"Fuck, Brother Ki-hun. Who ordered you? There's no fucking way you have this kind of guts, so who is it?"
Park Dong-soo glared at Heo Ki-hun and spoke in a rough voice. Heo Ki-hun snorted.
"Order who? Boss Park brought this all on himself. The four of us all think the same way. Right?"
The remaining three nodded.
"Sorry. Boss Park."
"Brother Dong-soo, please understand."
Park Dong-soo's face was covered in anger. The favors he had generously shown them had returned like this, so it was understandable that he was angry. Excluding the four boss-level figures who came in first, Byeon Seong-ho, Son Kang-seok, Kim Byeong-soo, and Heo Ki-hun, there were as many as six big guys blocking the door to the boss's office.
"Mister Dong-soo, should we do this together?"
I spat out casually. At that, the tense atmosphere in the room, which felt like there was a nuclear bomb about to go off right in front of them, softened in an instant.
"It's fine, I will take care of it. Stay stuck in that corner over there. This is on a different level from a school fight. Hurry."
When the big guys first barged in, I was a bit flustered too, but it didn't take more than a few seconds to figure out what the situation was. From the looks of it, that guy Park Dong-soo must have gone soft on them because they were his seniors, juniors, and friends, leaving them some room to breathe.
Tsk.
I clicked my tongue inwardly. This was the reality of gangsters.
Loyalty? Romance?
It's all bullshit. In the end, it was a world rampant with betrayal.
"Will you be okay?"
"Stop talking."
At Park Dong-soo's words, I moved my steps to the corner of the office. I do not know Park Dong-soo's skills. He was a person who didn't come out of prison until I died, so I couldn't know for sure.
However, the reason I was not too worried was the existence of that lawyer standing next to Park Dong-soo, Lee Sang-geun. Since he, who had taken over Gangnam in Seoul, couldn't have climbed to that position just with a good head alone. From what I heard, he's really good with a knife.
It was time to watch the skills I had only heard of through rumors.
"Phew... Sang-geun, you go over there too."
"Hah, Boss, aren't you looking down on me too much? I will take care of my own body, so you take care of yours, Brother."
At Lee Sang-geun's answer, Park Dong-soo let out a hollow laugh as if he was dumbfounded.
"Why is there not a single sane bastard around me? It's driving me crazy."
However, a smile was floating on Park Dong-soo's face.
"These bastards can't read the room, right? Guys!"
At Heo Ki-hun's shout, the big guys who were blocking the door tightened their grip on the baseball bats and iron pipes in their hands and began to approach. Lee Sang-geun calmly pulled out two sashimi knives estimated to be about 15 centimeters long from the inside of his suit trouser hems and gripped them in his hands.
Park Dong-soo looked at that with a dumbfounded expression.
"Hey, do you come in carrying sashimi knives when you meet me?"
"It is a habit, a habit."
The six big guys had already entered Park Dong-soo and Lee Sang-geun's range. It was a distance where a fight could start at any moment as long as someone rushed in first.
"Let's deal with these bastards and talk again, yeah?"
Along with those words, Park Dong-soo dug into the big guys bare-handed. He struck just below the chin of the closest opponent with the edge of his hand. But at the same time, an iron pipe hit Park Dong-soo's shoulder.
"Ugh."
"Ghk."
Park Dong-soo distorted his face, grabbed the hair of the opponent who was disoriented from being hit by him, and pulled him forward.
Smack!
The raised knee squarely struck the face. In the meantime, the remaining five rushed at Park Dong-soo. It was right then that Lee Sang-geun stepped in.
Slash! Slash!
The sound of sashimi knives cutting through the air rang in the room. At the same time, two big guys dropped the weapons they were holding.
"Aaagh!"
Blood spurted out like a fountain from their wrists. Suddenly, blood spread all over, covering Park Dong-soo, the big guys, and Lee Sang-geun. The office, which became a scene of chaos in an instant, was filled with shouts and the sound of someone hitting someone.
The sounds of fighting outside were also getting louder. Byeon Seong-ho, who was just watching this side for a moment, seemed to think he couldn't just stand by and pulled a sashimi knife from his chest.
"I will deal with the kid, so you guys take care of the rest."
With those words, Byeon Seong-ho held the sashimi knife and walked toward me. Park Dong-soo looked back this way. However, even for him, the conditions were not right to step in right away.
