Xiao puffed out her cheeks and grumbled.
“What, it’s not Kwon Siwon?”
I was looking forward to it. How disappointing. Xiao, who had been looking down from the second-floor railing, turned her head as if bored. The guard standing behind her reported briefly.
“It seems more guests have arrived.”
“Really? Where? Where?”
“…They don’t seem to be welcome guests.”
“What, there’s no one!”
Her resentment was brief—Xiao’s hazel eyes captured Lee Cheon. If I render two of Kwon Siwon’s cherished subordinates useless, will he show me that handsome face then? Xiao made a gesture of crushing Lee Cheon with her index finger.
The standoff continued on the first floor. The Dogang Faction members surrounding Lee Cheon parted to both sides like waves, and a man leisurely walked out from the gap. Lee Cheon’s eyes instantly filled with hostility.
“It’s been a while, Lee Cheon.”
Jeongcheol leisurely exhaled cigarette smoke and roughly looked over the fallen Oh Cheon.
“That bastard Oh Cheon, still as ill-mannered as ever.”
Lee Cheon’s jaw muscles bulged. He readjusted his grip on the knife that kept slipping due to the blood flowing from his palm. A growling sound escaped without him realizing it.
“You seem unchanged as well, hyung-nim.”
“Well, for me, if I change, it means it’s time to die, doesn’t it?”
Jeongcheol grinned chillingly, showing his teeth. He tapped the puddle of Oh Cheon’s blood pooled on the floor with the tip of his shoe, then stared piercingly at Lee Cheon.
“So, you’re not thinking of changing your mind even now?”
“Go eat shit.”
“You’re no good either.”
Jeongcheol’s smile vanished instantly. He turned around as if he’d lost interest and waved his hand lightly.
“See you in the afterlife.”
Jeongcheol leisurely disappeared among the members. Lee Cheon wanted to strike the back of that head right away, but first he had to deal with the dozens—no, easily a hundred members surrounding him. Every time his heart pounded with tension, the pain in his ribs rang through his head.
That’s when it happened.
A lit fuse slid in with a hissing sound at the feet of the Dogang Faction members.
“Fuck, what is this?!”
No sooner had someone’s shocked cry erupted than the ground shook with an eardrum-tearing roar. Lee Cheon instinctively pulled Oh Cheon into his arms and raised his head. Massive flames shot up toward the high ceiling.
“Lady Xiao, you must evacuate.”
“Ah! I haven’t seen Siwon yet! Kwon Siwon!”
As the guard lifted Xiao onto his back and disappeared into the darkness, the stone pillars that seemed like they would never collapse broke off with heavy screams. In a scene like the end of the world, the Dogang Faction bastards threw away their modified weapons that had become burdens and scattered in all directions to flee.
Even while Lee Cheon was hoisting Oh Cheon onto his back, explosions could be heard not far away. Someone was intentionally collapsing this place.
With the pain of his misaligned ribs plus Oh Cheon’s weight added on, his vision went white. Lee Cheon ran with all his might the way he came. Debris from the collapsing ceiling chased at his heels.
Avoiding the pile of stones and squeezing out even the last strength from nursing, Lee Cheon embraced his younger brother and threw himself below the broken path. The moment he thought they were as good as dead, with a splash, cold water splattered onto his face.
***
Under the river bridge, the acrid dust spewing from the collapsed hideout clung to the fog, obscuring visibility.
“Ryu Lee Cheon!”
Teolbo, who had been waiting on the bridge, leaped over the railing without hesitation and jumped into the river. At his subordinate’s miserable state, Siwon took out a cigarette and lit it. When Pyo Changgeon, who was standing with a cane, gestured, the waiting Gangwon branch members moved in unison.
“Get it together, you bastard!”
Teolbo supported Lee Cheon, who was covered in muddy water. Lee Cheon, who barely regained consciousness, immediately checked on his younger brother. When the people who came down to the river tried to load Oh Cheon onto a stretcher, he convulsively reached out his hand.
“Ryu Lee Cheon.”
A familiar voice pressed heavily on Lee Cheon’s shoulder. When he raised his head, he saw Siwon with a cigarette in his mouth. Siwon bent his knees and sat down as if he didn’t care about the splashing mud, and gripped Lee Cheon’s trembling shoulder firmly.
“They’re people from the Gangwon branch. Relax.”
Siwon’s low, firm voice rang in Lee Cheon’s ears. Only then did the tightly drawn string of tension loosen.
“…Boss.”
“Good work.”
Lee Cheon’s body tilted. Siwon offered his shoulder and roughly embraced him. Silently accepting Lee Cheon’s blood staining his shirt, he stared at the rear of the car carrying Oh Cheon away.
“Their condition is terrible.”
Pyo Changgeon approached with the regular sound of his cane pressing against the ground. Siwon exhaled his last puff of cigarette smoke and said.
“He must have escaped. Choi Jeongcheol.”
“I know.”
“If we let him go now, I won’t hand him over to you. As you can see, he made my subordinates end up like this.”
At Siwon’s glance, Lee Cheon weakly giggled. Siwon lightly kicked Lee Cheon’s back with his foot.
