Chapter 244

There are people who exude a sense of weight without even trying. For Jeong Sang-tae, that person was Moon Seok-il, his friend and leader. A man who lived a life stained with blood yet showed no emotional changes, simply calling it work. As the leader of a four-man group and the training captain, he didn’t need to make an effort to maintain composure. His innate nature and the twists and turns of his life had shaped him that way.

But today, even the onlookers could sense his emotional turmoil. It wasn’t anger. His face was excited, like Jeong Sang-tae’s second son wiggling his buttocks at a new toy.

“Boss this, boss that… It’s because of Jin-hyeok, isn’t it?”

Still, his blazing eyes were terrifying. He should’ve worn sunglasses.

Jeong Sang-tae and Kang Heon-chang sat at angles, staring at Moon Seok-il, excluding Kim In-rang, who had turned away in a huff.

Moon Seok-il, who had been tapping his temple with his index finger, finally spoke.

“Heon-chang, find out everyone involved in the local real estate development business. Sang-tae, start with that Chinese cigarette shop. Sang-tae will finish first, so join Heon-chang as soon as you’re done tailing.”

“Okay.”

They focused on why there were so many empty houses near Jo Seol-chan’s place and why the cleared lots had turned into vegetable gardens. The city was rapidly growing, with apartment complexes popping up everywhere.

Even the apartments used as staff housing by General Family had been sold to the public in response to market demand.

And according to Kang Heon-chang, a smoker, there was only one shop in town that sold foreign cigarettes.

“Hyung, what if something tiring happens in the middle?”

“Act first, report later.”

A predictable answer to a cliché question.

It was a routine they always followed to keep the tension alive.

A way to remind each other to stay alert.

“As for In-rang…”

“Me? What about me?”

Whether Kim In-rang pouted like a rebellious child or not, Moon Seok-il, holding his chin, fell into thought.

Even without causing a scene, that guy always kept them on edge. Afraid he might cause trouble.

‘That guy’s only good at using brute force.’

No wonder they always made him the pack mule when they operated as a four-man group. The Chinese character in his name wasn’t even “郞” (man) but “囊” (bag). A fitting name for a pack mule. They only called him “Rang” because it sounded nice in Korean.

At least he was strong and obedient like a docile donkey.

Ah, I can entrust him with the task Jin-hyeok asked for.

“Take care of Seol-chan for a while. Boss’s request—no, order.”

“Got it.”

Chewing gum, Kim In-rang answered half-heartedly.

“Do it properly.”

“Ah, yeah.”

Sigh, this guy keeps grumbling till the end.

“I’ll meet with Detective Yeo and come back. Everyone, do your jobs, and let’s meet here tomorrow morning.”

“Detective Yeo? Meeting a woman? Is she pretty?”

Kim In-rang, who had been wriggling like a centipede putting on shoes, widened his eyes.

“Her name is Yeo Hyung-man. Do you really think Hyung-man is a woman’s name?”

Moon Seok-il calmly explained, having reached the limits of his patience.

Scolding that blockhead Kim In-rang was a daily routine, but after ten years, you just let him be.

Moon Seok-il planned to gather information from the police.

He had already laid the groundwork, so getting the list wouldn’t be difficult.

“You’re not moving based on some strange hypothesis again, are you?”

“Not this time.”

Kang Heon-chang shot a sharp glance, but Moon Seok-il brushed it off.

However, even Jeong Sang-tae’s experience couldn’t be avoided.

“Only those who’ve tasted blood would do such things. You’re not just dirt-eaters. Stay alert.”

Even so, it’s probably nothing. Muttering, Jeong Sang-tae lightly stood up.

Moon Seok-il smiled, seeing through his friend’s thoughts.

“Move now.”

“Is there any point in asking how long?”

Jeong Sang-tae, who had draped his coat over his jacket, smirked.

“Don’t take more than three days. If we’re slow and the boss has to step in, what would that make us look like?”

It’s not like we’d hand them over to the police like the dog thief we caught ourselves…

Jin-hyeok, who had called from the hospital, had subtly mentioned a three-day deadline.

While cleaning up the gangsters, they had learned one thing.

Whether it was out of loyalty or the illusion of honor, they never let the boss get his hands dirty.

Well, the bosses were all old anyway, so they didn’t have the strength for it.

***

Jin-hyeok sat on the sofa, holding Yoo Jin, who was sprawled out, dangling her legs. Despite having many brothers and sisters, Yoo Jin wasn’t her usual lively self, perhaps finding the hospital boring.

With all the attention on baby Jeong-won, Yoo Jin couldn’t be excited. Since meeting Haengun-i, she preferred playing with the bird rather than hanging out with adults much older than her.

“Yoo Jin, do you want to go home?”

