The money bag spread across the floor was packed tight with dollars. Wang Han, who had been organizing and dividing the money, shifted his gaze to Ja-kyung sitting at the table. Since arriving, he had been intently studying a single photograph. It was something received from Dmitry—a new commission.
"Are you really going to do this?"
Ja-kyung didn't answer. The man in the photo, wearing a black suit with a black tie, had an expression close to emotionless. How to describe it. A face from a Western magazine. So to be precise, an underwear advertisement? His features, overflowing with testosterone, were quite strong and distinct for an Asian, with deep yet sharp eyes.
Wang Han, who had been watching, rose from his seat and came to the table.
"I asked if you're going to do it."
Ja-kyung turned the photo to show Wang Han.
"Handsome, right? Makes you want to kill him, doesn't it?"
"I wonder."
"They say he's twenty-nine, but doesn't he look older? Why does he look so weathered?"
"So you're going to do it?"
Ja-kyung nodded.
"I have to. It's ten times the usual amount."
Wang Han pulled out a chair and sat down, then spoke with a somewhat serious face.
"I don't like it. Killing is fine, but you said we have to go into that house and retrieve something too."
As expected, given the large sum, conditions had been attached. If it were just eliminating one person like usual, there would be less worry, but after killing the man, they had to enter a hidden safe and take out one item. That was the extent of the deal's conditions.
Wang Han took the photo and stared intently at the man's face. He had asked someone he knew to investigate the man in detail. Kang Hoon, the head of Sewon Faction, a criminal organization that once ruled South Korea. That same Kang Hoon had married a politician's daughter, expanded his business, and transformed into an entrepreneur. Of course, behind the scenes, he still reigned as the underworld's number one figure.
Since then, he married twice more and gained three sons and one daughter. The three sons worked for the company, and the daughter was a doctor. Among them, the most likely successor was the man in the photo—Kang Il-hyun. Wang Han had met all kinds of people working in this business, so he could estimate the danger just by looking at his face. His eyes and the aura he exuded were dangerous, but above all, his sharp instinct was telling him. Skip this one.
Moreover, according to the informant, this wasn't the first attempt to assassinate Kang Il-hyun. All had ended in failure, and none of those who tried had survived. But as always, Ja-kyung acted unconcerned.
"I'm different. I'm the best."
"I know. But what if you get into danger?"
"Then I die."
"Don't say it so easily. What about your dream?"
At the word dream, Ja-kyung fell silent. The plan was to work until thirty then quit this job. An island to spend the rest of his life on was already picked out. An uninhabited island. Having made so many enemies, wouldn't it be peaceful there? Meet a pretty wife, have children there, build a house, go fishing, live happily together. Teaching the kid to shoot a gun—absolutely out of the question.
"Let's think about that after I return. First, deal with this man."
Ja-kyung took out a Zippo lighter and set fire to the photo and documents. Kang Il-hyun's face in the photo distorted as if he were angry. Would he have this kind of face when he died too? Something to look forward to. After snickering, he threw it into the trash can. The burning photo soon became a handful of ash and disappeared.
***
When the black sedan arrived at the Yangpyeong villa after driving for about two hours, the sun was lazily sinking in the evening. This place belonged to his father, Chairman Kang, but primarily the youngest, Kang Seok-ju, used it as a playground with his friends.
Upon opening the gate and entering, people cleaning up the swimming pool came into view. They were removing pieces of flesh and bloodstains scattered here and there, and upon seeing Kang Il-hyun, they immediately stood up and greeted him. Such accidents were frequent, and cleanup was always their responsibility.
"You're working hard."
Walking up the stone steps, shouts leaked from inside before even reaching the entrance. Curses and sounds of things being smashed were mixed together. Without looking, it was obvious what was happening. The drug effects would still be lingering, so he'd be rampaging like a madman unlike usual.
Il-hyun looked back and asked Tae-soo.
"If I kill that bastard, will the old man shed tears of blood?"
Tae-soo didn't answer. Whether it was sincere or not, if ordered, he would do it.
"No. Not yet the right time. Even if he dies, he needs to die with the old man for me to feel satisfied."
Whether he actually imagined killing, a smile spread across Il-hyun's face then disappeared. Opening the door and going inside, the situation before his eyes was a complete mess as expected. A terrible fishy smell rose from the blood on the floor and pieces of flesh belonging to who knows whom.
