Time flew by frantically while getting accustomed to the Special Division work. When he suddenly came to his senses, over a week had already passed in a flash.
He thought Jung Kyungwoo, enraged, would come charging in immediately. But contrary to expectations, he had been quiet for several days.
Friday evening.
After attending the Special Division gathering, he became almost dead drunk. Even when told he had driven his car, Director Baek didn’t back down.
“I drove my car too. If you get caught for drunk driving, I’ll bail you out.”
Director Baek and the sunbaes, who casually brought up words that would earn condemnation from all walks of life, made several rounds of various bomb shots. No matter how strong Jaeha was with alcohol, he had no way to endure without getting drunk.
The drinking continued through the second and third rounds. Was it fortunate at least that they didn’t call hostesses? Unlike Lee Byungdo, Special Division Director Baek hated having women around. It was because it could lead to harm in case handling.
“No girls. How do we know which bastard sent them with what intentions? CCTV is everywhere.”
“Women are the scariest.”
“If my wife finds out, I’m dead.”
The sunbaes chimed in.
‘But drunk driving is fine?’
Jaeha swallowed those words internally along with his soju-beer mix.
Past midnight, Director Baek and the other Special Division sunbaes fell one by one.
“Does a big guy have a big liver too? Or is your liver still fresh because you’re young? You’re not drunk at all.”
“I feel like I’m about to collapse too. Get home safely.”
After putting the sunbae whose tongue was twisted into a taxi, Jaeha went to his car parked nearby.
“Hah.”
After pulling down his necktie, he let out a deep sigh. The smell of alcohol was overpowering. He tried to close his eyes briefly to sober up before leaving, but if he did that, it seemed like he’d waste the entire weekend with a hangover. Jaeha took out his phone.
“You called for a driver, right?”
Twenty minutes later, a middle-aged man appeared. He skillfully drove Jaeha’s mid-sized sedan. Entering the underground parking lot of a newly built apartment building, he parked and handed the key to Jaeha while taking a call from the next customer.
“I’ll be right there.”
After the driver disappeared looking excited, Jaeha dozed off while still sitting in the passenger seat.
How much time had passed? The humidity of the underground parking lot slowly flowed into the interior of the car. As his body temperature, which had risen from the alcohol, dropped, cold crept in.
“Ah, this is annoying.”
Even though he was exhausted to death, the fact that he had to walk up to his home on his own two feet was devastating. Even though it was only a 2-3 minute distance, for an office worker reduced to a wreck, it was comparable to crossing the Pacific Ocean.
‘Should I start the engine and turn on the heater?’
He was making lazy plans when—
Step, step.
Someone walked near Jaeha’s car. It was a big city where humans actively moving around late at night wandered everywhere. It seemed someone was going out to enjoy the dawn.
However, that thought was brief, the feeling was strange. There was no sound of car doors opening and closing, or the engine running with the ignition.
‘What?’
At the sense of dissonance, just as he reflexively opened his eyes to look outside, he noticed a long pitch-black shadow outside the passenger seat where he was sitting.
“What…”
Tap tap.
He tried to focus his flickering vision while glaring outside. It was a man wearing a black jumper with the hood pulled up.
Shwik.
Pressing the door lock button was instinct. He jerked his body up while straightening the chair he had reclined. At the solid feeling of hitting his back, he became fully awake.
Tap tap.
“Seo Jaeha, open the door.”
The bastard speaking informally was none other than Jung Kyungwoo.
He was startled for nothing. Jaeha brushed down his chilled liver while simultaneously pressing his pounding temples firmly.
“Open it.”
He urged quite persistently. As soon as Jaeha unlocked the button, he flung the car door open.
“Huh.”
Jung Kyungwoo, hit by the door, only stepped back a little but didn’t fall. He should have pushed harder, that was a mistake. The alcohol was the problem. Standing while holding the car door, Jaeha didn’t hide his irritation.
“Are you moonlighting as a spy? Appearing out of nowhere all the time… Not a shred of manners…”
Thwack!
It felt like his head was splitting. Jaeha, who swayed briefly, reflexively grabbed the back of his head. He felt something like sweat trickling down.
“What the.”
He checked his hand with blinking eyes. It wasn’t sweat but bright red blood. While his eyes widened in surprise, Jung Kyungwoo charged at him again.
Fuck.
He barely dodged something flying at him.
Bang!
A heavy rod struck the upper part of Jaeha’s car. The underground parking lot rang loudly.
“You son of a bitch… I told you I wouldn’t leave you alone, didn’t I?”
“Hey… are you crazy?”
Jaeha staggered as he turned outside the wide-open passenger door. Jung Kyungwoo charged again holding a long rod.
Thud.
If he were an ordinary person, running away from a vicious criminal with a weapon might have been the first priority. But Jaeha acted in the opposite way. He had faith in his natural physique.
Instead of retreating, Jaeha pushed forward forcefully, using the door as a shield.
Clang.
“Aaah!”
Jung Kyungwoo’s hand got caught between the car door.
“Hey! You son of a bitch… Aaaaah!”
Clatter.
Jung Kyungwoo, who had been screaming, dropped the rod he was holding. From the metallic sound, it was a pipe.
