Bring It On! - Chapter 60

Chapter 60.

It was one mountain after another. I had expected them to treat Jay with reverence since they had dragged him off like a captive, but no. They planned to burn him alive and send him to the sky. It was a stupid and horrifying thought.

“Okay… sending you to the sky, when exactly is that happening?”

“Tonight, at dawn.”

“…….”

“Just before the sun rises.”

Those lunatics never sleep. I hung my head, weighed down with dread. They would keep Jay seated on the spiral steps under constant watch, and I had no confidence I could sneak him out under such strict surveillance. 

But I couldn’t give up either. They were humans too. They’d get hungry, need the restroom, lose focus now and then. Surely there would be an opportunity. An opportunity.

I pushed back the creeping defeatism and steeled my eyes.

“Let’s wait and see. I’ll figure something out.”

“Don’t. You need to go back.”

“Jay…”

“I like seeing your face, but I don’t want to die with you. And if things go wrong and I end up on that pyre… I don’t want you to see that.”

“You crazy bastard! Still holding onto your pride?”

“So you’d better let me keep my dignity in front of the woman I like.”

“…….”

He spoke as if the thought of showing me a pitiful or ugly version of himself was worse than death. This insane fool. I’d already seen far too many ugly sides of him. This time, I shook my head decisively.

“If you want to keep your dignity, you survive. No matter what.”

Before Jay could respond, I averted my gaze and unfolded the paper they had left.

“…….”

Delicate illustrations had been drawn using red pigment. They showed how to tie a person with rope. But this wasn’t just ordinary wrist and ankle bindings. The ropes had to pass over the chest, tie across the stomach, and knot inside the groin in a humiliating manner. Like…

“Bondage…?”

I couldn’t hide my expression as I looked up and saw Jay’s face go pale.

“…You want me to do this… to you?”

That’s it! That’s why the cannibal had shoved us both into the hut after grabbing me like a mouse. Even touching Jay himself was too frightening for them, so they forced the responsibility onto me!

Jay’s voice, just moments ago asking me to let him keep his dignity in front of the woman he liked, flashed through my mind.

“I’d rather burn to death.”

He muttered miserably. I grabbed his arm as he tried to leave the hut.

“Jay, calm down. It’s nothing. I’m fine.”

“Don’t lie. I remember your face when you saw the drawing.”

“Okay… let’s take a deep breath. In… and out. Good, good.”

I tried to calm him like a zookeeper soothing an angry beast. Of course, I didn’t want to do an act that stripped away his humanity. But there was no choice if we wanted to avoid arousing the natives’ suspicion.

After struggling for a long while, Jay finally gave up. He shed his fur garments completely, his eyes empty and hollow.

“…Then… I’ll do it.”

Carefully, I wrapped the rope around his perfectly muscled body. Every point where the rope passed, I could feel pieces of his pride and self-respect, the things that made him “him”, vanishing bit by bit.

“Lift one leg… Now turn around. Good.”

Even in this serious situation, my restless lungs threatened to betray me with laughter. I forced a frown, thinking of something sad to suppress it. 

But when he turned his back, I couldn’t hold it in anymore and let out a quiet laugh. My lower lip was pressed tight, teeth biting down until it bled…

“Just laugh. That makes it even more miserable.”

“…Sorry.”

Jay had noticed.

After all the twists and turns, the “bondage” or rather, the pre-ritual preparation, was finally complete. Highlighting his bulging chest and abdominal muscles felt humiliating and shameful. Even the nude photo books that had once come into our hands seemed tame and modest compared to Jay.

***

Thump, thump, thump, thump…

The darkest hour before sunrise. The rhythmic pounding sounded like a heartbeat. Dozens of natives held their torches high, lighting up the sky.

The moment had finally come.

The chief chanted what seemed like a song in front of the altar, where a wild boar’s head was placed. He swayed his whole body back and forth, passionately shouting his incantation, a sight almost terrifying to behold. Wearing the bone mask, I stared tensely at Jay.

Our eyes met.

How he spotted me among the countless natives was beyond comprehension. I cautiously reached for the gun hidden inside the bone skirt.

…Hopefully, I can aim.

First, I would deal with the men closest to Jay. Then, I would shoot the chief’s arms or legs to disable him, use him as leverage, and escape with Jay. These guys seemed to obey their chief well, after all. I held my breath, waiting for the right moment.

Sweat and tension gathered inside the bone mask. The chief’s chant reached its peak, and the surrounding natives were lost in a frenzy. Was it time? I met Jay’s gaze. He nodded quietly, and I gripped the gun tightly.

At that moment, a bold native shouted loudly. Had we been discovered? He was dragging something in his hand.

“Noo… Noona!”

It was Suho. My jaw dropped in shock. Jay’s face twisted in disbelief. He hadn’t anticipated this.

The chief, engrossed in his incantation, turned around. His eyes glowed with murderous intent at the sight of Suho. He showed no sign of forgiving this uninvited guest, no matter how young he was.

The enraged chief shouted, and the others screamed like lunatics. Someone brandished a sharp knife.

“Ahhh! Noo… Noona!!!”

Suho screamed, terrified. There was no time to think or make decisions. I drew the gun in one motion, aiming skyward…

Rat-a-tat-tat-tat!

Had it not been for the noise above my head, the overexcited natives instinctively hunched their shoulders at the sound of gunfire for the first time. I removed the bone mask and looked up.

“Cha Yoon! Cha Yoon! We’re here to rescue you!”

The voice came through a megaphone like salvation. It wasn’t English, it was Korean. I doubted my ears for a moment, thinking it might be a hallucination. But the roaring wind and the approach proved otherwise.

“Crrk!”

I kicked the native beside me and grabbed a torch, waving it wildly.

“People here! There are people here! Over here! Here!!!”

I screamed at the top of my lungs, my voice strained to breaking. A helicopter, noticing my frantic gestures, lowered its altitude and approached. The natives pulled out spears, aiming at the helicopter, but the repeated warning shots from rifles sent them scattering in panic.

“Suho!”

Suho heard my voice and ran toward me. I hurried to find Jay. Just as he tried to move toward me…

Smash!

The chief lifted a stone from the altar and struck Jay’s head perfectly. Jay fell forward from the sudden blow, and in shock, I aimed my gun at the chief. Bang! The bullet erupted in flames and pierced his shoulder. He screamed and collapsed.

“Jay!”

Everything around me blurred except him. I sprinted toward Jay, who had tumbled down the stone steps, still unable to rise. My heart pounded.

Everything else in the world seemed to fade away, leaving only the thudding of my anxious heartbeat. Just as I reached out, someone in a rescue uniform grabbed Jay’s arms to support him.

“…….”

Blood from the back of his head streamed down his neck, soaking it. I froze in shock. Then another rescuer grabbed my arm, urgently pulling me aside. Even as I was dragged away, I couldn’t take my eyes off Jay.