Retribution
While quietly glaring at the delinquents who had tried to do something horrible to Suyeon, Jaehyuk gripped a jackknife in his right hand. He walked into the room where she had collapsed and picked up the propofol bottle rolling across the floor with his left hand. Then he approached the first delinquent he had subdued—Lee Hyunmyeong—crouched down, showed him the bottle, and asked.
“Be honest. Where did you get this?”
“That… we made it ourselves.”
It was an absurdly obvious lie. No matter how far off the deep end today’s high school delinquents had gone, claiming they had manufactured the drug themselves instead of buying it was ridiculous.
“Oh, so you’re saying you produced this on your own and used it? You sure about that?”
“Uh… yeah…”
Jaehyuk nodded slowly, as if he believed him, and set the bottle on the floor. But in the same motion he flipped the jackknife in his right hand so the blade pointed downward, then drove it into Hyunmyeong’s thigh and slowly twisted it.
“Aaaargh!!”
Hyunmyeong screamed as the muscles in his thigh tore apart. The other delinquents shrieked in terror at the sudden violence.
“Kyaaah!!”
“You fucking psycho!”
“P-please! Spare us! Please!!”
Jaehyuk kept twisting the knife buried in the boy’s thigh, then yanked it out in one swift motion.
“If you’re going to lie, at least make it believable. How the hell would a bunch of broke, talentless high-school kids produce propofol?”
“Ugh… p-please… spare me… I was wrong…”
Blood poured from Hyunmyeong’s leg as he trembled in terror, writhing in agony. Jaehyuk stood up and swept his gaze across the rest of the delinquents. The killing intent in his eyes was so intense it no longer looked human.
“Tell me the truth. All of you. Where did you get it?”
“We… we don’t—!”
When one of them tried to claim ignorance, Jaehyuk kicked him in the solar plexus, knocking him flat. He planted his sneaker on the boy’s head and pressed down hard while staring at the others.
“Stop bullshitting me and answer. Where did you get it?”
Hyeji answered through terrified sobs.
“I really don’t know! I swear!”
Jaehyuk stayed silent for a moment, then dropped the jackknife onto the floor with a clatter. He lifted his foot from the boy’s head, walked into the bathroom, and returned with a basin.
“You guys like to drink, right? Maybe after you choke down some booze you’ll feel like talking.”
He poured every bottle of soju and beer they had into the basin, mixing it all together. Then he grabbed Hyeji by the hair and shoved her face into the liquid. She thrashed wildly, gurgling as air bubbles rose frantically from the mixture. Jaehyuk only pressed harder, refusing to let her up.
After roughly two minutes he finally lifted her head. She gasped desperately for air.
“Where did you get it?”
“I d-don’t knooow!!”
He slammed her face back into the basin and held her down for a full three minutes this time. Eventually she couldn’t resist any longer and was forced to swallow the alcohol. While her head was still submerged she vomited into the mixture, the disgusting contents floating on the surface.
Jaehyuk pulled her up by the hair again. With filth smeared across her face and her chest heaving, he asked once more.
“Where did you get it?”
His eyes made it clear that silence would not be tolerated. In truth, Jaehyuk had no particular objection to killing these irredeemable pieces of garbage. Every delinquent in the room shook with pure terror.
“Not answering?”
“………”
Whether from fear of Jaehyuk or fear of the consequences if she spoke, Hyeji remained silent. He released her hair. Then he picked up a metal spoon and lighter from the floor and began heating the spoon over the flame.
The delinquents watched the metal glow hotter and hotter. They realized what was coming and began struggling wildly in panic.
“Eek…! We were wrong! Please spare us!!”
“I’ll tell you everything! I’ll talk!!”
Despite their desperate pleas, Jaehyuk showed no mercy. He continued the cruel, rage-fueled torture, using every tool and technique at his disposal—the heated spoon, the basin of liquor, and far worse—until he had wrung every last piece of information from them.
In the end the delinquents told him everything he wanted to know. But Jaehyuk did not let them walk away intact. He left them crippled to the point that death would have been a mercy, barely clinging to life, and walked out of the hideout.
Meanwhile, Jihun had rushed Suyeon to the emergency room. He stood beside her bed, watching over her as she lay unconscious.
Will she be okay? From what I saw earlier, Jaehyuk’s eyes looked pretty far gone… Still, nothing too serious should have happened.
He gazed at her peaceful, unconscious face.
I know this isn’t the time to be thinking it, but… why is she so pretty?
Just looking at her made his cheeks burn and his heart race faster. At that moment a doctor approached and asked,
“Excuse me, are you the guardian for Lee Suyeon?”
“Ah… yes. I’m her guardian. How is she?”
“There’s no immediate danger, however…”
The doctor hesitated, as if debating whether to continue, then asked,
“Has Lee Suyeon ever been diagnosed with a psychiatric condition?”
Jihun had no way of knowing, so he answered with a question of his own.
“Why do you ask?”
“We detected a significant amount of propofol in her bloodstream.”
“Propofol… you mean the drug?”
“Yes.”
Jihun’s eyes widened in shock. He glanced at the still-unconscious girl on the bed.
Those bastards looked about the same age as me… What the hell were they planning to do to her?
He fell silent for a moment, deep in thought, then asked the doctor,
“Just a second—may I make a phone call?”
“Of course.”
Jihun scrolled through his contacts, found Jaehyuk’s number, and dialed.
Meanwhile Jaehyuk, who had just left the delinquents’ hideout, answered the call.
“Hey, Jihun. How’s Suyeon?”
“They say there’s no major problem, but… they found drugs in her system.”
Jaehyuk remained calm, as if he had expected it.
“Was it only propofol?”
“Hold on…”
There was a brief pause while Jihun spoke with the doctor, then he returned to the line.
