9. If anything blocks our way, I'll smash it all to pieces.
Sun Chunran bit her lower lip, pressed her smartphone to her ear, and glared fiercely.
"Did you lose sight of everything just because you roughed up a few underlings?"
[Is that so?]
Sun Chunran twitched one cheek and spoke in a subdued voice.
"Cut the crap. Why did you call?"
[We each landed a blow, so how about we end it here?]
Sun Chunran snorted.
"Nonsense. You stole my money and goods, and on top of that, threw my men in the police station—how can you call that equal?"
[So you're saying you'll see this through to the end?]
"Obviously."
Twisting her face like a vengeful ghost, Sun Chunran gnashed her teeth.
"I'll torment you until you come begging me to kill you. I'll make you feel what it's like to fall into hell."
Despite the sharp threat, Minseong's reaction was calm.
[Then it can't be helped. I'll have to see this through to the end too.]
Then the call was cut off immediately.
"Son of a bitch!!"
Thud!!
The smartphone Sun Chunran threw clattered loudly and rolled across the floor.
"Boss! What's wrong?"
Hwa Jawon, who had looked up in surprise, quickly averted his gaze after seeing Sun Chunran's expression.
She looked like she would grab someone and snap their neck at any moment.
"Gather everyone right now! And catch the bastard who robbed the late President Jeong's safe and drag him in front of me!"
It was the first time in recent memory that Sun Chunran had shown such rage.
"Yes!"
Hwa Jawon, bowing his head, answered hastily.
Sun Chunran ground her teeth with a cracking sound, emanating murderous intent from her entire body, and led her subordinates into the nightclub.
And from the rooftop of the building across the street, a pair of eyes watched her.
Minseong lowered the binoculars in his hand and muttered lowly.
"If they want to fight, I'll give them a fight."
Deciding not to drag things out and to end it today, Minseong pulled out a Glock pistol equipped with a silencer.
Click.
He pulled back the slide to chamber a round so it could fire at any moment, then tucked it back into the small of his waist, covered it with his outer garment, and left the rooftop.
Having descended, Minseong crossed the street and walked straight toward the nightclub.
"...So I finished things with that chick yesterday."
"Kekeke. Must've been nice."
Two bulky men standing at the entrance smoking and chatting spotted him and waved their hands.
"We haven't opened for business yet, so come back later!"
When he kept approaching without a word, the man on the left frowned.
"Are your ears clogged? I said beat it!"
The moment he spat out the words, Minseong struck the man's jaw with an uppercut.
Thwack!
As the man collapsed with a dull thud, Minseong slammed his elbow into the other bulky man's face.
Having neutralized two bulky men with just two moves, Minseong looked around.
Fortunately, there was no one on the street.
Minseong bound the limbs of the hulks lying on the floor like sacks of luggage with cable ties and taped their mouths.
Then, without drawing attention, he stuffed the two behind a planter at the back of a truck parked beside the building.
"Mmph mmph."
When the men, now conscious, glared with bulging eyes, Minseong tapped their cheeks and said.
"This will be over soon. Stay put until then."
Having taken care of the matter as if it were nothing, Minseong descended the wide stairs lined with a red carpet to the first basement floor.
'They've decorated it lavishly.'
Minseong quickly surveyed the nightclub's interior and assessed it briefly.
An enormous space spanning roughly a thousand pyeong, with hundreds of seats and tables laid out before the stage at the front.
And along the walls were dozens of state-of-the-art rooms for customers wanting a quiet space.
Since it was before opening hours, waiters and staff in uniforms glanced at Minseong as they cleaned here and there under the bright lights.
But they quickly lowered their gazes and returned to their work as if unconcerned.
Outsiders came and went for various reasons, so they likely thought Minseong was just another one of them.
Minseong also very calmly looked around the interior once, then opened the emergency exit door in the corner and entered the staff corridor.
It was called a staff corridor, but it looked almost no different from a warehouse.
Passing beer boxes stacked to shoulder height along one wall of the corridor, Minseong sensed someone's presence and immediately hid behind them.
Footsteps approached from the left of the corridor, which split into three directions.
"Hey. The boss is here too; what if we get caught?"
"Don't worry. They're going to send her to the farm to be disposed of anyway. What's wrong with having a little fun before that?"
Both were organization members with robust physiques.
The one who had mentioned the farm had a large bandage on his face, apparently having been beaten by someone.
"Well, even I gotta admit she was pretty good-looking."
The other man with an angular face made a sly, sinister expression.
"Damn it. My face ended up like this because of that bitch; I can't just let her go."
"Haha. You crazy bastard."
The man with the bandage lowered his voice and whispered.
"I'll finish quickly, so keep watch."
"Got it. But don't be too rough—the merchandise can't be damaged."
As the two members, engrossed in conversation, passed by, Minseong slipped out from behind the beer boxes.
According to the interior map he had memorized, he needed to go left at the fork.
He just had to retrace the path those two had come from.
But the conversation he had just heard made him hesitate to move.
'It seems they're holding someone captive.'
And a woman at that.
And the word "farm" bothered him too.
Gangsters wouldn't be growing vegetables or raising livestock, so "farm" clearly referred to a place where something illegal was going on.
