Four Warning Shots (Part 3)
Those roughly two seconds felt interminably long and shockingly intense to Cho Cheol-woong.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang—!
The thunderous gunfire hammered at his ears as four pillars of dust exploded into the air right in front of him.
“Ugh!”
Cho Cheol-woong, Master Sergeant Hong, and the other special forces operator all let out low groans as they tumbled backward onto their rear ends.
‘I miscalculated…….’
In the brief instant it took to scramble back inside the clothing store, Cho Cheol-woong’s mind flooded with regret. He had thought the enemy fell for the bait, but the opponent wasn’t someone who could be fooled so easily. His heart pounded violently. There was no way to handle the next barrage of fire. The thought that his error in judgment might cost one of his men their life made his chest constrict. Yet…… those four shots were the end of it. The opponent didn’t follow up with a second volley, as if he had run out of ammunition. It was an absurd, impossible situation.
“Haa……! Haa……! Are you all right, Major?”
Master Sergeant Hong, sprawled on the store floor, asked between breaths.
“Yeah, I’m fine. What about you guys……?”
Cho Cheol-woong lifted his head to check on his men, but his face hardened. His eyes had caught the fresh marks left by the bullets.
‘……What the hell?’
Wondering if he was seeing things, Cho Cheol-woong blinked. Four bullet holes drilled into the floor in a perfectly straight line, spaced at exact intervals like they had been measured with a ruler. Even as he stared, he could hardly believe it. Even more astonishing was the fact that all four rounds had struck almost simultaneously, like a single burst. To pull off that kind of miracle with a K-2…….
This wasn’t a miss or a targeting error. With that one barrage, the shooter had demonstrated his overwhelming skill and delivered a clear warning: turn back before you get hurt. The message even carried an implicit threat—if you cross this line, I won’t hold back.
“……What the hell is this?”
From behind him came the quiet murmurs of Master Sergeant Hong and the other operator. The four bullet holes were just as shocking to them.
‘It’s him!’
A single sentence flashed through Cho Cheol-woong’s mind. But the images connected to it were two.
The incredible private he had met at the Samcheok Homeplus last summer, and the godlike sniping skill he had witnessed from the second floor of that unfinished building in Taereung. Whether the two were the same person or not, it didn’t matter. Either way, this was the man Cho Cheol-woong had wanted to meet.
“Huu……!”
Pressed flat against the wall, Cho Cheol-woong drew in a deep breath. He had never imagined that simply seeing a bullet grouping would excite him this much. Yet right now he could hear his own heartbeat thundering in his ears.
“The men are asking if they can return fire, Major.”
Master Sergeant Hong relayed the request with one hand on his radio receiver. If they started shooting at each other here, both sides would suffer serious losses. Cho’s team had plenty of elite assassins, but the monster hiding somewhere out there was closer to a magician. That was an outcome Cho Cheol-woong found extremely difficult to accept—especially after the man had already spared their lives once as a warning.
Even so, simply retreating like this was out of the question. No matter how skilled the opponent was, if the 707 Special Mission Group turned tail after only four gunshots, the morale of every man would plummet. As their leader, Cho Cheol-woong decided to move while still achieving his objective.
“Tell them to take their fingers off the triggers…… and find anything white.”
Cho Cheol-woong cautiously peered outside and reached a hand back.
“You mean something like this, sir?”
A moment later Master Sergeant Hong handed him a white blouse he had taken from a hanger. It was covered in months of yellowish dust, but it was still unmistakably white. Cho Cheol-woong shook the blouse outside the wall and shouted loudly toward the direction the shots had come from.
“Hey! I saw that! Nice shooting! Yeah! You’re right! If we fight here, both sides will only get hurt! There’s no point! But…… let’s talk!”
Shouting loudly when he didn’t know the connection between the helicopter they had been chasing and this miraculous marksman wasn’t exactly wise, but his pounding heart left him no choice.
“Damn it……”
Jinwoo swept a hand down his face and muttered to himself.
“If he realized I could kill him anytime, he should have just left. Why the hell is he……”
His mind was so tangled he couldn’t even tell whether getting involved with that man was the right move.
What did that guy want? Why did he keep insisting on talking? It didn’t seem related to the Witch. More importantly…… would he remember me? If he asks why the guy from the Samcheok nuclear plant is here, what do I say? That I’ve done enough service for the country and just discharged myself? Would that be enough to get through this? Damn it, the guy isn’t even a captain or first lieutenant—he’s a full major……. Should I lie and say I’m under Lieutenant General Kim? No, that feels off too……. If he asks what division and battalion I’m from, what do I tell him? What about the Witch? What if he asks about her?
Countless questions raced through his head in an instant. Not a single one had a clear, simple answer.
“Can’t you hear me? I said let’s talk!”
When Jinwoo’s silence stretched on, Cho Cheol-woong shouted again and very slowly extended the hand holding the blouse past the wall. Then he stretched out his arm and shoulder as well. Master Sergeant Hong flinched and tried to stop him.
“Major! It’s dangerous!”
“If he really wanted to shoot us, we’d already be dead. Don’t worry.”
