Chapter 81: Kang Mansik’s Weakness
Kang Chahyuk smiled a seemingly friendly smile, insisting he was genuine. But Yeon wasn’t looking at his face; he was staring at the two black threads undulating around him.
“No. I don’t need your help.”
One of those two threads was definitely connected to Kang Dohyuk. The other was probably connected to his father, Kang Mansik. Either way, they had grown thicker than the ones Yeon had seen around Dohyuk, and they were emanating an ominous energy. Right now, this man’s heart contained nothing but poison and the desire to kill everyone involved in his ill fate.
“I understand you’re scared with everything going on. I didn’t expect my father to act like this either. At times like these, we brothers need to stick together. I’ll take you to Dohyuk hyung. He’s the only one among us who can handle our father, and you being captured puts him at a disadvantage.”
It was a fairly convincing argument. His desperate expression and tone sounded quite sincere. Perhaps some of it was true. He might genuinely want to borrow Kang Dohyuk’s power because he couldn’t face Chairman Kang Mansik alone. But what about after that?
Yeon shook his head and pushed Chahyuk’s arm away. He saw Chahyuk’s face harden, but then he quickly tried to smile reassuringly.
“You’re the person who tried to kill Kang Dohyuk.”
“That’s a misunderstanding! I’m telling you it really wasn’t me!”
Kang Chahyuk pleaded, claiming innocence. Yeon raised his hand and grasped the black thread wavering in the air. Along with a stinging pain, a pitch-black energy seeped up his arm even though he hadn’t done anything yet. He rolled up his shirt sleeve and showed his arm to Kang Chahyuk, who recoiled in horror.
“What the hell is that?”
Kang Chahyuk asked, looking at the black mass writhing up Yeon’s pale forearm.
“This is your heart. Directed toward Kang Dohyuk.”
Chahyuk’s face immediately hardened when told that this sinister energy was from his own heart. Then his expression turned cold.
“So you really are a shaman.”
Even his tone of voice changed.
“But I’m still serious about rescuing you. I need to survive too. Kang Dohyuk can only catch Kang Mansik if you’re not here. And you’ll be my shield against Kang Dohyuk.”
Something hard pressed against Yeon’s abdomen. Looking down, he saw it was a gun.
“I don’t intend to kill you, so follow me quietly. That’s the only way for you, me, and Kang Dohyuk to stay alive.”
Yeon looked down at the black thread in his hand. Perhaps because it had seeped into Yeon, the dark energy surrounding the thread had subsided somewhat. The thread was still pitch black, but it wasn’t pulled taut or emanating murderous intent that constricted one’s breath.
Chahyuk probably wouldn’t harm Dohyuk immediately, as he said. Partly because he feared Kang Mansik more and needed Dohyuk to survive him, but also because Yeon had absorbed some of the ill fate, which had significantly reduced Chahyuk’s animosity toward Dohyuk.
The problem was that the accumulated ill fate was too deep. Absorbing it recklessly made Yeon’s vision blur and caused dizziness. His body crumbled and he collapsed forward.
“Huh? Hey!”
Kang Chahyuk stretched out his arm to support Yeon’s upper body as he fell. Confused by the sudden collapse, he lightly tapped Yeon’s cheek, but Yeon had already lost consciousness.
***
The place where Dohyuk stopped his car was a dilapidated warehouse located in Cheongpyeong. It was some distance from the areas crowded with vacation homes. However, it wasn’t too far from the place where the attacker at the parking garage had been buried, nor from Kang Mansik’s newly purchased Cheongpyeong villa.
Several men were already standing guard in front of the warehouse. Seeing them wearing leather gloves and holding wooden clubs and metal pipes, Dohyuk couldn’t help but laugh bitterly. Without the slightest intimidation, he got out of the car and approached them.
“Tell them Kang Dohyuk is here.”
When he announced his name, the men checked to make sure no one else was in the car Dohyuk had arrived in, then nodded to one another and opened the warehouse door. The heavy iron door made an eerie creaking sound as it opened.
Inside, dozens of men were standing. Their intentions were so obvious that Dohyuk didn’t even find it amusing. He clenched his fists tightly. The number of opponents didn’t matter. They were nothing more than minnows under Kang Mansik’s control.
But Yeon was in Kang Mansik’s hands. Dohyuk couldn’t act rashly for fear of what might happen to Yeon if he counterattacked.
“If you called me here to end this, wouldn’t it be courteous to show your face, Chairman Kang Mansik?”
He deliberately spoke loudly to show that he knew his opponent was Kang Mansik. After a moment of silence, Kang Mansik emerged from behind the men.
“You figured it out faster than I expected.”
Dohyuk hadn’t been given much time. Knowing that Dohyuk would investigate, Kang Mansik had attacked Dohyuk and Kang Sunhyuk in a whirlwind of events and even targeted Muryeong, all within a very short timeframe. Despite having barely a day and perhaps just a few hints, Dohyuk had figured out that Kang Mansik was pulling the strings.
“Where is he?”
When Dohyuk mentioned Yeon, the corners of Kang Mansik’s mouth curled up slightly. To think that he would come all the way here alone for that shaman. It was something unimaginable for the Kang Dohyuk he knew before. The reason Kang Mansik had started to make his move this time was because of this person named Yeon in Kang Dohyuk’s life. He was the first weakness that the previously impenetrable Kang Dohyuk had created. So when a weakness appeared, it had to be cut out.