Park Dong-soo was already quite injured as well. As the other boss-level figures joined the fight, it became even more of a mess. I looked at Byeon Seong-ho approaching with the sashimi knife with indifferent eyes.
"It is because of you that I ended up like this. I will not kill you. Live as a cripple for the rest of your life. This is your karma, you bastard."
Along with those words, Byeon Seong-ho rushed in, thrusting the sashimi knife toward my abdomen. I immediately grabbed a chair next to me and threw it. And I closely approached Byeon Seong-ho, who flinched for a moment after getting hit by the chair.
"You bastard! Die! Die!"
Byeon Seong-ho swung the sashimi knife haphazardly. As I dodged the trajectory of the flying knife and threw a punch, Byeon Seong-ho desperately moved in the opposite direction. Not missing that timing, I threw a punch with my other hand toward his right eye with all my might.
I had already gripped the car keys that were in my pocket beforehand.
Thwack!
I grabbed the collar of Byeon Seong-ho, who couldn't regain his senses from the strong impact, and pulled him toward me.
Thwack! Thwack!
While I was consecutively throwing punches at his face, my forearm was cut by Byeon Seong-ho's blind knife swings. But without stopping, I continued to aim for his face and struck him. Eventually, Byeon Seong-ho dropped the knife from his hand.
"Why are you acting like a bitch to me? What did I do to you? You're the one who picked a fight, so why are you making excuses about me?"
I threw a sneer at the staggering Byeon Seong-ho.
"And if Mister Park Dong-soo didn't come that day, you would have died by my hands. You're making a fuss without even knowing who your lifesaver is."
Having regained his senses, he glared at me with unyielding eyes.
Smash!
I smashed his face with my fist again. His head snapped back violently, showing it was a clean hit.
"You're not lowering your eyes?"
Still, Byeon Seong-ho's eyes were alive. I let out a scoff.
"I guess you still have your pride as a gangster."
I grabbed Byeon Seong-ho's collar again and this time began to slap his cheeks. A man's pride is hurt the most not when he gets hit by a fist, but when he gets slapped on the cheek. How much time had passed.
It was around the time the sensation in my palms disappeared.
"Hey! Little brother! Stop it!"
I snapped out of it at the shout of Park Dong-soo, who had approached my side. Byeon Seong-ho seemed to have already lost consciousness, as he collapsed limply the moment I let go of his collar. I sighed and looked back at Park Dong-soo.
"...Mister, I thought you said it was almost sorted out."
"...Sorry."
"How is it outside?"
"Brother!!!"
Just in time, someone ran over and called out to Park Dong-soo.
"Did you sort out the outside?"
"Yes, are you hurt... you're hurt a lot? Have your skills died out?"
"Bullshit, that's enough, gather everyone into the office."
"Yes."
Park Dong-soo's subordinates came into the room and dragged the sprawled men outside.
"Little brother, is your forearm okay? It's bleeding."
"No, Mister! Look at your own face before you talk. You're almost dying. Mr. Lee Sang-geun next to you is actually looking much livelier."
At my words, Park Dong-soo looked at Lee Sang-geun next to him and shivered as if he was fed up. Lee Sang-geun was standing with a calm expression, looking like he had practically taken a shower in blood. Because of his face that strangely matched that atmosphere, it felt even scarier.
"Fuck. Hey! Sang-geun. You don't really always carry sashimi knives around, do you? Doesn't that mean you could have stabbed me at any time?"
"You are my source of money, Boss, so why would I make a move on you? The person who gives me money is my brother and my God."
Lee Sang-geun casually threw the sashimi knives anywhere and shook off the blood. Just then, Yang Su-hyeong came in and spoke.
"Brother, I've got them all kneeling outside."
"Really? Let's go out."
"Wait a minute."
I took out the mobile phone from my pocket.
"What is that?"
"It is a mobile phone coming out from Ilseong Electronics this time."
Not long ago, I obtained a mobile phone manufactured by Ilseong Electronics for testing purposes through Cheon Ji-soo. Because I was used to smartphones, the existing ones were uncomfortable to carry around, but thankfully, I got a mobile phone sized to fit perfectly in one hand, making calls much easier.
"Yeah? Looks nice."
I called Hyeon-seong's father.
"Yes, Father. It's Mu-hyeok. I am at Depart right now, and some gangster bastards suddenly attacked, so I got hurt a bit. I think you need to come and sort things out first." - What?
Gangsters?
What have you been doing? You're not doing things to worry your grandmother, are you? You shouldn't go causing trouble like you did when you were young.
