Hell No Matter What
As the gunfire grew steadily closer, the fake police chief and gangster Park Jongpil sensed something was wrong and stepped into the hallway, shouting.
“What the hell's going on!”
Guards who had been watching the warehouse came running from the far end of the corridor.
“We don't know, boss!”
“If you don't know, then go find out, you idiots!”
“Yes, boss!”
They bolted off down the hallway.
“Hah, fucking morons.”
Park Jongpil grumbled irritably as he grabbed a flashlight and rifle from his room. But one minute, two minutes passed... and still no sign of his men.
Bang. Bang bang. Baaang.
Thud, thud, thud. Thud...
The gunfire seemed to be drawing nearer, accompanied by vibrations rumbling up from the floors below. Park Jongpil yelled again.
“Hey!”
-....
“Heeey—!”
-....
“Answer me, you bastards! You trying to die?!”
No response came, so he grabbed Doksayeon by the hair—she was cowering in the corner, trembling.
“Tch. How the hell did I end up captured with these useless fucks...”
Grip.
“Eek—.”
“Lead the way, bitch.”
The chief held the flashlight in one hand and the rifle in the other, shoving Doksayeon ahead of him.
Step, step, step.
“Hey. Hey!”
They advanced through the dark fifth floor, relying on that single flashlight. When even the intermittent vibrations and gunshots faded away, Doksayeon froze in terror.
“Th-there...”
“Fuck, who told you to stop!”
Thwack—.
“Ugh—!”
Clutching her head where the flashlight had struck, Doksayeon had no choice but to press on.
Step, step, step.
Doksayeon moved forward, dependent on the narrow beam of light shining from behind. Just as she rounded the corner, she had to stop again.
“...!”
Gurgle, gurgle.
“Grroooarrr... grroooaaarrr....”
A man lay collapsed at the foot of the stairs, his throat sliced open, foaming blood from the gash.
“Ah...”
Doksayeon's trembling breath. A beat later, the same thought flashed through Park Jongpil's mind.
If this guy's at the stairs already...
“Well, well. I was wondering where our milk cow wandered off to—thought she'd croaked already. And here you are.”
“Ch-Cheongun!?”
At the voice from behind, Park Jongpil whipped around and unleashed a barrage from his rifle without even looking.
Rat-a-tat-tat-tat-tat—!
Contrary to his expectations, what he saw wasn't a body crumpling under bullets, but a fleeting glimpse of clothing vanishing around the corner.
Pat-pat-patter, Cheongun's footsteps echoed down the hall.
The building's maze of intersections made the sounds bounce everywhere, impossible to pinpoint.
Rat-a-tat-tat-tat—!
Pat-pat-patter—!
“Hidey-hide~ or I'll peel your scalp off~.”
Flinch.
Whip, rat-a-tat-tat—!
“That look good to you? Almost nailed you for real that time.”
One moment the voice seemed to come from ahead, the next it slithered past from the opposite direction... or did it even pass at all?
“If I'd just swung 180 and fired...”
He whipped the barrel toward the sound and pulled the trigger—another miss.
“Hah, huff... fuck.”
With only the flashlight's beam to guide him, nothing but darkness filled his vision.
“By the way, stalling won't help.”
Step, step.
“I've already killed all your other guys—☆”
Whip—.
Pat-patter.
It felt like being toyed with by a ghost.
Fuck, just show yourself. Just show yourself.
Park Jongpil muttered his skill to himself, trying to calm down.
Swish—.
Whip—.
Pat-patter.
“Ha, heh. Heh... fuck...”
The endless tension broke as clouds parted, moonlight spilling in.
Sloooowly— Cheongun's shadow stretched long from around the corner.
There!
Park Jongpil swung his rifle toward where Cheongun would emerge and fired as the figure lunged—convinced he'd hit.
Rat-a-tat-tat—!
Pssshhhhh—!
White powder erupted from the punctured fire extinguisher.
Shining the flashlight revealed a figure walking through the haze.
Click—.
Got him for real this time!
He pulled the trigger again, but instead of gunfire, Cheongun's voice rang out.
Tick, tick. Tick.
“Can't even count?”
“...Shit!”
Pat-pat-patter—.
Cheongun charged through the powder like a madman. Before Park Jongpil could reload, he was upon him. Abandoning the rifle, he drew the knife from his belt.
Shing—.
“Die, you fucking...”
Stab, stab. Stab. Stab. Thrust. Stab-thrust.
But that was it. Before he could even swing the blade, Park Jongpil's body was shredded in an instant, and he collapsed.
Hurk, hurk—.
“Agh, ugh... fuck, you... cra... cough.”
“What? That's it already? You're the boss—don't you have some desperation phase or something?”
Step, step.
Cheongun approached. As Park Jongpil desperately crawled away, he locked eyes with Doksayeon, slumped and shaking.
Earlier, this bitch called that guy Cheongun...
Squeezing out his last strength, Park Jongpil grabbed her hair and pressed the knife to her throat.
Grip—.
Slice—.
“Stay back! Come any closer, cough— this bitch... hurk... her head... her head comes off!”
Step, step...
Halt.
Cheongun stopped right in front of them. Park Jongpil blustered with false confidence.
“Haha... cough, cough. You know... her, right...? Don't wanna see this bitch... cough... die...?”
“Kill her.”
“Drop your weapon and...”
“I said kill her.”
Stab—.
“Wh...?”
Park Jongpil stared down at the knife plunged into his own heart, eyes wide with disbelief.
