Go Somewhere Wider, Somewhere the Sun Shines
Go somewhere wider. Somewhere the sun shines.
I had no idea how much I had smashed.
How many bodies I had thrown. How many times I had swung.
I didn't count. There was no reason to. Anything that moved in front of me, I broke. Anything that screamed, I broke again.
At some point, nothing moved anymore.
Bodies sprawled across the floor. Groans. The smell of blood. And me, standing alone in the middle of it.
I was hungry. But the prey had stopped moving.
…One of them.
There was still one who had run.
That face that had smiled so easily. That mouth that had said Seo-yeon was dead.
I followed his scent. Even in this underground soaked in blood and sweat, his smell cut through everything else. Perfume. Expensive liquor. The smell of a man who lived in a different world from this place entirely, all by himself.
I went down the corridor and stopped in front of the owner's office.
I raised my hand to smash the door.
I didn't need to. It was already open.
As if he had known I was coming.
I stepped inside.
Seo Jin-woo was there.
He hadn't run. He had been waiting. Standing in front of a cracked desk, looking straight at me.
But he wasn't alone.
Seo-yeon was in his arms.
"…!"
The moment I saw her, something deep in my head throbbed.
Something that had been sunk, locked away far below—the human Han Daewong—rose a little toward the surface at the sight of that small face.
Seo-yeon's mouth was taped shut. Her eyes, bright with tears, were fixed on me.
Whether she recognized me or not. Whether she was afraid of this huge, blood-soaked thing standing in front of her.
But those eyes were looking at me. That much was clear.
"…You're alive."
At my words, Seo Jin-woo spoke.
"Don't worry. I didn't kill her. I'm not that stupid. Who throws away a product with a thirteen-fight win streak?"
That claim that she was dead—a lie, after all. I had known it was. But seeing her whole and breathing with my own eyes—something in my chest dropped hard, once.
Thank god.
Those two words rose in a beast's head as a human phrase.
I took one step toward them.
In that instant—a flash.
A blade glittered in Seo Jin-woo's hand. The sashimi knife he had drawn without my noticing pressed against Seo-yeon's throat.
"Ah-ah. Don't come any closer."
Seo Jin-woo smiled. But the smile was shaking.
"One more step and I cut this girl's throat. Because of you. You understand?"
The edge touched her neck. Where it pressed, a thin red line beaded up.
"…Grr."
A beast's voice leaked out of my throat.
I wanted to tear him apart. That hand. That knife. That smiling face. I wanted to charge in right then and smash everything.
But.
If I did, Seo-yeon would get hurt.
That thought held the beast's impulse by the thinnest thread.
"Good. Smart boy."
Seo Jin-woo swallowed and went on.
"Let's make a deal. Simple. You back off nice and quiet, and I give her back unharmed. I promise. I'll let the two of you walk out of here in one piece."
"…"
"Just turn around and leave. Then it's over. How about it? Not a bad offer, right?"
It was nonsense.
There was no way he would keep a promise. The second I turned my back, there was no telling what he would do.
Seo Jin-woo was that kind of man.
But.
Right now, a blade was at Seo-yeon's throat.
There was nothing I could do. Charge, and she got hurt. Stay still, and everything ran on his terms.
In my head, beast and man tangled together.
—Tear him apart.
No. Seo-yeon will get hurt.
—Kill them all.
I have to save Seo-yeon first.
I clenched my teeth. Human reason barely pinned the beast's urge down.
Looking at Seo-yeon.
Looking at that small face.
Slowly, I took one step back.
Relief flickered across Seo Jin-woo's face.
"That's right. That's how you do it."
He eased the knife away. Then he shoved Seo-yeon toward me.
"Here. Catch. Your precious girl."
Her small body staggered and fell toward me. Instinctively I opened both arms and caught her. A warm, small body that fit right into my chest.
In that moment, strangely, my head went clear.
Inside a mind full of blood and madness, the moment Seo-yeon's warmth touched me, the human Han Daewong who had been locked away rose up clean.
…Seo-yeon.
But.
The Seo-yeon in my arms started thrashing.
Through the tape over her mouth she was trying desperately to shout something. No sound made it out as words.
"Mmph! Mmmph—!"
Only choked sounds came, while her eyes pointed wildly at one place.
Something hidden behind Seo Jin-woo's back.
Those eyes were clearly saying this:
—No. Look behind him. Danger.
The second I saw that urgent look, I knew.
Something was wrong—
In that exact instant.
Seo Jin-woo's hand came out from behind his back again.
"Die, you monster!!!!"
What he held was a handgun.
The muzzle swung toward me. But I couldn't dodge. Seo-yeon was in my arms.
If I twisted, she would take the shot. If I stayed still, then I—
BANG—!!
.
.
.
.
.
It was the instant before the shot rang out.
Seo Jin-woo saw it clearly. His own finger pulling the trigger. Beyond the muzzle, that giant frozen in place with a girl in his arms. This time it was certain. One round through the skull, and no matter how much of a monster he was—
That was what he believed.
The very instant the trigger finished its pull.
A flash!
From somewhere, a blade flew in.
