VDN Ch 186

“Seok Jin-cheol!”

While everyone was in chaos, Detective Jang checked the location of the cliff and immediately ran downhill in that direction, shouting loudly.

“What are you doing? Chase after him!”

Several police officers joined Detective Jang and ran down the hill. The remaining officers began leading the captured gangsters down the mountain. Seo-oh and Hae-geon also walked, following their lead. However, Nam-woon stood still, staring blankly at the steep slope.

What’s going to happen to Chairman Seok? Is he really going to die here in vain?

Suddenly, he remembered his father from his previous life. To be exact, his father’s last moments. The blood scattered on the floor was still vivid in his mind.

As he was lost in dark memories, he felt a comforting touch on his back. Turning his head, he saw Seo-oh’s peaceful face. Reminding him that he was present here in this moment.

Yeah, it’s all in the past now.

Nam-woon broke free from his thoughts and followed the guiding hand and stepped toward the light.

***

Gasp. Gasp.

Painful breaths burst out through his dry lips. Chairman Seok, whose whole body was covered in wounds, thrashed his legs like a madman.

He’d thought a fall from such a height would surely kill him, but Seok Nam-woon had stubbornly clung to life and reappeared before him. That’s when he realized maybe even a fall here wouldn’t be the end.

His judgment was right. Though he must have broken something in his forearm when he landed wrong, he was alive. Given the circumstances, he ran hurriedly through the dense mountains without even registering the pain.

It can’t end here. This place was not his final destination.

Finally, Chairman Seok arrived at the bottom of the mountains and looked around with his eyes wide open. He saw a car parked not far away on the side of the road. He hurried toward it and roughly shoved a man leaning against the vehicle, smoking a cigarette.

“Argh.”

Taking advantage of the man’s stumble from the sudden impact, Chairman Seok slipped into the driver’s seat. Naturally, he felt not a shred of guilt.

“What the hell are you doing?!”

The car owner banged on the driver’s side door, but Chairman Seok ignored him and started the engine. As the wheels lurched forward, the startled man scrambled clear. The car shot onto the road in an instant. Chairman Seok gripped the steering wheel tightly and muttered through clenched teeth.

“Worthless scumbags.”

I should’ve taken care of them ages ago. Who would’ve thought they’d stab me in the back like this? They were beasts who didn’t even appreciate the kindness I’ve given them since childhood.. When I get back, I’ll kill them first. In a cruel, terrible way.

He turned his gaze to check the side mirror. Was it just his imagination? It felt like all the cars following him were tailing him. Were they police? No, that couldn’t be. They were always one step behind me.

Chairman Seok muttered in a very hoarse voice.

“I need to head to Gangwon-do.”

He stepped on the accelerator hard, keeping his eyes on the road signs. Whoosh. The car sped down the road at an even faster speed. He couldn’t drive for long in the car he had stolen after pushing the owner out. It was likely that a report had already been filed.

I need to change cars. His eyes were sharp as he scanned the parked cars on the shoulder of the road. I should have stolen that guy’s cell phone earlier. If I had, I would have contacted the chief prosecutor and told him to prepare a getaway car right away.

Bang! Bang!

Chairman Seok couldn’t hold back his anger and hit the steering wheel roughly. His chest rose and fell with anger.

How long had he been driving like that? An intersection came into view. There would be more cars around once he passed here. Then it would be much easier to avoid the police’s eyes. The car accelerated and drove down the road at a tremendous speed. Soon, when it reached the intersection, the dazzling headlights suddenly illuminated the car he was in.

Chairman Seok frowned and turned his head to the left where the lights were shining. A large dump truck was speeding straight toward him without slowing down. Chairman Seok, who noticed the suspicious approach, hurriedly slammed on the brakes.

“Ugh…!”

Screech—!

An ear-splitting noise erupted from the tires rubbing against the ground. However, the car did not stop and continued to move forward. Chairman Seok let out a ragged breath and turned the steering wheel wildly, but he could not avoid the approaching truck.

Just before the collision, Chairman Seok’s eyes turned to the driver’s seat to see who the driver was. Soon, shock spread across his face.

Director Yoon!

It was definitely Yoon Kang-won. The dog that had crawled and licked his shoes at his feet. That bastard he had kicked out…!

Yoon Kang-won, who saw Chairman Seok’s expression, raised the corners of his mouth up into a grin. It was a bizarre smile that seemed to be filled with madness. Even though the sound couldn’t reach him, it felt like the laughter had reached Chairman Seok’s ears.

