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"Where is he?"
"We haven't found him yet. We've got our people out searching."
Thwack—Choi Mun-seong's hand, large as a pot lid, flew out and slapped Choi Gi-tae's cheek. Stumbling, Choi Gi-tae straightened up like a roly-poly toy and stood at attention. Unable to contain his fury, Choi Mun-seong delivered repeated slaps, and Choi Gi-tae's face turned beet red as if seared by fire.
The subordinates behind them couldn't even breathe at the sight.
"Fucking idiots. Can't even catch one guy!"
"We will definitely catch him. Please trust me."
Choi Mun-seong ground his teeth chillingly. He had been getting a massage in a private room when the power went out. At first, he thought the electricity would come back soon, but it was quite noisy outside, and only then did he realize this wasn't a simple outage. And the intruder who had been right under his nose had vanished without a trace. There was one unconscious man who'd been beaten, but he was wearing a mask so they couldn't see his face properly.
"You did check the guest list properly, right?"
"Yes. We verified everything from personal details to body searches."
"Then how did he get in here! Did he fly in or something!"
"I'm sorry. We'll eliminate him as quickly as possible."
"I don't need apologies or excuses. Make sure the guests absolutely don't find out. Be especially careful that the VIPs don't notice anything."
"Yes, sir."
Already, some quick-witted guests had inquired if something had happened. On top of that, customer anxiety had increased due to the explosion incident not long ago. If another problem occurred in this situation, it would be hard to make a living in this business anymore.
Just then, subordinates were coming out after searching the inside of his private bedroom.
"Nothing unusual inside."
Choi Mun-seong entered, and Choi Gi-tae followed.
"I'll definitely bring him in. Don't worry too much, Father."
Though he showed firm resolve, Choi Mun-seong's anger didn't subside. After Choi Gi-tae left, he took out a pistol hidden under his pillow, placed it on the table, put his hand on his waist, and took a deep breath. Whoever the bastard was, he resolved to tear him limb from limb and throw him into the sea once caught.
He took out a cigar, lit it, and moved to the window. His subordinates were searching the deck in groups. He crushed the finished cigar into the ashtray, and as he turned around, his eyes widened. A gun muzzle with a silencer was pointed at his head. He hadn't even noticed when the intruder appeared behind him.
Choi Mun-seong's gaze moved from the torn ventilation cover on the ceiling to the door. The door that had been open until moments ago was now firmly locked. The intruder pointed the pistol and brought his index finger to his lips.
Shh.
Then he made a gesture of cutting his throat. A threat that if he called for help, he'd kill him immediately. Choi Mun-seong glared at the intruder with a hardened expression. The eyes looked familiar. Staring intently, the intruder slowly lowered the mask covering half his face.
Sure enough, it was the man he'd seen at his youngest son's funeral a few days ago.
The one who was with Kang Seok-joo.
The Hong Konger.
"You, why are you...!"
Ja-kyung looked at Choi Mun-seong with an indifferent face. While the armed guards inside the ship were concentrated near the massage room, Ja-kyung had slipped out and hidden in the ventilation duct of the man's room. That brief moment of waiting felt like an eternity. After Choi Gi-tae left, he almost shot the man immediately but changed his mind. Still, he wanted him to see who killed him.
Choi Mun-seong stared ahead while slowly extending his hand to the side. The moment his fingertips touched the gun, with a *pwisik* sound, a flash spurted from the intruder's muzzle, and Choi Mun-seong looked down at his hand. Horrific pain arrived belatedly. He collapsed without even screaming properly.
Seeing that three of his fingers had vanished without a trace, his mouth fell open. Huff, huff, unable to even breathe properly, Ja-kyung approached him and pressed the muzzle against his forehead. In Ja-kyung's eyes looking down, no mercy could be found.
Choi Mun-seong raised his head and glared at Ja-kyung. Cold sweat drenched his forehead.
"Who sent you...?"
Ja-kyung held a bitter smile at his lips.
"If you knew, would you take revenge?"
"You think you'll get away with this?"
"My. Your youngest son said the exact same thing. In Korea, they call that like father like son, don't they?"
His eyes widened then distorted.
"You bastard! My son!"
"Lee Ja-kyung."
"What?"
"The person who sent me to kill you."
The moment Choi Mun-seong opened his mouth to speak, a hole opened in his forehead and the back of his head exploded, staining the curtain with blood. Choi Mun-seong fell backward with a thud without even closing his eyes. Ja-kyung looked down at his face and fired the gun with an indifferent expression.
One shot, two shots, three shots, four shots, five shots.
