The Second Male Lead Syndrome

WARNING

THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS STRONG LANGUAGE, VIOLENCE, AND MATURE THEMES THAT MAY NOT BE SUITABLE FOR SOME READERS.

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She didn't know who was targeting Hyacinth again—all she could do was run.

At first, she was confused about why she needed to protect this little princess when she was still just a child herself.

Hyacinth was rich and seemed untouchable. 

But then she witnessed for the first time what it looked like when Hyacinth was targeted. 

That moment opened her eyes to how cruel humans could be.

And how selfish they truly were.

Seeing Soren struggling to catch her breath, the big nosed man showed a cruel smile. Even though she was an alpha, she couldn't match the strength of the two of them.

The big nosed waiter signaled to the tall waiter beside him, and upon seeing the signal, the tall waiter grinned widely.

The two of them immediately sprinted forward, trapping Soren in the corner of the corridor.

"You've got nowhere to go, little girl," the big nosed man sneered as he approached Soren slowly. The tall waiter laughed mockingly. "Hand her over to us, and we'll let you go."

Soren was drenched in sweat, but there was no hint of fear on her face. Even though she was cornered with no way out,

she didn't flinch. 

Instead, she grinned and shouted, "Help!!" This was why she had stayed quiet until now. She wasn't wasting her breath earlier—she had been waiting for the right moment.

The two men were stunned and rushed to cover her mouth.

"Y-you!" the tall waiter stammered in panic.

The big nosed one looked nervous too. "Don't let her fool you. There's no one else here but us!"

Hearing that, Soren tightened her grip. She clearly remembered that Aurora and Sora were in that room. If that was the case, did someone betray them? Who could it be? Aurora? Sora?

No—they would never do that.

Then who? Her aunt?

Still carrying Hyacinth on her back, Soren was about to set her down when

the big nosed waiter, realizing they were taking too long in the corridor, urgently told his companion to take Hyacinth away.

The hallway lights flickered, then everything went dark in a sudden blackout that lasted for a full minute.

As the tall waiter moved hastily in the darkness, he tripped and slammed face first into the floor.

"What the f*ck happened to you??"

The big nosed waiter had no idea what was going on. He looked at his companion—and froze. Bubbles were coming out of the man's mouth.

Panic stricken, the big nosed man furrowed his brow. Suddenly, someone tapped him on the shoulder. Startled, he threw a punch, but the person beside him had anticipated it and countered with a clean hit to his face.

Soren's jaw dropped as she watched it all happen. 

He gasped as the punch instantly made his nose bleed. Clutching his face, he shouted, "Who the f*ck are you?!"

A soft chuckle followed—a sound so beautiful it almost didn't match the chaos. If he hadn't just been punched in the face and wasn't in this much pain, he might have thought that laugh was enchanting.

"Who sent you here?" the voice asked calmly.

The big nosed waiter looked up and saw a striking figure. Her messy grey blue hair, damp with sweat, only made her sharp features stand out even more.

He spat on the floor and sneered, "Eat that and I'll tell you."

Soren rolled her eyes when she heard that. "Eat your sh*t."

Aurora nodded in agreement. 

The big nosed man's face darkened—he could tell they weren't taking him seriously.

Suddenly, pain shot through his knees, and with a shocked expression, he was forced down and ended up eating the spit he had thrown.

Soren laughed, though it turned into a dry cough.

Aurora glanced at her with concern. "Are you okay?"

Soren motioned to Hyacinth still strapped to her back. 

Realizing what she meant, Aurora quickly took Hyacinth from her and lifted her in a princess carry. 

But then she paused, realizing the position might be inappropriate, and quickly adjusted to carrying her over her shoulder like a sack of rice.

Soren leaned against the doorway to the room. 

She wasn't in pain, but her stamina was completely drained. 

She looked exhausted—like she hadn't had water in days.

"How did you get in here?" she asked weakly. "And where is Sora?"

Aurora looked awkward. 

"She went to find your aunt and called the police. She should be here in a few minutes."

"Is that so?"

"Mhm. You should go into the room we were in and get a drink too. I'll watch these two. Also, can you clean up the room?"

Soren was confused about what she meant by "clean up" but nodded and walked away without asking.

Once Soren was out of sight, Aurora's soft expression turned cold.

"Now, Who sent you here?"

Soren, dragging her tired body into the room, froze in place the moment she looked inside.

Four people were lying unconscious on the floor, and a few were slumped over the table, their faces beside the untouched cake.

⋯

It all traced back to the moment when someone had knocked on the door of the room Aurora and Sora were in.

When Aurora heard the knock, her suspicion immediately spiked. 

She signaled for Sora to wait.

Seeing Aurora's serious look, Sora understood instantly and grabbed the nearest weapon.

The knock was louder than before. 

Based on her experience spending time with Hyacinth and Soren, Aurora could usually tell who was approaching.

Hyacinth's footsteps were soft—not too loud, but not completely silent either. It was like stepping through a cloud.

Soren, on the other hand, had a more masculine presence. Her footsteps were heavy and echoed through any room she entered.

But the footsteps Aurora had heard earlier were eight in total—that meant four people.

Who could they be?

They hadn't asked any waiters to do anything except bring soju and a few supplies, and that was earlier.

Aurora braced herself and looked through the peephole in the door. 

She froze.

She was staring directly into someone's eyes. Behind that person stood three men and one woman.

The man she locked eyes with grinned—and suddenly, the door swung open.

Seeing that there were four of them, Aurora quickly backed away.

 "Who are you people?"

The men laughed. "Little girl, how about you come with us and have some fun?"

Aurora froze in place, her face filled with horror.

Sora immediately grabbed her phone and made a call. 

"Get out of here, or I'll call the police!!"

"HAHAHA!"

Laughter echoed through the room.

Sora glanced at her phone and noticed there was no signal. 

Her expression darkened.

They had cut off the connection inside the bar.

———

TheBald (Author): Writing it and editing took long enough because editing was much more difficult than I imagined. Is that why some authors have editors on their side? I completely get it now.