A Clean Finish.
A Clean Finish.
I have a lot of different dreams.
This moment right now is incredibly vivid too, but it's probably a dream.
Ever since I gained an overwhelming memory after reincarnating, my past dreams feel far too vivid.
Joo Gwang-il.
The current ruler of S Company.
The man who, in the past, gave the order to kill me—the man who was very young back then.
The man who had been terrified of me ordered my death because he was afraid.
Well, considering our first meeting was in Russia while I was skinning the boss of the Suka Family alive.
"You've arrived, Chairman."
The man I was greeting was Joo Gwang-il's father, Joo Jin-man.
The man who hired me.
"Hanseong! As expected, you magnificent, impressive bastard... how on earth did you turn Russia into such a haha..."
Even looking back on it now, it was an absurd feat.
With a single word from me—no, a single word from Joo Jin-man, who stood before me—Taebaek's position here was so overwhelming that it could change the Russian regime.
Right on cue, a video played on the TV.
Russians stamped with Taebaek's mark...
Taebaek, which currently held 339 of the 450 seats in the Russian Duma...
When I tore them apart, Joo Jin-man would stitch them back together and make them his own.
That was Taebaek's way, and S Company's way.
And Joo Jin-man and I were closer than you'd think.
Close enough to drink together and confide our private troubles in one another.
But there was one strange thing—I couldn't understand Joo Gwang-il, who was terrified of me.
Given Joo Jin-man's personality, he would've raised his kid out in the wild...
Now that I think about it, Joo Jin-man's son—Joo Gwang-il, who was at least flawless when it came to handling business—had set up his preparations to kill me magnificently.
I left the man writhing with his skin turned inside out behind me and shared a drink with Joo Jin-man.
"This time, the one who seized power pleases me more than I expected."
"Is that so?"
"Thanks to that, there's no one left in Russia to interfere with us. So I will help you. With all my strength..."
"...Thank you."
Joo Jin-man didn't just say the words—he really did search with all his might for the bastards who did that to Amy Allen.
Though from what I heard from Han Jeong-min, they couldn't be found because I'd already killed them.
Then again, the Suka Family boss right in front of my eyes could be one of them.
That was when a blonde woman entered the room.
My shadow of a secretary, Cho-a...
Unlike Jae-hyeong and Park Gi, she was also like a daughter to me.
A black leather glove on her right hand, with the uniquely snow-white skin and overwhelming proportions of a Russian—she possessed a perfect figure.
Blue-eyed, blonde-haired Cho-a with her hair swaying came in humming, carrying a hot pot.
She looked pure, but Cho-a had Taebaek's mark on her neck and the same Tiger tattoo as mine over her left chest. She brought in scalding salt water.
"Pour it."
Her eyes weren't cold like usual—they were blazing. Cho-a approached the Suka Family, and over the flayed skin, the hot salt water trickled.
"Ggghhhhuuugh!!!!!"
They must've loosened his restraints somewhat in the meantime. The Suka Family boss dodged, getting hit with only a small amount of the scalding water, and lunged at Cho-a.
But... a Tiger tattoo...
was not some cheap thing... you could get just by wanting it.
Among the Tigers, most were normal, like Park Gi and Jae-hyeong, but it was also packed with crazy bastards and insane bitches.
Especially Cho-a, my closest aide...
Cho-a set down the steaming kettle as if it were nothing.
With a *shnk!*, she began latching fishhooks she pulled from her wrist onto the man.
Rrrip! Rrrip!
Swinging her rippling blonde hair, faster than anyone...
Even faster than me, Cho-a's face was flushed with excitement as she started hooking the man with fishhooks.
"Ahahahaha!!"
Joo Jin-man and Joo Gwang-il were aghast at the brutality that contrasted so sharply with her appearance.
The Suka Family boss, dozens of hooks embedded in his body, was restrained once more, looking even more wretched and pitiful.
I spoke to Cho-a, who was about to hook a fishhook into his eyelid.
"We have guests, Cho-a. Let's save that for later."
