“F*ck, Hyunim. Who told you to? There’s no way you’d have the guts to do something like this, so who was it?” Park Dong-su glared at Heo Gi-hoon, his voice rough.
Heo Gi-hoon snorted.
“Who told me? It’s all because of President Park. We all four think the same way. Isn’t that right?”
The other three nodded.
“I’m sorry, President Park.”
“Hyunim, I understand.”
Park Dong-su’s face was covered in anger.
Given how his kindness had been repaid, it was understandable that he was furious.
Besides the four bosses—Byeon Sung-ho, Son Gang-seok, Kim Byung-soo, and Heo Gi-hoon—six other large men were blocking the door to the office.
“Uncle Dong-su, are you coming with us?”
I said casually.
The tense atmosphere in the room, which had been like standing in front of a nuclear bomb ready to explode, suddenly relaxed.
“Leave it to me. I’ll handle it. Just stay in that corner. This is different from school fights. Hurry up.”
I was taken aback when the large men first burst in, but it only took a few seconds to understand the situation.
It seemed that Park Dong-su, being a senior, had been lenient with these guys, allowing them some breathing room.
‘Tsk.’
I clicked my tongue.
This was the reality of organized crime.
Honor?
Romance?
All bullshit.
In the end, it was a world rife with betrayal.
“Will you be okay?”
“Shut up.”
With Park Dong-su’s words, I moved to the corner of the office.
I didn’t know Park Dong-su’s skills. He hadn’t come out of prison until I was about to die, so I couldn’t be sure.
But I wasn’t particularly worried because of the lawyer, Lee Sang-geun, standing next to Park Dong-su.
There was no way he had risen to his position in Gangnam, Seoul, just because of his good head.
‘I’ve heard he’s really good with a knife.’
It was time to see the skills I had only heard about.
“... Sang-geun, you should go to the temple too.”
“Ha~ President, you think I’m weak? I’ll take care of myself, so you do the same.”
With Lee Sang-geun’s response, Park Dong-su laughed in disbelief.
“Is there no one around me with a clear head? I’m going to go crazy.”
But a smile appeared on Park Dong-su’s face.
“Can’t you guys read the room? Hey!”
At Heo Gi-hoon’s shout, the large men blocking the door tightened their grip on their baseball bats and iron pipes and started to approach.
Lee Sang-geun calmly pulled out two knives, estimated to be about 15 centimeters long, from inside his suit pants and held them in his hands.
Park Dong-su looked at him in disbelief.
“Hey, do you carry sushi when you meet me?”
“It’s a habit, a habit.”
The six large men were already within striking distance of Park Dong-su and Lee Sang-geun.
As soon as someone made the first move, the fight could start at any moment.
“Let’s take care of these guys and talk again, okay?”
With those words, Park Dong-su charged at the large men bare-handed.
He struck the chin of the closest opponent with the edge of his hand. But at the same time, an iron pipe hit Park Dong-su’s shoulder.
“Grr.”
“Grr.”
Park Dong-su’s face contorted, and he grabbed the hair of the opponent who had been hit and pulled him forward.
Thud!
His knee struck the face.
Meanwhile, the other five men charged at Park Dong-su.
Lee Sang-geun intervened at that moment.
Swish! Swish!
The sound of the knives slicing through the air echoed in the room.
At the same time, two of the large men dropped their weapons.
“Gaaaah!”
Blood spurted from their wrists.
Suddenly, blood splattered everywhere, covering Park Dong-su, the large men, and Lee Sang-geun.
The office, which had instantly turned into a battlefield, was filled with screams and the sounds of blows.
The sounds of the fight outside were also getting louder.
After watching for a moment, Byeon Sung-ho, who couldn’t stand it anymore, pulled out a knife from his pocket.
“I’ll take care of the one over there. You guys handle the rest.”
With those words, Byeon Sung-ho walked toward me with his knife.
Park Dong-su turned to look at me.
But he couldn’t intervene immediately. Park Dong-su was already quite injured.
The situation became even more chaotic as the other bosses joined the fight.
