The Majesty of an Endangered Species
Despite all the commotion, the capture of the falcon was making no progress.
Not only the emergency services but also professional bird of prey catchers had all failed.
No, it wasn't just a simple failure.
Every capture team that visited the Sekki House was literally being toyed with by the falcon.
"Are you sure this is where it nested? Why can't I see it?"
"Didn't you monitor the CCTV? It's definitely coming back here. It returns at least once every three days, so stop complaining and just wait."
The people waiting to catch it the moment it returned couldn't even catch a glimpse of its beak.
Strangely enough, the moment an ambush was set up, the falcon wouldn't return.
"It's heading that way! Catch it!"
"No, it's too fast!"
"Seriously! Are you sure this is its path? It's not using this route at all!"
"How should I know? According to the footage, its flight path was always this way!"
The teams that had tracked its movement path for a long time and set up capture nets in advance also came up empty-handed.
The creature, which had always flown at a constant altitude in the footage recorded over two weeks, flew at a completely different altitude the moment a trap was set.
Even when they tempted it with its favorite food,
or used toys designed to induce hunting,
and even when they used Dojin, the only person it let its guard down around, the falcon ghosted away, uncannily avoiding their intentions.
"It's dragging on this time. When do you think those people will leave?"
Dojin shrugged at Dohee's question as she checked the fourth-floor CCTV.
Had they been toyed with too much?
Only stubborn pride remained in the capture teams staying at the Sekki House.
Having given up on all other methods, they had been ambushing the fourth floor for two weeks now.
That was the method with the highest probability of capture, and at the same time, the most comfortable.
The problem was that as soon as they started the ambush, the falcon also stopped returning to the fourth floor for two weeks.
Kreeee!
"Oh? Didn't it just return?"
"No. It's sitting on the rooftop railing. It's been sitting there since two days ago, just showing its face once in a while. No matter how I look at it, it seems like it's teasing them."
"A bird? Teasing humans? No way."
Dohee chuckled at Dojin's words.
She thought her boyfriend was joking.
However, the faces of Dojin, who had been frequently used in the falcon capture attempts, and Seungwan, who had examined the footage Dojin took, were serious.
"That might not be just a bird."
"I've heard a lot about crows being smart, but I didn't know falcons were like that too."
The two of them had watched the falcon capture attempts unfold over the past few weeks.
Peculiarly, the falcon broke every single camera installed by outsiders as soon as it saw them.
Thanks to this, the capture teams, who had initially treated Dojin and his group as nuisances and kept their guard up, eventually had to bow their heads and ask for help.
Without the CCTV installed by the Sekki House itself, they couldn't even know the falcon's location.
Consequently, Seungwan and Dojin also had to watch them get toyed with by the falcon in real-time.
"By the way, is everything sorted out?"
While Dojin and Seungwan were distracted by the falcon rescue team, Dohee had also been busy in her own way.
She had to quit her job and pack up her rented studio apartment.
However, Dohee didn't handle it personally.
She accepted the advice of Dojin and the others and handled it through an agent.
"There wasn't much to sort out. Quitting the company was just a phone call, and the security team handled the studio apartment."
Quitting was easy.
Since she had already been unilaterally placed on unpaid leave, there were no issues with resigning.
She didn't have many personal belongings, so it was cleanly wrapped up with a single phone call.
Cleaning out the studio apartment was a bit more complicated.
She had to move her belongings and file a change of address.
But even that was handled by delegating it to the security team.
Eunseop, at Dojin's request, assigned the move to a few team members who were off duty and perfectly handled all the administrative tasks.
In an instant, the efforts of Seowook, who had been waiting for Dohee near her studio apartment, went up in smoke.
"Look at this bitch. Hiring people to clean out her place? Oh, so you have that kind of money now, huh?"
Judging that his sister's situation was much better than he had thought, Seowook immediately called some of his close underlings.
It was to break his insolent sister's spirit.