However, in the old man’s eyes, there was no sign of being moved by saving his subordinate. He looked down at the three people with only coldness in his eyes—eyes that commanded his underlings solely with power and authority.
“Don’t abandon the greater cause for the lives of just one or two subordinates. Your body is not your own. If you’ve become the head of Kwonmyeonghoe, carry yourself accordingly.”
Siwon’s brow furrowed deeply. Pyo Changgeon pointed at Siwon with the tip of his cane.
“It seems you’re maintaining chastity thinking of Hyerin, but that’s enough now.”
“Branch Leader.”
Siwon’s voice sank low as if scraping the ground. Murderous intent pierced through the damp smell of rain. Pyo Changgeon’s guards placed their hands on their waists.
“How long are you going to watch other branch bastards disrespect you?”
Pyo Changgeon treated Siwon like a puppy who still couldn’t distinguish right from wrong.
“Even if you’re the Branch Leader, I would appreciate it if you didn’t carelessly put that name in your mouth.”
Siwon chewed and crushed the damp cigarette filter in his mouth until it made a crunching sound. The black eyes that had shone with shrewdness instantly lost their light and died pitch-black.
Pyo Changgeon laughed heartily. The deeper Siwon’s anger, the proof that his weakness was certain.
“I heard there’s a guy hanging around your main house.”
“Mind your own business about my private life.”
“Private life? The owner of Kwonmyeonghoe doesn’t have such things. I won’t make a long speech. Put that bastard in the position of mistress. Then I’ll add my strength.”
Pyo Changgeon glared at Siwon with gleaming eyes. It was pressure not to forget who was above him. He was disgusted by how he was still being treated like a dog, now as then.
“That child is a man.”
Siwon said as if spitting out the words. It was a final warning to stop the rude coercion.
“Well, it doesn’t matter. If anything, it worked out well. There won’t be any complications. You already have a daughter with Hyerin, don’t you? I think her name was Sohee. She’s still young, so if you raise her well from now and marry her to someone from the direct line…”
“…Are you serious?”
Siwon’s fist trembled. Not satisfied with just me, now you’re going to use the child too?
At Pyo Changgeon’s shameless face, Siwon ground his molars to the point of breaking. If he didn’t, it seemed like he would somehow push past those bastards guarding that old snake and split Pyo Changgeon’s tongue in two.
“You bastard! I’m not done talking!”
Toward Siwon, who barely suppressed his anger and turned around, Pyo Changgeon swung his cane. Pyo Changgeon’s subordinates surrounding Siwon tried to block him, but overwhelmed by the formidable atmosphere, they stepped back one by one.
“This isn’t a proposal, it’s a notification. If you don’t like it, hand over that bastard!”
Pyo Changgeon shouted in a completely hoarse voice toward Siwon walking away.
Even if the Boss does as he pleases, that would be a bit difficult.
Teolbo, who was listening nearby, glanced at the Gangwon Branch Leader. Who would readily hand over someone they cherish?
“You seem to have forgotten.”
Tremendous patience could be felt from Siwon’s face as he slowly turned around.
“I am the Kwonmyeonghoe Boss.”
“So what?! I can’t just leave alone a bastard who could become a weakness for the Kwonmyeonghoe head! Like Sohee, the branch should properly manage him!”
Siwon spat on the dirt ground as if there was nothing more to listen to and turned his back.
“Thank you for today.”
***
Siwon’s supercar quickly overtook and passed by. Lee Cheon couldn’t take his eyes off the bright yellow car moving away.
“Boss… seems pretty pissed off, doesn’t he?”
Teolbo, gripping the steering wheel, could only smile awkwardly. The unusually clear sky felt ominous, like watching the calm before a storm.
Siwon changed gears and roughly stepped on the accelerator. The car body glided smoothly as if mocking the winding road.
For 20 years they made me do all kinds of dirty work, and now what? Continue the Kwon family line? What ridiculous nonsense.
Thick veins stood out on the back of his hand gripping the steering wheel. Pyo Changgeon’s arrogant voice was stuck in his head and wouldn’t leave.
‘It seems you’re maintaining chastity thinking of Hyerin, but that’s enough now.’
What the hell does he know?
“…Should I kill him?”
Siwon glanced at the opposite lane as if he would turn the wheel and go back right away.
Hyerin was a leash that Kwonmyeonghoe had fastened to monitor Siwon. The daughter of the Oseong Faction boss they had swallowed for power absorption. Kwonmyeonghoe believed the relationship between Siwon and Hyerin was a perfect marriage, but Siwon knew her secret. Oh Hyerin already had a man she loved, and even the fact that she was already carrying that man’s child.
If he hadn’t accepted the marriage, not only the child in her womb but she herself would have been as good as dead. Suddenly, Oh Hyerin’s smiling face came to mind in the brightening sun from the front.
“…What’s the point now?”
Siwon found a crumpled cigarette from his pants pocket and put it in his mouth. When he pressed the accelerator all the way down, Lee Seongyeom’s face vividly emerged amidst the supercar’s engine roar.
He wanted to hurry and pull Lee Seongyeom into his arms.
He missed the sweet flesh scent permeating that guy’s body.
It felt like he could only maintain his sanity if he buried his face in that soft nape.
