Chapter 29: Who Ordered It?

“Fuck, Big Bro Ki-hoon! Who ordered this? There’s no fucking way you’d have the balls to do this on your own. Who was it?”

Park Dong-su glared at Heo Ki-hoon, his voice rough with anger.

Heo Ki-hoon let out a derisive snort.

“Who ordered it? Nobody. This is all on you, Boss Park. The four of us are on the same page here, aren’t we?”

The other three nodded in agreement.

“We’re sorry, Boss Park.”

“Please understand, Big Bro Dong-su.”

Rage swept across Park Dong-su’s face.

He had every right to be furious. All the kindness he’d shown them had come to this.

Six burly men blocked the office door, not counting the four boss-level guys who’d first come in: Byeon Seong-ho, Son Kang-seok, Kim Byeong-su, and Heo Ki-hoon.

“Uncle Dong-su, want me to step in?” I blurted out.

The tense atmosphere in the room, like a nuclear bomb about to go off, instantly eased.

“Stay out of it. I’ll handle this myself. Go sit in the corner. This isn’t like your school fights. Hurry up.”

When the thugs first burst in, I was caught off guard too. But it only took a few seconds to figure out what was going on.

From the looks of it, that Park Dong-su guy had gone soft on his juniors and friends, giving them some breathing room.

“Tch.”

I clicked my tongue inwardly.

So this was the reality of organized crime.

Loyalty?

Romance?

All bullshit.

In the end, it’s a world of betrayal.

“You sure you’ll be okay?”

“Shut it and do as I say.”

At Park Dong-su’s words, I moved to the corner of the office.

I wasn’t sure about Park Dong-su’s skills. He was someone who hadn’t come out of prison until I was on death row, so I couldn’t know for sure.

But I wasn’t too worried, thanks to the presence of that lawyer, Lee Sang-geun, standing next to Park Dong-su.

The guy who’d once controlled Gangnam, Seoul, couldn’t have risen to that position with just a smart head.

“I hear he’s damn good with a knife.”

It was time to see those rumored skills in action.

“Hah… Sang-geun, you go stand over there too.”

“Come on, boss. You’re underestimating me? I can take care of myself. You do your thing.”

Park Dong-su let out a disbelieving laugh at Lee Sang-geun’s response.

“Wow, is there not a single sane person around me? I’m losing my mind here.”

But there was a smile on Park Dong-su’s face.

“These bastards can’t read the room, can they? Hey, boys!”

At Heo Ki-hoon’s shout, the thugs blocking the door gripped their baseball bats and steel pipes tighter, advancing.

Lee Sang-geun calmly pulled out two sashimi knives, about 15 centimeters long, from inside his trouser leg.

Park Dong-su looked at them incredulously.

“Hey, do you always carry sashimi knives when you meet me?”

“It’s a habit, boss. Just a habit.”

The six thugs were already within striking distance of Park Dong-su and Lee Sang-geun.

One lunge and the fight could start at any moment.

“Let’s deal with these fuckers first, then we’ll talk, yeah?”

With those words, Park Dong-su dove into the group of thugs, bare-handed.

He chopped at the throat of the nearest opponent with the side of his hand. But at the same time, a steel pipe struck his shoulder.

“Ugh!”

“Gah!”

Grimacing in pain, Park Dong-su grabbed the hair of the man he’d hit, who was still reeling from the blow.

Thwack!

His knee connected solidly with the man’s face.

In that moment, the other five rushed Park Dong-su.

That’s when Lee Sang-geun stepped in.

Swish! Swish!

The sound of sashimi knives slicing through air filled the room.

Simultaneously, two thugs dropped their weapons.

“Argh!”

Blood spurted from their wrists like fountains.

Suddenly, blood sprayed everywhere, covering Park Dong-su, the thugs, and Lee Sang-geun.

In an instant, the office became a bloodbath, filled with shouts and the sounds of blows landing.

The sounds of fighting outside were growing louder too.

Byeon Seong-ho, who’d been watching silently, seemed to decide it was time to act. He pulled out a sashimi knife from his jacket.

“I’ll handle the kid. You lot take care of the rest.”

With those words, Byeon Seong-ho walked towards me, knife in hand.

Park Dong-su glanced my way.

But he was in no position to intervene. He was already pretty beaten up himself.

