Chapter 20
Chapter 20
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 20
Chapter Title: A Common Enemy
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“Aaargh! My finger!”
Neither the owner nor the man in the blue vest had expected Kanghyeok’s counterattack.
Only the man in the red cap, who had vaguely anticipated this turn of events, felt an overwhelming urge to bolt from his seat.
But his legs were frozen, leaving him stuck in place.
“Shit, I told him not to do it.”
His resentful mutter had barely faded.
“Son of a bitch! You crazy son of a bitch!”
The man in the blue vest, his finger dislocated, spat out curses through his tears.
He then swung the wine bottle in his hand, his eyes gleaming with murderous intent as if he meant to kill Kanghyeok.
Whoosh!
The wine bottle zipped past Kanghyeok’s nose, and in the next instant, Kanghyeok seized the man’s throat with his index finger, middle finger, and thumb.
“Gack, ghk! Gurgle!”
Instantly subdued, the man gasped for air, his mouth agape, revealing a set of yellowed teeth.
Still, he struggled desperately to pry Kanghyeok’s hand away.
But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t create even the slightest gap.
“Guhhhh.”
The blue-vested man’s face turned blue as he suffocated.
Thud.
He collapsed to his knees before Kanghyeok, eyes rolling back in their sockets as tears streamed down his face. Kanghyeok spoke in a chilling voice.
“I'll say two things.”
“Ghk!”
“Clean this up. And don't ever cause trouble here again.”
Honestly, because of this guy and his friend shivering by the door, the supermarket’s reputation and sales had been suffering.
Who would want to shop at a supermarket where a drunkard could show up and wreak havoc whenever he felt like it?
Squeeze!
Kanghyeok squeezed his fingertips as if to rip out the man’s windpipe. A wheezing sound escaped the man as foam bubbled at the corners of his mouth.
“If this happens again…”
Kanghyeok conveyed the rest with his aura and his gaze alone.
The human imagination is remarkably effective when it comes to cruelty.
And so, all sorts of gruesome scenes flooded the minds of the man and his friend.
“Ghk!”
The man gasped as if in reply, and Kanghyeok released his throat.
“Gasp, hack, hack.”
Still kneeling before Kanghyeok, the man heaved for breath.
The venom and murderous intent had vanished completely from his eyes.
It was always like this.
With people.
A beast that bares its fangs must be shown its place through action, and a beast-like human becomes docile only after a taste of pain.
“Clean up.”
A firm command.
“Uh, ughhh.”
Despite his broken finger, the man in the blue vest returned the scattered items to the shelves, while his friend scrubbed the floor with enough force to break the mop.
Neither of them dared to meet Kanghyeok’s gaze.
They couldn’t.
A gaze was something that could be felt on the skin.
They could feel Kanghyeok watching them in silence, and they desperately cleaned up every last bit of the mess they had made.
“It’s, it's all done.”
When the man in the red cap spoke politely, Kanghyeok jutted his chin toward the door.
Only then did the two men bolt out of the supermarket as if escaping a bed of nails.
Thwack!
Kanghyeok watched the man in the blue vest get his ass kicked by his friend in the parking lot before shifting his gaze to the owner.
“Was that too much?”
“Ah, ah.”
The owner gaped, her mouth opening and closing.
She had prided herself on knowing Kanghyeok better than anyone.
But the Kanghyeok she had seen for the past year and the Kanghyeok before her now were two completely different people.
“It was a pointless thing to do, wasn't it.”
Kanghyeok’s bitter smile snapped the owner back to her senses.
“What, what are you talking about!”
“I'm sorry.”
Kanghyeok bowed his head, and the owner furrowed her brow and raised her voice.
“What if you had gotten hurt!”
Kanghyeok lifted his bowed head.
“Pardon?”
“What if he had hit you? Don't do that again. Understand?”
Kanghyeok looked at the owner and spoke with a faint smile.
“I understand.”
“Phew, phew.”
As if relieved that everything had ended without incident, the owner clutched her chest and returned Kanghyeok’s smile with one of her own.
The Kanghyeok of the past and the Kanghyeok of the present.
She didn't know which one was the real Kanghyeok, but the owner found this version of him much better to see.
At least he wasn't suppressing his emotions to the point of exhaustion like before.
***
An ominous and uncomfortable atmosphere had settled heavily.
It was in the abandoned hospital that Johannes used to manage.
The three gang leaders gathered at Balbano Abandoned Hospital did not hide their discomfort.
A Latino man with a long beard and hair.
A Black man in a stylish pinstripe suit, and a Russian man with a short buzz cut and crude lines shaved into it.
Seated far apart at the table, they smoked in silence, their eyes fixed on the door.
“He's too late.”
The Latino, Matias, complained under his breath, and the other two frowned but gave small nods.
It was a strange atmosphere.
Leaders who would never normally gather in one place were all here, looking reluctant.
This was all because of Johannes’s death.
‘Never thought he'd go like that.’
Matias exhaled a cloud of smoke, his expression showing he still couldn’t believe the man was dead.
How did things end up like this?
He knew Johannes would die someday.
But he had expected him to die in a war with another gang. Who could have imagined he would die at the hands of an Asian man in a suit?
The police announced it was the result of a gang war.
But no one here believed that announcement.
They were all prominent leaders in this area.
But a war had broken out without their knowledge, and Johannes had died in it?