Seo Jin-woo felt the impact on his wrist before he even registered what it was. More precisely, on the gun in his hand.
CLANG—!!
The knife smashed into the pistol. The barrel split in two with a spray of sparks, and the muzzle kicked upward from the shock.
BANG—!!
The bullet punched into the ceiling at a wild angle, and concrete chips rained down.
"…What?"
Seo Jin-woo stared blankly at his own hand. The halved pistol dangled from his fingers.
And beside him stood Park Do-hyun, covered in blood.
One arm hanging broken, a knife gripped in his good hand, blood running from the corner of his mouth—and still grinning with his teeth bared like a mad dog.
"…Do-hyun. You."
Seo Jin-woo's voice shook.
"Whose side are you on right n…"
"Side?"
Park Do-hyun snickered.
"Whose side was I ever on, huh?"
His bloodied mouth twisted up at the corner.
"…I was always on Seo-yeon's side, Boss."
With that, Park Do-hyun's gaze went past Seo Jin-woo's back.
More precisely—to the thing standing behind him.
Seo Jin-woo followed that look and slowly turned his head. And there, filling his entire field of vision, was an enormous fist.
…Ah.
Time slowed.
Strangely, in that tiny instant, a great many things drifted past.
Himself at twenty, rolling into this world bare-handed.
The feel of the first money he ever made selling a person.
The nights he strutted around the underground kingdom he had built for himself.
The moment he first laid eyes on the product called Han Daewong, so excited his hands shook.
You'll be the best investment of my life.
I'll raise you slow and careful.
…That was what he had thought.
Where did it go wrong…
…Thinking he could be tamed?
The thought had just reached that far when the fist arrived.
CRACK—!!
The world flashed once, and then the sensation of his face being crushed in its entirety.
Blood sprayed. Teeth scattered. His body flew like a sheet of paper—and before it even hit the wall,
Seo Jin-woo's consciousness went black.
My face slowly settled back into place.
A bear's forepaws became a man's hands again. Whatever had swollen up sank back down.
Seo-yeon was in my arms.
Her warmth was cooling the last of the beast's heat still left in me.
The blood and madness that had filled my head drained away like a lie, and what remained was—something like the human Han Daewong.
"…Seo-yeon."
I called her name. My voice had come back as a person's.
Her hands were still bound. Her mouth was still taped shut.
I carefully undid the cord around her small wrists. My huge hands were clumsy at it, but I went slowly… as carefully as I could, afraid of hurting her.
When the cord came free, her hands were hers again.
Then, last of all, I took the edge of the tape over her mouth gently between my fingertips.
"…This might sting for a second."
I peeled the tape off carefully.
"…Puh, haah."
The trapped breath burst out. Seo-yeon dragged in a huge lungful of air. Tears stood thick in those big eyes.
And then her first words were:
"…You idiot."
A small voice. It was shaking.
"Why did you come… You could have died here. You really could have died, so why…"
Her small hands locked tight on my collar. Like she was afraid that if she let go, I would disappear again.
"You came because of me. Like an idiot… You should've just left me. Someone like me…"
"No."
I said it.
"Leaving you behind—that's not allowed."
A tear fell from Seo-yeon's eye.
I held that small body still. This huge, blood-soaked body of mine. She must have seen me turn into a bear, seen me become a beast that tore people apart. And even so, Seo-yeon didn't run. She stayed in my arms.
More than anything, that was a relief.
"…It's okay. It's all over now."
When I patted her back, Seo-yeon cried for a long time.
Then, little by little, the crying quieted.
She seemed to be realizing, bit by bit, that I was whole, that she was safe, that it was truly over now. Her shaking shoulders settled. The grip on my collar loosened.
Right after that.
Seo-yeon lifted her head from my chest and suddenly punched me in the sternum.
"…Hey!"
Her voice jumped a full tone.
"You idiot! Seriously! Were you trying to get yourself killed?! A hundred men! A hundred! And you crawled in there alone?!"
Thump, thump. Her little fists hammered my chest. It didn't hurt at all.
"I thought my heart was going to stop! I thought you were dead, I really— aaaaah I don't care! You stupid dumb bear!"
Dumb bear.
At the words that had slipped out without thinking, Seo-yeon froze for a second. The face of someone who had just realized what she'd said.
But I just laughed. It wasn't wrong.
"…Yeah. Sorry."
"Sorry doesn't fix everything!"
Seo-yeon shouted through a face streaked with tears and snot. But that face was already so much brighter than before.
This was Seo-yeon.
The girl I knew—the bold, noisy one who used to borrow five hundred won in front of the vending machine—had come back.
"Ahem."
A cough came from the side.
Park Do-hyun. Broken arm hanging, standing there looking awkward. The mad dog from a moment ago was gone; somehow he just looked embarrassed.
"…Watchin' the two of you, I'm the one feelin' secondhand cringe here."
"…Do-hyun oppa."
Seo-yeon looked at him. Her eyes went red again.
"Oppa, are you okay? Your arm…"
"Aigoo, leave it. This much heals if you spit on it."
Park Do-hyun gave a short laugh. He waved the broken arm like it was nothing. It clearly hurt.
