First Mission: Divide and Conquer (4)
That night, Jaehyuk stood in front of the raw fish restaurant.
“Park Jaehyuk.”
Someone called his name. When he turned his head, Jeonghan was walking toward him.
“You didn’t bring any tails, right?”
“Of course not. I checked everything.”
“Okay. Then let’s head in.”
The two friends entered the restaurant and ordered flatfish sashimi with soju.
“You keeping in touch with your family?”
“Not much since I got discharged. You know how it is. It’s risky to contact them carelessly.”
“...Yeah, that’s true.”
Jaehyuk downed the soju in his glass, emptied it, then looked at Jeonghan.
“Jeonghan.”
“Yeah?”
“Focus only on surviving. No matter what it takes, you have to stay alive. Everything else comes second. The most important thing is you.”
Jeonghan stared at him silently for a moment before filling Jaehyuk’s empty glass.
“Got it. But you have to promise me one thing too.”
“What is it?”
“...Don’t ever throw your life away just because you’re trying to save mine.”
Jeonghan held out the glass to him, then smiled softly.
“Let’s finish this without anything going wrong. When it’s all over… I’ll treat you to something big.”
“Why does that sound like a death flag?”
“That stuff only happens in dramas and movies, man. You really think I’d die just because I said that?”
“Well, yeah, but… anyway, be careful.”
“Yeah. For now, let’s clink glasses.”
Jaehyuk and Jeonghan tapped their glasses together. The two friends who hadn’t seen each other in a while drank and talked about everything on their minds.
“It would’ve been nice if Jihun could’ve come too…”
At Jaehyuk’s words, Jeonghan pulled out his phone.
“Want to call him at least?”
“I’ll do it.”
Jaehyuk dialed Jihun’s number.
“Hey, Park. What’s up?”
“Just wanted to check in. See what you’re up to.”
“You must’ve been pretty busy. How’s the police work? Manageable?”
“...I quit the force.”
“What?? Suddenly?? Why’d you quit?”
“There’s a reason, dumbass. I’ll tell you everything when the time’s right.”
Just then, Suyeon stepped out of the shower wearing only a bathrobe, a towel in her hands as she dried her wet hair. She had clearly just finished showering.
“Oppa? Who is it?”
“Huh? Oh, it’s Jaehyuk. Jaehyuk.”
“What? You’re with Suyeon right now?”
“Yeah. It’s almost our seventh anniversary, so we’re on a date.”
Suyeon, who had been quietly watching Jihun on the phone, flashed a mischievous smile. She walked over, knelt in front of him, and—
“Huh…? Suyeon? What are you—??”
In response to Jihun’s confused question, Suyeon pressed a finger to her lips and gave him a playful wink.
Wait… why right now of all times…?!
Then, with those soft hands, she gently placed them on the front of Jihun’s underwear. Jihun spoke urgently into the phone.
“Hey Jaehyuk, I’ll call you back later. I’m really busy right now. Gotta go!!”
“Huh? Hello? Hey!! Hey!!”
Jihun hung up. As Jaehyuk stared blankly at his phone, Jeonghan asked,
“What’s Jihun doing?”
“...No idea. He just hung up out of nowhere.”
With that, Jaehyuk knocked back another shot of soju. As the alcohol began to hit him, he turned to Jeonghan.
“Hey Jeonghan… let’s walk around outside for a bit to sober up before we head back.”
“Sure. You brought your phone, right?”
“Phone…? Yeah, I have it. Why?”
“Wouldn’t want you to leave it behind like you did in New York.”
“Ugh… that was two years ago… I don’t do that anymore, man.”
Jaehyuk stood up, and Jeonghan followed. They left the restaurant and continued their conversation while walking through a nearby park.
“So… you really planning to tell him?”
“Tell him what?”
“Why we really left our old jobs. You gonna tell Jihun?”
“I’d rather wait until everything’s over.”
Jaehyuk recalled Jihun’s attitude toward the Gangryonghoe and thought to himself.
He doesn’t seem particularly fond of the organization, and considering how much he doesn’t want to take over his father’s company, telling him the truth and getting his cooperation might make the operation run smoother…
But then he remembered the seven years he’d spent getting close to Jihun. No matter how much it served his own goals, dragging someone who clearly wanted nothing to do with gangsters into this operation didn’t feel right.
It’s too dangerous. The top executives of the Gangryonghoe treat him like a nephew for now, but they’re the type who could flip on him in a heartbeat. If they find out he’s helping us… both Jihun and Suyeon will be in danger. I can’t pull him into this.
Just then, Jaehyuk’s phone rang. He answered it.
