Siwon quietly closed the door so as not to wake Seongyeom and headed for the stairs. As he crossed the darkened hallway, he rolled his stiff shoulders. This takes me right back to that night before my debut.
He had been on his way home after grueling training. The streetlight in front of his house had been broken for weeks, but the district office only gave empty promises to fix it. Normally he would have turned on his phone’s flashlight to pass through, but that day he was too tired and just kept walking.
Someone struck him hard in the side as they passed in the darkness, and he instinctively felt that he had been ‘stabbed.’ And all he could think was that he had to catch the bastard who stabbed him.
His world had always operated on input and output. What he received, he had to give back.
Siwon quickly grabbed hold of the figure moving away after hitting him and beat them thoroughly, giving back as much pain as he’d received. The bastard couldn’t fight back even once against the attacks of a prospective athlete. Just as the dull sounds of impact continued to echo—
Flash—
Suddenly, multiple car high beams poured down on them. Siwon raised his battered hand to shield his eyes. And he couldn’t think of anything. He had thought the bastard in his grasp would be at most someone his own age, or some crazy lunatic. Because the person whose collar was firmly gripped in his hand was none other than his father.
Their eyes met over that blood-caked face. Along with the sound of phlegm bubbling up, thick blood was dripping steadily onto the hand gripping the collar. His father, who could barely open his eyes as he looked up at him, showed his burst gums and made an expression that could have been either a smile or tears.
While Siwon was frozen in shock, a man who got out of the car dragged his father away. The sound of him clicking his tongue saying ‘I thought you’d taken the money and run’ rang in Siwon’s ears like tinnitus. Perhaps the reason he limped obediently into the man’s car was because he didn’t want to cause harm to his son, at least.
That was the last time with his biological father.
Siwon rubbed his lower back as that shocking day came to mind once again.
His father hadn’t stabbed him in the waist that day. Seeing the thick envelope of money that had fallen at his feet and the bag left behind, he was probably trying to flee in the night. Did he not care what happened to his son, who had no one to rely on but a drunk father living in the glory of the past?
Even though it had already been 20 years, Siwon’s jaw tightened with the knot that still wouldn’t come undone.
As he came down the stairs, a black figure that had been pacing in front of the darkened staircase moved.
“What is it?”
“Ah, Boss.”
It was Lee Cheon. Siwon lowered the hand he’d placed on his waist and straightened his jacket.
“This was found in the Action Captain’s car, and I think it would be better for you to check it directly.”
“Where’s Teolbo?”
At the nuance of sending Vice-boss Teolbo instead, Lee Cheon answered quickly.
“He’s checking it first. Director Daerim instructed me to bring you.”
“…Lead the way.”
Siwon waved his hand with a displeased expression and rubbed his brow bone hard.
Why is it that when one thing goes wrong, everything else explodes simultaneously as if they were waiting for it?
The urgent matter right now was the life or death of Oh Cheon, who had lost contact, but Lee Cheon’s persistent behavior also bothered him strangely. Though time was of the essence, Siwon hoped Oh Cheon would hold on just a little longer and followed Lee Cheon to the garage.
It would soon be sunrise. The heavily clouded sky was dark and gloomy, as if it would pour down rain at any moment. The dawn sky, like dissolved black ink, settled heavily on Siwon’s shoulders.
“Boss.”
As he entered the garage, bright LED lights stabbed at Siwon’s vision. While he frowned at the sudden brightness, Daerim, who had come down first at Siwon’s instruction, approached with a stiff expression.
“Didn’t I say it was urgent?”
Even at the irritated question, Daerim just shook his head and led Siwon. Lee Cheon was already standing beside Teolbo, waiting for Siwon with that same expressionless face.
“What the hell is this about?”
The Dogang Faction’s Action Captain’s head had already been taken, and they were about to lose a precious hunting dog—could there be a worse situation than this?
As Siwon approached closer, he saw a black hard case covered in dust sitting on the steel workbench.
“Open it.”
At the brief command, Lee Cheon immediately unfastened the plastic buckles. When he opened the lid, a new model automatic pistol with a subtle sheen was embedded between the jet-black cushioning.
“It’s… a gun.”
Daerim, who only knew how to save lives and had zero knowledge about tools for killing, spoke. Breaking the heavily settled atmosphere, Daerim barely opened his mouth and read the expressions of the three men.
“Is this something to take so seriously?”
Daerim looked back and forth between Lee Cheon and Teolbo as if asking for an explanation. Teolbo, who had been carefully examining the pistol with its bluish-silver gleam, straightened his back. Unfolding his arms as if he had finished assessing the situation.
“Looks like the Dogang Faction bastards have already gotten their hands on weapons distribution rights.”
At those words, Daerim’s eyes slowly moved. Before long, as if the scattered puzzle pieces in his head had come together, he opened his mouth in shock.
