Chapter 83: Your Way to Survive
Arriving at the Cheongpyeong villa with his security guards, Dohyuk thoroughly searched the entire place. The basement storage room door, where Yeon was likely held captive, was wide open. Without windows, no light entered the space.
Dohyuk found the switch next to the door and turned on the lights, his brow furrowing. The first things that caught his eye were a toppled chair and ropes on the floor. Upon closer inspection, he found the ropes had been cut. They weren’t cleanly severed as if by a knife, but appeared to have been repeatedly scraped against something until they broke.
Could Yeon have cut the ropes himself and escaped? Based on these traces, it seemed likely. Looking around more, he noticed several glass fragments on the floor. Among them was a piece slightly smaller than a palm with blood on it. The thought that the blood might have come from Yeon’s palm made his head feel hot with anger.
“Sir, we’ve found the security room.”
He had assumed that a villa belonging to Kang Mansik would naturally have CCTV cameras everywhere. Indeed, there were cameras not only at entrances and inside the villa but also in the corridor outside this storage room.
Dohyuk went to the security room with the guard and reviewed all of today’s footage. About an hour ago, Kang Mansik had left the villa with his men, leaving only two subordinates to guard the storage room. He probably thought two would be enough since Yeon wasn’t skilled in fighting like Dohyuk.
About 10 minutes later, Kang Chahyuk’s car and another vehicle entered the villa grounds. Dohyuk suspected they had been waiting nearby for Kang Mansik to leave. Kang Chahyuk and several other men got out of the cars. After exchanging words with Chahyuk, these men headed to the storage room first and shot tasers at the necks of Mansik’s guards, rendering them unconscious.
After receiving money from Chahyuk, they left the villa first. They appeared to be temporarily hired by Chahyuk. Chahyuk went down to the basement and stood in front of the storage room where Yeon was confined. However, he wasn’t the one who opened the door. It opened from the inside, and Yeon came out, startled to see Chahyuk standing there.
Dohyuk couldn’t hear what conversation passed between them. They seemed to have a slight altercation before Yeon grabbed something in the air. Though the CCTV footage wasn’t clear enough to see details, when Yeon rolled up his sleeve to show something, Chahyuk flinched. At this point, Dohyuk’s gaze grew cold and intense.
He immediately knew what Yeon had done and why Chahyuk was startled. Despite being told multiple times not to touch the ill fate, Yeon hadn’t listened. He’d warned that the ill fate binding Chahyuk and himself emanated no ordinary killing intent. And now Yeon had touched it like this…
Dohyuk’s eyebrows contorted at what happened next. Sure enough, Yeon staggered and collapsed. Even Chahyuk seemed taken aback. After tapping Yeon’s cheeks and hesitating in confusion, he finally carried Yeon out of the basement.
Whew. A long breath escaped him. Something like a black mass of emotion that resembled anger but was tinged with anxiety seemed to churn in his throat.
“Kang Chahyuk…”
As Dohyuk quietly cursed his name, the security guard who was checking the CCTV footage beside him flinched and turned to look at him. Dohyuk turned abruptly, left the villa, and immediately got into his car. The other guards scrambled in confusion, not having all exited yet, but he didn’t wait and firmly pressed down on the accelerator.
He couldn’t delay even a minute or a second more. Kang Chahyuk might have smaller guts than Kang Mansik, but when it came to vileness, he was just as bad, if not worse. So Dohyuk had to find him before he could do anything to Yeon.
***
His head felt like it was splitting open. His entire body seemed to ache. This pain, like having been beaten up, was what happened when one forcibly interfered with ill fate.
Come to think of it, he had touched Kang Chahyuk’s ill fate, hadn’t he?
Yeon forced his eyelids open. As his wavering vision gradually stabilized, he saw a dresser near the bed and what appeared to be a bathroom door beside it. This didn’t seem to be an ordinary home. Judging by the furniture and bedding, it looked like an old motel.
“You’re awake.”
At Kang Chahyuk’s voice, he turned his head to see the man sitting in a chair in front of the dresser, staring intently at him.
“You don’t seem to have any other injuries… Why did you collapse like that?”
“…”
When Yeon remained silent, Chahyuk shook his head and said, “Fine.” He seemed ready to move on, apparently considering it a matter unrelated to him.
“This will only make things worse.”
At Yeon’s words, he frowned. Though he didn’t respond directly, he seemed to understand the gravity of the situation.
“Turn yourself in.”
“Fuck! Shut up!”
Kang Chahyuk grabbed a can of beer from the table and threw it. Since it hadn’t been opened, it burst upon hitting the wall, spilling brown liquid across the floor.
“Turn myself in for what? I didn’t kill Kim Yumin, I tell you! I wasn’t the one who attacked Kang Dohyuk and Kang Sunhyuk either. Yet I’m supposed to take the blame for all of it?”
“The police aren’t fools. If it really wasn’t you, then go and make that clear. So they can find the real culprit.”
At Yeon’s words, Chahyuk exhaled in disbelief.
“You don’t know Chairman Kang Mansik. He’s probably already manipulated all the evidence to point to me. You think I should just go and say it wasn’t me? You think that’s the end of it? Even if I’m locked up in a holding cell, if I try to testify against him in any way, he’s the kind of person who could still have me killed.”
