Chapter 71
Chapter 71
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 71
Chapter Title: A Gift for the Prosecutor
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“Alright, got it. Hey, you guys. Load this bastard into the car too!”
Kim Hak-su issued the order to his men in a trembling voice.
Vroom!!!
The cars carrying the wounded began departing one by one.
“Phew…”
Lee Dae-hyuk let out a shallow sigh and turned to Lee Sang-wook.
“You’re coming with me.”
“Understood.”
After hearing Lee Sang-wook’s response, Lee Dae-hyuk walked toward the car.
His legs wobbled from utter exhaustion.
Part of him wanted to ask Lee Sang-wook to drive, but no matter how he thought about it…
*He probably can’t drive.*
A guy who’d lived by throwing punches before the ink on his ID even dried.
No way he’d had time to get a license.
*I’ll just do it myself.*
Lee Dae-hyuk opened the driver’s door, and the hesitant Lee Sang-wook spoke up with effort.
“I’m sorry.”
“For what?”
“…I can’t drive.”
“……”
Lee Dae-hyuk, who hadn’t expected anything anyway, simply slid into the driver’s seat.
Screech!!
Lee Sang-wook hurriedly followed, climbing into the passenger seat and buckling his seatbelt.
Vroom!
Lee Dae-hyuk started the engine and glanced at Lee Sang-wook.
“Whose motorcycle is that?”
“A friend’s.”
“Guess I’ll have to pay them for it?”
“…Yes.”
Lee Sang-wook bowed his head as he answered.
“How much?”
“About 300 for a used one.”
“Take care of it with this.”
Lee Dae-hyuk pulled a card from his wallet and handed it to Lee Sang-wook.
“Huh?”
Lee Sang-wook alternated between staring at the card and Lee Dae-hyuk, unsure what to do.
“It got wrecked because of me. Least I can do is cover it.”
“Th-thank you!”
Seizing the moment, Lee Sang-wook snatched the card.
“Whew!”
He let out a sigh of relief.
Seeing that, Lee Dae-hyuk couldn’t help but smile faintly.
He hadn’t invested much emotion in Lee Sang-wook to begin with.
Sure, the guy had talent, so he’d pulled him to his side and given him a path to survival.
*It was a deal. An investment.*
Like buying stocks.
But those stocks had just saved him at the last moment.
*Guess I owe him one.*
That didn’t mean he’d open his heart or place blind trust in Lee Sang-wook after one favor.
Still, when Lee Dae-hyuk glanced at him in the rearview mirror, a hint of affection lingered in his eyes.
***
Choi Dal-cheon, director of Baeksuk Mountain Obstetrics and Gynecology—and operator of the underground Black Stone Hospital.
With his plump face and belly, always wearing a smile, his nickname was “Bodhisattva.”
Even the patients at Baeksuk Mountain OB-GYN called him “Buddha.”
But the patients at Black Stone Hospital underground thought differently.
Among them, Choi Dal-cheon was known as “Money Buddha.”
They despised him.
Which was only natural.
Demanding hundreds of millions for simple treatments and stitches—not even surgery—naturally pissed people off.
Yet they had no choice but to come to Black Stone Hospital, since other places were off-limits for gangsters, killers, and criminals. They gritted their teeth and paid up.
What if a patient tried to threaten Choi Dal-cheon or cause a scene without paying?
*They’d end up in the morgue, not a hospital room.*
Lee Dae-hyuk recalled that fact with a bitter smile.
The hospital staff bustling around him now were all tough customers too.
He still couldn’t wrap his head around skilled pros like them working under a money-grubbing prick like Choi Dal-cheon.
But right now, that prick was exactly who he needed.
Just then.
Rumble—
The surgery apparently finished, and the operating room doors slid open as Choi Dal-cheon emerged.
“Is the patient okay?!”
Lee Dae-hyuk, who’d been sitting on the bench in the hallway, jumped up and approached Choi Dal-cheon in his scrubs.
“Why’s a young punk like you diving into gangster shit so early? Fine by me, but man, your parents must be tearing their hair out.”