“You crazy bastard. Are you the one who wants to die?”
Jaeha, whose temper flared due to pain and anger, pushed the door with force. Jung Kyungwoo’s knees gave out as his body collapsed downward.
Crunch.
With a terrible sound, Jung Kyungwoo screamed as if dying.
“Aaaaah.”
Only then did Jaeha withdraw the force pushing the door.
Thud.
Jung Kyungwoo knelt on the ground, prostrate, holding his caught hand with his other hand. It seemed his finger joints were dislocated.
Meanwhile, Jaeha picked up the metal pipe. It was quite heavy. If he had been hit directly, it would have been instant knockout.
It was a stroke of luck that it had grazed him due to the height difference or Jung Kyungwoo’s inexperience. The end of the pipe was sharp, so it seemed the skin had torn and a lot of blood was flowing.
“Crazy son of a bitch.”
Jaeha threw the pipe into the front seat and opened the back door. Then, after loosening his necktie, he roughly pulled up the bastard who was lying prostrate.
“Ugh.”
Jung Kyungwoo groaned, as if it hurt when his hand shook. Regardless, Jaeha pushed him into the back seat and then grabbed both his arms.
“You crazy bastard! It hurts!”
“Someone who cracked an innocent person’s head. Shut your mouth. Before I knock out all your teeth.”
“Aaaaah!”
Ignoring Jung Kyungwoo, who was going mad, Jaeha placed both his hands against the iron bar of the passenger seat headrest and wrapped and tied them tightly with the necktie.
“Hnnngh… Ugh.”
The son of a bitch struggled as if sobbing.
Slam.
After slamming the door shut, Jaeha went to sit in the driver’s seat.
“Shi…”
He was about to curse but stopped. More urgent than that was wiping the blood soaking the back of his neck. He opened the glove compartment and took out tissues.
He pulled out a clump and pressed it to the back of his neck. His head felt like it was splitting from the throbbing pain. No, it actually did split.
“Son of a bitch.”
Jaeha looked for his mobile phone. Seeing that, Jung Kyungwoo fumed.
“Go ahead and report it. You’ll be finished too.”
“Shut up, you criminal caught in the act of special assault.”
“Got evidence? Didn’t you just fall by yourself after drinking?”
He didn’t even have the energy to respond to the ridiculous scenario. Jaeha glared at the other with the corner of his eye while gesturing with his chin.
“1 o’clock direction. 7 o’clock direction. All CCTV at regular intervals on the ceiling.”
The reason he had forced himself to buy this expensive apartment was precisely because of the perfect security facilities. Jung Kyungwoo was drenched in cold sweat from pain as he cracked wise.
“That probably broke down today, didn’t it?”
“Fuck.”
He couldn’t help but curse.
“Did you stuff money to the management office director? Or did you have someone else cut the wires?”
“Trade secret.”
He wanted to hit that face grinning palely. He actually tried to hit him, but not only was the angle not good inside the car, but his head hurt so it was difficult to hit properly.
Jaeha erased the number he was pressing and pressed a simple number again.
“There’s no use reporting it, I’m telling you. Did you become stupid from your head splitting?”
“Shut up. I need to get treatment, don’t I?”
119 responded promptly. He was about to say one injured person, but thinking he couldn’t just leave that bastard alone, he said two.
While waiting for the ambulance, Jaeha glared at Jung Kyungwoo.
“You came out yourself, in your position.”
“Have to give a prosecutor proper treatment.”
“The video won’t disappear just because you do this. Rather, you’re just adding special assault charges.”
“If only you drop dead, no one will know.”
“Reckless bastard.”
“Thanks.”
His skill at screwing people over was better than expected.
“Let’s be reasonable, Jung Kyungwoo-ssi.”
“You’re the one who made me do this, Seo Jaeha.”
“So the video really does scare you.”
At the words mixed with a sigh, Jung Kyungwoo’s expression became even more fierce. Some special method was needed. Otherwise, he might have to sleep face-down for life.
“Let’s do this. From now on, let’s meet once every two weeks and build a trust relationship.”
At those words, Jung Kyungwoo snorted.
“What is this, couples counseling? Gonna call in an expert for consultation therapy?”
The moment he heard the sarcasm, his temper almost flared, but Jaeha suppressed his anger by repeating ‘I’m human, I’ll endure.’
“Every time we meet, I’ll delete one video on the spot.”
“There are copies.”
“I’ll give you the copied files too.”
“How can I trust that?”
“It’s better than murder. You son of a bitch. At this rate, I’ll have no choice but to lock you up too.”
“Go ahead, Prosecutor Seo Jaeha. I’m so scared I can’t live.”
Unable to endure any longer, Jaeha slammed down the passenger seat backrest.
“Ugh.”
Perhaps because his bound hands hurt, Jung Kyungwoo groaned and lowered his head.
“At this rate, I’ll be driven to desperate measures too, Jung Kyungwoo. Make a deal before the Monday morning headline ‘Taeryoung Family Heir, Only Wrists Found’ appears.”
“You’ll be in the headlines first before that.”
“Really? Then I’d better take action right now.”
Looking at the bastard who persisted to the end, Jaeha twisted one corner of his mouth. And he pressed the start button.
