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Ugh-heuk, ugh-heuk. On the narrow bed, Wang Lun curled his large body into a ball and kept sobbing pitifully. After passing out and waking up, he repeatedly asked Wang Han and Ja-gyeong whether his lover had really betrayed him. They had worried about how to tell him, but thought it was actually better this way.
Having never loved someone to the point of tears, Ja-gyeong couldn't understand Wang Lun's behavior. Still, Wang Han seemed to have experience, quietly pulling the blanket down and trying to comfort him.
"Stop crying... We'll look into it."
Wang Han signaled Ja-gyeong with his eyes to comfort him too.
Ja-gyeong sighed and patted Wang Lun's shoulder.
"Want me to take care of it for you?"
Wang Han nudged him not to, but Ja-gyeong persisted.
"If it's for you, hyung, I'll do it for free."
Wang Lun, who had been sobbing, threw off the blanket and sat up abruptly. The area where Ja-gyeong hit him was bruised blue, and his nose was stuffed with tissue from a nosebleed. He pulled out the tissue he'd shoved in his nose, threw it away, and glared at Ja-gyeong. Tears on his cheeks, snot running from his nose.
Ja-gyeong felt both sorry for him and a laugh burst out.
Ah, shit. Don't laugh.
If he laughed now, Lun hyung might kill him.
"Wei. You don't know love! That's why you say such stupid things!"
Why is the arrow coming at me? Ja-gyeong looked at Wang Han feeling wronged. Wang Han didn't take his side this time either. Seeing him feeling wronged yet genuinely sad, he felt a bit sorry. He tried to put the fallen blanket back over him, but Wang Lun slapped his hand away and lay back down.
Ja-gyeong quietly approached, grabbed his shoulder, and called out.
"Sorry, hyung... I didn't mean it."
Wang Lun, who had pulled the blanket over his head, didn't move at all. Wang Han and Ja-gyeong exchanged glances and sighed. A sedative the nurse had newly inserted was being administered through Wang Lun's arm.
Wang Lun kept crying, and unable to watch, Ja-gyeong went outside the room, grabbed a nurse, and asked if this was the maximum dose that could be given to a person. After hearing it was, he asked for a dose meant for a bear or cow instead, but was flatly refused.
The two waited endlessly for Wang Lun to calm down. Wang Lun, who had been sobbing, muttering to himself, and cursing, gradually quieted down. Wang Han gently lifted the blanket. Wang Lun, tear-stained and drenched, was snoring loudly, asleep. He looked at him with a pitying face and covered him properly with the blanket.
The two went outside, greeted the bodyguard at the door, stopped by the smoking area outside the hospital, and smoked cigarettes in succession. Ah, comforting someone who's been dumped is never easy.
Just then, Wang Han's phone rang. It was an unknown number, so he ignored it at first, but thinking it might be Wang Lun's lover who had betrayed him and left, he quickly answered. The other person's voice came through, and Wang Han's face stiffened slightly. He glanced at Ja-gyeong once, then went outside while conversing in Chinese.
Ja-gyeong, finishing his cigarette, followed him out, and he ended the call and turned around.
"Who was it?"
Wang Han let out a small sigh.
"Jun. Seems he's come to Korea."
Ja-gyeong thought he misheard and asked again, "Who?"
"Your teacher. Takeya Jun."
Ja-gyeong's face subtly distorted. The person Wang Han mentioned was a Japanese man who had lived nearby when Ja-gyeong was young. Ja-gyeong had run errands for him and often earned pocket money, and he had essentially taught him how to shoot.
When he grew older, he learned the man was a contract killer, and naturally followed him to learn the trade. However, their relationship didn't last long. He witnessed the man trying to kill a child, and conflict arose.
That's how the two grew apart. He criticized Ja-gyeong, saying he had too much unnecessary sentiment and wasn't suited for contract killing, but Ja-gyeong still made his living from that work. He had occasionally contacted Wang Han, but even that had been cut off in recent years, and rumors circulated that he had died.
"So he was alive."
"He said he came to Korea yesterday."
"Why... to Korea?"
"Probably for work."
"......"
"He asked where he was staying, so I made something up. He asked about you too."
Ja-gyeong didn't answer. They weren't on terms where meeting would be welcome. He learned how to shoot from him, but didn't want to treat him as human. Others might curse that they're all the same trash, butchers who kill people anyway, but to Ja-gyeong, he was in a category worse than trash.
