Blood Night (3)
An old commercial building.
Creak—
When he pushed open the heavy iron door and stepped inside, a nauseating stench of blood stabbed at his nostrils.
"...!"
Sihyun couldn't help but suck in a sharp breath.
Several corpses already lay sprawled across the hallway, and the walls were streaked with vivid bloodstains. This was nothing like the brawl at the club—the traces of a one-sided massacre were everywhere.
"What the fucking hell! Boss, are you all right?!"
Dongchul spat out a curse and charged toward the office at the very back.
Bang—!
He wrenched the door open with brutal force, and an even more horrific scene unfolded before their eyes.
"Hyung-nim!!!"
Dongchul's scream tore from his throat like a raw cry of pure anguish.
In the center of the office, before a luxurious hardwood desk, Jo Pildu—the boss of the Daeho Clan—lay cold and still. Only the hilt of a dagger jutted gruesomely from his chest, and the floor around him was soaked in dark crimson blood. Several subordinates who had apparently tried to protect him lay fallen nearby in equally wretched states.
"Ah... aah..."
Dongchul collapsed to his knees before Pildu's corpse as if his legs had given out. His rough hand trembled as it reached toward his boss's face, unable to believe what he was seeing.
This was the hyung-nim he had shared decades of hardship with, the man who had led the organization alongside him. Though it had been a rough life of thugs and gangs, to Dongchul he had been like a father.
"Boss... Hyung-nim... I'm here, yeah? Open your eyes a bit... Please? This Dongchul is here, you hear me...!"
Dongchul's voice cracked with raw desperation. Hot tears streamed endlessly from his eyes.
"Uwaaaaaah—!"
Gone was his usual hearty, imposing presence. Only the wretched sobs of a man who had lost everything filled the office.
"These... these fucking bastards... I'll definitely... definitely...!"
A howl of mixed rage and grief burst out of him.
"..."
Sihyun couldn't bring himself to lift his head before that terrible scene. The metallic reek of blood and the cold chill of death seemed to wrap around his entire body. This was nothing like the fight at the club.
This was a battlefield—no, a slaughterhouse far more savage than any war.
...I can't understand it.
What on earth could drive people to go this far? Sihyun felt his insides twist. Over money and power of all things... How could anyone become this monstrous and cruel?
I have to protect them... I absolutely have to.
Sihyun steeled himself even harder inside. If even the gangsters the chaebols looked down on could be this brutal among themselves, then those people at the top would only be worse—never better.
How much time had passed?
Dongchul finally managed to choke down his grief and rose from his seat with bloodshot eyes. Deep sorrow and an even deeper thirst for revenge were etched into his face.
"...Hyeonsik."
"Yes, Hyung-nim."
Dongchul's voice was hoarse, but firm.
"No need to call the pigs. We handle this our way. Nice and clean, got it?"
"Understood, Hyung-nim."
Hyeonsik bowed deeply. Then he carefully asked,
"Then what about the bodies? Especially the boss's..."
At that, Dongchul looked down for a moment at Pildu's fallen form.
"...I'll make a separate call for Hyung-nim Pildu... Lay him to rest somewhere sunny. We gotta send him off easy on his final road, right?"
His face was completely contorted with rage and sorrow, his voice sunk low and rough.
"And for the rest of the boys, contact Manager Kim and have him handle it the usual way. Don't leave a single trace. Burn every last scrap that could be evidence."
"...Yes, Hyung-nim."
Hyeonsik answered briefly and began issuing orders to the members. With familiar yet heavy expressions, they started collecting the bodies and cleaning away the bloodstains.
"..."
Sihyun simply watched the scene in silence, sensing both the cold ruthlessness of the underworld and their own brand of loyalty at the same time.
Time passed further, past midnight into the early hours of the next day.
Dongchul and Sihyun sat facing each other at a plastic table in front of a nearby convenience store. As if the tragedy moments ago had been a lie, the surroundings were utterly still.
Dongchul pulled out a cigarette and drew deeply on it.
"Huu..."
Like the burning tip of the cigarette, something inside him seemed to be blackening and charring. His expression was terrible.
"Sorry you had to see that ugly shit. And after you helped us so much..."
Dongchul spoke first, his voice bitter.
"..."
Sihyun listened quietly without a word.
"Didn't think it'd be this brutal, huh? These days we almost never go around taking lives this casually either. Gangsters do this shit to eat and live, not 'cause killing people is fun. Most of us ain't into that."
Dongchul muttered with a self-deprecating laugh.
"Fucking... that traitorous bastard... I'll smash his skull open with my own hands..."
Sihyun felt a flicker of curiosity about the traitor, but he didn't ask. Dongchul's situation was pitiful, but there was no need to stick his nose into a war between gang organizations.
After spewing rough curses and resentment for a long while, Dongchul suddenly crushed out his cigarette and looked at Sihyun.