"She's gone crazy, daring to ignore my calls? I guess she forgot what I'm like because I've been talking to her nicely lately. I'll have to throw a proper fit again."
When people's situations improve, they forget their place.
It was highly unlikely, but if his sister showed any signs of futile rebellion, he had to crush it right from the start.
Especially if she was doing well enough to hire people.
"Did you call us, Hyung-nim?"
"Greetings, Hyung-nim! How long has it been?"
"Ah, Seowook-hyung. How did you know I just got out of the holding cell? Let's go, I'll buy you a meal to celebrate my release at a Gimbap Heaven run by a younger brother of a sister I know well."
Seowook smiled with satisfaction as he looked at the four underlings who had rushed over at his single phone call.
They were guys just like him—lacking in brains but living reckless lives to match.
Once that bitch Dohee sees these guys, she'll come to her senses.
She would tremble just at the sight of their faces.
In the past, when she had tried to rebel against him, she had been severely dealt with by these guys.
Since she was Seowook's actual sister, she hadn't suffered direct physical harm.
They had simply gone to her school and put her in her place in front of her friends.
After that, Dohee's social life was completely shattered.
Friends, seniors, and even teachers.
There wasn't much a minor cut off from the world could do.
She could only hand over her part-time job earnings as her family demanded.
Of course, I was planning to make it like that this time too...
Unfortunately, the education of his sister failed.
To be precise, he hadn't even been able to attempt it.
He had to see her face to either educate or threaten her, after all.
What is this? How did her status change so much in just a few months?
Chewing on a piece of dried filefish fillet, Seowook glared at the Sekki House visible at the edge of his vision.
It was an underdeveloped neighborhood where you had to drive ten minutes just to get to the nearest convenience store, but that place alone looked completely different.
A clean exterior wall and a well-kept playground.
Even the people working there exuded an intimidating aura rarely seen in the countryside.
"Hyung-nim, have a drink."
"...Aren't you supposed to climb the wall with me later?"
"Come on, it's no big deal. Even after a few cans of beer, climbing a wall is a piece of cake."
Seowook frowned at the casual laugh.
"Crazy bastard, suck in your stomach before you talk."
"Oh! It goes in if I tense it, Hyung-nim. Look, *huff!*"
Contrary to his words, the underling's stomach didn't change much.
His face just trembled from the effort.
Seeing that, Seowook's expression finally crumpled.
"Sigh, don't make me swear and read the room. If you really want to drink, do it later."
"...Yes, sir."
At Seowook's words, the underling quietly set down the beer he was holding.
The other underling who was supposed to climb the wall with them also stealthily set down his can.
To outsiders, it might look like they couldn't utter a word against Seowook.
But looking closely, their attitude was subtle.
Those who set down their cans were openly showing their discontent, while the others giggled at them.
It was a scene far removed from an organization with a strict hierarchy.
These insolent bastards.
Seowook's eyes gleamed ominously as he looked at the four tattooed pigs.
He didn't like their attitude either.
But there was nothing he could do right now.
He needed them for this job.
I need to get this over with quickly and send them packing.
After all, they were only together because they had something to leech off each other.
There was no benefit in letting them interact with his host for too long.
Lest someone try to bypass him and stick a straw directly into Dohee.
Fortunately, he didn't have to endure the uncomfortable time any longer.
It was finally 1:00 AM.
"Let's start. You guys go straight to the entrance and make a scene. Jaehak, Singi, and I will loop around to the back."
"Oh, got it."
"Hold on, let me finish the rest of this soju."
At Seowook's words, the two guys acting as bait gulped down the remaining alcohol.
Then they splashed the leftover alcohol all over their bodies.
With this, they could perfectly pass off as drunkards to the police.
Patter, patter, patter.
The sound of people running could be heard from inside the wall.
It seemed the underlings had successfully drawn attention as planned.
"Let's go in."
"Yes, sir!"
At Seowook's command, the two men climbed over the wall in unison.
Although they were 100% pure fat with no muscle to speak of, the two underlings surprisingly scaled the wall with ease.
