Chapter 55
Chapter 55
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 55
Chapter Title: Royal Family 16-2
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It wasn't like Ji-hyeok at all.
His driving was a bit rough and hasty.
As soon as he left Taesung Estate, he called Jang Woo.
"It's me."
- Yeah. Hyung.
"Did you make the call?"
- Not yet. But I can get them soon. These guys are pros. Where are you, hyung?
"Just left Pyeongchang-dong. I'll be there in thirty minutes."
- Hyung, we gotta prep the guys this time, right? We don't know how many there'll be. They might all come swarming.
Ji-hyeok paused at Jang Woo's question, thinking it over.
Jang Woo was right, of course.
The best scenario was finding the lone Branded Fang first and taking him out before locating the rest of the Sangcheons.
But the worst case was arriving a step too late, with all the Sangcheons gathered together.
According to what Cheol Gyo-ha had said before dying, four out of the twelve Sangcheons from the first wave remained.
But he had no idea how many had come in the second wave.
In the worst case, he had to assume more than the first batch.
That left anywhere from twenty to thirty Sangcheons unaccounted for.
Time was the issue.
He had to find the Branded Fang before they could assemble.
That urgency gnawed at Ji-hyeok's mind.
"Get them ready anyway. Guys who know their blades. Vest them up."
- Got it, hyung. But what about guns?
"No guns. Even if we win, the damage would be too much. How do you cover up gunfire in Seoul? It'd blow up into a huge mess. I might slip away, but you'd be exposed. Risk's too high."
- But what if they bring 'em?
"Yeah, possible. But I don't think so. These are guys who've stuck around this land for thirty years hunting a book that's lost its value. What do you think kept them going? Freedom and honor. Look at Cheol Gyo-ha and Geumsu-sa—the Sangcheons are a sword-wielding outfit. They won't ditch their pride and switch to guns."
- Like samurais or something?
"Roughly."
But then—
- Found him!
Jang Woo's shout blared through the speaker.
"Where?!"
- Huh?
"Jang Woo! Where is he?!"
- Hyung, this is...
"What? Spit it out! No time!"
- Hyung, the location's pinging your place. Taesung Estate.
"What?"
- Screeech!
No sooner had Jang Woo finished than Ji-hyeok slammed on the brakes.
What an idiot...
Why hadn't he thought of that?
If you're hunting a book, hide where it's most likely to turn up.
But the realization sent a chill down his spine.
And that chill ignited into rage.
Thirty years. They'd been waiting for him at Taesung Estate all that time.
"Fuck..."
The light turned green, and Ji-hyeok whipped into a U-turn, flooring the accelerator.
From the still-open line, Jang Woo's frantic voice cut in.
- Hyung! No! Wait! I'm heading out now. Be right there!
"Can't. No time. And right now, I can't trust anyone at Taesung Estate. Scale the wall. Got it?"
- Come on, let's move together. Hyung! Hyung!
But Ji-hyeok hung up.
His mind raced furiously.
The Branded Fang was someone who could access his room.
That meant someone who frequented Taesung Hall within Taesung Estate—but he couldn't rule out security or guards entirely.
By then, his car had pulled up to Taesung Estate's main gate again.
He passed through, parked in the lot, and stepped out slowly.
That's when it happened.
"Back already, young master."
Standing there with a bright smile was Section Chief Bae Hyun-mo.
The man in charge of running carts from the parking lot to Taesung Hall.
Of course, aside from his first day, Ji-hyeok either drove the carts himself or had Eun-seok at the wheel for trips between.
So his chats with Section Chief Bae were limited to greetings on arrival and departure.
But he couldn't use that as an excuse—not when he refused to accept it himself.
What an idiot...
How had he missed it?
Now that he looked, Bae Hyun-mo's gait was anything but ordinary.
"Not some special disguise, then. Second-wave Sangcheon?"
"Yes. Exactly."
"Getting in here wouldn't have been easy."
"Of course. Taesung's HR system isn't that lax."
"And yet?"
"My father worked here for thirty years."
"So your dad had the bite mark on his shoulder."
"Correct."
As he spoke with Bae Hyun-mo, Ji-hyeok eased away from the car, moving slowly.
Then, from the back of the parking lot, three men emerged.
Two were groundskeepers, one a cook.
But that wasn't all.
Two more appeared behind Bae Hyun-mo.
They wore facilities management uniforms.
Six in total, slowly encircling and positioning around Ji-hyeok.
"No worries about CCTV. No one's manning the control room."
Ji-hyeok's gaze sharpened.
Bae Hyun-mo's words meant they'd killed everyone in the control room.
Yet Ji-hyeok's movements remained utterly calm.
He was moving, but it felt like he wasn't...
Bae Hyun-mo didn't miss a beat of it.
"As I thought when I saw the vanished ones—you're no ordinary man. But seeing you up close, you exceed expectations."
"Cut the crap. So your father's dead?"
"Yes. Cancer. Funny, isn't it? Even the strongest will couldn't beat it."
During their talk, the circle around Ji-hyeok had rotated about ninety degrees.
Bae Hyun-mo had shifted from six o'clock to nine.
