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Driving at full speed, Takeya Jun's car matched their pace, following closely behind. Wang Han grabbed his phone and urgently contacted Park Tae-su. The moment the signal connected, he answered, and Wang Han immediately shouted.
"Director Park! We're under attack right now! Send people quickly!"
He was about to ask for guns too when—thud—the car body shook, and the cellphone dropped to the floor. As he bent down to pick it up, another impact came from behind. Wang Han was thrown forward, hitting his head on the dashboard. Ugh. He groaned, clutching his head, while Ja-kyung pressed the accelerator to the floor.
The faster they went, the more terrifyingly Jun's sedan kept pace. He rolled down the window and fired relentlessly from behind and the side. To dodge the flying bullets, Ja-kyung and Wang Han lowered their bodies. Bullets embedded into the seats, and the front windshield shattered, letting rain pour in.
Fuck. With visibility already difficult, being attacked like this was hell. They had to hold out somehow and buy time. Knowing Kang Il-hyun's nature, he must have planted a tracker. His men just needed to arrive as soon as possible.
The chase continued for over 30 minutes, and the rain that had been pouring down fearlessly stopped as if it had never happened. As they crossed a bridge over a river, a bullet hit the car's tire. Pop—the tire burst, and the car skidded at high speed.
She braked and tried to control the steering wheel, but the rainwater pooled on the ground made it impossible. Eventually, the vehicle collided with the bridge railing with a loud thud! The impact deployed the airbags, and Ja-kyung and Wang Han's bodies were thrown forward before settling back in place.
Ja-kyung barely regained consciousness and checked the rearview mirror. Vroom, vroom—Jun's car was charging toward them just before impact.
"Get out!"
Hurriedly unbuckling his seatbelt and jumping out of the driver's seat, the car came crashing in. Thud—the vehicle the two had been in broke through the railing and plummeted into the river below. Jun got out of the stopped car, loading his gun. Even in midsummer, he wore a leather jacket, and a scar running from the corner of his lip to his cheekbone was clearly visible. He said his parents had made that scar long ago. And he had killed those parents with his own hands.
He leisurely sat on the car hood and looked at the two.
"Long time no see, Wei."
His viciously smiling face was not at all welcoming. Ja-kyung forced a smile and responded.
"It's been a while, hyung-nim. You look better since I last saw you."
"Heard news about you. Said you've taken a liking to men lately, even selling your body for it?"
Ja-kyung's face twisted in anger. Wang Han interjected.
"Jun. Don't do this. Wei was your colleague."
"Colleague? That weakling?"
He openly sneered. Ja-kyung glanced back once. The current was fast after the heavy rain. If they jumped, they might roughly survive, but the problem was the high probability of being shot. He carefully moved closer to Wang Han, planning to push him into the water first.
But Jun noticed like a ghost and switched the gun muzzle from Ja-kyung to Wang Han.
"Wei. Don't try anything."
Ja-kyung glared at him.
"Take only my life. Brother Han has done nothing wrong."
Jun laughed in a fit of giggles. It was a spine-chilling, unpleasant sound.
"Still the same. A murderer playing the hero."
He brought up the past. When they worked together, Takeya Jun had kidnapped the six-year-old son of a high-ranking official who was trying to defect to another country. He had planned to dismember the child and send the pieces to the parents. But Ja-kyung had secretly released the child, and everything fell apart.
This time Wang Han asked politely.
"Let Wei go. Instead, I'll repay the debt."
"Retards. Don't act tough. I'm going to kill you all anyway."
He moved the gun muzzle left and right. Which one's head should he blow off first? Ja-kyung stepped back a little more. Wang Han, catching his intent, moved with him. If it came to it, they would jump off the bridge together. They were watching for an opportunity when a thud sound was heard.
Now. The moment his hand touched the railing, a car that had come speeding from the opposite side crossed the lane and rammed into Takeya Jun. Thud—his body flew up like a feather and crashed onto the ground. Ja-kyung froze with his hand on the railing, and Wang Han couldn't hide his shock either.
Takeya Jun, collapsed on the ground, didn't even twitch as if he had lost consciousness. Kang Il-hyun and Park Tae-su got out of the stopped car. He first checked Ja-kyung's safety, scanning every corner of his body with his eyes.
"Are you okay?"
Ja-kyung nodded without thinking. He never dreamed he would come personally. Il-hyun took out a pistol and tossed it to Ja-kyung. As he caught it, Il-hyun smiled with raised lips.
"You can't even act, dropping your gun like that."
Ja-kyung, loading the pistol, felt embarrassed and averted his eyes. He looked at Park Tae-su who had ridden with them.
"Tae-su, this definitely means we got scammed, right? Shouldn't we sue?"
When Ja-kyung tried to approach Jun with the loaded gun, Park Tae-su went ahead and grabbed him by the back of his neck. He seemed to be forcibly lifting him to put him in the car. As his clothes gaped open, a tattoo was briefly revealed between his shoulders. Spotting the tattoo, Il-hyun immediately approached Jun and pulled up his shirt.
