What Tula set down was some kind of rice cooker. The so-called pressure cooker.
“That’s exactly…”
[Yeah, right. This is a bomb.]
Tula explained that if you opened this, it would go boom and explode. There’s something that East Asian people commonly eat. Rice. This place, the Philippines, also had that culture.
Then the owners of this island would surely use a rice cooker too. If they pressed the cooking button to eat dinner… it meant this whole island could blow up.
It seemed even Tula, the creator, couldn’t gauge its power until it actually exploded.
‘Hey, you said you could do anything, right? …Try making a homemade bomb.’
While pondering ways to deal with the island’s owners, he’d tossed it out. Actually, he hadn’t expected much. What could be on this island to suddenly whip up a bomb?
However, Tula had accomplished the mission quite splendidly. To raise a baby alone in the entertainment district, miscellaneous handy skills must have been essential.
“Nice, fucking excellent.”
Woonghee smiled with satisfaction. …Yeah, after coming all this way, I can’t collapse like this. I’ll escape from here somehow. Those bastards won’t expect this situation at all, so he had to aim for their weak points.
He literally had to dig traps. There were three of them and he didn’t know how many opponents there were, so it was best to avoid direct confrontation as much as possible…
Those piece of shit bastards…
Buying and selling humans. It would be hard to expect compassion from such bastards. No, rather, it would be fortunate if they didn’t get caught and sold off. In this situation, striking first was the answer.
“Good work, Tula. Let’s fill our bellies now.”
Woonghee turned his back and picked up a well-sharpened knife. The blade gleamed smoothly. He placed thick meat on the cutting board and sliced through it in one stroke. He placed the well-cut pieces of meat on the frying pan. Sizzle—the meat cooked appetizingly.
“Before that, we need to eat well first. We’ve got a fucking long way to go.”
Tula nodded his head resolutely.
***
Time passed like a bullet. Woonghee was so busy that even two bodies wouldn’t be enough.
Were there really no other houses on this island, where did the power lines connect from, where did they dock boats, then where would be good to dig traps? Day after day, he was frantic scouting the island.
Was it because he’d neglected the house too much? An unexpected disturbance erupted.
That day was no different from usual. Woonghee checked his weapons and sat at the dining table. There was a lot of food that Tula had carefully prepared. He was very hungry, as if he’d just finished hard labor.
Woonghee scooped up a big spoonful of white rice and shoved it in his mouth. When he felt some gaze, didn’t he?
“What?”
Director Hwang was staring blatantly at him.
“What are you staring at? First time seeing a person eat?”
Director Hwang cleared his throat with a “hmm, hmm” and only then buried his head in his rice bowl.
“No, I was just wondering if the rice was cooked well.”
Saying that, he hastily grabbed meat and put it in his mouth. Look at that…? Woonghee narrowed his brows thinly. If he was curious whether the rice was cooked well, he could just eat it himself. But the person himself hadn’t scooped up even one spoonful of rice.
What is it, something feels off… Suddenly, his eyes met with Tula’s. The guy’s eyes also looked strange. There was one thing he’d learned on this island. Don’t just ignore the off feeling that bad guys give.
“……”
“……”
A cold silence flowed at the dining table. Squeak, squeak—a chilling sound from underfoot filled that silence. Between the table legs, a fucking fat rat was going back and forth.
Woonghee scooped up a spoonful of rice. Then he hid his hand under the table. When he tapped the spoon toward the floor a few times, rice grains fell below.
The rat that had been sniffing around with its nose stuck to the floor waddled over and swallowed those rice grains. But suddenly, the rat started retching—kek, kek, kek. Then it stretched out all four legs and flipped its body over like a frog.
Of course, is this all you amounted to? You mixed rat poison in the rice?
“Ah shit, I’m busy as hell…”
Director Hwang was sweating like rain, yet pretended not to know until the end. So he kicked Director Hwang’s chair hard under the table. Bang—his chair swayed backward.
“Aaaagh!”
Director Hwang tried to hold on by flailing his arms with a startled face, but his body that had lost its center tilted as is. Tula pressed down the guy’s ridiculously fallen body with his knee and fixed it in place. Director Hwang struggled like a bug with its shell pressed down.
“L-let go, you crazy bastards…!”
Woonghee didn’t even pretend to listen and spat out words coldly.
“Cook him.”
Tula lifted the whole pot of rice and mercilessly pressed it against Director Hwang’s nape. Sizzle—the sound of cooking could be heard.
“Aaaaagh!”
Looking at him screaming in agony from the heat, Woonghee furrowed his brow. The hand that was feeling around my nape at dawn the other day was yours too, wasn’t it? Filthy bastard.
“Fuck, he should’ve known when to stop.”
Not even knowing what kind of perverted bastard is on this island right now, yet throwing a fit like that, desperate only for the money in front of his eyes. Even if they’d brought anyone from that island, they would’ve been more helpful than this bastard.
Paeng Hana would’ve used her head pretty well, and Paeng Hana’s manager would’ve used strength well.
And above all, if it was someone with both strategy and strength, that man…
At the thought that came to mind without realizing it, Woonghee shook his head fiercely. As if venting frustration, he stood up abruptly from the chair. Then he walked toward him with heavy steps.