"I'll clean up here. Cleanup's a job for someone with years in this trade. You two just get gone."
"…What about you? Aren't you coming with us?"
Seo-yeon asked.
Park Do-hyun shook his head.
"I'm the kind who stays. Nowhere else to go."
He jerked his chin toward the fallen Seo Jin-woo and the hundred-odd bodies scattered across the floor.
"Someone's gotta clean this mess. Plenty to take care of before the cops show. …This is my job. Always has been."
"…"
"So go, Seo-yeon. Don't you worry about a thing."
Seo-yeon bit her lip. She started to say something, then swallowed it. They had knocked around this world together for decades. Fought and sniped at each other, and still he had always been there. Leaving him behind made her feet refuse to move.
"Oppa… later, we have to see each other agai—"
"Ah-ah. Don't get clingy."
Park Do-hyun waved her off, cutting her short.
"I said go. Get goin'."
He was smiling. But there was something lonely in that smile. I saw it. Seo-yeon didn't seem to.
I put my arm around Seo-yeon's shoulders.
"…Let's go."
Seo-yeon nodded.
We passed Park Do-hyun and headed for the exit.
We were crossing the arena when I saw him among the fallen.
Park Sang-do.
My fist had put him down. He was slumped against the wall, out cold. Blood running from his mouth, completely unconscious.
The man who had caught me on the mountain and sold me.
The man who had chained Seo-yeon with debt.
I was about to walk past him.
Then Seo-yeon suddenly slipped out of my arms and scampered over.
"…Seo-yeon?"
She didn't answer. She walked up to Park Sang-do, looked down at that unconscious face for a second—
and smack!
She cracked him across the face with one small fist.
"…Ahh. That felt good."
Seo-yeon came back dusting off her hands, looking satisfied.
"…What was that."
When I asked, she grinned.
"Revenge. A tiny little piece of twelve years' worth."
Then she stuck right back to my side.
"…I'll take the rest later. Slowly. While we're still alive."
I huffed a laugh.
Yeah. While we were still alive.
Together, we walked out of the arena.
Park Do-hyun watched the two of them grow smaller.
A small shadow leaning against a massive back. The two of them crossed the blood-soaked arena toward the exit.
Seo-yeon was leaving.
Leaving this underground for the first time.
…Finally.
Park Do-hyun leaned his back against the wall and slid slowly down to sit. His broken arm throbbed, but even the pain felt distant.
Decades.
It had been decades since Park Do-hyun first saw that small child.
Back then Seo-yeon had been so young, so small, and had known nothing at all.
What had happened to her.
What had become of her parents.
And what was still coming for her….
When that little kid had tumbled into this underground, chained by the shackle called debt—
Park Do-hyun couldn't leave.
The last remaining piece of the family he had destroyed with his own hands. The child he hadn't been able to kill, and so had kept alive. He couldn't turn his back and walk away while she grew up alone in this hell.
So he stayed.
He had no right to stand beside her, so from a distance—pretending to set up her matches, pretending to manage her—he just watched, making sure she didn't get hurt too badly, didn't break too deep… that was all.
It was the only penance Park Do-hyun would ever be able to make in his life.
Anyone who once set foot in this filthy world… could never be happy.
Park Do-hyun believed that. A man like him wanting happiness was a luxury. So he had thrown his own away long ago.
Instead.
Just hers.
…But now.
Park Do-hyun watched Seo-yeon's receding back.
And the giant beside her—that stubborn beast wearing a human face.
That bear. No. That man…
He might be able to do what Park Do-hyun never could in a lifetime.
Pull her out of this underground.
Take her somewhere she could smile without looking over her shoulder.
The things his own bloodstained hands could never do.
"…Yeah."
Park Do-hyun muttered.
"You never belonged down here."
It had been true from the start.
This concrete basement. This filthy floor where people were bought and sold like products. A place that locked her inside the nickname Golden Cat, where even her own name was barely spoken.
She was never meant to wither in a place like this.
Twelve years.
It had been too long. Through all that time, Park Do-hyun had only watched from the side. Without changing a single thing.
But now, at last.
She was leaving this place.
"…Go."
Park Do-hyun said it low, toward the backs that were getting farther away. Knowing they couldn't hear him.
"Don't you ever look back at a place like this."
Seo-yeon's small shadow was about to vanish beyond the dark of the exit.
"Go somewhere wider. Somewhere the sun shines. …The kind of place this sorry uncle never managed to show you in his whole life."
At the end of the words, a faint smile touched Park Do-hyun's mouth.
A lonely smile. And a clean one.
For the first time in twelve years, Park Do-hyun felt like he had done something right. Like he had finally sent the child he had ruined off toward somewhere good.
The two shadows disappeared completely.
In the underground, a hundred-odd groaning men, the smell of blood, and Park Do-hyun remained.
For a long while, Park Do-hyun stared at the empty exit.
Then he braced on his broken arm and forced himself upright.
"…Alright then."
He bared his teeth, and the mad dog's face came back.
"Who's gonna clean up this mess."
Chuckling through a bloodied mouth, Park Do-hyun limped in among the fallen.