"Yes, Boss~"
Cho-a pulled the fishing line hooked into the man—who couldn't even struggle anymore—back like a rubber band and then let it snap back with a *thwack*.
"Call me when the guests leave~"
"Sure."
I was aware that this was a dream.
You'd call this a lucid dream, I guess...
The viewpoint shifted, and I was sitting in a meadow.
"Boss, why do you drag those brats around? They can't even fight worth a damn."
Cho-a, whose sweet voice was also charming...
Cho-a, who dropped formal speech with me when no outsiders were around.
I accepted the whiskey she was pouring for me.
"Hm... just because? Even so, I do see some real potential in them, don't you?"
"... I don't know about the knife nut, but that one is kinda..."
Right in front of us, Park Gi and Jae-hyeong were fighting a brown bear.
In those days, Park Gi and Jae-hyeong... were the weakest of the weak—even bearing the name Tiger was unacceptable. To us, they were nothing more or less than ordinary civilians.
That was when Park Gi got pinned under the brown bear.
"Oh, looks like the knife nut's about to die?"
"Well, then he'll die."
"Ayy~ who doesn't know what our Boss is thinking~"
I smirked and watched Jae-hyeong shove his hand into the bear's eye, and Park Gi, even pinned beneath it, stabbing its belly with a dagger.
"The more I see 'em, the more interesting those brats get... And they've got more talent than you'd think?"
That was when Jae-hyeong's characteristically huge voice rang out from afar.
"Kang Han-seong, you crazy son of a biiitch!!!!"
Who could possibly cuss me out like that... no, had anyone ever dared before?
Had there been even one single person who treated me like that...
No matter how hard I thought, in my memories of those days, there had been no one.
Not even... when I first set foot in Taebaek.
I pressed my hand to my forehead and laughed.
"Kahahahaha."
Still... he called me that, so I'd have to educate him... under collective responsibility.
Jae-hyeong, after getting beaten black and blue by me, grumbled while he exercised.
"I'll kill him. I'll kill him. Kang Han-seong. I swear I'll... I'll land at least one punch on that mug of his before I die."
The Tigers around me, sharing a drink, jeered at Jae-hyeong.
""Hahahaha!!""
"Cheer up, bro~ I'm betting on you!"
Jae-hyeong was doing push-ups and said in Korean to Mild, who'd just spoken:
"Fuck you~ you son of a bitch~"
"What did he say?"
"Look forward to it, hahaha."
A few of the subordinates who knew Korean curse words cackled.
Then the door burst open and Cho-a slowly walked in.
Everyone here bore the Tiger mark, but only a few could meet Cho-a's eyes.
Cho-a was... a genuine, grade-A crazy bitch who'd try to kill even a fellow Tiger if they were weaker than her...
Seeing the ones who were frightened even while bearing the name Tiger, I thought it was time for a purge.
In the abruptly hushed room, Mild laughed heartily.
"Whoa~ our Cho-a~ didn't you say you were gonna get down and dirty tonight?"
Cho-a stared at Mild wordlessly for two seconds, then smirked.
"I thought he was a soldier, so I got my hopes up, but he tucked tail the second he saw our mark. Hah... Russia's no fun anymore."
Just as Cho-a said, everything we could do in Russia was finished.
Lazing around spending money and getting fat off the foundation we'd built—that didn't suit our nature.
Just as Cho-a said, it was simply no fun...
And now, only my personal business remained. They had all fulfilled their roles completely.
My personal business, too, had moved beyond what I could handle alone...
Now I was only waiting for Joo Jin-man's call.
I threw back a shot of vodka and grinned.
"Everyone go wherever you want to go."
"".....""
Mild looked at me silently, smirked, and then spoke.
"That's one hell of an irresponsible statement, y'know?"
With that single remark, the family around us aimed their killing intent at Mild.
Seeing them give Mild looks like that, I rescind the purge.
"You idiots... you'll never know how much of a pain in the ass managing you bastards is."
I clapped a hand on Mild's shoulder and grinned wide.