Unmistakable anxiety appeared on Chahyuk’s face. He stood up and paced restlessly back and forth.
“The only one who can stand up to Kang Mansik is probably Kang Dohyuk. That bastard wouldn’t hesitate to cut down even his own father, right? But he needs to believe you’re not captured… Ah, fuck. It’s driving me crazy not knowing what’s going on.”
It wasn’t clear whether he was talking to Yeon or muttering to himself.
What had happened to Kang Dohyuk? Had he found out that Yeon had escaped from Kang Mansik’s grasp? Had he managed to deal with Kang Mansik without getting hurt?
Thinking of Dohyuk made Yeon’s heart tingle. He hoped Dohyuk hadn’t been hurt because of him… He wanted to contact either Dohyuk or Director Choi, but Chahyuk wouldn’t allow it. How could he let Dohyuk know he was safe?
As he pondered this, watching Chahyuk, Yeon’s eyes widened. One of the black threads was missing. The black thread he had touched earlier was still connected to Chahyuk, though its color had slightly faded, but the other black thread had completely disappeared.
Did that mean either Kang Mansik or Kang Dohyuk was dead…?
The moment he thought it might be Dohyuk, his heart sank. He quickly checked his own hand. The red thread was still wrapped around his right hand.
Ah… thank goodness. To think the day would come when he’d feel relieved seeing this red thread…
But his mind soon became complicated again. If Dohyuk was alive, it meant Kang Mansik was dead. There was no need to ponder who had killed him.
The bloodshed has begun again. Dohyuk’s hands are starting to be stained with blood.
Though it was irrational, the red thread wrapped around his hand felt heavy. His heart ached, and he raised a hand to rub his chest.
If only they had never met. If only he hadn’t become Dohyuk’s weakness, then Dohyuk wouldn’t have had to kill Kang Mansik, his own flesh and blood…
Even though he knew better than anyone that they had been entangled in ill fate from the beginning, he felt uncomfortable, as if it were somehow his fault. But this wasn’t the end. There was still one more ill fate left for Kang Dohyuk. Right in front of his eyes.
“Mr. Kang Chahyuk.”
Chahyuk turned to look at Yeon’s call.
“Turn yourself in. That’s your way to survive.”
When Yeon brought up the topic that Chahyuk had already dismissed as nonsense, annoyance crossed his face.
“Chairman Kang Mansik… you don’t need to fear him anymore.”
He didn’t say that Mansik was dead. If he mentioned that, Chahyuk might fixate on Dohyuk as his target and become even more determined to keep Yeon captive.
“On what basis do you say that?”
“I can see things you can’t.”
While this would sound vague to Chahyuk, it was the only explanation Yeon could offer now. Perhaps because he had seen the dark energy seeping into Yeon’s arm earlier, Chahyuk merely frowned rather than outright denying the statement as nonsense.
“Even if you claim innocence for everything else, the fact that you tried to kill Kang Dohyuk is true, isn’t it? So turn yourself in. Then I’ll make sure you don’t take the blame for everything else. I promise.”
“With what ability can you…”
As Chahyuk tried to argue, his words trailed off when his eyes met Yeon’s steady gaze. He couldn’t look away from those blue eyes that didn’t waver in the slightest. Looking into them made him feel as if everything would happen exactly as Yeon said, almost like being enchanted—perhaps the power of a shaman.
Chahyuk deliberately turned his head away.
“Don’t be ridiculous.”
“I’ll persuade Kang Dohyuk. If you turn yourself in, I’ll make sure he doesn’t do anything further to you.”
The black thread connecting Chahyuk and Dohyuk was temporarily less venomous than before. Now might be the time when Chahyuk could be persuaded. If he could set aside his unconditional hatred and think a little more rationally, Chahyuk too would realize that turning himself in was the only way to avoid a confrontation with Dohyuk.
“Can Kang Dohyuk be persuaded? You think that’s possible?”
Chahyuk asked with an incredulous expression. In truth, Yeon wasn’t certain either. In the past, that person would agree to Yeon’s pleas to his face. With a tender smile, he would say he would do as Yeon wished. But the reality was different. After turning away from Yeon, he would cut people down with his cold heart. It wasn’t just once or twice that he had wiped Yeon’s tear-stained cheeks with hands covered in blood.
Nevertheless, he needed to convince Chahyuk now. He didn’t want to see Dohyuk’s hands stained with more blood.
“He’s moving right now. Kang Dohyuk is, because of me.”
Unable to deny this, Chahyuk closed his mouth and stared at Yeon intently. His pupils were trembling. Having been driven into a corner because of Kang Mansik, he seemed desperate to grasp at any straw.
“Mr. Kang Chahyuk.”
Yeon called his name, urging him. Time was running out. The red thread bound to his hand was being pulled. Dohyuk was searching for him. At the same time, the black thread connected to Chahyuk was gradually darkening compared to when Yeon had first opened his eyes. The longer Chahyuk hesitated, the stronger Dohyuk’s animosity grew.
After a long while, Chahyuk seemed to have made up his mind and opened his mouth. That was when it happened. BANG BANG! At the thunderous sound, as if someone was trying to break down the door, both Yeon and Chahyuk turned toward the source of the noise.