“What did you have for dinner?”
“A large bowl of jajangmyeon.”
The caller was Chief Ma Seungcheol.
“Are you alone?”
“No, sir. I’m with Lee Jeonghan.”
“Good. I was planning to contact Sergeant Lee soon anyway. Pass this on to him after we hang up. In three days, our side in Naegok-dong will launch an attack on both the Gangryonghoe and the Katsuyama-gumi. You two need to stir up the right kind of discord within the Gangryonghoe.”
“Is stirring up trouble the only thing we’ll be doing?”
“Once the wind is blowing in the right direction, I’ll order the undercover special forces operatives to launch a surprise attack on the Katsuyama-gumi executives. Killing them would be ideal, but injuring them is acceptable too. Let’s keep it clean and safe.”
“Should we not worry about the Japanese side?”
“They’ll handle their own people. We’re not the only ones inserting undercover agents. Anyway, once the operation begins on December 7th, start slowly planting the seeds.”
“Understood.”
Jaehyuk ended the call. Jeonghan immediately asked,
“Was that your uncle from command?”
“Yeah. You haven’t gotten a call from yours yet?”
“Not yet. What did he say?”
“They’re planning to hit both the Gangryonghoe and the yakuza soon. Our job is to use that to drive a wedge between them. Oh, and you and the military guys might have to directly attack the yakuza.”
“Directly attack? Like assassinations?”
“That’s right. Have you ever done anything like that during your time in Special Forces?”
“Sorry, but I’m going to have to say no comment.”
Hmm… so he must have carried out black ops during his time in the 707.
Thinking that, Jaehyuk said to Jeonghan,
“Alright. I won’t ask any more.”
The two friends walked through the sparsely populated park for a long time before returning to their respective lodgings.
The next afternoon, Jaehyuk was walking through downtown Busan with Sanggyu and Jincheol, who worked under Seongjun.
“What do you want for lunch?”
“Hmm… how about sundae gukbap?”
“Okay, sundae gukbap it is. Sanggyu said he’s fine with anything, right?”
“Yeah. I’ll go with sundae gukbap too.”
Jincheol searched for gukbap restaurants on his phone. A short while later, the three of them entered one.
“Huh? Hey!! Gwak Sangman!!”
Jincheol spotted someone and waved enthusiastically. A chubby man wearing a medical eyepatch over his left eye waved back and stood up.
“Hey, Pi Jincheol. What are you doing here? I heard you went to Seoul.”
His accent suddenly switched to full Busan dialect. So he’s from here?
Jaehyuk stared blankly as Jincheol chatted with Sangman in thick Gyeongsang dialect. The man glanced at Jaehyuk and Sanggyu before asking Jincheol,
“Who are the guys behind you?”
“Ah, they’re my coworkers.”
Jincheol introduced them.
“This is my friend Gwak Sangman. We got close when I was with the Seok-ipa. Sangman, these are my colleagues Park Jaehyuk and Woo Sanggyu.”
“Hello.”
Jaehyuk and Sanggyu gave him a slight nod.
Seok-ipa… one of the Gangryonghoe’s subsidiary groups. So Jincheol was with them before he came to Seoul.
“Why are you using honorifics? We’re the same age. He just looks older than he is.”
“Isn’t that a bit harsh? The kid went to Seoul and came back with a mouth full of Han River water.”
“Hey, I was just joking, man. Joking. But what happened to your eye? Did someone beat you up?”
“Ah… this…? Well…”
Sangman pointed at the medical eyepatch over his left eye and trailed off, clearly embarrassed.
“Tell me. Which son of a bitch did that to your eye?”
“Sigh… it was one of the part-timers at our place. He hit me and ran.”
“A part-timer? Some kid working part-time managed to give you a black eye?”
“You didn’t see how fast that bastard was. Anyway, that part-timer kid was working when he saw his girl giving it up to a customer. His eyes rolled back and he lost it.”
Kkalchi was underworld slang for a female lover. Hearing it, Jaehyuk tilted his head, deep in thought.
This sounds familiar… wasn’t there an incident in Busan where a guy fought gangsters to save his girlfriend who was about to be raped? Who was it again?
“So that part-timer kid beat the crap out of you guys to save his girl? Do you know his name?”
“Ugh… what was his name… Hey, what was that bastard’s name?”
“It was Hyeon Dongchul, hyung-nim.”
Hyeon Dongchul…? Hyeon Dongchul?
It was a name Jaehyuk could never forget. In his previous life, Dongchul had been one of the people who tried to help him and ended up murdered by Gangryonghoe gangsters.