I watched Byeon Sung-ho, who was approaching with a knife, with a cold eye.
“It’s your fault I’m like this. I won’t kill you. Live as a cripple for the rest of your life. It’s your karma, you bastard.”
With those words, Byeon Sung-ho lunged at me with his knife.
I immediately threw a nearby chair. As Byeon Sung-ho stumbled from the impact, I moved closer.
“You bastard! Die! Die!”
Byeon Sung-ho swung his knife wildly.
I dodged the trajectory of the knife and punched him. He moved in the opposite direction, trying to avoid the blow.
Seizing the moment, I punched his right eye with all my strength, gripping my car keys in my pocket.
Smack!
With the strong impact, I grabbed the collar of Byeon Sung-ho, who was dazed, and pulled him toward me.
Smack! Smack!
I punched his face repeatedly, and his wild knife slashes cut my forearm.
But I didn’t stop and continued to strike his face.
Eventually, Byeon Sung-ho dropped his knife.
“Why are you picking a fight with me? What did I do to you? You started the trouble, so why are you making excuses?”
I laughed at the staggering Byeon Sung-ho.
“And if Uncle Park Dong-su hadn’t come that day, you would have died at my hands. You’re causing a fuss without even knowing who saved your life.”
He glared at me with unyielding eyes as he regained his senses.
Crack!
I punched his face again. His head snapped back from the impact.
“Not going to back down?”
Despite his injuries, Byeon Sung-ho’s eyes were still alive.
I laughed bitterly.
“Even as a thug, you have some pride, I see.”
I grabbed Byeon Sung-ho by the collar and started to slap him.
A man’s pride is hurt more by a slap than a punch.
How long had it been? My palms were numb.
“Hey! Dong-sang! That’s enough!”
Park Dong-su’s shout from the side snapped me out of it.
Byeon Sung-ho had already lost consciousness and collapsed when I let go of his collar.
I sighed and looked at Park Dong-su.
“... Uncle, you said it was almost over, right?”
“... I’m sorry.”
“What about outside?”
“Hyunim!!!”
Someone ran in and called out to Park Dong-su.
“Is it over outside?”
“Yes, no one is hurt... but they’re pretty beat up. They’re not dead, though.”
“Enough of the nonsense. Gather everyone in the office.”
“Yes.”
Park Dong-su’s subordinates entered the room and dragged the fallen men out.
“Dong-sang, is your arm okay? It’s bleeding.”
“No, Uncle! Look at your face. You’re almost dead. Lee Sang-geun looks more alive than you.”
At my words, Park Dong-su shuddered and looked at Lee Sang-geun.
Lee Sang-geun stood calmly, drenched in blood, and looked even more terrifying because of the atmosphere.
“F*ck. Hey! Sang-geun. Do you really carry sushi all the time? Are you saying you could have taken me down anytime?”
“President, you’re my breadwinner. Why would I do that? The person who gives me money is my hyunim and my god.”
Lee Sang-geun casually threw the knives aside and wiped the blood off.
At that moment, Yang Su-hyung entered and said,
“Hyunim, they’re all kneeling outside.”
“Good. Let’s go out.”
“Wait a moment.”
I took out my phone from my pocket.
“What is that?”
“This is the new phone from Il Sung Electronics.”
I had obtained it through Cheon Ji-soo, as it was a test model recently made by Il Sung Electronics.
I was used to smartphones, so the existing one was inconvenient to carry, but fortunately, this new phone was the right size to hold in one hand, making calls easier.
“Really? It looks good.”
I called my father.
“Yes, Father. It’s Mu-hyuk. I’m at the department store, and some thugs suddenly attacked me and I’m a bit hurt. Father, you need to come and sort this out.”
- What? Thugs? What are you doing? Don’t cause trouble and worry your grandmother. If you keep causing trouble like when you were young, it’s not good.
“Don’t worry. I’m not a kid anymore, and I’ve calmed down. Just come over. It’s the third floor of the department store. I’ll handle the prosecutor’s side. Just come and see how much you need to sort out.”