Chapter 106
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 106
Chapter Title: Scardi (1)
Scardi doesn't pour her full effort into something as trivial as running clubs. But she does have her organization members manage a few of them to squeeze out money.
It's no wonder, given how much those bitches love these noisy dives.
"…"
But today's club feels off somehow.
Especially at one particular table,
where there's no passionate flirtation between men and women—instead, an unexpected tension hangs in the air.
"E-Everyone, get out for a bit. Go dance or something."
"Y-Yes, ma'am…"
The hosts who'd been hyping up the mood all scatter,
and even the lowlife punks with no ties to Black Rose flee the atmosphere.
"…Just so you know, we're only grunts. Nothing worth shaking us down for."
Only two women and Crow occupy the massive table.
The organization members who'd been lounging leisurely until now can't even prop their feet on the table or grope anyone anymore—they just fidget nervously, watching Crow's every move.
From afar, they might look like your typical sleazy big sisters toying with a lone waiter sandwiched between them…
"I'll give you ten more minutes."
In reality, the man trapped in the middle is threatening Korea's most dangerous crime organization members, demanding they summon their boss.
"If you can't bring Scardi here within ten minutes, I'll help out myself. Kill a couple of you, and she'll come running, right?"
"Do whatever you want."
True to form as thugs with some code of honor, they still put on a defiant front in front of Crow.
"…Won't change a damn thing."
Are they more worried about the boss's safety than their own lives or well-being? Or are they busting their asses to fulfill their contract with Scardi?
Even with a gun barrel pressed right against her ribcage, the woman forces a tough act. Her friend across the table, watching the scene, isn't much different.
Both put on a show of bravado, but their legs tremble anxiously, and cold sweat drips down their faces.
"Is that so? She won't rush over to save her lowly grunts? Ah, right. She's probably out having a blast celebrating her jailbreak today."
Crow says, pressing the gun barrel alternately against each of them.
The two women squeeze their eyes shut beside the man radiating an aura like he's about to shoot someone any second, waiting for their boss to arrive.
The only one who can end this horrific standoff
is Scardi herself.
The air inside the club begins to shift subtly.
A presence so strikingly beautiful it's almost alien,
one you hesitate even to approach,
accompanied by waves of murmurs at her arrival.
A brief hesitation from the crowd lost in their day of frenzy.
It's just a fleeting current in the moment, but Crow senses her.
The calm, noble footsteps drawing steadily toward this table.
"Don't torment my kids too much. We haven't even started the celebration party yet."
It's a familiar voice.
Even amid the blaring club music, Crow picks up her distinctive mid-low tone.
"…Now that the guest of honor is here, maybe it's time to get it started."
Following her are just Rin and two organization members. The rest are either quietly blended into the club crowd or waiting outside for Scardi's new orders.
"Seeing it from outside brings back memories. Hello."
"…"
Do these young men and women, drunk on booze, dance, and music,
even realize a tense reunion is unfolding right beside them?
"Let my kids go. You'll talk to me anyway, right?"
"…Scram."
Crow lets the two go with surprising ease.
But.
Bang—!
Bang!
Sudden gunshots echo through the club.
The music is loud enough to drown them out,
but the screams following the shots are impossible to mask.
Crow had simply shot both organization members in the knees,
just to piss off Scardi.
An inhuman act that shatters their kneecaps and unleashes excruciating pain.
"Mmph…!"
Even witnessing that, Scardi places her hands on their shoulders and whispers softly.
"Shh. We're open for business—let's not cause a scene."
The two, shaking from the agony, clamp their own mouths shut and endure.
For a moment, it feels like nothing happened at all.
A few glance over, wondering about the loud noise that sounded like gunshots,
but they're too busy eyeing potential hookups nearby to care much.
"Impressive."
Crow sneers at the villains' rigid hierarchy and absolute obedience.
"How much do you pay them to listen so well?"
"Crow, how about we talk somewhere quiet instead? Isn't this place uncomfortable for both of us?"