“Yes~. The hospital smell gives me a headache~. Haengun-i must be cold. I need to open the window~. And I have to feed Ajigom~.”

Ajigom, stained with the marks of time, had no mouth, only a white spot under his nose. It was because Yoo Jin, after visiting the dentist, became obsessed with playing hospital. Under the nose, that’s where the mouth should be…

“Let’s stay here a little longer, then go home with your brother.”

“Okay…”

After comforting Yoo Jin, Jin-hyeok observed the people coming and going in the hospital room.

Friends sneaking smiles, Jo Seol-chan laughing brightly, the grandmother beaming at Jeong-won, the hospital director showing up for the VIP’s visit. As always, he felt most comfortable watching from a step back rather than being in the center of the action.

Jo Seol-chan decided to follow the doctor’s advice to stay hospitalized for three more days to focus on recovery. He wanted to demand discharge, saying he could run out immediately, but he couldn’t go against Son Kwang-yeon and Han Yu-young, who sided with the doctor.

“Hi-ami? Daddy’s a babo~? Tteo~, tteo~. Mama~.”

“That’s right, that’s right. Good, good~. Okay~.”

The grandmother laughed heartily, watching Son Jeong-won offer rice cakes.

She said she felt alive again after seeing the baby. How hard and tough must her life have been to feel that way? Sitting at the market all day, massaging knees and shoulders, couldn’t have been that fun.

“Oh my, how did this boy turn out so pretty? From this side, he looks like his mom, and from that side, he’s the spitting image of his dad~.”

Hahaha~!

The people filling the room didn’t hold back their laughter.

Her voice was the grandmother’s, but her tone was exactly like Jo Seol-chan’s.

Having lived together all their lives, it would’ve been strange if they weren’t alike.

‘Anyway, it’s a relief.’

Patting Yoo Jin’s back as her eyelids fluttered, Jin-hyeok listened to his friends’ chatter.

“…Wow~. It felt like I died and came back to life.”

“What kind of feeling is that? Man, you need to be more specific when you talk, I think.”

Even though Lee Seung-hoon’s tone was something he’d heard since his past life, it still pissed him off every time.

It was a tone that subtly belittled people.

That habit had even caused fights between Lee Seung-hoon and Shin Woo-sung.

If even Shin Woo-sung, who was close to him, got into arguments, how much more so for others? But Jo Seol-chan, being duller than Jin-hyeok, didn’t seem to care much.

“Then listen to this~.”

Jo Seol-chan opened his eyes, heavy with effort.

His expression was similar to Jo Il-hun’s when he gathered the kids to tell scary stories.

“The whole world was white, not cold, not hot, and like in movies, the screen was white, nothing visible, then gradually things appeared. I passed out, then woke up in something like a spaceship, and came out like that~. It was exactly like that~.”

Oops.

Jin-hyeok thought Jo Seol-chan had said something he shouldn’t have.

Sure enough, Kim Eun-jung, who had been chewing on a tangerine, swallowed it and glared at Jo Seol-chan as if she wanted to devour him.

“Hey, you. Is your name Jo Seol?”

“Huh? Uh…”

“Explain in detail. That UFO story. I think we might connect on something.”

Kim Eun-jung, narrowing her eyes, flared her nostrils and sat on Jo Seol-chan’s bed. Choi Mi-kyung and the other friends wisely made space. They knew that once Kim Eun-jung started talking, their minds would be exhausted.

Watching this, Jin-hyeok sighed, hiding it from Yoo Jin.

Sigh.

‘Seol-chan needs to rest.’

While Jo Seol-chan stammered, Kim Eun-jung pushed a carefully peeled tangerine toward him, urging him to continue.

“Jo Seol, what kind of experiment did they do on you?”

Eun-jung.

That’s not it.

***

Two days later, in the late afternoon.

Moon Seok-il visited a nearby real estate development company.

It was a polite and quiet visit.

Crash~!

As soon as he entered, a man was slammed into a steel cabinet.

“Damn it!”

A man in work clothes and safety boots grabbed a folded steel chair with both hands and swung it with all his might. Well, in the land of Eastern manners, one must swing with both hands upon first meeting.

Whoosh~.

He had strength, but lacked accuracy and speed.

Shin Woo-sung, who had been at the target spot, blurred for a moment, and the chair split the air where Jeong Sang-tae’s upper body had been.

Jeong Sang-tae twisted his waist like a tiger.

Thwack~!

“Guh!”

With a crisp impact sound, Jeong Sang-tae’s left fist struck the man’s right jaw, and with a single scream, the man’s neck twisted, his head turned, and he collapsed to his knees.

Black blood flowed from the fallen man’s mouth, staining the floor.

Crack~!

