The Rescue
"That bastard Woo-jin said he was going out for cigarettes — why the hell is he taking so long?"
A man with red-dyed hair and eyebrows and an earring in his ear scowled, looking every bit the street thug he was.
"He's probably bought a pack and is smoking it somewhere nearby."
"You think that asshole only bought cigarettes?"
"No way he got drinks."
"Yeah, that's just the kind of piece of shit he is. One of these days we need to put him in his place."
"You really think you can take Woo-jin in a fight?"
"That guy's nothing."
"You always talk a big game."
"I'm serious — if we actually throw down, it's over for him."
"Then say it to his face when he gets back."
"Maybe I will. What, you wanna bet? Ten man-won says I drop him."
"Are you insane?"
"Like you'd even pay up."
The man with the nose piercing glanced toward the closed bedroom door and spoke up.
"Anyway — that Min-hyeok bastard is one ruthless son of a bitch, isn't he?"
"We knew that from the start. Even back when we were dealing Vitamin, nobody hustled harder than that guy."
"Yeah, he always had that mean streak."
"Even so — at the end, the boss hands over every last bit of the leftover product to him as a bonus? How does that make any sense?"
"Exactly. What are we, chopped liver? Why's that asshole the only one getting special treatment?"
"Sure, he worked the hardest out of all of us — but we should've gotten something too."
"You really think he spent every won from selling that stuff?"
"You believe that? Even if he moved it fast, we're talking over fifty million. There's no way he burned through all of it. It's not like he gambles the way we do."
"Yeah. He wouldn't have deposited it in a bank either. Like Tae-su said — he stashed it somewhere."
"Sooner or later he'll crack."
"If he doesn't talk, we go to his place and tear it apart."
"Doesn't he have a sister living there?"
"Oh, right — that mute. She's a mute, so what can she do? Plus she seemed a little slow upstairs."
"Still, his sister's seriously hot."
"She is. If she weren't mute, I'd make her my girl. Wait… even if she is mute, that doesn't mean I can't, right? That face is too good to waste. Think she's had any experience?"
"If you touch his sister, that bastard won't just sit still."
"He's tied up like that — what's he gonna do? The guy can barely eat. He's got no strength left."
"True…"
"If he still won't talk, we bring the sister here too. That'll loosen his tongue."
"And have a little fun while we're at it?"
"Heh heh heh…"
They were still running their mouths when the sound of someone punching in the door lock code cut through the room.
"Looks like that bastard Woo-jin's back."
"You didn't buy drinks, did you?"
The door swung open — and the two of them froze the moment they saw who stepped through.
It wasn't their buddy. It was a complete stranger.
"Who the hell are you?"
"How did you know the password?!"
The man who'd walked in charged straight at them. They didn't even have time to react.
Thud! Crack!
A flying fist and a kick sent both of them sprawling.
"M-my stomach…! Shit—!!!"
"Th-this bastard sucker-punched us?!"
Leaving the one retching from the gut shot behind him, the guy with the piercing lunged in a flash.
But the stranger slipped the punch with ease, twisted his torso, and drove a hard fist into the exposed ribs.
Thud—!
"Gahhk!!!"
A sickening crack of impact, and the man staggered, face twisted in agony. A kick followed instantly, sending him tumbling across the floor.
That was only the beginning.
The stranger went at both of them like a man possessed — the one still dry-heaving and the one already down — beating and stomping them like dogs.
"Ugh…"
"Cough!"
He looked down at the two of them without a flicker of emotion.
Then he walked to the closed door.
He turned the handle and pushed it open. The room beyond was dark.
The moment he flipped on the fluorescent light, a figure came into view — arms and legs bound, lips split, face mottled with bruises, lying on the bed.
"What are you doing like this."
The man's voice was flat, without rise or fall.
The figure lying there with eyes closed, arms and legs limp in their restraints — Min-hyeok — cracked open his eyes. One of them was swollen nearly shut.
Then he saw who had spoken to him, and he flinched hard.
"Lying there looking like a mess."
"H-hyung…?"
The man standing in front of him was none other than Seong-min.
Min-hyeok stared at him with trembling eyes, unable to believe what he was seeing.
Why was Hyung Seong-min here?
Seong-min stepped closer and untied the cords binding Min-hyeok's hands and feet.
"Can you walk?"
Min-hyeok managed a weak nod.
"Good."
Supporting him by the shoulder, Seong-min got Min-hyeok off the bed and led him out into the living room.
Leaning on Seong-min as they emerged, Min-hyeok caught sight of the two men writhing on the floor and flinched all over again.
"Let's go."
Seong-min got shoes on Min-hyeok's feet and walked him out the front door.
"Drink."
Seong-min handed over a canned beverage he'd bought and sat down beside him.
They were on a playground bench near a convenience store, a fair distance from the place where Min-hyeok had been locked up.
"……"
Min-hyeok took the drink and said nothing.
"…Still. I'm glad I wasn't too late."
Click.
Seong-min cracked open his own can and took a drink.
"Thank you… Hyung…"
"Those the guys you used to run with?"
"……"
"No point hiding it. I heard everything from the brown-haired one with the earring."
