TTD Ch 37

“What about the perpetrator?”

“We haven’t found him yet. The other guys are still looking for him.”

Slap, Choi Moon-seong’s big hand flew and slapped Choi Ki-tae’s cheek. Choi Ki-tae, who had been stumbling, stood up like a roly-poly and took a resting posture.  Choi Moon-seong repeatedly smacked Choi Ki-tae’s cheek out of frustration, causing Choi Ki-tae’s face to turn red as if it were cooked on a fire.

The subordinates behind them could not even breathe at the sight.

“You incompetent bastards. You couldn’t even catch one person!”

“I will definitely catch him. Please believe me.”

Choi Moon-seong strongly ground his teeth. There was a power failure when he was getting a massage in the backroom. He originally thought that electricity would return soon, but when he noticed that the outside was rather noisy, he understood that there was more going on than just a power outage. But the intruder that was directly in front of him disappeared. One of the guards was knocked out and said he couldn’t see it clearly since he was wearing a mask.

“Did you check the list properly?”

“Yes. We checked everything from personal information to body search.”

“Then how did he get in here! He even made his move!”

“I’m sorry, I’ll find him and get rid of him as soon as possible.”

“I don’t need your apology at all. The guests must never know. In particular, take extra care to avoid drawing the attention of the VIPs.

“Yes.”

The already observant guests have been asking what has happened. The explosion that happened not long ago has made the guest more anxious. It would be challenging to solve this situation if it came up again.

At the same time, his subordinates were looking in and coming out of his private bedroom.

“There is nothing wrong inside.”

Choi Moon-seong went inside and Choi Ki-tae followed.

“I will definitely catch him. Don’t worry too much, Dad.”

Choi Moon-seong’s rage persisted despite Ki-tae’s determination. When Choi Ki-tae left, Choi Moon-seong pulled the gun he had stashed under the pillow from its hiding place, set it on the table,  and inhaled deeply with his hand on his waist. He made the decision that no matter what type of bastard he was if he was caught, he would cut off his limbs and throw them into the water.

He took out a cigar, lit it, and walked up to the window. The deck was being searched by a group of men. His eyes widened as he rubbed his smoked cigar into the ashtray and turned around.  In front of him, A gun with a silencer was aimed at his head. 

Choi Moon-seong’s attention turned to the ceiling fan’s ripped cover before shifting to the front door. The door that was initially open was now tightly locked. The invader raised his index finger to his mouth while pointing the gun.

Shhh.

And he motioned cutting his neck. He made a threat that if he called anyone, he would shoot him dead right away. Choi Moon-seong fixed a stern gaze on the intruder. The intruder’s eyes were familiar. The intruder carefully removed the mask that was covering half of his face as he stared at him intently.

Not surprisingly, this was the man he saw at the funeral of his youngest son a few days ago.

A Hong Konger who was with Kang Seok-ju.

“You, why are you…!”

Ja-kyung looked at Choi Moon-seong with an indifferent face. Ja-kyung escaped and hid in the man’s room ventilation as the armed guards concentrated near the massage room. It seemed like billions of years during that tiny waiting period. He attempted to shoot the man dead as soon as Choi Ki-tae left, but he changed his mind. He still wanted to see the face of the person who died at his hand.

Choi Moon-seong slowly extended his hand to the side while focusing his attention forward. Choi Moon-seong glanced down at his palm as a burst of light and a squeaky sound erupted from the intruder’s muzzle as soon as his fingertips touched the gun. Later, severe pain arose. He couldn’t even scream properly and fell down.

He gasped as he realized that his three fingers had vanished without a trace. Ja-kyung approached the man who was having trouble breathing and aimed the gun at his forehead. As he peered down, Ja-kyung’s eyes showed no sign of mercy.

Choi Moon-seong raised his head and looked at Ja-kyung. A cold sweat broke out on his forehead.

“Which bastard… send you?”

Ja-kyung had an ambiguous smile on his lips.

“If you know. Do you want revenge?”

“Do you think you will be safe after this?”

“Oh, my. Your youngest son said the same thing. Did they call it like father, like son in Korea?”

His eyes widened before becoming distorted.

“You bastard! My son!”

“Lee Ja-kyung.”

“What?”

“The one who sent me to kill you.”

Choi Moon-seong was shot in the forehead as soon as he opened his lips to speak, and the bloody back of his head immediately burst, staining the curtains. Choi Moon-seong staggered backward and was unable to even close his eyes. Ja-kyung shot him while maintaining an indifferent expression as he stared down at his face.

One, two, three, four, five.