Choi Dal-cheon peeled off his mask and scanned Lee Dae-hyuk up and down while nagging.
“……”
It hit too close to home, so Lee Dae-hyuk just kept his mouth shut.
Did that silence count as agreement?
“Surgery went fine. No need to worry.”
“…Thank you.”
*This guy hasn’t changed a bit.*
Even as he exchanged formalities, Lee Dae-hyuk’s brow furrowed involuntarily.
Unfazed by the expression, Choi Dal-cheon asked again.
“You got the money, right?”
“Cash is being prepared.”
Kim Hak-su would bring it back from the office with Jung Hee-joo.
*Four hundred million. Guess I’m footing the bill.*
That’s what Choi Dal-cheon had quoted.
But it had saved Kim Min-gyu and the others’ lives, so it wasn’t a waste at all.
Plus, he’d treated Wolfgang too, so if anything, Lee Dae-hyuk owed him.
“You don’t seem like some soft-hearted sucker. So why save that psycho bastard?”
Choi Dal-cheon didn’t pry into Lee Dae-hyuk or anyone else’s business.
Whatever happened, whoever they’d fought—it didn’t matter.
He just did the surgery well and collected his fee reliably.
Still, years running Black Stone Hospital gave him instincts. He could tell Wolfgang was Lee Dae-hyuk’s “enemy.”
The way he looked at him, his tone.
You could guess a lot from that.
To satisfy Choi Dal-cheon’s pure curiosity, Lee Dae-hyuk offered a vague excuse.
“It’s about saving a life. Isn’t that obvious?”
“Turning him into a vegetable’s fine, though?”
“It was self-defense.”
Choi Dal-cheon waved him off at Lee Dae-hyuk’s reply.
“Yeah, yeah, self-defense or whatever—you handle it. I’m out, so go pay at the admin office and get lost.”
With that, Choi Dal-cheon left Lee Dae-hyuk behind.
He strolled off with the staff who’d exited the OR.
Thud, thud, thud!!!
As Choi Dal-cheon walked away, Lee Dae-hyuk turned too.
He had one last thing to do before leaving the hospital.
*Gotta make that final visit.*
.
.
.
The patient rooms below the operating theater.
Lee Dae-hyuk stood in front of one.
A patient’s pained groans leaked from inside.
“#$$%^&[email protected]!”
Curses slipped out here and there.
*Perfect.*
Wolfgang had apparently regained consciousness. Thankfully.
***
Conscious, but his body wouldn’t obey.
Wolfgang couldn’t twitch a finger or toe.
It felt like being trapped in a prison of flesh.
*My body… won’t move…*
Anesthesia aftereffects and shattered bones kept him immobile.
He’d survived at the bare minimum, but Wolfgang felt no joy.
Because Lee Dae-hyuk loomed over his bedside, staring down.
“If you can hear me, blink your left eye.”
*Blink, blink.*
“This is a hospital.”
*Blink.*
Confusion filled Wolfgang’s eyes.
*Hospital? He saved me? Why?*
Wolfgang couldn’t comprehend.
Why go through all this hassle?
“I didn’t save you out of mercy.”
*Blink?*
“Needed a gift handy, and you fit the bill. Oh, don’t freak out. You’ll live legally in a Korean prison. For life.”
*……*
“You know you’ve got a lot of enemies.”
Lee Dae-hyuk got to the point.
He planned to make a deal with Wolfgang.
*More like blackmail disguised as a deal.*
He couldn’t keep Wolfgang holed up in the hospital forever.
In a week, he’d hand him over to Kim Il-jung.
A prosecutor capturing a psycho killer.
*That’ll boost Kim Il-jung’s clout in the prosecution.*
He was investing in Kim Il-jung stock right now.
If Kim Il-jung gained power with Wolfgang in custody, it’d benefit him too.
And from Kim Il-jung’s perspective?
*He’d hit the jackpot.*
Kim Il-jung had passively nabbed a killer who’d offed politicians, businessmen, gangsters, celebrities—anyone, regardless of status.
With solid evidence to boot.
The guy had collected victims’ teeth in a secret hideout.
Preserved in jars, like trophies.
