TTD 150

The lawyer hesitated before turning to Ja-kyung. He swallowed hard and pushed up his slipping glasses.

“Th-then what?”

“I used you as bait to lure them here. They’ll arrive in two hours, and then we’ll negotiate.”

“Negotiate?”

Wang Lun, who had been listening, chuckled with a cigarette in his mouth.

“The lawyer’s ransom turned out to be worth more than expected. I thought he’d be useless since they’d nearly killed him when they locked him up, but guess not.”

“Wh-what do you mean? You plan to get money from that person?”

Ja-kyung smiled slyly.

“Money plus life.”

The lawyer’s mouth fell open. Ja-kyung grabbed his shoulder and began explaining in detail. When gunshots start, hide in the car no matter what. Don’t come out at all, whether underneath or inside, just stay put. The lawyer’s face turned ashen as he listened.

“D-did you just say gunshots? Where exactly…”

“You don’t need to know about that.”

“Guns aren’t legal in our country. If you start shooting, it could become a serious issue. It’ll be plastered across tomorrow’s front pages.”

Wang Lun picked his ear in irritation.

“Look here, Mr. Lawyer. You just need to focus on keeping yourself alive. We’ll handle the rest. If you keep running your mouth, I’ll start by slicing your lips. Understand?”

The lawyer, apparently affected by Lun’s threat, shut his mouth tight and nodded. While the three waited in the car, Ja-kyung got out, opened the trunk, and grabbed a bag. When the lawyer asked where he was going, he pointed upward.

There was a large water tank separated from the building, high enough that one needed to climb a ladder to reach it. After climbing the steps one by one, Ja-kyung set the bag down beside the water tank and concealed himself.

Chewing a piece of gum, he opened the bag and began assembling the gun when Lun’s voice came through his earpiece.

[How is it there? Good view?]

“Yeah. I can see your head so clearly. Barely resisting the urge to shoot it right now.”

[Why don’t you shoot eldest brother’s head while you’re at it. Make him get a whole new face attached. He’d probably like that.]

[You guys. Stop the useless chatter and focus.]

Ja-kyung laughed silently and leaned against the water tank, closing his eyes. How much time had passed? Car sounds could be heard from afar. Peeking out, he saw two black vehicles entering the area.

[Wei, they’re here.]

“I see them.”

No sooner had he finished speaking than Ja-kyung lay prone, took position, and put his eye to the scope. As the cars entered through the entrance and stopped, Lee Man-soo got out. It was definitely the man who had handed him his business card at the dinner with Jang Tae-ho. He’d seemed off from the start. Their conversation reached Ja-kyung’s ears.

[Why just the two of you? Wasn’t there one more?]

[Never mind that. Hand over the money first. The lawyer’s in the back.]

When Man-soo’s subordinates tried to pull the lawyer from the backseat, Wang Lun stopped them. Money first, you bastards. You think this is a joke? After a moment of silence, Man-soo’s laughter could be heard.

[Hot-blooded as they say.]

At his subordinate’s direction, the car’s back doors opened and several boxes were moved. At the words to check if they’d put in enough, just as Wang Lun was about to open a box, the man at the very back reached into his jacket. The moment the gleaming blade appeared, Ja-kyung pulled the trigger without hesitation.

With a phssk sound, the bullet blew the man’s head off, and the scene instantly turned into chaos. What the fuck! The gang members all pulled out knives simultaneously, and Ja-kyung quickly reloaded, taking them out one by one with precise aim.

“Block it! Block it, you idiots!”

Leaving his subordinates behind, Man-soo used a large man as a shield while moving toward the car. His face appeared and disappeared repeatedly in the circular glass. The bastard threw his subordinate aside and got into the driver’s seat. Just as he was about to start the engine, Ja-kyung aimed at the window and delivered a decisive blow.

With a phssk sound, the bullet pierced through the car window and penetrated below his neck. After confirming that he was spewing blood repeatedly, Ja-kyung straightened up and looked down below. The men who had been fighting with Wang Lun and Wang Han, realizing their boss was dead, were fleeing with their tails between their legs.

[These bastards have no loyalty.]

[Right? To run away abandoning their own boss.]

