block the road.
Liam’s lips curved into a thin smile as he pressed the accelerator hard. The engine roared to full throttle. At this rate, he’d mow the man down.
“Liam……!”
Hee-ju’s eyes went wide. In that hair-raising instant, the man threw himself sideways and rolled clear. Curses flew through the half-open window.
The van screamed around a hard right turn. An oncoming car swerved in panic, jerking its wheel.
“Damn it!”
“Get a car! Now!”
Hee-ju gripped the roof handle hard, her knuckles white as the van rocked around her.
She glanced backward. Beyond the neatly stacked laundry, men were climbing into a sedan.
“Looks like there’s another one.”
Even as she spoke, a Toyota Camry with men inside tore after them, closing the gap fast.
Liam shot straight out of the Parking Lot and rocketed up the entry ramp that fed onto the Road.
Thud. He crossed the speed bump without braking. Hee-ju’s body lifted briefly before slamming back onto the seat. The chair was hard as stone, and the ride was hell.
But this wasn’t the moment to complain. This mess was her doing, and Liam had just been unlucky enough to get caught in it.
Hee-ju kept her lips tight and stared straight ahead. The van merged onto the Road. Red traffic lights swept across Liam’s expressionless face.
Why was he helping her? He could have looked the other way, and no one would’ve blamed him.
Then.
Bang!
Something hit them from behind. The Camry had closed the distance in seconds and T-boned the van’s rear end.
Hee-ju lurched forward, then snapped back. A gasp escaped her lips involuntarily.
Liam glanced at her.
“You all right?”
“Yes.”
Hee-ju straightened her spine with forced composure. She couldn’t afford to show weakness now.
“Hold on tight.”
With that, Liam pressed the accelerator gradually, steadily. The engine bellowed, but the speed didn’t match the noise.
This was never meant to be a speed machine. Hee-ju caught the Camry’s reflection in the side mirror. It was closing again, nearly kissing their bumper.
Screech.
“!”
Liam cranked the wheel hard left. The van lurched into a left turn, and Hee-ju’s body pitched right, then snapped back left.
The light changed to green for straight traffic. Hee-ju straightened up and looked back. The Camry was making an illegal left through green-arrow traffic.
Honk!
Honk! Honk! Honk!
Every car trying to go straight blared their horn at the Camry simultaneously.
But the Camry didn’t care. It only sped up, closing the gap again. The distance between the two vehicles began shrinking once more.
Traffic was light this late. The Camry cut between two other cars and pulled ahead.
Liam yanked the wheel right. Hee-ju, braced for it this time, managed to keep her balance.
But she wasn’t the only one prepared. The Camry didn’t hesitate—it followed them straight into the right turn without losing a beat.
Thud. The Camry rammed them again from behind. Each impact slowed the van fractionally, and it was only a matter of time before they were caught.
The Camry gradually edged forward, pulling alongside the van. A window rolled down and a man thrust a gun out, bellowing:
“Stop the car now!”
Hee-ju’s hands clenched into fists. She didn’t know what they wanted from her, but she couldn’t let Liam get dragged deeper into this.
Liam gripped the wheel and stomped the accelerator with all his strength. The aging van shrieked in protest but surged forward, overtaking the Camry.
“Didn’t you hear me? Stop the damn car!”
The Camry caught up easily. Its passenger-side window was again level with Liam’s driver’s seat.
To their right, a long Elevated Highway entrance ramp stretched straight ahead, separated from the main road by a low curb and grass.
The Camry pulled tight alongside them, trying to cut off the ramp. The van sailed past the Elevated Highway entrance.
The Camry gradually accelerated and moved in front of them. If it stopped, Liam would have to hit the brakes.
There was no way to shake them anymore. What happened next was up to her alone.
Hee-ju turned to look at Liam with calm, measured eyes. This was enough.
“Stop the car——”
That instant.
Thud. The van shook violently. For a moment, Hee-ju couldn’t understand what was happening.
A gunshot? But she hadn’t heard anything.
Hee-ju, who was pushing herself upright, froze. Her eyes went huge.
“!”
The van had jumped the curb and shot onto the Elevated Highway entrance ramp. The Camry that had been ahead of them was gone.