With the other bosses joining the fray, it had become even more chaotic.

I stared impassively at Byeon Seong-ho as he approached, knife in hand.

“This is all because of you, you little shit. I won’t kill you, but you’ll live as a cripple for the rest of your life. It’s your karma, you bastard.”

With those words, Byeon Seong-ho lunged at me, aiming his knife at my stomach.

I immediately grabbed the chair next to me and threw it. As Byeon Seong-ho stumbled from the impact, I closed in.

“You bastard! Die! Die!”

Byeon Seong-ho swung his knife wildly.

I dodged the knife’s trajectory and threw a punch. Byeon Seong-ho desperately moved in the opposite direction.

Not missing that timing, I threw another punch with all my might at his right eye, gripping the car key I had in my pocket.

Thwack!

I grabbed the collar of Byeon Seong-ho, who was dazed from the strong impact, and pulled him towards me.

Thwack! Thwack!

As I kept punching his face, Byeon Seong-ho’s wild knife swings cut my forearm.

But I didn’t stop. I kept aiming for his face.

Finally, Byeon Seong-ho dropped his knife.

“Why are you coming at me? What did I ever do to you? You started this shit, why are you blaming me?”

I sneered at the staggering Byeon Seong-ho.

“And if Uncle Dong-su hadn’t shown up that day, you’d have died by my hand. You don’t even know who your lifesaver is, you ungrateful bastard.”

He glared at me with unbroken eyes, seemingly having regained his senses.

Crack!

I punched his face again. His head snapped back violently from the solid hit.

“Still not backing down?”

But Byeon Seong-ho’s eyes were still alive with defiance.

I let out a mocking laugh.

“I guess gangsters do have some pride after all.”

I grabbed Byeon Seong-ho’s collar again and started slapping him.

A man’s pride is hurt most not when he’s punched, but when he’s slapped.

I don’t know how long it had been when my palm started to go numb.

“Hey! Little bro! That’s enough!”

Park Dong-su’s shout snapped me back to reality.

Byeon Seong-ho seemed to have lost consciousness. When I let go of his collar, he crumpled to the floor.

I turned to Park Dong-su with a sigh.

“Uncle, I thought you said you had it under control.”

“…I’m sorry.”

“How’s it outside?”

“Boss!!!”

Just then, someone came running, calling for Park Dong-su.

“You got it sorted out there?”

“Yes, no one’s hurt… Well, you look pretty beaten up. Lost your touch?”

“Cut the crap and get everyone into the office.”

“Yes, sir.”

Park Dong-su’s underlings came into the room, dragging out the men sprawled on the floor.

“You okay, little bro? Your arm’s bleeding.”

“No, Uncle! Look at yourself first! You’re practically at death’s door. If anything, Mr. Lee Sang-geun over there looks fresher than you.”

At my words, Park Dong-su looked at Lee Sang-geun beside him and shuddered visibly.

Lee Sang-geun was standing there with a calm expression, looking like he’d just taken a shower in blood. Strangely, his face seemed to fit that atmosphere, making him look even more terrifying.

“Shit, Sang-geun! You’re not really carrying sashimi knives all the time, are you? Are you saying you could’ve gutted me anytime?”

“Boss, why would I gut my meal ticket? You’re the one paying me, so you’re my boss and my god.”

Lee Sang-geun tossed the sashimi knives carelessly and shook off the blood.

Just then, Yang Suhyeong came in and said,

“Boss, we’ve got them all on their knees outside.”

“Yeah? Let’s go out.”

“Just a moment.”

I pulled out the mobile phone from my pocket.

“What’s that?”

“It’s the new mobile phone coming out from Il-sung Electronics.””

I’d recently gotten a test model of Il-sung Electronics’ mobilee phone through Cheon Ji-soo.

I was used to smartphones, so the existing ones were inconvenient to carry around. Luckily, this new phone that fit snugly in one hand made calls much easier.

“Oh? Looks nice.”

I dialed Hyeon-seong’s father’s number.

“Hello, Father. It’s Mu-hyeok. I’m at the department store right now, and some gangsters suddenly attacked. I’m a bit hurt. You need to come and sort this out. I think we need to clean this up.”

– What? Gangsters? What have you been up to? You’re not worrying Grandma again, are you? Don’t go causing trouble like when you were young.