Cho Cheol-woong answered coldly, then jerked his chin toward the bullet impacts on the floor. Even Master Sergeant Hong had to agree in the face of such incredible skill. The major was right. With that level of ability, the man could have killed all three of them earlier if he had wanted to.
“Instead of worrying about me, tell the men again. The other side has no intention of fighting, so do not fire first under any circumstances.”
After giving Master Sergeant Hong strict orders, Cho Cheol-woong stepped out of the store, waving the white blouse like a flag of truce.
Step—!
With his head held high and chest thrust out, Cho Cheol-woong crossed the boundary line Jinwoo had drawn with his shots, moving as carefully as an astronaut taking his first step on the moon.
“You remember me, right? We’ve met before!”
Cho Cheol-woong called out. Whether it had been in Samcheok or Taereung, he was certain they had met. If this miraculous sniper was actually a third person, that would be even more surprising.
Whoooosh—!
The wind blew indifferently. The other side still gave no response. Cho Cheol-woong slowly set his MP5 down on the roof of a car parked by the roadside and shouted again.
“You have something you want to say to me too! That’s why you shot the wall instead of my head earlier!”
“……That’s not it! I didn’t know how much firepower you had, so I tried to resolve this peacefully! So just…… go away already!”
Jinwoo stared hard at Cho Cheol-woong through the hand mirror and muttered under his breath. The Sheriff scratched the side of his head in clear irritation.
“Ah, fuck! That old man is damn persistent. Now I get why the girls said they hated guys who get obsessed.”
Even as he grumbled, the Sheriff never suggested shooting or killing the man. If it had been Mingu…… the story would have been completely different.
Maybe I should just run…….
Jinwoo glanced down the alley behind them, considering. If he fired another warning shot and sprinted into the alley while the opponent hesitated, he could escape this spot. But…… how far could he really get that way? One zombie horde and the gunshots would give him away, and they would be right on his tail. Even if he somehow shook them, as long as they held Myeonmok Station, they would clash again eventually. This place was only a kilometer from the Costco. He couldn’t give it up to anyone.
Step—! Step—!
While the two friends gritted their teeth, Cho Cheol-woong continued closing the distance without stopping, taking one calm step after another—neither rushing nor moving too slowly.
“Look, this is my pistol! I’m putting it down too! I’m unarmed now!”
After advancing a few more meters, Cho Cheol-woong drew his handgun from its holster and set it on the roof of another car.
“Huu…… what do we do, Sheriff?”
Jinwoo asked, glaring at Cho Cheol-woong, who had drawn close enough to be clearly visible. The distance between them was now less than thirty meters. If the major came any closer or entered the building, they would have no choice but to meet face to face. Actually, facing him wasn’t what scared Jinwoo. What terrified him was the possibility that his own decisions might once again bring harm to his friends, to Jenny and Terra.
Flash—!
Once again, the illusion of Lieutenant Ha flickered before Jinwoo’s eyes and vanished. Her gaunt cheeks as she bled out trusting him, the way her body temperature had grown colder and colder, all of it rose vividly in his memory. He could not go through that again.
“Should I shoot him now, Sheriff? Huh?”
Jinwoo asked, breathing lightly. The Sheriff’s eyes widened.
“Shoot him? You mean blow that old man’s head off?”
Jinwoo nodded.
The Sheriff let out a hollow laugh.
“Ha! You crazy bastard! The guy’s walking over with both arms in the air. How the hell am I supposed to do something that pathetic?”
“Come out! Let’s talk face to face! You weren’t such a coward before! I guarantee your safety! We will absolutely not shoot first!”
Cho Cheol-woong crossed the car-choked road and climbed into the small park beside the subway entrance, shouting again.
Grrrrrrr—!
Sensing Jinwoo’s tension, Samsuk-i curled his lips back and bared his teeth. He looked ready to leap down and tear out Cho Cheol-woong’s throat at any moment.
“No, no. Easy, Samsuk-i. Stay! It’s okay!”
Jinwoo calmed the dog. If even Samsuk-i started rampaging, everything would truly spiral out of control. Besides, he didn’t want his loyal friend to get hurt.
“He really doesn’t look like the others want to shoot, does he?”
The Sheriff narrowed his eyes, scanning the area. Jinwoo checked the mirror hanging on the building across from the station and answered.
“Yeah, no one’s moving. And…… if they were going to shoot, they would have returned fire when I fired those warning shots earlier.”
None of the enemy showed any sign of moving to locate the sniper’s position. That meant the group was under perfect control. Which only made them more frightening…….
“Fine……. Wait here.”
His patience finally exhausted, the Sheriff set down his oxygen tank and backpack and stood up. Jinwoo’s eyes widened.
“What are you doing?”
“I’ll go out and chase him off. He says talking is his wish, so I’ll grant it. If the conversation doesn’t work, I’ll just hit him once……”
The Sheriff answered as casually as if he were breaking up a bar fight. He seemed to have already forgotten that these men were from the 707 Special Mission Group and that the one approaching was their commander. Jinwoo grabbed his sleeve.
“Hey! Wait! If we’re going to talk, I should do it. Why are you——?”
