Chapter 3

TW: Violence/Blood

A bag of money spread out on the floor was full of dollars. Wang Han’s gaze, who had been organizing it and sharing it, shifted to Ja-kyung, who was sitting at the table. He’s been staring at a picture since he arrived. It was a new request from Dmitry.

“Are you really going to do it?”

Ja-kyung remained silent. The man in the picture wearing a black suit and a black tie was close to expressionless. He wondered what it was. A face in a Western magazine. To be exact, underwear commercial? The features that overflowed with testosterone were quite strong, clear, and fierce for Asians.

Wang Han, who was watching, got up from his seat and came to the table.

“I asked if you were going to do it.”

Ja-kyung turned the picture around and showed it to Wang Han.

“Handsome, right? Don’t you think it will be fun to kill him?”

“Well.”

“He is twenty-nine, doesn’t he seem a lot older? He looked so old.”

“So are you going to do it?”

Ja-kyung nodded his head.

“I have to. It’s ten times the previous price.”

Wang Han sat down and spoke with a solemn expression.

“I don’t mind at all. It’s fine to kill him, but you need to go into that house and get some items.”

As expected, conditions were added as the amount was large. He would have been less concerned about killing a person in normal circumstances, but after killing the man, he needed to retrieve an item from a hidden safe. That was the transaction’s condition.

Wang Han took the picture and looked into the man’s face. He asked a friend to conduct a thorough investigation into the man. Kang Hoon was the leader of the Sewon faction, a former ruling gang in Korea. Kang Hoon married a politician’s daughter, expanded his business, and became an entrepreneur. Of course, he still rules the underworld behind the scenes.

He has been married twice more since then, and he has three sons and a daughter. His three sons worked for the company, and his daughter was a doctor. Kang Il-hyun, the man in the photo, was the most likely successor of the three. Wang Han worked in this field and met all kinds of people, so he could make an assessment just by looking at him. The eyes and the aura emanating from him were dangerous, and Wang Han keen intuition told him to avoid it this time.

Moreover, according to sources, this was not the first attempt to assassinate Kang Il-hyun. They all failed, and none of them survived. But, as usual, Ja-kyung dismissed it as insignificant.

“I’m different. I’m the best.”

“I know. But what if you’re in danger?”

“I’m going to die.”

“Don’t say it lightly. What is your dream?”

When he heard the word “dream,” Ja-kyung closed his mouth. He intended to leave this job when he reached the age of 30. He also considered the island where he planned to spend the rest of his life. A deserted island where no one lives. Since there were so many enemies around, it would be convenient to go there. He must find a beautiful wife, raise children, build a house, farm, and live comfortably. He’d never teach his child to shoot a gun.

“Let’s discuss it when I get back. Let’s take care of this man first.”

Ja-kyung took out a Zippo lighter from his pocket and lit the photos and documents. Kang Il-hyun’s face was distorted and seemed angry in the photo. He wondered if he would look like this when he died. He was a little excited about it. He laughed and tossed it in the garbage. The burned pictures quickly turned into a handful of ashes and disappeared.

***

It was evening and the sun was slowly setting when the black sedan arrived at the Yangpyeong villa after a two-hour drive. This property belonged to his father, Chairman Kang, and it was primarily used as a playground by his youngest son, Kang Seok-Joo and his friends.

When he opened the front door, he saw people cleaning the pool. While removing the flesh and bloodstains that had fallen here and there, they saw Kang Il-hyun and immediately got up to greet him. Accidents like this were not uncommon, and it was always their responsibility to follow up.

“You’ve worked hard.”

As he stepped on the stone steps and climbed up, he heard a shout from the inside before he even reach the front door. There was swearing and the sound of objects being smashed. It was clear how things were progressing. He still has some energy, so he must be running around like a lunatic, which was unusual for him.

Il-hyun turned around and asked Tae-soo.

“If I kill that bastard, will the old man shed bloody tears?”

Tae-soo didn’t answer. Whether it was serious or not, he could do it himself.

“No. It’s not yet time. Even if he died, I’d only be relieved if the old man died as well.”

A smile spreads across Il-hyun’s face and then disappears as if he really imagined killing him. When he opened the door and went inside, as expected, the situation in front of him was a mess. The blood that fell on the floor and the unidentified flesh gave off a terrible fishy smell.