“Don’t worry. I’m not a kid anymore. I’ve got my head on straight now. Anyway, please come quickly. We’re on the third floor of the department store. I’ll handle the prosecution side, but I need you to come and decide how far we should clean this up.”

– Alright, I’ll be there in 20 minutes.

“Yes, Father.”

As I hung up, Park Dong-su was looking at me with a ‘please tell me it’s not true’ expression.

“That ‘Father’ you just called… it’s not Detective Park, is it? Please tell me it’s not!”

“It is. He’s on his way now. We should go out and talk while we wait for him to arrive. Shall we?”

“Hey, you crazy bastard! What kind of lunatic calls a detective captain to a gangster fight? Cancel it!”

“Why worry? This is our chance to lock these bastards up. Don’t you want to know who ordered this? Trust me and let’s have a chat. We need to find out who’s behind this.”

“Hah… I’m losing my mind here. Being around you is driving me crazy.”

Park Dong-su sighed as he left the office.

After Park Dong-su disappeared, Lee Sang-geun, who had been quiet, casually asked me,

“Who are you really?”

“Pardon?”

“No matter how I look at it, you don’t seem like someone who’s only been through this once or twice. I heard you’re a 20-year-old Korea University student, but you don’t even flinch when beating people up.”

“Haha, let’s get to know each other slowly, shall we? Just think of me as someone who could be a golden rope for you. You like money, right?”

“…”

“Let’s go out and see what they’re talking about.”

As I went out to the office area with Lee Sang-geun, things seemed to have been sorted out somewhat.

Park Dong-su was looking down at Heo Ki-hoon, Byeon Seong-ho, and the others kneeling with cold eyes.

“Big bro, why did you do this? That fucking younger brother of yours gave you control of your old turf just so you could eat, didn’t he? But backstabbing like this ain’t right, you shithead. Did you think I was a pushover? Is that it?”

“…”

A subordinate came over and handed Park Dong-su a towel.

Park Dong-su wiped the blood off his face and neck as he sat down in a chair.

“Come on, say something. Why did you do it?”

“I’m sorry, little bro.”

“Fuck your sorry and fuck your bullshit. Save that for when you get home. Who ordered this? Speak up!”

“…”

Heo Ki-hoon remained silent.

“Nobody else got anything to say either?”

Everyone kept their mouths shut, not saying a word.

Park Dong-su let out a disbelieving laugh and looked my way.

“Hey! Little bro! Can you take responsibility for whatever happens here? You said Detective Park is coming, right?”

I answered confidently.

“Just don’t kill anyone. I’ll handle the rest.”

“Hah… Shit, I’m too embarrassed to show my face anywhere. Of all times, this had to happen when Mu-hyeok was here. Fucking hell. Suhyeong, knife!”

At those words, Yang Suhyeong, standing nearby, pulled out a sashimi knife from his jacket and handed it to Park Dong-su.

Taking the knife, Park Dong-su glared at the four with hard eyes and said,

“Big Bro Ki-hoon, don’t feel bad if I stop treating you like a senior now. You stabbed your junior in the back first, so you dug your own grave, didn’t you? Suhyeong! Let’s start with Ki-hoon!”

“Boss, let me do it. You shouldn’t have to do this yourself.”

“Stop talking shit and bring him over. One of you go outside and keep an eye out for Detective Park.”

“Yes, sir!”

At those words, the youngest member ran outside.

Two subordinates dragged Heo Ki-hoon and laid him down in front of Park Dong-su.

“I’m retiring you. I’m only going to cut one leg, so don’t even think about looking this way again.”

“Little bro! Dong-su!”

“Cut the ‘little bro’ crap. Don’t you dare say my name, you bastard. If you knew how to respect your seniors, you’d have just taken what I gave you and lived. Why’d you do it?”

Yang Suhyeong, catching Park Dong-su’s eye, grabbed Heo Ki-hoon’s left leg.

The Achilles tendon was visible at the heel.

As the sashimi knife slowly approached that spot, Heo Ki-hoon struggled desperately.

“It was Big Bro Sa-seong! Big Bro Sa-seong, I’m telling you! Stop it! Dong-su!”

Park Dong-su ignored him and moved the knife.

The blade tore through Heo Ki-hoon’s Achilles tendon.

“Aaaaargh!”