Human Butchers (6)
“How the hell did you do it? To my boys...”
“I'll ask first. Why'd you come all the way here yourself? And if you were coming, why not join earlier? Now we've gotta do the job twice. Such a pain.”
“Your eyes were bothering me. So after sending my guys, I tailed you.”
Ma Chung-hwa's gaze lingered briefly on Wang Yong sprawled on the ground.
“Long story short, I didn't step in because... I trusted that bastard. He's got a huge ego. If I'd butted in midway, he'd have turned his blade on me too. Never thought he'd end up like this, though. Heh heh heh.”
Before the laughter could even fade, Ma Chung-hwa closed the distance in a flash. Not some textbook kickboxing step—it was a literal leap.
A headbutt?!
Kang Cheol-gu threw up his guard, but the opponent's weight shoved his body backward. As he lost balance and staggered, Ma Chung-hwa's knee speared toward his solar plexus like a drill. It all happened in an instant.
The shock to his midsection bent Kang Cheol-gu forward, and in that moment, Ma Chung-hwa's fingers clawed for his eyes. He dodged with a boxing sway. Shifting his weight into an upper-body pivot, he unleashed a Muay Thai-style front kick that slammed into Ma Chung-hwa's gut.
Exchanges flew back and forth in a single breath.
“Not bad for a cop in this country. But you don't measure up to me.”
“You're pretty good for a fringe gangster yourself. I wanna play for real, so lemme ditch this jacket.”
Kang Cheol-gu started shrugging off his thick fire-resistant suit. Mid-sentence! The flying jacket blocked Ma Chung-hwa's view. The bastard used everything at his disposal.
This moron. I wasn't sparring—I was fighting for my life! What the hell am I doing, going soft like this...?
As Ma Chung-hwa berated himself and raised his guard, he spotted the opponent's lead foot below it. Not a side step—straight at him. Rear foot at 45 degrees. What the—? Muay Thai? What's this guy's base?!
Whoosh!
Something sliced the air. Instinctively, he clapped his hands together to block straight ahead. A shadow charged under the fluorescent lights of the abandoned factory. But...
Not frontal. The Muay Thai knee came diagonally, not straight on—a freakish variation on the standard knee strike. Kang Cheol-gu's knee nailed Ma Chung-hwa's temple.
Conscious, but his body wouldn't move. He threw everything into closing the gap.
Hmm?
An intrigued smile tugged at Kang Cheol-gu's lips. Most would instinctively back off after that damage. But this guy... he pressed in closer. Deep fight IQ.
Momentum from the charge brought them chest-to-chest for a split second. Ten centimeters? Ma Chung-hwa's breath reeked.
Kang Cheol-gu's right hand guarded his face while his left elbow targeted the jaw. The signature Muay Thai combo after a knee. Ma Chung-hwa's eyes flickered.
Left... a boxing hook?
He clocked the direction. Too late to dodge. Instead, Ma Chung-hwa ducked into the incoming strike. A bare fist without wraps is weaker than you'd think. Clash it with a trained forehead, and nine times out of ten, the fist shatters. Street-honed instinct.
This guy's a real fighter!
Kang Cheol-gu admired it for a heartbeat. But what he threw wasn't a fist—it was an elbow! The blade-like strike shattered the nose bridge, slicing eyebrow and brow ridge. Blood sprayed from Ma Chung-hwa's face.
Those droplets now blinded Kang Cheol-gu. Ma Chung-hwa vanished—then suddenly, the factory ceiling filled Kang Cheol-gu's vision. A low tackle.
Ma Chung-hwa mounted him and rained down fists. Gravity amplified the pounding from above.
I'll eat a few!
Guarding would block the first couple, but he'd get dragged into the enemy's rhythm. He left his face open. Hammer-like punches poured down. As the opponent's weight shifted forward in the ground-and-pound, Kang Cheol-gu bridged his hips with a snap. Pushing the hips with his right arm created a one-centimeter gap.
The only escape!
After the storm of violence, they stared each other down, gasping.
“Gotta say, I'm impressed. I get why Wang Yong went down now.”
“Take back what I said about fringe gangster. Waste of talent to kill you.”
Kang Cheol-gu spat blood from his mouth as he fired back.
Brawl favors him. End it in one shot.
Kang Cheol-gu's shoulder twitched faintly. Ma Chung-hwa, attuned to killing intent, caught it.
Kang Cheol-gu dropped low, then exploded forward with an outboxer's step-in, closing distance. A boxing one-two followed. Ma Chung-hwa slipped it with a duck and lunged to turn it into a clinch, a mud-wrestling frenzy.
If I stick, I've got a shot!
And that call... was Ma Chung-hwa's fatal mistake.
A standard one-two: left jab measures range, right straight follows. But Kang Cheol-gu's wasn't standard. Hell, it wasn't a one-two!
