Salt Fields (7)
Choi Du-seong's eyes gleamed with murderous intent. Gwang-il knew exactly what it meant that they were gripping each other's collars. It wasn't to stop anyone from running away. It was to keep them from collapsing.
You deliberately chose the hard path over the easy one. Don't go down easy. Hold out until this thirst is quenched!
There were no shouts or screams. Ripples of raw power surged outward from the two hulking men locked in their grip. Even the villagers who'd come with them were overwhelmed by the sheer intensity, holding their breath without a sound.
It was a bizarre standoff, like two fighting dogs clamped onto each other's necks. Ignoring any thought of defense, their heavy fists swung straight at each other. Blood sprayed. Sweat poured.
Thud!
How much time had passed? Choi Du-seong finally collapsed with a thunderous groan, like an ancient tree toppling over.
Gasp. Gasp! Rough breaths leaked from Gwang-il's mouth.
A voice, rough yet warm, seeped into his ear. "You dumb bastard. There, feel better now?"
It was Detective Kang Cheol-gu.
"H-Hyungnim…!"
Gwang-il's lips twitched like a kid bragging about a perfect test score. His left eye was already swollen shut, blurring Cheol-gu's face.
Then, the island village—where the only sound had been the waves—shook.
It wasn't his imagination. From the mainland came the roar of ATV quad bikes, the kind used for leisure, tearing through the night air. A few motorized tillers followed. In their cargo beds rode villagers clutching sickles and pickaxes. Easily thirty or more at a glance. The glint of sharp axe blades caught the eye.
At the rear of the procession, Village Head Choi wore a cold smile.
Gwang-il bit his lip hard. "Hyungnim. Looks like we're burying our bones here tonight!"
His legs trembled. They screamed that they couldn't take any more. Punching his shaking thighs, Gwang-il searched blindly for Cheol-gu with his useless eyes.
"…Just one promise. You die at least a minute after me. I'll make sure of it. Hyungnim… it was an honor to have you as my trainer!"
He could hear their breathing now. Gwang-il stepped forward, putting Cheol-gu behind him, and launched himself at the villagers disembarking from the vehicles.
In that instant, a pickaxe handle whistled in from the left. An attack he could've dodged easily on a normal day. But now, it was a blind spot he couldn't see.
Smack!
Like a marionette with cut strings, Gwang-il's body crashed to the ground.
"Gwang-il!"
In his fading consciousness, Cheol-gu's voice echoed faintly.
* * *
"I brought some young bucks just in case, and what the hell is this mess!"
Village Head Choi pushed through the villagers, clicking his tongue. He frowned at the unconscious Choi Du-seong.
"Tch, useless fool! But…!"
Ripples stirred in his eyes. Even seeing his fallen brother hadn't fazed him, but now his gaze searched for someone who wasn't there.
"N-No way… did that Kang guy get him?"
"Why ask the obvious?"
Gwang-il was down. My own state was just as pathetic. But I wasn't about to show weakness. His shoulders shook at my snide retort. He let out a low breath.
"Kang Cheol-gu, was it? I'm sick of looking at that face."
At Village Head Choi's signal, the villagers began closing in one by one.
Is this it? No regrets. I'd already died once and come back, but this damn rebellious streak just wouldn't fix itself.
As I bit my lip, something alien cut through the sound of the waves and reached my ears. A bluish gleam flashed briefly off a villager's axe blade. A red laser dot targeted his forehead.
In that moment, a world-shattering roar engulfed the entire scene. Winds strong enough to uproot century-old trees swept over the island village.
A Kamov helicopter emblazoned with the maritime police emblem hovered imposingly above the cliff. A warning blared through the mic.
[Aa! This is the Republic of Korea Coast Guard Special Forces. Cease all hostile actions immediately. Repeating…!]
The faces of the villagers caught in the chopper's spotlight turned deathly pale.
It didn't end there. Far out at sea, a police patrol boat sliced through the waves toward them. Its siren screamed like it was tearing eardrums.
Splash! Clunk! Clatter!
Weapons dropped from their hands one by one onto the dirt.
"Lieutenant Kang!"
Sergeant Hwang Woo-sik's voice came from somewhere.
* * *
[This is the on-site strike team. Requesting support from a Haenuri-class vessel. Over 30 suspects for transport.]
The voice of a masked police commando was calm and relaxed. Before him, all the disarmed villagers were bound with ropes.
Startled by the sudden chaos, seagulls on the rocky shore flapped their wings frantically.
"How'd you get here so fast?"
Hwang Woo-sik asked, eyeing Gwang-il being loaded into the makeshift ER on the patrol boat.
"Haha. Truth is, I called Lieutenant Kang's father. Pulled the classic daddy card."
Hwang Woo-sik drew a short breath.
Chief Security Commissioner. In military terms, a three-star corps commander. Second in the hierarchy of Korea's 120,000 police force.
His eyes narrowed as he recalled the phone call.
* * *
"…So what you're saying is, our Cheol-gu is…"
The voice was low, yet it pierced his ears like an awl.
"In some island village, threatened by a bunch of lunatics."
It wasn't calling him a lunatic. Still, Hwang Woo-sik kept swallowing dryly.
"Facing mortal danger! That's what you're telling me?"
He couldn't see him, but he held the phone reverently with both hands. His fingers trembled.
"…Hmph, got it. Where'd you say you are? Stay on the line."
