The Price of Defiance
“Wait! Hold on!”
When Mingu reached three, Captain Lee shouted in desperation.
“You’re trying to get information out of me, aren’t you? So why threaten to stab me to death? If I die, you won’t learn a damn thing! The men who came with me don’t know anything!”
“I’ll handle that part myself. You just worry about which knife you’re going to pick so you can win.”
Mingu brushed it off and resumed the countdown.
“Two……”
Captain Lee groaned inwardly and stared at the table. The distance between him and the table was roughly a meter. One step and an outstretched arm would let him grab a knife.
The man with the horizontal scar, however, had backed off at least two meters. And he had made one critical mistake.
He had placed the longest blade—the machete—closest to Captain Lee. Next came the kukri, then the greatsword. If Captain Lee moved first…… he could snatch the machete, sweep its long blade across the others, and keep the scarred man from reaching any weapon at all.
“One……”
The countdown reached the final moment. Captain Lee shook his head violently and yelled.
“I said I won’t do it! I refuse!”
Even as he shouted, his feet were already moving toward the table, his hand stretching for the machete. The headshake had been a feint.
Thud—!
The instant he snatched the machete, a flicker of elation crossed Captain Lee’s face.
I’ve won!
Now he just had to swing it across the table to block the man’s approach, take one more step, and force the scarred man to fight bare-handed. He had no idea how skilled his opponent was, but he was confident he could never lose to someone armed with only a machete against an unarmed foe.
Whoosh—! Whoosh—!
Gripping the machete tightly, Captain Lee sliced the air above the table twice in quick succession. Mingu still hadn’t moved from his original spot.
“Scared now, you bastard?”
Convinced he held the advantage, Captain Lee hurled the insult at Mingu. With his left hand he groped across the table and grabbed the kukri as well. Insurance. If the scarred man somehow closed the distance faster than expected, the kukri could be used to stab.
“So you chose those two? Good choice. Well done. But…… you’re holding them wrong.”
Mingu, who had been watching calmly, pointed at Captain Lee’s left hand clutching the kukri at waist level and offered advice.
“You’re in a stabbing posture right now. That’s not a stabbing knife. You could try, but that stance won’t work.”
Mingu raised his left arm and mimed a diagonal slash.
“You’d be better off holding it high like this. That way you can bring it down if you need to. Or keep it centered with your palm facing out. That’s faster. You can also nick the target and then push upward while driving it in.”
“Bullshit, you crazy bastard……!”
Captain Lee spat the curse and took a careful step forward, kicking the greatsword behind him.
Clang—!
The greatsword skittered across the granite floor and slammed into the wall. Now the table was empty of blades, and the distance between him and the scarred man was just under two meters. With the machete extended, the reach was nearly a meter and a half. Fifty centimeters more and one clean swing would end the arrogant bastard’s life.
“Haa……! Haa……!”
Breathing hard from raw excitement, Captain Lee glanced sideways at Cho Cheol-woong and shouted.
“You gave your word, Major! If I win…… haa……! You’ll let me live, no conditions!”
“I did.”
Even in this situation, Cho Cheol-woong showed no change in expression. He leaned against the window, casually lighting a cigarette as though watching strangers fight had nothing to do with him.
Whoosh—!
Captain Lee gave the machete a light shake, testing a feint. Mingu remained motionless.
The bastard’s frozen stiff!
Captain Lee panted and yelled.
“Just surrender! You…… you don’t have a weapon anymore! I’ll…… haa……! accept your surrender!”
It wasn’t concern for his opponent. He simply wanted to secure victory without risking combat. There was still that 0.1 percent chance he might lose if they actually fought. Yet……
“Hey, catch your breath. Your words are slurring.”
Mingu mocked him, imitating the broken pronunciation with cold sarcasm. He clearly had no intention of surrendering. That was fine. One solid swing was all it would take.
Whoosh! Whoosh! ……“Hyaaaa! Hah!”
After a few more feints to scatter Mingu’s attention, Captain Lee finally committed, swinging the machete down in a powerful diagonal arc.
Swish—!
Mingu twisted aside, letting the blade pass, then closed the distance in a lightning step and covered Captain Lee’s right hand with his own left.
“Ghk!”
A scream burst from Captain Lee as his hand was seized.
He’s going to take the knife!
