Chapter 82: A Corresponding Price
“To think you would involve an innocent child…”
“You were the first to involve an innocent person.”
Dohyuk cut off Kang Mansik’s criticism. Dohyuk also typically refrained from using children as leverage for threats. But this time, Kang Mansik had crossed the line first. From the moment he put a knife to Dohyuk’s throat, mercy ceased to exist for Dohyuk. Moreover, Kang Mansik had kidnapped Yeon to hold him back, so Dohyuk was merely returning the favor in kind.
The reason Kang Mansik suddenly wanted to kill all three of his sons was this seven-year-old child.
Kim Yumin was just someone easy for Kang Mansik to deal with as he pleased in his younger days. What Dohyuk’s mother, Cha Seonyoo, needed was the respectable name of the Baekwha Foundation. It was underground work to bring Dragon Holdings to the surface. By financially helping the troubled Baekwha Foundation and establishing a connection with Cha Seonyoo, he had created a backing for Dragon Holdings’ future. Lee Miseon, Kang Chahyuk’s mother, was a similar case.
To Kang Mansik, all three women were merely tools or means, not objects of affection. The young Kang Mansik was as cold as Dohyuk and tried not to create anything that could become his weakness. Registering the sons born from these three women in the family registry was solely because he needed heirs; there was no tender affection for his children in that action either.
But this man had belatedly found someone precious. It seemed that paternal love did exist in him after all. His wisest move had been keeping the child hidden and not registering him in his family registry. If he had made it public, even if Dohyuk and his other sons had tolerated it, Dohyuk’s mother, Cha Seonyoo, would not have let it be.
Dragon Holdings had firmly established itself with Dohyuk’s help and was now preparing for business with the government. To Cha Seonyoo, Dragon Holdings was a company that should rightfully belong to Dohyuk. However, Kang Mansik wanted to pass the company not to Dohyuk or his other sons, but to the son he had with the woman he loved. Next year, the child would be entering school, so he might have wanted to officially register him in his family registry.
But his other sons were in the way of revealing the child publicly. In the end, he decided to eliminate the sons he had used for various purposes until now, in order to give Dragon Holdings entirely to that child.
Dohyuk resembled Kang Mansik’s character the most. Thanks to this, he immediately understood why Kang Mansik had tried to kill the Kang brothers the moment he learned of the child’s existence. To Kang Mansik, the remaining sons, excluding this child, were merely tools anyway, and those tools were no longer needed.
To eliminate future troubles, it would be better to get rid of either that child or Kang Mansik right here. However, he still hadn’t secured Yeon’s safety. Kang Mansik’s child had to be the exchange condition for Yeon.
Ending things this way would only reset the relationship with Kang Mansik to where it began, not resolving anything at all. Although Dohyuk detested dragging matters out inefficiently, he was prioritizing Yeon’s safety over wrapping up the situation cleanly. This was bewildering and unfamiliar to him, but he had no other choice.
Kang Mansik seemed to be thinking along similar lines, as his face hardened and he remained silent.
“How can I be sure you won’t harm the child just because you return the shaman?”
Kang Mansik couldn’t trust Dohyuk. The feeling was mutual.
“Bring Yeon. Then I’ll have the child brought here.”
Only after this suggestion of a simultaneous exchange did Kang Mansik exhale deeply and nod.
About 20 minutes later, the man who had gone to fetch Yeon came running back in a hurry. Seeing him return alone, Dohyuk’s brow furrowed.
“Chairman!”
The man approached urgently, glanced at Dohyuk, then whispered something to Kang Mansik. Seeing Kang Mansik’s expression change, Dohyuk immediately turned his body.
“Grab him!”
At Kang Mansik’s shout, the men who had been waiting rushed at Dohyuk. Even the sniper on the upper level of the warehouse aimed his gun at Dohyuk again.
Bang, bang! Gunshots rang out in succession. Thud! The sniper fell from the upper level with red blood flowing beneath his body. Soon, the sound of the warehouse door being smashed echoed, and dozens of private security guards rushed in, surrounding Kang Mansik’s men and aiming their guns at them.
“W-What is this…!”
Kang Mansik’s face twisted severely.
“Did you really expect me to come unarmed?”
Dohyuk coldly rebuked as he approached Kang Mansik. Kang Mansik’s gaze shifted to the black knife in Dohyuk’s hand. Dohyuk swung the hand holding the knife. Instinctively, Kang Mansik tightly closed his eyes.
However, there was only silence, and he felt no pain anywhere. When he opened his eyes, he saw Dohyuk’s knife stuck in the chair seat between Kang Mansik’s thighs.
“Where is Yeon?”
At Dohyuk’s ice-cold voice, Kang Mansik swallowed his groan.
“He’s gone.”
“Ha!”
Dohyuk let out a hollow laugh, then pulled out the knife and held it against Kang Mansik’s throat. Kang Mansik couldn’t even swallow properly with the sharp blade that looked like it would slash his throat at any moment.
“I guess that means you’re fine with that child dying too.”