Elsewhere in the office, Kang Heon-chang’s knee, launched from a desk, hit another man’s jaw.

The man’s neck snapped back, and he collapsed without even a scream.

“Gwaaah~!”

From another direction, a pitiful scream echoed.

Moon Seok-il’s dagger flew and embedded itself in the wrist of a man swinging a fire axe. A punishment for swinging it one-handed. With tendons and bones severed, he wouldn’t be able to hold a spoon with that hand again.

Soon, others rushed in disorder upon hearing their comrades’ screams, but Jeong Sang-tae’s fists at the entrance were faster than their reflexes.

Their bulky, heavy bodies only absorbed the impact, increasing their pain. They spun like ballerinas or slid face-first, marking the end of their shift.

Thud~.

The last one performed a backward somersault with the back of his head.

“Ouch~, that hurts~.”

Jeong Sang-tae, mimicking Jo Il-hun’s clumsy dialect, frowned and dusted off his hands.

Click~.

Confirming no more were coming, Kang Heon-chang locked the door.

“You told us to stay alert, but it was nothing.”

Kang Heon-chang yawned, bored, and Moon Seok-il nodded.

They were nothing special.

Their crimes were severe compared to their weight and abilities.

Well, a needle thief doesn’t just steal needles.

The important thing was…

“These guys had bad luck.”

They messed with the wrong people.

Jeong Sang-tae, unwrapping new gum, sat on the desk.

They had messed with Son Jin-hyeok, whom Hong Ki-jun cherished, and Jin-hyeok’s cherished friend.

As for their underlings…

Kang Heon-chang pulled back a man’s collar, revealing his neck.

“Sang-tae hyung, doesn’t this guy’s tattoo look familiar? Must be a custom tattoo.”

“Yeah. Tough guys. Wondered where they’d run off to.”

The gangsters they had been hunting had scattered and were now posing as real estate developers. They say it’s either heroin or construction drugs—seems like they can’t live without drugs.

“Dogs don’t stop eating shit.”

“Even Jang Gun-i doesn’t eat shit~.”

Heh heh~.

At Jeong Sang-tae’s nonsensical remark, Kang Heon-chang shrugged, while Moon Seok-il wiped the blood off his dagger and spoke.

“No interrogation.”

“Got it.”

During missions, he was cold and dry.

Moon Seok-il’s words were law to the group.

They had already confirmed why these guys had done such things. What was so great about that apartment? Trying to kill someone over the last remaining house and compensation issues.

They tried to force an old woman out of her home with a paltry sum for a house and a bit of land. Even in this small town, it was far from enough to find a decent place to live. They tried to drive her out of her long-time home with a handful of change.

It wasn’t even groundbreaking information.

According to Detective Yeo Hyung-man, this was a common tactic in areas undergoing redevelopment or large-scale apartment construction. The circumstances were clear, but without evidence, the arrest rate was close to zero.

“Gather them.”

Moon Seok-il, having given the order, took out a notebook and started writing something, while Kang Heon-chang and Jeong Sang-tae dragged the men by their collars to the inner office.

Scratch scratch~.

Moon Seok-il frowned, tilted his head, and focused on his notes.

Heh~. Jeong Sang-tae, peeking from the side, let out a laugh.

“Seok-il, let me write one.”

“Write big, write big.”

Moon Seok-il handed the notebook to Jeong Sang-tae and gestured to Kang Heon-chang.

“Wake them up.”

For times like these, the ice massage that even wakes up a student who fainted from cramming is effective. Kang Heon-chang rubbed fist-sized ice on their foreheads and the backs of their necks, and one by one, they woke up, eyelids twitching.

“Uh uh uh~.”

Every one of them, without exception, knelt and pressed their heads to the floor.

As expected of gangsters, the movements were natural and smooth.

“Read the charges.”

Moon Seok-il opened the notebook.

He didn’t read them aloud.

Rip~.

The torn notebook fluttered down like autumn leaves.

The kneeling men rolled their eyes to read the charges written in the notebook.

「The crime of inciting murder.」

Rip~.

「The crime of conspiring and executing murder.」

Rip~.

「The crime of disguising dirty deeds as accidents.」

Rip~.

「The crime of revisiting to destroy evidence.」

Rip~.

「The crime of wielding weapons against three upstanding citizens who visited politely.」

Rip~.

「The crime of smoking cigarettes, you thugs.」

Rip~.

「The crime of recklessly causing trouble like rodents.」

Rip~.

「The crime of staining the wall with black.」

The last page was written by Jeong Sang-tae.

Moon Seok-il, having put the notebook away, stepped down from the desk.

His movements were as light as a feather, proving his skills as a training captain.

But his words were anything but light.

“Death penalty.”