Il-hyun took a deep breath. Hmm, smells good. A thick layer of blood clings to the sole of his shoe and drips off with each step. When the assembled subordinates saw Il-hyun, they quickly dispersed, and Kang Seok-joo appeared. He was covered in blood, holding an awl and swinging it around like a lunatic.

“Get out! Get out of here, you jerks! Do you want to die? Do you know who I am?”

He had no idea who he was or where he was, so he reasoned that it would be best to teach him directly. As Il-hyun stepped closer, Kang Seok-joo blazed even more and swung his awl. Get out! Get out of here, you fucking bastard! Get out! I’ll kill you if you don’t leave!

Il-hyun grabbed Seok-joo’s wrist while avoiding the tip of the flying awl and twisted it until it made a clunking sound. Aww! The shriek that seemed to break was short-lived. Il-hyun took the awl that Seok-joo was holding and shoved it into his temple.

Seok-joo couldn’t even breathe properly after the blow and shrugged his shoulders. His legs loosened and he tried to sit down, but Il-hyun grabbed his hair and forced him to stand up again. With his eyes closed, he scraped his awl down slowly. As flesh was ripped apart, blood was dripping down and staining the shoes.

Kang Seok-joo trembled like a newborn calf as if he couldn’t bear the pain even while drunk.

“Ah… Uh…!”

He couldn’t stand the pain and grabbed Il-hyun’s arm, a low warning voice then rang out.

“Just put your hand on it. It’ll be your eyes next.”

Kang Seok-joo was unable to move and simply kept his mouth shut. In pain, tears welled up in his eyes, and the whites of his eyes turned red. He could now see the man in front of him clearly. His eyes sunk even deeper as he saw him smile like the devil.

“Hyu-, hyung. Th, tha, that,”

“Can you see me clearly now?”

“Ye, yeah…”

When he applied more force, the tip of the awl arched inward and went in. In the agony of his broken bones, Seok-joo couldn’t even groan, and his mouth was open like a fish. A creepy smile crossed Il-hyun’s face as he watched his half-brother struggling in pain.

“You should always answer politely, okay?”

“Ye… Yes…”

The awl that was crushing the bones fell out at that moment, as did the strong hand that was holding the hair. Seok-joo let out a breath he had been holding back and sat down on the floor. The pain was still there, but fear and shame arrived at the same time.

Il-hyun was looking down at Seok-joo when he heard a sound from the front door. When Il-hyun turned around, he saw a guest who had just arrived and smiled.

“You’re late.”

The gray-haired man was the secretary of Seok-joo’s mother, Kim Seon-young. His gaze fell to Seok-joo, who had fallen to the floor and was bleeding,  and his face soon darkened.

“You went too far.”

“I’ll hear my father reprimanding separately at tomorrow’s meal.”

“Sir.”

“Say it.”

“You shouldn’t hurt your family for any reason.”

One of Il-hyun’s eyebrows rose crookedly at the word “family”. The more he thought about it, the more he despised the word. Family. Family… Family. Change it to a fake. He licked the tip of the awl with his tongue while hiding his true feelings and smiling at him. Secretary Yoon’s eyes trembled in response to the action.

Il-hyun rolled the blood around in his mouth with his tongue to taste it before spitting it on the floor.

“That’s strange. If blood is thicker than water, why does it taste so bland in my mouth?”

“Sir, if you do this again next time-,”

“What if I do this again?”

A cold stare fell on him. Secretary Yoon took a brief pause before taking a half-step back and bowing his head.

“I stepped over the line. I apologize.”

“As expected, you’re quick to grasp the situation. Otherwise, this would have been stuck in Secretary Yoon’s head by now.”

Il-hyun laughed and tossed the awl to the ground. Yeah, it was a clever joke, so don’t be offended. Secretary Yoon disliked Kang Il-hyun but was unable to express his feelings. Because it was true that Kang Seok-joo was involved in a major accident this time. Although not in critical condition, one of the injured parties was the son of a politician, and it was understandable that he was upset because it was Kang Il-hyun’s sole responsibility to settle the situation.

“Then I’ll get going. Clean up the mess. Just like you always do.”

Il-hyun looked back. Seok-joo remained overwhelmed in his seat. Il-hyun gave him a very kind smile.

“You’re so cute when you’re calm. Now, you look like my younger brother.”