The image of them wrestling for the machete flashed through his mind, and fear surged.
I can’t let that happen!
Captain Lee yanked his arm back, but Mingu’s fingers clamped down like steel on his thumb and the back of his hand. There was no give.
“Eeeek!”
Captain Lee switched tactics and slashed at Mingu’s arm with the kukri in his left hand. He expected Mingu to release the machete and retreat. Instead…… whoosh—!
While the kukri cut through empty air, Mingu lifted Captain Lee’s right hand.
Crack—!
The blade Captain Lee himself had swung sliced across his own right wrist. Stunned, he screamed and dropped the machete.
“Aaaagh!”
Thud—!
Mingu caught the falling machete in midair, reversed his grip, spun the blade once to build momentum, and drew it across Captain Lee’s left hand.
Slice—!
A red line appeared on the back of Captain Lee’s dangling left hand, followed by a steady flow of blood. A sharp, searing pain flooded his entire body.
“Aaaagh! Aaaah!”
Captain Lee dropped the kukri as well and stumbled backward, howling. Something had gone terribly wrong. This fight had never been winnable……
Thud—!
Mingu set the machete back on the table and slowly picked up the kukri.
“I told you that wasn’t how you hold it.”
Mingu gave the kukri a light snap, spinning it once, and smiled faintly.
“Hold it like this. You can cut in both directions faster this way.”
He demonstrated, palm up, rotating his wrist to show cuts from either side.
“Hnnngh……! Hnnngh……!”
Captain Lee could only groan. He was terrified. The scarred man had moved for less than two seconds, yet that brief clash had been enough to teach him an undeniable truth. This opponent was unbeatable.
“Getting the feel for it now? The key is staying calm and keeping proper form. Don’t be stubborn. ……All right, let’s try again.”
Mingu held the kukri by the blade and offered the handle to Captain Lee.
What the hell……
Staring at the handle right in front of his eyes, Captain Lee’s face twisted. Returning a weapon he had just seized…… he couldn’t understand what this man was thinking.
“Hurry up!”
Mingu shook the kukri impatiently.
“Dying like this would be too unfair, wouldn’t it? Even if it looks hopeless, you should at least try your best.”
It was true. It was undeniably true…… but Captain Lee had no fighting spirit left. With both hands dripping blood, victory was impossible. Skill aside, the two cuts had already shown him how excruciating wounds from that massive blade could be.
A shaving nick was child’s play by comparison. If he attacked again, he would be sliced and carved repeatedly, and that horrifying pain…… he didn’t want it anymore. He was afraid.
“I…… I was wrong!”
Captain Lee collapsed to his knees and raised both hands.
“I’ll tell you everything honestly! Anything! Just ask! I’ll tell you everything I know! So please……!”
“Really giving up? No taking it back later?”
Mingu asked. Captain Lee nodded frantically.
“Yes! Yes! I surrender!”
“Heh……”
Mingu crouched right in front of him and smiled.
“The face of a man who still thinks begging leaves room to fight back.”
Just as Captain Lee opened his mouth to insist he had fully submitted and only wished to cooperate, Mingu flicked the kukri.
Thud—!
The blade sliced into the inner thigh of Captain Lee’s left leg. The pain was like being branded with fire. Captain Lee’s vision went black in an instant. The previous two cuts had been nothing compared to this.
“Aaaagh! Nnngh!”
Captain Lee clutched his thigh with both hands and screamed. Mingu had already withdrawn the kukri. He wiped the blade on Captain Lee’s uniform, then continued speaking.
“Wrong. That’s not it.”
“Haa……! Haa……! Haa……!”
Captain Lee’s face contorted with fear and agony. So much blood soaked his trousers and stained his palms red!
“Stop! I said I’d talk! Please! Enough! Aaah, the blood! You crazy……! Major, stop the bleeding! The bleeding……! I’ll die from blood loss at this rate!”
When Captain Lee screamed for help toward Major Oh, Mingu pressed the blade against his face to silence him.
“Hey. Stop exaggerating. I avoided the vein, so you won’t bleed out. And…… it was only a shallow graze. This is barely a scratch.”
This…… is a scratch?
Captain Lee bit his lip and protested inwardly. His thigh still throbbed with indescribable agony…… could there possibly be worse pain than this?