Now that I think about it, Dongchul fought gangsters to save his girlfriend, destroyed half their organization, and got scouted. So this is before he was recruited.
“Hyeon Dongchul? Got it. When I have time, I’ll find him and kill that bastard.”
“We’re about to go kill him after we eat. Want to come with us?”
“Alright. You guys head back to the dorm. I’ll finish this quick and come back.”
That’s when Jaehyuk spoke to Jincheol.
“I’ll come too. If it’s the Seok-ipa, they’re family. We should help.”
“Thanks, man. Then let’s all go together. We’ll eat after we kill that bastard.”
In a shabby neighborhood on the outskirts of Busan, Dongchul—wearing a ragged hoodie and torn jeans with a bag slung over his shoulder—was smoking a cigarette in a deserted alley.
“...Haa… this fucking pathetic life, shit…”
As Dongchul exhaled smoke through his nose and mouth, Sangman, Jincheol, Sanggyu, Jaehyuk, and the other gangsters spotted him.
“Jincheol. That’s him. That’s the part-timer kid.”
“Little punk looks like he doesn’t know his place. Hey!! Get over here!!”
Dongchul spat out the cigarette smoke, dropped the butt on the ground, crushed it with his sneaker, and muttered,
“Fucking pig bastard…”
He set his bag down on the ground and slowly unzipped it.
“You think you can’t beat me alone so you brought your lackeys? Cowardly piece of shit.”
“Cowardly?! There’s no such thing as cowardice or fair play in a fight!! Winner takes all!!”
The gangsters pulled out sashimi knives and jackknives from their sides. Sangman drew a stiletto knife, flicked it open, and asked Dongchul,
“I’ll ask you one more time. Where’s that girl Minji?”
“Didn’t I tell you? If you touch Minji again, I’ll cut your throat off.”
As he spoke, Dongchul pulled a hand axe from his bag. Seeing it, Jaehyuk recalled the Dongchul from his previous life who had slaughtered enemies with an axe.
So he was already using an axe back then. At just twenty-one years old…
“The one getting their throat cut will be you, you stupid bastard. Get him!!!”
The gangsters charged at Dongchul. He dodged one’s slash, lowered his stance, and swung the axe, burying the blade in the man’s leg.
“Aaaagh!!”
The gangster collapsed, blood pouring from his leg.
When another tried to stab Dongchul’s side while his back was against the wall, Dongchul grabbed the man’s wrist and dodged the knife thrust aimed at his neck. At the same time, he brought the axe down on the attacker’s arm.
He swung the axe wide to the side, slightly loosened his grip on another gangster’s wrist, and kicked the man in the stomach with his left foot, slamming him into the wall ahead.
“You son of a bitch!!”
The other gangsters swung their blades at him. But Dongchul moved with incredible speed, dodging and blocking their attacks before chopping at their legs and arms with the axe, dropping them one by one.
One tried to slash Dongchul’s throat with a sashimi knife, but Dongchul swung his axe and embedded the blade in the man’s wrist. At the same time, he twisted his body clockwise to avoid a stab aimed at his side.
Leaning his back against the wall on his left, he kicked another attacker in the stomach with a front kick and swung the axe at him.
Watching Dongchul fight the gangsters, Jaehyuk thought,
His speed and technique are excellent, but he’s not used to killing, so he’s avoiding fatal blows. If he still feels that way about taking lives… it might not be too late.
Dongchul buried the axe in one gangster’s shoulder, incapacitating everyone except Jaehyuk, Jincheol, Sangman, and Sanggyu.
Covered in blood, Dongchul panted heavily as he glared at Sangman and pointed the axe at him.
“Hey. You come at me too. Sending your lackeys first and just standing there looking cool?”
“This son of a bitch…”
As Sangman stepped forward, Jaehyuk stopped him.
“I’ll take him. Give me that knife first.”
Sangman hesitated for a moment before handing over the knife. Now facing Dongchul, Jaehyuk heard him ask,
“Who the hell are you? I’ve never seen you before…”
Jaehyuk looked at him and remembered the Dongchul from his previous life—the one who had fought desperately to save him even with axe blades and knives buried in his torso. The one who had barely managed to leave the words “You must survive” before dying with his throat more than halfway cut.
To think we’d meet again like this…
“What are you? Why aren’t you saying anything all of a sudden?”
Considering his family situation, I don’t want to push him any deeper into the underworld. But he’s not the type to listen to words of warning. I don’t like it… but I have to come at him hard.
Gripping the knife and settling into a stance, Jaehyuk said to Dongchul,
“Come at me.”
In response, Dongchul charged at him, swinging the axe.