"Don't worry. I'm not a kid, and I've come to my senses now. Anyway, please just come over for now. It's the 3rd floor of Depart. I will handle the prosecutors. You just take a look first and judge how much to sort out." - Got it.
I'll be there in 20 minutes.
"Yes. Father."
As I hung up the phone, Park Dong-soo was looking at me from the side with a look of disbelief.
"That father you just mentioned isn't Detective Park, is it? Tell me it isn't. Please!"
"That is correct. He's coming now. If we go out and talk for a bit, he'll probably arrive. Shall we go out?"
"Hey, you crazy bastard! Where is the crazy bastard who calls the violent crimes squad chief to a gangster fight? Cancel it!"
"We can just use this opportunity to throw all those bastards in jail, so what are you worrying about? Just trust me and try having a conversation with them first. We need to know who ordered them."
"Hah, this is driving me crazy. Being with you, I can't keep a clear head at all."
Park Dong-soo let out a sigh and walked out of the boss's office. Once Park Dong-soo disappeared, Lee Sang-geun, who had been staying still, casually asked me.
"What is your identity?"
"Pardon?"
"No matter how I look at it, you don't seem like someone who's only been through something like this once or twice. I heard you're a twenty-year-old student at Korea University, but you don't seem to hesitate at all when it comes to hitting people."
"Hahaha. Let's get to know each other slowly, shall we? Just think of me as the person who will become a golden rope for you, Mr. Lee Sang-geun. You like money, right?"
"..."
"Let's go out. Let's see what they're talking about."
When I went out to the main office area with Lee Sang-geun, things seemed to be roughly sorted out. Park Dong-soo was looking down with cold eyes at Heo Ki-hun, Byeon Seong-ho, and their gang kneeling on the ground.
"Brother, what is the reason you did this? This fucking younger brother of yours even left you all the neighborhood management I used to do so you could make a living, right? But you shouldn't stab me in the back like this. Fuck, do you want me to forget about seniority and go all out properly? Did I look like a pushover to you? Is that it?"
"..."
A subordinate who approached his side handed him a towel. Park Dong-soo wiped away the blood on his face and neck and sat in a chair.
"Go on and say something. Why did you do that?"
"I'm sorry, little brother."
"Fuck, sorry my ass, go find your apologies at home. Who ordered you? Speak."
"..."
Heo Ki-hun did not answer.
"You other guys too. You don't have anything to say, right?"
Everyone kept their mouths shut and remained silent. Park Dong-soo let out a hollow laugh as if he was dumbfounded and looked my way.
"Hey! Little brother! Can you take responsibility for whatever happens here? I thought you said Detective Park is coming?"
I answered confidently.
"Just don't kill them. Then I will take care of it."
"Phew... Fuck, I'm so embarrassed I won't even be able to show my face anywhere. Why did this bullshit have to happen exactly when Mu-hyeok came over? Su-hyeong, knife!"
At those words, Yang Su-hyeong, who was standing next to him, took a sashimi knife out of his chest and handed it to Park Dong-soo. Park Dong-soo, having taken the knife, glared at the four with fierce eyes and spoke.
"Brother Ki-hun, I'm not going to treat you like a senior anymore, so don't be upset. Since you're the older brother and you stabbed your younger brother in the back first, didn't you dig your own grave? Su-hyeong! Let's start with Ki-hun!"
"Brother, I will just do it. It's not something you should do yourself."
"Stop your bullshit and drag him over. One of you go outside and keep watch to see if Detective Park is coming."
"Yes!"
At those words, one of the youngest guys ran outside. Two subordinates dragged Heo Ki-hun and laid him down in front of Park Dong-soo.
"Retire. I'm just going to cut one of your legs. Don't even look this way anymore."
"Little brother! Dong-soo!"
"Little brother my ass, don't say my name, you fucking bastard. When I treated you like a senior, you should have just taken what was given and lived your life, so why did you do it?"
Yang Su-hyeong, receiving Park Dong-soo's glance, grabbed Heo Ki-hun's left leg. The Achilles tendon was visible on the heel. As the sashimi knife slowly approached it, Heo Ki-hun struggled desperately.
"Brother Sa-seong dropped the order! I said it's Brother Sa-seong! Stop! Dong-soo!"
Park Dong-soo moved the sashimi knife without even pretending to listen. The blade tore through Heo Ki-hun's Achilles tendon.
"Aaaarghhhhh!"