[Hey, Mr. Lawyer. You okay? Ah, this guy wet himself!]

[What? Damn it. Take off those pants right now!]

Amidst the commotion, Ja-kyung removed his earpiece, packed his bag, and descended the metal stairs one by one. The day was clear as if it had never rained, without a single cloud in the sky. Just as he had almost finished descending the stairs, he received an unexpected message.

[You didn’t really leave, did you?]

Ja-kyung stared expressionlessly at it when another message followed.

[Thinking about it, I might have been too harsh.]

Could it be? Did this guy get his memory back? But if he had, he would have called immediately. His tone wouldn’t have been so stiff. And then the next message.

[But hey, are your nipples really pink?]

What’s this crazy bastard saying…

***

After cleaning up the bodies, the lawyer promised to stay with and help Jang Tae-ho for the time being. Since he had contributed, they shared part of the money with him – though he refused at first, he later happily took his share.

Jang Tae-ho had somehow heard about Kang Il-hyun’s memory loss, and seemed to secretly hope Ja-kyung would use this opportunity to break up with him. He wanted Ja-kyung to end things with Kang Il-hyun and stay with him instead, but after much consideration, Ja-kyung chose to return.

He parked his car in front of the house and went inside. Ja-kyung heard splashing sounds from the swimming pool. He walked across the lawn to the pool, and saw Kang Il-hyun moving underwater with a graceful underwater swim. While he was momentarily mesmerized by his dolphin-like graceful form, his face emerged from the water.

His water-soaked face glistened under the lights, and Ja-kyung’s heart fluttered.

“You’re back? I thought you’d left for good.”

Il-hyun came out of the water, wearing his usual palm-sized swimsuit. When he frowned, Il-hyun roughly draped a towel over himself, sat on the sun bed, and brought alcohol to his lips. Seeing the empty bottles next to him, it was clear he’d had quite a bit to drink.

Ja-kyung sighed and snatched away his glass.

“I told you not to swim after drinking.”

Kang Il-hyun, deprived of his glass, laughed with a “huh.”

“Are you worried about me?”

“I’ve always worried about you, CEO.”

“You must have really liked me. Someone like me.”

Ja-kyung kept his mouth shut. There was no point in saying he liked him since Kang Il-hyun wouldn’t understand anyway. He had become a completely different person now. As Ja-kyung was about to go inside with the alcohol, he put on a robe and followed.

“Looks like your work went well. You’re more capable than I thought.”

“I must be capable since I shot you in the legs, CEO.”

“Did you do something besides shooting?”

“What do you mean?”

“Otherwise, there’s no reason I’d keep thinking about you. I’m not crazy.”

Ja-kyung turned to look at Il-hyun with an incredulous expression. He wanted to tell him that yes, you are crazy, but he held back and turned away to go his own way. When he opened the door and went in, the housekeeper came over and gave him a warm hug.

Kang Yoo-jung was there too, and she also hugged Ja-kyung tightly, saying she was glad he returned. As she patted his back, his ears turned slightly red with embarrassment. Then, he made eye contact with Kang Il-hyun, whose eyes were about to unleash a deadly laser glare. Startled, he quickly detached himself from Yoo-jung, and Il-hyun ran his tongue across his upper teeth.

“You two seem quite close?”

Then Kang Yoo-jung linked arms with Ja-kyung.

“Ja-kyung. The CEO said we should date, so shall we really date? If he grows his hair out, he won’t look much different from me anyway. We look quite alike, don’t we? What do you think?”

“What?” When Ja-kyung lost his words in confusion, Yoo-jung burst out laughing. Knowing it was a joke, Ja-kyung laughed along, then Il-hyun called out, “Hey,” to Ja-kyung. When he looked at him, he pointed upstairs with a displeased expression.

“If you’re back, go to your room. Stop hovering around here.”

Ja-kyung rolled his eyes like a flounder. I’m the fool for having expectations. After saying goodbye to the two women, he went upstairs. After showering, he filled the tub with water and was relaxing his accumulated fatigue when he heard movement outside.

“Who’s there?”

He asked, but there was no answer, only the sound of footsteps. Tensely reaching for the knife he had hidden to one side, the door opened with a knock and Kang Il-hyun appeared.