Chapter 103
Chapter 103
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 103
Chapter Title: The Right Person (3)
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Ssireum club training hall.
Jin-hyuk, who had climbed the rope, slowly descended. He wasn't descending slowly because it was tough without using his feet, retracing with one arm at a time. Up close, you could see he was squeezing every last bit of power from the arm muscles bearing his weight even as he came down. His cracked back and arm muscles, with sweat trickling down them, gleamed like jewels under the rising sun.
It was routine for Jin-hyuk, but not for those watching.
'Whew... A human weapon in the flesh.'
Mun Seok-il, who had been quietly observing, let out a breath that puffed his cheeks. The kid was already taller than him, and at that age, how could he have built a body like that? At his age, he'd probably been sleeping in late and whining at his mom for smacking his back to wake him up.
Students arriving early at school eyed the sunglass-wearing man suspiciously, but Mun Seok-il paid no mind. If you cared about others' stares, you weren't a pro.
Jin-hyuk glanced at Mun Seok-il after coming down from the rope. Caught in that faint blue glint, Mun Seok-il involuntarily snapped to attention.
"They say everyone's okay?"
"Yeah, some casts, some hospital stays, that sort of thing. They're all better now."
Answering at attention made it hard to drop the formal speech.
Mun Seok-il, with a cast on his right hand, was in the best shape. Jeong Sang-tae and Kim In-rang couldn't chew for a while, and Kang Hun-chang, with six broken ribs, had surgery to drain the blood pooled inside him. The doctor was amazed the bones hadn't punctured his lungs with that much internal bleeding.
"Did you find out?"
Last night's call from Mun Seok-il—Jin-hyuk had answered like it was from a friend. Mun Seok-il wasn't clueless, so he'd come to school as per Jin-hyuk's message: 'Meet at the ssireum club training hall at 7 a.m. tomorrow.'
"I found out who ordered it."
"And?"
Though he'd experienced it before, Mun Seok-il thought Jin-hyuk's deep gaze was unlike any ordinary person's. Was it a tiger turned human? Or maybe that grim reaper he'd seen before was just this kid in disguise, lingering in the human world for fun?
Jin-hyuk's eyes had to look that terrifying because he didn't trust Mun Seok-il's group. He wasn't naive enough to easily forgive or trust people who had targeted his family.
Mun Seok-il knew their positions perfectly.
They were no different from death row inmates with their execution stayed.
"I reported the job done, as instructed."
Exactly as Jin-hyuk had directed.
However.
"Won't they come check?"
Then you'd be in danger too.
Understanding Jin-hyuk's implication, Mun Seok-il replied.
"Who knows? Maybe, maybe not."
They'd been embarrassingly beaten by Jin-hyuk alone, but Mun Seok-il and his crew were untouchables. They commanded high fees and never failed a job.
"If the lie gets out, you guys would be in trouble."
"They probably already know. We just lay low."
They wouldn't hold families hostage like some. Mun Seok-il swallowed the rest.
Anyway, hiding was what Mun Seok-il did best. If the client made a move, they'd vanish. Even if the job succeeded, the client would hire new fixers. Like tossing a used tissue after dirty work. That's why they'd tailed them too.
"You can only do that kind of thing once and then stay dead for a long time."
That's why they charged so much.
Jin-hyuk nodded absently, bending forward to stretch his bunched-up back muscles, arms extended.
"Dad's hiring."
He'd debated saying it.
Jin-hyuk needed people. At Mun Seok-il's level, they could be useful. With their families as invisible hostages, they wouldn't betray him. And visible enemies were easier to watch. Of course, he'd check with Dad first.
"That's a proposal."
But Mun Seok-il read Jin-hyuk's gaze differently.
This wasn't a proposal. It was an order.
"I'll think about it."
He mustered courage from his dantian to salvage his last pride.
Jin-hyuk nodded.
It was encouraging. He'd thrown it out just in case, and no outright refusal. Plenty of room for improving relations.
'I've given enough fear. Time to offer trust and mercy.'
Jin-hyuk pulled a crumpled paper from his pocket and handed it over.
Mun Seok-il unfolded it to find their families' addresses and contacts—their ransom.
"I didn't memorize or copy them separately."
Mun Seok-il bit his lip hard. The physical beating was secondary; since meeting at the hospital, he'd felt mentally dominated by this kid. Still biting his lip, he bowed slightly in farewell and turned.
Jin-hyuk's voice caught Mun Seok-il's ankle.
"You haven't said who ordered it yet."
Is this guy trying to leave without paying up?
Jin-hyuk knew the answer anyway, but it was time to test if Mun Seok-il really did.
"Ah..."
Mun Seok-il scratched his head awkwardly, chuckling.
Fall deepened as winter approached. The stinging autumn sun faded, and the wind grew chill. Han Yu-young took Yu-jin out for a neighborhood stroll in the stroller. A luxury sedan with Seoul plates parked in the yard of Jin-hyuk's house.
How lucky to have a dog in what could be a grim situation.
General circled the four kneeling men like he was toying with them.
Occasionally sniffing their rears.
Son Gwang-yeon bit his lip at General's antics.
"Get up. Let's talk standing."
"We can't rise until forgiven."
Mun Seok-il had brought the discharged Kim In-rang, Jeong Sang-tae, and Kang Hun-chang to see Son Gwang-yeon. They'd dropped to their knees right in front of him mid-catch with Jin-hyuk in the yard.
Jin-hyuk, watching from afar, frowned.
'Why the hell are they kneeling?'
Old-school guys sticking to old ways?
He'd requested a formal meeting with Dad for future ties, but never told them to grovel like this.