“I, I was wrong, okay? Stop, stop, please I’m sorry…! My eyes just went crazy for a moment.”
Director Hwang rubbed his hands together like a fly while sweating profusely. At Woonghee’s signal, Tula tied Director Hwang’s body with rope. His hand movements were quick and smooth. Completely restrained, he struggled just like a cockroach stepped on. But since he was tied up tight like a mummy, all he could do was wiggle his feet.
They left Director Hwang, who had become a larva, abandoned on one side. Woonghee and Tula continued their meal.
“I’m craving kimchi…”
[Kimchi? Woong always looks for kimchi. As expected of a Korean.]
And they exchanged idle conversation. Looking at the squawking Director Hwang was fucking annoying, but in the current situation of planning something big, he didn’t have the luxury to worry about Director Hwang who had plotted things with just rat poison.
Even so, he didn’t know how much muscle loss there had been on that island across the sea. Even at a glance, he could feel his muscles had decreased, so he had to fill in the muscle effectively.
He had to stuff protein into his body full, and move his body quickly before muscle loss came.
After eating until his stomach was about to burst, he wore sandbags on his ankles. With 6kg on each side, he ran on the beach every day. 200 push-ups, and he increased the number of squats and planks as much as his stamina allowed.
“Huff, huuu…!”
Only after completing his entire daily routine did he return home.
“Mmph, mmph, mmph!”
Thinking he could increase the weight a bit more tomorrow, he went inside. Director Hwang was stuck in one corner of the yard. Both ankles tied tight, crawling on the ground.
[Fucking bastard, shut your mouth before I rip it open.]
Tula spat on Director Hwang’s face. He even kicked the face dripping with thick saliva with his walker. That raw appearance was exactly like a back-alley thug bastard.
“Go easy on him, a bit.”
Woonghee tossed the words out while taking off his short-sleeved shirt soaked with sweat.
[Woong…!]
As soon as Tula spotted him, his face completely changed. Even while going into the living room, he followed behind closely. Asking when he came, saying he worked so hard exercising today too, asking if he was hungry, chattering nonstop.
If he’d had a tail attached like a dog bastard, he would’ve been wagging it wildly. Woonghee absolutely hated dog fur. Wouldn’t a wolf that waits steadfastly be better than a dog that just follows behind?
Then his thoughts suddenly spread to the eyes of a man whose eyes shone in the night like a wolf. …Fuck, what am I thinking again.
“Why are you already hungry, you. You ate fucking loads at lunch too. …No, crazy, just how much did you sweep and wipe?”
And the living room floor he entered was shining with a gleam. It seemed like not even a fly bastard could land and would just slide right off.
Even from the dining table, the smell of freshly cooked rice wafted. Even the utensils were neatly placed. Just two sets. When he turned his head to the right, laundry was even hung on the clothesline. Among them was Woonghee’s leather jacket. It was hung in the spot that got the most sunlight.
“Hey, I said we’re not setting up house together…!”
It was just as he was about to continue telling him to come to his senses. The living room scenery belatedly came into view. The floor, under the sofa, between bookshelves, behind the TV. Ordinary people’s eyes wouldn’t see it, but in this house, crude time bombs were placed in every corner. Ready to welcome uninvited guests at any time. Even ready to blow away both their faces and their insides in one go.
“Yeah, good work, let’s eat first.”
Only then did Woonghee pat Tula’s shoulder. Even though he stuck out here and there a bit, he was definitely a guy reliable when it came to getting work done.
[What did I do? It’s all thanks to Woong.]
The guy dyed both cheeks bright red while twisting his arms. Then he quickly told him to sit and even pulled out the chair. Finally, he even blinked his eyes with an expectant face.
“You go easy too.”
Woonghee sat in the chair with a face like he’d chewed stones. After filling their stomachs solidly like that, he identified infiltration routes. Which side would those bastards squeeze in from? He retraced possible routes one by one in his head.
While spending time busily like that, night soon came. Even though the tension hadn’t loosened, he forced himself to sleep. This was the only time to recover his stamina.
A night when even the sound of waves was exceptionally quiet.
“Mmph…mmph!”
It was instantaneous when Woonghee opened his eyes. At the muffled sound—mmph, mmph—he jolted awake in surprise.
What is this sound? From outside came a scream that seemed blocked by something. It sounded like Director Hwang—did someone infiltrate? He lowered his gaze under the bed. Tula must have also woken from sleep, his eyes wide open with a flash. They made eye contact with each other.
“……!”
Soon, a bright light swept past the window in the wall. Woonghee reflexively bent his upper body sharply. Tula also folded his neck and then slowly raised his body.
…Had those bastards already come? The owners of this house? There were still three days left until D-day though?
Woonghee only extended his arm toward the coat hanger. The white skin was too conspicuous in the darkness. He wrapped his white flesh tightly with the black leather jacket. Then he hid blades all over his body.
‘Shh…’
Woonghee and Tula held their breath and moved one step at a time. It was a bit earlier than expected, but the preparations were already finished anyway. It was time to welcome the owners.