Il-hyun breathed in deeply. Hmm, nice smell. Every time he walked, blood stuck thickly to the soles of his shoes then peeled off. The gathered subordinates quickly scattered upon discovering Il-hyun, and Kang Seok-ju revealed himself. Covered in blood, he was swinging an ice pick like a madman.
"Get away! Get away, you fucking bastards! You all want to die? Do you know who I am?"
Since he didn't know who he was or what position he was in, it seemed better to teach him directly. As Il-hyun approached with long strides, Seok-ju flailed even more wildly and swung the pick. Get lost! Get lost, you fucker! Get away! If you don't, I'll kill you!
Il-hyun dodged the incoming pick's tip, grabbed Seok-ju's wrist, and twisted it until it crack. Argh! The scream that seemed to tear him apart was brief. Il-hyun snatched the ice pick Seok-ju was holding and drove it deep into his temple.
Kuh, Seok-ju couldn't even breathe properly from a single blow and his eyes rolled back. His legs gave out and he tried to collapse, but Il-hyun grabbed his hair and pulled him back up. Then, staring directly into his eyes, he slowly dragged the pick downward. Flesh split open and blood streamed down, dirtying his shoes.
Whether he couldn't endure the pain even while intoxicated, Seok-ju trembled like a newborn calf.
"G... uh... ugh!"
Unable to bear it, when he grabbed Il-hyun's arm, a low warning sound came.
"Touch me again. Next time it's your eyes."
Kang Seok-ju couldn't bring himself to move and only opened and closed his mouth. Tears pooled from pain and the whites of his eyes turned red. Only now did the man before him come into focus. His eyes, smiling like a demon, sank even darker.
"Hi, heek. Th, th, th-that,"
"Can you see properly now?"
"Uh, uh-uh..."
When more force was applied, the tip of the pick dug further inside. At the pain of bone grinding, Seok-ju couldn't even groan and only moved his mouth like a fish. Watching his half-brother writhing in pain, a sinister smile swept across Il-hyun's face.
"Always answer politely, okay?"
"N... yes..."
Only then satisfied, the pick that had been crushing bone withdrew, and the rough hand gripping his hair also released. Seok-ju let out the breath he'd been holding and collapsed onto the floor. Beyond pain, fear and shame rushed in all at once.
As Il-hyun stared down at Seok-ju, a sound came from the entrance. Turning around, Il-hyun smiled with a pleased face at the guest who had just appeared.
"You're late."
The gray-haired man was Secretary Kim Sun-young, Seok-ju's mother. His gaze fell on Seok-ju bleeding on the floor, and his complexion quickly darkened.
"You went too far."
"I'll receive proper praise from Father at tomorrow's meal."
"Managing Director."
"Please speak."
"Under any circumstances, family members must not harm each other."
At the word family, one of Il-hyun's eyebrows went up crookedly. The more he chewed on it, the less he liked the word. Family. Family... Family, huh. Tell him to change it to fucking family. Hiding his true feelings, he plastered an insincere smile on his face and licked the tip of the ice pick he was holding with his tongue. At that action, Secretary Yoon's lower eyelid trembled.
Il-hyun rolled the blood that entered his mouth on his tongue to taste it, then spat it on the floor. Ptui!
"Strange. They say blood is thicker than water, so why does it taste so bland in my mouth?"
"Managing Director. If you do this again next time,"
"If I do this again?"
A cold gaze pierced downward. Secretary Yoon hesitated briefly, stepped back half a pace, and bowed his head.
"I overstepped. I apologize."
"As expected, you grasp situations quickly. If not for that, this would be stuck in Secretary Yoon's head right now."
Il-hyun smiled and threw the pick on the floor. Then he said not to feel bad since it was just a joke. Secretary Yoon found Kang Il-hyun disagreeable but couldn't show it. It was true that Kang Seok-ju had caused quite a big accident this time. The injured party wasn't in critical condition, but one of them was a certain politician's son, and the cleanup was entirely Kang Il-hyun's responsibility, so he understood his anger.
"Then I'll be going. Please handle the cleanup neatly. As you usually do."
Il-hyun looked back. Seok-ju was still sitting there, spacing out. Il-hyun sent him an exceedingly benevolent smile.
"So well-behaved, how cute. Now he actually looks like my brother."