"Right... But kid, what the hell brought you here?"
At the question, Sihyun took a brief breath to steady himself, then cut straight to the point.
"...I want to know who commissioned the hit on us that day."
"The one who put out the job? Ain't that the wife of the Jinmyeong Construction president? From the way it's blowing up on TV, looks like that fancy chaebol young lady smashed her good. You didn't know?"
Dongchul asked back, puzzled. Of all people, Sihyun should have known best.
But Sihyun—
"...I want to know the real mastermind behind it."
He looked at Dongchul with unwavering eyes, completely serious. Dongchul let out a short laugh and replied,
"Heh heh... Kid, sometimes not knowing is better for you. You gotta look after your mother too."
"..."
The moment Seojin was mentioned, Sihyun's brow furrowed. As if Dongchul had touched a raw nerve, he waved his hands awkwardly.
"Whoa... Look at that face. Don't take it so hard. I wasn't trying to pick a fight."
"...Please tell me."
When Sihyun showed no sign of backing down, Dongchul's expression twisted with a mix of trouble and worry. He heaved a sigh.
"Haaah—! This kid, really... Didn't you just see the state of things today? This ain't something you can just jump into. It's way more dangerous. No matter how good you are in a fight, dipping your feet into this filthy game is too fucking risky."
Sihyun knew that well enough. This was a completely different level of danger from just knocking down a few punks in a back alley like before.
But that was exactly why.
"...That's why I need to know even more."
"Heh heh..."
Dongchul let out an involuntary sound of admiration. Then he slapped his knee and laughed loudly.
"Heh heh! This kid's got some serious loyalty! I knew I had a good eye for people!"
Not just real fighting skill, but guts too. Thinking once again that you shouldn't judge people by appearances, Dongchul's face hardened as he spoke in a low voice.
"I don't know the details either. Honestly, I don't know much. But Cha Mujin... that dog-worse-than-a-dog traitor bastard is definitely connected to that young lady's family—someone high up in Cheongryong."
"Cha Mujin...?"
Sihyun tilted his head at the unfamiliar name.
Dongchul nodded and continued.
"Yeah, Cha Mujin! One day I'm gonna snap that bastard's neck with my own hands. After he got pissed that we didn't take care of you guys that day, he vanished without even reporting to the boss. And like you can see, he went and sided with those Biryong Clan sons of bitches and ambushed us like this!"
"...Biryong Clan."
"Yeah, the Biryong Clan! Ha!... Anyway, that's all I know. Sounds like what you want is his backer... To find that out, you'd have to grab Cha Mujin and beat the answers out of him."
Dongchul lit another cigarette and went on.
"Huu... Either way, I'm gonna catch that traitorous bastard and kill him with my own hands. While I'm at it, I'll ask him for you then... So kid, you stay out of it from here."
"..."
"And... that young lady seems to care about you a lot and like you plenty... but honestly, it's too dangerous. Get mixed up for no reason and you could end up dead too. So stay away from her as well."
Dongchul gave the advice as if he was genuinely worried about Sihyun.
"I know it's hard to listen to a dumb, uneducated thug like me... but take it as advice from a life senior who's eaten a few more bowls of rice than you."
But Sihyun shook his head.
"I'll help too."
It wasn't because Dongchul was lacking or untrustworthy. Someone who could commit something this horrific—this Cha Mujin—could target not only Sihyun and Yuri again, but the people around them too, anytime, anywhere. So they had to settle this as soon as possible.
At Sihyun's completely unexpected declaration—
"Huh? What'd you say?"
Dongchul asked back as if he'd misheard.
"I said I'll help. Catching the Biryong Clan... and Cha Mujin."
"Whoa! This punk really doesn't listen for shit..."
"I'm grateful for the words, but I can't just sit still like this either."
"Haa... I'm gonna go crazy... If that young lady finds out she'll throw a fit again... I'm actually scared to death of her, you know...?"
Dongchul shuddered theatrically as if he was truly terrified of Yuri. Sihyun gave a bitter smile.
"I'll take responsibility for that part."
"Heh heh... You're gonna take responsibility for what the Cheongryong young lady does?"
"...I can't say I'm confident, of course."
"Keh keh... Fine, fine. You're one stubborn bastard."
Dongchul finally nodded as if giving up.
"Anyway, you're tired today, so go get some sleep. Your mother'll be worried, right? I'll contact you separately later."
"...Yes. Then."
Sihyun and Dongchul exchanged contact information. Then Sihyun bowed politely, stood up from the table, and left.
Staring blankly at his retreating back, Dongchul pulled out yet another cigarette, stuck it in his mouth, and muttered,
"Cha Mujin... you son of a bitch... Wash your neck and wait for me... That kid says he's gonna help me too, so you're a dead man walking now..."
His eyes burned with pure vengeance.