'...No way.'
Connecting everything, one thing came to mind: illegal organ harvesting.
Minseong, hesitating over what to do, soon clicked his tongue.
It was the opposite of his original destination, but his body was already moving in the direction the members had disappeared.
Thanks to his quick pursuit, he soon saw the two men standing before a warehouse door at the end of the corridor.
The two, who had been about to unlock the padlock, noticed Minseong approaching and frowned.
The short-haired man with the bandage on his face glared and said.
"Hey! Get lost."
Minseong kept walking without answering.
"Is this bastard crazy?"
The short-haired man, thinking he was being interrupted just as he was about to have his fun, raised his hand to slap Minseong.
In that instant, Minseong grabbed his wrist, seized his jaw with the other hand, and slammed his head into the wall.
Bang!
"Kurk!"
The man beside him flinched in surprise and swung his fist.
But as if he had anticipated it, Minseong reacted one beat faster.
He batted away the incoming fist, stepped into the man's chest, and planted a punch in his face.
Blood spurted, and the opponent staggered, clutching his face without even screaming.
Minseong kicked the man's ankle, causing him to lose balance and collapse.
Minseong kicked the fallen man's head hard with the sole of his shoe.
Thud!
The impact was so strong that a dull shock traveled to the top of Minseong's foot, and the man lost consciousness on the spot.
"You son of a bitch!"
The short-haired man who had been hit first cursed, leaning his back against the wall as he tried to rise.
Then Minseong twisted his body and struck the man's face with a spinning back kick.
"Kkugh."
From the fierce impact, his head snapped back and hit the wall again.
His eyes rolled back, and he slumped to the floor.
Having taken down two men in an instant, Minseong dusted off his shoulders lightly.
"Pathetic trash."
He picked up the key that had fallen on the floor, unlocked the padlock, and opened the warehouse door.
He flipped the switch on the wall next to the door, and fluorescent lights flickered on, revealing the warehouse interior.
Amidst stacks of liquor and beer boxes, a woman sat half-collapsed in an empty space in the center.
"Hey. Are you okay?"
The moment Minseong stepped forward, the woman, whom he had thought was tied up, sprang to her feet and lunged at him.
"Huk!"
Surprised by the completely unexpected situation, Minseong hastily gasped.
He quickly twisted his body to deflect the attack to the side, but before he knew it, the other fist struck his flank.
"Keuk!"
The pain was so intense that his bones seemed to ring, and his brow furrowed involuntarily.
A kick followed immediately—the attack was ferocious.
Minseong swept aside the foot aimed at him and grabbed the ankle.
Maintaining his grip on her ankle, he pulled it forward while ramming his shoulder, bearing his full weight, into her, knocking her down.
"Keuk!"
Minseong twisted one of the fallen woman's arms behind her back and pressed down with force to immobilize her, and she let out a frustrated cry.
"I'm here to rescue you, so stop struggling and calm down!"
"You gangster bastard. Who'd fall for such a load of crap?!"
She had quite a foul mouth.
"You son of a bitch! Let go!"
"Ah, seriously...."
If they stayed still, others would come running after hearing the noise.
Minseong furrowed his brow and applied pressure with his forearm pressing firmly against the back of the woman's neck.
"Get a grip on the situation. Is your head not working?"
The woman's thrashing gradually subsided as she groaned.
Only then did reason seem to slowly return to her head.
"Good. I'll let you go now, so don't go wild like before. It'll be troublesome if the guys outside find out."
"...Got it."
The woman nodded slightly.
Minseong released her arm and slowly stood up, then raised both hands slightly to show he had no intention of attacking and retreated a few steps.
Then the woman also rose from the floor and looked at Minseong.
She was slightly under 170 centimeters tall with a short pixie cut.
Her upturned eyes, like a cat's, gave her an attractive, beautiful face.
'Look at those eyes.'
'They look like they could kill a man.'
'She clearly has a fiery temper.'
Perhaps from resisting when she was captured, bruises and scratch marks were visible here and there on her face.
The woman facing him still glared at Minseong with wary eyes, her guard far from lowered.
The gaze was so hot it felt like it would bore through the back of his head, but Minseong ignored it lightly and dragged the unconscious organization members from the corridor into the warehouse.
"Come out."
The woman seemed to realize he wasn't an enemy and followed Minseong's instructions without a word.
Minseong closed the warehouse door and even locked the padlock, then gestured with his chin toward the other end of the corridor.
"Take a left and you'll find an exit. I took care of the guards, so you can get out that way."
When there was no response, Minseong noticed the woman was already examining the members he had taken down.
"What are you doing?"
"Nothing... I was just impressed by your skill."
The woman's tone had become quite polite.
She had been burning with hostility thinking he was with the underworld scum, but now that she had assessed the situation, she had become calm in an instant.
"What do you intend to do?"
"I still have business with the owner here."
Then the woman's eyes sparkled.
"Then can I come with you?"
"What are you talking about?"
"As you can see, I have a debt to settle with these gangsters. I won't be a burden at the very least, so don't worry."
Minseong looked at her incredulously.