“Teeth from corpses, stacks of pre-dismemberment photos. Ugh, made me wanna puke.”
While Choi Dal-cheon operated on the others, Lee Dae-hyuk had used Psycho-Metry on Wolfgang.
Unlike usual, he’d dug deep, thorough.
Some scenes were so gruesome he nearly retched, but he’d uncovered everything about Wolfgang. Worth it.
Meanwhile.
*……!!!*
Wolfgang’s eyes bulged at Lee Dae-hyuk’s words.
*How the hell…?*
Questions surged, but.
Wolfgang gave up thinking.
It was all over anyway. What good was knowing?
“……”
Instinct told him.
His body wouldn’t recover.
Even if he didn’t die, he couldn’t kill anymore—hell, he couldn’t even protect himself.
In this state, prison might be safer.
Having abandoned all hope, Wolfgang waited for Lee Dae-hyuk’s next words.
A brief silence later.
Lee Dae-hyuk continued.
“I want one thing.”
*Blink?*
“Don’t say you lost to me. In prison, to anyone. Sure, without proof, no one’ll believe you. But it’ll piss me off big time.”
Lee Dae-hyuk hardened his gaze.
He ached to snap the neck of this mass murderer right then.
But he held back—for his plans, more important than venting.
“And if you ever mention anything connected to me? Wherever you are, I’ll find you. Promise.”
Not an idle threat—pure sincerity.
Plus, without his intervention, Jung Hee-joo and Kim Hak-su wouldn’t let Wolfgang live.
*……*
The razor-sharp intensity of that sincerity made Wolfgang’s eyes twitch.
Only then did Wolfgang realize.
*I… fear this man. Is this what terror feels like?*
He’d believed emotions like fear didn’t exist for him.
Even on bullet-riddled battlefields.
Yet Lee Dae-hyuk had implanted terror in him.
*……*
Body unresponsive, but cold sweat beaded on his nose.
Just as droplets trickled down.
Lee Dae-hyuk’s cold voice rang out.
“Got it? Blink twice.”
Without hesitation, Wolfgang blinked twice.
*Blink, blink.*
***
“Why are you doing this to me?”
In front of the Prosecutor’s Office, at a humble rice house.
Kim Il-jung, ordering pork belly and rice, felt awkward.
Lee Dae-hyuk had tossed him another big fish.
“What, you don’t like it? ‘Cause it’s not beef? Or you full already?”
“Cut the crap! You expect me to believe a guy like that exists?”
“Don’t believe me? I’ll give him to someone else. Know plenty of prosecutors.”
Lee Dae-hyuk played it cool.
Kim Il-jung sank into deep thought.
What Lee Dae-hyuk had just told him was too shocking.
He’d caught a notorious Russian killer operating in Korea.
And he’d hand him over.
A psycho who’d killed mobsters, politicians, celebrities—anyone commissioned, high or low.
Delivering that on a platter? Absurd.
“Evidence?”
“He collects victims’ teeth. Photos before dismembering too. I’ll tell you where those horrors are.”
“Total nutjob.”
“Check the weapons in his hideout. Caked in dried blood.”
Kim Il-jung set down his spoon at Lee Dae-hyuk’s words.
If true, he’d make prosecutorial history.
*No choice but to believe.*
Lee Dae-hyuk had named Wolfgang’s victims—all suddenly gone missing.
Tax-evading businessmen, politician’s son in drugs, celebrities running club sex lobbies.
If Wolfgang killed them all?
*My life changes.*
The nation would spotlight him.
Power would follow.
Prosecutor who nailed Park Cheon-ho and now a killer?
No more forced lunches with unwanted guests at dive joints.
But too soon to celebrate.
“What’s the price?”
Lee Dae-hyuk grinned at the question.
“Haven’t had lunch myself. Mind adding pork belly?”
“…Quit joking.”
“That’s it. For now.”
Kim Il-jung lost his appetite at the banter.
*For now?*
Implying future demands.
“Something feels off. Spit it out straight.”
“I’ll order.”
Ignoring the question, Lee Dae-hyuk called out.
“Boss, pork belly double portion, please.”