The jab circled distance, then a beat later—two became an uppercut. Nightmare counter for Ma Chung-hwa, who'd ducked in. Kang Cheol-gu's fist crushed his jaw. And his consciousness.
Ma Chung-hwa crumpled forward like a ragdoll.
Thud!
“Boss!”
Wang Yong's anguished cry filled the warehouse.
* * *
They roughly shoved the unconscious Ma Chung-hwa into the Galloper's passenger seat.
“Wh-what's your game?”
Wang Yong rasped, squeezing out his last strength.
“Told you. I'm killing you.”
Kang Cheol-gu's voice was flat.
“A cop can't do that! I-I'll turn myself in. Spare me!”
“Have you... ever listened to victims begging for their lives? Ever answered the pleas of the sacrificed?”
“Th-that's...”
He's serious. This cop...
Hope died in Wang Yong's eyes. Then Kang Cheol-gu turned his head, lips parting slowly.
“...Wanna live?”
Never had that mocking tone sounded so sweet. The enemy spoke low, back turned.
“Take Ma Chung-hwa and get lost. Anywhere.”
“Th-thank you! We'll go back to China or turn ourselves in here in Korea. Whatever you say!”
Kang Cheol-gu's rough hands crammed Wang Yong into the driver's seat. Treated like luggage, but the hope of survival had him grinning. No trace of the number-two boss who ruled Yeongdeungpo.
Trembling hands turned the key. He just wanted to flee that devil's gaze ASAP. Floored the accelerator.
Free from that bastard cop now. His underlings? Who cared.
But he'd floored it... and the car didn't budge.
His eyes drifted downward. Blood poured from his severed Achilles tendon. No feeling.
In panic, he leaned down to press the pedal by hand—but his vision blurred. The Galloper roared and smashed into the wall again. Blood from his forehead clouded everything. Under heavy eyelids, Kang Cheol-gu loomed faintly. A smirk on his lips, gasoline hose in hand.
No!
“Boss, boss! Wake up! We'll all die like this!”
He shook Ma Chung-hwa like a maniac, but no response. Wang Yong's mind flashed to the subordinate whose throat he'd slit, charred black. His body shuddered.
No way. I can't end up like that!
* * *
Whoosh! Boom!
The fertilizer plant burned. Rain poured, but the flames—fueled by chemicals—raged on.
Behind Kang Cheol-gu stood Wang Yong and the underlings who'd ambushed him, souls shattered. The fire demon's tongue lashed, gutting the factory.
“Ryu Jung-pyeong. Tell him to meet me.”
Kang Cheol-gu broke the heavy silence with a low command.
Ryu Jung-pyeong. With Ma Chung-hwa and Wang Yong dead, he was now Dallim-dong's top dog.
“Wh-what? No thought of avenging your dead boss? Wanna throw down again?”
“Gah! N-no, sir. Just spare us. We'll turn ourselves in or whatever you want!”
The deeply bowed head stayed low. His men knelt too. Fear spreads.
“...I'll tell you how to live.”
Ryu Jung-pyeong's face snapped up. Kang Cheol-gu whispered in his ear.
“...Possible?”
“...Cops are crawling there!”
“Heh. Since when do you fear Korean cops? Bottom line. Possible?”
Ryu Jung-pyeong's eyes darted. He swallowed hard, then bellowed desperately.
“Y-yes! I'll send a sharp one. J-just spare us!”
“Don't worry. I wreck people, but I keep promises.”
Distant fire truck sirens wailed.
“Time to go.”
“Yes, sir. Truly grateful.”
Ryu Jung-pyeong bent 90 degrees at Kang Cheol-gu's low voice.
Thugs ruled by violence. Bowing to greater violence? Inevitable.
* * *
[Breaking news. Last night, a fire of unknown origin broke out at a fertilizer plant in Wangju, Gyeonggi Province. The completely gutted factory contained a single vehicle with three badly burned bodies inside, shocking authorities. The corpses are too damaged for DNA testing... ...Weapons including knives and axes were found at the scene, leading police to consider gang clashes. But with no CCTV in the remote area and overnight rain, the investigation faces hurdles.]
Detective Lee Gyu-cheol, hearing the TV news, struggled to sit up. A bad feeling gripped his phone hand. Deep breath, then he dialed his buddy at Wangju Station.
“Nam-wook. All good?”
- Hey, Gyu-cheol. Long time. Heard you got stabbed—sorry I couldn't visit.
“I know you're swamped. But saw on the news—fire in your area?”
- That? Don't ask. Nightmare. Old factory went up yesterday, total mess. Burner car, IDs unknown... Media's all over it. Why? Know something?
“Nah... Just bored in this bed. Weapons found—gangsters?”
- Likely. Not your kitchen knives or sashimi blades. Oh! Weird one too. Knife with a ring on the end for fingers... Freaky design.
It's a karambit!