Even a stray dog wouldn’t believe that story.
In any case, Johannes was dead.
Johannes, who had been preparing for a war with another gang over the top spot.
And so suddenly.
Because of that, his rival had become the top boss.
This was a first.
Everything from the birth of a top boss to being summoned by him.
Hahhh.
Exhaling smoke, Matias scratched his forehead and glanced at the other two leaders.
“Hey, you think it's okay for a boss to be decided like this?”
Matias asked nonchalantly, propping his head on his hand.
The Black leader answered, looking elsewhere.
“There's been enough of a commotion already.”
“Well, that's true.”
Matias nodded in agreement.
The atmosphere was already tense, what with nearly 120 of Johannes’s men being wiped out in a single night.
There was no need to spill unnecessary blood by challenging the new boss’s legitimacy.
“More importantly, does anyone know anything about the new boss? Honestly, I haven't been paying attention, so I don't know much.”
Matias expected a quick answer.
But as time passed with no reply, a strange tension spread like ink dropped in water.
“Nobody knows anything?”
The Black leader and the Russian leader, both flustered, exchanged wary glances.
“How can this be…”
Matias muttered, feeling as if he were bewitched.
The boss was indeed an unprecedented figure.
He had appeared out of nowhere, consolidated three gangs in the blink of an eye with bold action, and had never bothered to socialize with the other leaders.
The time it took for him to go from an arrogant newcomer to the ruler of this area was a mere six months.
Matias chewed his lip, his brows furrowing.
‘Still, though. Does it make sense that not a single one of us has seen his face?’
The more he thought about it, the more he realized what he didn't know far outweighed what he did.
The only thing they knew was that he was a man.
They didn't know his face, name, age, or even his race.
A sudden sense of foreboding washed over Matias. Just as he tossed his short cigarette and put a new one in his mouth…
…a faint sound was heard, and Matias turned his gaze toward the door.
“Speak of the devil.”
Thump, thump.
The sound of reluctant footsteps echoed from the hallway.
The leaders straightened up in their seats, watching the door with anxious faces.
Finally, the owner of the footsteps appeared in the doorway.
“What the hell.”
This was no big shot.
Far from a big shot, he was an ordinary man with a face you could see anywhere on the street.
And look at those eyes.
Filled with fear, he couldn’t even meet the leaders’ gazes.
“What is this…”
Matias was bewildered, while the other two leaders exchanged glances or frantically did the math in their heads.
Looks aren’t everything, but could the rumors have been exaggerated?
The man looked so naive that the thought was unavoidable.
He didn't look like someone capable of leading a gang at all.
Just then, the man standing in the doorway reached into his coat.
Jolt!
“Whoa, whoa, whoa!”
Matias shot up from his chair, holding up his hands, while the Russian and Black leaders tensed and shifted in their seats.
They thought he was pulling out a gun.
But what he pulled out was a cell phone.
Beep!
He pressed a speed dial number. After a brief ringing, the loud sound of the call connecting was heard.
(Is everyone gathered?)
The voice blared from the phone, apparently on speaker mode.
A deep, low voice, so resonant it was unsettling.
Instinct told them this was the real boss.
“A proxy, then…”
Matias looked at the man who had brought the phone, bewildered, as the voice continued from the device.
(That’s right, Matias.)
“Damn, I didn't expect you to show up like this.”
(I had some things to attend to. But the reason I've gathered you all is…)
The voice paused for a moment.
During the silence, the three leaders looked around, feeling a sense of unease.
With the fear-stricken proxy before them and the boss’s voice coming through the phone, it felt as if a venomous snake was lurking somewhere in the room, watching them with predatory eyes.
(There's something we have to do.)
“Dividing shares? Business?”
the Black leader asked. A low chuckle followed by the voice emanated from the phone on the table.
(Isn't there something more important than that?)
Something more important than business or money?
Question marks filled the three leaders' eyes, and the phone provided the answer.
(The Asian man in the suit.)
Matias and the Black leader gave silent laughs that seemed like a false front to hide their tension.
The way they immediately touched their lips to cover them proved it.
“That's a tough sell. There's no guarantee he'll come after us…”
(Then why did Johannes die?)
“He must have done something.”
That was the Black leader’s reply, and Matias’s face instantly hardened.
(Matias.)
The boss spoke his name at the perfect moment, as if watching from somewhere.
(Say what you're thinking. I have a feeling you'll give a different answer.)
With all eyes on him, Matias gnawed on his dry lips before speaking.
“Johannes must have crossed him during one of his operations.”
These were gangs that made money through what could only be called evil deeds.
Drug trafficking, theft, smuggling, and contraband.
Prostitution and human trafficking, assault and plunder, contract killing and torture.
When you're in this line of work, you inevitably harm others.
In the process, Johannes had provoked the man.
This was Matias’s conclusion, and the faces of the other two leaders went cold.
The Asian man in the suit.
He was an unbelievable, almost mythical figure, but he was real, and the thought that they would inevitably cross paths with him in their line of business filled their minds.
And when that happened?
The three leaders cautiously eyed one another.
One of them would die.
After Johannes.
(To survive here, a man like that cannot be allowed to live. We must put an end to him.)
They agreed a hundred times over, but how?
As the leaders' faces twisted with subtle conflict, the boss's voice continued.
(Fortunately, that’s what I do best.)