Part of it was because the wall of the Sekki House wasn't very high since it used to be an elementary school, but it was also because Seowook and his men had brought a stepping stool.
Thud! Thud!
The heavy thuds were unfitting for a stealthy wall-climbing in the dead of night, but it didn't matter.
The patrollers would have all rushed to the main gate anyway.
"Hyung-nim, come on over."
"There's no one here."
As expected, the OK signal came from the other side of the wall.
It was just as Seowook stepped onto the top of the wall with peace of mind.
Kreeee!
"Ugh! What is this?"
The moment he got on top of the wall, something struck his head and flew past, causing Seowook to fall back down.
Fortunately, he fell toward the outside where the stepping stool was, rather than the inside, so he wasn't seriously injured. The problem, however, was his head where the object had struck.
His head burned, and a warm sensation trickled down his forehead, giving him a bad feeling.
"Hyung-nim, what are you doing? Hurry up and come over."
"They'll be patrolling. Hurry."
"Uh, yeah. Got it."
Wanting to check his condition immediately, Seowook had no choice but to place his hands on the wall again at the urging of his underlings from the inside.
Achieving their goal was more important right now.
It was when he climbed back onto the wall.
The chilling sound he had heard earlier rang out once more.
Kreeee!
"Ugh! Argh!"
This time, it was his shoulder.
A pain as if something had ripped into him surged through Seowook.
But that wasn't the only problem.
Thud!
"Keh-heck!"
Unlike before, Seowook fell toward the inside of the wall, the heavy impact leaving him unable to breathe properly.
Having fallen flat on his back after losing his balance, he hit the ground hard.
As his mind went blank from the triple pain in his head, shoulder, and back, the voices of the underlings who had crossed over first reached his ears.
"Oh, come on, what are you doing, Hyung-nim?"
"Geez! Why did someone who can't even climb a wall try to lead?"
You... you bastards!
At the insults that came as if they had been waiting, Seowook forced his body up.
Even if he were to die right now, he couldn't give up his pride.
Pride was everything in their world.
"Are you okay?"
"If it's too hard, just rest here. We know what she looks like, so we can finish this ourselves."
"Cough, cough! I'm fine. Something suddenly flew past and I just rolled a bit. I broke my fall, so it doesn't hurt much."
Gritting his teeth at their subtly shortened tone, Seowook raised his head.
He wanted to show he was still fine.
But the underlings' expressions were strange.
It was as if they had seen something they shouldn't have.
"...Hyung-nim, isn't that blood?"
"Are you sure you broke your fall? That looks like a deep gash."
At their words, Seowook recalled what had happened outside the wall just moments ago.
The impact on his head and the feeling of something trickling down his forehead.
Was that blood?
Feeling a chill, he quickly pulled out his phone and turned on the camera.
He intended to check his condition using the front camera.
Checking wasn't difficult.
The underlings shone their phone flashlights so he could see.
Thanks to that, Seowook could clearly see his own face.
Blood covering his forehead was running down his cheeks to his neck.
"F-Fuck."
A curse naturally slipped from Seowook's mouth.
The situation was more serious than he thought, making he worry if he might actually die.
Throb.
Turning his head at the pain in his shoulder, he froze.
The state of his left shoulder was even worse than his head.
Beneath his torn shirt, which now hung off his shoulder, the flesh was shredded.
The moment he realized it, an unbearable pain washed over him.
Clutching his shoulder, Seowook collapsed and screamed.
"Aaargh!"
"Hey, has this Hyung-nim gone crazy? Why are you screaming here!"
"Hey, cover his mouth! Has this bastard lost his mind?"
They didn't care about Seowook's condition.
They just wanted to quickly squeeze their cash cow and get their cut.
So, they had to shut Seowook up until they met Dohee and extorted the money.
But they couldn't cover Seowook's mouth.
It wasn't because he resisted.
It was simply because the disaster that had done this to Seowook had shifted its target to them.