“……Please stop. Don’t do this……”
Captain Lee lowered his head, tears dripping steadily. He no longer had the courage to meet the devil’s eyes.
“One warning. Don’t play the victim. It pisses me off.”
Mingu lifted Captain Lee’s chin with the flat of the kukri and spoke coldly.
“If Jinwoo hadn’t caught that helicopter that day, we would’ve died. If that scheming bastard hadn’t prepared the bulletproof table, we would’ve died too. You already stepped into a world where people kill and get killed. And today you came here to kill helpless girls again.”
“No…… that’s……”
“When you attempt that kind of job, failure means offering your own life. You failed twice, so you die. The only choice you have left is how long and how painfully you suffer before the end. Understand?”
Mingu stared into Captain Lee’s eyes, each word driven like a nail.
Gulp—!
Captain Lee swallowed the pathetic pleas that had been rising in his throat. He understood now. One more word, one more cowardly sob, and the pain would be far worse than before.
“If you understand, answer.”
Mingu commanded. Failure to reply within a second would mean another cut.
“Hnn…… hnnngh…… y-yes! Yes!”
Captain Lee forced the single word out through choking sobs.
“Good. Thinking about how those kids almost died because of scum like you makes me want to skin you alive and chop you into pieces. But I made a promise. If you tell the truth, I won’t go that far.”
Mingu sheathed the kukri behind his back, pulled a cigarette from his suit pocket, and placed it between Captain Lee’s lips.
“Take a drag, then spill everything slowly. Start with who first suggested killing that stupid girl and to whom. Every time you feel like lying, remember your thigh. I don’t give verbal warnings.”
Mingu lit both cigarettes with a lighter. Despite the offered smoke, his icy demeanor held no trace of mercy. Only now did Captain Lee fully grasp the meaning behind Mingu’s earlier words: “I don’t know how strong your sense of loyalty is, but my skill is far above it.”
This man could skin him alive while smiling. No—he was that kind of demon. Any attempt to hide the truth would bring a brutal price.
“Huuu……! Kgh……!”
Captain Lee took the bloodied cigarette in trembling fingers, wiped his tears, and asked in a resigned voice.
“Could I…… have a glass of soju as well?”
He looked like a condemned man requesting his last meal. Mingu smiled coldly.
“Hah! Give you a smoke and you think you’re in a luxury cell? You’ll get what you get when the time comes. For now, talk while you’re still sober. Wouldn’t want to get stabbed while rambling drunk, would you?”
“……Yes. Huuu…… The whole thing started with a proposal from Director Yang of Taeyang SNC. It was…… when it became Brigadier General Park’s turn to put up an advertisement on the Busan Station billboard…… Yang contacted him to meet. So…… Brigadier General Park and Lieutenant Colonel Jeong had drinks with Director Yang…… and that’s where…… Yang said Hwang Nayeon wanted to handle the negotiations in Brigadier General Park’s place……”
Captain Lee took a shaky drag, then continued in a hoarse voice.
“But then Director Yang made a strange offer…… He said he would eliminate Hwang Nayeon at the negotiation site and seize the serum, so he needed their cooperation. Even if Chairman Hwang found out, the blame for killing Hwang Nayeon would fall on Brigadier General Kim of Chungju, so there was nothing to worry about…… If they helped, Taeyang would supply them with more than twice the usual amount of goods, enough to build the strongest force…… That was the offer, from what I heard.”
“And what does Director Yang gain from taking such a reckless gamble, Captain?”
Cho Cheol-woong, who had been listening from behind while taking notes, asked the question. Even if the Witch was removed, her power would never pass to the president of Taeyang SNC. He was merely the hired head of a subsidiary company.
“Well…… there’s that widespread rumor about Chairman Hwang’s son, isn’t there?”
Captain Lee exhaled a long stream of smoke. The fact that he called it a rumor suggested he hadn’t seen the actual footage himself.
“If the daughter is eliminated on top of that…… only the Chairman remains. Then the wife’s family could take over Taeyang…… The Jeong family’s company would become the Yoon family’s company…… That’s what Lieutenant Colonel Jeong told me.”
“Hah……”
Cho Cheol-woong let out a stunned exclamation.
“So after removing Hwang Nayeon, they plan to go after Chairman Hwang next?”
The story was growing darker by the minute. The precarious balance that had barely held until now…… was about to shatter.