“You must also know what I intend to do with you.”
At Kang Mansik’s words, dozens of men surrounded Dohyuk. Dohyuk looked at Kang Mansik without the slightest agitation. Kang Mansik smiled at Dohyuk’s composure.
“I did value your boldness. I even thought you were the only one suitable to be my successor.”
All his words were in the past tense. Dohyuk looked around at the men closing in. Some had drawn knives, as if they truly intended to kill him and bury him in the nearby hills.
Ha. As he let out a short laugh, Kang Mansik’s brow furrowed. He seemed to wonder if Dohyuk had lost his mind.
Ignoring him, Dohyuk reached into his jacket to take out his phone.
“You’ll regret it if you try anything foolish.”
As Kang Mansik’s voice grew cold, the men tightened their circle around Dohyuk.
“You’ll be the one to regret it if you move rashly, Chairman.”
Kang Mansik frowned at Dohyuk’s warning.
“You’re bluffing out of desperation. Take care of him.”
Dismissing Dohyuk’s warning, Kang Mansik gave a short command, and the men rushed at Dohyuk. Chaos erupted instantly. Dohyuk dodged their attacks while quickly drawing the knife he always carried.
Click. As the blade left its sheath, he slashed the thigh of an attacker. With a groan, the man collapsed, and another rushed in from behind. Dohyuk didn’t hesitate to attack his opponent. As more men fell to Dohyuk, the black blade became increasingly stained red with blood.
In an instant, the dozens of men were reduced to fewer than ten. One of the men guarding Kang Mansik drew a jackknife and approached Dohyuk. Dohyuk lowered his body by bending his knees, avoided the knife aimed at his neck, and plunged his own knife into the attacker’s thigh. With a squelch, the blade cut through flesh, and when Dohyuk pulled it out, red blood spurted forth.
Seeing Dohyuk’s unflinching movements against dozens of opponents, the remaining men were too frightened to rush in recklessly. Kang Mansik also glared at Dohyuk with a deeply furrowed brow.
“If you intended to kill me, you should have been more thorough.”
Dohyuk muttered as he wiped blood from his cheek with the back of his hand. He hadn’t been in the special forces command just for show. Among them, Dohyuk had been the most outstanding warrior. The military had hoped he would stay, but even then, it was Kang Mansik who had almost forcibly pulled him out, saying Dohyuk was needed to transform Dragon Holdings into a legitimate company.
“As if I would underestimate you.”
Kang Mansik gestured with his eyes to somewhere behind Dohyuk. Turning around, Dohyuk saw a man on the upper level of the warehouse aiming a sniper rifle at him. Given that his opponent was Kang Mansik, it wasn’t surprising that he had hired a professional.
“Shoot.”
After saying just that word, Dohyuk disregarded the threat and continued walking toward Kang Mansik.
“If he shoots, your precious child will also never see the light of day again.”
At these words, Kang Mansik’s expression hardened.
“What do you mean…”
“Your eyes are wavering. Unlike you. Act more composed. That’s how you avoid being caught.”
Dohyuk had already approached to stand right in front of Kang Mansik. Two men guarding Kang Mansik stepped in front of him.
“It’s already too late, though.”
Dohyuk took out his phone and made a video call to Director Choi. The call connected almost immediately, and the image of a child appeared on Dohyuk’s phone.
“I’ve got you, Kang Mansik. Your weakness.”
“You bastard!”
Kang Mansik grabbed Dohyuk’s collar in anger. Dohyuk looked down at Kang Mansik, whose eyes instantly filled with murderous intent, still with an emotionless gaze.
“Give Yeon back. Then this child will be safe.”
At Dohyuk’s warning, Kang Mansik gritted his teeth and glared at him.
A seven-year-old boy was playing and drawing pictures on the other side of the phone screen. Though surrounded by unfamiliar adults, the child seemed unbothered and continued with his activity.
“Should I have tied that child to a chair and knocked him unconscious, like in the photo you sent me, so you could understand the situation?”
As he added one more remark, Kang Mansik finally released his grip on Dohyuk’s collar. Dohyuk’s gaze turned to the sniper on the upper level of the warehouse.
“Shoot if you want. But at the same time, a bullet hole will also appear in this child’s head.”
Dohyuk’s voice remained cold. He didn’t even press Kang Mansik to make an immediate decision. Kang Mansik’s jawbone visibly protruded as he clenched his molars tightly.
“Go get that guy.”
At Kang Mansik’s order, one of the subordinates standing beside him left the warehouse. With a nod from Kang Mansik, the sniper also put away his gun and retreated from his position.
“How did you find out?”
Kang Mansik asked as he slumped into a chair. Dohyuk stood in place, looking down at him.
The child was Kang Mansik’s other son. Unlike Kang Dohyuk, Kang Sunhyuk, and Kang Chahyuk, he was not registered in Kang Mansik’s family registry but was still his blood. That’s why he had remained unnoticed by anyone for seven years.
Dohyuk had found it strange that Kang Mansik owned a residential property and investigated the tenants living there. A woman in her early thirties and a seven-year-old boy—nothing unusual so far. But the moment he saw a photo of the boy’s mother, he had to suppress a bitter laugh.
He had seen her before. Eight years ago, right after Dohyuk was discharged from the military and established the company Dragon Holdings as a corporation, she had briefly worked as Kang Mansik’s secretary before resigning.