Brown hair and an earring — that was Woo-jin.
"How'd you end up mixed up in something like that?"
"…So you really… came here knowing everything."
"You think I just happened to show up? It took some work finding you."
"……"
"I knew from that conversation back then that you'd been into illegal stuff — but I never figured it was drugs."
"The temptation was strong…"
"What kind of temptation?"
"Money. I was working as a waiter, and they told me if I did this well, I could make a lot more."
"There had to be a reason. Nobody goes that far just for cash without one."
Drugs weren't something just anyone could touch. One wrong move and your whole life could go up in flames.
And yet Min-hyeok had become an ant — taking product and selling it on the street. There had to be a reason big enough for that.
"I wanted to… pay off the debt as fast as I could."
"Debt?"
"Yes… The debt my father ran up gambling. I wanted to pay it off so those people would stop coming after us."
"Why are you the one paying it?"
"He ran."
"Ran?"
"Yes. At some point… Father just disappeared on us."
"……"
That was enough. Seong-min could piece it together.
"So… I overheard them saying you got a bonus from some guy they call 'Hyung-nim' at the end. Did that cover the debt?"
According to what Su-gil had said, Min-hyeok claimed he'd spent every last won. Of course, none of those bastards had believed him.
"Yes. I used the final bonus along with everything I'd saved and cleared it all at once…"
"That was last winter?"
"…Yes."
And just like that, Seong-min understood why Min-hyeok's sister had said they'd only gotten close starting last winter.
"You quit after that?"
"…I washed my hands of it. I swore I'd never get involved in that world again. But then…"
"Those guys came looking for you."
"Yes. That bonus was a secret — only Hyung-nim and I were supposed to know. But this time they found out somehow. That's why they came after me."
"Why only you? Why didn't the rest of them get a cut?"
"Because I wanted to pay off the debt fast. So I… I really worked myself to the bone."
Seong-min nodded.
"Hyung… how did you find out?"
"Find out what."
"That I was in this situation. How did you know?"
Seong-min didn't answer with words.
Instead, he held out his phone and showed Min-hyeok the text A-reum noona had sent him.
"I went to find out what was going on, and your sister was crying."
"……"
"She's crying her eyes out, begging me to help — how am I supposed to just walk away from that?"
"I'm sorry for causing you trouble, Hyung…"
"You don't owe me an apology. Your sister A-reum has been so worried about you she can barely eat. She's been suffering every single day."
"……"
"Be good to her."
"…I wanted to run too."
"What?"
"If it weren't for my sister, I would've run. And then… I never would've ended up like this at their hands."
"So it's her fault…? You're saying because of your sister you couldn't run, so you had to pay off the debt, suffer through all of it, and now you've been dragged off and beaten by those bastards — is that what you're trying to say?"
"If I didn't have a sister, I wouldn't have had to live this hard."
"So? What are you trying to tell me?"
Min-hyeok bit down on his lip.
"You don't know, Hyung! You have no idea how much I've suffered because of her. My sister is just… a burden to me…!"
"That's what you have to say?"
Seong-min couldn't hold back. He grabbed Min-hyeok by the collar.
"Your sister A-reum — who can't even speak, who's been so worried about you she's been falling apart — and that's what you say about her?"
"What do you know…! What do you know about me and my sister…!"
"You're right. I don't know much. But I know one thing."
Holding Min-hyeok's glare, Seong-min went on.
"You're lying to my face right now."
Then he gave a bitter smile and let go of the collar.
"…What lie did I tell?"
"You said it was the first time."
"…What?"
"You said the first drink A-reum noona ever made for you was hot cocoa."
"……"
"I always wondered why you loved cocoa so much. At first I just figured you had a sweet tooth for chocolate. Turns out that wasn't it."
It was only after meeting Min-hyeok's sister A-reum that Seong-min understood why Min-hyeok had always insisted on cocoa.
A-reum noona loved cocoa more than anything — and she'd proudly told him that Min-hyeok loved it just like she did.
"…Anyone who likes sweet things can like cocoa. Like you said."
"Maybe. But when you were doing delivery work, you told me something. You said, I'm not really that into sweet stuff. But cocoa… cocoa I like."
"……"
"Can you look me in the eye and honestly say the only reason you wanted to pay off that debt so fast was for your own personal life? Can you swear that on your conscience?"
"……"
Min-hyeok didn't say yes.
He couldn't.
"For today, come to my place."
"…What?"
"If you go home looking like this, A-reum noona is going to be devastated. Tomorrow we'll stop by a hospital, get you treated, put on some bandages, maybe an eye patch, and then you go home. Don't worry about the money — I'll cover the medical bills. I went through the trouble of rescuing you. Least I can do is send you back looking halfway decent, right?"
Going home in this condition would absolutely crush A-reum noona.
His clothes were torn and filthy.
"Hyung…"
"Doesn't mean it's free, though. Pay me back when you've got some breathing room… you little shit."
Min-hyeok looked at Seong-min's wry smile — and for a moment, the corner of his own mouth lifted.
"Yes. I'll pay you back. I promise…"