"Why should I?"
Scardi tends to her wounded underlings and clears the table. A few more members stick close to her movements, handing off surveillance of Crow.
"Don't get too mad. You might have a grudge against me, but in the end, it was all for your sake."
…The moment she finishes speaking, Crow grits his teeth and levels the gun at Scardi.
Is it because he's heard that line too many times?
Every time, it makes his blood boil right to the tips of his hair.
"That's the trendy line these days? Everyone's like, 'Fuck, I did it all for you'? I could do you a favor and put a bullet in your head for your own good."
At the same time, Rin and Scardi's other underlings grab Crow's arm and press knife blades to his throat.
"No. Stand down, all of you."
But Scardi calls off her own people instead.
"If we really go at it, how many of you would survive? Let's not have funerals on a nice day like today."
With utmost politeness,
or perhaps gentleness,
she extends a hand toward Crow, begging for mercy.
"Can't you show a little consideration? We're all a bit excited. It's been so long since we've seen your face."
Even that only fuels Crow's rage further,
but Crow has no intention of killing Scardi just yet.
"Come with us. We'll set aside this sleazy dump for somewhere quiet and classy."
Even riding in Scardi's luxury sedan, Crow doesn't lower his gun.
The barrel peeks cautiously from his pocket, always aimed at Scardi.
"Relax. We were like family in prison, weren't we?"
"Shut up."
Every word he spits is laced with sharp hostility,
yet Scardi remains utterly unfazed in the face of it.
"Mind if I smoke?"
She even borrows a lighter from her front-seat subordinate to light up. The sight of the underling climbing into the back seat to hold the flame to Scardi's cigarette is almost comical.
But for Crow, ordinary cigarettes like that
just aren't
"Light one for him too."
"Yes, ma'am."
satisfying enough,
yet he has no choice but to smoke something.
The memories lingering in his body are terrifying.
Smoking anything eases his mood a bit.
"You're smoking like a real man now."
Scardi smiles at his profile.
A smile fit for lovers.
Following Scardi's lead, they arrive at a well-known hotel.
In its basement lies a casino she manages. Conveniently, the casino and hotel boast plenty of top-tier rooms and facilities for VIPs.
"I was thinking of having a drink while catching up with my kids after so long, but if I get to sit side by side with you, of course the party's on hold."
Scardi's constant flirty lines grate on Crow,
"So, what do you want from me? I'm grateful you came to me first… What could you possibly need? Or did you come back regretting we didn't finish what we started last time?"
but he's busy sorting his thoughts while crunching expensive almonds and sipping fine cognac from the table.
Should he just kill this bitch first?
Or stock up on more drug-laced smokes before killing her?
Or maybe,
kill Scardi and cut off his drug supply entirely, forcing himself to live with the pain?
No,
there's something even more important than that, but the drugs are necessary too.
"Hand over the drugs you have first."
"What, you actually mean the drugs?"
Scardi lets out a laugh tinged with surprise and takes a sip of cognac in Crow's stead.
She was the one who'd swapped out his meds in the first place,
so she'd probably planned for him to escape prison someday and come crawling back for more.
"Faster than I expected to get hooked…"
Bang—
She spills the precious liquor everywhere.
Crow had shot at her glass.
It barely missed her fingers,
shattering the base completely and sending shards flying toward the wall like buckshot.
"Cut the crap. I'm not in the mood for games."
Crow issues another warning.
He has no intention of letting this woman toy with him anymore.
"…What a waste."
Still, Scardi slowly shrugs off her suit jacket pierced with glass fragments.
Once she removes her dress shirt too, only a black bra remains, quietly cradling her breasts.
"You're too much. If you wanted me to strip, you could've done it with your hands."
Blood trickles down Scardi's shoulder.
From the glass shards that grazed her cheek and flew off,
dribbling droplets into her collarbone and cleavage.
Gazing at that seductive form,
Crow finally takes a sip of cognac.