Kreeee!
"Ugh! What is it!"
"Argh! F-Fuck! My arm!"
The underlings, wounded in the right shoulder and left forearm respectively, frantically shone their phones around.
Since they already had their flashlights on to check on Seowook, they used them to search for their attacker.
Fortunately, they had no trouble finding the creature that had attacked them.
Right on top of the wall they had just climbed over.
A falcon was perched there, glaring down at them.
"What? This bird bastard attacked us?"
"What? How does a damn pigeon cause this kind of wound?"
To these uneducated thugs, the only birds they knew were chickens and pigeons.
Perhaps it took offense at those words?
The falcon, which had been sitting quietly on the wall, spread its wings menacingly and took flight.
And then, the pain returned.
"Argh!"
"Ah! My eye!"
This time, it was an ear and an eye.
The wounds weren't fatal, but they were deep enough to leave scars.
Perhaps because they had been struck near the head,
the two of them stared at the falcon in sheer terror.
In their eyes, the falcon was no longer just a bird; it looked like the Grim Reaper holding a scythe.
Just then, someone roared.
"You son of a bitch!"
Kreeee!
The falcon faltered for a moment.
It had been grazed by a stone thrown in an instant.
The eyes of the two panicked thugs turned toward the source.
"H-Hyung-nim?"
"A-Are you okay?"
Seowook, who had been collapsed on the ground until just now, was glaring at the falcon with murderous intent, having recovered his senses.
A stone was clenched in his hand, though no one knew when he had picked it up.
"What are you doing? Are you idiots? Getting scared of a mere bird?"
"W-Who's scared!"
"Y-Yeah! We were just looking for something to throw, who's scared!"
Their pride wounded by Seowook's words, the two quickly picked up stones as well.
Unlike the middle of the playground, this was near the wall, so there were plenty of stones to throw.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Kreeee! Kreeee!
The stones thrown by the three men were quite threatening.
Unable to widen the distance in time, the falcon was hit once on its wing and once on its body before it finally managed to fly to a safe distance.
Kreeee!
A cry full of rage echoed from the air.
It seemed to want to retaliate immediately, but it held back, wary of the stones held in the three men's hands.
Seeing this, the three men smiled with satisfaction.
It wasn't fully satisfying, but they had at least exacted some revenge.
Even though they themselves were covered in blood from head to toe.
But that was the end of their laughter.
There were people approaching them.
Tweet!
"Who's there!"
"Ah, fuck... We're done for today."
"Yeah. Let's try again next time, Hyung-nim."
Hearing the whistle in the distance, the three laughed hollowly.
They didn't even think about running.
They hadn't noticed in their excitement, but the sound of police sirens was echoing from all directions.
The fact that simple trespassing didn't carry a heavy penalty was also why they gave up resisting.
As they thought, trespassing, especially for first-time offenders, wouldn't result in a severe punishment.
If it were just simple trespassing, that is.
"Those—those crazy bastards! Arrest them immediately!"
"Who do they think they're touching!"
Hearing the excited shouts of the people who rushed to them even before the police, Seowook and his men felt that something had gone terribly wrong.
And that feeling reached its peak with the words of the police officers as they handcuffed them.
"Are you people insane? Attacking a Class I endangered animal? This won't end with simple trespassing."
"What?"
"The stones in your hands are weapons, right? It's all captured on CCTV, so don't even try to make excuses."
"W-What do you mean?"
"You've got some nerve. Do you know that if you're caught trying to kill a Class I endangered animal, you face up to three years in prison or a fine of up to thirty million won?"
"Huh?"
"No, wait a minute..."
"Shut up and get lost! Who do you think you attacked!"
"Look, look! Look at its missing feathers! It must have been hit by the stones!"
Seowook and his men tried desperately to defend themselves.
But the security team, the falcon capture team, and the police didn't listen to a word they said.
Kreeee!
A single falcon, looking down at them leisurely from the sky, just kept mocking them.