Then with my other hand I yanked my clothes aside, exposing Taebaek's mark and the Tiger tattoo.
"Live however the hell you want, but don't forget. Who we are."
Every gaze in the silent room fixed on me.
"Honestly, every last one of you is more than any country can handle. Russia's gotten too small for us... so now, it's time we let the world know who we are."
""Ooooh...!""
"Live doing what you want, but just... show 'em once in a while~ who we are..."
I looked around at them and spoke.
"Call me anytime you wanna see me. Same if you're in trouble... I might not be able to save you, but I'll avenge you."
The ones who understood exactly what I meant by avenging them laughed, a shudder running through them.
Hadn't Russia been reduced to this state for the sake of avenging Amy Allen?
"Cho-a, Mild, Perion, Liu Xuan, Jae-hyeong, Park Gi—everyone else, get out."
""Yes, sir!""
The moment my words ended, Taebaek's Tigers poured out in a rush...
And Mild said with a laugh.
"Jae-hyeong and Park Gi are kinda out of their league with us~"
"Ahaha. True~"
That headcase bastard Jae-hyeong had no fear. Absolutely none.
Though the same went for Park Gi.
If there was a difference between the two, it was that Jae-hyeong provoked people as if he didn't care if he died, no matter who he was up against.
And like that, Jae-hyeong casually flipped Mild the bird.
Jae-hyeong's middle finger had been broken and bent so many times by us it was all gnarled, but this time Mild just laughed it off.
I laughed along with them as they immediately started chattering.
Then I looked at Cho-a, Mild, Perion, and Liu Xuan in turn and continued.
"Guys, keep an eye on 'em for me."
"What about you, Boss?"
"Hm... I'm going to Korea. The rest of you come visit more often than the others."
"Kahaha. Obviously."
Perion and Liu Xuan nodded.
One by one they got up to leave, but Cho-a lingered and looked at me as if she felt hurt.
"What about me?"
"If you follow me, it'll be boring, you know?"
"You're not gonna... kill anyone anymore?"
"Well, I'll still kill... but not like it's been so far, I guess."
"...Fine, then I'll visit often."
"Sure."
"When I do... will you hold me?"
Cho-a... the kid who walked this road with me from the very start...
Just as I was about to say something, Cho-a smirked and spoke.
"Whatever it is, I'll look forward to it?"
And so even Cho-a left, and the space felt desolate.
Park Gi and Jae-hyeong, who'd been outside for a moment, came in, and Jae-hyeong said:
"What, you plannin' to go back to farming or something?"
"Haha... maybe I will?"
"What kind of dream are you having that makes you grin like that?"
At Park Ji-hoon's voice, my eyes fluttered open and I checked my surroundings.
Then I rubbed my eyes, met the gaze of Park Ji-hoon looking at me, and said:
"Just, piss off~ you little shit."
"Look at you acting all high and mighty."
"...?"
"... Ahem... just grade it for me..."
The next day, once the exam period was over, Da-yeon woke me up.
"Si-yoon~"
"Mmnn... huh?"
I smiled at Da-yeon, who was cautiously holding out her exam paper, and marked it for her.
"Ohhhhhh! Daa-yeon!"
"Waaaaah! Si-yoon~"
Da-yeon's exam was perfect, right down to the essay questions.
To the point that what I'd written looked lacking in comparison.
"You're improving more and more!"
"Yeah!"
When I got Kim Tae-oh's and Park Ji-hoon's papers and looked them over, their scores were steadily dropping.
"Haa... seriously, should I just give up on studying...?"
"I concede..."
Before long all the exams were over, and we got ready to leave school.
Park Ji-hoon and Kim Tae-oh headed to the library, saying they'd study. Da-yeon headed for the library too.
During exam season... the number of people who'd hang out with me seriously shrank to almost nothing.
I was walking with Jong-hyeon when I spotted Han Ma-hyeon waiting in the distance.
Right, that's right... I can't forget about you...
What was this feeling... It was an emotion I'd often felt ever since I lost my memories.