The past he wanted to forget appeared and disappeared with each shot he made. Blood and flesh splattered everywhere. Ja-kyung stopped firing when his face was broken and his eyes, nose, and lips were disfigured beyond recognition. The eyeballs that had fallen off his face and rolled on the ground were staring at Ja-kyung.

He stomped on it and pulled up the bedsheets to wipe the blood on his face and hands. Suddenly, someone knocked on the door. Ja-kyung stepped on the sofa and entered the vent. He closed the lid and crawled forward when he heard the voices of the staff talking from below.

After crawling for a while, Wang Lun’s voice came through the in-ears he had put into his ears.

[Ja-kyung. Where are you?]

“I’m not in the boat yet. What about you?”

[I went out and got into the boat. I’ve also dealt with CCTV, but the problem is that the security is tight now, so it’s difficult to get close to the cruise.]

“Okay. I’ll get out as soon as possible.”

[Come carefully. I’ll be waiting.]

Ja-kyung, who was crawling out, tore off the fan in the staff’s bathroom and came down. He wiped the dust from his body and put his sunglasses in his pocket. He leaned on the side of the door and checked through the palm-sized window to see that no one was coming and going.

When he came out, the downstairs was noisy. Many guests could be seen out from their rooms and perching on the railings to observe the situation while the staff ran around reassuring them.

Ja-kyung was attempting to leave through the deck, but there was heavy security at the door directly in front of the banquet hall. Ja-kyung remembered the other stairs on the third floor.  He started to move in search of another entry after instantly giving up trying to walk downstairs. With about half a turn left, two armed guards suddenly appeared from the corner directly in front of him.

Ja-kyung passed them by after bowing his head in greeting.

After a while, he heard a call coming from behind.

“Guest. Please stop for a moment.”

He walked more quickly while pretending not to hear them. Their following speed increased as well. Guest. Guest. He bit his lower lip as their voices grew louder. Ja-kyung briefly stopped when the sound of the trigger being pulled could be heard.

“I warn you. Please turn around.”

Ja-kyung did not even budge as he stared straight ahead. The guard was holding a gun at the back of his head and was around seven to eight meters away. To reach the entrance, he had to go a little further. Apparently, the guards across the way picked up on the oddity as well and moved in his direction.

Ja-kyung closed his eyes tightly. Then he heard a sound from behind.

“What’s up?”

Fuck. I’m Fucked up. It was Choi Ki-tae.

“He looked suspicious, but he didn’t want to stop.”

He could clearly hear Ki-tae approaching footsteps. His hands felt cold. There was no guarantee that he would escape safely even if he killed him.

“I guess you didn’t hear it. Could you turn around and let me check your face and invitation?”

It was just before Ja-kyung raised his hand and put it into his arms. The door swung open from the front, and an unexpected person appeared. The guards coming from the other side also stopped. Kang Il-hyun took off the phone he was holding to his ear and raised one eyebrow.

When their gaze locked, Ja-kyung’s sunglasses-covered eyes shook erratically. Out of everything…

For a split second, the silence felt unbearable. A cold sweat ran down his back. Kang Il-hyun approached in stride and reached out and grabbed Ja-kyung’s arm. Due to the unexpected move, Ja-kyung was unable to even breathe, and Kang Il-hyun tenderly smiled and stroked his cheek.

“Why are you just arriving now? I’ve been waiting for you.”

Ja-kyung’s eyes widened. He was as quiet as a dead mouse. Kang Il-hyun’s gaze, which had remained on Ja-kyung’s face, turned away.

“Do you need something with my partner?”

“Sir… Is he your partner?”

“If so?”

“We’re sorry. We almost made a mistake.”

Kang Il-hyun smirked and dragged Ja-kyung inside by his arm. The door closed behind him, and Ja-kyung was unable to move in front of it. He only moved his eyes to look at Kang Il-hyun in front of him, but his gaze was colder than usual.

It was also quiet outside the door. Kang Il-hyun was the first to break the suffocating silence.

“I think I know this face?”

Ja-kyung kept his mouth shut and looked at him. He was so calm as if they met after making a promise.

“Why is the cat that should be at home on this ship?”

Il-hyun moved right in front of him as he spoke. Today, the smell of skin he usually smelled was more dizzying. Ja-kyung looked around the room. The single bed had nothing on it. Kang Il-hyun grabbed the door with both hands, squeezing Ja-kyung inside and preventing him from leaving. Il-hyun’s eyes were curved and the corners of his mouth were raised when looking down.

“Tell me, Yi An.”

“…”

“Or do you have another name?”