“Yeah, just propofol. How did you know?”
“I had a hunch. Guys who drag a girl off to do that kind of thing aren’t going to leave her body untouched.”
In Jaehyuk’s previous life, Suyeon had died because the delinquents injected her with far too much propofol while assaulting her. The overdose had suppressed her breathing until she stopped breathing entirely. Knowing that history, he had already guessed propofol would show up in her blood.
“Which hospital is she in?”
“Geumgang Hospital emergency room.”
“Got it. I’m on my way.”
Jaehyuk hung up, flagged down a passing taxi, and climbed into the back seat.
“Geumgang Hospital, please.”
The taxi sped off toward the hospital.
When Jaehyuk arrived at the emergency room, Suyeon was still unconscious. Two burly men in plain clothes stood beside her bed along with Jihun.
Police. Must be because they found drugs in her system.
Pretending ignorance, Jaehyuk asked the men,
“Excuse me, what brings you here?”
The man wearing glasses pulled an ID from his pocket and showed it to him.
“I’m Sergeant Yeo Sangmin of the Narcotics Crime Investigation Team at OO Police Station. Are you a family member of Lee Suyeon?”
“No, but I have her family’s contact information.”
Sangmin pocketed the ID again.
“Propofol was detected in her system. If it had been prescribed following a psychiatric evaluation, we could overlook it. However…”
He glanced at the unconscious girl.
“If it was taken without any diagnosis, the situation changes.”
“What if it was injected against her will?”
“If there is evidence or witnesses, Miss Suyeon would be recognized as a victim of assault.”
Jaehyuk met Sangmin’s eyes.
“There were people who forcibly injected her with drugs.”
Sangmin’s eyebrows rose slightly.
“Do you have any information on the suspects?”
Jaehyuk lied without hesitation.
“Yes. One of the perpetrators contacted me saying Suyeon was about to be raped while drugged. My friend Kang Jihun and I took her from them and brought her here.”
“Why would one of the suspects contact you?”
“He apparently felt guilty about going that far.”
Sangmin opened the memo app on his phone.
“Do you know their personal details?”
“Yes. They attend Mansung High School, and…”
Jaehyuk recited everything he knew while Sangmin took careful notes. Once the statement was complete, Sangmin pocketed his phone.
“Understood. We may need a follow-up statement later, so I’d appreciate your phone number.”
Jaehyuk gave it to him, and Sangmin saved the contact. After the police left, Jaehyuk turned to Jihun.
“Thanks for coming.”
“Don’t mention it.”
Jaehyuk looked at the still-unconscious Suyeon.
“You must be tired. Go home and rest. I’ll stay with her.”
“You sure you’ll be okay?”
“I’m fine. Go get some sleep.”
Jihun’s expression was reluctant, like a kindergarten boy who didn’t want to leave his pretty teacher’s side. After hesitating a long moment while staring at Suyeon, he finally left the emergency room. Only Jaehyuk remained at her bedside.
Some time later, Suyeon’s eyes fluttered open. When she saw Jaehyuk, tears slowly welled up in her eyes.
“Suyeon, are you all right?”
“Jaehyuk oppa…”
Her voice trembled. Jaehyuk gently took her hand in both of his, trying to comfort her.
Still crying, she asked,
“What happened…? Where’s my brother? Where is oppa?”
If I call Jeonghan now it’ll turn into a whole scene…
But seeing the tears in her eyes as she searched for her brother, Jaehyuk’s resolve weakened.
Well… I’ve already taken care of most of it. It should be fine.
He took out his phone, gave her a small smile, and said,
“I’ll call him right now.”
How long had it been since he explained the situation to Jeonghan?
Jeonghan burst into the emergency room, half-panicked, and ran straight to his sister’s side.
“Suyeon!! Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?!”
“I’m not hurt… but… I was so scared…”
Her eyes were still brimming with tears. Jaehyuk placed a reassuring hand on Jeonghan’s shoulder.
“She’s fine. Take a breath.”
Jeonghan sat down heavily, breathing deeply until he regained some composure, then asked,
“So… everything you told me on the phone… it’s all true?”
His fist was clenched tight, anger and shock still burning in his eyes.
“Yeah. But I already dealt with them and talked to the police, so calm down for now.”
Jaehyuk spoke carefully, worried Jeonghan might repeat the same mistake from their previous lives.
“Right… At least Suyeon is safe. That’s what matters…”
“Just to be sure— you’re not planning to go after them and kill them all, right?”
At Jaehyuk’s question, Suyeon grabbed her brother’s hand.
“Oppa… I’m really okay, so please don’t do anything dangerous because of me. Promise?”
Her anxious plea made Jeonghan take another deep breath. He finally nodded.
“Huu… All right.”
Watching the two of them, Jaehyuk let out a quiet sigh of relief. One of the tragedies from his previous life had been corrected.
After the Lee Suyeon kidnapping incident had been settled, Jihun lay in bed at home, trying to sleep. But the image of Suyeon’s face kept floating through his mind, making rest impossible.
Why am I like this…? Don’t tell me I’ve actually fallen for Jeonghan’s little sister.
He tossed and turned, sighing again.
Her name was… Lee Suyeon, right? I can’t stop thinking about her. I’ve never felt this way about any other girl…
Jihun was tall—well over six feet—good-looking, athletically gifted, and came from money. He was popular at Taegwang High School and even at neighboring schools. He had received several confessions and dated a few girls, but none had ever matched his ideal type, so the relationships never lasted long.
Come to think of it, which high school does she go to? Should I ask Jaehyuk tomorrow? No, that’d be way too obvious.
Thoughts of Suyeon kept him awake until the early hours of the morning, when he finally drifted off.