“Then Oh Cheon is right now…?!”
“…It’s like sending him in with just one blade among bastards with guns.”
So that’s why the plan went wrong. Siwon’s atmosphere became noticeably menacing. With his narrowed, sharp eyes glaring at the case, Siwon pulled out the pistol. He aligned the heavy magazine with the hole and pushed it in, then pulled the slide once—the sound of a round being chambered could be heard.
On the side of the pistol’s slide, on the smooth metal surface, there was a finely engraved marking.
A dragon ascending to heaven.
It was unmistakably the Cartel’s symbol.
“Fuck… even a decorative head should know how to threaten at least…”
Lee Cheon muttered, twisting his expression viciously. He stared at the gun Siwon was holding for a long while. Then he turned around and strode off somewhere.
“This bastard, so rude!”
Lee Cheon snatched a key from the cabinet and headed straight to where Siwon’s supercars were parked.
When Teolbo tried to chase after him, Siwon stopped him.
“Leave him. He won’t do anything reckless. He’s blood, so he must be anxious.”
“But!”
“Enough. I said I’m allowing it. You hurry and grab your keys too. We need to collect our dogs before they die without my permission.”
“…Understood.”
Teolbo bowed once and hurried to grab car keys and chase after Lee Cheon.
The old Kwonmyeonghoe that had adhered to long traditions had disappeared into the back alleys of history long ago. The small number of old Kwonmyeonghoe members remaining now, and the majority of young members, were all skilled individuals chosen by Siwon.
The current Kwonmyeonghoe was Kwon Siwon himself. Since they had sworn to devote their loyalty to the organization, even dying was not of their own free will.
An SUV with blackened tinted windows stopped in front of the garage. As Siwon walked with wide strides, Daerim hurried over and opened the back door.
“Please be careful.”
“Oh, Daerim.”
Siwon turned to look at Daerim as if something had occurred to him. A crooked smile bloomed over his cold face.
“Before I get back, finish the background check on Lee Seongyeom.”
***
A background check.
So I have to catch an innocent person after all…
Daerim loosely pulled at the light green necktie choking his neck as the black car’s rear completely disappeared from view. After sending a young member into danger, how could he sleep with his legs stretched out? But he hadn’t slept for days already and fatigue had accumulated to its limit.
He told the subordinates guarding the main gate “good work,” organized the garage, and then entered the house with his footsteps as quiet as possible.
“Whew…”
The living room just before sunrise was so silent that his ears felt stuffy. Just as Daerim was going up the stairs on his tiptoes, being careful and more careful lest he wake the members living downstairs—
“What were you doing to come in only now?”
“……!”
Had he climbed about five steps? White legs dangling from the landing spoke to Daerim. Belatedly raising his head, Daerim was too shocked to even scream. As he clutched his chest and bent over, a clear voice came from above his head.
“Did I scare you? It’s me. Cheong.”
The straight legs slipped back inside the stair railing, and soon Cheong’s fresh face peeked out. He was wearing short shorts and a loose sleeveless top.
“Ah… it’s Cheong…”
Daerim’s legs completely gave out and he ended up sitting down on the stairs. Having stayed up unwillingly for three nights, his stamina had completely bottomed out. Though he had been holding on with mental strength from the tension in front of Siwon, he was still just an ordinary person. As Daerim leaned his head against the stairs and curled up, the startled Cheong approached asking if he was okay.
“Mmm, I’m fine…”
It had been ten years since entering Kwonmyeonghoe. In addition to his duties as a medical professional, he had worked overtime and overworked himself like eating meals doing Siwon’s cleanup, so this level of heart palpitation was nothing… or so Daerim was about to say, but he lost his words at Cheong’s outfit.
“Hyung?”
When Cheong tilted his head, the shoulder strap that had been precariously hanging on his fair shoulder slipped down smoothly. His white skin was fully exposed, and Daerim’s face, already soaked in fatigue, became even more haggard. Daerim pretended to carefully examine the plain ceiling.
“Ah… there’s a lot of dust up there too.”
Unaware of Daerim’s feelings, Cheong stretched out his neck and asked.
“Are you really okay? You look tired.”
Cheong had come down because he was thirsty and discovered Daerim coming in looking exhausted. The moment he saw him, he quickly went up the stairs and fiercely pondered in that brief moment how to make it look like a natural encounter.
“Your shoulder… a bit… pull it up…”
“What?”
Daerim muttered with hollow eyes as if his soul had left. Though he roughly understood what was said, Cheong pretended not to know and asked again.
“I mean, your shoulder… like this…”
“My shoulder? Should I massage it for you?”
Cheong, with innocent eyes, tried to massage both of Daerim’s shoulders.
When no one’s watching, especially now when Siwon isn’t here—this is my chance.
