Chapter 31
Chapter 31
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 31
Chapter Title: What Do I Do?
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*Thud.*
A single white flower fell in the parking lot where the memorial service was being held.
One flower soon became two, then three, then four.
Twenty people were gathered.
Compared to the years the landlady had spent here, it was a pitifully small number of flowers. But considering the standards of this city, it was a great many.
Yohan, having no flower to offer, stood at the back with his mother.
"How foolish."
When his mother scoffed at the memorial, displeased gazes turned toward her.
Yohan stood protectively, taking the brunt of their stares, then turned his head to look at the people in the front row.
'Chino isn't here.'
He had expected Kanghyeok to be here, but he was nowhere to be seen.
'He'll be here soon.'
Kanghyeok would definitely come.
And soon.
Yohan believed that while Kanghyeok might not be a good person, he wasn't a bad one either. Such a person wouldn't miss a memorial service.
Just then, one person in the crowd bowed their head.
Though no one had said to, the others followed suit, bowing their heads and closing their eyes in a moment of brief remembrance.
A solemn atmosphere, rare in this city, spread through the air.
And at that moment, not far from there, others were watching them.
*Tap, tap.*
Inside a van, a hooded man observing the service through binoculars tapped the shoulder of the man in the driver's seat. The engine started, and the entire vehicle began to tremble.
*Click, clack, click.*
The sound of safety switches being flicked to fire echoed inside the van.
Excitement, anticipation, and bloodlust.
Those were the emotions in their eyes, visible between their hoods.
*Grrrr.*
To satisfy their desires, the van moved toward the parking lot where the memorial service was being held.
As the van entered the lot at a slow crawl, people's eyes were drawn to it.
*Clang!*
The doors flew open, and Nobody's men, armed with hoods and guns, poured out.
It was the moment people panicked at the menacing killing intent, unconcealed even by their guns and hoods.
*Clack.*
One of the gangsters aimed a machine gun, its selector switched to full-auto, at the crowd.
*VROOOOOM!*
The roar of an approaching car engine swallowed everyone's attention.
"Aaaah!"
"Get, get out of the way!"
*SCREEECH!*
An SUV tore through the space the people had hastily vacated and entered the parking lot.
Kanghyeok, in the driver's seat, drew a kukri from its holder, clenched it between his teeth, and pulled out his pistol. He then covered his face with his arm.
Beside him, Leila crossed her arms, bracing for impact. The SUV, without slowing in the slightest, slammed into the gangsters and their van at full speed.
*CRASH!*
Shrapnel flew in all directions.
The engine died as the safety features kicked in from the impact.
A pungent smell, different from that of gunfire, filled the air.
The airbag deployed like an explosion, striking his face, and the shock of the impact rattled his bones.
"Hah!"
Kanghyeok exhaled a hot breath and sliced away the airbag with his kukri.
The first thing he saw was a gangster, crushed like paper between the vehicles.
The front windshield was stained crimson with the blood that had burst from his body.
*Screech!*
As the wipers cleared away the blood, he saw the gangsters, startled but preparing to attack.
They began to circle his vehicle, opening fire.
*RAT-TAT-TAT-TAT!*
"Hnngh."
Leila, having pushed away her own airbag, let out a groan and shot a brief, resentful look at Kanghyeok.
Then she watched the cracks spreading across the windows.
*BOOM!*
A shotgun blast went off at close range.
The impact was strong enough to shake the vehicle. Realizing the car was bulletproof, the gangsters began firing at different spots, searching for a weak point.
*THUD-THUD-THUD! PING! CRACK.*
Leila murmured softly at the creaking sounds coming from all over the car.
"This won't last long."
Kanghyeok steadied his breath, pistol in hand.
His eyes darted about, observing the gangsters.
He couldn't see their faces through the hoods.
But some things were still visible.
Their builds, their stances as they held their guns.
Their gaits and their coordinated movements.
'They're trained.'
A year or so of rolling around in a mercenary training camp produces movements like that.
Is this really a gang?
Can a gang move like this?
As he watched their movements, which were closer to soldiers than gangsters, Kanghyeok slowly controlled his breathing.
*RAT-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT!*
The machine gun was pouring bullets into a single spot on the bulletproof glass, as if determined to break it. Just as Leila pulled a machine pistol from her coat, something caught Kanghyeok's eye. He had already calculated all their positions and his next moves.
Kanghyeok grabbed Leila's shoulder and pulled her toward him.
*BOOM!*
Shotgun pellets slammed into the passenger-side window. Kanghyeok scrambled over Leila and pressed his pistol flush against the glass.
He then gripped the gun firmly with both hands.
*BANG!*
A single shot.
The glass trembled as if it would shatter.
The eyes of the shotgun-wielding gangster and the heat rising inside the car.
Kanghyeok looked straight into the gangster's eyes and pulled the trigger again.
*BANG!*
The window shook more violently.
*BANG! CRACK!*
A single bullet shot through the hole created in the bulletproof glass.
*THWACK!*
With a hole in the center of his forehead, the man with the shotgun collapsed.
Immediately after, Kanghyeok slammed the butt of his pistol into the glass.
*CRACK!*
The window, already covered in cracks, gave way.
Kanghyeok stuck his hand through the opening and fired suppressive shots.
*BANG! BANG! RAT-TAT-TAT-TAT!*
One man took cover, while another returned fire, just as Kanghyeok was doing.
*Click.*
Kanghyeok reloaded his magazine and waited for them to enter his line of fire.
It was then.
Leila, who had been pinned beneath Kanghyeok, lifted her head.
"Damn it."
There wasn't just one man with a shotgun.
She saw another one sneaking toward the driver's side window to get to Kanghyeok. Leila reached out and unlocked the door.
*Click.*
"Kick the door!"