With each flash, a past he wanted to erase appeared and vanished. Blood and flesh spattered everywhere. When his face was mangled and his eyes, nose, and mouth were damaged beyond recognition, Ja-kyung stopped shooting. An eyeball that had fallen from his face rolled on the floor, gazing at Ja-kyung.
He stepped on it and crushed it, then pulled the bed sheet to wipe the blood from his hands and face. Knock knock, someone knocked on the door from outside. Ja-kyung stepped on the sofa and entered the ventilation duct. After putting the cover back on and crawling forward, he could hear the staff talking below.
He crawled in a prone position for a while when Wang Ryun's voice came through the earpiece in his ear.
[Ja-kyung. Where are you?]
"Still inside the ship. What about you, hyung?"
[I got out and I'm on the boat. I took care of all the CCTV too, but the problem is security is tight right now so it's hard to approach the ship.]
"Understood. I'll get out as quickly as possible."
[Be careful coming out. I'll wait.]
Ja-kyung, who had been crawling out, tore off the ventilation frame in the staff restroom and came down. He brushed off the dust on his body and put on the sunglasses he'd kept in his pocket. After leaning against the door and checking through the palm-sized window that no one was coming and going, he stepped out.
When he came out, the lower floor was bustling. Some passengers had come out of their cabins and stood at the railing watching the situation, and staff could be seen busily running around to reassure them.
He tried to go up to the deck, but security was heavy at the entrance right in front of the banquet hall. Ja-kyung thought of another staircase on the 3rd floor. He gave up going down immediately and started moving to find another exit. With about half a lap remaining, two armed guards popped out from the corner right ahead.
Ja-kyung nodded his head slightly in greeting and passed by them.
After walking some distance, he heard a voice calling from behind.
"Guest, please stop for a moment."
He pretended not to hear and walked faster. Thud thud, the footsteps following him also sped up. Guest. Guest. The voice grew louder, and Ja-kyung bit his lower lip hard. Click, the sound of a trigger being pulled, and Ja-kyung momentarily stopped walking.
"Warning. Turn around as you are."
Ja-kyung didn't move a muscle while looking straight ahead. From a distance of 7-8 meters, a guard was pointing a gun at the back of his head. He still had a bit more to go to reach the exit. Unfortunately, the guards across from him also seemed to notice something unusual and were walking this way.
Ja-kyung squeezed his eyes shut. Then a voice came from behind.
"What's going on?"
Fuck, this is bad. It's Choi Gi-tae.
"He won't stop acting suspicious."
Thud thud, the footsteps approaching him were clear. His fingertips tingled. Even if he killed the bastard here too, there was no guarantee he could escape safely.
"Seems he didn't hear. Would you please turn around and let us check your face and invitation?"
Ja-kyung was about to raise his hand to reach inside his clothes. Click—the door in front opened, and someone completely unexpected appeared. The guards coming from the opposite side also stopped. Kang Il-hyun removed the phone from his ear and raised one eyebrow crookedly.
Their gazes met directly, and Ja-kyung's pupils behind the sunglasses shook violently. Of all people....
A brief silence was hellish. Cold sweat ran down his spine. Kang Il-hyun approached with long strides and reached out to grab Ja-kyung's arm. At the unexpected action, Ja-kyung couldn't even breathe, and Kang Il-hyun smiled gently while caressing his cheek.
"Why are you so late? I was waiting."
Ja-kyung's eyes widened. Behind him, it was dead silent. Kang Il-hyun's gaze, which had been resting on Ja-kyung's face, shifted behind.
"Do you have some business with my partner?"
"Managing Director... is this person in your party?"
"What if they are?"
"My apologies. We almost made a mistake."
Kang Il-hyun scoffed, then pulled Ja-kyung's arm and led him inside. The door closed behind them, and Ja-kyung couldn't move an inch in front of him. Only his eyes moved to look at Kang Il-hyun in front of him, and the gaze looking down was as cold as ice, different from before.
Outside the door was quiet too. In the suffocating silence, Kang Il-hyun was the first to speak.
"Looks like a face I know?"
Ja-kyung glared at him with his lips firmly sealed. As if they had made an appointment to meet, he was far too composed.
"Why would a cat that should be at home be on a ship?"
Speaking, he approached right up close. The scent of cologne he usually smelled was even more dizzying today. Moving his eyes, he surveyed the room. There was nothing on the single bed. Kang Il-hyun placed both hands on the door and trapped Ja-kyung inside as if enclosing him. His eyes curved as the corners of his mouth rose.
"Explain, Ian."
"...."
"Or do you have another real name?"