Dohyuk’s phone had been connected to Director Choi through a video call the whole time. Kang Mansik rolled his eyes to check the phone screen, then closed and reopened his eyes.
“He’s really gone. I had him locked up in a nearby villa with guards, but someone broke in and all the guards were found unconscious.”
“And you expect me to believe that?”
“If you don’t believe me, go check for yourself.”
There was no wavering in his eyes as he answered while looking directly at Dohyuk.
“Then our deal is over.”
Dohyuk replied coldly and called out to Director Choi through the phone.
“Wait! Please, don’t hurt that child! I was wrong. I was wrong!”
Kang Mansik cried out and knelt before Dohyuk. It was a scene he never thought he would see in his lifetime, but Dohyuk’s cold gaze didn’t change in the slightest.
“Tell me what you want. I’ll do anything. Stocks? The chairman position? I’ll give you anything, just don’t touch that child!”
“Just that child…”
He never expected Kang Mansik to have someone he wanted to protect above all else. But in a way, he understood that feeling.
“You should have left that person untouched as well.”
Dohyuk went to one of the security guards and took the gun he was holding.
“I’ll propose a new deal.”
He tossed the gun in front of Kang Mansik.
“Kill yourself.”
At these concise three words, everyone present turned to Dohyuk in shock. Although he was a father who had tried to kill his sons first, most had expected that after exchanging Yeon and the child, they would finish this quietly without killing each other.
But now, the son, Dohyuk, was forcing his father, Kang Mansik, to take his own life.
“If you want to make a deal with me, you should have kept what I wanted. You lost Yeon. Now, if you want to protect that child, there’s only one way. Offer something equivalent to that child’s life.”
Dohyuk looked down at Kang Mansik with an expression that showed no change whatsoever. At the implication to choose between Kang Mansik’s life and the child’s, Kang Mansik gulped.
A suffocating silence followed. No one dared to intervene, only looking at Kang Mansik and Kang Dohyuk.
Kang Mansik reached out and grabbed the gun. His hand, which placed a finger on the trigger, was trembling slightly. Dohyuk watched Kang Mansik with a frigid expression. Given how many people had died by Kang Mansik’s hand or orders, it was laughable that he showed fear when death approached him.
“How can I be sure you won’t harm that child?”
Kang Mansik raised his eyes to look at Dohyuk and asked.
“If it doesn’t become a problem, I don’t do unnecessary things. You know that.”
At Dohyuk’s answer, Kang Mansik let out a deflated laugh. Dohyuk was right. That was the fundamental difference between Kang Mansik and Kang Dohyuk. Unlike Kang Mansik, who tried to cut off all possible threats preemptively, Dohyuk only moved as much as necessary for the issues at hand. This time too, if Kang Mansik hadn’t tried to attack Dohyuk first, even if Dohyuk had discovered Kang Mansik had another son, he would have merely observed.
Kang Mansik raised the gun and aimed it at his head.
“Wait.”
Just as he was putting strength into his finger to pull the trigger, Dohyuk called out to him.
“Why did you burn Muryeong?”
Kang Mansik snickered, seemingly not expecting Muryeong to come up suddenly.
“That shaman must be really special to you. I can tell by how you care about where he belongs.”
“Just answer the question.”
“I never burned it.”
At his answer, Dohyuk’s eyes narrowed.
“I did threaten them. Told them to be loyal to me, not you. But that was it. Before I could do anything, they set fire to it themselves. Quite prideful, aren’t they?”
Kang Mansik sneered.
“Want some advice?”
“Not needed.”
“That person by your side.”
Despite Dohyuk’s refusal, Kang Mansik continued to speak.
“If you try to possess him forcibly, he might do the same as the Muryeong group. This is the first and last advice I’ll give you as a father. Protecting and possessing are different things. If you don’t realize that, you’ll eventually lose him.”
“So that’s why you just kept hiding your precious person.”
When Dohyuk responded coldly, Kang Mansik gave a self-deprecating smile.
“You’re right. If I had known it would come to this, I might have handled things differently.”
A bitterness crossed his face, as if he had many regrets. But it was brief. Soon, Kang Mansik returned to his usual resolute expression and stared at Dohyuk.
“Keep your promise. Or I’ll come back as an evil spirit and take your head.”
He spoke through gritted teeth. Instead of answering, Dohyuk shifted his gaze to the gun in his hand. Seemingly understanding what was wanted, Kang Mansik raised the gun to his head.
BANG! A loud gunshot filled the warehouse. Kang Mansik’s body collapsed to the side, and drops of red blood splattered onto Dohyuk’s face.
“Clean this up.”
After giving instructions in a low voice, Dohyuk turned away. Kang Mansik was officially in Shanghai, China. It was an alibi he had created himself to kill his sons. So no one except Dohyuk and his close associates knew what had happened in this warehouse today.
“We’re moving to Kang Mansik’s villa in Cheongpyeong. Take the child back to his mother.”
As he left the warehouse, giving instructions through the phone, an icy blue coldness poured from Dohyuk. Kang Mansik was dead, but Yeon had not yet been recovered. Dohyuk’s malevolent connection was still alive and writhing.