“Even if you don't, I'd kill her anyway.”
Thud.
Clang.
The knife slipped from Park Jongpil's hand.
“See? Rough out there once you leave home, huh?”
Now alone with Doksayeon and Cheongun.
Shiver shiver shiver shiver.
“I-I'm s-s-s-sorry... I d-did wrong... r-really w-wrong...”
“Good girl. Come here.”
Clap clap—.
Doksayeon trembled like a leaf as she stumbled into Cheongun's arms.
“Pl-please... s-spare me... spare me... I'll n-never run again... please... please...”
“Shh.”
Shiver shiver.
“Wanna live?”
“Y-yes, yes yes yes... please... I wanna live... I'll be good... really... never again... please spare me I'm sorry please... from now on really...”
Grip—.
“Ugh... gck... hic-sob...”
Cheongun gripped her throat and whispered.
“Too late.”
…
Thump— thump— thump…
Doksayeon slowly regained consciousness amid the growing noise, jolting awake.
What's this...?
Her elevated view confused her for a moment—was she dreaming? Then—
Grip, grip—.
“Ugh!”
Her arms and legs were tightly bound. Realizing she was strung up on a cross-shaped pipe frame, her eyes widened like saucers.
And there was the source of the vibrations.
“Hngggraaah—.”
Thud—, crash clatter.
Jeong Da-jeong was rolling a wooden desk beneath her, stacking it up. It wasn't the first either—chairs, desks, even bookshelves were already piled high.
“Now pull out the paper and stack it in the gaps.”
“Yes, Master.”
Whirr—.
Shhh, shhh—.
Jeong Da-jeong began stuffing reams of A4 paper between the furniture. Cheongun, meanwhile, started dousing the pile with fuel.
By now, Doksayeon realized they meant to burn her alive. Her body shook like she had epilepsy.
Shiver shiver shiver.
“Oh— you woke up right on time. Was just about to rouse you.”
He wiped the fuel from his hands and lit a cigarette.
Sizzle.
Flinch—.
“Got any last words? Message for someone? Where to scatter the ashes?”
Inhale—.
“You're about to die. No regrets?”
Gush—.
Drip, crackle drip…
“Please... spare me...”
Tears poured from her eyes as if her ducts had burst.
“Hmm, not quite the answer I wanted...”
Her pitiful voice made Cheongun tilt his head for a moment.
Snicker—.
“Why should I?”
Shiver shiver.
“Hic... I did wrong... really, really... I'm sorry... hic— please... please... I'll be good from now on... spare me and I'll do anything... sniff... anything... really...”
Trickle, trickle.
“So... so please... spare me.”
Cheongun took a deep drag from his cigarette and exhaled.
Whoosh—.
“You really did wrong?”
Fwoosh—.
“Yes! Yes—! Deeply, truly sorry...”
“What exactly?”
“Y-yes...?”
“What exactly did you do wrong? What, never wrote an apology letter in elementary school?”
“Ah... th-that...”
“What? You did wrong, right? Was it a lie?”
Swish—.
As the cigarette ember neared the furniture, she screamed desperately.
“No! No—! I really did wrong!”
She frantically searched her mind for the right words.
“...Last night... when we had... s-sex with Master... I said I hated it, but that was a lie. Actually...”
Grind—.
“...it felt so good. I wanted you to be rougher... but I was embarrassed... didn't want you to think I was easy... so I lied... yes... I lied.”
“Hm?”
“A-and not just that...!”
His indifferent expression made her eyes tremble violently. She scrambled for words to please him.
“I... love you.”
“Huh?”
“From the first moment I saw you, you were exactly my type. Your voice, your looks... even saving my life... everything... I fell in love at first sight...”
Squeeze—.
“...Yes. ...I love you, Master.”
“Heh—.”
Before her face could light up at the upturned corner of his mouth—
“Bullshit.”
He flicked the cigarette butt onto the pile.
Flick—.
“Nooooooo!”
Sizzle.
“Ah...?”
“Surprised?”
The ember went out instantly in the fuel.
“Watched too many movies. Cigarette won't light it.”
Before she could calm her pounding heart, Cheongun pulled out a lighter.
Flick—, whoosh.
“This might.”
Whoosh.
Roooarrrrr—!
“KyaAAAAAHHH—!!”
She thrashed and screamed as the flames ignited in an instant.
“Nice shot. Even without props, the actress carries it.”
“I did wrong! I did wrong! I lied! Cough, spare me! Please, please spare me...!”
“For real?”
Sizzle—.
Huff, haa—.
“Then confess your sins first?”
Cough, cough.
“I... I'm not a doctor... I'm a nurse, but I wanted to live... thought you wouldn't take me if I said nurse...”
Squeeze.
“I lied...”
“...Didn't know that.”
His clear disappointment made her rush into excuses.
“...! B-but! But... I'm not a real doctor, but I can do what doctors do! I'm an SA—I've assisted in tons of surgeries! Laparotomies, incisions, sutures—dozens of times! Th-there...! I've even done surgeries instead of doctors!”
“But you're not a doctor.”
Cough, cough—.
“...W-well, true... but! Ah! I'm in anesthesiology... I handle drugs better than most doctors! No! Better than doctors!”
“I get what you're saying, but I don't care if you're a doctor or assistant. That's not what I want to hear.”
“Th-then...?”
Cheongun voiced the suspicion—no, certainty—he'd had since entering her room.
“Your roommate. You killed her, didn't you?”