“Is it done now?”
The heat of the early summer night penetrated through the slate roof of the empty rental warehouse, turning the interior into a muggy cauldron. This was the final document deal before Kwonmyeonghoe washed their hands of the gangster world. A sticky tension flowed among the dozens of men.
Siwon flipped through the documents with a cigarette in his mouth. Cigarette smoke rose long from the corner of his lips. The opposing organization’s boss watched Siwon’s every move with sharp eyes.
“There’s no problem, right?”
An anxious voice urged Siwon’s answer.
At the trembling man’s voice, Siwon looked up from the documents and examined the man’s eyes. Although it was a steaming hot place without a breath of wind, the man sweating like rain by himself looked extremely suspicious. He could see cowardly tricks in the bastard’s eyes. Siwon lightly scoffed and flicked his cigarette ash.
This bastard and that bastard—now that we’re wrapping up this business, they’re all desperate to stab us in the back.
Siwon clicked his tongue and scanned the surroundings. Among the subordinates standing guard behind him, those kids Seoldong and Yi Cheong were watching this way with gleaming eyes.
“Tsk.”
I shouldn’t have brought those bastards.
It seemed like they were getting along well with the tutor assigned this time for once, so bringing them just this once was a mistake. Siwon hadn’t thought there would still be bastards desperate to die young.
“…Phew.”
At the continued sigh, the man with no cheek fat who looked like a skeleton flinched. His bulging round eyes opened even wider as he asked.
“Why, why? Is something wrong?”
“No.”
Siwon closed the documents he’d been looking at. Holding the cigarette from his mouth between his left fingers, he lightly nodded.
“The deal’s done. Let’s go back peacefully.”
Siwon deliberately emphasized ‘peacefully.’ But the man raised his head as if he’d been waiting for this very moment. His bulging eyes gleamed with desire that had been suppressed for so long finally meeting its match.
“Fuck, finally! I’m going to kill you, Kwon Siwon, you fucking bastard!”
“Oh my. How scary…”
Even at the man’s vulgar outburst, Siwon didn’t bat an eye. Instead, he looked at the man with pity as if questioning whether he could even manage with such a skeletal body.
“Are you ignoring me?”
“As if.”
Thwack—!
“Cheong!”
At the sound from behind, Siwon’s expression hardened sharply. Cheong’s body, who’d been standing between Choi Seoldong and a subordinate, twisted to one side.
It was an attack aimed precisely at the face. With a dull sound, Yi Cheong’s flour-white cheek burst red in an instant.
One of the opposing organization’s small fry hiding in a corner had cowardly launched a surprise attack.
The excited subordinates took fighting stances as if to rush forward immediately and looked back at Siwon.
“Boss!”
While raising his fist, Siwon struck the face of the opposing boss charging at him.
“Keurk!”
As the opposing boss went flying, the bastards who’d been hiding revealed themselves one by one.
“We don’t strike first.”
At Siwon’s words, the subordinates nodded as if they understood. Creating unnecessary noise before retirement was foolish.
“…These bastards.”
But for the young blood Seoldong who was just growing up, the moment he saw Cheong, whom he cherished more than his own life, get hurt, his reason flew away.
“Choi Seoldong, stop!”
Teolbo and the organization members urgently tried to stop him, but it was useless. Seoldong rushed in like a starving wild dog and grabbed the collar of the bastard who hit Cheong. ‘Gae Seoldong.’ It was the moment that proved his terrible nickname—once he bites prey, he doesn’t let go until the lifeline is cut.
Seoldong’s fists showed no mercy. The bastard’s face smashed into the floor was already crushed beyond recognition, but Seoldong didn’t stop. Thud, thud, the sound of bones being crushed echoed in the warehouse. The man who’d started with an ordinary face too forgettable to remember was now a twisted bloody mess rolling on the floor, looking like death would be better.
“Kill them all!”
The opposing organization members, stimulated by Seoldong’s madness, charged with tools in hand. The deal site instantly turned into a scene of carnage.
“Fuck! How embarrassing!”
Cheong wiped his split lip and kicked the man in front of him in the ankle. Quickly rising, he landed a bare fist straight into the opponent’s jaw. The feeling of teeth crushing traveled through the back of his hand.
Siwon clicked his tongue as if he knew it would end up like this. He crushed the cigarette he’d been smoking into the ground and muttered.
“Jeez… they’re squeezing me dry until my final years.”
Siwon’s long leg precisely kicked the chest of the bastard aiming for the back of Seoldong’s head. With a crack, the man flew far away and crashed. Siwon loosened his disheveled tie and scanned the warehouse vibrating with the smell of blood and sweat.
“No weapons! Defend at all costs!”
“Yes!”
At Siwon’s shout, several subordinates yelled back. Among them, Teolbo, who was like a vice-boss, approached while blocking a man’s wooden plank aiming for Siwon’s side with his arm.