Boom—!

A massive impact struck him. Chairman Seok’s car, hit by the dump truck, was crushed and overturned.

“…….”

Chairman Seok couldn’t even groan properly and hung upside down in the car, blinking his hazy eyes. His vision was blood-red because of the blood that had pooled in his eyes.

No… It can’t end like this. After everything I’ve done to get here!

Despite his desperate wishes, his consciousness continued to fade. The blood spread quickly across the black asphalt. Even in the face of death, Chairman Seok couldn’t let go of his lingering thoughts of a brilliant future. Just one more step, that’s all I needed, one more step further. If he could succeed with the genetic modification business, everyone would kneel at his feet. The Mooyoung Group would soon be his. But a single insignificant pest had derailed his long-laid plans.

Blood burst from Chairman Seok’s mouth. As his consciousness faded and he let out his last breath, he thought.

Have I… experienced this before?

It was a pitiful, lonely end for a man who’d once led a corporation.

***

– This morning, there was a collision accident near Gyeyangsan in Incheon. The accident claimed the life of Seok Jin-cheol, known as the founder of Euljin Construction.

– Mr. Seok operated a genetic research facility in Incheon’s Hadong District and conducted pheromone-related experiments for seven years, shocking the public. It has come to light that he abducted, detained, and murdered test subjects to further his illegal pheromone research…

The reporter spent several minutes detailing Seok Jin-cheol’s crimes. Then the screen shifted to a massive building, and a familiar name flashed onscreen.

– The long-hidden heir to the Mooyoung Group, Mr. Jin, was taken into custody by the Seocho Police Station on assault charges early the same day. Witnesses testified that he had brutally attacked Mr. Seok and other employees of his company. Police stated they would conduct a thorough investigation into Mr. Jin’s involvement. A moment later, the screen changed again, revealing a man who seemed to lack interest. The reporters gathered around the police station, all thrusting their microphones forward and shouting. Hae-geon paid no attention to the barrage of questions, except for the last one.

– Mr. Jin Hae-geon, would you like to say something about the incident?”

It was a simple question. But when Hae-geon suddenly stared straight into the camera, he grinned and said.

– Wooni Hyung,  make sure the taiyaki tastes good.
Bam!

The red bean taiyaki that was half-eaten was thrown onto Hae-geon’s face on the TV. The force was so fierce that Nam-woon flinched in surprise. The taiyaki stuck to the TV screen for a moment before falling to the floor with a thud.

Nam-woon carefully turned his head. The culprit who threw the taiyaki at Hae-geon was none other than Se-han. The child continued to grumble as if his anger was not relieved and then suddenly shot up.

“Hae-geon keeps picking on Hyung!”

Se-han clenched his fists tightly. Because of that, the yellow cream spurted from the cream-filled taiyaki he was holding in his other hand. Nam-woon wiped the cream off his small hand with a wet tissue and soothed the child.

“Se-han, you shouldn’t throw taiyaki.”

Nam-woon corrected the child’s mistake in a firm tone. He was worried that Se-han might have developed a habit of throwing things after throwing a wooden block at the thugs during the last kidnapping. He thought it was important to correct this behavior early on when Seo-oh suddenly intervened.

“Good job, Se-han.”

Suddenly, he praised him in a gentle voice. He went a step further and patted Se-han’s head gently, saying he did a good job throwing. Se-han, who had been reflecting on Nam-woon’s scolding, quickly changed his attitude and made a proud expression.

This guy’s supposed to be the older brother? Nam-woon raised an eyebrow.

“Hey, you shouldn’t praise him like that.”

“It’s something to be proud of. Anyone bothering Hyung should be dealt with by Se-han.”

“What are you talking about? He’s just a kid.”

Nam-woon snorted in disbelief and put a hot red bean bun in Seo-oh’s hand. Then he poured the remaining taiyaki batter into the mold. Nam-woon pretended not to care about the sound coming from the TV and moved his body diligently, but in fact, his attention was completely focused on that. This was because he realized too late that Jin Hae-geon had played a big role in resolving this incident safely.

“Nam-woon, you texted the detective, right? I saw your message and did the same.”

After Nam-woon got out of the car, Hae-geon, who had received the driver’s phone, immediately set out to find the detective. During this search, he stumbled upon some gangsters with weapons. Sensing something unusual, he followed them to their destination.

To be prepared for any trouble, he sent a text message. The recipient was Detective Jang. Thanks to Hae-geon’s quick response, Detective Jang arrived at the scene in time to stop Chairman Seok.