Too childish to watch. Jin-hyuk turned away.
"Forgiveness? I need to know what happened first."
"Daijeong Electronics' President Park Woo-jung commissioned it."
Son Gwang-yeon's face hardened coldly. Even knowing it, he couldn't brush off the names Daijeong and Park Woo-jung.
Mun Seok-il, head bowed deeply, spilled the details.
"...Tracing back led to Park Woon-cheol's eldest son, Park Woo-jung..."
He skipped the part about getting schooled by Jin-hyuk and sobering up, but confessed everything verified. Unfortunately, without harming anyone, that was the limit of what Mun Seok-il could uncover.
For Jin-hyuk, it was a solid result. Confirmation on Park Woo-jung and Mun Seok-il alike.
Son Gwang-yeon clasped hands behind his back, gazing at the sunset briefly.
'Why treat me like I shouldn't exist?'
Park Yoon-young, born to Park Woon-cheol and an actress over twenty years younger, had jumped from her New York apartment, he'd heard.
It stayed quiet domestically, so even with suspicions of foul play, it faded from public view. Daijeong Group must've silenced the press—perfect soundproofing. Rumors said Park Woon-cheol's health declined after, but only he knew. Timing fit, though.
"So... you're saying you couldn't do the dirty deed?"
"Well..."
Mun Seok-il sensed Son Gwang-yeon's voice detached from the world.
Shocking stuff. Anyone would panic facing an assassin sent for them. Yet Son Gwang-yeon was unflappable. Experienced? Fear doesn't build immunity that fast.
Not knowing his temperament, it seemed natural.
His face returned to normal, as if the chill had never been.
'Nothing new.'
This confession was novel, sure.
But he'd lived under tails and surveillance since childhood. After Mom died, near-seclusion until adulthood. College on scholarship, holed up in dorms. Friends? Only childhood pal Yu Se-ra and college buddy Hong Gi-jun.
Hand behind back, he urged an answer while eyeing the western sky's sunset.
"There must be more. If you'd changed your mind, no need to show up."
"Still, I wanted to beg forgiveness and warn of the risk."
Flustered by Son Gwang-yeon's composure, Mun Seok-il stayed cool. Maybe that's why his extraordinary son takes after him, he thought.
"Got it. Rise. Forgiveness isn't mine to give anyway. But didn't you find out why me, or who I am to them?"
Son Gwang-yeon spoke, glancing at his expressionless son afar. Jin-hyuk pretended not to hear, tossing and catching the baseball repeatedly. The height was freakish, but not the time to gawk.
Mun Seok-il stood, answering.
"Not yet."
They'd dug into Shin Sang-yeol and threatened, but no dice. A big shot leaving just a lizard tail proved approaching whales was tough.
"I see. You came far—take some dinner."
"Ah, we're—"
As they politely declined, Son Gwang-yeon's heavy voice pinned their shoulders.
"Take it."
"Yes, sir."
Mun Seok-il and the men bowed deeply.
Soft tone, undeniable force.
Mun Seok-il quietly guessed at Son Gwang-yeon's identity.
'He smells different too.'
Daijeong blood, maybe?
No.
'Nah. No resemblance.'
This was trouble.
Hey... Won't we choke on dinner? Jeong Sang-tae muttered.
Mun Seok-il and his crew strolled the streamside, hearts light.
As they savored the rural sunset.
Son Gwang-yeon washed emotional dust with his son.
They'd always glossed over details before.
Jin-hyuk perked his ears. He'd guessed the incident's cause and why Dad lived rurally, but never heard his upbringing properly.
"Sorry for only telling now. Hurt?"
"Nah. No reason to."
"Our Jin-hyuk's so mature and deep, that's why you didn't pry?"
A normal kid would've whined every holiday: 'Why no grandpa's house?' Son Gwang-yeon knew his son's consideration.
Figuring parents had reasons, Jin-hyuk hadn't pushed. Wasn't their fault, no harm to him now. Parents' presence was bliss; protecting it, his all.
"Jin-hyuk."
"Yeah."
Son Gwang-yeon gripped his fiddling son's shoulder hard. Jin-hyuk's deep eyes followed this younger father than his past life's.
"I only saw Grandpa in photos. Grandma died early. So I wanted to be a dad to you, give you a mom."
Son Gwang-yeon smiled kindly.
Second-life Son Jin-hyuk.
He'd lived longer than this Dad, plus five years back. Yet Dad seemed more adult. Overwhelmed, Jin-hyuk couldn't speak.
"Thanks, son..."
What for?
I'm grateful. Nearly Dad's height, broad-shouldered Jin-hyuk buried his forehead in Dad's chest like a child, nuzzling.
Yu-jin lightened dinner.
Chatting everyone, but extra to fairest, handsomest Kim In-rang.
"Uncle, how old?"
"Th-thirty-three..."
Yu-jin folded fingers.
Showed Mom two fists.
"Wow! Mom, look? Ate lots? Yu-jin's fingers gone?"
Post-meal, Jin-hyuk handed Mun Seok-il a note.
"I'll send contact. Visit. It'll help."
"Got it."
Watching their car leave, Jin-hyuk furrowed his brow.
Handling people never easy. Especially bridging awkward gaps. Forcing ties to look natural felt like packaging a sham deal in reports—self-loathing.
'Without General and Yu-jin, it'd have been stiff and dramatic.'
Unsure Dad's intent for dinner, grateful for sis anew.
"Son. That crew to your uncle standard?"
Son Gwang-yeon asked over the go board.
"Yes."
Eyes gleaming at prompt reply.
"Want them bad? They're dangerous."
How to explain?
Allies to reclaim normalcy.