“Aigoo… The kids’ teacher will be shocked when we get back.”
“Is now the time to worry about that guy?”
He said that, but Siwon was also in quite a headache situation. Less than 10 minutes after boasting he could teach well, he’d been crying and begging to be sent home. He recalled himself half-jokingly saying to go back and teach before he buries him.
…But if I show him this state on top of that…
Siwon desperately wanted a cigarette again.
***
“Why aren’t they coming, uwaaah…!”
Seongyeom flopped onto the sofa and stretched out fully with a strange scream. With his head toward the floor, he lay upside down and checked the wall clock. The geometrically patterned clock was pointing to 1 AM.
Ah, I’m sleepy.
I need to go home and pack my things too.
He thought about leaving a memo since he didn’t know Siwon’s contact information yet, but that didn’t seem courteous to his employer either. Seongyeom crossed his arms and turned his head left and right, stretching his neck.
Hmm, what should I do?
He bought rice and pork with the card he received. Chewy freshly cooked glutinous rice and pork, onions, green onions, kimchi stew made with kimchi bought from the mart, and he’d also made japchae.
He’d hoped everyone would eat while it was hot, but that was already 3 hours ago. Leaving the cold food in the kitchen, Seongyeom rolled around on the living room sofa as if becoming one with it, pondering.
“Can’t help it.”
He tore a page from the notebook in his bag, wrote that he’d come back again after school tomorrow along with his contact information, and got up. While crossing the yard, not a single insect sound could be heard. It was like entering a world in a painting.
Aside from the streetlights lit at intervals along the street, the other houses were dark. The same went for the mansion Seongyeom came out of. Just as he was going down the stone steps, a car engine sound grew closer from the distance. Seongyeom stopped in front of the black sedan with his bag on. The person who got out of the parked sedan was none other than the Boss, Siwon.
“Where are you going?”
“Ah, I was just going home for a moment…”
Something was strange. Siwon was oddly flushed.
He approached closer than necessary and pushed Seongyeom against the pillar next to the gate. The automatic sensor light turned on, illuminating Siwon’s broad shoulders and face.
“Huk!”
Seongyeom inhaled. The white shirt that had definitely been pure white when he left earlier was now soaked dark red with blood. The hair that had been firmly fixed with wax was disheveled, covering Siwon’s forehead. Not knowing where to look, as he scanned the blood-stained shoulders, a hand grabbed his chin and lifted his head.
“I.”
The black eyes in the gaze that met his had a dead gleam. He felt like he’d be sucked into those unreadable eyes.
“Told you not to go out.”
Siwon pressed Seongyeom one step further. At the overwhelming pressure bearing down on his entire body, Seongyeom stepped back and ended up tripping on the stone steps.
“Uwah!”
Thud—
Then, Siwon wrapped his arms around Seongyeom’s waist. If he hadn’t quickly pulled Seongyeom in, the back of his head would have been properly smashed.
“Th-thank…”
Seongyeom, about to give thanks, swallowed dryly. Under the light, something like blood was dried and stuck along Siwon’s cheek and neckline.
“Is this blood…?”
Seongyeom examined Siwon with a face looking at something bizarre. Without stepping back, he put more strength into the arm wrapped around his waist.
“Don’t deflect. Teacher. I don’t give warnings.”
“Yesss…”
As their whole bodies pressed together, the smell of blood and oil came from him.
Flustered, Seongyeom squirmed to escape from his embrace, but Siwon persistently maintained eye contact and wouldn’t let Seongyeom go.
“This is the last warning. If you leave this house without my permission, you’ll have to pay the price.”
At the deadly warning, Seongyeom swallowed his saliva and stared at Siwon.
His face tinged with excitement wore a strange smile. Like a devil saying go ahead and try leaving again, then you’ll see something fun.
“You need to answer?”
“Yes, yes. I under… uwak!?”
As soon as he heard the answer, Siwon mercilessly let go of his hands. While Seongyeom landed on his butt, he stared dumbfounded at Siwon walking into the house alone. He’d almost crashed into the flower bed.
“What the! Throwing a person around!”
The organization members who finished cleaning up and were coming up one by one snickered seeing Seongyeom barking like a puppy.
“That’s right, Teacher. Be careful. Our Boss is scary when he’s angry.”
“Take the words to heart. If you break the rules, that Incheon sea over there will become your grave.”
“Wh-what kind of things are you saying…”
Seongyeom, who awkwardly got up from his spot, brushed off his butt. One of the men with clear knife scar marks giggled and extended his hand to Seongyeom.
Get it together, this is a gangster den…
Getting up from his spot, Seongyeom tried not to seem intimidated and spoke as brazenly as possible.
“A-are you s-s-saying you’d k-kill me?!”
“That’s right. And you won’t die prettily either.”
The answer that came back was serious. Seongyeom didn’t want to ask anymore. If he heard any more, it felt like he’d really want to give up everything.