“If you go and they shoot you, there won’t be anyone left to get revenge, you idiot! Do you think I can shoot a gun properly?”
The Sheriff shook off Jinwoo’s hand with a loud, matter-of-fact declaration and headed down the stairs.
“Hey! Old man!”
The Sheriff announced his appearance with a booming voice like a train whistle and strode out of the building.
“After all this, you should’ve realized I don’t want to talk! Why do you keep bothering us, huh? Last time we made a deal you turned around real cool, didn’t you!”
He shouted in his characteristic mix of polite and casual speech, waving his hand as if shooing away a fly.
“We’ve got nothing to say, so go back! There’ll be zombies here soon, so take your gun and don’t get hurt for nothing, mister!”
If the other party responded with casual speech or curses right from the start, the Sheriff would immediately switch to the same tone. Age difference of about twenty years meant nothing to him.
“I see. So it really was you with those shoulders earlier.”
Cho Cheol-woong smiled as if pleased, once again noting the Sheriff’s large frame and broad shoulders. But the Sheriff did not smile back.
“Huh? ……You called me ‘punk’?”
The Sheriff snorted and stared hard at Cho Cheol-woong. Even as the Sheriff approached with heavy, threatening steps, Cho Cheol-woong continued speaking with relaxed composure.
“Tell your colleague to come out too. Or…… are you the superior?”
“You don’t need to know any of that, so just go! Unless you want to be humiliated in front of your subordinates!”
The Sheriff frowned and raised his voice. Watching from hiding, Jinwoo could only sigh in disbelief.
“You crazy…… you said you were going to talk. Is that how you talk to someone?”
Jinwoo muttered to himself and let out a long breath. Cho Cheol-woong, however, nodded as if this was a welcome development.
“So I have to get through you before I can meet him? ……Heh. Come to think of it, I still have some unfinished business with you too. That day……”
Cho Cheol-woong slowly continued speaking as he unfastened the clips on his tactical vest one by one.
“Did you think I didn’t charge at you during that negotiation because I was afraid of you?”
Click—! Click—! Thud—!
After releasing all the side clips and dropping the tactical vest onto the park ground, Cho Cheol-woong slowly shook his head.
“No, that’s not it. I only went there to provide security that day. I simply didn’t want to take unnecessary risks. Someone like you wasn’t even a concern.”
“……What the hell is he saying to himself.”
“Today I’ll make you understand that fact clearly. And I’ll also teach you how to show proper respect to your superiors……. Come on.”
Cho Cheol-woong spread both arms wide and beckoned with just his fingertips, provoking the Sheriff.
“Huu……”
The Sheriff stood with his legs apart and let out a small sigh. According to his usual routine, this was the point where he would spit out, “You come at me, you bastard! I’ll beat you to death!” and start throwing punches. Whether the opponent was a man well over thirty—maybe even closer to forty—or whether he mistakenly thought the Sheriff was a lower-ranking soldier didn’t matter. One look at that body told him the man was trained. But…… those eyes.
The empty left eye socket sitting between the long vertical scar bothered him. He had already known about it, but the longer he looked at it up close, the heavier the message it seemed to carry. According to Jinwoo, the man had both eyes when they met in Samcheok last summer. How great must the sense of loss have been? This man had probably lived his entire life taking pride in nothing but his strength…….
“What are you waiting for? Hesitating now? Or are you waiting for that crippled friend of yours to come help?”
Cho Cheol-woong traced the shape of the scar across his nose for a second provocation. Even when he brought up Mingu, the Sheriff kept both arms lowered as he answered.
“Mister, I don’t hit people with disabilities! So if you really want to fight that badly, bring out someone useful as a substitute……”
Before the Sheriff could finish, Cho Cheol-woong stepped forward nimbly, closing the distance and throwing a straight punch.
Whoosh—!
The sound of Cho Cheol-woong’s gloved right fist cutting through the air rang out. The Sheriff slightly turned his head to dodge, but the major’s fingertips still grazed his chin.
“How about it? Do I still look like a disabled man to you?”
Cho Cheol-woong quickly withdrew his fist and created distance again, raising his hand.
“If I had been holding a combat knife, you would be dead right now.”
“Tsk!”
The Sheriff smiled leisurely and straightened his head back to its original position.
“If you’d been holding a knife, I wouldn’t have let it get that close.”
“Hah, this guy. You can put on quite the act.”
Cho Cheol-woong shook his head as if it were ridiculous. Yet inwardly he was deeply impressed. To dodge that strike without even moving his feet……. This big bastard hadn’t been acting confident for no reason. Cho Cheol-woong’s expression grew serious as he lightly bent his knees and assumed a proper combat stance.
“All right. Then let’s do this for real. And don’t even think about making excuses.”
“Aigoo, really……. You still don’t get that you’re no match for me?”
Despite his words, the Sheriff also turned his body sideways, preparing for a surprise attack. After that graze, he understood. This old man hadn’t become commander of the 707 just by playing Go-Stop.
Whoooosh—!
A late-autumn wind blew a single fallen leaf through the taut, tense air. Just like a scene from a martial arts novel…….