Fury in the Gangnam XX Club VIP Room
Gangnam XX Club VIP room. The place was a total wreck. Shattered liquor bottles, a trashed table, and...
"Hey, you fucking retard!! Can't you even control the damn dosage!?"
Jo Min-hyuk, son of Seongil Pharma's vice president, clutched his head and smacked the back of Ttakgari's skull. He had bandages wrapped tightly around his forehead—the wound from getting clocked by Yu-na's ashtray earlier.
"Ah, hold on, Min-hyuk. I'm really wronged here. Dosing drugs is advanced tech that needs a special license, you know? That's why they have dedicated injection nurses..."
Ttakgari whined like he was the victim.
"I didn't even go to college; I just learned from the internet, and this is pretty damn good for that... And if we're splitting hairs, you're the pharmacology major... As the son of a pharma VP, shouldn't you know better than me...?"
"Shut the fuck up, you quack!"
Jo Min-hyuk exploded, his face twisted in rage.
"Then don't fucking drink the booze and get lost! You useless piece of shit shoves expensive liquor down your throat like it's nothing, fuck."
"Ah, no... but we're friends... that's a bit harsh, man... We've known each other for over ten years counting the times..."
"Ha. This fucker won't shut up."
Jo Min-hyuk smacked Ttakgari's head a few more times before irritably glaring at the sofa. Yu-na was sprawled there, clothes torn exposing her underwear, breathing raggedly with her eyes rolled back.
"Fuck... you totally killed the mood."
He'd planned to get her just tipsy enough to be hazy and fun—savor some resistance too. But this idiot friend overdosed her. The girl wasn't just gone; her eyes were fucking spinning. What was the difference from fucking a corpse?
"Hey, get some cold water. Splash her face and wake her up."
"B-but Min-hyuk... she looks pretty bad. Her breathing's shallow..."
"She won't die, she won't die! You idiot!! Human lives aren't that fragile. Hey, if she doesn't wake up, you guys just use her and toss her. She's a gangster's daughter anyway—no backlash."
Jo Min-hyuk was mid-swig, spewing curses, when—
Bang! Crash!
A racket erupted outside the room. Screams, smashing objects, dull thuds.
"What the hell? So noisy."
Jo Min-hyuk scowled.
"H-huh? Not the cops, right?"
"Ha... fucker, you've been ruining the vibe all night. Hey, my dad just greased the station chief yesterday. Korean cops, shit, they got no pride but they keep the code."
"Hyung, I'll check."
Ttakgari 2 seized the chance to prove his worth and stood.
Creak.
"Hey. What's with all the commo—"
Thwack—!
Before he finished, a heavy fist smashed into Ttakgari 2's face. He flew backward without a scream, slamming into the room's far wall.
"Wha...?"
Jo Min-hyuk and his goons gaped, mouths open.
Through the open door stepped a man radiating murderous intent. Blood-soaked dress shirt, disheveled hair, bloodshot eyes.
Jang Hyun-soo.
"Where's my daughter."
His low, gravelly voice boomed through the room. The sheer weight in it pinned Jo Min-hyuk to the sofa involuntarily.
"Wh-who the fuck is this old man? Guards! Hey! Where're the guards!"
A bloodied, burly guard staggered in behind Jang Hyun-soo—nose busted from blocking the entrance.
"You... fucking mutt...! Sneaky preemptive strike!"
The guard charged Jang Hyun-soo's back, his bulk worth at least 20kg more.
But.
Whoosh.
Jang Hyun-soo didn't even turn. He twisted instinctively, dodged the punch, grabbed the collar, and flipped him over his shoulder.
Bam!!!
"Gaaak!"
The giant crashed to the floor. Jang Hyun-soo stomped his solar plexus with his shoe heel.
Crack.
Ribs snapping. The guard foamed at the mouth and passed out.
Jang Hyun-soo was a veteran who'd rolled in the underworld since others were in college. Over twenty years surviving every hell. He played detective in a bowtie because he liked those boy sleuths—not 'cause his fists were weak.
He ground the sprawled guard like trash and turned deeper into the room.
And saw her.
His daughter, dumped like refuse on the sofa.
"Ah..."
Jang Hyun-soo's heart plummeted.
Rolled-back eyes, foam at the mouth, exposed chest. A scene he knew too well—from countless loan shark collections.
Drug overdose. Near-lethal dose.
His vision whitened.
Snap. Reason's thread broke.
"Wh-who the fuck are you, asshole! Do you know who we are, pulling this shit...!"
The wannabe injection nurse goon spat curses fearlessly.
Smack—!
Predictably, he didn't finish. Jang Hyun-soo's fist buried in his mouth.
