Ch.89Chapter 89. Mass Shooting (5)

The narrow supply room.

Cuss and Jake were squatting back-to-back.

Standing was uncomfortable.

It was too narrow for both to lie down.

This was the most comfortable position they could find.

“……”

Jake’s gaze kept darting behind him.

He couldn’t stop thinking about Cuss.

With Cuss’s gender identity stuck in his mind, he had forgotten.

That with mouth shut and still like this, she was nothing short of a beautiful girl.

“I heard.”

“Huh?”

“You’re skipping to 7th grade. So we’ll be in the same grade?”

“Are you in 7th grade too?”

“Yeah.”

It was hard to believe.

Snotty Tom’s classmate suddenly jumping up to my grade.

I thought she looked young because I assumed she was in 1st grade, but now she actually looked quite mature.

Her real age must be around 7th grade level…

“Thank you. For letting me in.”

“What?”

“I was flustered. Didn’t know what to do. Thanks to you, I could get in.”

“Uh…?”

“What’s wrong?”

“No, I just didn’t expect gratitude. I thought you disliked me?”

“Hmm? Not at all. I have no feelings toward you whatsoever.”

“……”

When she did that shoulder throw and liver shot during our so-called duel, I thought she hated me.

Hearing she had no feelings at all made me sigh with relief.

Though it was also a bit disappointing.

‘What’s disappointing about it?’

Jake’s face began to flush again as he noticed his own feelings.

He had to admit it now.

He was clearly feeling butterflies for Cuss.

Normally, there would be nothing strange about it.

It would be weird for a boy not to feel something for such a pretty girl.

But the problem was that Jake knew Cuss’s secret.

The problem was feeling this way while knowing what was under that skirt.

‘Get a grip…!’

First, I should at least know Cuss’s gender.

Is it wrong to feel this way about a boy…?

Maybe I was actually bisexual all along?

Is that why Cuss, with both a pretty girl’s appearance and male genitalia, seems most attractive to me?

‘Ah!’

Jake had some kind of revelation.

“Jake.”

“Huh? Oh! What?”

Jake returned to reality at the sound of Cuss’s voice, shaking his head to clear his thoughts.

“I’m cold.”

“Cold?”

“Yeah……”

Cuss was hugging herself, shrinking her body.

It felt just slightly cool to Jake, not cold at all.

‘Wait, could it be.’

Was this a pickup line?

Of course, no one would feel cold on a summer day like this.

Is she asking for a hug?

But didn’t Cuss just say she had no feelings for me?

“…?”

Just as he was confused,

He faintly felt Cuss’s trembling through his back.

She was actually shivering from cold.

Jake turned around slightly in confusion and gently placed the back of his hand on Cuss’s forehead.

It was cold.

Surprised, Jake quickly took off his cardigan and wrapped it around Cuss.

“Here, wear this.”

“Yeah… Thanks.”

“……”

It took his breath away.

He’d never seen Cuss smile so brilliantly before.

To think I’d feel this way about someone I thought was just an odd kid…

Jake took a slight hit to his pride but made a decision.

He would clearly ask Cuss about her gender.

Whether she was a cross-dressing boy, or intersex.

Or something else he didn’t know about…

He felt he needed to know that to establish his own sexual identity.

“Cuss. You know…”

Bang bang bang!

At that moment, sharp gunshots rang out.

They were quite close.

For a moment, Jake thought bullets might come through the door and instinctively moved.

When he came to his senses, he was already embracing Cuss protectively.

***

“Why aren’t you going in?!”

“We’re currently locating the suspect with drones…”

“My child is still in there!”

There was no way to get inside.

Even before the police cordon, parents had gathered to form a barrier.

Some even brought pistols and asked to be let in to subdue the shooter themselves, but they were all stopped.

Truly fucking useless bastards.

“I understand your concern. But please remain calm for now. There are no confirmed casualties yet, and the police will certainly…”

Bang bang bang!

“Kyaaaah!”

As gunshots rang out in succession, screams erupted everywhere.

Several mothers burst into tears.

Even for someone like Jinsoo Kim, it was impossible not to feel his heart soften at the sight.

“This is going nowhere.”

There was no other option.

He had to force his way through.

“Let me ask one favor.”

“Yes?”

“Just distract a few officers. I’ll go in.”

“…!”

He gathered a group of parents in the back and quickly hatched a simple plot.

They all seemed desperate enough to grasp at straws, nodding in agreement immediately.

Everything was ready.

Now it was all up to him.

Soon, the parents pushed forward through the crowd, and the front became even more chaotic than before.

Some were even grabbing officers by the collar and shaking them.

This was his chance.

He climbed onto someone’s car hood.

“Whew!”

Taking a deep breath.

He ran, jumping from car to car.

“Hey?! You there!”

Finally reaching the cordon, he successfully jumped over the police line by stepping on a police car roof.

The expression of the officer below him, mouth agape in surprise, was priceless.

A few others tried to follow him, but they were all caught and stopped.

“Stop right there!”

“Fuck off!”

“If you don’t comply, we will shoot!”

“Then shoot! Fuck!”

Fearing he might be caught, he ran at full speed.

Stupid bastards.

Did they think threatening to shoot would work on a law-abiding citizen like him?

They obviously couldn’t shoot anyway.

Bang!

“Holy shit!”

A thunderous gunshot rang out, giving him a chilling sensation.

These fuckers actually shot.

It seemed they deliberately missed, aiming near his feet, but what if a ricochet had hit him?

What crazy bastards.

Whoever did that would have to be prepared to lose their job.

“S-stop!”

“……”

After that, there was no further resistance.

They weren’t brave enough to follow him into the school to catch him.

And so, he managed to enter Saint Catalina School.

‘Now what the fuck do I do…’

He’d made it inside, but what next?

