Chapter 34: A Precious Existence?
Before Dohyuk could even frown at the sight of Yeon leaping onto the stage, the deafening sound of shattering glass filled the air. Simultaneously, Yeon, who had been shielding him, slumped down.
Dohyuk instinctively stretched out his arms to catch Yeon as he collapsed. The hand that held Yeon felt wet. Looking down, he saw Yeon’s clothes and his own hands stained with dark red blood.
“Director Choi!”
At Dohyuk’s shout, Director Choi, who had been waiting below the stage, rushed over. The people who had been murmuring about the suddenly shattered glass also approached the stage one by one, wondering what had happened.
“Call an ambulance. Now.”
Dohyuk’s voice sank low. It felt more chilling than if he had shouted, making the people gathered at the stage flinch. Director Choi swallowed a groan as he finally noticed Yeon’s suit jacket soaked in blood.
“It might be difficult to treat him at a hospital.”
Director Choi lowered his body and spoke quietly enough for only Dohyuk to hear. Yeon had neither health insurance nor resident registration. Taking such a person to a hospital would complicate matters in various ways.
“Is that… blood?”
Yeon’s clothes were getting so soaked with blood that even the eyes of those gathered at the stage could see it.
“What’s going on? A shooting? Is that why the glass broke too?”
People started murmuring.
“Managing Director.”
Sensing that the situation could become unmanageable if left as it was, Director Choi called to Dohyuk. It would be troublesome if someone reported this to the police.
Dohyuk gritted his molars. He thought he was used to seeing other people’s blood, but his heart was pounding. It wasn’t due to fear. His head throbbed with rage so intense it felt like his blood would gush upward.
“Contact the Baekwha Foundation and call a doctor.”
As he stood up carrying the collapsed Yeon, people stepped back. They were all terrified, thinking it was a shooting.
“I’ll be back down, so until then, don’t let anyone leave.”
Dohyuk came down from the stage and looked around at everyone. They all moistened their dry lips with their tongues at his icy gaze.
“What on earth is this…!”
Baek Hyeri, who had pushed through the crowd to the front, covered her mouth with one hand when she saw Yeon.
“I’m sorry, but please take care of things here.”
“Understood. Are you sure you don’t want me to call an ambulance?”
Baek Hyeri pulled herself together and asked Dohyuk. Dohyuk shook his head.
“It needs to be handled as quietly as possible to avoid complications.”
Fortunately, she understood what Dohyuk meant. After she nodded, Dohyuk carried Yeon out of the presentation hall. Worried that people in the hotel might cause a commotion, Director Choi quickly took off his jacket to cover Yeon.
As soon as they returned to the room, Dohyuk laid Yeon on the bed and removed his blood-soaked outer garments. The inner shirt was even worse. The bleeding must have been quite severe, as it was completely damp.
Dohyuk removed Yeon’s shirt entirely. He could see blood continuously flowing from the left shoulder. He brought a towel from the bathroom and firmly pressed it against the wound. Losing any more blood could be life-threatening.
This was clearly a gunshot wound. Someone had tried to snipe him from outside the hotel. Was this why Yeon had been anxious since morning? Even so, how did he know there would be gunfire and shield him? Could this guy really see something others couldn’t?
Even if he knew, even if he had been commissioned, how could he shield him without a moment’s hesitation? Moreover, Yeon wasn’t a loyal subordinate like Director Choi. Rather, considering all that had happened between them until now, he had no reason to throw himself in harm’s way to save Dohyuk. On the contrary, one might expect him to wish for Dohyuk’s death.
A connection woven with red threads… Was it really because of that?
Knock knock, after the knocking sound, Director Choi entered.
“The presentation hall?”
“Director Baek Hyeri is handling it. She’s controlling all attendees to prevent anything from leaking outside. I don’t think there will be any problems you’re concerned about.”
Fortunately, Baek Hyeri seemed to be doing a good job. It appeared that Kangsan Construction was blocking any potential leak to the media.
“The direction of the shooting?”
Dohyuk hadn’t given specific instructions about this at the presentation hall. There were too many eyes watching to mention it. But he judged that Director Choi would have acted on his own.
“It’s presumed to be from the rooftop of the building next to the hotel. I immediately sent people there, but they couldn’t catch anyone—they must have already fled.”
Dohyuk narrowed his eyes at the news that they had lost the shooter.
“Find them. By any means necessary. To snipe from that distance, they must be a professional hitman. Thoroughly investigate that angle.”
In contrast to the hot mass of energy surging inside him, Dohyuk’s voice was low. However, knowing that such a response indicated Dohyuk was genuinely angry, Director Choi answered with a tense expression that he understood.
About 20 minutes later, a doctor arrived. Director Choi must have communicated the situation properly, as blood for transfusion had also been prepared just in case. While the bullet embedded in the shoulder was removed and the wound sutured, Dohyuk watched the process, leaning against the bedroom wall. When told that if the bullet had hit just a little lower it would have damaged vital organs, he felt a heavy stone placed on his heart, making it difficult to breathe.