Hee-ju looked back once more. The headlights of passing cars stretched into long streaks before vanishing. The world behind them was darkness.
“We lost them, I think.”
Hee-ju straightened in her seat as she said it. Liam, showing no obvious relief, simply pushed the van onto the Elevated Highway.
Hee-ju glanced at him again. The expressionless face from moments before had returned to its usual, easy smile.
Only then did Hee-ju let out the breath she’d been holding. She couldn’t explain why, but her heart settled like a lost child finding their mother.
Cool night air poured through the open window. Hee-ju swept her tangled hair back and watched the red traffic lights painting the road below.
A few minutes later, the van exited the Elevated Highway ramp and headed into the city. Hee-ju checked the side mirror, but no one was following anymore.
“Where are we going?”
At her question, Liam eased off the gas. The van pulled into a closed Mart’s Parking Lot.
“Why here?”
“We can’t keep driving this van. By now, they’ve probably reported it stolen.”
That made sense, she had to admit.
“Let’s go.”
Liam opened the driver’s door and stepped out, grabbing the Luggage he’d thrown in the back.
Meanwhile, Hee-ju pulled a clean cloth from the cargo area and started wiping down the steering wheel and door handles.
Liam caught sight of her methodical erasure of fingerprints and let out a short laugh.
“Looks like you don’t want to become a car thief.”
“I don’t want to taint my resume.”
That answer surprised him. Liam raised an eyebrow.
“Ambitious type? Doesn’t come across that way.”
“I just decided today, actually. Since things have already gone this far, I figured why not aim for the top of the office ladder? A position where I can have field staff eating out of my hand.”
Liam’s expression cleared for a moment, then he burst out laughing—a hearty, unguarded laugh that seemed wildly out of place given the situation.
Hee-ju climbed out of the van, still holding the cloth. After meticulously wiping the door handle, she tossed the cloth into a trash bin and turned back to Liam.
“Let’s go.”
The two of them slipped out of the darkened Mart and walked along the Road. Night air moved between them.
***
They arrived at an old Motel after threading past the homeless scattered everywhere like leaves. Liam checked in under the name “Freddie Mercury” in the guest book, paid cash, and took the key.
Then he climbed stairs carpeted in a brownish-red worn from who-knows-how-long since the last cleaning.
Room 204. Liam checked the number and unlocked the door with his key.
Hee-ju entered first and switched on the light. The drab green curtains and red carpet conjured up something like a fever dream of Christmas.
Still, the basics were there. A table by the window, two chairs, one door to what looked like a bathroom, and one double bed.
One bed.
Hee-ju turned over that fact in her mind, then carefully kept her expression neutral as she faced Liam. He’d been setting the Luggage by the window but felt her gaze and looked up.
“Why did you ask for this room?”
Instead of answering, Liam drew the curtains shut. He peered through a gap in the fabric, looking down at the street below.
“You can see both the entrance and the Parking Lot from here. And if we need to, the window’s high enough that we won’t die jumping out of it.”
“Ah.”
Hee-ju nodded with understanding. It struck her again—how different she and he were.
“I’ve heard that Black operatives always check their exits first, no matter where they go.”
“No harm in being ready for the worst-case scenario. Like I said—perfectionist.”
“…Fair point.”
Hee-ju, who’d once scorned him as the height of inefficiency, simply nodded. Liam’s eyes narrowed slightly, as if that concession surprised him.
Hee-ju continued, “But.”
“I don’t think they know we’re here. Even I didn’t know five minutes ago.”
Hee-ju sat down on the edge of the bed and asked:
“Isn’t ‘Freddie Mercury’ an obvious alias? Seems sloppy for a perfectionist.”
“Owners of places like this already know their guests use fake names. It’s a game of pretend.”
“So you’ve stayed in dumps like this before?”
“More often than you have?”
Hee-ju had been about to needle him back, but his bluntness deflated her. She sighed. Liam, lounging in a chair, let a smile play at his lips.
“Shower first? Or something else?”
Hee-ju frowned, and Liam’s eyebrows lifted lightly.
“Just kidding.”
“Doesn’t seem like it.”
“You’re good at reading people.”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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