The Sangcheons had matched Ji-hyeok's subtle movements.
"Can't give you much more time. Answer one thing, and I'll hear your last words."
"The blue book?"
"Yes. Though things have changed—now it's your life instead. But leaving without the book would grieve all the Sangcheon souls who died here."
"Fine. Let's trade one-for-one. I'll tell you where the book is; you give me one answer."
"What?"
"Did your father tell you who gave my dad the book?"
"Of course."
"Kang Jin-young?"
Bae Hyun-mo smiled faintly at Ji-hyeok's question.
"That was your top suspect, huh."
"Tell me."
"I could lie, but my pride won't allow it. No."
No?
Kang Jin-young had been the prime suspect.
The one who gained the most from Father's disappearance.
Then who?
"My turn. Where's the book?"
"At Taesung Estate."
Bae Hyun-mo's smile deepened at Ji-hyeok's answer.
"Oh? Making us find it ourselves?"
"Wasn't your answer the same?"
"Fair enough. Conversation over, then. Guard shift's coming up—time's tight."
"No need to worry. You'll all be dead before that anyway. You said your father died? You Japanese cremate, so you've got his urn, right?"
"Why ask?"
"Bet it's in your room. Planning to take it back to Japan. Why do you think?"
A smile crept across Ji-hyeok's face then.
But it wasn't amusement.
His mouth curved, but his eyes burned with killing intent.
"I'm grinding all your bones—and your father's—into pig feed. Freedom? Don't dream it. You killed my father, ravaged my mother's body. Even in death, you don't get to leave anything behind. Right?"
Ji-hyeok's voice rumbled like a beast's growl.
As he swung his hands from behind his back, two short daggers gleamed in his grip.
His aura shifted in that instant.
Sensing it, the Sangcheons drew blades of varying lengths from their clothes.
Some long, some short...
Bae Hyun-mo was the last to draw.
From inside his jacket, he pulled two daggers like Ji-hyeok's, glaring with fury.
They began advancing inward toward the circle's center where Ji-hyeok stood.
But then—
"What the hell are you doing? Hyung! Ji-hyeok hyung!"
It was Eun-seok.
No telling why he was in the parking lot at this hour, but he was charging over, yelling.
And that shattered the taut tension.
- Boom!
Ji-hyeok moved first.
Exploding forward, he bolted toward three o'clock, where Eun-seok was running from.
Two Sangcheons—from five and twelve o'clock—flanked him on both sides.
Front and sides.
Surrounded by three in a flash...
- Whoosh! Whoosh! Whiiiish!
Three short cuts of air, two longer whooshes.
From nine o'clock, Bae Hyun-mo—chasing Ji-hyeok's back—couldn't believe his eyes.
His comrades' blades had left no gaps.
Neck, torso, legs...
No expert could block three swords with two hands.
And Sangcheon swordsmanship wasn't about survival.
It was about sacrificing your life to take the enemy's—regardless of cost.
No master could survive such a pinch.
None of the three swung to save themselves.
In that worst-case setup, even if two died, one should've killed Ji-hyeok.
Yet... what happened?
He hadn't seen the front from behind, but Bae Hyun-mo caught Ji-hyeok's body sway ever so slightly.
Just that—and the three collapsed, clutching throats, silent screams unspoken, felled by his long sweeps.
But Bae Hyun-mo reacted fast.
"Kill Eun-seok!"
His two comrades at eleven and seven o'clock pivoted from Ji-hyeok's tail toward the incoming Eun-seok.
"Fuck..."
Ji-hyeok muttered low at the sight, then shot left like an arrow.
- Boom!
The left Sangcheon halted at Ji-hyeok's charge.
But that only fueled Ji-hyeok's rage.
These bastards...
He'd figured they'd disrupt his path to protect Eun-seok.
But no.
As planned, his left dash should've drawn a rear attack from the right.
Yet the right one kept charging Eun-seok.
That fury erupted from Ji-hyeok's body.
- Whoosh!
He spun, hurling his dagger at the right Sangcheon.
Without checking the hit, he whirled back, dodging the left one's thrust and slashing its throat.
"Gurk!"
The scream came from behind.
As the left one clawed its neck, eyes bulging, Ji-hyeok turned to see the right one slumped, clutching his side.
Relief flickered—just for a moment.
Then he spotted Bae Hyun-mo still beelining for Eun-seok and bellowed,
"Eun-seok! Over here!"
Startled by the shout, the frozen Eun-seok bolted toward him.
Now the three formed a triangle, charging at each other.
In that sprint, Ji-hyeok read Bae Hyun-mo's intent.
He's asking: Save Eun-seok, or yourself...?
Moments later, decision time.
Ji-hyeok and Bae Hyun-mo lunged at Eun-seok together.
Bae Hyun-mo's blade arced for Eun-seok's neck.
But Ji-hyeok's parried it.
- Clang!
That instant.
As if anticipating, Bae Hyun-mo smirked coldly, driving his left dagger viciously at Ji-hyeok's flank.
Having tossed one blade earlier, Ji-hyeok had only one left.
He had to choose.
'Give flesh, take bone.'
Ji-hyeok reached for Bae Hyun-mo's incoming blade.