What happened next shattered the worldview of an ordinary violent crimes sergeant.
Three minutes after hanging up, a patrol car screeched to a halt in front of him, tires smoking from the hard brake—like they'd caught a perp.
Local cops bundled him in like luggage, sirens blaring, ignoring every traffic light.
Five minutes: The coast guard special forces sign appeared in the distance. The chopper's rotors were already thundering before the car even pulled up.
Seven minutes: A masked commando tossed Hwang Woo-sik into the chopper like a sack of gear. Not the standard police .38 revolver, but an H&K MP7 gleaming darkly.
Ten minutes: The police chopper raced over the pitch-black sea, moonlight the only illumination. Engine speed so intense it felt like it might burst into flames!
On the distant cliff's edge, thirty-odd shadows encircled someone. Before the loudspeaker warning even sounded, a sniper's MSG-90 locked onto the frontmost figure. The red laser dot glowed on his forehead.
* * *
Hwang Woo-sik shook his head with a wry smile as he looked at me.
"Anyway, best experience of my life. Hey! Where you off to?"
"Choi the village head. Haven't caught that bastard yet. The villagers shielded him with their bodies…."
"The special forces are sweeping the place anyway. Island's surrounded by sea—where's he gonna go?"
"…I have to catch him!"
That was my conclusion ever since learning this island's secrets. His end would be decided by me.
The deep night was lit up like midday across the whole village. Chopper and patrol boat spotlights led the way, with commandos' lanterns scouring every corner in the hunt for Choi.
The moment I fired up one of their ATVs, a familiar voice rang in my ear.
"Village Head Choi—you haven't caught him yet? I know a spot he might be hiding."
It was Teacher Seon Mi-ra. At my nod, she hopped on the back without hesitation.
"Some mainland businessman once tried building a vacation home here. Project tanked when his business went bust, but the basement foundation's still there. If this many people haven't found him, that's gotta be it."
Mi-ra's eyes gleamed coldly.
* * *
Pant! Pant!
His body was covered in gashes. How many times had he tumbled down hillsides getting here? Village Head Choi's sixty-plus-year-old frame screamed in agony from every joint after the sudden sprint.
That son of a bitch Kang Cheol-gu!
He was the root of all this. If that bastard hadn't shown up, none of this would've happened!
Pain choked him up to his throat, but thoughts of him ground his teeth.
Just reach that old villa site. Hide out a few days, slip to the nearby mainland—no one would find him.
It's not over yet!
As he willed his exhausted body forward, clinging to that thread of hope, a blinding flash lit up before him.
"Took you long enough. Old folks really oughta just die already."
Kang Cheol-gu's mocking voice stabbed into his ear. Heavy footsteps approached.
Thud. Thud!
"Wh-what do you want? What're you gonna do to me…!"
He tried to sound calm, but his voice betrayed him with tremors.
"Don't worry. I'll treat you real nice. Gotta keep our Village Head Choi healthy and kicking. You've got lots of work ahead."
A vile murderous intent laced his voice, low and filthy enough to make you question who the real villain was.
The moment rough hands clamped over his mouth, a chilling chemical stench assaulted his nose. Consciousness blurred.
"Oh yeah! Teacher Seon. How long does this chloroform knock 'em out for?"
"Dunno. Mostly used it for frog dissections—first time on a person…."
"Too lazy to calculate. Should I just dump the whole bottle?"
A woman's voice he vaguely recognized. Village Head Choi's eyes closed.
A giant fertilizer sack swallowed his body.
* * *
"…Aigoo! Where you wandering off to with those injuries? Leave the search to the coast guard and get some treatment."
Hwang Woo-sik clicked his tongue at me strolling back empty-handed.
"No big deal. How's Gwang-il?"
"As you see, still out cold. First aid's done—they're taking him to the mainland for a full check tonight."
Gwang-il's pale face tugged at my heart.
"Anyway, take care of him. I'll check the scene some more."
As Lieutenant Kang Cheol-gu left, Hwang Woo-sik scratched his head and approached Gwang-il's bed.
"Hey, get up now. Boss is gone."
"Phew! Thought I was a goner. Man! Never knew faking unconscious was this tough!"
Detective Kim Gwang-il, who'd been lying like a corpse moments ago, kicked off the blanket and sat up.
"Then why fake it so hard?"
"How could I not? I was striking all these cool poses, then bam—one hit and I'm down. How do I face Cheol-gu hyungnim now? So embarrassing!"
"You big ol' bear. Judo national team dropout, and you go brute-forcing it instead of ending it quick?"
"Tch. Thing is, I had that punk's collar gripped tight, and that's when Cheol-gu hyungnim was scrapping with that Choi guy!"
"And?"
"Under that soft moonlight, hyungnim fighting? Whoa! Like a painting! A total leopard—graceful, every step rawr! And when that bastard whipped out his knife, hyungnim bare-handed…! Blood just boiled watching it!"
Hwang Woo-sik eyed Gwang-il's wild gestures and footwork reenactment with pity.
"You dreaming of wuxia novels or what? Leopard my ass…! Lieutenant Kang's clothes? Looked like he'd rolled in a mudflat. Total dung beetle vibe. And bare-handed? Hell no—started with a brick, finished by stabbing him with that fishing knife clamped to his ankle!"
"Dung beetle? And it-it wasn't bare-handed?!"
Gwang-il's mouth gaped like a goldfish plucked from its bowl.