“He should be fine as long as he rests like this.”
After the doctor left, Dohyuk handed the bullet extracted from Yeon’s body to Director Choi. He instructed him to use the bullet to identify the gun used and find the hitman.
Baek Hyeri came up to the room, crossing paths with the departing doctor. Dohyuk was in the middle of changing clothes to return to the presentation hall.
“You’re not seriously going back down, are you?”
Baek Hyeri asked with a serious expression. She clicked her tongue at Dohyuk’s coldness, saying it was unbelievable that he could think of anything else when someone had just been shot before his eyes.
“Since there’s no threat to his life, it’s fine.”
At Dohyuk’s reply, she looked at him with a truly astonished expression.
“Everything’s wrapped up, so there’s no need to go down. Besides, isn’t this person quite precious to Kang Dohyuk-ssi?”
“I don’t understand how you came to that conclusion.”
“It’s more surprising that you don’t know?”
Baek Hyeri asked sincerely.
“Do you not realize what your expression looks like right now? It was even more intense in the presentation hall earlier.”
Dohyuk only furrowed his brow.
“You’re basically stoic and cold, so it’s not that noticeable, but your eyes and the energy you’re giving off… It was no joke. It felt like you were barely suppressing anger that was rising to the top of your head.”
Baek Hyeri certainly had a perceptive side. It was true that his head ached with anger.
“It’s natural to be angry when someone gets sniped for unknown reasons.”
“Because you were targeted? Or because this person got hurt?”
He remained silent at her question. Come to think of it, that was true. There had been someone who had invaded the Dragon Holdings building and rushed at him with a knife, but he hadn’t felt his head burning like this then. Was it because this time it was a gun, not a knife? Looking at the outcome, Dohyuk hadn’t been hurt at all, not even a strand of hair. So there should be no reason for him to be angry.
Punishing those who attacked him was a separate matter. Since they drew the knife first, it was only natural to pay them back in the same way. Until now, that’s all it had been.
So why was he so furiously angry this time?
Dohyuk’s gaze turned to Yeon lying on the bed. Looking at him with white bandages tightly wrapped around his shoulder and chest, something welled up inside him again.
“Do you understand now?”
Baek Hyeri, who had been quietly observing Dohyuk’s face, asked. Instead of denying or confirming, Dohyuk let out a long sigh.
“Among the companies that participated today, please select construction companies that Kangsan Construction thinks would be good to work with. I’ll leave that part entirely up to you.”
He mentioned the subsequent work, partly because the topic of Yeon was uncomfortable and partly because the business needed to be concluded. He trusted that Baek Hyeri had handled the presentation properly.
“Your ability to switch gears is frightening.”
Though she added that comment, she soon matched Dohyuk’s pace of conversation. Given the scale of the project, the government didn’t expect Kangsan Construction to handle everything alone anyway. Instead, they had agreed that Kangsan Construction would have overall command and at least three construction companies would be selected to proceed simultaneously.
“However, we will determine the investors. The criteria for selecting investment companies will also be done our way.”
In the end, it meant that Dragon Holdings would control all fund distribution. Since Kangsan Construction needed Dragon Holdings’ investment from the beginning, they couldn’t object to that part even if it was disadvantageous. From the start, if Dragon Holdings had decided to pull out, the project itself couldn’t have proceeded.
Throughout the business conversation with Baek Hyeri, Dohyuk didn’t look back at Yeon even once. Baek Hyeri’s words about him being a precious person kept bothering him like something stuck in his throat.
Precious? There was no way such a thing could exist for him.
***
Kim Seonuk paced around his room.
Failure… How could they fail after being paid so much money? Would there be a next time? Could they succeed next time? His head ached with all sorts of thoughts.
The sound of breaking glass had startled Kim Seonuk the most. He hadn’t even considered the possibility of sniping from afar. He had commissioned someone’s murder, but he hadn’t imagined how they would be killed. He was just an ordinary person who vaguely wished for someone’s death without thinking specifically about how it would be carried out.
Would Kang Dohyuk have noticed? What would happen if he knew it was his request? Would he be punished for soliciting murder?
No, he wouldn’t know. How could Kang Dohyuk possibly know that he had commissioned a murder? He wouldn’t even know who had shot at him.
Trying to suppress his anxious feelings, he called “him.” The phone rang several times, but the other person didn’t answer.
“Why aren’t you answering!”
Cursing under his breath, he threw his phone onto the bed. Could this bastard be trying to back out now? He became anxious that after inciting him all this time, he was now trying to escape alone.
Ding! At the sound of a message coming in, he quickly picked up his phone to check.
– Will definitely handle it within a few days.
The number was an impossible 0000, but he knew immediately who it was. His face contorted at the fact that the contact had come directly, not through him. It was clear that that bastard had indeed backed out.
“Ha, shit…”
The hitman said he would try again, but he had a bad feeling that something was wrong. Should he cancel the request even now? However, there was no way to contact the hitman. The only contact, him, wasn’t answering Kim Seonuk’s calls. And he was certain he wouldn’t answer in the future either.