What should he do?

He couldn’t take down an armed shooter with his bare hands.

Should he just find Cuss quickly and get her out?

But weren’t the doors locked and isolated?

This seemed like a dead end.

Bang bang bang!

“The door! The door’s going to open!”

“Bring more desks!”

Just then, gunshots and urgent voices faintly came from inside the cafeteria building.

Was the shooter in there?

Then while those people distracted the shooter, I could go find Cuss…

“Hah. Fuck. I’m really sticking my nose where it doesn’t belong.”

But my feet were already heading toward the cafeteria.

I had to change my plan.

Either subdue the guy or keep him tied up until the police arrived.

The details of that plan?

I don’t fucking know either.

“Open the door! Weiss!!!”

Bang bang bang!

Fourth floor of the cafeteria building.

Peeking around the corner, I could only sigh quietly.

The corridor was way too long.

The guy was holding an assault rifle at what looked like 50 yards away, and if I charged, I’d be turned into a sieve.

What if I waited for him to reload?

No, that would still be difficult.

Unless the pistol in his holster happened to misfire.

“Open up, you fucker!!!”

Bang bang.

Every time he kicked, the door gap widened.

Fuck. If I waste any more time, everyone inside will die.

This is driving me crazy.

“Hey! Trash!”

“What?!”

I’d done it.

Only after speaking did I fully realize what I’d done, and I squeezed my eyes shut.

There was no turning back now.

I heard a clicking sound.

He was pointing his gun at my corner.

“Who’s there!”

“Police! You’re surrounded, drop your weapon and surrender now!”

“You… aren’t you that Asian from before?!”

“……”

Well fuck.

Apparently, he knew me.

My brilliant deception had failed completely.

“Where did we meet?”

“Don’t you remember? You fucking pulled me out of my car and beat me up!”

“Ah! That guy with the old car?”

“Yeah!”

“I remember! The skinny bastard whose fingers were too weak to pull a trigger! Is this trigger pull more manageable?”

“You fucking bastard! Come out!”

Bang bang bang!

Bullets sprayed everywhere, leaving marks on the wall.

Judging by his accuracy, his shooting skills were terrible.

He clearly had poor grip, was cross-eyed, or both.

If I just had a pistol, I could peek out and put a bullet through his philtrum.

‘Wait a minute.’

Such terrible shooting meant he had no training in combat against people.

Maybe there was a way to subdue him after all.

That’s when a brilliant idea struck me.

I unfastened my belt, bunched it up, and gripped it in my right hand.

“Stay hidden there! I just need to kill one person in here!”

“I don’t think you have that luxury?”

“Huh?”

His expression froze as he was about to kick the door again.

He saw me peeking around the corner, holding the bunched-up belt in both hands.

Up close, he’d obviously notice what it was.

Even from a distance, a normal person would squint, look carefully, and eventually conclude it was just a belt.

But what would an excited, hypersensitive mass shooter see?

Wouldn’t the black part look like a gun body and the silver metal part like a barrel?

“Y-you’re crazy! That’s…!”

Sure enough.

His eyes widened, then his pupils began to shake.

And then he…

“You fucker!”

Bang bang bang bang bang!

He panicked and pulled the trigger instantly.

I quickly ducked back behind the corner.

Gunshots filled the corridor loudly as bullets sprayed like water from a sprinkler.

Before, he’d been firing in short bursts, but now he was emptying his magazine in full auto.

A sign he’d lost his mind.

Click… click…

“Huh?”

As expected, the gunfire stopped after just a few seconds, and only the empty clicking of the trigger could be heard.

This was my only chance to subdue him.

I turned the corner and sprinted at full speed.

“Wh-what?! Hey! Stop! Fuck!”

A trained soldier would draw their sidearm without hesitation when their primary weapon became unusable.

Drawing a pistol is always faster than reloading.

But a panicked civilian with no basic military training would just stand there pale-faced, fumbling with the magazine.

“Stop…!”

“Fuck you!”

I rammed into him without slowing down.

We flew backward in an embrace, rolling together down the corridor three or four times.

That’s when he finally noticed the pistol’s existence and reached for his holster, but

“Aaaaargh!”

It was too late.

His right hand was caught in my grip, being crushed.

I pinned down the guy who was screaming like a girl and pulled the pistol from his holster.

He’s even wearing body armor.

I hope it’s not made in China.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

“Guhk! Ack! Aack! Uck!”

One shot to the right lung.

One to the left lung.

One to the liver.

And one to the stomach, you bastard.

After firing four consecutive shots, he was so happy he started doing the twist dance.

“Guheeuk… ahuk… eok…”

“Does it hurt? Well, I don’t feel a thing, idiot.”

I got up, stepping on the face of the guy who was drooling and making strange noises.

I kicked at his pockets and collar, but there didn’t seem to be any more guns.

I needed to handcuff him before he got lively again.

I took out a cable tie—something every American carries in their wallet—and tied his arms behind his back.

There, fuck.

I really thought I was going to die from exhaustion.

“Guk… Kill me. You fucker. Kill me.”

“Huh?”

“Gahak!”

Seemingly recovering from the pain, he tried to get up by raising his butt, so I kicked him down again.

Stay still until the police arrive, you bastard.

“Kill me! Fuck!”

“Why, what? How many people did you kill? Think you’ll get the death penalty?”

“I couldn’t kill anyone…”

If the death penalty was certain, I was considering whether to let him die peacefully in the electric chair or personally cripple him limb by limb before killing him slowly.

But if he hadn’t killed anyone, he definitely wouldn’t get the death penalty.

So why should I kill him?

“Just shut up and face justice, kid.”

I smiled while gently tapping his head with my foot.

Damn, this pretty boy is going to be in high demand in various places.

“I guarantee you’ll be very popular in prison.”