Seeing the same tattoo as Ja-kyung's on his shoulder, his eyes turned sharp as awls.
Suddenly, Jun, who had lost consciousness, pulled out a knife from his sleeve. Whoosh—the blade tip flew like lightning, aiming for Il-hyun's carotid artery. Il-hyun immediately grabbed that arm and twisted it. The knife dropped to the ground, and this time he bent the twisted arm backward.
Crack—along with the sound of bone dislocating, Jun screamed. Kang Il-hyun made sure the bone tore through flesh and protruded. Aaaah! Along with the scream, Jun fell forward clutching his arm. Il-hyun crouched in front of him, roughly grabbed his hair, and looked him straight in the eyes.
"You, what's your relationship with Ja-kyung?"
Even in pain, Jun giggled while clutching his broken wrist.
"Curious?"
Ja-kyung sighed. Don't even open your mouth. If you do, you'll die. But Takeya Jun was stupider than expected.
"We're in a very sticky relationship. Isn't that right, Wei?"
Jun looked at Ja-kyung, and at the same time, Il-hyun turned around too. Ja-kyung, receiving both men's gazes at once, returned it with an absurd expression.
Il-hyun asked with a hurt expression.
"Honey. You said I was your first man."
His eyes and expression were similar to that night he swung an axe. Feeling wrongly accused, Ja-kyung signaled that it wasn't true, but it was no use. Takeya Jun talked even more enthusiastically.
"How's that guy's ass taste? Amazing, right?"
Il-hyun's gaze shifted back to Jun.
A man with the same tattoo as Ja-kyung. Same occupation. Ah, fuck. I don't like this.
"Don't look at me so arrogantly."
Jun sneered.
"Why. Should I gouge out your eye—"
Before he could finish speaking, Il-hyun covered his face. As his left thumb dug under the right eye, Jun convulsed, his body trembling violently. Aaaah! Park Tae-su firmly held him from behind as he thrashed. Il-hyun pushed his finger deep inside the eye socket and in an instant pulled out the slippery eyeball.
Aaaah! Along with the ear-piercing scream, Jun's limbs shook. Ja-kyung, standing behind, watched the scene with his mouth tightly shut. Jun writhed in pain, clutching his blood-soaked face.
Il-hyun roughly grabbed his jaw and made him look at his face. Then he shoved the freshly gouged right eyeball against his left eye and smiled eerily. Jun's once-arrogant eyes were slowly consumed by fear.
"Hi. Say hello. It's your right eye."
Even while shaking, Jun grit his teeth and glared at Kang Il-hyun.
"Say what you said earlier again."
"……."
"How was Ja-kyung?"
When there was no answer, Kang Il-hyun squeezed the eyeball in his hand until it burst. Blood and unidentifiable chunks splattered on Il-hyun's cheek. He scraped what was on his cheek with his hand, rubbed it on his tongue, tasted it, and spat it out.
"Eyeball doesn't taste like much."
Takeya Jun, gritting his teeth and trembling, slowly lowered his gaze. A demon. This guy is a real demon.
"I told you to speak. Or should I gouge out the remaining eye too?"
"……."
"Don't you want to feel what it's like to be chased in darkness for the rest of your life?"
When Ja-kyung told him to stop, Il-hyun stood up. Looking at his hand covered in blood and crushed eyeball, Ja-kyung shuddered. First eyeballs, of all things.
"There's nothing between us! He was just a colleague I knew before."
Kang Il-hyun took out a handkerchief and wiped his cheek and hand, then smiled gently, completely different from before.
"We'll find that out when we get home."
Though smiling, his tone was completely cold. He soon called Tae-su and had him put Takeya Jun in the car trunk. After Tae-su shoved the groaning Jun into the trunk, he closed it.
Ja-kyung went to Il-hyun's side and repeatedly said it. There was nothing between them, so just kill him here or bury him and go. But it didn't sink in at all. Eventually, he was forcibly taken home, seated in the back seat with Wang Han.
The car remained dead silent the entire way. If Wang Lun were here, he'd make some pointless joke, but today his absence was regrettable. After about 20 minutes, Kang Il-hyun, who had been quiet, finally spoke.
"Tae-su."
"Yes, Chairman."
"Do you know how to slice sashimi?"
"I learned it before."
Why sashimi all of a sudden? In this atmosphere, was he planning to eat sashimi somewhere? But what Kang Il-hyun said was unimaginable.
"Good. You can erase the tattoo on Ja-kyung's back."
Ja-kyung, who had been looking out the window with a troubled face, opened his eyes wide and looked forward. He asked what he just said, but Kang Il-hyun completely ignored him and didn't answer. Sashimi? I'm not a flounder or a rockfish, sashimi! He argued in disbelief, but the only reply was a threat to shut up and sit still.