In a word, I guess you could say I'd grown disinclined to make a huge mess of things...
Now, I couldn't even feel the necessity or meaning in personally exacting revenge anymore.
I said quietly to Jong-hyeon.
"Deal with it as you see fit."
"...Han Seok-hyeon is..."
"Hm... should we keep him alive after all?"
"...If you're uncertain, I'll handle it on my own discretion."
"Do that. Just keep me posted."
I made a show of naturally turning around as if to run away, and sure enough, Han Ma-hyeon shouted loudly enough for me to hear.
"You walk away like that and your friend dies?"
Right then, I checked the text message that flew in, and Han Seok-hyeon was tied up.
The thought 'He's not my friend, and isn't he your own younger brother...?' crossed my mind, but I slowly turned back around.
I followed Han Ma-hyeon and came to a staircase descending into a basement in a deep alleyway.
As I slowly followed down, someone was approaching from behind.
The way they were holding something seemed aimed at striking Jong-hyeon.
But immediately, Jong-hyeon planted a subsonic bullet right into their head.
Phut!
I always feel this, but Jong-hyeon's trigger is frighteningly light.
Even I, back in Russia in the old days, didn't pull the trigger on a civilian that casually without a second thought.
If this were truly the old days, I'd have put Jong-hyeon straight into the Tigers.
Han Ma-hyeon and his crew had already gone inside the building.
Jong-hyeon went in naturally, and I waited while looking at my phone.
Before I knew it, Team 7's vehicle had arrived to pick me up.
Han Tae-yoon, who'd been with Jong-hyeon the longest, opened the vehicle door and greeted me.
"Hello~"
"Did he go in?"
Tae-yoon calls Jong-hyeon "big bro" despite there being nearly thirty years of age difference between them.
"Yes."
When I opened the door and went inside, I found a passage leading farther down.
Below, Han Seok-hyeon was tied up, and the people there wore sinister grins.
"What the hell, where's Kim Si-yoon!?"
Phut.
One round into the head of that brat Han Ma-hyeon, who'd been so noisy and annoying all this time...
In the silent space, Glock in hand, I began to clean without any particular emotion.
With the mindset of sweeping filthy trash off a clean street.
Han Seok-hyeon, bound and squeezing his eyes shut tight...
If my daughter were raising a sewer rat, I wonder if this is how it would feel...
At first I'd wanted to throw it away right then and there, but she wanted it so badly I just left it alone.
And so by now, a feeling had sprouted in me—a reluctance to casually clean it up without my little girl's permission.
"P-please... spare..."
Phut.
After putting a bullet between the eyebrows of the last one, I looked at the rat that had lived in the sewer and said:
"Are you hoping to die together with them, too?"
"Hic... hic..."
Could something like familial affection possibly exist in a filthy rat living in the sewer?
Just as I thought. The tears were falling, but he wanted to live, shaking his head.
"Right..."
Phut.
Thinking that he really had been nothing but a rat after all, I put a hole through his head.
Then I called my right hand, Tae-yoon.
"I'm gonna need some help cleaning up."
-"Yes, I'll be there soon~"
Now the only thing left was to explain things to the young lady.
Please... don't let her be disappointed by my actions...
Kang Jong-hyeon came up alone. Without Han Seok-hyeon beside him, I tilted my head.
"Why are you coming out alone?"
"Seok-hyeon wished to die with his family."
"Huh... Is that so...? I doubt it though?"
"Yes, truthfully I felt uneasy about leaving him alive for many reasons... so I... killed him on my own authority."
Well, it didn't matter either way, but I didn't appreciate that he lied.
"I don't care about what judgment calls you make or how you act."
"...I'm sorry."
"Whatever actions my people take, whatever results come of them—I don't cast them out."
"....."
"However, I do want you to answer only with the truth about those matters. That makes it easier for me to respond too, doesn't it?"
"Understood."
I smiled at Jong-hyeon.
"Let's go home. Dad'll be waiting."
"Understood."