It was obviously out of the question, but the woman looked ready to go fight on her own if he didn't take her.
Moreover, her blazing eyes suggested there was some hidden story behind it all.
"Are you crazy? Getting involved in someone else's business for no reason...."
If he had known a thorn like this would stick to him, he wouldn't have rescued her.
No, those two scum who were plotting something filthy deserved to be punished regardless.
Minseong let out a silent sigh and asked the woman.
"Your name?"
"Oh Suyeon."
The woman seemed to want to hear Minseong's name too, but he ignored her, pretending not to notice.
Instead, since they had suddenly formed a two-person party, he handed his comrade a weapon first.
Minseong pulled out a black rod about two spans long from inside his clothes and held it out to Oh Suyeon.
"Do you know how to use a three-section baton?"
Oh Suyeon nodded instead of answering.
"Then use this. If you become a burden, I'm leaving you behind, so handle yourself."
"Of course."
Oh Suyeon pressed the button on the handle and swung her arm, and the three-section baton extended with a click.
"Honestly, I'm better with guns, but this should be enough for dealing with gangsters."
The woman revealed her fang-like canine teeth and smiled grimly.
Minseong, who had walked a few steps, suddenly frowned when he heard a commotion up ahead.
"What's wrong?"
In response to Oh Suyeon's question from behind him, Minseong turned his head, frowning.
"It seems we've been discovered."
"Then what do we do now?"
Minseong cracked his neck lightly to the side and said.
"If anything blocks our way, we smash through it all."
"Now that's something I like to hear."
The two advanced boldly toward the sound of approaching footsteps.
The president's office of Nightclub Montana was spacious enough that even with a large solid wood desk and a reception set, there was plenty of room left over.
Sun Chunran, seated in the head seat, had her face rigidly set, and the air in the room naturally grew heavy.
Hwa Jawon, seated on the sofa to the left, cautiously opened his mouth.
"According to the lawyer at the police station, he was caught red-handed with a large quantity of drugs and will likely be difficult to avoid arrest."
"The drugs that President Jeong had?"
"Yes."
"How much was seized by the police?"
"They say it's a little over 6 kilograms."
Sun Chunran slammed her fist on the sofa armrest and spat out a curse.
"Fuck!"
Furious to the tips of her hair, Sun Chunran exhaled roughly.
"That bastard! If I catch him, I'll snap his neck with my own hands."
Hwa Jawon, who had been hunching his shoulders, quickly spoke up.
"We've sent the boys out to look for him, so we'll catch him soon."
"You'd better drag him here before my patience runs out."
"I will keep that in mind."
Sun Chunran meant it.
'This won't end nicely.'
Hwa Jawon inwardly sympathized with the fool who had dared to provoke Sun Chunran.
"What should we do about the tribute we need to send to Dalian this month?"
Dalian was the stronghold of the Yihai Bang (一海幇), the underworld society to which Sun Chunran belonged, and where its head, Oh Urim, was located.
Every month, Sun Chunran had been paying a considerable portion of the profits to Oh Urim in Dalian.
But the drug sales proceeds and the black money laundered through Jeong Gap-bae had all fallen into Minseong's hands, causing a problem.
Sun Chunran said with a frown.
"It can't be helped. Bring the bag we kept in the safe."
"Yes."
Hwa Jawon rose from the sofa and went around the large solid wood desk.
He removed the painting on the wall and took out a silver aluminum bag from the hidden safe behind it.
"Open it."
Hwa Jawon unlocked it and opened the bag he had placed on the table, revealing yellow gold bars.
Ten 1-kilogram gold bars sparkled under the fluorescent lights on the ceiling, neatly arranged in the bag.
Sun Chunran reached out, took out one gold bar to examine it, then returned it to its place and closed the bag.
Sun Chunran leaned against the sofa backrest and spoke with subdued eyes.
"Make up the shortfall with the funds we put into the shell company."
"Understood."
The situation left her no choice but to dig into her own pockets to fill the tribute, and irritation welled up again.
'This is all because of him.'
The moment he fell into her hands, she would torment him so much that he would wish he were dead.
While Sun Chunran was thinking that with a face full of malice, the outside suddenly grew noisy.
"It's noisy."
Frowning, she gestured with her chin toward Heo Rung, who was standing by the door.
"Find out what's going on."
"Yes."
Heo Rung turned to go out when an organization member urgently knocked and burst inside.
"B-Boss! Enemies have attacked."
"What!"
Sun Chunran shot to her feet and shouted.
"Which organization!"
There were plenty of enemies who might target him.
Just the ones that came to mind immediately numbered more than ten.
But the words from her subordinate's mouth were beyond imagination.
"There are two of them! Two punks snuck into the club and are smashing our members!"
"...Two?"
Sun Chunran, who had been about to rush out at any moment, stopped in her tracks.
"Yes!"
At the subordinate's nodding confirmation, not only Sun Chunran but also Hwa Jawon and Heo Rung in the room made dumbfounded expressions.
Two?
Was he saying the organization was being attacked by just two people?
"What kind of nonsense is that!"
Sun Chunran let out a deflating wheeze and asked.
Already furious, she felt even more irritation rising.