“…Fine. Eat up.”
Kim Il-jung stuck out his tongue.
A chaebol heir mooching off a prosecutor.
Other DAs would laugh their asses off.
Yet as he picked up his utensils, his eyes sharpened.
“Don’t pitch me trash deals. I’m a prosecutor. Can’t touch dirty work.”
“Won’t. Won’t even ask for what I really want.”
“What do you really want, then?”
At Kim Il-jung’s question, Lee Dae-hyuk thought of one person.
The man who’d shaped his current life.
Someone he thought of daily, longed to see.
Yoo Jae-man’s face.
“When hyung has real power. Then I’ll tell you.”
“…Fine. Let’s eat.”
Kim Il-jung’s gut twisted at the answer.
But what could he do?
This annoying bastard was delivering him treasure.
He had to endure.
Barely suppressing his anger, Kim Il-jung grabbed his utensils.
Watching him start eating, Lee Dae-hyuk pondered.
*Hand Wolfgang off to him. Next, the interview?*
Park Jung-ki was prepping it now.
The moment he spoke?
Many would bleed.
At least.
*Kim Jin-taek’s done for.*
Normally, Kim Jin-taek would’ve pulled strings everywhere to silence Park Jung-ki.
But he’d cut those lines.
Kim Jin-taek was a sitting duck now.
Problem was Min Seung-soo.
If Seo Jin Construction—no, Seo Jin Group—defended him, Min Seung-soo might survive.
But Yoo Jae-man wouldn’t waste effort on useless underlings.
He’d lead the charge to trash-bin them.
*Yeah. Yoo Jae-man’ll handle Min Seung-soo.*
Smiling at future plans, Lee Dae-hyuk’s lips curved.
Kim Il-jung narrowed his eyes.
“Why the creepy grin? It’s annoying.”
“Good food smell. Haha.”
“…Psycho. That hungry? I’ll spot you some.”
Harsh words, but Kim Il-jung was considerate.
“Nah, not that hungry.”
“Good. Didn’t wanna anyway.”
Rejected kindness?
Kim Il-jung’s eyes held a touch of hurt as he focused on eating.
Moments later.
Lee Dae-hyuk’s pork belly arrived, and he dug in too.
***
While the two ate in silence.
One man trembled in anxiety.
Kim Jin-taek.
- The subscriber you have dialed is powered off….
“Those fuckers all in on it?! Why isn’t anyone picking up!!”
From Kim Jin-taek’s view, rage was inevitable.
People who groveled before him now ghosting?
“Fucking assholes! You think I’ll go down alone?!”
In his living room, Kim Jin-taek glared at the TV.
Park Jung-ki’s interview, live broadcast.
“I, Park Jung-ki, was a scapegoat—no, a dog. Groveled like one to offer up Busan land. To survive.”
“A gangster? Washed my hands long ago. These days, gangsters scare less than politicians and conglomerates, right?”
Rage flushed Kim Jin-taek’s face red.
Yet doubt crept in too.
He couldn’t fathom it.
*Those worthless TV scum! Airing a gangster’s bullshit live without evidence?!*
But Kim Jin-taek hadn’t factored in Lee Dae-hyuk and Daehan Group behind Park Jung-ki.
Initially, Lee Dae-hyuk had leaked stories like “Park Jung-ki wants Daeguk Ilbo interview.”
But day-of.
He’d summoned reporters from every station and paper to the Daeguk Ilbo auditorium for a press conference.
Why’d they come?
A simple email via Kim Mi-jin to publishers.
Attend, get extra Daehan Group ads.
Not hard.
Daehan Construction was filming new ones with Jin Soo-young anyway.
Ads would ramp up naturally.
Yet Lee Dae-hyuk acted like granting special favors, drawing them in.
Before all those cameras.
Park Jung-ki spoke in his slurred voice again.
“Kim Jin-taek, Min Seung-soo. Punish these Busan-devouring scum! Change Busan—no, Korea—with this!”
Hearing his name from Park Jung-ki’s lips, Kim Jin-taek finally exploded in a scream.
“You fucking #$$%^&*!!!”