"Guhk...!"
The guy rolled, vomiting blood. Front teeth scattered.
Before that merciless violence, the rest fled to the corner.
Jang Hyun-soo approached Jo Min-hyuk.
"You."
A voice from hell's depths.
Jo Min-hyuk melted into the sofa.
Now he got it. Words wouldn't fix this.
"N-no! S-sir! Misunderstanding! She—I mean, this girl! She took some random drugs who-knows-where and was suffering, so I was just trying to help..."
"..."
Jang Hyun-soo didn't reply. No point.
Thwack!
"Gaaah!"
Fist to the face. Two front teeth shattered.
"F-fuck! My teeth!! You, you... Do you know who I am?! My dad's Seongil Pharma VP! I'll have you rotting in prison...!"
Seeing his corn kernels gone, Jo Min-hyuk spat bloody saliva, raging. Still clueless.
Thwack!
Second punch. Nose pulverized.
"H-heuk..."
Terror hit. This man ignored his background. He just wanted to kill.
"Sp-spare me... I-I'm sorry! I didn't order it! The guys did it on their own..."
Thwack!!!
Third punch. The hardest, rage-fueled. Jawbone exploded with a thud.
Jo Min-hyuk flipped backward, eyes rolled back. Face caved in—barely human.
"Haa... haa..."
Jang Hyun-soo shook blood from his fist, panting. Wanted to keep going. Kill him.
But no time.
"Yu-na..."
He rushed to the sofa, scooped her up. Too light. Burning hot, breaths faint as threads.
"Sorry... Dad's... late... sorry..."
He draped his jacket over her. Tears blurred his sight.
Abhos? The organization? Death? Didn't matter.
"Hang on... please..."
He bolted from the room, daughter in arms. Fired up the car at the entrance. Floored it. Engine screamed; car shot off.
Destination: hospital. Desperation to save her fueled his midnight rampage.
—Screech—!!!
Emergency entrance. Black sedan halted with a roar.
Jang Hyun-soo burst through doors, cradling her like a madman.
"Doctor! Call a doctor!! M-my daughter's dying. Please!!"
Blood-splattered white shirt, gasping screams—staff rushed over.
"What's the situation!? Patient's condition...!"
"Drugs! Overdose! Hurry!!"
They laid Yu-na on a gurney, wheeled to treatment. Jang Hyun-soo tried following; nurses blocked.
"Guardian, wait here!"
Slam. Door shut. [IN SURGERY] light glowed.
"Haa... haa..."
Jang Hyun-soo slumped in hallway chair. Hands shaking. Her warmth faded from his jacket.
No time to think what he'd done, consequences. Just stared at the light, praying.
'Please... just save her... take my life instead...'
...
How much time passed? Surgery door opened; doctor emerged.
Jang Hyun-soo jumped up.
"D-doctor! My daughter? Is she okay?"
Doctor removed mask, shook head. That grim face sank Jang Hyun-soo's heart.
"Sorry, sir."
"W-wait..."
"Too... late."
Doctor continued heavily. "Cardiac arrest from drug shock lasted too long. We passed the crisis, but... severe brain damage. Essentially brain-dead."
"B-brain-dead...? What does that mean... then...?"
"Can't breathe on her own—needs life support. Without a miracle... prepare yourself."
Jang Hyun-soo's legs gave out; he collapsed.
The world crumbled.
Brain-dead. His lively, sassy girl now a doll without machines?
"U... uwaaaaaah!!!"
He wailed, forehead to floor, sobbing.
Hated his incompetence, foolishness. If he'd noticed sooner, cared more. Or never been a gangster...
"Jang Hyun-soo?"
A cold voice from behind. He turned: uniformed cops and detective. Eyes on a criminal.
"Gangnam Precinct Violent Crimes. You're under emergency arrest for aggravated assault, business interference, and narcotics violation."
"...Ha."
Jang Hyun-soo laughed hollowly. Fast. That pharma pull?
Daughter like this, they ignore the perp for the victim's dad.
"You have the right to remain silent; anything you say can be used against you in court..."
Detective recited Miranda, grabbing his arm.
No resistance. No strength. All over. Lost daughter, life ruined. Prison or Abhos's death—pick one.
Click.
Cuffs about to snap—
"W-wait a moment."
Clack, clack. Elegant heels echoed from hall's end.
Detective frowned, turned. Jang Hyun-soo, head bowed in despair, looked up blearily.
"Who are you? Official duty. Step back."
Cops snapped.
But she didn't retreat. A bit scared, but firm voice.
"H-he's... our company manager."
White blouse, black skirt. Sleek office look on a beautiful... beauty. No, young man.
Kang Min-woo.
