Gunshots at Geumho Station
Bang! Bang!
The sudden crack of gunfire on the Geumho Station subway platform made Yoo Sangah and Lee Hyunsung, who had been watching the crowd surrounding them with stiff, wary faces, whip their heads toward the sound. There stood Park Jinwoo—the same man they had just exchanged warm greetings with—gun in hand.
“D-Dokja-ssi?! J-Jinwoo-ssi has a gun…!”
“Dokja-ssi, did Jinwoo-ssi just fire that?!”
“Haa…”
Yoo Sangah and Lee Hyunsung stared blankly at the weapon in Park Jinwoo’s grip before stammering Kim Dokja’s name, their expressions a tangle of shock and awkward helplessness. Kim Dokja herself had no idea what to tell them, so she simply ignored their stares as best she could and let out a long sigh.
That crazy bastard…
Kim Dokja didn’t like Cheon Inho either—the man who was busy stirring up the crowd with lies and instigation. Of course she was furious that he was trying to snatch the convenience-store food they had risked so much to bring back, hiding behind the hunger of the starving people as his excuse. But she had kept her displeasure carefully hidden, conscious of every watching eye.
Park Jinwoo, however, was nothing like her. One moment he seemed to be reading the room and weighing the gazes around them; the next he was blasting shots straight into the air!
Kim Dokja’s head throbbed. This was what happened when you had a partner who charged headlong at anyone, no matter who they were.
“Cheon Inho-ssi. Come here.”
“Y-Yes?”
“I said come over here.”
She had been clutching her aching temple with one hand, trying to figure out how to clean this mess up, when Park Jinwoo’s voice suddenly called for Cheon Inho. Kim Dokja’s eyes snapped to him at once.
Park Jinwoo’s face was ice-cold as he fixed Cheon Inho with a murderous stare. Cheon Inho’s own face had gone deathly pale; cold sweat poured down him.
“This is… Sangah-ssi, Hyunsung-ssi. I’ll go stop Jinwoo-ssi. Please wait here a moment with Gilyoung. I’ll be right back.”
“A-Are you sure you’ll be all right, Dokja-ssi?”
“She’s right, Dokja-ssi. Going over there right now seems… rather dangerous.”
“Noona…”
“It should be fine. Don’t worry too much.”
Yoo Sangah, Lee Hyunsung, and Lee Gilyoung all looked at her with open concern. Kim Dokja offered them a soft smile, gently reassuring them, then walked toward Park Jinwoo.
“Inho-ssi, have you lost your mind? Or do you just want to die—is that it?”
“………”
“Who the hell gave you permission to play the hero and help yourself to the food Dokja-ssi and I nearly died getting, huh?”
“Th-That’s… the people who came with you approached me and said you’d fought the monsters to save them and even gone out yourselves to bring back food for everyone…”
“Ah, so some bastard ran his mouth, and just hearing that little story made you happily decide to rob us? Who’s the bastard who said it? Bring him here. I’ll put a bullet hole through his tongue so he never shoots it off like that again.”
“…Th-Th-That’s, well…”
Is this guy a gangster or a full-blown tyrant…
Standing close enough to hear every word, Kim Dokja felt her mind go blank. More precisely, it was Park Jinwoo’s words that left her reeling.
He looked exactly like a tyrant who had been possessed—crushing Cheon Inho under pure force (the gun) and raw authority (still the gun). From a distance it almost looked as if Cheon Inho were the victim and Park Jinwoo the aggressor.
Cheon Inho was a villain. A man who fertilized his own power with other people’s despair. He had brought this on himself, yet the sight of the villain trembling right in front of her still somehow looked pitiful.
Kim Dokja watched with something close to sympathy as Cheon Inho’s face stayed bloodless, cold sweat streaming, his whole body shaking while he stammered answers to Park Jinwoo.
“Hm? When did you get here, Dokja-ssi?”
“Haa… Just now, Jinwoo-ssi.”
Park Jinwoo, still mid-tirade, turned at the presence behind him and found Kim Dokja looking at him with a weary sigh.
“I completely understand why you’re angry, Jinwoo-ssi, but how about calming down now? You’re still carrying that woman on your back, after all.”
“Ah—got so mad for a second I completely forgot about her. But are you really okay ending it like this, Dokja-ssi?”
“Inho-ssi has gotten the message loud and clear by now. Isn’t that right, Inho-ssi?”
“Y-Yes! Absolutely. I’ve committed a terrible rudeness toward all of you. I’m truly, truly sorry. Jinwoo-ssi, Dokja-ssi.”
Kim Dokja shot Cheon Inho a pointed look that clearly said hurry up and answer. Catching the meaning at once, Cheon Inho nodded frantically in agreement, arranged his face into the most apologetic expression he could manage, and bowed deeply to both of them.
“…If Dokja-ssi says so, then I guess we’ll leave it here.”
Even though he still looked faintly displeased at Kim Dokja’s call for mercy and at Cheon Inho’s bowed head, Park Jinwoo finally agreed.
“Th-Thank you so much for accepting my apology.”
“Tsk…”
Cheon Inho lifted his head and offered heartfelt thanks in a voice thick with relief. Park Jinwoo lowered the gun he had been pointing, clicked his tongue once, and started walking back toward Yoo Sangah, Lee Hyunsung, and Lee Gilyoung.
“Haa…”
“Haa…”
Watching him grumble his way across the platform, both Kim Dokja and Cheon Inho exhaled long, simultaneous sighs of relief.
“You’ve been put through quite an ordeal because of our companion. I’m truly sorry about that, Inho-ssi.”
“Not at all. I was the one who first showed rudeness to the two of you. And since I only survived thanks to you, Kim Dokja-ssi, I should be the one offering thanks.”
“Jinwoo-ssi’s personality can be a little… rough. It would be wise to keep that in mind from now on. Ah—my companions are waiting. I’ll rejoin them now.”
“Yes, of course. And—welcome to Geumho Station, Dokja-ssi. Please pass that greeting on to Jinwoo-ssi as well.”
“Thank you for the welcome, Inho-ssi. I’ll be sure to tell him exactly what you said. Until then.”
Kim Dokja and Cheon Inho met each other’s eyes, exchanged polite smiles, and shook hands before turning and walking back toward their respective groups.