Without a moment's hesitation, Kanghyeok kicked the door.
*BAM!*
The door flew open with force, smashing into the man with the shotgun. Leila pushed Kanghyeok up, helping him to his feet.
Kanghyeok grabbed the steering wheel to steady himself and leaned out of the car.
*BANG! BANG!*
He took down the man with the machine gun who had been waiting for an opportunity. Then, Kanghyeok opened the rear driver's side door.
*CRUNCH!*
With the door open and shattered glass from the impact pouring out, Kanghyeok was now shielded between the two bulletproof doors.
*BANG!*
Kanghyeok shot the shotgun-wielding gangster who was trying to get up in front of the driver's door, then immediately took cover.
'The ones left are...'
Excluding the driver, there had been a total of six gangsters.
One was crushed by the car.
Two had shotguns.
He'd also killed one with a machine gun.
'Two.'
Kanghyeok focused on the approaching presence.
Two sets of footsteps were moving from different directions.
One toward Kanghyeok.
The other toward Leila.
Kanghyeok lowered his stance, readjusted his grip on the pistol, and moved to the back of the car.
Leila, in the passenger seat, checked the magazine of her machine pistol and prepared to fire at any moment.
Just then, the man with the machine gun came into Kanghyeok's view.
Perhaps because he'd seen his comrades die, he was farther away from the others. He pulled the trigger, aiming at Kanghyeok.
*RAT-TAT-TAT-TAT! PING! THWIP! TING!*
A hail of bullets relentlessly hammered the asphalt and the rear of the SUV.
*RAT-TAT-TAT-TAT!*
Seeing no resistance from Kanghyeok, the man began to advance, apparently intent on finishing the job.
He was still firing, making it impossible to even lift one's head.
"Hah."
Confirming the direction of the gunfire, Kanghyeok dropped to the ground.
He could see the feet of the machine-gunner under the car.
*BANG!*
The gangster screamed as his toes exploded, and he collapsed. Kanghyeok sprang to his feet and charged toward him.
The man's gun barrel lifted toward Kanghyeok.
*WHACK!*
Already close enough, Kanghyeok kicked the barrel of the gun aside.
*CRACK!*
He smashed the butt of his pistol into the man's temple.
*BANG!*
The moment the man hit the ground, Kanghyeok shot him in the head.
*RAT-A-TAT-TAT-TAT!*
The gunfire from the man who had been heading for Leila reached his ears.
*BRRRRT!*
Thanks to Leila's machine pistol, the man was firing from a much more awkward distance than the last one.
He was clearly flustered.
He must have realized he was the only one left with a gun and that he was within Kanghyeok's range.
Kanghyeok immediately turned his gun on him.
*BANG!*
He fired a single shot.
*THUD!*
The man, who had been trying to aim at Kanghyeok, dropped his gun and fell backward.
All that remained was the driver.
As Kanghyeok walked toward the gangsters' van, he felt eyes on him.
The gazes of the survivors from the memorial service.
The gazes of those who had treated him like a fool and ignored him.
Fear, awe, and the shocked stares of those who had just confirmed with their own eyes the rumor that Kanghyeok was the Asian man in a suit who had wiped out a gang.
He didn't like it.
He wasn't the type to get puffed up over something like this, and more importantly, there were too many witnesses.
And he hated being a spectacle.
Kanghyeok glanced at the onlookers, his eyes narrowed in displeasure. They averted their gazes, afraid to make eye contact.
Just then, a familiar voice called out.
"Chino."
An adult's body, but with a still-youthful face.
The face was familiar.
"Yohan?"
Even though Kanghyeok remembered and said his name, tears welled up in Yohan's eyes.
"My mom..."
Kanghyeok's gaze fell to the woman cradled in Yohan's arms.
Was she hit by a ricochet?
Or caught by a stray bullet from the gangsters?
Her unmoving skin was pale, and blood trickled from her lips.
Her eyelids were half-open, revealing unfocused eyes.
"What... what do I do?"
Kanghyeok couldn't bring himself to speak in response to Yohan's tear-filled question.
He had no idea what to say to someone who had just lost family.
It was always like this.
Something he could never get used to, no matter how many times he saw it.
That was Yohan, right now, in front of him.
At that moment, the gangsters' van started to move.
*GRRR. THUD! THUD!*
The van pushed the SUV aside to create space, then frantically turned the wheel and sped out of the parking lot.
"Kanghyeok!"
Despite Leila's voice urging him not to delay, Kanghyeok couldn't easily move.
Yohan's gaze held him fast, like a shackle he couldn't break.
"Damn it all."
Kanghyeok clenched his jaw and turned. He walked toward the SUV where Leila was waiting in the driver's seat.
"Chino!"
Yohan's voice followed him from behind.
But Kanghyeok ignored his call and got into the SUV.
"Are you alright?"
Leila asked as she started the engine.
She glanced once at Yohan, who had begun to wail. It seemed the boy knew Kanghyeok.
"Drive."
Kanghyeok said, closing the door. Leila nodded grimly and turned the wheel.
*SCREECH. VROOOOM!*
With a heavy roar, the SUV moved out of the parking lot.
The distance to the van shortened, while the distance to Yohan grew. Kanghyeok looked at Yohan in the rearview mirror, then turned his gaze to the van.
"What are your orders?"
Leila's question seemed to carry a lot of weight.
Kanghyeok stared at the van as if he wanted to kill it and said:
"Ram them."
Leila's only answer was to stomp on the accelerator.
*CRASH!*
The rear of the van crumpled as it was knocked to the right.
*VROOOOOOM!*
The SUV sped up even more. The moment they were driving parallel to the van, Kanghyeok extended the hand holding the pistol out the window.
At the end of the barrel was the panicked face of the van's driver.
*BANG!*