They headed to the car. Ja-gyeong took the wheel, started the engine, and pulled out of the parking lot, while Il-hyun's bodyguards immediately followed from a short distance. Before, they tried not to be noticed, but now they trailed behind openly.
On the way home, Ja-gyeong recalled what Kang Il-hyun had said.
"Hyung."
Han, who had been looking out the window at the scenery, turned his head. Why?
"I talked with Chairman Kang in the bedroom earlier."
"I saw. You were exchanging it passionately."
Han teased, and Ja-gyeong grit his teeth. He definitely promised not to say a word. When he swung his fist, Wang Han dodged quickly and laughed. Ja-gyeong relayed what he heard from Il-hyun. At the words telling him to stay in Hawaii for a month, Wang Han's eyes widened.
"Suddenly?"
"Lun hyung is hurt too, and my arm is like this..."
"That's unusual. He doesn't seem like the type to worry about such things."
"......"
"Or is it because of you?"
As Han guessed, Kang Il-hyun was worried Ja-gyeong might become a hostage. Fool, idiot. If he invested that much money, he should think about how to use it somehow. If he intended to hide and protect him, why make the contract in the first place? Moreover, being treated like a weak human made him feel even more upset.
"So. Did you answer?"
"No. Not yet."
Wang Han thought it over and reached a conclusion.
"Lun's condition isn't good either, so going to rest for a bit wouldn't be bad."
That's true, but...
There's a lot on his mind. Timing-wise, isn't now when they need to be most careful about security? Or does he think Ja-gyeong and the Wang brothers are good at killing people but lack the ability to protect? With capable bodyguards like Park Tae-soo and others, it's understandable to think that way. But why does it feel so disappointing...?
I can protect you too.
At the sudden thought, Ja-gyeong was shocked as if hit. He unconsciously stepped on the brake, and the car behind came to an abrupt stop, honking loudly. Wang Han's body lurched forward.
"What the hell. You scared me."
Ja-gyeong signaled apology to the car behind, then started again. His head was still dazed from the shock. Crazy. Who's protecting whom. The thought just now was definitely an overreaction. Let's just think about protecting my poor ass from that human. Even now, whenever it bumps, his butt and tailbone throb.
The car left the city and entered a secluded area. Around Il-hyun's house, it was all dark, desolate fields. They'd even bulldozed the hill that was there before, eliminating any place someone could hide and attack. Approaching the house, an unfamiliar black car was parked. And behind it, a small refrigerated truck.
Entering the gate, it was unusually quiet today. The guards who had been watching the gate were gone, and only the chirring of insects filled the air. Heading toward the house, footsteps rustling on the grass came from behind the building.
Ja-gyeong looked back on alert, then stopped in his tracks. The person walking out from behind was Kang Il-hyun. His shirt and face were covered in red blood, looking like a demon. He was lighting a cigarette when he saw Ja-gyeong and stopped. To a stranger, his appearance would be enough to make them faint.
He held the cigarette in his mouth and smiled with a peaceful face as if nothing had happened.
"You came quickly. Is Lun okay?"
Ja-gyeong's mouth twitched. He felt like he was the one who should be asking if he was okay. He exhaled cigarette smoke and wiped the blood from his face with his hand. His already grotesque face became even more sinister.
Shortly after, two strange men came out carrying a large box. Given the size, there was a high probability a corpse was inside.
"Who are they?"
"Let's go inside first."
Il-hyun led the way, and Ja-gyeong and Wang Han followed. Ja-gyeong looked outside the gate. The men loaded the box into the refrigerated truck and hastily departed.
When Il-hyun entered the house, the housekeeper approached.
"My. That was a shirt you cherished, Chairman. Shall I try to get the blood out?"
"No. Just throw it away."
Such a calm face. Could she be a close associate of Chairman Kang? Kang Il-hyun went straight to wash, so he couldn't confirm. Then Ja-gyeong belatedly noticed two men sitting on the sofa. At first he thought they were employees, but no.
Dressed in black, they sat with proper posture, looking only straight ahead. Their appearance was similar to the dolls placed upstairs. Small scars on their arms and necks. And one was missing his little finger. One of them, wearing sunglasses, slowly turned his head toward them. His eyes couldn't be read, but a terrible smell of blood wafted over.
Ja-gyeong instinctively recognized that they were the same kind of human as him.